Médecins Sans Frontières and Norwegian Refugee Council, active in war-torn Tigray, in talks over banThe Ethiopian government has suspended the work of two international aid organisations for three months, including in the conflict-hit Tigray region, accusing them of spreading misinformation.Ethiopia Current Issues Fact Check, a government-run website focused on Tigray, accused Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) of violating several rules. Continue reading...

Fears of crop damage and impact on food supplies rise as forecaster reports more than 500mm of rain has fallen in three daysMore than 1,100 homes in North Korea were damaged, thousands of people evacuated and farms and roads washed away after days of heavy rains brought flooding, state media reported.The reports come as concern grows about damage to crops and the possible impact on food supplies in North Korea, which is cut off from most foreign imports and aid by self-imposed border restrictions aimed at preventing a coronavirus outbreak, as well as by international sanctions. Continue reading...

Up to 14,000 tonnes ends up in coral reef areas each year, but scientists are divided on how we can best protect our skin without harming the environmentRelated: Deadly coral disease sweeping Caribbean linked to water from shipsAutumn Blum was 5 metres underwater, scuba diving off the Pacific island of Palau, when she looked up towards the surface and saw a rainbow. Continue reading...

Gladys Berejiklian warns outbreak yet to peak with higher case numbers expected over next few days

The death knell has sounded for the $10-a-bottle Bernadino spumante after its owner announced it was stopping productionNew Zealanders are mourning the end of one of the country’s cheapest sparkling wines, a beverage that for many was the defining drink of their youth, the cause of many bad decisions and a familiar presence at parties and weddings.The death knell has sounded for the $10-a-bottle Bernadino spumante, colloquially known as “Bernadino spewmante”, “Bernie” or “the best party plonk”. Continue reading...

Billionaire’s status was confirmed after report he had been granted entry to New Zealand during the pandemic despite closed bordersBillionaire and Google co-founder Larry Page is a New Zealand resident, and visited the country in the midst of Covid-19 border restrictions.The government confirmed Page’s residency after New Zealand outlet Stuff broke the story on Thursday that Page had been in the country earlier this year, accompanying his child who fell ill in Fiji. Continue reading...

In company memo, CEO says there is ‘zero tolerance policy’ for reporting to the office without Covid-19 inoculationCNN has fired three employees who violated company policy by coming to work unvaccinated against Covid-19.Jeff Zucker, the media company’s president, told staff members of the firing in a memo sent Thursday that reminded them that vaccines were mandatory if they report to the office or out in the field where they come into contact with other employees. Continue reading...

The 29-year-old won fans for her candid post-match interviews while her on-field efforts helped make history for New Zealand“It was a surreal, full-circle moment,” Ruby Tui says of playing to an empty stadium at the Tokyo Olympics.Ten years ago, Tui picked up a pair of second-hand rugby boots with worn-down studs for $20 and played her first game. Continue reading...

Satellite images confirm snow decrease spurred by climate crisis as glaciers recede and communities reliant on mountain water face shortagesThe Andes mountain range is facing historically low snowfall this year during a decade-long drought that scientists link to global heating.Scant rain and snowfall are leaving many of the majestic mountains between Ecuador and Argentina with patchy snow cover or no snow at all as dry, brown earth lies exposed. Continue reading...

Human rights groups welcome chief of staff’s apparent decision to end the decades-long, ‘abusive’ practiceHuman rights organisations have welcomed the Indonesian army’s apparent decision to end the “abusive” and long-criticised “virginity testing” of female recruitments.The procedure is known in Indonesia as “the two-finger test”, because during the examination the doctors would insert two fingers inside the woman’s vagina to check whether the hymen is still intact or not. Those declared not to be a virgin would be rejected for recruitment. Continue reading...

