Good morning. Anthony Albanese will touch down in Suva today to attend his first Pacific Island Forum, aiming to showcase Australia’s new climate credentials. And State of Origin fans are gearing up for tonight’s decider.
When the prime minister arrives at the Pacific Islands Forum, he will be dealing with the fallout of the exit of Kiribati and the Marshall Islands and the US announcing a major step-up in its engagement in the region. The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, announced the establishment of new embassies in Kiribati and Tonga, among a series of measures that will be seen as attempts to counter China’s growing influence.
Australia’s struggling health sector is bracing for 5,000 Covid-linked daily hospital admissions, amid a shortfall of more than 6,500 hospital and healthcare staff in three states. A turbulent start to the flu season has also led to more than 1,300 admissions. Modelling suggests the peak of the Covid wave is yet to come and it could take as long as six weeks for case numbers and hospitalisations to fall. Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are likely to cause rates of reinfection to rise among people previously infected. So, how long after catching Covid can you become reinfected and when should you get your booster? Here’s what the experts say.
Emmanuel Macron has said he was proud of supporting the US ridesharing company Uber and would “do it again tomorrow and the day after tomorrow”, after revelations in the Uber files of his efforts to help the firm lobby against France’s closed-shop taxi industry. Uber faces ongoing battles over workers’ rights and unpaid waiting times after drawing in drivers with huge subsidies.
Australia
Amid sluggish wage growth, chief executive pay for the top 100 listed companies has climbed to a record multiple of about 100 times average adult earnings. The two chief executives of Afterpay, Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar, shared a record $264m pay packet, and runner-up Paul Perreault, the CEO of biotech company CSL, received $58.9m.
More than 40% of managers and HR staff say their organisation has never hired a person with a disability and nearly one in 10 admit they wouldn’t want to in the future, according to a survey.
The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, has claimed some Coalition projects will be impossible to deliver. King says her predecessor, Barnaby Joyce, left behind a “substantial mess” and she will prioritise inland rail and redesign grant programs.
Water in Dubbo and surrounding NSW towns has been undrinkable for nearly a week after contaminants were flushed into the catchment. Local authorities are working to “climate proof” against future problems.
The world
Astronomers have hailed the beginning of a new era of space observation after Nasa unveiled a flurry of full-colour images from the James Webb space telescope.
UK Conservative divisions have been laid bare as a wide-open field of eight MPs made it through to the first round of the fractious contest to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister.
The Sri Lankan president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has failed in an attempt to flee the country as airport staff stood in his way and forced him to beat a humiliating retreat.
The US military has killed Maher al-Agal, one of the top five Islamic State leaders, on Tuesday in an airstrike in Syria, the US president, Joe Biden, said.
Dangerous heatwaves are engulfing parts of China, Europe, south-west and central US this week. At least 86 Chinese cities have issued heat alerts and temperatures are forecast to top 40C.
Recommended reads
As a change to NSW festival licensing stops 17-year-olds from going to Splendour in the Grass unless chaperoned by an adult, Guardian Australia staff reflect on their own music gig supervision – or lack thereof. “I remember standing behind my friend in the queue to enter, watching security search everyone’s bags and realising they were about to discover the homemade bong she had forgotten she was carrying,” writes Shelley Hepworth.
“[The Muppet Movie] is the first movie I can remember really loving and it’s been a lifelong love affair,” writes Nathan Jolly. “There’s something about Kermit’s belief in his own destiny, his willingness to follow the siren call beckoning him towards a larger, scarier life that is very captivating to a child. Even as an adult, I would follow Kermit anywhere. He believes, and makes everyone around him believe, too. And when Kermit briefly loses belief, the others keep believing until he does again, too. This film is about fate, frogs, friendship – but, above all, it’s about belief.”
Australia already knows how well Nakkiah Lui can write. Over the past decade the Kamilaroi and Torres Strait Islander woman has risen to become one of the country’s most in-demand playwrights and screenwriters. One object essential to Lui’s writing endeavours is a mug. As well as being a vessel for caffeine and occasionally alcohol, it comes emblazoned with an important disclaimer. The writer and actor tells us why she loved that mug so much she ordered it six times, as well as the story of a few other important personal belongings.
Listen
With Covid infections soaring across the country, health authorities have expanded access to oral antivirals and made the fourth dose of the vaccine accessible to an additional 7.4 million people. In today’s Full Story, medical editor Melissa Davey talks to Jane Lee about the latest Covid announcements and whether these measures are enough to combat this new wave.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Another State of Origin decider is upon us. From the moment rugby league’s interstate war went to a best-of-three contest in 1982, we have witnessed 21 deciders, so what better time for a trip down memory lane to look at the five most memorable?
Melbourne Victory have signed former Manchester United winger Nani for the 2022-23 A-League Men’s season.
Media roundup
Australian women face a decade-long “motherhood penalty” on their incomes, earning on average less than half of their pre-childbirth wage in the next five years, reports the Age. The federal government is being urged not to end a free rapid antigen tests scheme for vulnerable groups as Australia braces for rising Covid cases through winter, says the ABC. And there’s plenty going on up in the skies, with US stealth bombers flying not-so-stealthily over Queensland skies, according to the Brisbane Times, and the NT News asking if there’s a UFO hovering over Territorians.
Coming up
The NSW parliamentary inquiry into school infrastructure planning is holding a hearing.
Byron Fay, the Climate 200 executive director, will address the National Press Club.
Sign up
If you would like to receive the Guardian Australia morning mail to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com.
Discover Australian Weekend
Every Saturday from 6am, enjoy early access to the best journalism planned for the weekend in one elegant app, plus a curated selection of the week’s news and analysis from Australia and the world.
