Friends of the National Libraries launch ‘once in a generation’ effort to raise £15m to buy the Honresfield library, packed with works by Brontë sisters, Jane Austen and Walter ScottFrom the British Library to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, a consortium of libraries and museums have come together in an “unprecedented” effort to raise £15m and save an “astonishingly important” set of literary manuscripts for the nation.The plans were formed after the announcement last month that the “lost” Honresfield library was to be put up for auction at Sotheby’s this summer. Almost entirely inaccessible since 1939, the library was put together by Victorian industrialists William and Alfred Law at the turn of the 20th century, and is a literary treasure trove that had experts dancing with excitement – and warning that action needed to be taken to prevent it being sold piecemeal to private collectors. Continue reading...

Audit Scotland says supplies of items such as gowns and masks ran very low in April last year

Ryan Law, the editor-in-chief of Apple Daily, has been arrested along with four other directors of the pro-democracy newspaper on suspicion of collusion with a foreign country or 'external elements' to endanger national security. The newspaper's owner, Jimmy Lai, is serving a jail sentence on charges relating to pro-democracy protests in 2019

Scientists say cases rising exponentially but vaccine progress should help reduce increase

Pig that became Chinese national icon after surviving 36 days under rubble has diedA pig that became an unlikely national icon in China after surviving 36 days under rubble following a powerful earthquake in 2008 has died at the age of 14, sparking an outpouring of emotion.Zhu Jianqiang, meaning “strong-willed pig”, shot to fame after being discovered alive after the magnitude 7.9 earthquake in south-western Sichuan province on 12 May 2008. Continue reading...

The Guardian’s team will be covering all the action throughout this exciting season of international sport. If you like what we do, here’s how you can help keep us live and kicking

In a new exhibition, the city’s more well-known breakout artists are celebrated alongside a richer, and lesser reported, strain of experimental musicIn Kid Creole and the Coconuts’ irrepressible 1980 song Darrio, a klatch of female backup singers bouncingly plead with the titular gentleman to get them into Studio 54. The otherwise obliging Darrio enumerates why he cannot (“That’s the only thing that money can’t buy”), before finally admitting “my kind of heaven is Club 57,” the late-70s/early-80s East Village hangout that was the antithesis of a disco. The New York Times in 1980 described the band as “the Marx Brothers meeting Carmen Miranda in Bob Marley’s Kingston”.Related: Clearing the dancefloor: how club culture became a museum piece Continue reading...

Report says system is bureaucratic, risk-averse and in need of reform and investment after years of cutsThe English children’s services system is a “tower of Jenga held together by Sellotape” and needs major reform and investment, the head of an independent review has found.Josh MacAlister described the children’s social services system as bureaucratic, risk-averse, financially strained and over-focused on investigating potential abuse and neglect at the expense of providing practical support for struggling families. Continue reading...

The gelatinous creature sucks up organisms that absorb CO and leaves droppings rich in carbon at the bottom of the seaSalps are jelly-like sea creatures, so humble that few people even know they exist. But there are countless numbers of them swimming in the world’s oceans and they help fight climate change.Salps cruise around the sea surface at night, sucking up and digesting phytoplankton, microscopic plant-like organisms that absorb CO for their photosynthesis. During the day, the salps sink deeper in the sea, possibly to avoid predators, and squirt out unusually heavy droppings rich in carbon left over from their phytoplankton meals. The pellets sink rapidly, up to 1,000 metres deep in a day, and faster than the pellets of most other sea creatures. And when the salp dies, its body also sinks rapidly, sending even more carbon to the ocean depths. Continue reading...

When I was called in to assess Seb, I needed to understand why he had committed such a horrendous crime. But first I had to get him to talkEven before Seb had arrived at the prison, five weeks before my first visit, the staff had received a notification that he ought to be subject to close monitoring. While still in police custody, an out-of-hours forensic psychiatric assessment had been requested.Seb had been compliant with the arresting officers, but he had given the impression that he was unconcerned by what had happened – it seemed as though he didn’t mind at all that he was being arrested. More bizarrely, there were flickers of apparent self-satisfaction. Seb had been arrested on suspicion of murdering his mother. Continue reading...