Jennifer Hudson, St Vincent and other music stars also feature in touring-themed photoshoots conceived by rocker-photographerImages of recording artists including Cher, Iggy Pop, Jennifer Hudson and Grimes will feature in one of the world’s best known photographic commissions.For the 2022 Pirelli calendar, the rock star and photographer Bryan Adams has captured superstar singers as if they were touring – precisely what they have been unable to do for more than a year. Continue reading...

Deaths occur in Turkey with Italy and Greece also badly hit and thousands evacuatedEight people have died and thousands have been evacuated from their homes as extreme wildfires continue to rage in parts of southern Europe.Related: The photo that has come to define Turkey’s wildfires Continue reading...

Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that emergency services faced a difficult night ahead as wildfires north of Athens leaped back to life and westerly winds were set to strengthen.'Unfortunately the worst is yet to come and the night ahead seems menacing. Tomorrow we expect strong western winds in many areas of our country,' the Greek prime minister said in a special televised address.Mitsotakis urged people to comply with evacuation orders and avoid unnecessary trave. Authorities warned of more blazes on Friday as temperatures hovered around 40C.

Influential pioneer touched audiences through performance, books, albums – and even Poems on the UndergroundThe pioneering Jamaican dub poet Jean “Binta” Breeze has died aged 65, her agents have confirmed.Breeze, considered one of the most important and influential contemporary poets, was a regular performer at literary festivals in both the UK and across the world. Continue reading...

In the new series of Dominic Savage’s searingly truthful dramas, Suranne Jones plays a mother trying to do it all … and hurtling towards a meltdownTwo years ago, Channel 4 gave us the novel – not unprecedented, but still novel – series I Am … It comprised three dramas created, written and directed by Dominic Savage, who devised the stories with three female actors. I Am Nicola starred Vicky McClure as a woman realising she is in a coercively controlling relationship and trying to find a way out. Samantha Morton was the protagonist in I Am Kirsty, hemmed in by poverty and predated upon for all the vulnerabilities that go with that. Gemma Chan was in I Am Hannah, about a young woman appraising everyone’s interest in her biological clock.There were moments when polemic overwhelmed the storytelling, but overall (and the Nicola instalment in particular) they were strikingly truthful stories told in a strikingly truthful way. I loved what they did and what they represented – a fine, new way to get women’s real lives and experiences on screen. Savage seemed to have got himself brilliantly out of the way, committed himself fully to that goal and succeeded. Continue reading...

All businesses will be able to reopen and limits on people meeting indoors will be removed, first minister says

Friday: Victoria plunged into sixth lockdown as NSW outbreak spreads. Australia chases its personal Olympic bestGood morning. The national cabinet will today discuss easing restrictions for the vaccinated. Victoria has woken up to another seven-day lockdown, while the Sydney outbreak has spread to the regions. And Sky News Australia faces a Senate inquiry after a week-long YouTube suspension for Covid misinformation.The prime minister, Scott Morrison, will meet with state and territory leaders today to discuss easing restrictions for the vaccinated with 16 million Australians now in lockdown. Victoria entered its sixth snap lockdown on Thursday evening, for seven days this time, after recording eight new cases. South-east Queensland is also under tight restrictions, hoping the lockdown could end on Sunday. The decision is still in the air, however, as the state recorded 16 new local cases. Continue reading...

President signs memo allowing people from Hong Kong currently residing in US to live and work in country for 18 monthsJoe Biden has granted temporary refuge to people from Hong Kong amid the Chinese government’s effort to crush the pro-democracy movement and tighten its control on a city once known for its freedom.Related: Hong Kong singer and activist arrested over ‘corrupt conduct’ Continue reading...

Melbourne enters its sixth lockdown from 8pm on Thursday. Among the latest cases is a woman who works at Al-Taqwa College, a school that was the centre of a large outbreak last year

Nicola Priest and Callum Redfern convicted of manslaughter over death of Kaylee-Jayde in SolihullA woman and her then-boyfriend have been found guilty of killing her three-year-old daughter, after a court heard the child had suffered a long-running catalogue of physical abuse.Kaylee-Jayde Priest was found dead at the flat in Solihull where she lived with her mother, Nicola, on 9 August 2020. Continue reading...

