Morning Mail: Cyclone Debbie, Essential poll results, Russian opposition leader jailed

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Guardian Australia's Morning Mail Tuesday 28 March 2017 g Cyclone Debbie to hit Queensland Good morning, and welcome to the Morning Mail. Among the stories leading our website this morning: Cyclone Debbie, predicted to be the most destructive storm in Australia for six years, is due to cross the Queensland coast near Ayr today. Debbie has been upgraded to a category four tropical cyclone, and is expected to bring wind gusts of up to 260km/h near its centre. Residents are being warned of a dangerous storm tide, which will continue to steadily rise as the cyclone approaches. The tide will bring damaging waves, strong currents and the flooding of low-lying areas. As the storm approached yesterday, 25,000 Mackay residents were urged to evacuate from surrounding low-lying areas. Queensland police said the region had been entirely locked down, and requests for help in the area could no longer be responded to: "People have to be inside. Our officers and emergency services have withdrawn. They cannot respond any more in that area." Keep reading for the rest of the top stories this morning, with more news from around Australia and the world.

Headlines Cyclone Debbie: category four storm due to hit Queensland coast – live Residents between Townsville and Mackay prepare for destructive winds and potential flooding Guardian Essential poll: voters back 18C changes and Snowy Hydro scheme Labor's election-winning lead continues as voters give their verdict on the proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act United Airlines: leggings ban 'not sexist' even though it affects women more United Airlines spokesman defends 'guidelines that apply to everyone' after two young girls wearing leggings were kept from boarding a plane in Denver Pauline Hanson backtracks on penalty rates cut and threatens Turnbull's tax package One Nation leader now opposes cuts to Sunday penalty rates, and will back tax cuts only for businesses with annual turnover of $50m or less Senior ministers at odds over readiness of new coal-fired power stations Matt Canavan says new station could be built within three years but Josh Frydenberg says any 'clean coal' initiative is 'a long way off' Australian news and politics Warrant issued for Clive Palmer's nephew over Queensland Nickel court no-show Judge orders police to arrest Clive Mensink and bring him before the court to answer questions about the firm's collapse Cyclone Debbie: 25,000 told to evacuate as Queensland storm forecast to be category four Australian PM calls in defence force to assist in emergency response and urges residents to follow advice from authorities Former Don Dale manager denies leading group of rogue guards Placing children in isolation cells sometimes a 'waste of time', James Sizeland tells royal commission Legal centres plead for funding reinstatement as Brandis denies it's been cut Community legal centres ask Coalition to reverse 30% funding cut from 1 July but attorney general calls claim 'misleading' Senate orders George Brandis to produce Bell Group documents – as it happened Coalition focuses on energy in lower house after Scott Morrison says ACCC will investigate electricity retailers to help put a lid on power prices. As it happened Woman wounded by axe-wielding man at Melbourne shopping centre Westfield Fountain Gate centre attack left woman with upper body injuries and unable to speak, employer says Around the world Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny jailed after protests Moscow court hands down 15-day prison sentence and a fine to Navalny, who was arrested at anti-government rally Canadian government aims to legalise marijuana by 1 July 2018 Liberal lawmakers plan to reveal legislation in April to decriminalise and regulate recreational marijuana, one of Justin Trudeau's campaign promises Jean-Luc Mélenchon, France's hard-left rebel, targets the disenchanted Presidential candidate without a party has overtaken Socialist Benoît Hamon in polls and vows to make second round of election Seven dead in worst attack on aid workers since South Sudan war began UN condemns 'heinous murder' of humanitarian staff from Unicef partner and calls on 'all those in a position of power' in South Sudan to end the violence Spanish court to investigate Syrian 'state terrorism' by Assad regime Judge rules that Spain has jurisdiction to prosecute in case of truck driver who was allegedly tortured and murdered in Damascus

One last thing   Desperately wanted: python hunters to tackle Florida's unwelcome intruderSince Burmese pythons found their way into the wild in the 80s, they have decimated native wildlife. Now 150,000 could be lurking in the state's waterways Have an excellent day and if you spot something I've missed, let me know on Twitter at @earleyedition.

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