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Anatomy of a cruise: how the Ruby Princess came to dock and disembark with coronavirus

The inquiry into the management of the ship’s arrival in Sydney in March has revealed a detailed timeline of who knew what and when

A special commission of inquiry has held five days of hearings into the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which has so far has been linked to 21 deaths and almost 700 cases of Covid-19 across Australia.

The inquiry, overseen by Bret Walker SC, had two days of hearings on 22 and 23 April, and then three days of hearings this week.

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Richard Ford: 'I didn't finish a book until I was 19'

The Pulitzer prize winner on the freedom that comes with age, how he reinvented his writing life and overcoming childhood dyslexia

Richard Ford, 76, is a novelist whose particular feat has been to translate failure into literary success: he writes about human beings and their disappointments with unfailing insight and, while he never mocks his characters, is keenly aware of the absurdity involved in being alive. His best-known novels are about Frank Bascombe, sportswriter turned real estate agent. His novel Independence Day won the Pulitzer prize in 1996. He lives in Maine, teaches English at Columbia and his new collection of short stories, Sorry for Your Trouble, is exemplary in its nuanced understanding of the relationships between men and women.

Your stories explore choice and the rogue ways life behaves. Do people have a choice about who they fall in love with? And what part does luck play?
I think about both these questions. I was the luckiest man in the world when I met Kristina back in 1964 – I’ve been married to the same girl for 52 years. Yet throughout that long period, you choose all over again. I used to tell Kristina, “I choose to be married to you every day.”

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Should I wear a mask when I'm exercising outside?

It’s important to get fresh air and exercise – but do we need to wear masks while running, walking and cycling? We asked some experts

To mask or not to mask while getting fresh air is the question many of us are asking ourselves. According to the CDC, we should wear masks in “areas of significant community-based transmission”, such as grocery stores and pharmacies. While the CDC doesn’t list the outdoors as a high-density space, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s OK to exercise outdoors mask-free.

Related: Quarantine is perfect for discovering the beauty and power of boredom

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Pass judgment on Adele's talent, not on how much she weighs | Barbara Ellen

It’s depressing that the singer’s new skinny look matters more to some than her extraordinary voice

It seems that Adele’s weight is fast becoming a feminist issue, although not in the way people usually mean. Last year, images of the singer’s extreme weight loss rocked the world. When she released a photo to mark her 32nd birthday last week, the internet exploded all over again. Some people thought her new look was great; others considered it a (whisper it) betrayal. Some accused her of having a gastric band; others bitched that she would soon pile it all back on again. “She looks good.” “She looks bad.” “She looks weird.” And on it goes.

Adele isn’t new to this: her weight was also discussed (admiringly, critically, endlessly) before she lost it. In the modern musical landscape, where female artists specifically are viciously pressured to be perma-slim, the message seemed to be that she was one of those rare talents who were “allowed” to be bigger. At other times, the focus on her weight verged on patronising and reductive, as though her BMI-based “relatability” was the main draw and her talent a poor second.

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Covid-19: isolated and alone, Britain has become the sick man of Europe

The disasters of Trump, Brexit and coronavirus have been made all the worse by our weak and incompetent leaders


Britain is in a lonely place right now. It resembles the scene of a bad traffic accident where shocked passers-by look away with pity and horror in their eyes. Alarmed by what they see, governments around the world practise their own form of social distancing. Once again, Britain is the sick man of Europe.

Lethal mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic is not the sole reason for this un-splendid isolation. The disease’s sudden onslaught is the third national disaster in almost as many years. The first was the decision to walk away from Europe. The second was the advent of Donald Trump and his anarchic America First agenda.

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Can I visit my family or parents for Mother's Day? Australia’s coronavirus lockdown rules and restrictions explained

Can you get takeaway coffee with a friend? What about visiting your family or parents for Mother’s Day? Laws to stop spread of Covid-19 seem to change daily and in some states carry a big fine. Untangle them with our guide

Australia is well into its second month of Covid-19 lockdowns and every state enforcing physical distancing laws slightly differently.

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A rise in retail sales is normally good news. But this is not normal and clearly not sustainable | Greg Jericho

A 24% jump in Australian supermarket sales in March was panic buying in a pandemic, and we all did it

When the monthly retail figures come out, no one generally cares too much about food retailing. It is the most boring of the retail categories and doesn’t really tell us much about how the economy is travelling.

While the amount we spend at restaurants and on household goods is a good indicator of how secure we feel about our income, the level we spend at grocery stores barely moves up or down – on average it shifts about half as much as the other categories.

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The ultimate quiz from this week in sports history | Jonathan Howcroft

There might not have been any live sport to enjoy over the past week but it was a memorable one in history. See how much you can recall from the week ending 10 May

Forerunner of the modern AFL, the VFL hosted its first round of matches on 8 May 1897, but who took home the competition’s inaugural premiership?