Trade bodies and unions accuse government of merely confirming arrangements that already existTrade bodies and unions representing British musicians have expressed frustration at a government announcement on European work visas that they say changes nothing.Musicians and performers continue to accuse the government of ignoring their plight by failing to negotiate any Brexit deal that would reinstate the previous visa-free working arrangements. Continue reading...

Officers had considered rearresting Sudesh Amman, who went on to stab two people, but decided there were insufficient groundsPolice predicted that a convicted terrorist would attack the public when he was released from prison, less than a month before he went on a knife rampage in south London, an inquest has heard.MI5 and police officers discussing intelligence about Sudesh Amman said an attack would be a case of “when, not if,” two weeks before he was released from Belmarsh prison for terror offences in early January 2020. Continue reading...

Lesbian couple faced hate campaign after supermarket chain VkusVill called the promotion ‘a mistake’A lesbian couple and their family, who were featured in an advert for a Russian supermarket chain that led to a national scandal have fled the country after facing online abuse and death threats.Mother Yuma, daughters Mila and Alina, and Alina’s girlfriend Ksyusha have said they were forced to leave Russia for Spain after they featured in an ad in which they said they enjoyed VkusVill’s onigiri rice balls and hummus. Continue reading...

Acquittal comes after attorney general said evidence insufficient to prosecute for unlawful assemblyA Ghanaian court has acquitted and freed 21 people who were arrested during a crackdown on homosexuality in May for attending an LGBTQ event.Gay sex is a criminal offence in the West African country and members of the LGBTQ community often face discrimination. Continue reading...

Proposed amendments allow government to sanction individuals for ‘gross human rights violations’ or serious corruptionForeign government officials could face sanctions for “gross human rights violations” while corrupt business people could be banned from travelling to Australia and have their assets and bank accounts frozen.New sanctions powers – announced by the Morrison government on Thursday and expected to be presented to parliament by the end of the year – will allow Australia to target “perpetrators of egregious acts of international concern”. Continue reading...

Move comes despite Home Office ‘agreement’ not to remove those who arrived in Britain under age of 12Preparations are being made for the deportation of a number of Jamaican nationals who came to the UK as children, in an apparent reversal of an earlier agreement not to deport people who arrived in this country as minors.A charter flight to Jamaica is scheduled for 11 August, returning several dozen people whose criminal convictions have triggered deportation orders. However campaigners have protested that it is unreasonable to remove people who have spent a lifetime in the UK to a country where they no longer have any ties. Continue reading...

Analysis: Krystsina Tsimanouskaya stunned, but Lukashenko regime’s brutal suppression of all criticism is proving pervasiveThe saga of the sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has shown how the Belarusian government’s brutal suppression of all criticism has politicised the lives and actions of even those hesitant to openly oppose the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko.“I am stunned that this situation has become a political scandal,” Tsimanouskaya said during a press-conference in Warsaw, where she arrived from Tokyo via Vienna on Wednesday. “This situation was only about sport … all that I wanted was for people to take responsibility.” Continue reading...

Homes still lack water and power three weeks after at least 187 people diedThree weeks after catastrophic floods in western Germany devastated communities and claimed at least 187 lives, those affected are calling on the government to increase its effort to salvage homes and businesses.More than 20 people are still missing after the disaster, which came after heavy rainfall caused scores of rivers to burst their banks, and led to the loss of large numbers of houses, roads and bridges. Continue reading...

Forty contestants will compete to launch businesses from villages of fewer than 5,000 peopleIt’s a TV genre that has yielded countless hours of escapism and fuelled the rise of billionaires, pop stars and even an American president. Now a new reality series has set its sights on one of Spain’s thorniest challenges: rural depopulation.Set to air in October on Twitch and YouTube, the 20-episode show known as Ruralmind will feature 40 contestants competing to launch and develop a business idea. The only catch is that they must be able to launch the idea from a village of fewer than 5,000 people. Continue reading...

