Morning mail: the 'end of Hong Kong', Australian solar breakthrough, how to make mead
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Version 0 of 1. Friday: China to push through national security laws that critics say will end Hong Kong’s autonomy. Plus, we are at the ‘making mead’ stage of lockdown Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 22 May. Top stories Pro-democracy activists have warned that Hong Kong’s autonomous status is about to come to an end, as China looks to push wide-reaching new national security laws through its own parliament. The territory has long had a “one country, two systems” framework, but legal observers and human rights activists fear legislative change within China will undermine Hong Kong’s legal framework. “The obvious worry is that in China, we have seen ‘national security’ … being used as an excuse for all sorts of human rights abuses, including the arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of dissidents,” said Hong Kong barrister Wilson Leung. The proposed new laws follow significant protests which have rumbled on since June 2019 in the former British territory, described by analysts as the most serious unrest in 23 years. Continued early withdrawals of superannuation will damage the sector’s ability to invest in nation-building infrastructure, the head of a major Australian super fund has warned. Over $1bn has been withdrawn by 153,000 Rest members since the onset of the coronavirus. Chief executive of Rest, Vicki Doyle, said drawdowns allowed as part of the coronavirus relief package were “critically needed” but that if they became a permanent feature funds such as hers would not be able to continue making long-term investments. The global tally of recorded infections from the coronavirus pandemic has passed five million, on a day in which Germany’s foreign minister has attempted to quell growing protests across the country, asking people not to fall prey to “radical extremists and antisemites” looking to “stoke hatred and divide” by co-opting protest marches. Meanwhile, Sweden’s alternative response to the pandemic has been criticised, after researchers suggested only 7.3% of Stockholm’s residents had developed immunity to the disease, despite the country’s light-touch approach in favour of building broader immunity within the population. Globally, the virus continues to spread across Latin America and South Asia, with Bangladesh reporting its worst daily figure for new infections thus far, as the nation begins the cleanup from the devastating Cyclone Amphan. Australia Plans for a federal integrity commission have been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the federal attorney general has said, after missing multiple deadlines to establish the body, three years since beginning work on the proposal. Christian Porter said draft legislation would be released “at an appropriate time”. The driver of a station wagon that crashed into a Sydney hijab shop on Thursday afternoon, injuring 14 people, has been released from police custody. Police say the 51-year-old was taken to Liverpool hospital and underwent mandatory testing before being taken to Bankstown police station. A coalition of peak bodies from business, industry, unions and the environmental movement has urged the federal government to make a transition to net zero emissions a key part of a post-Covid economic strategy. Australian researchers are claiming a world first in producing more efficient solar panels, with the use of a crystal material known as perovskite proving thinner and more flexible than the traditional silicon-based cells. The latest improvements are to do with the thermal stability of the cells in the face of heat and humidity. The world New research from Columbia University suggests 54,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States could have been prevented, had social distancing measures been adopted a fortnight earlier. Academics used infectious disease modelling to analyse the spread of the virus that has killed nearly 95,000 across the nation. The Trump administration has rejected the study’s findings. The Indian city of Kolkata is facing the cleanup from its worst cyclone in a century, after Cyclone Amphan swept through India and neighbouring Bangladesh, killing 84 and leaving millions without power or telephone signal. The state minister of West Bengal said two districts of the 15 million person city had been “completely devastated”. Doctors in the Russian region of Dagestan have heightened scrutiny of the nation’s Covid-19 tally, with the area’s health minister informing local media that 659 people had died from what was recorded as pneumonia. The official toll for the region is 36. Security analysts have accused Donald Trump of handing Russia “a propaganda coup”, after the US president declared his intentions to withdraw the nation from a key arms control treaty. Trump blamed Russian non-adherence for the move, but European allies fear the decision could jeopardise regional stability. Staff at US national parks are reporting animal sightings in numbers unseen in their lifetimes, as pronghorn deer, bobcats and black bears have returned to parks in droves, in the absence of human visitors in recent months. Recommended reads It’s the 7,000-year-old drink associated with monks and Vikings, but mead doesn’t have to be alcoholic. And if you’ve exhausted your talents with homemade sourdough, why not try your hand at either of these recipes for lightly, or non-alcoholic homemade mead. In these times of social isolation many readers are tackling novels that have previously eluded them. For Paul Daley, it is Moby-Dick: “This time round I’ve found Ahab more disturbed and disturbing. Melville’s characters – especially the crew – are more intriguing as the Pequod sails ever further from New Bedford’s safe harbour. It’s a fabulous slow-burn (654 pages plus illustrations), the tension rising and falling with the seas ventured.” What if, in a blink of an eye, 2% of the world’s population vanished. That’s the premise of the “perfectly grim” 2014 TV series, The Leftovers, which Kate Jink feels is a perfect revisit during the coronavirus lockdown. “Add to that some oddly amiable twins, a tobaccy-chewin’, dog-obsessed hunter haunting Kevin and some wild desert hide-outs and you’ve got yourself … not even all of season one.” Listen Mongarlowe and the Mosquito Army. As last summer’s bushfires devastated vast swathes of Australia, the residents of one small east coast town banded together to save their community. On this episode of Full Story, we hear their account. Full Story is Guardian Australia’s news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app. Sport Fifa has confirmed the vote to award hosting rights for the 2023 Women’s World Cup will take place next month, amid a growing feeling Australia and New Zealand’s historic joint bid – the one that most embraces the momentum women’s football has generated in recent years – has moved into pole position, writes Samantha Lewis. It’s the basketball documentary that has many talking, but Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen is reportedly “beyond livid” for how he’s been depicted in ESPN’s The Last Dance, with teammates criticising Michael Jordan’s influence over production. Media roundup One in three Australians are worried Covid-19 related physical distancing measures are being relaxed too quickly, reports the Age, although two-thirds consider the government to have done a “good” or “excellent” job so far. CBD commercial office properties could lose $50bn in value, writes the Australian, as staff working from home prompt employers to reassess their office expenditure. And NSW’s 10-person restaurant dining rule has received mixed reviews, according to the ABC, with no-shows warned there’s a “special place in hell” for them. Coming up The inquest proceedings into the death of former UK marine, Nathaniel Beesley, who died in a Tasmanian mining accident will begin. NSW Liberal party members in the seat of Eden-Monaro will meet via a tele-town hall gathering to hear from preselection candidates for the forthcoming by-election. And if you’ve read this far … It may have come two weeks late for “La Festa della Mamma” but one Italian son has well and truly won his mother’s affection – after he gave her a €100 raffle ticket that netted the 58-year-old accountant from north-western Italy a Pablo Picasso oil painting valued at more than €1m. Son, Lorenzo, now reckons what could have been chastised as a frivolous purchase was “maybe the best decision in my life”. Sign up If you would like to receive the Guardian Australia morning mail to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. |