We were told coronavirus didn’t discriminate, but it didn’t need to – society had already done that for us. But there is a path to a fairer future if we want it. By Gary Younge

After a harrowing escape from the Taliban, Afghanistan’s female politicians are regrouping in Greece to fight for their country. Amie Ferris-Rotman reports on the work of the Afghan women’s parliament in exile

In November, 28 former female MPs gathered in Greece. They’d fled the Taliban in dramatic fashion, and were now reunited in a community centre run by Melissa Network, a grassroots organisation for female migrants and refugees that played a role in their evacuation.

The journalist Amie Ferris-Rotman was there; she tells Nosheen Iqbal about the emotional first meeting of the Afghan women’s parliament in exile in Athens. There, the women – some junior politicians, some elder stateswomen, some from prominent wealthy political families, some from poorer backgrounds – traded stories of their escapes and shared hopes for the country they left behind. Shagufa Noorzai, 22, who had been the youngest member of parliament before the Afghan government fell, says she wants the women left behind in Afghanistan to know they have not been forgotten.

Emma John, Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon discuss one final day of batting woes for England as Australia clinch a 4-0 series win

Emma John recaps day three in Hobart, where England collapsed to gift Australia another victory as they completed a 4-0 series win. Things started well as Rory Burns and Zak Crawley put on 68 for the first wicket chasing 271 for victory but they ended up being 124 all out.

Meanwhile Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon were in Hobart for all the action as the Australia’s bowlers took control against a brittle England batting lineup

Omicron is now the dominant variant of Covid-19 in Australia and since its emergence late last year scientists and governments have been racing to learn more about it. So what do we know about how Omicron impacts the human body? And how effective are public health measures like masks, testing and vaccines against it?

Science writer Donna Lu speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about the latest data, studies and health advice on the variant

For information on how to protect yourself and your family against Covid-19, visit the Department of Health’s website.

You can read all of Donna Lu’s reporting for Guardian Australia here, including a guide to face masks in the age of Omicron and an explainer on vaccinating children aged five to 11.

Food relief organisations say they are helping more people than ever before. But this is not a good news story. Head of news, Mike Ticher, introduces an investigation into underlying inequality in Australia that predates the Covid crisis

You can read the original article here: ‘We need to be alarmed’: food banks in overdrive as politicians allow Australians to go hungry

Emma John, Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon discuss another day of batting woe for England as Australia’s attack excels again

Emma John recaps day two in Hobart, where England failed miserably with the bat, reaching only 188 in reply to Australia’s first innings total of 303. There was a little joy for the tourists’ bowlers, though, who later took three wickets – including a second duck of the match for David Warner – but Australia closed 152 ahead.

Meanwhile Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon were in Hobart for all the action on day two and they discuss Nathan Lyon’s hearty late-order hitting and how England’s batters blew it again.

Through personal tragedy and time spent telling the stories of victims, investigative crime journalist Debi Marshall says she’s found that closure doesn’t exist. So why do people read, and why do authors write, true crime?

Emma John, Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon discuss an entertaining first day in Hobart as Travis Head’s century helped Australia rally to 241-6

Emma John relives the opening day in Hobart, where England’s bowlers made early inroads before Travis Head’s glorious century helped Australia to build a decent score of 241-6 on the rain-shortened day.

Then Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon were in Hobart for all the action as Tasmania played host to its first Ashes Test match. They discuss Head’s glittering century and the curious case of Ollie Robinson’s fitness.

Jonathan Freedland speaks to Barbara Walter, a former CIA adviser, about her new book about how civil wars start, and what politicians and the public should be doing to prevent another one in the US

The Duke of York’s attempts to get a civil case over allegations of sexual assault thrown out have failed. Ed Helmore in New York examines the case against the prince and his narrowing options to salvage his reputation

Prince Andrew is facing a high-profile trial in New York after a judge refused to throw out a civil case over allegations he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre when she was 17 years old.

