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Morning mail: towers lockdown condemned, Israel 'peace deal', Coalition split on uni fees

<span>Photograph: David Crosling/AAP</span>
Photograph: David Crosling/AAP

Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 14 August.

Top stories

An infectious disease specialist hired to work in Melbourne’s public housing towers during hard lockdown has called the police presence “deeply dehumanising”, saying the failure to heed the practical living experience of tenants left him “furious”. “You had this huge response with police everywhere, apparently to protect ‘vulnerable people’ who are in fact actually very capable people living in a vulnerable environment,” Dr Chris Lemoh has said. Meanwhile, talk of a Trans-Tasman travel bubble could be “on pause”, following a fresh Covid-19 outbreak in Auckland. NZ’s deputy prime minister, Winston Peters, said a quarantine “breach” was responsible for the emergence of 17 cases in the country’s largest city. And, Australia has lagged badly behind in its contributions to a global body funding vaccine research, Cepi. The US has pledged support in excess of 50 times that of Australia’s commitment.

The United Arab Emirates and Israel have reached a historic deal, with the UAE becoming just the third Arab nation to recommence full diplomatic rights, in return for Israel “suspending” its plan to annex parts of the Palestinian territories. The Washington-brokered deal has been heralded as a “peace agreement” by the US president, but many Palestinians have accused the UAE of selling out their dreams of a sovereign state. Delegations from the two countries will meet over coming weeks to establish reciprocal embassies and discuss “areas of mutual benefit”.

Joe Biden’s campaign for the White House has been buoyed by donor pledges of more than $26m within a single day. The announcement of Kamala Harris as his running mate has reportedly energised the party’s base, with Biden claiming 150,000 new first-time contributors. Biden and Harris called for a nationwide mask mandate as the US announced its worst single-day coronavirus death toll in almost three months, with 1,468 deaths confirmed and 53,758 new positive infections recorded. The pair appeared at their first joint campaign event, accusing their opponent of leaving the country “in tatters” through his “failures in leadership”. Donald Trump, meanwhile, admitted he opposed additional funding for the United States Postal Service (USPS) in order to make it more difficult to deliver mail-in ballots.

Australia

The Torres Strait island of Dauan
Dauan Island in the Torres Strait. Low-lying islands such as Masig and Boigu are likely to be at the forefront of forced displacement. Photograph: Lloyd Jones/AAP

The federal government has called on the UN human rights committee to reject a claim brought by Torres Strait Islanders, that argues climate change is threatening the way of life on the low-lying islands. A decision could take two years.

Criticism from the regional education minister has reportedly ruffled feathers inside the Coalition, with the Nationals’ Andrew Gee breaking ranks to voice concerns over “a glaring and potentially detrimental design flaw” in the government’s university reform package.

Warming ocean temperatures could have a dramatic effect upon marine food structures, new research has suggested. Controlled simulations showed considerable changes at the base and middle of the pyramid, meaning potentially devastating supply issues for apex predators as well.

The Morrison government’s Great Barrier Reef envoy, Warren Entsch, has urged fellow his Liberal MPs to do more on climate change policy, including pushing for greater global action.

The world

Venice, Italy
A cruise ship in the Venice Lagoon in June last year. Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

Opponents of mass tourism in Venice are celebrating the decision by two major operators to leave the city off their 2020 itineraries. Not all quarters are celebrating however with up to 5,000 jobs reportedly at risk due to the decision.

Mice plagues have decimated crops in Germany, stripping bare an estimated 120,000 hectares. Warming weather patterns have been blamed, with dry summers enabling the mice to reproduce at levels not seen since the 1970s.

A 25-year-old man has died in police custody in Belarus, as protests continued for a fourth night. Police are accused of using live ammunition and truncheons during the largest unrest since president Alexander Lukashenko took power in 1994.

Recommended reads

While “Nobody sings Dylan like Dylan”, it’s worth remembering that many of the famous singer-songwriter’s songs became legendary thanks to others. In the steps of the Byrds, Peter, Paul and Mary, and David Bowie, therefore, comes an understated Australian, Emma Swift, whose new album, Blonde on the Tracks, is earning rave reviews. As Andrew Stafford writes, Swift: “sings with clarity and vulnerability, with just a hint of vibrato, but the key to these performances is her firm grasp of Dylan’s phrasing and timing.”

Grey is the colour that best describes the mental illness, depression. And as the global pandemic invites many of us back to a world of introspection, Van Badham tries to navigate the struggle. “These last six long coronavirus months have delivered every one of these provocations to despair. The greyness has been feasting on me.” But could the collective experience of enduring the coronavirus be helping us, as a society, build more empathy? One clinical psychologist thinks so, and in tough times, that sure helps make the mood a little less grey.

Australian pioneer John Macarthur has been called many things – add to that list “a royal shit”. And while author Kate Grenville has in no way sought to valorise the controversial pastoralist, in her novel A Room Made of Leaves, as she tells Guardian Australia’s Book Club, nor has she sought to demonise him, emphasising that perpetrators of great historic wrongs are often socially constructed. Which isn’t to say that statues to him shouldn’t be toppled.

Listen

The Beirut explosion and the Lebanese diaspora. Bad news seems to be increasingly the norm for one of Australia’s proudest migrant populations, but with news that an accidental explosion had killed 220 and devastated vast swathes of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, grief and pain once again resurfaced, Anton Issa explains.

Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.

Sport

England v Pakistan, second Test
Dark clouds above the Ageas Bowl for the opening day of the second Test. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Jimmy Anderson has inched ever closer to 600 wickets, snaring two more scalps as England had Pakistan reeling at 126-5 on day one of the second Test at stumps. Azhar Ali’s decision to bat first looks to have backfired, with conditions helping England’s bowlers.

Serena Williams has fought back from a set down to defeat her sister Venus, as the ageless siblings squared off for the 31st time at a WTA tournament. The younger Williams was fulsome in her praise, saying post-match “I think [Venus] played unbelievable”.

And, it wouldn’t be Friday without David Squires ... on the search for the Matildas’ next head coach.

Media roundup

Unemployment could remain above pre-pandemic levels for up to five years, the head of Treasury has warned, according to the Australian. Youth unemployment has been singled out as the “defining feature” of the Covid-19 related economic downturn. Health officials in Victoria are cautiously optimistic that the state is winning the fight against the coronavirus, writes the ABC, with Thursday’s 278 confirmed cases the lowest in nearly a month. And, the Sydney Roosters are counting the cost of last night’s heavy loss to the Melbourne Storm, with star playmaker Luke Keary the latest added to a lengthy 11-man injury list, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Coming up

The Ruby Princess inquiry report will be delivered to the New South Wales governor and the premier, Gladys Berejiklian. The timing and method of publication is then up to the premier.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe and his team will be quizzed on possible extra support measures for people and businesses at a federal parliamentary inquiry.

And if you’ve read this far …

They’re some of the most recognisable buildings of Western civilisation. Notre Dame, Big Ben, St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. But look a little closer, and aren’t there patent reminders of the infidels Christendom spent centuries fighting? That’s the explosive thesis of Middle East expert Diana Darke’s new book, Stealing from the Saracens – challenging the very distinctions of west vs east through an examination of “looted landmarks”.

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