Morning Mail: Ferguson, GP co-payment, asylum laws, Aria awards

Ferguson, Missouri: ‘What you’re seeing is anger. This is bigger than Michael Brown’.

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Ferguson

There were continued protests around the US yesterday over the killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in the Missouri suburb of Ferguson, with activists directing their rage into boycotting Black Friday tomorrow, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the American year.

The violence and rioting in Ferguson has let Moscow score points against Washington, with Russian releasing a statement which comes close to parodying US missives on Russia’s internal problems, and other authoritarian regimes around the world have reacted with thinly disguised glee.

Michael Brown’s mother, in an emotional TV appearance this morning, said Wilson “wanted to kill”, a day after Wilson’s first TV interview in which he said his “conscience was clear” after the shooting.

We have live coverage as protests continue today.

Australian news and politics

Some asylum seekers could get a chance at a permanent visa if Morrison makes a deal with Labor and crossbench senators. Photograph: customs.gov.au

• Scott Morrison may be forced to give 31,000 asylum seekers a chance of resettlement in Australia or else abandon sweeping new asylum laws.

• The federal government has reportedly abandoned the $7 co-payment for GP visits, in an attempt to remove policy “barnacles”.

• Queensland police may get instant access to mental health records under a plan to address a recent spike in police shootings.

• Bill Shorten has described Tony Abbott as a backward-looking failure adrift on the world stage.

• Phil Hughes is still in a critical condition after being hit by a cricket ball.

• More than 1,100 alleged abusers and enablers of abuse are still serving in the Australian defence force, and a “significant cluster of very serious allegations” have not been thoroughly investigated.

• More than 1,100 people are jailed each year in Western Australia over unpaid fines; the number of Indigenous women in jail has soared as a result of the fine default policy.

• Sia and Chet Faker were among the big winners at last night’s Aria awards.

Around the world

Japan’s Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission, Joji Morishita. Photograph: Issei Kato/Reuters

• Japan has likened Australia’s anti-whaling campaign to an attempt to restrict the rights of Japanese women to wear the kimono.

• Two Hong Kong student leaders are among scores of pro-democracy protesters who have been arrested as police officers cleared a major protest zone in Mong Kok.

• A Spanish judge has ruled that the euthanasia of Excalibur, the dog who belonged to a nursing assistant who contracted Ebola last month, was lawful.

More from around the web

Denis Napthine during the Ballarat Cup Day. Photograph: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images

• Among the most read on the Guardian this morning: Gay Alcorn writes that a loss in the Victorian election would be humiliating for Denis Napthine, and a slap in the face for Tony Abbott.

• The biological family of a teenage girl who killed herself while in foster care is demanding answers from authorities after learning about her death on Facebook, the ABC reports.

• The confidential plan to rescue the $8.5bn project to construct Air Warfare Destroyers has been sabotaged by infighting, the Australian reports.

• Tasmania is expecting major disruption due to one of the biggest public service strikes in 20 years, the Mercury reports.

One last thing

The new Guardian website is designed to work across all devices. Photograph: Guardian

Guardian Australia has a new website this morning on desktop – here’s everything you need to know about the changes.

Have an excellent day – and if you spot something I’ve missed, let me know in the comments here or on Twitter @newsmary.

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