Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 12 December.

Top stories

A third-party organisation trying to unseat New South Wales National party MPs is under investigation by the state’s electoral commission – a move that has spurred its organisers to target federal Nationals seats, specifically Barnaby Joyce’s seat of New England. The commission has sent officers to the homes of co-founders of the newly formed third-party campaigner known as Anyone But Nats, which has urged voters to “put the Nats last” at the March state election. Mudgee-based IT businessman Charles Tym said commission officers told him they were investigating Anyone But Nats after a Guardian Australia article on 24 October that stated his family had donated $20,000 to fund 400 advertising spots across regional television stations.

Tym said he would not be intimidated by the investigation and promised to take the organisation to the federal election, with a specific focus on Joyce’s electorate. “While the [commission] staff were professional and courteous, it was an unwarranted invasion of our privacy and bordered on an abuse of power,” he said. “It looks like the electoral commission are unwittingly doing the LNP’s bidding. It undermines the individual’s ability to get involved in the democratic process.”

Interpol granted a red notice against Bahraini refugee Hakeem al-Araibi in contradiction of its own regulations, just weeks before he travelled to Thailand on holidays, where he was arrested. Al-Araibi, who lives in Australia as a permanent resident, has been in Bangkok detention for two weeks, as Bahrain seeks to have him extradited after he was convicted in absentia to 10 years in prison over the alleged vandalism of a building, which he denies and claims occurred while he was playing in a televised football match. A copy of the Interpol red notice against the 25-year-old dissident, obtained by Guardian Australia, shows it was issued on 8 November, strongly suggesting Bahrain only recently learned of its opportunity to seek his arrest. Before the date of the red notice’s issue was known, there was speculation it had been issued prior to Al-Araibi being granted refugee status in Australia in 2017 – three years after he was convicted in absentia by a Bahraini court. But the November date reveals Interpol went against its own regulations banning the issuing of red notices against refugees on behalf of the country they fled from.

The EU is moving into full no-deal Brexit mode after the chief negotiator Michel Barnier privately warned of a sudden escalation of risk, and France advised its fellow member states that planning for a cliff-edge Brexit now had to be their priority. As Theresa May embarked on a whistle-stop tour of EU capitals on Tuesday, Barnier is understood to have given a stark analysis of the situation in a meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker and his fellow commissioners, suggesting that the danger of a complete breakdown had significantly increased. During a visit to Berlin, May was reportedly told by Angela Merkel that there could be no renegotiation, and that any appeals for help should be made in Brussels rather than brought to the capitals.

Donald Trump has said he would be proud to shut down the US government over his demands for a wall on the border with Mexico during an extraordinary public row with top congressional Democrats in the Oval Office. In the meeting, which was opened to reporters at the last minute, Trump bickered with the US Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, and the House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, about funding for the border wall. “If we don’t get what we want, one way or the other – whether it’s through you, through a military, through anything you want to call – I will shut down the government,” Trump said. Speaking after the meeting, Schumer characterised the display as a Trump “temper tantrum”. During the on-camera exchange, Pelosi objected to the sparring, saying: “I don’t think we should have a debate in front of the press on this.”

Australian musician Nick Cave has slammed the cultural boycott of Israel as “cowardly and shameful”, and said part of his decision to play gigs in Israel was “to stand against those who shame and silence musicians”. Cave played a pair of concerts in Tel Aviv in November 2017 with his band the Bad Seeds, and received criticism from artists who oppose Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and refuse to perform in the country. Writing on his website, Cave defended his decision. “I do not support the current government in Israel, yet do not accept that my decision to play in the country is any kind of tacit support for that government’s policies,” Cave wrote, adding that he supported the Palestinian cause and that Palestinian suffering “is ended via a comprehensive and just solution, one that involves enormous political will on both sides”.

Sport

Where have Australia’s male sporting heroes gone? Reaction to Keisuke Honda’s recent comments highlighted a dearth of male role models – in stark contrast to women’s sport. “One would have thought we would be accustomed to the cliched speak of the increasingly media-savvy modern-day sportsperson,” writes Stephen Ganavas. “But instead it was a breath of fresh air for many people that have been disenfranchised by the numerous indiscretions of sportsmen in this era.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said “racism is everywhere” and has to be fought each day, speaking after Raheem Sterling was allegedly racially abused at Chelsea. “People focus on football but it’s not just in football,” said Guardiola.” How we treat immigrants and refugees, when once in our lives our grandfathers were refugees. How we treat them in society – it’s everywhere.”

Thinking time

A documentary on superstar DJ Avicii was initially given a small release before the death of the EDM star, but now the director discusses its uneasy relevance. “I have this feeling of unreality,” says Levan Tsikurishvili, who spent four years filming the troubled musician and introvert. “He was never comfortable as the centre of attention. He felt stardom is something that human beings have made up. It’s nothing real,” Tsikurishvili says. “I don’t think he knew what it takes to be as successful as he became.”

Public hearings for the banking royal commission may have wrapped up last month but another important financial inquiry is about to kick off, writes Gareth Hutchens. The Senate inquiry into elements of the financial industry that avoided the royal commission’s glare will examine payday lending, buy-now-pay-later firms and credit repair agencies. The first public hearing is on Wednesday in Melbourne. “If we think the royal commission unearthed appalling practices, then just dig a bit deeper … there’s some quite shocking practices,” the chief executive of Financial Counselling Australia, Fiona Guthrie, told Guardian Australia. “There has been widespread irresponsible lending in the industry … just taking advantage of peoples’ disadvantage.”

Living and working in far-flung corners of the world, spending time with family isn’t always easy or practical, writes Ranjana Srivastava. But after agonising over what birthday gift to get her father, Srivastava realises that “the antidote to an epidemic of loneliness doesn’t lie in sending a bigger gift but in exercising our imagination. If the stories of my patients are anything to go by, our imagination would tell us to show up a little more, to call a little more and to simply be more attentive. A sorrow shared is a sorrow divided. No medical advance, and no wrapped gift, could ever compete with this.”

Media roundup

The Australian explores “stalking” by tech giants, talking to a woman who googled Kath and Kim and was then bombarded by companies trying to sell her Kath and Kim merchandise. The story comes as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission looks into how to curb Google and Facebook’s power and influence in the private lives of Australians. And the ABC speaks to the “hero” of the Cronulla riots, Craig Campbell, who is still paying the price 13 years on.

Coming up

Hundreds of people are expected to hold peaceful sit-downs outside Labor MPs’ offices to demand the ALP commit to stop the Adani coalmine ahead of the Labor national conference in Adelaide.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, and premiers will discuss school funding, population, health and a refreshing of the Closing the Gap strategy at the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Adelaide.

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