Morning Mail: Australia accused of ‘exporting climate destruction’, shops ordered to accept cash, Wallabies crush Wales

Good morning. Pacific governments at the Cop29 climate talks have lambasted Australia’s plans for a massive gas industry expansion in Western Australia, saying it could result in 125 times more greenhouse gas emissions than their island nations release in a year. They say the Labor government is “not acting in good faith” when it stands on the global stage and promotes its climate credentials.

Meanwhile, Russia has targeted Ukraine’s power grid in a huge missile strike, and an Israeli airstrike in a busy residential area of central Beirut has killed Hezbollah’s lead spokesperson. Plus: Tom Wright and Matt Faessler each scored hat-tricks as the Wallabies hammered Wales in Cardiff.

Was that the week that marked the death of X? The platform formerly regarded as a utopian market square for exchanging information has suffered its largest exodus to date. The delicate Musk-Trump relationship and growing rivals such as BlueSky spell trouble for its future. Now, the former Twitter could fade away – or help shape a dark future hosting voices of a new authoritarian world.

Royel Otis are making waves worldwide with their sunny indie rock. The duo have gone staggeringly viral twice – for a Sophie Ellis-Bextor cover, then a Cranberries cover. This time last year the Sydney indie band was up for breakthrough artist at the Arias. They didn’t take the gong home, but this year they have eight nominations.

Rightwing activist group Advance is preparing to target the Greens in a $1.5m advertising campaign, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Analysis suggests Australians face a half trillion-dollar increase in their personal income tax over the next decade if tax rates and thresholds remain frozen, the Age reports. The lack of clarity over the government’s international student cap proposal has thrown universities into chaos, reports ABC News.

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