Yahoo News Morning mail: Australia signs vaccine deal, Trump attacks Michelle Obama, charity via Zoom
Good morning, this is Emilie Gramenz bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 19 August.
Top stories
The Morrison government says it has reached an agreement with a British pharmaceutical giant to supply Australians with the University of Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine – assuming it clears clinical trials. Scott Morrison says Australia has pursued the Oxford vaccine, which will be made available for free, because it is “one of the most advanced and promising in the world”. But while we grapple with the outbreak, the president of Australia’s peak medical body says women and racially diverse workers are particularly at risk from “baffling” failure to ensure that N95 masks fit properly. A hotel security guard in Sydney has contracted Covid-19 from a returned traveller in quarantine, prompting calls to replace guards with nurses at quarantine hotels.
Planes flying into Australia are carrying as few as four economy passengers. Airlines frustrated with the government’s international arrival cap are beginning to acknowledge they are prioritising business passengers and more expensive tickets in an effort to remain profitable while complying with the limits. An admission from Qatar Airways comes as many Australians have been forced to wait months overseas for flights home.
European countries are anticipating a second wave of coronavirus infections in the autumn. France plans to make masks compulsory in almost all workplaces and Finland will ration common medicines. The World Health Organization has warned that Covid-19 is now being spread mainly by people in their 20s, 30s and 40s who may be unaware they are infected. South Africa will launch clinical trials of a US-developed coronavirus vaccine with 2,900 volunteers this week.
Australia
The traditional owners of Juukan Gorge say they are “appalled” that unauthorised photos showing the destruction of two sacred sites have been offered for sale. They say the images are “profiteering from our anguish”.
NSW police say they have launched an internal investigation after more than 150 people had their personal email addresses leaked after complaining about the use of capsicum spray against protesters at a Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney.
Sales of electric vehicles in Australia tripled in 2019 despite a lack of government support, according to the industry’s peak body. A report found the market share for electric vehicles was still only 0.6% of new vehicle sales.
The financial entrepreneur James Mawhinney’s dream of a billion-dollar redevelopment of Queensland’s Mission Beach appears to have been shattered. The rich lister Peter Bond has repossessed the Dunk Island resort at the centre of the scheme.
The world
The Pasifika community in New Zealand has borne the brunt of the country’s Covid-19 outbreak, making up 74% of active cases. Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population anywhere in the world and last week it became the epicentre of the outbreak.
Donald Trump has responded with snark after Michelle Obama delivered the climactic speech on the first night of the Democratic convention. After she said he “is clearly in over his head” as president, Trump attacked Obama and went on to accuse Barack Obama and Joe Biden of “treason”.
A report by the Senate intelligence committee provides a treasure trove of new details about Donald Trump’s relationship with Moscow. It says a Russian national who worked closely with Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign was a career intelligence officer.
The US postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, has announced he is suspending cost-cutting operational changes until after the November elections. The decision comes after days of widespread outcry and claims Donald Trump was deliberately slowing down the mail to help his re-election effort.
Germany is expected to extend its pandemic furlough scheme to 24 months. Angela Merkel indicated that she welcomed the proposal to let the Kurzarbeit program – which allows firms to put their staff on part-time work to reduce their costs – run on.
Recommended reads
At a time when people are losing their livelihoods the notion of a public servant needing a break might seem indulgent, but it shouldn’t be so, writes Ranjana Srivastava about Victorian premier Daniel Andrews: “Politicians and public health leaders are working tirelessly on behalf of all of us. As human beings, they are allowed to get tired, worried and upset. It behoves us to accord them empathy, compassion and understanding while still holding them accountable.”
Racism burns Australia like pox and plague. We’re not all in this together, writes the Noongar author Kim Scott. “While there’s potential for healing and a transformed relationship in processes of consolidating and sharing a pre-colonial heritage, the neoliberal context of dog-eat-dog and the primacy of the market means there’s also plenty of opportunity for a community to be split and to destroy itself over brokerage rights.”
It is one of many things that has seemingly vanished in the times of Covid-19: the black tie fundraising dinner. As it turns out, the charity fundraising dinner is not dead. It just looks very different. For a start, your alcohol arrives the afternoon of the event via courier, along with a box of raw ingredients.
“I didn’t want to tell anyone that I was gay, let alone millions of random strangers,” says the folk-pop songwriter Alex the Astronaut. Alexandra Lynn’s 2017 single Not Worth Hiding became an anthem for marriage equality in Australia. On her first full album, the personal and universal collide.
Listen
Can Kamala Harris help Joe Biden win the US presidency? Harris is the first Indian American and the first black woman to run for US vice-president on a major party ticket. Lauren Gambino discusses why, as Joe Biden’s running mate, Harris is in prime position to go one step further.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
There have never been more Irish players in the AFL and collectively they continue to break new ground. The relationship spans 30 years and in January 2020 it looked stronger than ever. Yet the coronavirus pandemic threatens to disrupt it all, and the “Irish experiment” faces an uncertain future.
In many countries around the world, numbers matter when it comes to football. In Australia, Sydney FC stand on the brink of their own piece of football folklore as the A-League prepares to move into the finals series – yet such is the sport’s uneasy relationship with its own history, there has barely been any fanfare.
Media roundup
Victoria’s integrity watchdog has received more than 150 complaints from residents in a Melbourne housing tower locked down for two weeks during the coronavirus pandemic, reports the Herald Sun. The ABC reports that spending two weeks in coronavirus quarantine cost one Sydney restaurateur $35,000. The Australian cosmetics empire Mecca Brands will launch into the lucrative Chinese market via the e-commerce platform TMall Global, reports the Australian Financial Review.
Coming up
The Department of Employment will release its monthly job vacancy report.
Northern Territory party leaders will debate ahead of Saturday’s election.
The disability royal commission will examine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the lives of people with disabilities.
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