Morning mail: Indigenous singer Dr G Yunupingu dies Wednesday: Beloved world music celebrity mourned after death at 46. Plus, the national scandal developing over toxic firefighting foam The music world is mourning the death of renowned Indigenous Australian artist Dr G Yunupingu. Photograph: Penny Tweedie/Getty Images Eleanor Ainge Roy @EleanorAingeRoy Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 26 July. Top stories The beloved Indigenous singer Dr G Yunupingu has died in Darwin at the age of 46. The blind singer and guitarist whose soulful music blended western musical styles and Australian Indigenous culture made him a world music celebrity, even though he sang almost exclusively in the Indigenous languages of Gumatj, Galpu and Djambarrpuynu. He performed at concert halls around the world, sang for the Queen and Barack Obama, and was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as "Australia's most important voice". His bestselling albums achieved triple platinum status. Yunupingu was born blind, in Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island, off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, and was a member of the Gumatj clan of the Yolngu people. The first of four sons born to Ganyinurra (Daisy) and Nyambi (Terry) Yunupingu, he became fascinated by music as a child and first learned to make music when his mother and aunts arranged empty tin cans on the beach for him to hit with sticks. Quincy Jones said Yunupingu was: "one of the most unusual and emotional and musical voices that I've heard". A national scandal is developing over the use of toxic chemicals in firefighting foam, with two class actions already filed against the federal government by people living near military bases, Christopher Knaus reports. The medical risks have been emerging for almost 20 years, but residents fear delays caused by bureaucratic failures and government buck-passing have damaged their health, ruined livelihoods and left them in properties that cannot be sold. "It's just the not knowing of having to endure a chemical every day of your life and hope like hell it doesn't have any long-term health impacts on me or my family," says one. Guardian Australia has identified at least 94 sites around the country where the use of the chemicals has been or will be investigated. The resources minister, Matt Canavan, quit cabinet on Tuesday night because he is a dual citizen of Italy but will remain in the Senate pending a decision by the high court on his eligibility. Canavan told reporters his mother had applied for Italian citizenship on his behalf without his knowledge when he was 25, in January 2007. The attorney general, George Brandis, said in Canavan's case, the legal advice the government had received suggested there was no breach of s44 of the constitution. Cardinal George Pell is expected to appear in person at Melbourne magistrates court today in an administrative hearing that will be closely watched in Australia and around the world. The hearing will set the next dates in the court process and may last less than five minutes but the entire trial is expected to be lengthy. As Pell was charged on summons, he could have asked to be excused from appearing in person and have his lawyer represent him. But he has decided to make the trip to Melbourne from Sydney, where he will be based during the legal process. The cardinal has strenuously denied all allegations and has vowed to clear his name. Sperm counts among western men have halved in the last 40 years, a new study has found. The latest findings reveal that between 1973 and 2011, the concentration of sperm has fallen by an average of 1.4% a year, leading to an overall drop of just over 52% – but the reasons for the decline are still unclear. "The results are quite shocking," said Hagai Levine, an epidemiologist and co-author of the study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "This is a classic under the radar huge public health problem that is really neglected." More research was needed into what factors were influencing the decline, but some possibilities include links to body weight, a lack of physical activity, smoking, and exposure of pregnant women to chemicals found in myriad household products, known as endocrine disruptors. Sport Australian cricket's long-running pay dispute continues to drag on but there are glimmers of hope a resolution may be near with a Cricket Australia spokesperson telling Guardian Australia an agreement with the Australian Cricketers' Association is "closer than it appears". It might seem inherently sensible for the AFL to try and expand its reach and revenue in a crowded market but implementing the idea of AFLX – a new format of the game – but flooding it with an inferior product could do more harm than good, writes Craig Little. Thinking time Britain's Prince Harry and the late Diana, Princess of Wales in an undated photo released by Kensington Palace on July 24, 2017. Photograph: Reuters On the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana her sons have appeared in a documentary to mark the occasion, revealing their regret that their last phone call with their mother was brief and hurried. It a common regret shared by people who have lost someone dear to them, that the last exchange is often mundane, prosaic or snippy. Here, four Guardian writers reveal the last words they shared with loved ones who died suddenly. The Melbourne festival director Jonathan Holloway can claim some credit for the wildly acclaimed Taylor Mac piece A 24-Decade History of Popular Music. Mac has only played the 24-hour piece once in its unbroken entirety, but will bring a four-night version to headline an ambitious Melbourne festival program for Holloway, who was one of the piece's original commissioners. Joining Mac's Pulitzer-prize nominated marathon is the equally elaborate Tree of Codes, which will require "nearly all of the lights there are in Australia". Holloway says he knows at some point he will have to scale back on headliners, but 2017 is evidently not that point. Bill Shorten's peculiar plan for pesky voters means less participation, not more, writes Jeff Sparrow. At a time when voters are already disengaged from a parliamentary system in which they're treated as, at best, an annoyance and, at worst, a problem, Shorten's push for fixed four year terms seems like a strange political priority Surely we want more political participation, not less? What's he done now? Trump's rambling and highly politicised speech to a room of boy scouts is being widely criticised, with the "highlights" – for want of a better term – here. They include: "And by the way, under the Trump administration, you'll be saying 'Merry Christmas' again when you go shopping. Believe me. 'Merry Christmas.'" "By the way, what do you think the chances are that this incredible, massive crowd, record-setting is going to be shown on television tonight? 1% or zero?" "By the way, just a question, did President Obama ever come to a jamboree?" Trump has also applauded his son-in-law Jared Kushner for proving he did not not collude with the Russians – and says his son is next. "Jared Kushner did very well yesterday in proving he did not collude with the Russians. Witch Hunt," he tweeted. "Next up, 11 year old Barron Trump!" Media roundup A raft of Australian newspapers lead with the resignation of Greens senator Matthew Canavan, even using the same language. "Mamma Mia Cabinet rocked by Italian fiasco" says the Australian's front page. "Mamma Mia! Here we go again" declares the Courier Mail. "Mamma Mia" at the Daily Telegraph too. In other news, the NT News devotes its front page to the current heatwave, saying the territory is sweltering through its hottest mid-year month in history. The ABC has an intriguing Lateline interview with David Gillespie, author of Taming Toxic People: The Science of Identifying and Dealing With Psychopaths At Work and At Home. And the Sydney Morning Herald has a jubilant front-page, revealing the Sirius building on the fringe of The Rocks will remain standing for some time yet, after the government's plans to demolish the building were defeated in court on Tuesday. Coming up Cardinal George Pell is due to make his first appearance at Melbourne magistrates court, facing charges of multiple historical sexual offences. The British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, is in Sydney, where he will meet the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop. Guardian News & Media Limited - a member of Guardian Media Group PLC. Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396