Good morning, this is Lauren Waldhuter bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 21 August.
Top stories
Donald Trump’s former top adviser Steve Bannon has pleaded not guilty in a US court after he was arrested and charged with fraud. Bannon and three others are accused of defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors to a fundraising drive for Trump’s controversial border wall with Mexico. Using a non-profit organisation that he controlled, Bannon allegedly “received over $1m from We Build the Wall, at least some of which Bannon used to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in [his] personal expenses”, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said. Three other men were also arrested in the alleged scheme to defraud the non-profit, which authorities said raised more than $25m. It is understood Bannon was arrested on an 150-foot yacht in Long Island sound.
State and federal leaders will try to settle growing frustrations over border restrictions when they meet for today’s national cabinet discussion. A plan to manage Covid-19 outbreaks in aged care facilities could also be signed off. Scott Morrison will meet state premiers to discuss an emergency response for facilities, which have been disproportionally affected by outbreaks. It comes as the St Basil’s centre in Melbourne faces a class action for its handling of the crisis. It has been linked to 193 infections and 31 residents there have died. The tourism industry and Australian citizens stranded overseas are pleading for changes to an international travel cap keeping out 18,000 Australians who want to come home. Plus, a health expert says letting non-symptomatic staff work at abattoirs while they await test results is a “necessary risk”. Here’s why it has become a controversial issue.
Europe is reporting 26,000 new cases every day. In the UK infections jumped by 27% in a week – the highest level since mid June. The infection rate is soaring in France, where 4,711 new cases were reported in 24 hours, but hospitalisations and deaths are stable and low. Belgian schools will reopen in September but masks will be compulsory for children over 12. Russia is pushing ahead with a mass trial of its vaccine on 40,000 people next week. The World Health Organization is talking to the country about the experimental Sputnik V vaccine to try to get more information about it. Airbnb is banning all parties and events at any of the places listed on its platform as it tries to enforce social distancing.
Australia
The ethical cosmetics company Lush is investigating claims of poor working conditions at its Sydney factory. Some staff claimed they suffered physical injuries and developed breathing difficulties. Others said reports of sexual harassment and bullying were effectively ignored.
Staff at Sydney University have been asked to suggest ways to slash 30% of full-time jobs in some faculties. It’s a move the union claims could result in Australia’s largest university cuts, possibly up to 3,000 jobs.
The Greens want a power-sharing agreement with Labor if there’s a hung parliament. The party leader, Adam Bandt, says Labor shouldn’t challenge them when they try to target inner-city seats from the Liberals.
Sydney bus drivers have called-off a planned 48-hour strike. The NSW government agreed to their demands for a review of mandatory mask use on public transport.
The world
Russia’s main opposition activist, Alexei Navalny, is in a coma and on a ventilator after a suspected poisoning. His press secretary said it was assumed a toxic substance had been “mixed into his tea” before boarding a flight to Moscow.
The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has been jailed for at least 55 years for his role in the 2017 attack. A UK judge said Hashem Abedi had played in an integral part in planning the bombing, which killed 22 people.
Greenland’s ice sheet lost a record 1m tonnes of ice a minute in 2019. Researchers say the scale of the loss was shocking and was likely to be the biggest in centuries or even millennia.
Recommended reads
Imagine being able to name the farmers who grew the vegetables on your plate. Finding a farm-direct produce box takes a bit of detective work but the rewards can be heady, writes Lee Tran Lam. The community-supported agriculture model lets customers buy directly from farmers. Think Fairytale eggplants, Turk’s turban pumpkin and an intergalactic cucumber. You won’t find those in your supermarket.
Researching women’s mental health throughout history has helped Katerina Bryant understand more about herself. By telling their stories in her upcoming novel, Bryant felt connected. “To have something quickly change in your body can be alienating,” she writes. “I am one of them, working and agitating towards understanding and care during treatment. Reading their stories, I see them and feel seen myself; I am their fear and resilience and hope.”
What is the role of dance music when all the dancefloors are closed? In March the indie-electro band Cut Copy played their “last gig for god knows how long”. Brodie Lancaster sat down with frontman Dan Whitford to find out what their world looks like now. “Our bread and butter over the years has often been these sweaty dancefloors and tightly packed festival crowds. And it’s hard to imagine what context that’s going to exist in in the future.”
Listen
Emma Sheppard Simms tells us how she overcame closed borders and mandatory quarantine to spend time with her dying father at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in north-west Tasmania.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Liverpool will begin their Premier League defence against newly promoted Leeds United. The 2020-21 fixtures for the upcoming season are revealing a hectic nine months ahead.
Joe Root has called on England to “give everything” in the final Test of summer against Pakistan. As their “bizarre” biosecure summer season draws to an end, Root rallies his players.
Media roundup
The health department is set to offer carers $5,000 payments to move to Melbourne to address staff shortages in Victoria, according to a report in the Age. The Sydney Morning Herald says there is emerging evidence that many people not exposed to Covid-19 have the immune cells to fight it. The minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, has told the ABC AFL fans should bring their own Aboriginal flag to games after a copyright issue has stopped the league displaying the flag.
Coming up
A Senate inquiry into Covid-19 will hear from the federal aged care minister, Richard Colbeck.
Officials from TikTok are set to front a separate inquiry looking at foreign interference through social media.
And if you’ve read this far …
Legend has it the British monarchy and the Tower of London will fall if its six resident ravens leave the fortress. If that’s true there may be cause for concern. The ravens are flying away, bored, as tourists steer clear of the London attraction. There would usually be 15,000 visitors to the Tower of London during summer but the pandemic has kept number below 800. A raven master told local media: “If the ravens were to leave, the tower would crumble to dust.” Watch this space.
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