The British government’s refusal even to discuss its exit strategy contrasts with the approach in EU countries

Sales figures comes as publisher Hardie Grant furious at Morrison government for not taking copyright seriouslyThe former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s memoir, A Bigger Picture, has already been branded a bestseller by his publisher as a furious book industry demands Scott Morison reaffirm his commitment to copyright protection after its pirating by a prime ministerial adviser.The book has dominated the non-coronavirus news for the last week with Turnbull’s account of his life, and his time in politics up to the point of what he calls the 2018 coup that saw him removed from the office of prime minister. Continue reading...

Richard Pusey allegedly posted images to social media and fled after truck ploughed into four officers on Eastern FreewayA Porsche driver who allegedly fled the scene of a horrific accident that killed four Victoria police officers in Melbourne has been identified as Richard Pusey.The 41-year-old is alleged to have taken pictures of the crash and posted images to social media before leaving the scene of the accident which happened on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway at Kew about 5.40pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Despite Egypt’s fears of ‘hydro hegemony’ and concerns it will worsen water shortages in Sudan, Ethiopia’s controversial dam project is close to fruition

More than 232,000 could have been infected in first wave, compared with then-official total of 55,000, as US envoy calls for rethink of US-China relationship

In securing PPE for NHS staff working on coronavirus frontline, government must not ignore abuse of factory workers, warn activistsThe government must not ignore the “slave-like” conditions of migrant workers making rubber medical gloves in Malaysia in its rush to source protective equipment to keep frontline NHS staff safe from coronavirus, human rights groups say.Malaysia is the world’s largest producer of rubber gloves, but the industry has been accused of grossly exploiting its workforce, mostly impoverished migrants from Bangladesh and Nepal. Continue reading...

In a pandemic, the best we can do to take care of one another is to stay away from one another. Even Freud at his most misanthropic could never have come up with that. By Gary Greenberg

Residents say emergency alert during shooting spree could have saved lives as gunman drove around the province for over 12 hoursAs Canada reels from mass shooting that killed at least 22 people, residents in Nova Scotia have asked why authorities failed to send an emergency alert as a gunman posing as a police officer drove around the province for more than 12 hours.A week before Canada’s worst-ever mass shooting, all residents of the province received a mobile phone alert asking them to remain at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many argue that a similar warning during the shooting spree could have saved lives. Continue reading...

New information casts doubt on claims about environmental merit and commercial viability of Collinsville stationCarbon emissions from a new coal-fired power station at Collinsville in north Queensland would be comparable to generators built in the state 15 to 20 years ago, according to sources familiar with the proponent’s submissions to the federal government.Guardian Australia has learned the company behind the proposal, Shine Energy, has held discussions about obtaining a concessional infrastructure loan from the federal government via the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Continue reading...

New research finds 147 million will be hit by floods by the end of the decade – ‘the numbers will be catastrophic’The number of people harmed by floods will double worldwide by 2030, according to a new analysis.The World Resources Institute, a global research group, found that 147 million people will be hit by floods from rivers and coasts annually by the end of the decade, compared with 72 million people just 10 years ago. Continue reading...

Dutch opposition to recovery spending has overtones of British disillusionmentIsolated in a recent European Union council of ministers, with attitudes described by European leaders past and present as “repugnant”.It sounds like an old script of Britain in the EU. Yet it is the Netherlands that has found itself at the heart of the union’s most bitter row during the coronavirus pandemic. As EU leaders meet on Thursday for their fourth virtual crisis summit in seven weeks, the Dutch will once again be in the vanguard of opposition to plans for big spending on the recovery. Continue reading...

As life begins to return to something like normality in Seoul and beyond, other countries are asking what lessons can be learnedLate last week millions of South Koreans queued patiently at polling stations to cast their votes for a new national assembly. If any uttered words of frustration from behind their masks, they were out of earshot of their fellow voters, kept at a distance by duct tape marking appropriate intervals.As they waited to wash their hands and pull on disposable plastic gloves before entering the booths, some may have allowed themselves to contemplate life beyond exercising their democratic right: an imminent return to work, a round of golf or, at last, a chance to shop for something more indulgent than food and hand sanitiser. Continue reading...

