Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 9 July.
Top stories
Melbourne has re-entered Covid-19 lockdown as stage three stay-at-home restrictions came into effect from midnight. Daniel Andrews reimposed the curfew after a record high of 191 new cases identified on Tuesday, with the ban, at this stage, scheduled for six weeks for greater Melbourne and the Mitchell shire. Already, in Lockdown 2.0, though, the optimism is gone and a nastiness has replaced it, writes Calla Wahlquist, while Greg Jericho details how a relapse into lockdown poses serious repercussions for Australia’s hopes of limiting recession. Meanwhile, the Chinese company that produced Andrew Forrest’s 10m testing kits faces continued scrutiny from human rights advocates over concerns Beijing Genomics Institute could use the project to build genetic databases.
The rate of new infections globally has doubled from April to May, with the World Health Organization saying cases are increasing by 200,000 every 24 hours. The John Hopkins University tracker has reported that the US has passed 3m confirmed cases – over a quarter of all known infections around the world – with the health expert Dr Anthony Fauci saying the country is “still knee-deep in the first wave” that has killed more than 130,000. One hundred thousand of the world’s new infections have occurred in the US, Brazil and India.
Hong Kong has lost its free and open internet, with the Great Firewall of China, a vast apparatus that regulates net access, being put into effect. Residents have rushed to delete their digital footprints after fresh crackdowns on sedition in the territory. New laws have empowered police to censor online speech and force internet service providers to hand over user information and remove access to platforms, such as foreign news sites, Google, Facebook and Twitter. China’s tightening grip on the territory could see Hong Kong’s status as a financial hub undermined, analysts and investors warn.
Australia
Hundreds of childcare providers across Australia have been told they could be forced to pay back jobkeeper despite the government’s free childcare scheme automatically qualifying them for the wage subsidy.
An open letter penned by ABC staff has urged the broadcaster’s upper management to ensure that diversity “won’t be just a cliche” as concerns grow that content makers from non-English speaking backgrounds could figure disproportionately in forthcoming redundancies.
Lawyers for Malka Leifer have launched an appeal against an Israeli court’s decision that she is mentally fit to stand trial. The Australian former school principal is wanted on more than 74 charges of sexually abusing students.
The world
Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of using homophobic language to mock the wearing of face masks, less than a day after the 65-year-old Brazilian president announced he had tested positive for coronavirus.
Two men in France have been charged with attempted murder over an attack on a bus driver who refused entry to a group of people not wearing face masks. The 59-year-old was left in a brain dead state.
Courts in Pakistan have halted construction on Islamabad’s first Hindu temple. The prime minister, Imran Khan, has backed the nation’s Hindu minority having its own place for worship but petitions from Islamic opponents have delayed progress.
JK Rowling, Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie have signed an open letter from more than 150 writers, artists and academics warning against “censoriousness” and “a vogue for public shaming and ostracism”.
Recommended reads
The “hard lockdown” at nine of Melbourne’s public housing estates brought national attention to a community few Australians knew about. The towers that loom over Melbourne’s inner suburbs don’t have a good reputation. Media stories of drug use, vandalism and violence in their public spaces, of residents living in fear, all breed certain stereotypes. But those who live there have a different story to tell – as we hear in the first of a six-part series on the rich and resilient communities.
Almost as soon as the lockdown had started, many of us were already obsessed with when it would end. “As we retreated into our homes and away from almost everyone we knew, I dreamed of a sort of bacchanalian V-day celebration once we made it through this strange and terrifying period apart,” writes Josephine Tovey. But as a spike of new cases sends Melbourne into lockdown, round two of isolation – stripped of that early adrenalised fear and excitement – might feel more like a slog.
Set amid glossy, magazine-world escapism, The Bold Type, is a front for a serious exploration of younger millennial womanhood. But for the Australian actor Aisha Dee, playing a complex, messy character of colour – who’s allowed to make missteps and act impulsively – is a long way from her Australian debut in The Saddle Club, writes Neha Kale.
Listen
The conviction of one of the Philippines’ most well-known journalists for “cyberlibel” has drawn condemnation from human rights groups. On this episode of Full Story, journalist Carmela Fonbuena in Manila describes the chilling effect the verdict has had on press freedom.
Full Story: Maria Ressa and the increasing attacks on the free press in the Philippines
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
The numbers are in on last year’s Women’s World Cup – and they’re incredibly positive. For every euro spent on the competition in France, the nation garnered a return of up to 20. Which is good news for next hosts Australia and New Zealand, and as Samantha Lewis writes: “These figures add more weight to the argument that women’s football is transitioning into a serious economic and cultural product.”
With Queensland sides now at the 11th, 14th and 15th positions of the 16-team NRL – it could spell a bad year for the Maroons. As the sunshine state plays host to the AFL, you might expect QRL officials to be panicking, especially with a second Brisbane team still slated for 2022, writes Larissa O’Connor.
Media roundup
The $70bn jobkeeper program is to be extended, writes the Financial Review, as the federal government unveils a raft of proposals to counteract Victoria’s return to lockdown. The partner of Olympic snowboarder Alex “Chumpy” Pullin found out about his death at the scene of his spearfishing accident, according to the Courier-Mail. And a former financial planner who lost $8m of other people’s money has detailed the VIP treatment online betting companies offered him during a four-year gambling spree, reports the ABC.
Coming up
Scott Morrison and Japan’s Shinzo Abe will hold virtual talks today and are expected to focus on security issues such as rising tensions with China.
A federal court judgment is expected in a dispute between Qantas and the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association over the standing down of maintenance engineers due to Covid-19.
And if you’ve read this far
Tired of waiting for the world’s governments to begin meaningful action on climate change? Well, now there’s a DIY option: spread some rock dust. The process known as “enhanced rock weathering”, employed by thousands of farmers around the world, could suck billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air every year.
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