Good morning. Vaccines are again dominating headlines locally after multiple state governments directly criticised the commonwealth’s new position on the AstraZeneca vaccine, with Queensland saying it does “not want under-40s to get AstraZeneca” and Victoria accusing Scott Morrison of creating unnecessary confusion. There was no argument inside national cabinet about Morrison’s AstraZeneca advice because he didn’t flag it – state and territory leaders found out about expanded access for under-40s when they watched the prime minister’s press conference.
The advice of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation remains that Pfizer is the preferred vaccine for under-60s due to an increased risk of rare clotting events. Many Australians under 40 have been left confused about whether they can get a Covid-19 vaccine. Here’s a handy explainer with everything you need to know.
Fewer than one in five Australians in disability care have been fully vaccinated – more than four months into the vaccine rollout, new data has shown. The peak industry body has reported that many have “reverted” to seeking vaccination through local clinics, rather than continue “waiting for the commonwealth in-service”, which has been described as “patchy” and “hit and miss”.
Joe Biden has blamed the climate crisis for the heatwave that’s caused hundreds of deaths across the US and Canada, rounding on climate deniers as temperatures soared to nearly 50C. Police in Vancouver have recorded at least 134 deaths in the coastal city, with Environment Canada also reporting 103 new heat records across four states on Monday. In the US city of Portland temperatures have soared to 25C above historic averages, prompting wildfire concerns and reports of buckling roads.
Pennsylvania’s highest court has overturned Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction after finding an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged in the case. Cosby has served more than two years of a three- to 10-year sentence at a state prison near Philadelphia. He had vowed to serve all 10 years rather than acknowledge any remorse over the 2004 encounter with an accuser, Andrea Constand.
And the former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld has died, aged 88. A prominent voice in the push to invade Afghanistan and Iraq in the fallout of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Rumsfeld also served under Gerald Ford in the mid-70s, and has been praised for “six decades of public service”.
Australia
Australian federal police remain tightlipped over whether they will bring criminal charges against Ben Roberts-Smith after it was revealed during the Victorian Cross recipient’s defamation hearing that he knowingly kept classified and secret material without authorisation. He said he understood he was not authorised to keep secret classified information at his home but that he did not know it was a criminal offence.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has called for an immediate halt to a controversial facial recognition trial by NSW police. Police across the nation have been seeking access to millions of photographs collected by regional agencies but legislation to enable access to the images was previously rejected in 2019 for failing to adequately protect citizens’ rights.
Lawyers for an Australian detained without charges in Iraq have brought a case to the UN. Robert Pether has been held in jail without proper legal access for nearly three months, an act his representatives have called a “flagrant violation of international law”.
Federal Labor is calling for a sports-rorts style parliamentary inquiry into the $4.8bn urban congestion fund, after a damning report by the Australian National Audit Office found 47 projects – with a value of $660m in total – were selected by Morrison government MPs, not the infrastructure department.
Australian universities may allow students to submit written works under pseudonyms after a rise in cases of harassment against those raising criticisms against the Chinese Communist party.
The world
Remains of 182 more First Nations people have been discovered under a former school in western Canada. More than 1,000 unmarked graves have been discovered, highlighting the nation’s history of forced assimilation, neglect and disease.
The EU and the UK have temporarily prevented a major post-Brexit flashpoint, with Brussels agreeing a three-month delay of border checks on chilled meat products entering Northern Ireland.
Myanmar’s ruling military junta has released more than 2,000 anti-coup protesters from prison but thousands more remain, amid brutal conditions and widespread allegations of torture. An estimated 883 protesters have been killed by the junta since February’s coup.
A global shortage of semiconductor chips is affecting car production in China and Japan, with the latter reporting a 19% downturn in the industry. It’s believed $20bn will be wiped off the automotive industry’s operating profit in 2021.
Recommended reads
Grinding Glaswegian poverty, survival in a post-apocalyptic nightmare, short stories so riveting you can’t go to bed. We asked Guardian Australia staff what were the books they just couldn’t put down, and they answered us with alacrity. Here are 22 must-reads, whether you’re stuck in lockdown or just haven’t found a good tome in some time. And please let us know the last book that captivated you in the comments.
It’s a chronic pain condition we don’t know nearly as much about as we should. But for Nikki Marshall, fibromyalgia can be debilitating, and attacks can strike at the most inopportune moments. “For me, a flare-up starts with a wave of exhaustion that can swamp me within seconds, accompanied by a brain fog so dense I might struggle to speak. Then the pain begins.” But if you’ve lived with even a low-level chronic pain, know that there are things that can help. Nikki shares some of hers in this piece from the series The pain that can’t be seen.
Say what you like about Australian life and culture – sometimes it just makes you cringe. This week’s guest curator of the 10 funniest things on the internet, Andrew Sholl, has spent a digital half-age trawling for such online pearls. Come for the Alan Jones love songs, stay for the queen of the peanutmobile.
Listen
As it triggers lockdowns across Australia, what do we know about the Delta variant? For starters that it’s far more infectious than previous strains, and that even “fleeting” contact is enough for the disease to spread. On this episode of Full Story, medical editor Melissa Davey examines the challenges.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Local hero Andy Murray faces a fight on his hands at Wimbledon after dropping two sets against German challenger Oscar Otte. Follow all the latest from the Championship with our live blog.
One of English football’s oldest rivalries is set to heat up once again, with Everton announcing the signing of cross-town rivals Liverpool’s former manager Rafa Benitez on a three-year-contract.
Media roundup
Essential workers in NSW have been urged to avoid public transport by the state’s transport minister over concerns about the virulence of the Covid-19 Delta variant, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Public transport use in the state has dropped to about 20% of pre-pandemic levels. State and federal government relations have hit “a new low”, according to the Financial Review, with the federal government accusing the Queensland government of failures that prompted localised lockdowns. And WA is set to receive a record amount of mining royalties, claims the West Australian, with the surging price of iron ore expected to add an additional $1.2bn into state coffers.
Coming up
An export ban preventing Australian mixed plastics from being sent overseas comes into effect today.
Sign up
If you would like to receive the Guardian Australia morning mail to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com.
