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In 2010, Katie Allen was days from giving birth to her second child when she felt his movements slow. She talks about the ordeal – and how she was helped through itI woke to the barely there contractions of early labour. It was a few days before my due date in my second pregnancy – a pregnancy seemingly without complications. The Moses basket was out and my hospital bag packed; everything was ready for our baby boy. He was kicking as normal.As the day went on, my contractions remained mild and far apart. I kept to the plan discussed with our midwives: stay at home as long as possible, no rushing to the maternity ward. I took our two-year-old son, Alex, for a walk with a friend and we collected conkers. When I sang Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star at Alex’s bedtime, the baby kicked hard, as he had done most days, as if he recognised the song, knew our routine. Continue reading...

The former soldier rejected allegations of murder and became visibly distraught when asked about the mission that won him a Victoria CrossBen Roberts-Smith has broken down in the witness box recounting the danger of his Victoria Cross-winning mission in Afghanistan, in a dramatic first day of evidence, during which he consistently rejected allegations of murder made against him.During nearly five hours of testimony on Thursday, Roberts-Smith was at times combative, at times animated, and – as he discussed a 2010 assault in Tizak – moved to tears, as he was asked to recount the perilous mission that would ultimately win him the Victoria Cross. Continue reading...

Comments at Guardian Live event are first time former PM has explicitly called for UK to rejoin EUGordon Brown has said he will not give up pushing for the UK to rejoin the EU, while stressing that this is a personal view and he accepts it is unlikely in the short term.While the former prime minister was a strong supporter of remain before the 2016 referendum, his comments at a Guardian Live event on Wednesday night are the first time he has explicitly called for the UK to return to the EU. Continue reading...

TGA says 52-year-old New South Wales woman died ‘with a blood clot in the brain’, but it maintains vaccine benefits outweigh risks

Queensland health minister says couple whose road trip from Victoria sparked Covid fears ‘are at the end of their infectious period’ and so the risk is lower than expected. Follow live updates

Kurdish vet is behind groundbreaking welfare legislation to be debated by parliament in Iraq’s autonomous region“The animals are my life,” says Sulaiman Tameer. In one corner of his desk is a statuette of a rearing horse. A watercolour of a donkey hangs behind it. “That one lives with a government minister,” he nods at a photo of a rescued kitten. “But I won’t tell you which one.”The veterinarian’s office, which shares space with his clinic on a sidestreet in Duhok in the Kurdistan region, in northern Iraq, is where Tameer divides his time between treating animals and campaigning for government action on their rights. Continue reading...

‘Don’t do as we did,’ says Pippa Biddle, who highlights colonial structure of industry where unqualified Western tourists pay to volunteer abroadSeven years ago, Pippa Biddle wrote a blog post about volunteering abroad. She recounted her struggles speaking Spanish to children living with HIV in the Dominican Republic and how local people in Tanzania would spend all night redoing the construction work she and her classmates had done poorly.“Taking part in international aid where you aren’t particularly helpful is not benign,” Biddle wrote. “It’s detrimental.” Continue reading...

The deposed leader is accused of misuse of land for a charity foundation, on top of accepting bribes of gold and cashMyanmar’s deposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other former officials from her government have been hit with fresh corruption charges, according to state-run media.Citing the country’s anti-corruption commission, the state newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar said on Thursday that the accusations related to the misuse of land for the charitable Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, which Aung San Suu Kyi chaired. Continue reading...

Joe Biden wants alternative to Chinese belt and road offer while Japanese PM’s interests are more domesticLeaders of the world’s seven leading industrialised nations will meet in Cornwall this weekend to agree a communique on how to redraw the world post-Covid, but also to pursue their own agendas and try to forge new personal relations after nearly 18 months apart.1. Joe Biden has restored order, calm and direction to US international alliances, but now has to show what he will do with that goodwill. Continue reading...

A look back at the career of Senegal-born film director Ousmane Sembène as his 1968 film Mandabi is released in the UK for the first time•Mandabi is released on 11 June in cinemas, and on 28 June on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital platforms.•Peter Bradshaw on Mandabi: classic about colonialism resonates today Continue reading...

Expert says Exercise Alice, one of 10 exercises disclosed under FoI, could have been relevant to Covid response

The top items on the leaders’ agenda for this week’s gathering at Cornwall, and some possible outcomesWorld leaders are gathering for the G7 summit in Cornwall this week. Here we look at the key themes that will dominate their meeting and what might constitute a successful outcome from discussions: Continue reading...

