Good morning. Experts are urging action on the worsening Covid situation in Australia as a rise in hospital admissions and medicine and staff shortages threaten to form a “perfect storm”. In the UK, record temperatures have caused havoc, sparking massive fires around London.
“Pretty scary” Covid hospital admissions mean it will soon become evident to premiers “that mask mandates are required”, the president of the Australian Medical Association has said. There were 821 Covid cases in Victorian hospitals as of Monday, a 99% increase since 22 June. In NSW there were 2,205, while in Queensland, hospital admissions have exceeded modelling projections. The aged care sector has warned of a “perfect storm” of Covid outbreaks and staff shortages as Australia braces for another Omicron wave to peak. Compounding the situation, Australia is facing a “dire” medicine shortage, with more than 300 drugs in short supply.
The Greens will fracture the consensus for climate action in the community if the party sinks Labor’s 43% emissions reduction target, the former Wilderness Society campaigner and head of the Labor Environment Action Network, Felicity Wade, has warned. The stark warning comes as the Greens meet today to consider their position on the climate legislation, including their response if the government rejects their demands.
The UK recorded its hottest temperature yet as the heatwave in Europe continued to cause widespread devastation. Climate scientists expressed shock as the temperature soared above 40C for the first time in Britain yesterday, with the London fire brigade declaring a major incident as fires torched both homes and countryside. Meteorologists said the mass of hot air – the second to blanket Europe in recent weeks – had begun moving into eastern France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Australia
Record rainfall in NSW has caused major supply shortages for popular herb varieties around Australia, causing prices to skyrocket.
Indigenous Australians are having their driving licences cancelled and are facing crushing debts due to the NSW government’s “punitive”, flawed and often erroneous enforcement of Covid fines, lawyers have warned.
Up to 30% of mortgage holders could struggle to keep up with their home repayments if interest rates were to increase by 3%, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, which says first-home owners, late entrants to the market and low-income loan holders are most at risk.
Australia’s first vulture species has been identified after the reclassification of a century-old fossil specimen. The extinct vulture lived during the middle and late Pleistocene period – commonly known as the ice age – between 50,000 and 770,000 years ago, researchers estimate.
The online merchandise store Redbubble has been ordered to pay the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club more than $78,000 for selling items depicting the club’s logo without permission, in the second ruling against the company in three years.
Border Force officers have seized or retained more than 1,000 devices from travellers entering Australia in the past five years, but the agency cannot say how many of those interventions led to criminal prosecutions, prompting human rights experts to question the appropriateness of the powers.
The world
Vladimir Putin has arrived in Tehran on his second visit outside Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, where he will hold talks with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts on lifting the Ukrainian grain blockade, the future of Syria and the chances of reviving the Iran nuclear deal.
A Chinese action film executive-produced by Jackie Chan has triggered outrage after shooting scenes in al-Hajar al-Aswad, a Syrian town destroyed in the civil war.
Russian human rights activists and fellow athletes have described the decision to come out as gay by the country’s highest-ranked female tennis player, Daria Kasatkina, as a monumental and symbolic moment for the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the country.
Electoral officials and senior politicians have criticised the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, after the far-right leader called foreign diplomats to the presidential palace and made unfounded allegations about the integrity of the upcoming election.
Police in Japan are searching for a wild monkey that has attacked 10 people in the space of a fortnight.
Recommended reads
In our weekly interview about objects, the screen legend Miriam Margolyes tells us about meeting her own idols, and the story of a treasured – and accurate – painting. “One of the most precious things I have in my house is an oil painting portrait of my father,” she tells Katie Cunningham. “If I grab that picture, I’ll feel I’m in touch with everything that went before.”
Five authors are competing for Australia’s most prestigious book award – the Miles Franklin literary prize. The winner will be announced on Wednesday afternoon and ahead of the much-anticipated event, Jen Webb has compiled a handy little primer for you.
Sian Cain reviews Midnight Mass, a “truly great show” but also one she never wants to watch again. Streaming now in Australia on Netlfix, Mike Flanagan’s seven-part series is “deeply human – and unforgettable”.
Listen
When Australia’s new parliament sits next week, the Albanese government will pursue an ambitious agenda, aiming to pass legislation on climate targets and a federal integrity commission by the end of the year. In today’s Full Story, Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to Guardian Australia’s political editor, Katharine Murphy, about the makeup of the parliament.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Alana King’s starring tri-series role for Australia has earned praise, with teammate Ashleigh Gardner saying her ability to baffle opponents is what makes her so dangerous on the international stage. King has spent the past two days perplexing Pakistan and Ireland in the Twenty20 tri-series, taking three wickets against each for a combined 6-17 off five overs. “Because she does bowl that little bit quicker you don’t have those cues all the time,” Gardner said. “When you probably get caught up is when you try and play it off the wicket. So you do really need to home in on her hand.”
Media roundup
Anthony Albanese says he will pursue a “large” legislative agenda beyond what Labor committed to at the election, with the October budget to focus on finding savings without raising taxes, reports the Australian. And two Australian men have been detained after being caught with methamphetamine and syringes while working at one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines in Indonesia, reports the Brisbane Times.
Coming up
The winner of the Miles Franklin literary award will be announced.
New data from the telecommunications industry ombudsman will detail the key drivers of complaints against mobile service providers.
And if you’ve read this far …
Naked yoga. It’s here and it was probably inevitable.
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