Warning that risk to life is ‘shameful’ as people in small boats so far this year include record 482 on one dayCharities have criticised a “shameful” lack of safe alternatives for migrants after the number making the life-threatening journey across the Channel in small boats this year surpassed 10,000.The total includes at least 482 people who succeeded in crossing the Dover strait on Wednesday onboard 21 boats – a record for a single day. Continue reading...

Coalition partners among those to oppose proposals to exclude people from restaurants and other facilities

Youngsters went to look for cattle near Ngorongoro conservation area on MondayThree young children have been killed by lions near Tanzania’s world-renowned Ngorongoro wildlife reserve as they went to look for lost cattle, according to local police.The youngsters aged between nine and 11 had arrived home from school on Monday and gone into a forest near the Ngorongoro conservation area to search for the missing animals, Arusha police chief, Justine Masejo, said. Continue reading...

Ahead of her performance to millions of Fortnite players this weekend, we rate the best of Grande’s permanently passionate popAfter the double whammy of Sweetener and Thank U, Next – albums that dealt with life-changing shocks – there’s something deservedly braggadocio about this Positions album track. After a brief rundown of her daily routine – meeting, meditation, studio to listen “to some shit I wrote” – it expands to pontificate on the benefits of a positive mental attitude. Blessings come tinged with pain, however: “Take my pen and write some love letters to heaven,” she sighs as the music drops briefly in remembrance. Continue reading...

Thunderstorms could bring up to 100mm of rain in some places on Friday and Saturday, forecasters sayHeavy downpours and thunderstorms could cause flash flooding across parts of the UK as the unsettled weather continues.Forecasters say as much as 100mm (4in) of rain could fall in some places, with the potential for between 20 and 30mm in the space of an hour. Continue reading...

Meet the skateboarding silver medallist and veteran equestrian proving age is but a numberThe Olympics may be thought mostly to be the preserve of the young, but there are some sports where experience brings an advantage. The Australian equestrian Mary Hanna is 66 – the oldest competitor atTokyo, her sixth Games.Her teammate, Andrew Hoy, became Australia’s oldest Olympics medallist at 62, winning an individual bronze in the eventing after leading his team to silver. Asked whether age or experience was more important, he said: “Age.” Continue reading...

The juicy fruit is newly in season and delicious in both savoury and sweet dishes. Here are some tried and tested delightsThis is a cake made using the traditions of Italy. Sharp plums or damsons are placed atop a simple almond and polenta cake. Flourless and dairy-free, it is not intentionally health conscious; it just ends up being delicious this way. It will stay fresh for three days if wrapped in foil. Continue reading...

Exclusive: David Cameron’s government said to have been one of ‘biggest supporters’ of idea in 2016The British government was one of the “biggest supporters” of EU plans to require non-EU nationals to obtain authorisation and pay a fee to enter the bloc’s passport-free travel zone, the Guardian has learned.David Cameron’s government backed the idea when it was floated by the European Commission in April 2016, three months before the EU referendum, when few foresaw the €7 (£5.95) fee would one day hit British travellers. Continue reading...

Some holidaymakers found about the change when they reconnected to wifi at their arrival airport

Jim Steer responds to an article by Simon Jenkins that said the high-speed rail link was of little use to the north, and Mark Sullivan hopes the West Midlands gets the transport hub it rejected a decade agoSimon Jenkins’ latest piece on HS2 (Depleted and unwanted, HS2 hurtles on as Johnson’s £100bn vanity project, 30 July) repeatedly mischaracterises both the case for, and the benefits of, a rail project that will transform connectivity in the UK.He talks as if services will only go from London to Birmingham, stating confidently that “Britain’s new high-speed railway will not – repeat: not – get to the north of England”. But this is simply untrue. Construction work on the Birmingham-Crewe section is now under way, and detailed planning and consultation prior to a parliamentary bill submission is under way for Crewe-Manchester. HS2 services will reach Edinburgh, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds and more than a dozen other cities across the country. Continue reading...

