World news | The Guardian

Spain tops 1,000 cases for second day in row; US Republican Herman Cain dies of disease; Brazil’s first lady tests positive

Musician Andy Anokye held four women against their will and repeatedly raped them

Data comparing 29 European countries shows England had longest continuous period of excess mortality; second wave ‘rolling across Europe’, says Hancock

Disqualifications and growing number of activist arrests under law imposed by China signal curtailment of city’s civic freedomsTwelve pro-democracy candidates have been disqualified from Hong Kong’s upcoming legislative elections, in the most sweeping curtailment of the city’s electoral freedoms to date.The government said the candidates were not fit to run for office on the grounds that they had advocated the city’s independence, solicited intervention by foreign governments or opposed the national security law. Continue reading...

British film-makers are back at work – and going to extraordinary lengths to protect cast and crew from Covid-19. Is it possible to make great movies behind face masks and Plexiglass?

Defendant alongside Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia trial which brought apartheid to the attention of the worldAndrew Mlangeni, who has died aged 95, was the last surviving defendant of the Rivonia trial at the end of which he, Nelson Mandela and seven others were sentenced in 1964 to life in prison for conspiring to overthrow the apartheid regime in South Africa by force. On trial for their lives, the 10 defendants, six black, three white and one Indian, decided to turn the trial into a political one, putting apartheid in the dock of world opinion.Their decisions not to deny their role in the campaign of sabotage organised by the ANC’s armed wing, uMkhonto we Sizwe (“MK”), Spear of the Nation, and not to expose Mandela to cross-examination in the witness box – so that his speech from the dock would be a platform for an uninterrupted condemnation of apartheid – made death sentences, which their lawyers advised were likely, even more probable. Continue reading...

Nation’s first popularly elected president oversaw transition from martial law to democracyLee Teng-hui, known as Taiwan’s “father of democracy” and its first popularly elected president, has died, according to a statement from his family.Lee, who oversaw Taiwan’s transition from martial law to one of the most vibrant democracies in Asia, died of septic shock and multiple organ failure at Taipei Veterans general hospital on Thursday evening. He had been in hospital for more than five months after choking while drinking milk and later contracting pneumonia. He was 97 years old. Continue reading...

Ambassador’s warning comes in response to UK’s special visa offer to Hong Kong citizensChina will not recognise the British national (overseas) passport as a legal travel document, raising the prospect that the 3 million Hong Kong citizens eligible for the passport will be banned from leaving Hong Kong by the Chinese government.The warning was made at a press conference by the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, in which he also warned it was hard to imagine a global Britain that bypassed or excluded China. Decoupling from China would mean decoupling from growth and the future, he suggested. Continue reading...

Cattle ranching and drought have turned the Paraná River grasslands to tinder, threatening disaster for the area’s wildlife

Lawyers argue human rights of ‘extremely vulnerable’ woman were breached by Home Office access to personal and confidential detailsA British victim of trafficking is bringing a case against the home secretary, Priti Patel, arguing that her department unlawfully accessed personal information including details of her intimate thoughts.If the case succeeds it could have implications for tens of thousands of others who may also have had their personal information accessed by officials. Five other survivors of trafficking have threatened the minister and her office with legal proceedings on this issue. Continue reading...

The French government risks paying huge fines if it bows to pressure from hunting lobbyists over controversial methodFrance is to outlaw trapping birds using sticks covered in glue after the European commission threatened legal action and fines.The move was welcomed by campaigners who have described the practice as “barbaric” and who urged the French government not to bow to pressure from the powerful hunting lobby. Continue reading...

Halle Berry’s directorial debut also on programme but whether physical screenings will take place remains up in the airThe Toronto film festival has announced its main line-up for this year, although it still uncertain whether physical screenings will take place.As with the Venice and Cannes film festivals, the selection appears to have been significantly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused production shutdowns and release delays across the industry. Arguably the most high-profile inclusion is the Mark Wahlberg drama Good Joe Bell, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men), based on the real-life story of a father whose son killed himself after being bullied. Continue reading...

Nicola Sturgeon also reveals plans for schools, which will reopen from 11 August

Three men also allegedly implicated in arms deal with Saudi Arabia’s national guardThe Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is prosecuting a UK subsidiary of Europe’s largest aerospace multinational, Airbus, along with three men over alleged corruption in an arms deal with Saudi Arabia.The SFO announced on Thursday it had brought charges against GPT Special Project Management. Continue reading...