Remains were discovered near disused mine shafts in the South African financial capitalPolice in South Africa have discovered the bodies of 20 suspected illegal miners near an abandoned goldmine shaft south-west of Johannesburg.Police said in a statement they were investigating the cause of the deaths, adding that the men’s bodies “were found wrapped in white plastic bags” and bore “severe body burns”. Continue reading...

Westminster-backed deal to legislate for Irish language protections saves Northern Ireland executive from collapseSinn Féin will nominate Michelle O’Neill as deputy first minister at Stormont after the party president, Mary Lou McDonald, said she received a commitment from the UK government to legislate for Irish language protections at Westminster.McDonald earlier said she was going to meet the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, as her party and the DUP attempted to avert a fresh political crisis at Stormont. Continue reading...

Plan to focus on skilled migrants leaves sector concerned they will not be able to staff care homesAt the end of an eight-hour shift in a Wellington rest home, Joan Lagman feels exhilarated and exhausted. The 39-year-old caregiver from the Philippines has fed, clothed, toileted and showered the five elderly charges in her care. When one is having a bad day, she writes them inspirational notes.They range in age from 87 to 100. All are immobile and some are bedridden. They tell her their fears, their problems, and the things they feel sad about. Sometimes they ask for their mum. Occasionally, Joan tells a white lie if one is expecting a relative to visit and that person doesn’t turn up. Continue reading...

Ministers looking at loosening travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers returning to England

Thursday: Pair in city’s eastern suburbs test positive, triggering new hotspot warnings. Plus: opposition champions fuel as a ‘critical feedstock’Good morning. Sydney has recorded two new Covid cases, Joe Biden has met Vladimir Putin in Europe and a giant diamond has been found in Botswana. These stories and more make up our Thursday headlines.A man who lives in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and works as a driver for international flight crews has tested positive to Covid, as has a household contact, with NSW Health listing a string of hotspot venues they visited while potentially infectious. This comes after Victoria announced it would significantly ease coronavirus restrictions from Friday despite a cluster of new cases, with the mandatory wearing of masks outdoors and onerous travel restrictions for Melburnians lifted. Internationally, the UK has recorded its highest one-day tally since February with 9,055 new infections, raising concerns that the Delta variant is spreading aggressively. The EU has once again excluded the UK from its travel “white list” but has added the US and Hong Kong. Continue reading...

After apologizing on Monday, Teigen was accused of bullying Michael Costello, who then was accused of bullying Leona Lewis. Maybe it’s time to pause the postsIn 2018, the New Republic deputy editor Katie McDonough wrote a piece for Jezebel that I spiritually consult to this day. (Full disclosure: I was a Jezebel contributor at the time.)“Why tweet when you can text?” she asked, and … well, that’s basically it. Sometimes, you can just text the thing you want to tweet. Continue reading...

Former aide publishes 7,000-word essay attacking Johnson’s ‘chronic dysfunction’ and revealing PM’s scathing verdict on health secretary

Aaron Ramsey and Connor Roberts got the goals in a thrilling, nervy victory that will almost certainly earn Wales a berth in the last 167.01pm BSTThat second goal: Wales won a corner, which they took short. Rather than keep the ball down by the flag, Bale sprinted down the byline and was waved through by two defenders, before pulling the ball back to Connor Roberts on the edge of the six yard box. The full-back made no mistake.6.59pm BSTGroup A: Wow! What a game! What! A! Game! Every single one of those Wales players deserve credit for a wonderful team performance which featured some splendid individual displays.His awful penalty notwithstanding, Gareth Bale was instrumental in this victory. He set up both goals, several other chances and went close himself on a couple of occasions. Dan James, Kieffer Moore, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Ward were also excellent in an outstanding group effort in which nobody let their teammates or manager down. Continue reading...

Former NSW DPP says ‘the wrong parties are being prosecuted’ in case that exposed government’s bugging of Timor-Leste during oil and gas negotiations in 2004Protesters supporting Witness K will gather at federal parliament to decry his treatment as he faces sentencing and “a very real prospect” of being jailed for speaking out about Australia’s misconduct abroad.Witness K is scheduled to face a sentencing hearing on Thursday for his role in exposing the Australian government’s bugging of Timor-Leste, an impoverished ally, during lucrative oil and gas negotiations in 2004. Continue reading...