Melbourne

Geelong

Collingwood

Essendon

Perhaps the greatest ODI batsman in history was born on 8 May 1970, but which of these statements about Michael Bevan is true?

First Canberra-born cricketer to represent Australia

First man to play 300 ODIs

First man to retire with an ODI average above 60

A man who took his nickname “The Finisher” to such extremes he was always the first to clear his plate during team meals

Wally Lewis claimed his final State of Origin man of the match award on 8 May 1991, but on how many occasions was the Emperor of Lang Park considered best afield in his 31 Origin appearances?

31

20

12

8

The tennis circuit should be in the middle of the European clay season right now, counting down to Roland Garros and Ash Barty’s defence of the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen. But can you remember who the Queenslander beat in last year’s French Open final?

Simona Halep

Naomi Osaka

Markéta Vondroušová

Amanda Anisimova

Mark Williams won his third world snooker title on 7 May 2018, 15 years after his second, but during his celebrations, how did he honour a bet he had made at the beginning of the tournament?

By appearing at his post-win press conference nude

By taking a midnight dip in the nearby River Don

By reciting Hamlet’s soliloquy in the middle of one of England’s most important regional theatres

By retiring

Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City have only met once in an A-League finals contest, and it happened on 8 May 2015 with Victory romping home 3-0. What was the official attendance that night?

60,873

50,873

40,873

30,873

Australian boxing great Lionel Rose died on 8 May 2011, but at what weight did he hold the lineal world title?

Flyweight

Bantamweight

Featherweight

Lightweight

Leicester City lifted the Premier League trophy on 7 May 2016, becoming the unlikeliest champions in the competition’s history. The presentation ceremony featured a spine-tingling rendition of Nessun Dorma from which tenor?

Andrea Bocelli

Placido Domingo

Luciano Pavarotti

Bryn Terfel

The Super Netball season was supposed to get underway last weekend with which side defending their premiership?

NSW Swifts

Sunshine Coast Lightning

Melbourne Vixens

Collingwood Magpies

Andrew McLeod made the first of his 340 AFL appearances for Adelaide on 5 May 1995, but who traded the dual Norm Smith medallist a few months earlier, without him ever pulling on that club’s guernsey?

Brisbane

Port Adelaide

Fremantle

West Coast

With just three seconds remaining in the deciding fifth game of the first round of the 1989 NBA playoffs Michael Jordan nailed “The Shot”. But who did the Chicago Bulls eliminate in such dramatic fashion on 7 May 31 years ago?

Boston Celtics

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Cleveland Cavaliers

Australia began their campaign to secure a maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on 6 May 2010 with a group match against England. Both teams finished 104 all out, and both ended the super over six for two. How was the result decided?

Coin toss

Fewest extras

Most sixes

Points shared

The eyes of the football world were trained on Milan on 6 May 1970 to witness which Dutch side become the first to lift the European Cup?

Ajax

Feyenoord

PSV Eindhoven

FC Twente

The magical four-minute barrier for the mile was broken by Roger Bannister on 6 May 1954 in Oxford, but whose record did he overhaul to set the new mark?

John Landy

Herb Elliott

Peter Snell

Gunder Hägg

Dan Christian was born on 4 May 1983. A successful all-rounder at first-class and 50-over level, Christian has made the T20 franchise circuit his own. How many professional teams (states, counties and franchises) has he represented during his career?

17

12

8

5

13 and above.

Congratulations. Top of the class

10 and above.

You've been immersed in nostalgic re-runs, haven't you?

7 and above.

No disgrace in being average

4 and above.

Plenty of room for improvement

0 and above.

Perhaps use isolation to read up on some history?

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Grinding away: 11 ways to reuse leftover coffee grounds

If you’ve been making more coffee at home lately, there are plenty of uses for your daily brew’s remnants – from composting to cleaning

Coffee is good for more than just waking you up in the morning. Before you toss used grounds, consider putting them to use in the garden, around the house, or in bath and body products.

Repel garden pests
Sprinkle grounds liberally around your plants, or the perimeter of your garden, to deter pests such as ants, slugs, and snails.

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Kylie Moore-Gilbert feels abandoned by Australia, sources in Iranian prison say

Academic has reportedly told other prisoners she is outraged at the government’s handling of her imprisonment

British-Australian woman Kylie Moore-Gilbert is despairing at her isolation inside Tehran’s Evin prison, believing she has been abandoned to her decade-long sentence, according to sources within the prison.

Political prisoner Moore-Gilbert, who has spent more than 600 days inside the notorious Ward 2A of Tehran’s Evin prison, much of it in solitary confinement, was convicted in a secret trial and sentenced to 10 years prison on charges of espionage.

