Good morning, this is Emilie Gramenz bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 22 April.
Top stories
A Guardian Australia interactive shows how coronavirus moves through a population and how we can beat it. As the global effort to contain Covid-19 gathers pace, this new interactive by Nick Evershed and Andy Ball maps how subtle changes in social behaviour or the level of contagiousness of the virus can affect the battle to stop its spread. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say at least 2.5 million people worldwide have now been infected. More than 170,000 people have died. Human trials of a possible vaccine are to begin this week in the UK.
Australia now has 6,645 confirmed cases, with 72 deaths and 4,291 people recovered. The former Liberal party leader John Hewson argues that coronavirus is a “dress rehearsal” for what awaits if governments continue to ignore science. The Virgin Australia chief Paul Scurrah’s revival plan for the stricken airline faces intense turbulence. The industry is warning that cheap air travel will be over if airlines are forced to introduce physical distancing measures on planes. Health authorities will begin to ease restrictions on elective surgery from next week.
The devastating summer bushfire season is likely to have released more carbon dioxide than Australia does in a year. A government estimate puts the figure at 830m tonnes of carbon dioxide – far more than the country’s annual greenhouse gas pollution. Compared with international emissions, it suggests fires between September and February would rank sixth on a list of polluting nations, behind only China, the US, India, Russia and Japan.
Australia
Prominent Australian researchers and public figures have identified 10 threats to humanity’s survival in a new report. The report calls for governments to use the urgency of the Covid-19 response to address potentially catastrophic threats, including climate change, pandemic disease, environmental decline and overpopulation.
Malcolm Turnbull is in no mood to retreat from public life as he charts his post-politics path. In an interview with Guardian Australia, the former PM says he’s committed to effective action on climate change and republicanism.
A Brisbane man has pleaded guilty to a 23-day attack on a woman in 2017. The court heard the 22-year-old was left so severely injured by the ordeal that paramedics thought she was dead.
The world
China is giving away billions of yuan in shopping vouchers to coax shellshocked consumers to start spending again. Shopping centres and restaurants are open again but customers are proving reluctant to return after the strict lockdown.
The number of people sleeping rough at Heathrow has doubled since the lockdown began in London. Dozens of homeless people are sleeping at the airport after being denied emergency accommodation.
Spanish police have arrested a former Isis extremist from Britain. Abdel Majed Abdel Bary, from Maida Vale, was one of the most wanted militants in Europe.
Hilary Mantel, Bernardine Evaristo and Maggie O’Farrell lead a six-strong shortlist for the Women’s prize for fiction after a long and emotional Zoom meeting. The judges had to debate their picks from the longlist online.
Recommended reads
Will the cruise industry be the same after the coronavirus crisis? Ben Smee takes a look at a troubled sector. Several cruise ships have been linked to Covid-19 outbreaks – most significantly the Ruby Princess, with more than 700 passengers and 200 crew becoming ill. Twenty-one passengers have died and the ship’s docking in Sydney is now the subject of a criminal investigation. More than a million Australians took an ocean cruise in 2018 but now plans to welcome larger ships and more frequent visits to Australia are in limbo.
Anzac Day won’t be recognised in the same way this year – but the beloved Anzac biscuit remains as accessible as ever. Anthony Huckstep shares the history of the biscuit, perhaps the one icon Australians and New Zealanders don’t argue over (unlike competing claims to pavlova, lamingtons and Phar Lap). Read how the biscuit recipe evolved in both countries at the same time, then go to see if there’s any golden syrup in the back of the pantry.
Today’s streaming recommendation from the archives is the gripping sci-fi series Orphan Black. The Canadian show premiered in 2013 and follows Sarah Manning, a grifter who discovers she is one of hundreds of clones living around the world, many of them being hunted or monitored by people close to them. Tatiana Maslany puts in an acclaimed performance, playing five characters at once. The show explores identity, agency and the ethics of modern science – perfect for the time we’re living through.
Listen
How will Australia’s coronavirus tracing app work? How will it track its users and will the data be secure? Josh Taylor examines what we know about the app so far for Full Story.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Public health experts in the UK are calling for an investigation into the decision to allow the Cheltenham racing festival to go ahead. They want to examine whether the event in early March lead to a rise in coronavirus cases.
Crystal Palace has launched a plan to claim the title of England’s “oldest football club”. A historian claims to be able to date the club back to 1861.
Media roundup
NSW Health is preparing to widen Covid-19 testing to all suburbs across the state for anyone with even the mildest symptoms, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian is reporting that the country’s largest aviation ground operation is poised to axe 80% of its workers and begin liquidating assets, affecting major air routes. The NT News looks at the territory’s move to fine anyone who spits at a worker and the West Australian reports on polling suggesting that support for reopening WA schools next week is growing.
And if you’ve read this far …
Amid galleries full of art, empty of visitors, one man sits alone at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart. “Tim” is hard to explain neatly. He is a man – a former tattoo parlour owner from Zurich – but he is also an artwork by the Belgian artist Wim Delvoye. He sits in galleries three times a year, including several seasons at Mona since 2011. His latest season began in November, and even though Mona has now been closed for more than a month, Tim continues to sit on his plinth in the museum from 10am each day. People at home can see the artwork on a livestream.
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