Transformation of London shopping district aims to address air quality, pedestrian congestion and trafficThe area around Oxford Circus in London is to be transformed into two pedestrianised piazzas after years of deliberation.Work is due to start this year and will include “significant improvements to the public spaces”, as well as additional planting and seating in the shopping and leisure district, Westminster city council and the crown estate announced on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Jürgen Conings has not been seen since vanishing with submachine gun and missile launchers on 17 May

Portugal is first country to get green light for €16.6bn investment under EU’s €800bn fund

French will no longer have to wear masks outside and curfew to end while Spain also planning to lift rule

From an allotment shelter built out of old doors to a storage shack turned into a chapel, here are some of the best of our readers’ creationsThis is my pandemic project: a garden pub shed, called the Doghouse. It is custom-built from timber with a Firestone rubber roof. Lockdown finally gave me the time to build it and I tried to reuse or recycle materials where I could. The doors and windows were from a friend’s old conservatory. The timber herringbone and boards, plus the back bar shelving, are pallet wood, which I burnished with a chainmail pad, and oiled to give it a nice worn look. I built the bar and canopy from scratch using leftover framing timber. The bench was built from a recycled bed headboard and I used a mattress for the seat. The table and chairs were a local Gumtree find, and the bar memorabilia and pumps were from eBay. I’m probably proudest of the bar. It has the feel and character of a little local pub – we often eat dinner there for a change of scenery. Our two children love it. But we will, of course, still support our local pub whenever we can. Gavin Thomasson, 42, design manager, Ipswich Continue reading...

Infections in England’s worst-affected council area fall steadily since 7 June, says PHE

Mining company Debswana shows the 1,098-carat stone to the country’s president, Mokgweetsi MasisiThe diamond firm Debswana has announced the discovery in Botswana of a 1,098-carat stone that it described as the third largest of its kind in the world.The company showed the stone, which was found on 1 June, to the country’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, in the capital Gaborone. Continue reading...

Ethiopian government asked auction house to ‘stop cycle of dispossession’Two artefacts that were taken during colonial-era looting by British forces in Ethiopia have been withdrawn from auction after the Ethiopian government appealed to an auction house selling them to “stop the cycle of dispossession”.Busby auctioneers in Bridport, Dorset, has withdrawn a leather-bound Coptic bible and a set of horn beakers from a sale on 17 June after the Ethiopian embassy in London discovered the items – which were taken during the Battle of Maqdala in 1868 – and wrote to the auction house. Continue reading...

High court ruling leaves open possibility of criminal involvement, in victory for familyA Malaysian court has overturned the findings of an inquest into the death of the French-Irish teenager Nora Anne Quoirin, stating that the coroner was wrong to conclude she died as a result of misadventure.The high court judge Azizul Azmi Adnan instead issued an open verdict, which does not rule out the possibility of criminal involvement and could pave the way for further investigations into her disappearance. Continue reading...

Judge said there was no reason to delay transfer any longer and denied lawyer’s request to keep him at a state prison in New YorkDisgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will be extradited to California after a New York judge’s approval, where he faces additional sexual assault charges.The extradition order ends a legal fight, prolonged by the pandemic, the defense’s concerns about Weinstein’s failing health, and a squabble over paperwork. Continue reading...

Almost as important as saving lives, the Covid jab has given politicos a great reason to get their kit off in public

Lord Blair of Boughton criticises independent panel judgment and calls Dick ‘finest officer of generation’The Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick, has been defended by one of her predecessors after an independent inquiry censured her personally for obstruction and found Scotland Yard to be “institutionally corrupt”.Ian Blair, who served as commissioner from 2005 to 2008, criticised the findings of an independent panel inquiring into the unsolved 1987 murder of Daniel Morgan. Continue reading...