His legal team had argued that Giuffre had waived her right to sue him under a previous settlement she made with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But the judge ruled the agreement did not unambiguously cover Prince Andrew. He denies all the accusations made against him by Giuffre and has said he has no recollection of ever meeting her.

2021 was an important year in the fight for gender equality, and the national women’s safety summit in September was a platform for experts and advocates to discuss key issues surrounding gender equality and violence against women and children. But Scott Morrison’s keynote address – and his failure to enact meaningful reform on key issues – left some underwhelmed and others furious.

Political editor Katharine Murphy speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about Australia’s ongoing cultural reckoning for women and how the Morrison government’s response to this is hamstrung by an ‘empathy gap’

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Indigenous communities argue that renaming landscapes should not be limited to removing overtly racist colonial names. Assistant news editor Shelley Hepworth recommends this story about truth-telling

You can read the original article here: ‘The right thing to do’: restoring Aboriginal place names key to recognising Indigenous histories

Through personal tragedy and time spent telling the stories of victims, investigative crime journalist Debi Marshall says she’s found that closure doesn’t exist. So why do people read, and why do authors write, true crime?

Banquet: The Untold Story of Adelaide’s Family Murders by Debi Marshall is published by Penguin.

Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Nick Ames, Jordan Jarrett-Bryan and Chris Paouros discuss Chelsea’s win over Spurs, Jarrod Bowen and Afcon

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: Spurs fall short again as Chelsea make light work of them in the League Cup semi-final second leg. Was the weakened team yet another ploy by Antonio Conte to get some funds this January transfer window?

Last week, the tech CEO Elizabeth Holmes – once described as ‘the next Steve Jobs’ – was convicted of fraud, and could face decades in prison. Her now collapsed company, Theranos, promised to revolutionise medicine with a machine that could run hundreds of health tests on just a pinprick of blood. Those claims have since been exposed as false – but could they ever have been true?

Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s wealth correspondent, Rupert Neate, about Silicon Valley’s trial of the century, and pathologist Dr Benjamin Mazer about why Theranos’s vision seemed impossible from the start

Archive: ABC News, TedMed, CBS Mornings, NBC News, CNBC

Boris Johnson faced anger and derision as he admitted attending a drinks party during the first lockdown but claimed that he believed it to be a work event that did not break the rules

On 20 May 2020, Britain was in the grip of the first wave of coronavirus and two months into a national lockdown. Couples and relatives who lived apart were not allowed to hug each other or meet in each others’ homes or gardens. But this week evidence emerged that a garden drinks event was held in the grounds of 10 Downing Street – with the prime minister allegedly in attendance.

The news was greeted with fury and disbelief around the country, with people swapping stories of missing out on their final moments with loved ones or suffering alone while following the lockdown rules. For many, it felt like one rule for them and one rule for those in power.

As the prime minister finally apologises (sort of) for a lockdown party at Downing Street, Heather Stewart and Gaby Hinsliff look what the future holds for Boris Johnson. Plus, Peter Walker, Larry Elliott and Miatta Fahnbulleh discuss the impending cost of living crisis.

It wouldn’t be Guardian Australia ‘best of’ series without a bird episode! The regent honeyeater is an endangered native Australian songbird, with only a few hundred left in the wild. A few years ago scientists noticed something odd – they were mimicking other birds, and unable to sing their own song. Environment reporter Graham Readfearn and Dr Joy Tripovich explain how this species lost its song, and whether teaching it how to sing again could help save it from extinction

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Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Troy Townsend and Ed Aarons to discuss the final FA Cup Third Round fixture, Southampton’s thrashing of Brentford and the latest from Afcon

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On the podcast today; Manchester United squeeze past Aston Villa in a less than convincing win in the FA Cup third round – we ask, when will Ralf Rangnick get them firing and what’s going on with Marcus Rashford?

We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.

This week, from 2018: For millions of Algerians, life has been shaped by years of conflict, unemployment and state repression. Sheep fighting offers an arena where young men can escape the constant supervision of the state. By Hannah Rae Armstrong