The withdrawal of Naomi Osaka from the French Open has the power to become a positive moment of change in world sport. Something good has to come of this. Osaka has tweeted that she has suffered long bouts of depression since 2018. At the end of that first grand slam victory she cried during the presentation and apologised for beating …

An Australian citizen tried for espionage in Beijing last week has told supporters he’s “100 per cent innocent” and still isn’t sure which country he’s accused of spying for. Yang Hengjun conveyed a message to family and supporters on Friday, a day after he was tried behind closed doors in Beijing. The 56-year-old one-time employee of China’s state security agencies …

An aged care worker at a facility in Melbourne’s west has been diagnosed with COVID-19, sending the home into lockdown. The worker at Arcare Maidstone was one of five locally acquired COVID-19 cases across Victoria reported Saturday. The healthcare worker was not showing symptoms when she last worked at the home on May 27, but later tested positive, Arcare said. …

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has won a fourth term in office with 95.1 per cent of the votes. Mr Assad’s government said the election on Wednesday showed Syria was functioning normally despite the decade-old civil war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven 11 million people — about half the population — from their homes. Head of Parliament Hammouda …

United States President Joe Biden has ordered aides to determine the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, saying US intelligence agencies are pursuing rival theories including a possible laboratory accident in China. Intelligence agencies were considering two likely scenarios but still lacked strong confidence in their conclusions and were hotly debating which was more probable, Mr Biden said in a statement. The conclusions …

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged NSW residents to avoid unnecessary travel to Victoria as the state deals with a growing COVID-19 outbreak. The Victorian coronavirus outbreak reached 26 cases this morning — with 11 new infections recorded overnight — and the state is expected to enter lockdown for at least a week. Ms Berejiklian said she was “worried about the evolving situation” …

The Victorian government will announce a lockdown today in a bid to curb the state’s growing coronavirus outbreak, with senior government sources telling the ABC it will last for at least seven days. The state’s outbreak has now reached 26 cases, with 11 new cases recorded overnight. One additional case included in those figures was announced during Wednesday’s coronavirus briefing. …

Hundreds of Toyota Hilux vehicles now on Australian roads have been placed under recall after a safety issue that could lead to spontaneous fires was discovered. Product Safety Australia says the potential electrical fault is present in 683 Hilux Rogues. But the vast majority of Hiluxes are unaffected. The model in question comes with an electric cover for its cargo tray, which closes …

Victorian health authorities have reported two “likely positive cases” of COVID-19 in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. “It’s currently understood the two individuals are connected,” the Department of Health said in a tweet. “A full investigation is underway into these results, and initial public health actions are being put in place while both individuals isolate and are urgently retested. “We will communicate …

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka says Australia cannot keep its borders shut indefinitely despite the risk of COVID-19. Ms Hrdlicka made the comments at a business function hosted by the Queensland University of Technology on Monday. Ms Hrdlicka argued that Australia needed to discuss opening the borders as the vaccine rollout ramped up, according to the university’s media unit. “We can’t …