Elphicke was Conservative MP for Kent constituency of Dover and Deal from 2010 until last year

The GAA, long a symbol of Catholic Ireland, is embodying change as it hosts Muslim celebration at its HQ

President Lukashenko accuses Russia of interference in country’s imminent electionsBelarus has accused 33 Russian mercenaries detained near Minsk of preparing a terrorist attack to destabilise the country ahead of its presidential elections in a sharp escalation of tensions with Moscow.Belarus has claimed the men are mercenaries employed by the Russian private military company Wagner, which has been tied to an ally of Vladimir Putin and has fought in armed conflict in Ukraine, Syria and countries in Africa. Several of the men, who were arrested at a sanatorium outside Minsk on Wednesday, fought against the government in east Ukraine, Russian media have reported. Continue reading...

Labor again calls on the Morrison government to apologise ‘for failing to stop the one boat that mattered’

Prices of most goods have nearly tripled and the value of the national currency is plummetingFrom her wedding dress shop in the impoverished northern Lebanese town of Akkar, Suzanne Hammoud has been selling bridal gowns for more than 15 years. She has revelled in her customers’ excitement as their weddings approached, and often stayed in touch as their lives progressed, sometimes making outfits for their children.But this year, Hammoud has become more of a buyer than a seller of dresses. Sales racks are full of gowns she has bought back from families who have no other means of income left, except for selling their memories. Continue reading...

Salo Muller secured €50m from Dutch railway for transporting people to Nazi campsA Holocaust survivor who successfully campaigned for the Dutch railway to pay compensation for transporting people to the Nazi concentration camps has tabled a legal claim against the German state over the wartime role of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.Salo Muller, 84, whose parents were taken by rail from Amsterdam to the Dutch transit camp Westerbork, and on to their deaths at Auschwitz, is demanding an apology and financial recompense for about 500 Dutch survivors and about 5,500 next of kin. Continue reading...

Others who have breached restrictions have not been identified and doing so creates ‘potential for harm’, human rights commissioner saysThe Queensland Human Rights Commission has been contacted by members of Brisbane’s African migrant communities who say they have experienced a backlash to media stories naming and shaming young women accused of breaching coronavirus restrictions.Multiple media outlets – including the ABC, Courier Mail, Herald Sun, Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, Brisbane Times, Daily Mail and commercial television outlets – named two of the women and published photographs taken from their social media accounts. Continue reading...

Exclusive: from schools to policing, 50 people share their experiences of growing up in the UK

From cities to towns, at the heart of the recent anti-racism protests in Britain there has been a new generation declaring in their thousands that black lives – their lives – matter. As part of our Young, British and Black series, the Guardian has interviewed Eleanor Woolstencroft, 14, Mara Ival-Duncan, 19, Nyasha Katsande, 20, on their experiences of racism before and after the demonstrations sparked by the US police killing of George Floyd in May

Target of just 15% reduction in incarceration for Indigenous adults comes days after Council of Attorneys-General decided not to raise age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14

The anti-racism protests in Portland appeared to be dwindling in size until Donald Trump sent in federal officers to confront them, reports the Guardian’s Chris McGrealThis episode first aired on Today in Focus, the Guardian’s global daily news podcast.Anti-racism protesters have repeatedly clashed with federal officers in the US city of Portland, Oregon in recent days. They have continued nightly protests ever since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in May. Continue reading...

Alok Sharma says new law will ‘ensure furloughed employees are not short-changed’

Move to control spread of coronavirus abandoned after widespread public anger

Latest updates: how has Covid-19 progressed where you live? Check the week-on-week changes across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern IrelandThe map shows local authorities where the number of cases has increased week-on-week and where it has fallen. Some of this is due to natural fluctuations, especially in areas where there are very few cases, and so a rise from 1 to 2 is a doubling. Increased testing also means that more cases may be being detected than previously, although the impact of this between one week and the next is likely to be slight. Continue reading...

UK and EU at odds over role of European court of justice in settling disputesBoris Johnson is facing a major Brexit test with the future of Eurotunnel operations at stake, it has emerged.The EU wants the UK to drop its opposition to a role for the European court of justice in British affairs to ensure trains keep running between France and the UK after Brexit is implemented on 1 January. Continue reading...

Women attempting to flee the country’s economic collapse are in desperate straits, stranded at borders and forced into sex work, say NGOsThe family had nothing at home, says mother of six Luisa Hernández, 30, from Zulia state, Venezuela. “To see your children grow up without food, without anything, is unbearable.“Eating from rubbish bins to survive was no life, so we left. But, now with the pandemic, we are in limbo, we are stuck in Colombia, and hungry again. We have gone from one crisis to another.” Continue reading...

