Morning mail: Sydney terrorism raids reveal new police tactics Monday: Police are prepared to move in more quickly than ever in terrorism investigations. Plus: what did the Queen know about the dismissal? Police investigate a property following the counter-terrorism raids. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock Eleanor Ainge Roy @EleanorAingeRoy Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 31 July. Top stories The counter-terrorism raids in Sydney over the alleged plot to bomb a plane show police are increasingly prepared to pounce in earlier stages of planned attacks, security experts say. Both the Australian federal police commissioner and New South Wales police commissioner said authorities would have watched and waited for much longer – possibly for another week – were it not a terrorism-related investigation. Peter Leahy, the director of the University of Canberra's National Security Institute, said earlier interventions not only reduced the risk of a threat being carried out, but also gave the best chance for deradicalisation. The head of the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre John Blaxland said the raids demonstrated that counter-terrorism and intelligence structures were working well, and questioned why the government needed to introduce fundamental change by creating a home affairs department. "There's a recognition that there's a greater tolerance in the community for a proactive approach by the police on these types of issues," Blaxland said. "No one wants to wait until after the fact to collect the evidence ... that's just not going to cut it these days." Passengers travelling through Australian airports on Monday were warned to allow extra time and limit their baggage where possible, as additional security checks were imposed. How much did Queen Elizabeth know about the 1975 dismissal of Gough Whitlam? Dozens of secret letters between Buckingham Palace and then governor general Sir John Kerr in the months before Whitlam's exit could hold the key, according to historian Jenny Hocking, whose bid to have the letters released by the National Archives of Australia is scheduled to be heard in the federal court today. The archive has refusing to release the letters because they have been deemed "personal" communications rather than official commonwealth records, an argument Hocking has described as "perverse". The Sunday Times newspaper in the UK has been inundated with complaints after publishing an antisemitic column. An opinion piece that ran in the Irish edition of the paper by Kevin Myers, who has previously described himself as a holocaust denier, suggested BBC presenters Claudia Winkleman and Vanessa Feltz were better paid because they are Jewish. The Campaign Against Antisemitism said it would report the paper to the Independent Press Standards Organisation and Lionel Barber, the editor of the Financial Times, described the piece as "undiluted antisemitism and misogyny". The editor of the Sunday Times, Martin Ivens, said Myers' column was "unacceptable and should not have been published", and said he would not write again for the Sunday Times Ireland. The New South Wales Labor conference has urged the next federal Labor government to recognise Palestine in a development likely to flow through to the party's national conference next July. The motion carried by delegates in Sydney on Sunday night also affirmed the two-state solution, and recognised Israel and Palestine's right to exist "within secure and recognised borders". The former foreign affairs minister, Bob Carr, who has been spearheading the internal effort to push Labor towards diplomatic recognition of Palestine, told the conference Gough Whitlam would have backed the motion if he was still alive. A fence-building spree to keep out wild dogs has created a booming birth rate for lambs in western Queensland. The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, linked a dramatic jump in the region's lamb production over the past two years to the government-funded construction of thousands of kilometres of fencing to protect sheep from attacks. The lambing rate – the number born per 100 "matings" – in the region has soared from less than 20% to 90%. Sport Daniel Ricciardo, left, collides with team-mate Max Verstappen at the Hungarian grand prix. Photograph: Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty Images Daniel Ricciardo crashed out of the Hungarian grand prix after a collision with his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, as Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel overcame steering problems to take the honours, with Kimi Raikkonen second and Valtteri Bottas third. Port Adelaide's remarkable effort in the dying seconds of their match against St Kilda on Saturday produced one of those moments that reminds fans why they love AFL football so much, writes Craig Little. In the NRL, Cameron Smith ensured the Melbourne Storm machine keeps rolling along. The Matildas take on Japan in the Tournament of Nations this morning (kick-off 7.15am AEST), hoping to build on Friday's historic win over the US. Follow the action in San Diego with Paul Connolly's live blog from 7am AEST. Thinking time At first glance, Australia appears to be experiencing a golden age of film festivals with a deluge held across the country each year. But it's easy to miss that many of these are run by one chain: Palace Cinemas, which is planning to double its number of screens in two years. So as more independent cinemas close, and more film festivals open, there's one clear winner, writes Anders Furze for The Citizen. Peter Thiel's CIA-backed data-mining firm Palantir honed its "crime predicting" techniques against insurgents in Iraq. The firm's defence systems include advanced biometrics and walls impenetrable to radio waves, phone signal or internet to protect data gathered from tracking everyone from potential terrorist suspects to corporate fraudsters (Bernie Madoff was imprisoned with the help of Palantir) and child traffickers. But with some US police forces adopting the ethically dubious technology, how will the public react? There have never been as many suggestions for how to stay youthful, writes Arwa Mahdawi, who delves into the latest studies to separate the questionable (teenage blood injections?) from the well-proven (get a dog). The mega-wealthy who dodge tax tend to live long lives, as do neurotics who consume a lot of coffee. And those who have passed the 100-year milestone throw their suspect wisdom into the mix – from drinking wine and whisky, to eating an egg every day. What's he done now? Donald Trump has again urged Republican senators not to give up on abolishing Obamacare, after the Senate rejected the move to repeal it last week when three Republicans crossed the floor, including John McCain. "Don't give up Republican Senators, the World is watching: Repeal & Replace ... and go to 51 votes (nuke option), get Cross State Lines & more." Trump tweeted overnight. Media roundup Most Australian newspapers splash with the terrorism raids, with the exception of the NT News and the Adelaide Advertiser, who cover snakes drinking VB and Princess Di, respectively. Disguising a bomb as a kitchen mincer and smuggling it on to an international flight was part of the alleged terrorism plot by two father and son teams, says the Daily Telegraph, while the Australian reports the detained men were planning "a gas attack". The Age says the Labor party accepted $400,000 of potentially illegal donations from the director of a tobacco company that is suspected of smuggling cigarettes. "I was one of the weapon suppliers in this [donations] arms race and responsible for fundraising … I'm telling you it needs to come to an end, and the time for that is now," Labor senator Sam Dastyari tells the ABC's Australian Story, in an episode to be screened on Monday night. Coming up Malcolm Turnbull is spending several days in Western Australia, where polling shows the Coalition's primary vote has slumped by as much as 10 percentage points since last year's election, potentially opening up four seats as realistic Labor targets. Findings are expected in the inquest of 18-year-old Numan Haider, who was shot dead outside a Victorian police station after stabbing two counter-terrorism officers in September 2014. Support the Guardian It might take a minute to catch up on the news, but good journalism takes time and money. If you already support Guardian Australia, your generosity is invaluable. If not, and you value what we do, please become a Supporter today. Thanks. 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