Good morning. The main company handling Australia’s immigration detention is playing a key role in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown – and attracting complaints over its treatment of ICE detainees in the US.
And as we continue our investigation into the use of private call centres by government agencies, it’s been revealed the department dealing with workplace standards is set to replace call centre staff with a third-party contractor.
Meanwhile, analysis has shown that the cost of tax breaks for Australia’s landlords vastly outstrips what is spent on social housing, homelessness and rent assistance combined.
Australia
‘Gobsmacked’ | A group of call centre staff kept on short-term contracts at the government department responsible for workplace standards will be replaced by a third-party contractor, it has been revealed.
‘Deeply concerning’ | The Australia’s government’s main immigration detention contractor – awarded contracts despite claims of “gross negligence” in the US – is playing a key role in Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Exclusive | Australia spends billions of dollars more on tax breaks for property investors than on social housing, homelessness and rent assistance combined, according to new research.
Nursing a skink | Eleven endangered Guthega skinks released into a gated community in Victoria’s Alpine national park could soon become 13, with a female known as Omeo due to give birth in March.
Diplomacy | The PM has defended the government’s invitation made to Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, in the wake of Bondi beach terror attack, as another federal MP joins calls to cancel the visit.
Top job | This week the MP for Flynn, Colin Boyce, announced a tilt at the Nationals leadership, claiming he was “furious” over the implosion of the Coalition. So does he have a chance?
World
US-Iran tensions | Iran’s foreign minister will travel to Turkey for urgent mediation talks aimed at preventing a US attack as Trump’s threats mount and Tehran weighs up painful compromises. Meanwhile the EU has formally designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation, while the country’s regime stands accused of a “campaign of revenge” as doctors are arrested for treating protesters.
Minnesota shootings | Trump’s border chief says “improvements” should be made to the federal government’s immigration enforcement – but not mentioned two fatal shootings; the man accused of spraying a substance at congresswoman Ilhan Omar is facing charges; and Minneapolis ICE observers keep showing up despite risk of arrest and violence, while strike action and hundreds of “ICE Out” protests are scheduled across the US.
Niger unrest | Heavy security has been deployed around the main airport in Niger’s capital, Niamey, after overnight gunfire and explosions, with sources reporting some aircraft have destroyed.
Crans-Montana blaze | Prosecutors investigating the deadly new year bar fire that killed 40 people in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana have opened a criminal investigation into two officials.
Energy demand soars | The US is leading a global surge in new gas-fired power generation that will cause emissions to leap, driven by the expansion of energy-hungry data centres to service AI tech.
Deepfake threat | Millions of people are creating and sharing deepfake nudes on the secure messaging app Telegram, analysis has shown, as the rise of advanced AI tools industrialises online abuse.
Full Story
Is Trump waging a war on his own people?
Recent scenes on the streets of Minneapolis have been confronting and terrifying to watch with federal agents shooting two US citizens at near point-blank range, as in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti – all while the White House paints the victims as perpetrators. David Smith speaks with Reged Ahmad about why many are asking if fascism has come to US streets.
In-depth
Police say a device allegedly lobbed into the middle of an Invasion Day rally in Perth had the potential to explode and injure or even kill “many people”. The incident is being investigated as a potential terrorist act. Already alarmed at a rise in white nationalism and racist sentiment, First Nations people say they have been left shocked at the “surreal” lack of an outpouring of anger or concern among the wider Australian population.
Not the news
Graeme Base admits he had no idea what he was doing when he published his wonderfully weird and fiendishly difficult picture books. They became global hits anyway. Both Animalia and The Eleventh Hour have been selected by Guardian readers as among the 50 best Australian picture books ever published – but, he tells Sian Cain, if you pitched either book now “you’d fail – miserably, I suspect”.
Sport
Tennis | Aryna Sabalenka has hit out at an umpire over a grunting penalty as she powered past Elina Svitolina and into the Australian Open final; Elena Rybakina survivsd a rally from Jessica Pegula to set up a Sabalenka rematch; heavy underdog Novak Djokovic has pledged to “fight until the last shot” in the semi-final against Jannik Sinner; and writer Tumaini Carayol asks: amid Coco Gauff’s racket rage fallout, are players right to feel like they’re on Big Brother?
Football | There’s been Champions League discontent for Real Madrid in a chaotic conclusion to group play; you can follow all today’s Europa League action here. A World Cup boycott would be a big statement but unlikely to accomplish much, Leander Schaerlaeckens writes. Plus: read David Squires on Sydney FC and football’s version of a stinking fatberg.
Golf | LIV and let die: Patrick Reed’s return to the PGA fold shows why the Saudi golf experiment is doomed, Ewan Murray writes.
Basketball | “I’m battling Father Time”: NBA star LeBron James was reflective and tearful in a possible Cleveland farewell.
Media roundup
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, 400 people a week in New Zealand are applying for Australian citizenship. Beloved Australian animated series Bluey has topped the US streaming charts for the second year running, ABC News reports. And billionaire publican Arthur Laundy is emerging as a likely buyer for Nine’s radio network, according to the AFR and the Herald Sun.
What’s happening today
Politics |National cabinet meets today in Sydney to discuss health, hospital funding and the NDIS, as well as the gun buyback scheme.
Sport | The Australian Open action continues in Melbourne.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
