1. Academy 'condemns' Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at Oscars ceremony and launches formal review
The slap that has got the world talking has also piqued the interest of the Los Angeles Police Department and organisers of the Oscars ceremony. “Was it a bit?” thought everybody, after watching the footage of Will Smith slapping veteran comedian Chris Rock centre stage at the Oscars yesterday. Smith strode on stage during the televised ceremony and struck Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke about the appearance of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock has allegedly not filed a police report, preventing the LAPD from taking further action. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said it "condemns the actions of Mr Smith at last night's show".

"We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law," the academy added.

2. Major flood warnings for town in northern NSW
For the second time in a month, areas of northern NSW are set for another major flooding event. Residents of south Lismore along the Wilson River, as well as low lying parts of Kyogle, were ordered to evacuate last night. This morning, further evacuation orders from the NSW state emergency service were put in place for residents of Tumbulgum and surrounds, low lying parts of Billinudgel, and low lying parts of Mullumbimby.

It is a result of the bureau of meteorology’s major flood warnings in place for seven rivers in the region, including Wilson River at Lismore, Tweed River at Tumbulgum, and Bellinger River at Bellingen.

3. Australian Federal Budget set for vote-targeted cash splash
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will release his fourth and possibly final budget at 7:30pm on Tuesday. “The federal government’s $17.9 billion infrastructure splurge is tilted towards Coalition-held seats and marginal electorates Scott Morrison must hold at the May election, with almost 40 per cent of NSW’s funding allocated to one must-win electorate,” the AFR reports. The pork barrelling has extended to marginal electorates, with voters in the must-win seats of Boothby in SA and Dobell in NSW offered billions in road and rail upgrades.

4. Roman Abramovich suffers suspected poisoning during Ukraine talks
Russian billionaire and former owner of Chelsea Football Club allegedly suffered suspected poisoning after meetings in Kyiv at the beginning of the month as part of talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the situation. According to The Wall Street Journal, he and Ukrainians at the talks experienced peeling skin, red eyes, loss of eyesight and headaches, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information wasn’t public.

5. ASX trends upwards, Tesla up 8% following stock split news
Shares of Tesla jumped after the electric carmaker announced it will seek approval for its second stock split in less than two years. The move would “increase its number of authorised shares so that it can split the stock in the form of a dividend,” says the AFR.

ASX futures were up 38 points or 0.5 % to 7415 near 7am AEDT, with the AUD -0.3% to 74.93 US cents. On Wall St: Dow +0.3% S&P 500 +0.7% Nasdaq +1.3%. Brent crude -7.4% to $US111.69 a barrel. 2-year yield: US +0.06% (2.33%) Australia +0.21% (1.76%). 10-year yield: US -0.02% (2.45%) Australia 0.13% (2.90%).