Hi there. It's Tuesday, May 24 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Something you'll be hearing about today
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has landed in Tokyo for today's Quad talks with the US, India and Japan.
The four countries are expected to unveil a new plan designed to monitor and prevent illegal fishing across the region, which environmentalists have blamed largely on massive Chinese shipping fleets.
Quad leaders will also discuss China's growing military aggression, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, climate change and the Quad's ambitious plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccines around the region.
It's only the second time the leaders of the four Quad countries have met in person.
News while you snoozed
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says President Vladimir Putin is the only Russian official he's willing to meet with to discuss how to end the war. In a video address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskyy said he "cannot accept any kind of meeting with anyone coming from the Russian Federation but the President".
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It comes soon after a Ukrainian court sentenced a 21-year-old Russian soldier to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia's invasion. The trial has huge symbolic significance for Ukraine, which has accused Russia of atrocities and brutality against civilians during the invasion and said it has identified more than 10,000 possible war crimes (which Russia denies).
- Fire has damaged three buildings in Melbourne's CBD. Emergency services were called around midnight with reports of windows breaking and flames coming from a building on the corner of Lonsdale and King streets, and fire crews arrived to find the blaze had spread to two other buildings. The cause of the fire isn't known at this stage.
What Australia has been searching for online
- Rafael Nadal. He's cruised into the second round at Roland Garros with a straight-sets win over Aussie Jordan Thompson — it's his 299th grand slam match win.
- Kathy Lette. ICYMI yesterday, the comedian has opened up about writing, ageing and putting the sex into sexagenarian in an interview with Australian Story.
One more thing
With most of Australia well out of lockdown — and even returning to some pre-COVID routines — many of us are still experiencing memory problems.
So, if you've found yourself asking things such as, "What day is it again?" "Did I already go grocery shopping this week?" and "Who sent that text I need to reply to?", then you're not alone.
Neuroscientist Dr Lila Landowski from the University of Tasmania says the chronic stress many of us faced having to adapt to lockdowns, working from home, remote learning and COVID-19 itself all take their toll.
Then there's the brain strain of going back to "normal" again.
Dr Celia Harris — vice-chancellor's senior research fellow in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Western Sydney — says all this extra stuff to think about "acts like an extra load on our cognitive functioning that makes routine tasks more difficult and more likely to fail".
"Part of the solution is recognising where you are having trouble remembering and consciously engaging strategies to address it — and recognising that we've all been through an ongoing major upheaval, and it is to be expected that we might be functioning in different ways [than] before," Dr Harris says.
To improve your memory, Dr Landowski recommends three things: exercise, sleep, and socialising, and Dr Harris advocates using memory tools such as lists, calendars and your phone to help.
You're up to date
Thanks for reading, we'll see you again soon.
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