The public servants paid more than PM; Kean’s climate broadside; and Heeney’s comeback wish

Rugby union | The former Wallaby Nathan Charles, who became the first cystic fibrosis sufferer in the world to play a contact sport professionally, has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease aged 37.

Pay day | Nearly a dozen federal public servants were paid more than $1m last year, with one receiving a $1.5m package worth more than double Anthony Albanese’s base salary, according to figures released after a Senate question.

Kean observation | Matt Kean, the chair of the Climate Change Authority, has challenged the NSW government’s approval of the largest coal mining development in the state’s history, arguing “climate change isn’t someone else’s problem”.

Infection clue | Australian scientists have identified two contributors to recurrent bacterial vaginosis infections, a common sexual health condition that affects about one in four women globally.

AI opt-out | Anthropic has urged the Albanese government to consider giving “conditional approval” for AI companies to train its models on Australian copyrighted works under an opt-out model, after conceding it would not secure a blanket copyright exemption.

‘Can’t wait’ | Isaac Heeney says he “can’t wait” to continue his AFL career at the Sydney Swans after the midfielder was crowned the club’s best and fairest player. His comments come after serving a club-imposed suspension for breaching club standards in an incident still being investigated by police.

France flashpoint | A fast-growing protest by high-school students over long hours, teacher shortages and decaying facilities has escalated into “urban violence”, the French government has warned, as it said many schools would switch to online classes to protect teachers and pupils.

‘Fake’ polling | Donald Trump deflected responsibility for misleading Americans about the length of the Iran war, dismissed low poll ratings as “fake numbers” and refused to rule out the possibility of declaring a state of emergency before the midterms, in an interview with Time magazine. The White House has again removed CNN as the primary television pool representative covering Trump.

Pilot ‘indoctrinated’ | The Omani co-pilot who stabbed his captain in an alleged attempt to crash an Israel-bound flight from Dubai had previously undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was suicidal, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has claimed.

Bond sell-off | The global bond sell-off intensified overnight, driving 10-year US government borrowing costs to their highest level in 24 years in frantic trading, underlining the threat to Australia suggested by RBA governor Michele Bullock yesterday.

Execution line | Tennessee’s governor has suspended all executions in the state until at least the end of the year and ordered an independent inquiry after a botched attempt to put a condemned inmate to death on Wednesday night.