Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 11 January.

Top stories

The Minerals Council of Australia is apparently prepared to stare down BHP, despite the mining giant’s threat to re-examine its membership of the peak lobby group if it does not stop promoting coal-fired energy. The MCA is kicking off a new campaign dubbed “making the future possible”, which it says is needed to counteract “misinformation from urban activists”. BHP has said it will consider pulling out of the industry group if it “has not refrained from such policy activity or advocacy” within the next year. Late on Wednesday a spokesman for the MCA confirmed it was moving ahead with its campaign to “show what mining means to Australians and the benefits of an innovative, responsible, successful and sustainable mining industry to our nation”, despite BHP’s concerns.

BHP did not comment on the news. The MCA explained its latest campaign was targeted at Australians living in cities. “Some Australians, particularly those who live in cities and may not have direct experience of the jobs and prosperity brought by mining, might be unaware of the current contribution and the future potential of the Australian minerals sector,” the MCA spokesman said.

A US federal court has ruled the Dreamers program must remain in place while litigation over Trump’s decision to deport them unfolds. A judge blocked the administration from ending an Obama-era program that shielded children, brought to the United States illegally by their parents, from deportation out of the country. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program has allowed nearly 800,000 immigrants to work and go to school in the US without fear of deportation since it was authorised by the former president Barack Obama in 2012. In response Trump lashed out at the judge, calling the court system “broken and unfair”. Trump has criticised the circuit in the past, including deriding one of the federal judges who halted the implementation of his travel ban executive order.

A chief justice has been ambushed and attacked in another incident related to Papua New Guinea’s escalating problem with sorcery-related violence. The attack on Sir Salamo Injia near his home in Enga province followed the kidnapping and torture of two women from the judge’s tribe, who were accused of killing a man with sorcery. Police say Injia was targeted because his tribe had not paid compensation for the death of the man. Injia was not hurt but was shaken after the incident. Sorcery accusations – and violent summary attacks – occur with increasing frequency in PNG, but little action is taken. Perpetrators act within a culture of strong belief in sorcery, and with the knowledge they often have broad public support.

Russia’s attempts to influence British democracy and the Brexit vote have been detailed in a new report by the US senate, with the authors warning of anti-democratic influence by foreign powers at the highest level. “The allegations that have emerged of Russian interference prior to the Brexit referendum are all the more stunning given the innate resilience within British society to the Kremlin’s anti-democratic agenda,” the report reads. The report raises red flags about the vast flow of Russian money into the UK, including the London property market, and says Ukip and its then-leader, Nigel Farage, did not just fan anti-EU sentiment but also “criticised European sanctions on Russia, and provided flattering assessments of Russian President Putin”. Social media emanating from Russia added fuel to the fire, with 150,000 Twitter accounts linked to Russia tweeting favourably about Brexit before the vote.

Australia’s charities sector has come out swinging over proposed rules they say will strangle their advocacy for causes ranging from environmental conservation to homelessness. Charities including St Vincent de Paul and the Australian Conservation Foundation have formed a coalition to campaign against the Coalition’s proposed changes to foreign donation laws, which are aimed at banning foreign donations and tackling foreign interference in Australian politics, but also extend to charities that conduct advocacy. “This will force many charities to divert resources away from frontline services and advocacy,” says a briefing note from St Vincent de Paul. “For some charities, it may also have a ‘chilling’ effect, deterring them from speaking out about injustices in order to avoid the onerous administrative costs that such advocacy would incur.”

Sport

There are very few player unions able to negotiate pay increases for players when their sport is suffering declines in television ratings and attendances. But Australia’s rugby union players have pulled off just that, with Rugby Australia to use $5m generated by Western Force’s axing to pay for new conditions.

New injury doubts over Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and Petra Kvitova make it difficult to identify favourites in the upcoming Australian Open. Will it be left to Roger Federer and Angelique Kerber to rise from the injury wreckage of their colleagues and dominate the tournament, which is looking decidedly short of star power?

Thinking time

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An alcohol diversion program in Dandenong, Melbourne. Photograph: Charlotte Grieve

Despite it being his fifth driving offence and owing more than $7,000 in infringement notices, Domac Gile-Lul was told he would not be going to jail. “You’ve deserved this, you’ve worked very hard,” said magistrate Pauline Spencer. “Now don’t come back.” An award-winning alcohol diversion program based in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong has helped 51 people, including Gil-Lul get their lives back on track. At one stage Gil-Lul was drinking four litres of wine a day to help him cope with the legacy of a traumatic childhood in Sudan, and years of bullying. A year after joining the program, he no longer has a problem with alcohol and his life has completely turned around.

William A Noguera committed a brutal murder and has spent almost 30 years waiting for execution on death row. But in a new book, Escape Artist, the artist explains how painting changed his life. “It made me remember a lot of things I never wanted to remember,” Noguera says of writing Escape Artist. “It was very emotionally draining. I remember spending many hours after writing a chapter, basically in tears. But what it brought to me was clarity. I was able to sit down and really look at and remember certain points in my life where I made decisions where I could have gone a different way.”

The good employment news of 2017 looks set to continue into the new year. It is easier now on average for the unemployed to get a job than it has been for six years, and the fight to get work has improved across all states and virtually all industries. These very good job vacancy figures highlight more than ever that 2018 should be the year of better wages growth, writes Greg Jericho. “When the number of unemployed per vacancy falls, it also means employers have a tougher job finding someone to fill a position. This should lead to higher wages as employers look to pay more in order to encourage workers not to leave.”

What’s he done now?

Donald Trump has unleashed a firestorm of tweets denying collusion with Russia, and labelling the investigation “the single greatest witch-hunt in American history”, maybe forgetting the actual Salem witch-hunts. “There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!”

Media roundup

The Herald Sun continues its campaign on gangs, revealing that at its peak the Apex gang had 60 members, only six of whom were born in Australia. The Herald Sun says it gained access to the data during a $10m pilot of a national criminal intelligence system, which Victoria police are now calling on the Turnbull government to roll out permanently. The Canberra Times splashes with a report by the Australia Institute, which has found perceived corruption in the public sector may have wiped $72bn from the Australian economy. The government’s integrity rankings dropped six places over the last four years in Transparency International’s ratings of perceived corrupt behaviour in the bureaucracy. And ABC Science has a helpful article revealing the dark ploys internet shopping websites use to lure you into buying more, including sale items that boast they have 50 people looking at them, and magazine subscriptions mysteriously ending up in your online cart.

Coming up

The Australian Open draw will take place in Melbourne today, attended by Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and Todd Woodbridge.

The Women’s Tour Down Under cycling race gets under way with a Gumeracha to Gumeracha leg in the Adelaide Hills.

The Elvis Express and Blue Suede Express trains will make their way to Parkes in central west NSW from Sydney for the annual pilgrimage to the Elvis festival.

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