Flordelis grew up in a Rio favela, but rose to fame after adopting more than 50 children, becoming a hugely successful gospel singer and winning a seat in congress. And now she is on trial for murderWhen Flordelis dos Santos de Souza boarded an air force jet from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília on the morning of 1 January 2019, she felt she was witnessing the beginning of a new dawn. Brazil was about to install a far-right religious nationalist, Jair Bolsonaro, as president, and she, a black gospel singer from one of Rio’s most violent and impoverished favelas, had won a seat in parliament, asserting her place among her country’s powerful evangelical elite. At 57, she was a church leader and a social crusader, celebrated for standing up to some of Rio’s most dangerous gangsters and for taking in dozens of children rescued from lives of deprivation and crime. She had devoted her life to building a multimillion-dollar evangelical empire, which had grown to include nine churches. Now she was a politician, too.At her side was her husband, Anderson do Carmo de Souza, also a preacher, 16 years her junior, who managed her political career. “I want to thank all of you who had faith and gave Flor a place in this movement to change Brazil, isn’t that right love?” Anderson said into a camera as the pair stood on the airport runway, waiting to fly to the capital at the invitation of one of the country’s most powerful politicians, Rodrigo Maia, then speaker of the lower house. Continue reading...

UN warns that coronavirus crisis threatens to push millions more children into workChild labour has risen for the first time in two decades and the coronavirus crisis threatens to push millions more youngsters towards the same fate, Unicef has said.In a joint report, the International Labour Organization and the UN children’s agency say the number in child labour stood at 160 million at the start of 2020 – an increase of 8.4 million in four years. Continue reading...

Installation of new pathway and lift has been criticised by archaeologists and called ‘a scandal’When seen through the eyes of Manolis Korres, the architect who has long presided over the restoration of the Parthenon, the Acropolis needs no improvement at all.In the face of such architectural mastery, he thinks of himself more as a maestro of order, making a monument that has survived explosions, fire, looting and earthquakes more understandable to the public. Continue reading...

IOC officials have avoided any mention of the commercial forces driving the Tokyo Games towards their 23 July opening dateThe least divisive statement in the saga surrounding Tokyo 2020 – assuming, as many people now do, that it will happen in just over 40 days’ time – is that it will be an Olympics like no other.Overseas fans have been banned; athletes will spend what for many will be the pinnacle of their career sealed off from the outside world; GPS-tracked journalists hoping to escape their hotel rooms for a late-night fix of ramen risk being put on the next flight home. Continue reading...

Warnings from envoys that David Frost must compromise with EU on border checks as risk to Good Friday agreement ‘will not be welcomed by the US’Senior US embassy diplomats in London, backed by the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, have directly warned the UK’s Brexit negotiator, Lord Frost, that he will inflame tensions in Northern Ireland if he does not compromise over border checks.A meeting between the US charge d’affaires Yael Lampert, currently America’s most senior diplomat in London, and Frost led to an urging by the US for Britain to come to a negotiated settlement with the EU, according to an internal UK government note. Continue reading...

Recognising Auckland and Wellington on the basis of Covid success is not on their own meritsEven in ordinary times, “liveability” is an almost ludicrous measure by which to assess a city.Not only does it imply that there is a uniform experience to be had there, separate to socioeconomic status or disadvantage – the qualities or properties that may make somewhere a desirable place to live differ between individuals, and within lifetimes. Continue reading...

Statement indicates leaders will also commit to delivering a billion vaccine doses and plans to tackle forced labour

Here are the current coronavirus hotspots and Covid-19 public exposure sites in Queensland and what to do if you’ve visited them.

Karim Benzema returns for France, after five years of international exile, in a side already filled with talent. Didier Deschamps will hope to repeat what he achieved as a player, winning Euro 2000 two years after claiming the World Cup with France. Les Bleus still have questions to answer, notably in defence as they try to find the perfect partner for Raphaël Varane. The 2018 World Cup winners' opener is against Germany, which feels like a make-or-break moment for both sides. The Guardian's Paul Doyle takes a look at whether France are ready repeat history. Continue reading...

Misjudged comments to prime minister of Spain sought to play up the South American country’s ties with EuropeArgentina’s president, Alberto Fernández, has triggered a Twitter storm and a regional race debate with misjudged comments to visiting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain that sought to play up the South American country’s ties with Europe.“The Mexicans came from the Indians, the Brazilians came from the jungle, but we Argentines came from the ships. And they were ships that came from Europe,” Fernández said, referring to the many European migrants who arrived in the country. He later apologized for the comments and said his country’s diversity was something to be proud of. Continue reading...

