⏳ Friday Fix: Novax Djokovic

Morning all,

The lengthy 'gay cake' legal battle comes to an end, all eyes remain on Kazakhstan, while Djokovic and Prince Andrew both await decisions on how to move forward.

Until tomorrow,

Your Fixers

GOOD LISTENER?

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THE 'GAY CAKE' CASE

After a seven-year legal battle against a Belfast bakery who refused to provide a cake saying "support gay marriage", the man has lost the case.

The European Court of human rights ruled the case - widely known as the 'gay cake' row - as inadmissible.

Background: The bakery is run by evangelical Christians who argued they cannot support same-sex marriage. In the beginning of the legal battle, courts in Northern Ireland ruled in favour of the man who wanted the cake, saying he had been discriminated against on the grounds of his sexual orientation.

However, the UK's Supreme Court overturned the ruling in 2018. As Reuters noted, the Supreme Court at the time ruled "the bakers' objection was to the message on the cake, not to any personal characteristics of the messenger, or anyone with whom he was associated".

NOVAX DJOKOVIC?  

You know this already, Novak Djokovic is currently in a hotel in Melbourne, waiting to see whether or not he'll be deported. He's not going to know his fate until Monday.

In the meantime, we asked you guys on our Instagram to share some thoughts...

• The vast majority (82%) believe Djokovic should not be allowed to enter Australia, nor do you think (88%) athletes in general should receive an exemption
• Another significant majority (77%) thinks Australia is right to only be allowing vaccinated foreigners into the country

PIN DROP

For the second time this week we're shifting our focus to what's going in Kazakhstan, as protests against the government have turned violent and deadly.

A quick re-cap: Protestors were originally demonstrating against a rise in fuel prices. That quickly developed into protests against the elite, and calls for more equality and less corruption.

Who are the key figures? The president is Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. However, a man called Nursultan Nazarbayez ruled the country from independence in 1991 until 2019, and remained a powerful figure behind the scenes. The Guardian now report he may have fled the country.

About Kazakhstan: The central Asian country, and former Soviet state is located between Russia and China, and is a majority Muslim country. As The Times noted, it is the world's ninth largest country - "bigger than western Europe" - but its population is only 19 million people.

Russian involvement: A Russian-led group of troops has been sent in to try and stabilise the situation. As many publications have noted, the speed at which the situation deteriorated will be of alarming concern to President Putin, particularly the speed at which demonstrators turned against the country's former leader.

Another interesting angle: Bitcoin. According to The Times, Kazakhstan "accounts for 18% of the world's bitcoin mining operations," and the unrest has reportedly wiped 5% off its value.

Here is a really helpful analysis piece, and below is a comprehensive explainer of the situation.

STILL...WAITING...

A judge on Tuesday said they'll decide "pretty soon" on whether or not to dismiss the civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew. That decision is yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, The Times report Prince Andrew "hasn't ruled out" making an out of court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, but it is unclear how that information was sourced.

Going back to the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, there are also reports that now a second juror acknowledged being the victim of sexual abuse as a child during jury deliberations.

Maxwell's lawyers argue this give grounds for a retrial. Remember: Maxwell was convicted on five out of six counts, and while a date for sentencing has not yet been set she potentially faces the rest of her life in jail.

Please keep an eye on our Instagram account for any potential updates over the weekend.

MOST READ

• BBC News: Mask refusals in England's schools causing concern
• The Guardian: Boris Johnson accused of corruption after 'great exhibition' text emerges
• The Financial Times: China's economy: the fallout form the Evergrande crisis
• Al Jazeera: Russia-led troops arrive in Kazakhstan amid renewed violence
• The Irish Times: students in fee-charging schools more likely to progress to courses with high points

LISTENING OUT FOR

A David Bowie album called 'Lost' will be released today to mark what would have been the late singer's 75th birthday.

According to BBC News, the music was originally recorded in 2001 and leaked in 2011.

Remember: Bowie died in January 2016 following a private battle with cancer.  

#SPREADTHEWORD

"Hang on, so you give out free subscriptions AND you reward us if we just tell friends about it?"

Well, yeah.

TODAY MARKS...

100 years since Dáil Éireann - Ireland's lower house of parliament - ratified the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

The vote was much closer than anticipated, despite a majority of the public being in favour of the treaty.

While it was considered a "significant step" towards Irish independence, the vote ultimately paved the way for the outbreak of civil war months later.

Here is a really interesting article by The Irish Times, but if you don't have a subscription RTÉ News has also covered it.

SATURDAY MARKS...

30 years since the famous moment when the late President Bush vomited on the lap of the Japanese prime minister at the time, after taking ill during a state dinner.

SUNDAY MARKS...

The Duchess of Cambridge's 40th birthday. Clap if you're excited to have reached the milestone... ✌🏽

TWITTER TRENDS

#StephenColbert

Why? For the skit below that his show released marking the first anniversary of the breach of the Capitol.

#MollyMae

Why? The entrepreneur and former Love Island contestant sparked a wave of backlash for comments she made about everyone having the same 24 hours in the day.

"So I understand obviously that we all have different backgrounds and we're all raised in different ways, and we do have different financial situations, but I think if you want something enough you can achieve it and it just depends to what lengths you want to go." - Molly Mae Hague

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

Go on Son.