Santilla Chingaipe Residents in the public housing towers had no warning they would face some of the world’s toughest restrictions, as the state undertook a Covid-19 testing blitz.

Karen Middleton As Treasurer Josh Frydenberg prepares to unveil a mini-budget on July 23, the Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria has put the country’s economic recovery in jeopardy.

Royce Kurmelovs New analysis shows funding for Catholic and independent schools grew more than five times that of public schools in the past decade.

Isabella Trimboli More than 40 years after starting the iconic band Pulp, Jarvis Cocker continues to evolve as an artist. He speaks about the raves of the late ’80s, his concerns about the growing costs of humanities degrees, and his latest album, Beyond the Pale.

Ed Husic While taking my young son on yet another visit to Canberra’s Questacon last year, I decided to walk him past a pair of statues of John Curtin and Ben Chifley. Watching the winter sun warm Chifley’s bronze face, I wondered, momentarily, what my son would have thought of me representing the seat named after Joseph Benedict Chifley. After all, I am the son of migrants from the former Yugoslavia, the same migrants who had been fair game politically in the late 1920s when Chifley first entered politics.

Paul Bongiorno Four days after the voters of Eden-Monaro kept the marginal seat in opposition hands, the Reserve Bank governor summed up the nation’s predicament: we are all flying by the seat of our pants. Scott Morrison, too, put it succinctly: ‘This is a global pandemic. There are no guarantees in a global pandemic. You have to deal with the situations that are in front of you.’ It is how you deal with these situations, or rather how lucky you are in dealing with them, that can mark a leader up or down.

Richard Ackland The Australian Federal Police has sent to the prosecutors its brief of evidence about the ABC’s reporting on the Afghan Files, the big story about alleged killings of unarmed civilians by Australian soldiers. It looks as though reporter Dan Oakes could be in the frame for bringing us the news, but not so his colleague Sam Clark. Anyway, it was the first big AFP announcement, following its raid on the ABC’s HQ, since former Bowen Hills Bugle political reporter Renee Viellaris took over as the federal plod’s director of strategic communications.

Re-entering lockdown, Victoria has an opportunity to correct the errors and overreach that marked its first failed attempt to contain Covid-19. The state was unlucky, no doubt, but its leaders were also unwilling to countenance any criticism. There was little patience for communities confused by mixed messaging, or the concerns of those who saw a law-and-order response when they hoped for one led by public health. Vital information was not shared in languages other than English until far too late, while Victoria Police issued fines in far higher numbers than any other state. It is not hard to imagine there was a relationship between the two.

Linda Jaivin Amid rising tensions between Beijing and Canberra, the fate of Australian academic and writer Yang Hengjun, imprisoned in China on espionage charges, hangs in the balance.

Jonathan Pearlman Trump congratulates US on ‘good job’ on pandemic. New Zealand limits numbers of returning Kiwis. Law professor and China critic Xu Zhangrun arrested in Beijing. Ethnic tensions rise in Ethiopia after singer’s murder.

Christos Tsiolkas In a career that spanned more than six decades, Ennio Morricone scored hundreds of films, writing music that worked in concert with the directors’ vision.

Bri Lee The Emerald Queen was just beginning its second loop of the Tasman Peninsula when Phil, Ellen, John and Karen were seated for their standing 7 o’clock dinner reservation in the smaller of the two grand dining rooms. ‘Isn’t it so much nicer in this one?’ Ellen asked, leaning back a few degrees as a linen serviette was placed across her lap. She looked to Karen. ‘And I’m sure it’s easier for John to hear us all talking in here, without that music they keep so loud near the buffet upstairs.’ ‘Oh, John can hear fine,’ Phil cut in, dismissing his wife’s jab. She was switched on, but sometimes a bit harsh. ‘The doctor said that now, with his implant, he can hear better than most 50-year-olds,’ Karen replied, firmly but smiling. They picked up their menus and read as though it wasn’t the same laminated list they had been scanning every night for almost three weeks.

David Moyle

Sophia Auld Screening can lead to early detection of cancers and save lives, but sometimes innocuous abnormalities are picked up. The potential for harm in treating these ‘indolent’ cancers needs to be balanced against the benefits of diagnosis.

Cindy MacDonald Test your general knowledge with our weekly quiz.