WA to be hit with price hikes amid trade route closures

Good morning all and welcome to the last live blog for the week.

Making headlines today, thousands of people – from recent West Australian high school graduates, to mature-aged, interstate and international students – have applied to study at one of the state’s five universities in 2026.

Now, Tertiary Institutions Service Centre data has revealed which degrees were the most popular this year, with some receiving close to 2000 applications.

Read more about what those courses are, and why, here.

The cost of living has soared and so the financial imperative is a really important driver in choosing a university course, according to an expert.Cameron Myles/ Supplied

The tobacco war has reignited following a string of firebombings, shootings and a bashing that have taken place in the wake of a power vacuum left by the arrest of reigning kingpin Kazem “Kaz” Hamad.

There have been more than a dozen arson attacks and two shootings related to the illicit tobacco markets in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia since Hamad was arrested in Iraq in mid-January.