⏳ Monday Fix: Let The Games Begin

Morning all,

Novak Djokovic, Aung San Suu Kyi and Prince Andrew - an undoubtedly anxious weekend for all three while awaiting court developments. Two out of three decisions have been made, while the other is said to be imminent.

Until tomorrow,

Your Fixers

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LET THE GAMES BEGIN

An Australian court has ruled in favour of Novak Djokovic, saying the tennis champion can enter the country to play in the upcoming Australian Open.

The ruling meant Djokovic had to be released from detention within half an hour, have his passport and other personal belongings returned to him, and the Australian government must pay the athlete's costs "as agreed or assessed".

CNN provided some very helpful context on the judge's decision. Critically, the judge explained Djokovic "had not been given sufficient notice of his visa cancellation".

The politics of it all: Within Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his government have been widely criticised since the decision was announced. Even a former prime minister, Kevin Rudd, described the situation as "total incompetence".

Is that court decision final? Well, no not really. As The Guardian noted, the country's immigration minister "will consider exercising a personal power to cancel Djokovic's visa". We'll keep an eye. As multiple media outlets noted, if his visa does ultimately get cancelled he would be banned from Australia for three years.

What's trending about this online? Weirdly enough, Nigel Farage. The staunch Brexiteer is in Serbia with Djokovic's family, and was awaiting the verdict. Many, including tennis player Andy Murray, were quick to point out the irony of Farage objecting to a country controlling their own borders.

"Please record the awkward moment when you tell them you’ve spent most of your career campaigning to have people from Eastern Europe deported." - Andy Murray responding to a tweet by Nigel Farage

What was the latest on this over the weekend? The tennis #1's team claim he got the exemption in the first place because he had tested positive for coronavirus in December. However, The Times had a report on Sunday claiming Djokovic attended an awards ceremony a day after testing positive.

PIN DROP - WHAT'S GOING ON IN MYANMAR?

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to four years in prison, on top of the sentence of two years house arrest she was given in December.

According to AFP, this latest sentence relates to two charges of "illegally importing" and "owning walking-talkies" and a further charge of "breaking coronavirus rules".

Remember: Aung San Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest without being seen since February 1 of last year, when the military took over in an early morning coup. They alleged - without concrete evidence - that the November 2020 elections were fraudulent. The coup took place on what would have been the first day of the new parliament.

Want to know more about Myanmar? Read our recent piece: Myanmar, The Constant Struggle for Democracy

ON TODAY'S AGENDA...

American and Russian diplomats are expected to meet in Geneva today, as tensions mount over the recent build up of Russian troops along its border with Ukraine.

Looking ahead: On Wednesday, another important meeting will take place when representatives from NATO and Russia meet in Brussels.

Unfamiliar with this story? Click the picture below to read our background explainer.

KEEPING AN EYE...

Whether or not a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew will be dismissed remains to be seen, as the wait for the judge to announce their decision continues.

Much of the media describe the decision as "imminent," but let's see.

The Guardian published an article that was widely shared over the weekend - Royals await anxiously the fallout from Prince Andrew's disgrace.

"The prince’s lawyers have taken an aggressive approach to protecting their client. They first argued that the court summons had not been properly served, then attempted to get the case thrown out on the grounds that Giuffre doesn’t live in the US. Now they are seeking their client’s salvation with the grim fact that he qualifies as a potential defendant in any sex abuse case connected to Epstein. In other words, it appears his possible culpability is being used as his defence." - Andrew Anthony, The Guardian

SOCIETAL SHIFTS

A man in Colombia has become the first person with a non-terminal illness to die by assisted suicide.

Prior to his death, the man described his condition as "degenerative" rather than terminal. According to CNN, a woman with ALS was euthanised in the country on Saturday.

#HavingYourSay: Back in November, we asked you guys on our Instagram for your views on this topic;

• 84% of you think assisted dying should be legal
• 95% of you said a person's diagnosis would be a determining factor for you rather than age

HOPEFUL HEADLINES

A baby who was lost in the chaos at Kabul airport in August has been reunited with his family.

Images of the boy, who was two months old at the time, being passed over an airport gate to US soldiers went viral last year, as scenes of the chaotic desperation in Kabul drew international attention.

It has now emerged the baby was found in the airport by a taxi driver who took him home, and began raising him as his own. According to multiple media reports, the boy's family relocated to the US. After weeks of negotiations with the cab driver, the baby was handed back to his grandfather in Kabul, and efforts are now underway to have him brought to America.

PANDEMIC

• The UK's coronavirus-related death toll surpassed 150,000 over the weekend. BBC News had a powerful way of giving perspective to that number; 90,000 people can attend a full stadium at Wembley, 1350,00 people buy tickets annually for the Glastonbury festival, with 150,000 being "everyone who lives in a city such as Oxford".
• In Ireland, The Irish Times has a report about NPHET considering the legality of mandatory vaccinations. Later in the article, it is noted this is from the minutes of a meeting on December 16.

"Ireland has one of the highest Covid-19 vaccination rates in Europe. More than half of Covid patients in intensive care are from about 5 per cent of adults who are unvaccinated." - context from The Irish Times

MOST READ

• BBC News: Huge fossilised 'sea dragon' found in UK reservoir
• The Guardian: Live: Novak Djokovic released from immigration detention after Australian court quashes visa cancellation
• The Financial Times: "How a super reader gets through 52 books a year"
• Al Jazeera: Aung San Suu Kyi found guilty over walkie talkie charges
• The Irish Times: NPHET to consider mandatory vaccination as Ministers anxious to remove 8pm trading limit

INCASE YOU MISSED IT

Over the weekend, we explored the ongoing abortion debate in the US, a topic that will undoubtedly be a huge story this summer.

We have never received such positive feedback from a piece, so please make sure to give it a read - 🇺🇸 Abortion in the US: The Divided States of America.

TODAY MARKS...

World Hindi Day - a day to raise awareness about the fourth most spoken language in the world.

According to The Hindustan Times, only English, Spanish and Mandarin are spoken more than Hindi. In India, it is one of the two official languages alongside English.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE...

Such a range of emotions watching this.