​On 29 February​, South Korea reported a peak of 909 new Covid-19 cases and was suffering one of the worst outbreaks outside of China. But this week, the government announced a single-digit number of new cases for the first time in almost two months. As of 22 April, there were 238 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths in South Korea.Experts say that the country is one of few to succeed in 'flattening the curve' despite never having a formal lockdown in place​. And with life slowly beginning to return to something like normality, Seoul-based journalist Nemo Kim has been looking at what lessons can be learned

The Opera House, ferry terminals, parks and squares – all the city's most popular spaces have been nearly cleared of people. Central Sydney experienced a dramatic drop in workers and shoppers as the government ordered pubs and restaurants to close, and businesses asked their staff to work from home as part of efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 Continue reading...

The two victims were taken to hospital, police said, after the incident at the overcrowded Moria campTwo asylum-seekers have been hospitalised with light injuries after gunshots were fired into Greece’s largest migrant camp on the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos.The unknown assailant or assailants evaded arrest, while the two injured migrants were taken to the island’s hospital as a precaution, police said on Wednesday. No further detail was provided. Continue reading...

New Zealand climate minister says governments must not just return to the way things were, and instead plot a new course to ease climate changeJames Shaw, New Zealand’s climate change minister, has asked the country’s independent climate change commission to check whether its emissions targets under the Paris agreement are enough to limit global heating to 1.5C. He explains why he’s prioritising the issue during a strict national lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19, which could send New Zealand’s unemployment rate soaring.To say that we find ourselves in an unprecedented moment is so obvious and has been so often repeated it’s almost become white noise. What is less obvious, however, is where we go from here. Continue reading...

Andrew Cuomo has said he would not allow political pressure to determine the timetable on when to lift the state's lockdown. The New York governor acknowledged the current situation is 'unsustainable', but added: 'I also know more people will die if we are not smart.'

The chief of the World Health Organization has warned that complacency is the 'greatest danger' facing countries in the fight against coronavirus. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the virus 'remains extremely dangerous' and many of the world's population were still susceptible to the disease. 'Make no mistake, we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time,' the WHO chief said.

President says he could extend measure depending on health of economy amid coronavirus

A number of prominent people are being criticised for their shortcomings over Covid-19

Young man pulled over in Lancashire was told police would fabricate evidence to detain himA police officer who was filmed threatening to “make something up” in order to lock up a young man has been suspended after a public outcry.The man was reportedly pulled over in Accrington, Lancashire, on Friday by police after purchasing a quad bike for a relative when he was accosted by an officer and ordered to surrender his car keys, prompting him to protest he had done nothing wrong. Continue reading...

Armagh man, 40, detained this week after European arrest warrant executed in Ireland

Film shows officer telling man in Accrington he is prepared to fabricate evidenceLancashire police have apologised after an officer was filmed threatening to “make something up” in order to lock up a young man.After the incident in Accrington, the man reportedly complained that the officer had not respected physical distancing guidelines when he approached him and loudly demanded he surrender his car keys on Friday afternoon. Continue reading...

Rights groups say host countries should offer foreign workers same protections as citizens

With most Gatwick flights grounded and a looming economic downturn, residents of West Sussex town fear for their jobs

Government also plans to contain spread of Covid-19 by banning weekend travel

Nobel prize-winning songwriter follows 17-minute Murder Most Foul with I Contain Multitudes, referencing everything from Edgar Allan Poe to William Blake and the Rolling StonesBob Dylan has continued to release his first original music in eight years, with a song in which he seemingly compares himself to Anne Frank, Indiana Jones, the Rolling Stones and William Blake.At four and a half minutes, I Contain Multitudes is less lengthy than the song he returned with, Murder Most Foul, a 17-minute long track about the JFK assassination. Like that song, though, I Contain Multitudes is drifting and percussion-free, backed by acoustic, electric and pedal steel guitars. Continue reading...

Photographer Sam Edmonds was the team leader on the cruise ship that found itself stranded in South America in late March after travelling to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. He documented the journey from idyllic island to isolation in a Sydney hotel room

At 8pm on Thursday, people across the UK stood at their front doors and open windows, in gardens and on balconies, to raise a thunder of gratitude for those working on the frontline against coronavirus for the fourth consecutive week.Some people played instruments and sang to show their appreciation

Friday: Australia to begin easing coronavirus restrictions within weeks. Plus, former PM says Barnaby Joyce initially denied relationship with stafferGood morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 17 April. Continue reading...

