Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 11 November.

Top stories

Vast swathes of New South Wales and Queensland are on maximum bushfire alert, with the greater Sydney region facing catastrophic fire danger for the first time since ratings were introduced. More than 80 fires continue to burn in blazes that have claimed three lives and destroyed at least 150 properties. High temperatures, strong winds and dry conditions are expected to exacerbate operations on Tuesday. The prime minister has announced disaster recovery payments of $1,000 per adult and $400 per child, while visiting affected areas alongside the NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian. Mid-north coast resident Terri Nicholson said she was “gobsmacked” by the scale of the fires in northern NSW. “It’s quite intense to see ancient, iconic rainforest burn … and see firefighters here risking their lives and just to see global heating in action.”

The unidentified intelligence official who sparked the presidential impeachment inquiry will not testify publicly, amid committee concerns that “President Trump and his allies” will “facilitate efforts … to threaten, intimidate and retaliate against” the individual. The inquiry concerns the president’s alleged bargaining of $400m in aid to Ukraine in return for investigations into his political rivals, which first came to light after the whistleblower raised concerns over a 25 July phone call between the two heads of state. Public hearings begin Wednesday, which is expected to bring the inquiry on to the national stage – and become a key battleground for public opinion ahead of the 2020 election.

An Iranian man who spent six years detained on Manus Island has returned to Iran just nine weeks after being transferred to a new facility in Port Moresby, where he says the conditions are so stifling they’re “designed to torture people”. Facing a potential prison sentence in Iran, the man, alongside five of the other 51 asylum seekers transferred to the Bomana facility, has abandoned his asylum request. Detailing a lack of access to legal support or family, a lack of books and writing materials, and meagre rations that leave those inside perpetually hungry, the man said a dozen asylum seekers have attempted self-harm, with most failing to receive medical attention, and some moved away to isolation cells.

Australia

Birdlife on the Coorong near the mouth of the Murray River where it flows into the Great Australian Bight. Photograph: Mike Bowers/Guardian Australia

The Norwegian government is set to make more from oil and gas drilling in the Great Australian Bight than Australia, according to the findings from a new study that suggests Norway could make $8.1bn from resources in the region over the next 40 years.

A Coalition bill to increase sentences for child sex offenders could receive crossbench support, with Labor divided over the inclusion of mandatory minimum sentences which the shadow attorney general believes may undermine the bill.

Allegations of terrorism against a 70-year-old Australian man held in detention in Vietnam are “absolutely false”, according to his wife who has petitioned the prime minister to fight for retired baker Chau Van Kham’s release.

The world

People in La Paz protest against Bolivian president Evo Morales. Photograph: Marco Bello/Reuters

Bolivian president Evo Morales has agreed to fresh elections after international monitors found “clear manipulations” in the 20 October poll, including a 24-hour halt during counting after which Morales claimed victory.

A hundred members of a Mormon community have arrived in the US after a violent attack in Mexico that killed nine women and children, believed to have been conducted by a significant drug cartel.

Cambridge academics have written in protest to the British Home Office, detailing major concerns about the UK’s future research potential, after a talented research fellow was denied leave to remain in the country.

A prominent Russian history professor has been arrested with a backpack containing a woman’s arm, St Petersburg police have confirmed. It’s alleged the 63-year-old fell into a river while attempting to dispose of body parts of a former student.

Recommended reads

Karen, a Newstart recipient, hopes a Senate inquiry will help lead to a rise in the allowance that leaves her with $19 a day to live off after bills are paid. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian

Anger and frustration, stories of self-harm and suicide – the “most important inquiry” in 25 years sees federal senators hear firsthand from Newstart recipients. Sixty-one-year-old Deborah, a factory worker for 30 years, speaks of her humiliation and desire for basic dignity through a living wage. With the Newstart allowance remaining the same, in real terms, since 1994 and with more than 3 million Australians living in poverty, the hearings have been well-received from the business community. But Scott Morrison remains unmoved, writes Luke Henriques-Gomes.

It’s the activist group credited with helping Commonwealth Bank get out of coal in five years, but why is the government starting to target what it calls the “radical activist group” Market Forces and what concrete legislation does prime minister Scott Morrison have in mind to curtail business-focused activism? Adam Morton talks to the group’s executive director Julien Vincent about an organisation that moved from an anti-capitalist space and now finds unlikely backers from within the orthodoxy.

Darwin is often stereotyped as Australia at its most ocker – a place you come to crack a cold one and skim-read an NT News article about blokes wrestling crocs. But the city is so much more than just a gateway to Kakadu, writes Katie Cunningham. It’s more a south-east Asian city than a desert outpost. “Palm trees dot the city and humidity hugs you year-round. Thai sweets, Cambodian pancakes and bowls of Vietnamese pho are sold alongside even more laksa.” And that’s before you get to the Indigenous art, museums and spectacular open-air installations such as Bruce Munro’s Tropical Light exhibition.

Listen

A Roman Catholic priest celebrates Sunday mass. Would Australia benefit from having a religious freedom bill? Photograph: Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images

Does Australia need a religious freedom bill? That’s the question posed in this episode of Full Story, as Laura Murphy-Oates is joined by David Marr and Paul Karp. There’s one such bill before parliament to be discussed in coming months – and critics say instead of protecting vulnerable people, it could act as a licence for hate.

Sport

An ecstatic Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic embrace after match point. Photograph: Gary Day/EPA

France have denied Australia a memorable Fed Cup victory, defeating Ash Barty and Sam Stosur in the fifth and final rubber, 6-4, 6-3. Ajla Tomljanović had squared the series 2-2 with a stirring singles victory but Australia couldn’t break its 45-year wait.

Liverpool have dealt title-rivals Manchester City a major blow, with a 3-1 home win that has left City’s coach Pep Guardiola incensed. An alleged foul in the build-up to Fabinho’s opener earned the Spaniard’s ire, as the Reds go eight points clear.

“Goalmouth scrambles are brilliant.” That’s Jonathan Howcroft’s verdict, reflecting on Perth Glory’s remarkable 85th-minute scramble to kickstart a spluttering season. “They are not a celebration of jogo bonito or a reflection of totaalvoetbal, but … there is a visceral brilliance to these infrequent moments of mob rule.”

Media roundup

The family of a man who died from complications following heart surgery is calling for an inquiry, writes the Australian, after three medical practitioners raised eight complaints against a senior surgeon. Trackless trams are an option under consideration to ease south-east Sydney’s congestion, reports the Sydney Morning Herald, with transport minister Andrew Constance calling the possibility “a no brainer”. “I realised if I was actually to live, I was going to have to run”, the Courier Mail tells, of a father and son’s narrow escape from bushfires in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

Coming up

The Senate is due to vote on the government’s so-called “big stick” energy bill, which gives regulators the power to break up energy companies if they engage in price gouging or misconduct.

Remembrance Day ceremonies will take place across Australia with the governor-general David Hurley addressing this year’s event at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

And if you’ve read this far …

A shop in York has banned cheesy Christmas songs out of consideration for its staff, with a hand-selected playlist of pre-1960s carols the only exceptions, to prevent workers from “going stir crazy”. “We’re confident we’ll have the happiest staff and customers around,” Gin York’s Sandie Tanner-Smith said. “Our playlist is big enough to make sure no one hears the same Christmas song more than twice in a week.”

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