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Queensland deputy premier Jackie Trad resigns ministerial duties amid integrity probe

Health minister Steven Miles has been appointed deputy premier, while Cameron Dick will take on the role as treasurer

Jackie Trad has resigned from the Queensland government cabinet after standing down on Saturday following a second probe into her integrity.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the announcement on Sunday, following the news the Crime and Corruption Commission was investigating Trad for the second time in 12 months.

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Factional flareup: can Gladys Berejiklian keep her unruly ministers focused on the main game?

The NSW premier is trying to project a sense of order during Covid-19 but the men in her team are indulging in a kind of sabotage

Since well before Christmas the New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has been dealing with crises: first the drought, then bushfires that ravaged her state, then the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected everyone.

Every morning at 8am Berejiklian fronts the media for her Covid-19 briefing, trying to project a sense of calm, order and empathy, urging the people of NSW to stick with the restrictions.

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Global report: Anthony Fauci and two other White House Covid-19 taskforce members to self-quarantine

Fauci and heads of CDC and FDA potentially exposed to coronavirus; Boris Johnson to announce UK lockdown changes

Three members of the White House coronavirus taskforce have placed themselves in self-quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19. It comes as the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, prepares to unveil his “roadmap” to a new normality in a national broadcast and global infections pass four million.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn, are all expected to work remotely due to potential exposure to Covid-19.

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'Time to click reset': coronavirus offers chance to end Australia's welfare wars

The doubling of jobseeker was the biggest change to social security in decades. Now experts want the government to push aside ideology and establish a permanent equitable safety net

This is the third in our series on Life after lockdown, which looks at how the Covid-19 pandemic could change Australia for good

What does Australia owe Racheal Wellman, just 23? What are her chances in this country now, and as Australia begins to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic?

Wellman worked as a barista 25 to 30 hours a week in a St Kilda cafe. It was a casual job, so no paid holidays, no sick pay, no job security. But it was “fantastic”, she says, especially after being unemployed for a time, couchsurfing at friends’ houses and sometimes sleeping rough at Flinders Street station.

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Lessons learned: what Australia needs to do to avoid a second Covid-19 wave

Experts say to prevent future outbreak clusters, workers need to have job safety if they are feeling sick and unable to work

Improvements in communication, personal protective equipment training, initial infection responses and social distancing have emerged as key areas of improvement if Australia is to avoid a second wave of coronavirus infections after lockdowns ease.

While the government has linked the uptake of its Covidsafe tracing app to a return to normal, the chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, in April identified the bolstering of health authorities’ ability to respond to and contain localised clusters as an essential step to reassessing measures.

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NSW warns ‘complacency biggest threat’ as most states move to ease Covid-19 restrictions

Victoria only state to retain strict rules, as cafes, playgrounds and pools set to reopen across country

Victoria is the only state not to have announced an easing of coronavirus restrictions as New South Wales signals it will relax its laws from Friday and Western Australia declares most people will be able to return to work from Monday week.

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the easing of restrictions on Sunday, increasing the number of visitors permitted in private residences from two to five, allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 10, and up to 10 dine-in patrons at cafes and restaurants, provided each patron has 4 sq metres of space. The use of outdoor pools, gym and play equipment will also be permitted.

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Coronavirus Australia updates live: anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne as NSW and WA set to ease Covid-19 restrictions – latest news

Cafes and restaurants will reopen for limited numbers of people as part of a relaxation of Covid-19 rules in both states. Follow all the latest news, live

We will leave our live Australian coverage there for the day. You can follow our rolling global coverage here or read a summary here.

Here’s how things stand in Australia:

South Australia has established a rapid response team to deal with any coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes.

Twenty-seven of the 97 people to die in Australia after testing positive to Covid-19, died in nursing homes.

The dedicated SA Pathology team has been assembled to provide greater protection for some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens.

If an outbreak occurs, the team will immediately test everyone in the facility, helping to quickly identify cases, limit the spread and protect both residents and staff.

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Fish and chips #StillopeninOxfordshire

OFF The Hook fish and chip shop in Long Hanborough has been serving tasty takeaways to residents during lockdown.




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Claire Hughes of Didcot is completing a bucket list in memory of her sister

IN 1993, 12-year-old Zoe Hitchman passed away after falling ill with meningitis.




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Inquests into six Oxfordshire deaths to be heard at coroners court

THE INQUESTS into the deaths of six people who died in Oxfordshire will be heard at court this week.




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Costa Coffee: Full list of open UK stores - plus new rules for customers

THE boss of Costa Coffee has announced the new rules for customers following the reopening of a number of branches.




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Little Richard Dies At 87



The founding father of rock and roll has passed away.





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How Andre Harrell Introduced Halle Berry To The World



She was just one of many celebrities put on by Harrell.




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For the Culture: Why Andre Harrell Always Moved The Crowd



He had his finger on the pulse of the culture.





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Ms. Juicy Posts Emotional Tribute To Miss Minnie



They had a complicated relationship.