Mourners attend vigil to honour four members of Afzaal family who were killed in a truck attack Sunday night in London, OntarioAs thousands of people gathered outside Canada’s second-largest mosque in London, Ontario, Reina Persaud was watching her niece and other children chalking brightly-coloured hearts all over the road.The “pathway of hearts” was a tribute to the Afzaals, a local Muslim family, who every evening would take a walk around the neighbourhood, greeting neighbours and friends – and who were killed on Sunday in what police have described as a premeditated attack motivated by Islamophobia. Continue reading...

Rather than apologise after defeat, the government issued a statement at odds even with its own case

Joe Biden swatted a cicada from his neck while on the tarmac as he prepared to board Air Force One on his journey to the G7 summit in Cornwall. Every 17 years, cicadas swarm several eastern and midwest US states, and 'Brood X', the largest and most widespread of them, began emerging last month. After giving himself a hearty swat, Biden walked over to the assembled press and joked: 'Watch out for the cicadas. It got me. I got one'

Jens Spahn’s ministry is accused of planning to distribute substandard Covid masks to vulnerable people

Alongside coronavirus measures, huge security operation under way as thousands plan to join protestsEverybody from the most junior official to the president of the United States will have to follow the rules. Take daily Covid tests, wear masks at appropriate times and respect everything from one-way systems around venues to limits on how many people can gather around a table for a meal or drink.Welcome to G7 UK 2021, the first world summit in the times of Covid. Continue reading...

Brussels says German court ruling contradicting ECJ sets ‘dangerous precedent’ for integrity of EU lawBrussels has launched a legal case against Germany over an alleged breach of “the principle of the primacy of EU law” by the country’s constitutional court.The “infringement proceeding” is the result of a ruling last year by the German federal constitutional court in Karlsruhe which it is claimed undermined the pre-eminence of the European court of justice (ECJ). Continue reading...

French president shrugs off security fears after he is slapped on walkabout in run-up to elections

To celebrate the release of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s upbeat musical In the Heights, Guardian writers have picked their favourite examples of the genre Continue reading...

Airlines may have broken law by refusing refunds for flights customers could not legally take

Prosecution opens case against teenager accused of murdering Nicole Smallman and Bibaa HenryTwo sisters were killed in a “frenzied and relentless” attack last year before their bodies were concealed in park undergrowth, the trial of a teenager accused of their murders has been told.Opening the case against Danyal Hussein, 19, a prosecutor said Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, were killed in north-west London on a night that was meant to be a celebration of Henry’s birthday. Continue reading...

Creditors started proceedings to put Simec into receivership in fresh blow to embattled CEO Sanjeev GuptaSanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance has started legal action in the British Virgin Islands to prevent creditors taking over a subsidiary, in the latest sign of the metals tycoon’s mounting difficulties.Gupta has been battling on multiple fronts to preserve his commodities and energy empire since March after the collapse of his major financial backer, Greensill Capital. The collapse has put severe pressure on parts of GFG, including Liberty Steel metalworks that employ thousands of people in the UK and Australia. Continue reading...

BBC correspondent says palace source claims Sussexes did not ask for permission to use name for daughterBuckingham Palace has become embroiled in a row over whether the Queen was consulted over the naming of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter.Harry and Meghan’s decision to name their second child Lilibet, a childhood nickname of the Queen, was seen as an attempt by the couple to try to mend their rift with the royal family. Continue reading...

Chancellor seeks carve-out for financial services in ‘historic’ global corporation tax agreementBritain will seek to exclude the City of London’s financial services companies from a global tax overhaul targeting the world’s most profitable businesses agreed between G7 finance ministers last weekend.The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is concerned that under a version of the plan put forward by the US president – which involves redistributing the profits of the world’s 100 largest businesses – digital businesses such as Google, Amazon and Facebook will be joined by banks that he says already pay a fair share of tax. Continue reading...

Gladys Berejiklian posts photo showing her back and a hand holding a sugar-free Coke ahead of State of Origin clashA bizarre photo of the New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has become the latest in a long line of images of Australian politicians watching television in baffling and unnerving ways.Posted on Wednesday to drum up support for New South Wales in its upcoming clash with Queensland in the State of Origin rugby league, the premier’s photo was instead widely mocked for its bizarre composition and strange elements. Continue reading...