Ursula von der Leyen has offered 'a heartfelt apology' to Italy on behalf of the EU for the delays and lack of responses from other member states at the start of the coronavirus outbreak in the union.As the World Health Organization warned that the continent remained firmly 'in the eye of the storm', the president of the European commission said that 'too many were not there on time when Italy needed a helping hand at the very beginning'

Ursula von der Leyen voices regret as expert warns herd immunity still a way off in Europe

Dramatic career took in escapes from Pinochet’s regime in the 70s, sailing with Greenpeace and writing books including The Old Man Who Read Love Stories

Benny Gantz loses chance to lead coalition after talks with Benjamin Netanyahu stallIsrael’s opposition leader, Benny Gantz, has failed to form a coalition government after talks with Benjamin Netanyahu stalled, pushing the country further towards an unprecedented fourth round of elections.Gantz had until midnight on Wednesday to build a majority government and now loses the mandate given to him by the president, Reuven Rivlin. Continue reading...

Deputy PM says a domestic aviation network servicing capital cities and major regional centres is ‘critical to Australia’s success’The Australian government will pay Qantas and Virgin Australia up to $165m to maintain key domestic flight routes over the next two months.The move means Virgin Australia, which is under intense financial pressure and had grounded its fleet, will resume flying on Friday and continue the routes for at least the next eight weeks. Continue reading...

Australia’s corporate regulator had raised concerns about Mayfair 101’s solvencyA court has banned the high-profile group behind the redevelopment of the stricken Dunk Island resort, Mayfair 101, from advertising two of its investment products after the corporate regulator raised concerns about the group’s solvency.On Thursday afternoon, federal court judge Stewart Anderson also ordered Mayfair 101 not to compare its products to bank term deposits and put a notice on its website alerting potential investors to the risk of placing money with it. Continue reading...

College staff layoffs and lost enrolments push education into worst affected bracket warns OBR

Parent company announces measures amid industry-wide falls in revenue

Violent unrest at Ethiopia’s universities has been quelled by police, but the root causes will prove harder to tackleOn a December morning last year, students at Ambo University in Ethiopia’s Oromia region awoke to find threatening notices pinned to the walls of their dormitories. The message was simple: boycott classes. Anyone failing to do so would face punishment.Written by Oromo student activists calling themselves the Qeerroo, the notices demanded solidarity with fellow Oromos at universities in the neighbouring region of Amhara, after a spate of deadly ethnic clashes there. Similar boycotts had been called in universities across Oromia, the country’s largest region. Continue reading...

Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies provides PM with evidence about UK response

Tripoli follows Italian government in declaring its seaports ‘unsafe’Libya’s UN-recognised government in Tripoli has refused to authorise the landing of migrants stopped at sea and sent back to Libyan territory by its coastguard vessels.The Libyan coastguard stopped about 280 migrants on Thursday, but when it attempted to return them to Libya, the country’s authorities refused to let them disembark, according to the UN migration agency IOM, due to fighting around the capital. Continue reading...

Vodafone boss hits out at ‘deluded’ 5G conspiracy theorists after incident in Birmingham

As Port Douglas, Cairns and Airlie Beach turn into ghost towns, businesses are wondering how to survive the dual spectres of a pandemic and global heatingAbout this time of year, the weather in tropical north Queensland takes a turn towards glorious. Last Saturday in Cairns would have made a postcard, had any tourists been in town to experience the onset of the dry season.Hotel occupancy rates in Cairns have fallen to single digits and most tourism businesses have closed their doors – some forever – as the region’s lifeblood industry is brought to a standstill by coronavirus travel bans and other restrictions. The local tourism lobby estimates losses of about $2.5bn and 11,000 jobs this year. Continue reading...

Saudi-led coalition accuses Houthis of breaching unilateral truce 241 times in 48 hours

News Corp says acquitted cardinal faces new claims over alleged incident in the 1970s when he was a priest in BallaratCardinal George Pell is being investigated by police over a new allegation of child sexual abuse, according to News Corp reports.Pell was released from jail last Tuesday after the high court acquitted him on five historical child sexual abuse charges. Pell, 78, spent more than 400 days in jail after being convicted by a jury in December 2018. The high court acquitted Pell after finding the jury should have held a reasonable doubt as to his guilt. Continue reading...

Sixty-four-year-old lands in field after grabbing ejection handle to steady himself, French air investigators findA surprise outing in a fighter jet unnerved one defence company executive so much he accidentally ejected himself while flying at over 500km/h (320mph), an investigation into the debacle in France has found.The 64-year-old civilian got the most unwelcome ride of his life after the force of the take-off made him “float” off his seat, causing him to stand up and involuntarily grab the ejection handle to steady himself. Continue reading...

The Australian government has passed legislation for a $1,500 per fortnight wage subsidy for eligible employers amid the coronavirus. Check your eligibility, how much you’ll get and how it works with the jobseeker payment

Country records 619 deaths in past 24 hours as some sectors prepare return to work