British tourists face continued restrictions as bloc opens up to other vaccinated travellers

There are so many variations on South America’s favourite patties, who’s to say which is the best? But that won’t stop our resident perfectionist from giving it her best shot ...Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz claimed that one could write a small book on empanadas, empanaditas, pasteles, pastelitos, empadinhas and pastèzinhos … namely, “those delicious turnovers, patties and pies, stuffed with meat, poultry, fish, shellfish and other mixtures, and baked or fried, which are so popular throughout Latin America”. Such is the variety on offer, in fact, I’d suggest it would probably be quite a large book. As writer Naomi Tomky notes, perhaps a little wistfully, on Serious Eats, “it would take a lifetime of non-stop empanada-eating to try all of the infinite combinations of doughs, fillings and cooking methods that are so closely tied to the specific culture, flora and fauna in each region of Latin America”.That’s a challenge I’d happily take on, but the Guardian has refused to extend my deadline, so I’ve chosen to concentrate on the simple, cheese-stuffed sort found almost everywhere. Even then, the range is such from country to country that (as ever) the below should be seen more as an introductory guide than a definitive recipe. Portable, cheap and infinitely versatile, easy to make vegan, gluten-free and even (relatively) healthy, empanadas are surely the ultimate democratic party food. Well … after crisps, anyway. Continue reading...

Operation launches to target fanclub culture that ‘adversely affects mental health of minors’, says watchdogChina’s internet watchdog has launched a crackdown on the country’s “chaotic” online celebrity fanclubs, accusing them of contributing to a culture of abuse and of manipulating public opinion.In an announcement on Tuesday, the office of the central cyberspace affairs commission said it was launching a two-month special operation targeting fanclub culture, known as fan quan, which it said adversely affected the mental health of children. Continue reading...

Judge says defence minister and refugee activist he is suing should be able to ‘reach a compromise’ if they act ‘sensibly’The defence minister, Peter Dutton, has been ordered to attend mediation after a federal court judge said his defamation case over a tweet calling him a “rape apologist” was not among the court’s biggest and could be settled pre-trial.Dutton is suing a refugee activist, Shane Bazzi, over the tweet, after vowing in March he would take a more aggressive stance against false and defamatory statements made about him online. Continue reading...

As Pakistan’s supreme court backs bulldozing of homes blamed for floods, critics say government has no proper plans for residentsMaqsooda Bibi, 62, did not know the house she had lived in all her life would be demolished, forcing her whole family to become homeless. But on Monday, Pakistan’s supreme court backed the Sindh government in bulldozing her home and hundreds of others, legalising the eviction of thousands who live along narrow waterways – nullahs – that crisscross Karachi.The verdict came as Bibi and hundreds of others held a protest outside the court. “We hoped that the court would ask the government not to make us homeless, but it did the opposite. Our children also protested on Sunday and urged the supreme court to stop demolition. It seems no one here cares for the future of the poor.” Continue reading...

A Sydney man in his 60s who works as a driver, including transporting international flight crew, tests positive. Follow latest updates

Martin Hockridge charged after Newsnight political editor Nick Watt harassed in WhitehallA man has been charged with a public order offence, Scotland Yard has said, after footage online showed a journalist being confronted and chased by a group of protesters in Whitehall.Martin Hockridge, 57, was charged with an offence under section 4A of the Public Order Act; namely using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards another person with the intention to cause them harassment, alarm or distress. Continue reading...

Low-paid workers will earn an additional $18.80 per week after decision by the Fair Work CommissionThe Fair Work Commission has ordered a 2.5% increase in the minimum wage, lifting it to $20.33 an hour, but the pay rise will be delayed for industries hardest hit by the pandemic.The new full-time minimum wage will be $772.60 per week, an increase of $18.80 for Australia’s lowest-paid workers. Continue reading...

With turbocharged tracks storming the charts, both genres are having a boom – but did they ever really go away?Jungle and drum’n’bass are back, back, BACK! High Contrast’s Notes from the Underground album – its elegiac 90s rave moods created with vintage 90s tech – was a dance chart success at the end of 2020. Chase & Status’s RTRN II FABRIC mix, which turbocharged jungle classics, was huge last year, too. Harmony by Origin8a and Propa ft Benny Page is everywhere lately and it’s far from the only euphoric 174bpm tune you’ll hear on daytime Radio 1.Related: The Guide: Staying In – sign up for our home entertainment tips Continue reading...

