Good morning. Novak Djokovic’s visa cancellation saga continues despite his return to centre court ahead of the Australian Open next week. But he’s not the only tennis star in doubt for the grand slam – Nick Kyrgios has tested positive for Covid. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine persist, but security talks between the Kremlin and the US are under way this week.
Novak Djokovic has thanked Judge Anthony Kelly for overturning his visa cancellation, but still faces potential deportations from Australia’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke. Hawke confirmed that he is considering the use of discretionary powers to deport Djokovic, which comes with a hefty three-year ban from re-entering Australia. His decision is expected this week. Meanwhile Djokovic’s family have criticised the Australian government and his mother said he was “subjected to torture and harassment” while in detention. But the family abruptly ended a press conference when questioned about why Djokovic, who is not vaccinated, was photographed in public last month without a mask after testing positive for Covid.
The federal government was warned in November that widespread rapid antigen testing was needed to protect vulnerable people in aged care. There are currently Covid outbreaks in almost 500 aged care homes nationally, with 1,400 residents and 2,000 staff infected. Paul Sadler, chief executive of the peak body Aged & Community Services Australia, said that he believed the numbers were under-reported, and that providers were “running real risks” without the assistance of a testing regime. He said if they had rapid antigen tests available it would “make a significant impact in reducing the spread within the aged care homes and keeping people safe.”
US and Russian diplomats have recently emerged from a day of negotiations in Geneva over the fate of Ukraine, describing the talks as “useful” and “very professional”, but stressing they had not made progress towards resolving fundamental disagreements. The two sides largely spent the day’s talks presenting their points of view on the situation in Ukraine, currently hemmed in by 100,000 Russian troops, and on European security in general, and deferred further debate to a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday between Russia and all Nato members.
Australia
Leading Australian academics have criticised the federal government for the “political and shortsighted” decision to reject the Australian Research Council’s recommendations to fund six projects. An open letter and petition are calling on acting education minister, Stuart Robert, to reverse the decision.
Labor has preselected Catherine Renshaw, a human rights lawyer, to run against Liberal moderate Trent Zimmerman in North Sydney. The seat is currently held by Zimmerman by a margin of 9.3%, making it one of the Liberals’ safest.
Australia food producers are pleading for more government help to cope with Covid disruptions as farm workers are hit by the virus. But rule changes this week will offer some relief with asymptomatic and Covid-negative staff cleared to return to work in Victoria.
The world
The EU’s police agency, Europol, will be forced to delete a vast store of personal data that it has been found to have amassed unlawfully by the bloc’s data protection watchdog.
One of Boris Johnson’s top officials invited staff to “socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden” during May of the first lockdown, a leaked email shows.
The last seven years were the world’s hottest on record, with the first analysis of global temperature in 2021 showing it was 1.2C above pre-industrial levels.
Fears are growing among experts about the rise of rightwing extremism in the US military and the potential threat it could pose to American democracy.
Recommended reads
Our brains really like order, but often our pantries and fridges are a chaos of old herbs and expired condiments. Decluttering can reduce stress, and it need only be done one shelf at a time. “Just do one shelf in the fridge, then throw things out, clean it, put things back,” says Libby Sander, assistant professor of organisational behaviour at Bond Business School. “And then once you have done the whole fridge, or the whole pantry, then you can say, OK, well, maybe I’ll reorganise what shelf everything goes on now that I’ve got more room.”
“The Drones’ worst show ever was in York in England on 24 April 2007,” says founding member Gareth Liddiard. “All our equipment broke down. The gig ended with just me, playing through my amp which had somehow survived. I wrapped it up, went off and we went out the back to where the van was, and every window in the van had been smashed. Everything had been stolen. So we were like, for fuck’s sake! How much worse can it get?!”
Hate doing the laundry? A few changes in what you wear, when you wear it and what you do once you’ve worn something can help reduce your time spent toiling over dirty clothes. “Thinking in terms of prevention is a good strategy,” says Kate Fletcher, professor at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion. She advises always wearing an apron while cooking; tucking trouser legs into socks to keep hems free from mud when you’re out walking; and wearing a singlet or undershirt beneath shirts and blouses so you only need to wash the bottom layer, not the outer garment.
Listen
One of our favourite stories of 2021 looks at the career of Australian wheelchair racer Madison de Rozario, which started when she competed at the Beijing Paralympics at the age of 14. Now, the 27-year-old has cemented her place in the history books – breaking multiple records and winning three medals, including two gold, at the Tokyo Paralympics. De Rozario speaks to reporter Kieran Pender about her sometimes bumpy rise to wheelchair-racing fame and the power of the Paralympics as a vehicle for change.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Nick Kyrgios is in huge doubt for the Australian Open after contracting Covid-19 just a week out from the grand slam. The 26-year-old withdrew from the Melbourne Summer Set last week due to a mystery illness that sparked his asthma. Kyrgios was cleared of Covid-19 at the time, but on Monday confirmed he had contracted the virus.
Media roundup
Indigenous leaders in the Northern Territory are calling for more support as Covid cases rises in remote communities with low vaccination rates in Central Australia, reports the NT News. Firefighters in South Australia could be at risk as sophisticated data systems have been scrapped in favour of spreadsheets, says the Advertiser.
Coming up
Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its monthly and quarterly estimates of retail turnover for November 2021.
And if you’ve read this far …
Elon Musk’s satellite internet company, Starlink, has ambitious plans to bring internet access to people anywhere in the world. But it turns out the venture is providing another service: warming up cats. The Starlink antenna has proven a hit with cats who appear to enjoy its snow-melting feature, slowing down movie screening and affecting internet speed.
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