Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 11 July.
Top stories
“Hooyah, Hooyah, Hooyah.” There is jubilation in Thailand as the final four boys and their football coach were rescued from the Tham Luang cave overnight. “Today Thai people, team Thailand, achieved mission impossible,” said Narongsak Osatanakorn, head of the operation. The remaining four boys were taken to hospital in Chiang Rai, where they will join their team-mates who are being kept in isolation as they return to a normal diet and regain their strength.
Namhom Boonpiam, whose son Mongkol was among the boys released earlier in the week, told the Guardian she was “happy but sleepy”. Like the eight rescued in the past two days, the boys and the coach freed on Tuesday will undergo detailed testing of their eyes, nutrition levels and mental health, with blood samples to be sent to Bangkok to test for any infectious diseases. Health officials said that some of the first boys freed had elevated white-blood cell levels, indicating infections, and two showed signs of pneumonia but were responding well to treatment. But overall the boys were said to be cheerful, hungry and in robust mental health.
Theresa May has insisted she can achieve a “smooth and orderly Brexit”, on a day when two Conservative party vice-chairs resigned in protest at her negotiating plan. The UK PM sought to reassert her authority over her party as she appeared in a press conference with Angela Merkel, who gave May a modest endorsement. Boris Johnson and David Davis quit the government within the space of 24 hours, followed by the little-known Tory vice-chairs Ben Bradley and Maria Caulfield on Tuesday. Donald Trump said he expected to see a country in “turmoil” when he lands in the UK for a two-day visit – a trip he said would make his summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki seem “easy”.
Consumers could save hundreds of dollars a year on their power bills if legal changes boosted competition among electricity wholesalers and retailers, the competition watchdog has said. A report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission calls for new powers for the Australian Energy Regulator to target “market manipulation” and a reset of the national energy market to reduce “unnecessary costs”. The report also lends support to the Coalition’s proposed national energy guarantee in the lead-up to a crucial meeting in August between state and territory ministers to debate it.
Anthony Albanese has conceded that the Coalition’s policies “have stopped the boats” and rejected calls to put a time limit on offshore detention, in an appearance on Sky News on Tuesday evening. The Labor frontbencher suggested the party could amend refugee policy in several respects but ruled out allowing refugees who came by boat to settle in Australia. The interview – addressing one of the Labor right’s key concerns about putting a leftwing MP in charge of the party – is likely to be seen as a further signal he is prepared to lead the party after a speech in late June laying out his manifesto, including the need for bipartisanship and closer cooperation with business.
France are into the World Cup final after securing a 1-0 win over Belgium in St Petersburg, thanks to a second-half header from Samuel Umtiti. The French gradually subdued their neighbours’ vibrant attacking threat. They will meet the winners of tomorrow’s game between England and Croatia in the final in Moscow on Sunday.
Sport
The concept of friendlies to most Australian sports folk is a foreign one. And in rugby league they don’t exist at all. Just take tonight’s State of Origin “dead rubber” as an example.
Serena Williams has reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Camila Giorgi. The seven-time champion will now face Julia Goerges in last four. In the other semi Jelena Ostapenko will take on Angelique Kerber after disposing of Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 6-4.
Thinking time
It’s been dubbed the Noma effect. More than two years after the Danish chef Rene Redzepi packed up his Sydney pop-up restaurant, demand for the native Australian foods he showcased during his 10-week stay has soared. Yet there’s a significant part missing – the role of Indigenous communities and their relationship with native ingredients. Filling that gap means supporting more Indigenous communities to create native food businesses in tourism, says Jody Orcher, a Ularai/Barkandji woman and Indigenous food educator.
Intensive care units are intimidating. It’s crucial that doctors really listen to patients and don’t just assume they know what the best care plan is, writes the oncologist Ranjana Srivastava. “When faced with grave illness, some people say they want to live forever, but many more express a preference to live well and forgo therapies that compromise their cognition, safety and independence. The danger lies in doctors not asking patients what they want”
Could the psychology of the English football team change your life? The England players seem happier and more grounded as they head into tomorrow’s semi-final, and much of the credit goes to their psychologist, Pippa Grange. What can the team’s approach teach us all about facing fear and failure? “We’ve spoken to the players about writing their own stories,” says Gareth Southgate. “They have created their own history … We always have to believe in what is possible in life and not be hindered by history or expectations.”
What’s he done now?
Yesterday it was the pharmaceutical industry, today it’s the EU and Nato, with Donald Trump taking jabs at both on Twitter en route to Brussels. “The European Union makes it impossible for our farmers and workers and companies to do business in Europe (U.S. has a $151 Billion trade deficit), and then they want us to happily defend them through NATO, and nicely pay for it. Just doesn’t work!”
Media roundup
This morning’s front pages are awash with the Thai cave rescue. “Hooyah! They did it” at the Age, “They’re all out”, at the Sydney Morning Herald, and “All out miracle” at the Daily Telegraph. The Adelaide Advertiser reports that plans by the SA government to raise apprenticeship numbers by more than 20,000 have been given a boost, with $100m in federal funds earmarked for the project. And the NT News says police are cracking down on pubs in Darwin that keep serving drunk customers, after statistics revealed domestic violence perpetrators were having their last drink at licensed premises as a means of getting around the banned drinker register, which stops them stocking up at liquor stores.
Coming up
Malcolm Turnbull will address the Queensland media club in Brisbane, as campaigning continues for the Longman byelection.
Anthony Albanese will address the Sydney Institute tonight.
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