Good morning. There are no signs of the violence in Gaza easing, as pressure is growing on the international governments, including Australia, to take stronger action against many of the world’s conflicts. Australia is also facing calls to take a tougher line on Myanmar, with demands for sanctions on coup leaders. And there is increasing pressure for Australia to open its borders to the world sooner rather than later.
Two hundred Palestinians, including 59 children, have been killed during a week of attacks in Gaza as Benjamin Netanyahu signalled Israel’s bombardment would rage on despite mounting global pressure to stop the bloodshed. The attacks have left Gaza’s hospitals strained, and the deaths of doctors have further hit medical services struggling with damaged facilities and medicine shortages. The violence has seen regional unity splinter over who is to blame and what should be done to stop the fighting. While some states with Muslim majorities have accused Israel of incitement at the al-Aqsa mosque and committing atrocities in Gaza, other countries that followed suit during previous flare-ups have this time been more restrained.
Australians returning from India on commercial flights will not undergo the same strict pre-flight testing as those on government repatriation flights. Guardian Australia has confirmed that those able to afford commercial flights – now selling for more than $10,000 one-way – are allowed to leave the country with just one of the two Covid tests that are required for the vulnerable Australians supported to return home. Several travellers on the first commercial flights out of the country have reported through Facebook groups that the rapid antigen test was not required to travel. Amid the questions over repatriation, the calls for Australia to reopen its borders are increasing. Virgin’s chief executive, Jayne Hrdlicka, said on Monday that borders should reopen sooner than the middle of next year even though “some people may die”. The Australian Industry Group’s chief executive, Innes Willox, supported the calls to reopen, saying the concern among businesses was that the longer the country was closed off the deeper the economic impacts would be.
Democracy campaigners defying the military junta in Myanmar have pleaded with Australia to sanction the generals who engineered February’s coup and the businesses that sustain the military regime. Nearly 400 civil society organisations inside Myanmar have written an open letter condemning Australia’s “shameful inaction” to the foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne.
Australia
Australia’s timeshare industry has been accused of predatory sales tactics and trapping people into unfair long-term contracts by the consumer group Choice in a wide-ranging complaint lodged with the corporate regulator.
The controversial judge Salvatore Vasta has been the subject of a fresh complaint alleging he was “rude and arrogant” in what was described by the complainant as a “disgraceful” performance. The complaint relates to a hearing where Vasta ordered a man to pay his ex-wife $100,000 for no apparent reason.
Australia’s pre-Covid traffic jams are back as commuters shun public transport and working from home becomes more accepted. Is it time for our transport networks to adjust to a new normal?
The world
Bill Gates left Microsoft’s board amid an investigation into a romantic relationship with a female employee that was deemed inappropriate. When he left the board last year, Gates said he was stepping down to focus on philanthropy and a spokesperson said Gates’s decision “was in no way related to this matter”.
India’s Gujarat state is bracing for Cyclone Tauktae, with 12 people already dead as the cyclone, billed as the worst in 20 years, brushes past the coastal states.
The US supreme court agreed on Monday to consider a major challenge to reproductive rights, saying it will take up Mississippi’s bid to enforce a ban on almost all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.
There are about 50 billion individual birds in the world, according to research that uses citizen science observations to try to estimate population numbers for almost 10,000 species.
Recommended reads
It’s easier than ever to resell high-end remorse buys and preloved items in Australia. But it takes a bit of effort to get reselling right, writes Sarah Ayoub, who put herself on a no-new-clothes shopping ban in January. “It was an attempt to curb my emotional spending; a self-imposed penance because getting what I wanted felt easy (how good is that Catholic guilt though?) and a move towards sustainability. I assumed it would be torture, but five months in and I seem to be thriving: high on my (evolving) ability to wait, haggle and be conscientious for the sake of both wallet and Earth,” she says. Ayoub speaks to the experts to offer a beginner’s guide to buying and selling secondhand fashion.
The last time the reserve bank increased interest rates was November 2010, and the budget estimates it won’t happen again for at least four more years. Given the increased size of mortgages, we are unlikely to ever again see interest rates as high as they were before the GFC, says Greg Jericho. “Despite some increase from the near-zero levels of last year, there are pretty much no signs of inflation being an issue in Australia. This is quite stunning really because it means the long run of time since the last rate rise looks set to continue.”
When the federal government announced plans to slash taxes on the production of craft beer and artisanal spirits, few could be blamed for wondering whether the change would bring down prices at the bottle shop. Those in the industry say the excise relief cap for beer and spirits will benefit the hundreds of boutique breweries and distilleries that dot the landscape, particularly in regional areas. But while it will allow them to employ people, buy more kit and enter the market, the industry says it will unlikely bring down prices.
Did you catch the launch of our Modern Outback series yesterday? Today we have the Wyaani writer Alexis Wright’s reflections on growing up in the outback and a story on the beef producer Australian Agricultural Company receiving $6.7m in jobkeeper subsidies even as its operating profit grew by almost four times during the pandemic.
Listen
Are microplastics bad for us? Tiny fragments of plastic have been found in many common foods, airborne dust from homes and even at the bottom of the ocean. But research into how microplastics could be affecting our health is scarce. Environment reporter Graham Readfearn breaks down why we know so little about these omnipresent particles and what we can do to minimise our exposure to them.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
NRL doesn’t need the visceral violence of high tackles to be wildly entertaining, writes Matt Cleary. “Players will adapt to tackling lower than the head. Otherwise they will cop penalties – and here’s the kicker – even if they think it’s not their fault. Because it will be their fault. Hit the head, your fault. Don’t go high, don’t get penalised.”
In the A-League, just four rounds are remaining in the regular season and the campaigns of nine of the 12 clubs are teetering on the high-wire straddling delight and despair.
Media roundup
The Courier-Mail reports that Queensland is ranked second last in the country in vaccine utilisation, with one in three doses unused. A class action has been filed on behalf of 3,500 homeowners in the new south-western Sydney suburb Spring Farm, as their houses crack up due to sinking land, says the Daily Telegraph. Meanwhile, Melbourne is dealing with a syphilis outbreak, according to the ABC, with scientists using genomic sequencing technology, like that used to tackle Covid clusters, to track the worsening outbreaks.
Coming up
The royal commission into Crown continues in Victoria. A parliamentary inquiry into NDIS independent assessments will hear from participants, carers and family members and service providers amid widespread disquiet about the new requirement.
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