☕️ Australia to recognise Palestinian statehood

Things that are good: Today is Middle Child Day and Lifeblood is asking all middle children to emerge from the shadows and donate blood to become the favourite child.

Things that are not good: When our email system gets a little funky and makes the subject line in your inbox yesterday ‘good…’.

Anyhoo. Make sure to tell your oldest sibling it’s actually not about them today.

“I could have gone on a date with Donald Trump, and then I would have a story to tell. I could have changed the course of American history.”
British actress Emma Thompson, speaking about a 1998 phone call she received from then-businessman Donald Trump asking her out to dinner. The actor shared the story with an audience at a film festival in Switzerland, according to the Telegraph.

$462 million
JB Hifi's net profits after tax in the year to June 2025, partly due to sales of the Nintendo Switch 2. Last month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the console’s launch had resulted in a noticeable spike in spending on electrical and household goods.

The blob of toothpaste on a toothbrush is called a "nurdle".
In 2011, pharmaceutical companies Colgate and Glaxo sued each other over the right to portray it in advertising. It was settled out of court and neither publicised the outcome.

The Government has announced an additional 25,000 international student placements next year.

The National Planning Level, the framework for managing Australia’s annual international education intake, has been set at 295,000 places for 2026.

The increase is a backflip from the Government’s original plan to cap this year’s international student numbers at 270,000.

Education Minister Jason Clare said the move ensures the sustainability of the sector.

Last year, the Federal Government proposed legislation to cap international student enrolments at 270,000 in a bid to reduce migration.

The bill, which was anticipated to come into effect in January, was blocked by the Coalition and the Greens.

Under the plan, universities would have been able to accept a higher number of overseas students if they agreed to build more student accommodation.

The 2025 international student enrolment limit was set at 275,000.

Next year’s increase will still leave numbers below the peak recorded in the aftermath of COVID lockdowns.

Most universities will keep their current allocation of international enrolments.

From next year, public unis wanting to expand their quotas must meet two requirements: prioritising applicants from South East Asia, and demonstrating they can provide housing for both domestic and international students.

The Government said the increase “supports students, universities and the national interest.”

Education Minister Jason Clare said: “International education doesn’t just make [Australia] money, it makes us friends.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said maintaining the “integrity of the migration system” remains a priority, by “backing providers who do the right things”.

The Coalition has expressed concern and called for the Government to “explain how this new target is sustainable”.

Shadow Education Minister Jonno Duniam said the “one-size-fits-all approach” reform fails to meet the needs of regional universities.

Duniam said the Government “needs to give all tertiary providers clarity on how it arrived at these numbers, while ensuring that there are no losers.”

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced Australia will recognise the state of Palestine at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in September.

It follows recent similar declarations by Canada, the UK, and France.

“Until Israeli and Palestinian statehood is permanent, peace can only be temporary,” Albanese said.

The decision comes amid growing condemnation of Israel’s planned military takeover in Gaza.

“The Netanyahu Government has ignored international opposition to its conduct of the war in Gaza,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

When a country formally recognises another state, it acknowledges that state’s independence and accepts it as a legitimate member of the international community.

This recognition typically leads to establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

147 of the United Nations’ 193 members recognise Palestine as a state. However, the U.S. and many of its allies support a “two-state solution,” meaning they only plan to recognise Palestine after it reaches a negotiated agreement with Israel.

Albanese has said Australia will formally recognise the State of Palestine at a meeting of the UN General Assembly this September.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday afternoon, he said: “The toll of the status quo is growing by the day and it could be measured in innocent lives. The world cannot wait for success to be guaranteed.

“That only means waiting for a day that will never come.“

Albanese also said: “We want to see the hostages released. We wanted to see the hostages never taken.”

He added: “There can be no role for the terrorists of Hamas in a future Palestinian state.”

Today, the Palestinian Authority governs some of the West Bank, while Hamas runs Gaza.

He added: “The Palestinian Authority has reaffirmed it recognises Israel’s right to exist in peace and security. It has committed to demilitarise and to hold general elections.”

Shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor criticised the Government’s announcement.

“The pre-conditions necessary for a lasting peace are not in place,” Taylor said in a press conference on Monday afternoon.

“Those pre-conditions have been clear for a long time: release of hostages, demilitarisation of Hamas, a commitment to peaceful co-existence and agreed border...

“The risk is that the Government is putting the cart before the horse.”

On 24 July, French President Emmanuel Macron declared his country would recognise Palestinian statehood — becoming the first G7 nation (a group of major global economies) to announce plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

“It is our responsibility... to prove that peace is possible,” Macron said.

Days later, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would recognise the state of Palestine, unless Israel meets certain conditions.

Starmer called for Israel to “end the appalling situation in Gaza,” agree to a ceasefire, and move toward a two-state solution.

Canada announced it would recognise a Palestinian state the next day.

Canada’s PM Mark Carney said the “suffering of civilians” in Gaza “leaves no room for delaying coordinated international action to support peace, security and the dignity of human life.”

All three nations are part of the G7. Fellow member Germany halted its export of weapons to Israel “that could be used in the Gaza Strip” over the weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused countries of “rewarding” Hamas by recognising Palestine.

France, the UK, and Canada all agree Hamas “must play no role in the future governance of Palestine.” Albanese echoed these comments and said he’d "sought and received" assurances from the Palestinian Authority that Hamas would have no role.

Overnight, Netanyahu said the possibility of Australia recognising Palestine was “disappointing, and… actually shameful”.

The news comes as the Israeli security cabinet approved a plan to take “control” of Gaza, a move criticised by the families of hostages, who called it a "death sentence... for [their] loved ones".

At the press conference, Albanese said Netanyahu had “foreshadowed” this. Albanese said he had “expressed my concern with such a direction.”

Since the conflict began in 2023, Israel has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to data cited by the UN. Israel’s war in Gaza has caused a humanitarian crisis and much of Gaza’s population is experiencing famine.

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A team of researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas found a type of freshwater snail that can fully regrow its eyes after injury or amputation. According to findings published in the journal Nature Communications, the apple snail can fully regain its vision within months. Despite their small size, apple snails' “camera-like eyes” are genetically and structurally similar to human eyes. Researchers hope that this will give medical experts new insights into the human eye. The team at the Stowers Institute said until now, they’ve had “no way to identify solutions for treating conditions like retinal degeneration or physical injury to the eye… We now have a tractable system for investigating which genes are responsible for camera-type eye regeneration.”

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Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

Nascar driver Connor Zilisch fell head over heels (literally) after winning a race on the weekend.

The 19-year-old fell off his car after he stood with one leg on the roof and one on the window panel to celebrate his win.

In a post to X, he said he had broken his collarbone, but was “thankful for all the medics for quick attention and grateful it wasn’t any worse.”

Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced Australia will recognise the state of Palestine at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in September.

It follows recent similar declarations by Canada, the UK, and France.

The decision also comes amid growing condemnation of Israel's plan to take over Gaza, announced last week. Today, we're breaking down what this recognition means.