Good morning, this is Emilie Gramenz bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 22 September.
Top stories
The UK has raised its Covid alert level to four, opening the door to major restrictions. The country’s chief scientific and medical advisors have warned it is on course for up to 50,000 new daily cases by mid-October. Northern Ireland has banned households mixing indoors. Cases in Iran have risen by 3,341 in the past 24 hours – the highest daily tally since early June. Meanwhile, a coalition of 156 countries has agreed a “landmark” deal to enable the rapid and equitable global distribution of any new coronavirus vaccines.
Asbestos-contaminated waste has been dumped at one of Sydney’s newest building projects after having been passed off as safe landscaping, according to whistleblowers. Guardian Australia has spoken to multiple people who have revealed that contaminated soil was processed into a product known as “turf underlay” then taken to at least one new suburban development in Sydney’s south-west. The head of waste compliance at the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) confirmed that the agency had received a report but could not provide details. The Guardian understands an investigation is ongoing.
Two-thirds of Australians would prefer the Coalition government support renewables rather than new gas plants, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. While voters in the survey continue to give the prime minister the thumbs up for his management of the coronavirus pandemic, there is less enthusiasm for the general direction of the Coalition’s much-vaunted “gas-led recovery”, or for bringing forward tax cuts that benefit high-income earners. Australians are more worried about the state of the economy now than they were 12 months ago, but they are divided about the outlook over the coming months. Despite forecasts pointing to a sustained downturn, a quarter of the sample expects the economy to improve in the next six months.
Donald Trump has told Fox in an interview that he will announce his nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on either Friday or Saturday. He says that in respect of Ginsburg, “we should wait until the services are over” and that he had narrowed the list down to five potential nominees, all women. The supreme court has announced Justice Ginsburg will lie in repose at the court on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Since her death on Friday, Democratic donors have toppled fundraising records – funnelling more than US$90m to candidates and progressive groups.
Australia
The Morrison government’s technology roadmap will identify “clean” hydrogen, energy storage, “low carbon” steel and aluminium, carbon capture and storage and soil carbon as priority technologies. But the government is continuing to resist pressure to sign up to a target of net zero emissions by 2050.
A refugee who fled a brutal civil war in Sri Lanka and who Australia has agreed it must protect, has been held in Australian immigration detention for more than 11 years, caught in an arcane legal limbo and potentially facing a limitless incarceration.
Australia is preparing for a bumper harvest after one of the worst droughts on record. New South Wales is leading the way, predicting a 300% year-on-year increase. Fuelled by above-average rainfall between March and August, winter crop production in the state is predicted to rise 49% above the 10-year average to 2019-20.
The government’s looming decision on whether to proceed with promised increases in superannuation contributions could have a big effect. Find out what that would mean for your retirement.
The world
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has said in his first blog post since emerging from a coma that western laboratories had found traces of novichok in and on his body, and demanded that Moscow return his clothes. Navalny is recovering in Berlin’s Charité hospital.
European foreign ministers have failed to break the deadlock over sanctions on Belarus, after Cyprus blocked the plan citing the lack of EU action against Turkey. Nearly one month after the EU’s political decision to sanction Belarusian officials, the bloc failed to agree to the legal text.
High temperatures and the persistent warming of oceans have triggered profound changes in marine ecosystems, but a new study examining fish deaths in Israel suggests the rate of onset of warming – rather than the peak – could also play a key role in the damage fuelled by climate change.
Ellen DeGeneres has issued an apology to viewers following allegations of misconduct on the set of her eponymous talk show. The American comic and presenter addressed her audience on YouTube, stating that “things happened here that should never have happened”.
Recommended reads
Creamy pasta dishes are an elemental feature of Australia’s regrettable food history. Once, we did not know there was any other sort. But it’s time to lay down the law: the fact is, unviolated, unbastardised carbonara does not have cream, thickened or otherwise.
Australia’s latest labour force figures were surprising: unemployment fell despite the Melbourne lockdown, writes Greg Jericho: “While this is good news, a dig into the figures reveals that it needs to be tempered with the realisation that we remain deeply within a recession. The unemployment rate falling in August brought to mind the old line that if you understand what is going on, you clearly have not been paying attention.”
Booksmart offers additional comfort in the nostalgia of the teen-movie legacy it lovingly pays tribute to. It tells the story of over-achieving BFFs Molly and Amy frantically trying to rewrite their high-school script the night before graduation, and is as heartfelt as the most earnest John Hughes moments, as smart as Clueless and as viscerally funny as any 2000s gross-out comedy.
Listen
How Queensland’s election became all about the premier and the pandemic. With just six weeks to go before Queensland voters head to the polls, it seems people can talk about little else than Covid-19. Annastacia Palaszczuk’s handling of the crisis has been well-received so far, but as Ben Smee explains on Full Story, there are potential pitfalls in running a presidential-style campaign during a pandemic.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Novak Djokovic beat Diego Schwartzman, 7-5, 6-3, in Rome to win a record 36th ATP Masters title. But he heads for Paris as worried as everyone else in the game that at least two players trying to qualify for the French Open have tested positive for Covid-19.
French-based cycling team Arkea-Samsic, led by former Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España champion Nairo Quintana at this year’s Tour de France, is under preliminary investigation for suspicion of doping practices. The team’s hotel in Meribel was searched by public health officers last Wednesday.
Media roundup
The ABC has a story about a massive rescue operation planned on Tasmania’s west coast after around 270 pilot whales became stranded. Three Melbourne sisters alleged to have been sexually abused by a female school principal have told the Australian they feel like they can breathe again, after hearing the accused, Malka Leifer, will be extradited to Australia. The Age reports that with the daily commute on pause, life in Melbourne’s far-flung suburbs has many fans.
Coming up
The federal energy minister Angus Taylor will speak at the National Press Club.
The Covid-19 hotel quarantine inquiry is in its final week of public hearings.
A federal parliamentary Covid inquiry will hear from women’s groups and the Human Rights Commission.
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