Morning,

We've continued to hear tragedies coming out of Ukraine this week. But amongst reports of war crimes and talk of sanctions, it's easy to lose focus of the individual, human cost of the invasion.

My colleague and News Editor Gemma Bath has shared three stories that illustrate the true horror of what's happening in the country right now and the names we can not forget.

As the war continues, here are the top five news stories you need to know this morning, including the rising civilian death toll.

1. PM heckled at a NSW pub, as Michael Towke shares damning text message.

With an election to be called within days, Scott Morrison's luck on the campaign trail continues to be down.

During a pre-election visit to a tavern in the NSW Hunter region on Wednesday night, Scott Morrison was accosted by a pensioner in front of a huge pack of media.

"This is what you said when you got elected last time, 'we're going to help all those people that worked all their lives, paid their taxes...and those that have a go, will get a go. Well, I've had a go, mate, I've worked all my life and paid my taxes,'" he told the PM.

Scott Morrison has squeezed in a last-minute visit to a tavern at Lake Macquarie in New South Wales.

But it seems he didn't pass the pub test for one man. #9News pic.twitter.com/q9LVlnbz1O
— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) April 6, 2022

Another video from the pub shows a woman appearing to line up to take a selfie with Morrison before she tells him, “Congratulations on being the worst prime minister we’ve ever had.”

Meanwhile, Michael Towke, who Prime Minister Scott Morrison has denied racially profiling during a preselection battle in 2007, has given his first major interview since the story resurfaced.

Speaking on The Project last night, Towke said Morrison was at the heart of a smear campaign against him, and members of the Liberal Party pressured him to withdraw from the pre-selection, threatening to "ruin him" and his employability if he didn't.

"At the time (Morrison) was desperate and it suited him to play the race card," he said.

"I don't like saying he is a racist, I don't know him well enough. But he has certainly used racism, Islamophobia, bigotry, with refugees ... with migration policies, and he's been dumped on by his own side."

Towke shared a current cabinet minister recently sent him a text message of support.

"I've got text messages from a cabinet minister telling me 'I believe you and do what you need to do, just be careful'," he said.

PART 1/3: In an exclusive interview with Waleed Aly, former Liberal Michael Towke speaks for the first time since he accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of racism in a pre-selection battle 15 years ago.#TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/inZjsPgCaE
— The Project (@theprojecttv) April 6, 2022

Towke, who has rejected the idea of entering politics again, also claims he did not know the preselection story would be aired in parliament by outgoing Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells on budget night.

2. UK dad killed in Blue Mountains landslide identified.

A British father who died alongside his nine-year-old son in a landslide in the NSW Blue Mountains has been identified as lawyer Mehraab Nazir.

Nazir, 49, was walking at Wentworth Pass near Wentworth Falls with his wife, 50, his 15-year-old daughter and two sons aged nine and 14 when a landslide struck on Monday.

Nazir and his son's body were recovered on Tuesday.

Mehraab Nazir was bushwalking with his family in the Blue Mountains when the path suddenly gave way. #7NEWS https://t.co/WybvpXfz5h
— 7NEWS Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) April 6, 2022

The 49-year-old was a partner at law firm Watson Farley & Williams and was based in its Singapore office.

"It is with the greatest sadness that we must confirm that our dear friend and colleague Mehraab Nazir, a partner in our Singapore office, tragically lost his life in a landslide in Australia earlier this week alongside his young son," the company said in a statement.

Nazir's wife remains in a critical condition in an intensive care unit in a Sydney hospital, while their 14-year-old son has undergone surgery and is in a stable condition.

Their 15-year-old daughter walked from the scene and remains under observation in hospital.

3. Over 5,000 civilians dead in Ukrainian city.

The mayor of the besieged Ukranian port city of Mariupol says more than 5,000 civilians, including 210 children, have lost their lives during Russia's invasion.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said Russian forces bombed hospitals, including one where 50 people burned to death.

The numbers were given yesterday as Ukraine collected evidence of Russian atrocities on the outskirts of Kyiv and braced for what could become a climactic battle for control of the country's industrial east.

#Ukraine Almost 50 people were burned alive in the Mariupol hospital. The mayor Vadim Boychenko said that Russian troops destroyed more than 90% of the city's infrastructure. At least 5000 people have been killed during the first month of the occupation pic.twitter.com/j9mlVzvPA7
— Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) April 6, 2022

British defence officials said 160,000 people remained trapped in the city, which had a pre-war population of 430,000.

A humanitarian-relief convoy accompanied by the Red Cross has been trying without success to get into the city since Friday.

4. One in five young women 'feel less safe', report finds.

One in five young Australian women feel less safe alone at night than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey has found.

The Plan International Australia report, released today, found only five percent of women aged between 18 and 24 felt safer in places like streets, train stations and parks.

Conversely, almost 20 percent reported they felt less safe after dark in public environments, and for young women with a disability, more than one in four said they felt less safe.

"COVID-19 closed borders, it ground entire industries to a halt and caused restaurants and retailers to shut their doors, but it didn't stop street harassment," Plan International Australia chief executive Susanne Legena said.

"All of these findings prove that as we begin to emerge from the pandemic, the world is still off track when it comes to gender equality and the safety of women and girls."

One in five young women feel more unsafe in public since pandemic began https://t.co/YYllNYw5zY
— ABC News (@abcnews) April 6, 2022

The Plan International Australia survey of 500 women, conducted by YouGov, has been released during International Anti-Street Harassment Week.

5. Kitching's Senate replacement confirmed as Indigenous woman and former bureaucrat.

Jana Stewart, an Indigenous woman and former bureaucrat has been announced as the replacement for late Labor senator Kimberley Kitching.

Stewart, who ran against federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in his Melbourne seat of Kooyong in 2019, was confirmed as Kitching's replacement in a joint sitting of Victorian parliament last night.

The Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman is Labor’s first Victorian Aboriginal senator and previously worked as the deputy secretary of Victoria's Department of Justice.

She is filling a vacancy left by Kitching after she died from a suspected heart attack last month at the age of 52.

At 6:00pm tonight, I was sworn in by the Vic Parl as a Federal Senator, I was honoured to be joined by family, friends, & Labor colleagues. I can't wait to get to work fighting for a better future for all Australians. #auspol #springst pic.twitter.com/WFnMYUeKOl
— Jana Stewart (@Jana_Stewart_) April 6, 2022

That's it, you're all caught up. We'll bring you more of the top news stories throughout the day.

- With AAP.

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