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‘BRUH’ Co-Star Barry Brewer Talks About Brotherhood



The bonds between Black men can be complicated.





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Twitter reacts to new 'stay alert' slogan as Government criticised for ditching 'stay at home' message

The Government's new "stay alert" slogan for the next stage of the UK's fight against coronavirus has divided opinion.




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Josh Trank was bitter towards other superhero directors after 'Fantastic Four' failure

Josh Trank was so devastated by the failure of Fantastic Four that he started to have bitter feelings towards other superhero directors. 




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Andy Serkis says 'The Batman' is going to be the darkest incarnation yet

Andy Serkis says the upcoming Batman film will be darker and broodier than the previous cinematic incarnations.




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Creator Rob Liefeld blames Marvel for 'Deadpool 3' delay

Comic-book creator Rob Liefeld blames Marvel for the delay to Deadpool 3.




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Robert Downey Jr helped convince a ‘scared’ Mark Ruffalo to join the MCU

Mark Ruffalo was “scared” when the Marvel Cinematic Universe approached him about portraying the Hulk in 2012’s The Avengers. 




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Author Alison Roman Apologizes to Chrissy Teigen After Receiving Major Backlash

Cookbook author and New York Times cooking columnist Alison Roman has publicly apologized to Chrissy Teigen after receiving backlash for comments she made about her fellow culinary...




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Demi Lovato Says She's "Really Happy" With Max Ehrich After Sharing PDA Clip From "Stuck with U" Video

Demi Lovato says she's really happy with Max Ehrich after posting their swoon-worthy moment from the new Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber video, "Stuck with U," directly to her own...




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Why Emma Stone's Fans Are Convinced She's Already Married to Dave McCary

Wedding bells?! Here's a new celebrity theory making the internet rounds: fans are convinced that Emma Stone is already married to Saturday Night Live writer, Dave...




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Everything You Need to Turn Your Yard Into a Relaxing Beach Oasis

We love these products, and we hope you do too. E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small share of the revenue from your purchases. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!. If...




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Kim Kardashian Says Psalm West Makes "Everything Perfect" in Sweet Birthday Post

Kim Kardashian's baby boy turns one! The Keeping Up With the Kardashian star is celebrating Psalm West's first birthday. It's safe to assume her and Kanye West's little...




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Priyanka Chopra Adorably Crashes Nick Jonas' Virtual Happy Hour With The Voice Coaches

In the second installment of The Voice's virtual happy hour, the show's coaches shared their attempts at keeping busy and sane during quarantine, by sipping cocktails and sharing their...




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Soccer Star Alex Morgan Gives Birth to a Baby Girl

Congrats are in order! Soccer star Alex Morgan has a lot to celebrate ahead of Mother's Day. The Women's World Cup champion shared the special and exciting news that she...




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Psalm West Turns 1! Look Back At All of His Sweetest Pics

Happy birthday, Psalm West! Today is an especially sweet Mother's Day weekend for Kim Kardashian because her youngest is celebrating his first birthday. We can't believe...




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Ruthie Ann Miles Welcomes Baby Girl Two Years After Tragic Accident

It's a girl! And her name is Hope Elizabeth. Tony-award-winning Broadway star Ruthie Ann Miles and her husband Jonathan Blumenstein welcomed a new member to the family recently,...




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Reese Witherspoon's Party Planner Shares How to Host the Perfect Zoom Bash For Any Celebration

Continued social distancing doesn't have to mean the end of socializing. As the planet continues to stick close to home in the effort of slowing the global coronavirus pandemic, time...




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Andy Cohen Says His Son Benjamin and Anderson Cooper's Son Wyatt Will Be 'Best Friends'

A lifelong friendship awaits Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper's sons. The 51-year-old TV host took some time while in quarantine to answer a few fan questions on his Instagram Story on...




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Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson Are Officially ''Moving On'' Following Their Recent Split

Ashley Benson and Cara Delevingne don't seem to have plans for reconciliation. After almost two years since the two began dating and one year since they went public with their...




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Katy Perry Gets Real About Crying When ''Doing Simple Tasks'' During Pregnancy

Katy Perry is getting real about her hormonal changes and mood swings during pregnancy. On Saturday, during the SHEIN Together livestream event--a virtual festival led by the clothing...




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Netflix's Too Hot to Handle Francesca Farago and Harry Jowsey Get Engaged During Zoom Reunion

Nothing is stopping these two lovebirds. The infamous Too Hot to Handle couple Harry Jowsey and Francesca Farago are officially engaged. During a recent Zoom reunion of the...




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These are the top travel trends for 2021, according to experts

From being more conscious about travel to an uptick in staycations, Laura Hampson chats to leading travel experts about their predictions for 2021




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One&Only's banana wholemeal pancakes with cranberry-apricot sauce

Brunch, sorted