From friendly Antarctic penguins to the rainbow plumage of a Colombian hummingbird, our readers on their favourite images – and the lengths they went to to capture them.I took this photo at the end of January in Balloch, Scotland. I have always wanted to take a picture of a male mandarin duck. It is the bird that made me want to start taking photographs. They are beautiful, with so many stunning colours. At the end of January, I had heard via Facebook that there was a pair of them up the road from me. I got up early and drove to Balloch. I had all but given up hope, when all of a sudden I saw the bright orange tail feathers of the duck in between some bushes on the river’s edge. I had to lean on a tree that was in the water to take the pictures. I then fell into the water and tore my trousers, but it was worth it. Paul Fraser, 36, freshwater biologist, Callander, Scotland Continue reading...

Previous first-place holder Vienna fell out of the top 10 as cities in New Zealand, Australia and Japan fared best in rankings

Public health expert says policymakers between rock and hard place over allowing fans to congregate

Clearly inspired by Mad Men, Marvel’s stunning Disney+ series kicks off as the god of mischief finds new, glorious purpose and Owen Wilson’s Agent Mobius enters the fray

Health authorities say the woman left Melbourne on 1 June and travelled to the Sunshine Coast via NSW

Rules designed to prevent a border on the island of Ireland have tarnished UK-EU relations and raised the prospect of a trade warJust six months into Brexit and relations between Brussels and London have hit a new low with veiled threats of trade wars from the EU if the UK does not comply with an agreement Boris Johnson signed over Northern Ireland almost 18 months ago.What is the row about? Continue reading...

Female genital mutilation has revived under Covid but activists are pushing hard to save girls at riskIt was when the phone started ringing with calls from worried mothers in Somalia that Ifrah Ahmed knew she was making an impact. The women told her their daughters had been bleeding for hours after undergoing female genital mutilation and asked what to do. Ahmed told them to seek medical attention, and probably saved lives by doing so.The mothers called because they had heard the story of a 10-year-old girl who had bled to death after being cut in central Galmudug state in July 2018. It was the first confirmed death in years in a country where any complications arising from FGM are generally denied and it gained worldwide attention. The death was first revealed by a local activist who had been trained by Ahmed’s foundation in how to use the media to publicise her work. Continue reading...

UK considering unilaterally extending grace periods under Northern Ireland protocolThe row between the UK and the EU over checks on sausages and other chilled foods sent from Britain to Northern Ireland has deepened, with the Brexit minister telling Brussels that trade war threats will not wash with voters.As a major meeting on Wednesday approached, David Frost said: “Further threats of legal action and trade retaliation from the EU won’t make life any easier for the shopper in Strabane who can’t buy their favourite product. Nor will it benefit the small business in Ballymena struggling to source produce from their supplier in Birmingham.” Continue reading...

Senegalese feature from 1968 tells story of a simple family man whose life is turned upside down by the money he receives from a nephew in FranceOusmane Sembène, the “father of African cinema”, tells a tale of Jonsonian bleakness about human nature with his 1968 film Mandabi, or The Money Order, adapted from his own novella and now on rerelease. As with much of the rest of his work, and especially his earlier film Le Noire De… (1966), it is about colonialism and Africa’s relationship with France, though a 21st-century audience might specifically read it as a parable of globalisation, and what happens when a poor country exiles its cheap labour to wealthy countries in the expectation of money getting sent home.Makhourédia Guèye plays Ibrahim: a lazy, conceited man with two wives, Méty (Ynousse N’Diaye) and Aram (Isseu Niang) and seven children in a village outside Dakar, Senegal. The first time we see him, Ibrahim is being shaved by a barber, and getting his gruesome nose hairs trimmed. Later he eats greedily to the point of indigestion and settles down for a nap instead of going to the mosque for prayers; he is always burping, coughing, grimacing, and upon being massaged, appears horribly to break wind. Continue reading...

Fifty-eight people have died in six weeks of unrest, but demonstrators say they are more determined than ever to fight for changeProtests in Colombia that began in late April over a proposed tax hike have morphed into a generational outcry over the country’s deep-rooted inequalities.Related: ‘They can’t take it any more’: pandemic and poverty brew violent storm in Colombia Continue reading...

NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson says hospitals are reporting much lower mortality rates

Melbourne to come out of lockdown on Friday but travel to regional Victoria likely to be barred; Pfizer vaccine recommended during pregnancy. Follow updates live

Prince Charles has spoken about the birth of his new granddaughter, Lilibet, describing it as 'such happy news'. During a visit to the BMW Mini car factory in Oxford, the prince gave a speech about innovation and sustainability in the car industry and made a reference to being a grandfather for the fifth time. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's second child was born on Sunday 6 June

A thick layer of organic matter known as marine mucilage has spread in the Sea of Marmara, covering harbours, shorelines and swathes of the surface south of Istanbul. Some of the ‘sea snot’ has sunk below the waves, suffocating seabed life Continue reading...