Good morning, it's Tuesday, February 8. Here's what you need to get going today.
One thing to know right now: An Australian-Chinese citizen is being prosecuted under sweeping Hong Kong law
In a development that is likely to further inflame tensions between Canberra and Beijing, here's the lowdown:
- The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed the unnamed man is being prosecuted under Hong Kong's sweeping National Security Law.
- DFAT says the man was arrested last year for "conspiring to subvert state power". He was released on bail the next day but was then re-arrested on March 1 when attending court, and charged with "subversion".
- He has spent the last 11 months in jail, and could face a heavy penalty under the National Security Law, which is designed to extinguish political opposition to the Chinese Communist Party in the former British colony.
- Australian officials have been repeatedly refused consular access to the man, because Hong Kong authorities no longer recognise dual citizenship.
One thing you’ll be hearing about today: Parliament's back — and religious discrimination is on the table
And battles over the bill are expected to flare up today. Here's what's on the cards:
- Scott Morrison is proposing changes to the Sex Discrimination Act at the same time, to ensure schools can't violate discrimination laws by banning students or teachers for their sexual orientation
- Conservative Christian lobby group FamilyVoice says it will pull its support for the bill if the PM makes any amendments to the act that prevent religious schools from operating according to their beliefs
- And lobby group Equal Love Canberra is holding a rally on Wednesday to protest the bill, saying it would allow religious hospitals to refuse medical treatments like abortions and birth control
News while you snoozed
Let's get you up to speed.
- About three million doses in the first shipment of the Novavax COVID vaccine arrived in Sydney last night (the government's purchased 51 million doses). They'll be available from February 21 — between now and then they'll have to undergo batch testing by the TGA.
- A state of emergency has been declared in Ottawa, Canada's capital. Why? Protesters opposed to COVID restrictions continued to paralyse downtown — and the 'freedom truck convoy' has attracted support from US Republicans, including former president Donald Trump.
The news Australia is searching for
- Lizzo: That'll be about the nude pic and video the singer posted to Instagram, including a caption that said in part:
- Kylie Jenner: Ok so if you're one of the people googling this, here you go: the model had a second baby with rapper Travis Scott last week (plenty of speculation on names and gender, including a) it's a boy and b) he's called Angel).
One more thing: There are some *crazy good* ice skating routines going down in Beijing
There's dubstep. Women throwing quads that would comfortably compete with men: if you need something to watch this Winter Olympics, here's who you should look out for.
Alexandra Trusova
The Russian Olympic team's 'Quad Queen' at just 17, took jumps that seemed impossible just a few years ago and made them a reality.
Josefin Taljegard
She earned her spot in Sweden's Olympic team with a dubstep-inspired short program — a phrase that is rarely, if ever, uttered in a sport dominated by classical soundtracks.
Yuzuru Hanyu
The two-time Olympic Champion from Japan wants to make history — he hopes to be the first to successfully land the 'quad axel' (widely considered the most difficult of all jumps).
That's it for now
We'll be back later on with more of the good stuff.
ABC/wires
