Good morning, it's Thursday, January 20. Here's what you need to get going today.
One thing to know right now: In the wake of the Djokovic saga, Australia has missed an important deadline...
- So today is the deadline for Australia to implement an international commitment — namely, an independent inspection system for all places of detention.
- But while Djokovic's detention was measured in days, others still in Melbourne's Park Hotel (where he spent time last week) measure their detention in years.
- But in an opinion piece for the ABC, Australia's Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay writes that the government has failed to do so.
- If it had been in place now, she writes:
You can read her full piece right here.
One thing you’ll be hearing about today: It's national cabinet time
- On the agenda? Schools. And how they're going to go back safely as Omicron keeps whipping 'round the nation.
- Scott Morrison has made it clear he doesn't want school closures this year:
- So how is that going to happen if lots of teachers get sick? In NSW, the ABC has seen emails saying anyone in the education department who is fully vaccinated, has current education accreditation and a working with children check will be called upon.
- But principals and teachers have voiced frustration that plans are *still* being finalised a week before children return to school.
News while you snoozed
Let's get you up to speed.
- There was a candlelight vigil for Charlise Mutten last night outside her Tweed Heads school, with about 100 people gathering to remember the nine-year-old as a murder probe into her death continues.
- British PM Boris Johnson's leadership has faced another attack, with one of his own backbenchers defecting to Labour. Mr Johnson is resisting calls to resign is over a COVID lockdown party scandal that has engulfed his government.
- Tonga's consulate has tweeted some of the first pictures that reveal what the nation is facing on the ground after Saturday's volcanic eruption. International phone links were restored overnight, while first aid ships from Australia and New Zealand are expected to arrive by Friday.
- Australian World Surf League events (including Bells Beach) may be without some big names due to COVID visa requirements — 11-time world champion Kelly Slater and current world number one Gabriel Medina are yet to reveal whether they have been vaccinated.
The news Australia is searching for
- John Millman: The Aussie tennis player is out of the Open, but not without a fight — he went down to world number three (and a favourite to win the tournament) Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 in just under two hours
- Glenn Maxwell: The Big Bash star has thumped the highest score in BBL history, whacking an unbeaten 154 as the Melbourne Stars launched an all-out assault on the Hobart Hurricanes — the Stars set a record total of 2-273, the third-highest in international T20 cricket (beaten only by efforts from Afghanistan and Czech Republic).
One more thing: There's been a tragic end for an upcoming Marvel actor, Gaspard Ulliel
The French actor has died at 37 after colliding with another skier in the French Alps.
You might remember him as fashion mogul Yves Saint Laurent in the 2014 biopic Saint Laurent and the young Hannibal Lecter in 2007's Hannibal Rising.
He's won two of France's top cinema awards, the Cesar, and he's also in the upcoming Marvel series Moon Knight.
It also happened around 50 kilometres from where Formula One legend Michael Schumacher suffered head injuries in a 2013 skiing accident at the French ski resort of Meribel.
That's it for now
We'll be back later on with more of the good stuff.
ABC/wires