From a Lagos slum, Olamide became one of Africa’s biggest music stars. A new, global deal is taking his vivid pop to the wider worldBariga, a sprawling northern suburb of Lagos, Nigeria that is home to more than 700,000 people, is infamous for its impoverished housing and gang culture – and for pushing a raw, jarring sound into the Nigerian mainstream. Olamide, long one of Africa’s biggest music stars, was one of the kids responsible for that shift: 13 years ago, he was walking the streets of Bariga, plotting his way out.“Surviving was hard,” says Olamide, now sitting in a comfortable Lagos home on a sunny Friday afternoon. “Bariga was not far from the other slums you see across the world, from Mumbai to New York and London – life in the ghetto is almost always the same everywhere. There were days when being able to afford three square meals was a big deal for my family. All of that motivated me to hustle hard – I wanted to see the whole world and experience different cultures from what I grew up seeing.” Continue reading...

Photographers Linda Bournane Engelberth and Valentina Sinis document the lives of working parents from Botswana to the UK for UnicefIf investing in family-friendly policies is good for business, then many companies are missing a trick. Giving parents and families adequate time, resources and services to care for children, while staying in their jobs and improving their skills and productivity, pays off according to employers. But for many, in all parts of the world, paid parental leave and childcare are not a reality. And that can compromise the first critical years of life – a time when the combination of the right nourishment, environment and love can strengthen a developing brain and give a baby the best start.Evidence suggests family-friendly policies pay off in healthier, better-educated children and greater gender equality, and are linked to better productivity and the ability to attract and retain workers. Momentum for change is growing with an increasing number of businesses beginning to see the value. Continue reading...

Council hopes micro dwellings built on spaces between houses and gardens will revive neighbourhoodsUnique micro homes are to be built on old garage sites in Bristol to help the city tackle its housing crisis.“Gap homes” – so-called because they will be constructed in small spaces between houses and gardens – would be made off site and dropped into place across the city. Continue reading...

In India’s remote peaks, the pandemic’s toll is worsened by lack of medical facilities, roads and informationPhalguni Devi has spent a fortnight living in a cattle shed. Looking out on a rainy afternoon in early June, she worries that if the rain does not let up, her fever-like symptoms will worsen.Devi, 51, shares the shed with a cow and two cats, and this has taken its toll. Herbal concoctions have not worked and the visit to a pharmacist in the nearest town, in the Nijmola valley in the Himalayas, which took an entire day, did not help. Continue reading...

Two years ago photojournalist Laurel Chor covered mass protests against the extradition bill. She looks back at how the city has changed in their wakeI had never seen so many people before in my life. On 9 June 2019, hundreds of thousands of people dressed in white marched slowly but steadily across Hong Kong island.The heat and humidity were almost unbearable, but protesters from all walks of life came prepared with neck towels, folding fans, and umbrellas to shield the sun. It’s never easy to capture the scale of a crowd, but the intense, palpable energy emanating from the masses of people who had united for common values isn’t something a photograph could ever convey. Continue reading...

Dangling artist, dead dog and lovingly tangled mattress help convey volatile past in new showThe black and white photograph of a dead dog, taken in Lima in 1989, that now hangs on the immaculate walls of the Reina Sofía in Madrid seems to have little in common with the Caetano Veloso album covers also on display or, come to that, with the image of a young Chilean artist suspended by his feet alongside a map of his homeland.But they – and the 100 or so other works that make up the museum’s latest exhibition – are all bound together by the volatile and often violent times in which they were created. Continue reading...

The son of peasant farmers says ‘a new time has begun’ as vote count gives him narrow lead against rightwing rival Keiko FujimoriPeru’s socialist candidate Pedro Castillo has claimed victory in the presidential election after clinging on to a narrow lead as the lengthy vote count ended, although his rightwing rival has pledged to fight the result and has yet to concede.Castillo ended the count 44,058 votes ahead of Keiko Fujimori, who has made allegations of fraud with little proof and has tried to get some votes annulled. The result of the ballot held on 6 June has not been formally announced by electoral authorities, but Castillo hailed the win on Twitter. Continue reading...

Fragile truce under threat after attack on the Palestinian enclave and violence amid Jewish ultranationalists parade through East JerusalemIsrael has launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, the first since a truce ended 11 days of cross-border fighting last month, in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian territory.The flare-up in violence, a first test for Israel’s new government sworn in three days ago, followed a march in East Jerusalem on Tuesday by Jewish nationalists that had drawn threats of action by Hamas, the ruling militant group in Gaza. Continue reading...