As he reissues his debut solo album, the Queen guitarist recalls how making it helped him cope with a time when his band, marriage and the life of Freddie Mercury were coming to an endBrian May has been up to his neck in it, and he is fed up. We are talking a little more than a week after we were meant to, our initial chat having been postponed because the basement of May’s London home was filled with effluent after torrential rain caused the capital to flood and sewers to spew forth their contents.

While Saied’s shutdown of parliament has outsiders worried, in Tunisia he has 87% support and civil society remains strongOutside Tunisia, the president’s sacking of the prime minister and shutdown of parliament looked like a coup. Inside, however, activists and journalists are still struggling to define what is happening to their country – and what to do about it.“The day after the president acted, we had a conversation in the newsroom about whether it was a coup,” said Thameur Mekki, the editor-in-chief of the influential media platform Nawaat. Other news outlets aired programmes debating the “coup” question, and activist groups started worrying. But then, said Mekki, the president, Kais Saied, personally called leading civil society groups and “gave assurances about their freedom to operate”. Continue reading...

First-of-its-kind ruling paves way for trove of secret documents to be made publicThe parliamentary committee scrutinising the Morrison government’s handling of the pandemic will demand a trove of secret documents after an extraordinary judgment finding national cabinet records can be accessed under the freedom of information regime.The first-of-its-kind case in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was brought by Senate crossbencher Rex Patrick, who argued the prime minister had no grounds to extend cabinet confidentiality to his national cabinet meetings with state premiers and chief ministers. Continue reading...

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Musan, a gallery of sculpture by Jason deCaires Taylor exploring our relationship with nature, has opened off Ayia Napa Continue reading...

Court hears Troy Van Den Bemt was shot six times by undercover officer during the hold-up of a bottle shop in Park OrchardsAn undercover police officer who shot dead an armed robber during the hold-up of a bottle shop had been told to let the crime occur rather than intervene, a Victorian court has heard.Coroner Jacqui Hawkins is holding an inquest into the death of Troy Van Den Bemt, who was killed in 2018 by an officer who had been monitoring the armed robber and his associates as part of a covert police operation in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Continue reading...

Investors fear sectors may be next target after Beijing’s crackdown on digital gaming and tech companiesChina’s liquor and e-cigarette companies have emerged as the latest market casualty in Beijing’s crackdown on “vice industries” after reports from state media that suggest they could be the next targets for stricter regulation.Shares in e-cigarette and liquor makers slumped on Thursday after reports in the Chinese media of adolescent e-cigarette use and links between alcohol and cancer spooked investors who fear the state may be planning to broaden its crackdown on digital gaming and technology companies. Continue reading...

The World Health Organization has asked the world's richest countries to delay rolling out booster shots to their populations before at least 10% of the world is vaccinated.'We cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it, while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected,' said the WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.The WHO said the moratorium would help towards the goal of vaccinating at least 10% of every country’s population by the end of September, and would help fight a pandemic that has killed more than 4.25 million people worldwide

Labour MP contacted by concerned residents including a relative of alleged victims of Pablo EscobarA South American-themed restaurant called Escobar has been accused by an MP of “glamourising drug lords and terrorism” by featuring a mural of the drug trafficker Pablo Escobar.Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, said she had been contacted by residents who were distressed about the newly opened bar, including one constituent whose relatives were allegedly killed by the late narcoterrorist. Continue reading...

Far-right congregants fumed at clergyman after he criticised president over Covid in his serviceThe toxic politics bedevilling Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazil swept into Father Lino Allegri’s sacristy one Sunday in July, just after the octogenarian priest delivered a homily lamenting the president’s role in the Covid catastrophe that has killed more than half a million Brazilians.