The first retrospective show since the death of the celebrated photographer is full of striking shots of performers at their most outrageous

What are the restrictions within Victoria and the border closures with NSW and Queensland? How far can I travel, and how many people can I have over at my house? Untangle Australia’s Covid-19 laws and guidelines with our guide

Child dies after surge of cases that health minister linked to single restaurant offering cheap meal dealA food poisoning outbreak in Jordan has hit more than 800 people and killed a child, all of whom ate cut-price shawarma from a restaurant outside Amman, the health ministry has said.The owner of the restaurant selling the popular rotisserie meat and bread snacks in the Baqa’a district north-west of the capital was arrested, local media reported. Continue reading...

Fewer than 100 of StubHub’s 650 staff are understood to be facing redundancyTicket resale company StubHub is to close or shrink offices around the world as it reels from the pandemic, which has shut down concert venues and theatres and forced sports events to be held behind closed doors.In an email seen by the Guardian, addressed to staff known as “Stubbers”, the world’s largest ticketing company said it would be shutting its offices in the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions. Continue reading...

Amnesty calls for action to help victims overcome trauma, as families return home to landscape littered with landminesChild survivors of Islamic State captivity and their families have been left to fend for themselves when dealing with lasting trauma and health complications, Amnesty International said on Thursday.Almost 2,000 Yazidi children living in the Kurdish regional government area have been “effectively abandoned”, according to a new report highlighting their struggles to recover from the violence inflicted by Isis. Continue reading...

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has imposed stage three restrictions across metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire for six weeks from 8 July

The health department now recommends masks where community transmission of coronavirus is occurring and physical distancing is difficult, and Victoria has made face masks mandatory in the state. From washable cloth face masks to reusable ones and how to wear them, here’s what you need to know

More than a dozen ‘black rain’ plaintiffs died during legal battle to prove people living further away also suffered radiation exposure in 1945A court in Japan has for the first time recognised dozens of people who were exposed to radioactive “black rain” as survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, even though they lived outside the area hit hardest by the attack in August 1945.The Hiroshima district court said the 84 plaintiffs, who are suffering from illnesses linked to radiation exposure, were entitled to the same medical benefits as survivors who lived closer to where the bomb struck. Continue reading...

New centre in Greek city will be lifeline for Sephardic Jews, mostly descendants of Spanish exilesFive centuries after they were expelled from Spain and eight decades after they were almost annihilated in the Holocaust, the small community of Sephardic Jews that lives on in the Greek city of Thessaloniki is looking to its past to help safeguard its future.On Tuesday, Thessaloniki’s Jewish community signed a deal with the Spanish government’s Instituto Cervantes to create a small centre where people will be taught modern Spanish while also learning about Sephardic culture and the exiles’ still-spoken language, Ladino. Continue reading...

Militants to halt fighting over Muslim holiday following deal to release 5000 combatantsAfghanistan’s stuttering peace process has received fresh impetus with the announcement of an Eid ceasefire, and a government pledge to complete the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners, a pre-condition for direct talks.US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, in Kabul as part of a regional push to get talks back on track, has also suggested the ceasefire could be extended if the militant fighters are released by Friday, local media reported. Continue reading...

Pat Turner says four priority reforms, which include housing, early childhood and justice, will make a real improvement to Indigenous people’s livesThe new national agreement on Closing the Gap has been released. The culmination of months of negotiation between Aboriginal peak organisations and governments, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, says it is “built on mutual trust, shared responsibility, dignity and respect”.“This is a real turning point in Indigenous affairs, but the real work starts tomorrow,” the Coalition of Peaks lead convener, Pat Turner, said at the launch. Continue reading...

A young bird adored by fans around the globe via YouTube will soon leave its nest – but it needs a name firstA royal albatross chick in New Zealand whose life has attracted millions of views via a live YouTube channel has found fame – but has no name.Now its keepers are seeking to change that, as the seven-month-old female – or toroa in the Māori language te reo – prepares to leave the nest for a journey that will take her away for the next four years. Continue reading...

As coronavirus community transmissions rise in New South Wales, here are the current hotspots and what to do if you’ve visited them

Attendance limited to 10,000 people already residing in Saudi Arabia, rather than the usual 2 million including from abroad, amid Covid-19 restrictions

Kadar Shaikh was shocked by price of his treatment at private clinic, so he turned his offices into a facility offering free treatment

Australia rejects freedom of information request for ‘reference paper’ that touched on Wuhan laboratory theoryIt was described as a “bombshell dossier” that detailed China’s “assault on international transparency” and gave some weight to Donald Trump’s disputed claims that the coronavirus may have leaked out of a laboratory in Wuhan.But the document that formed the basis of tabloid reports in Australia – and triggered a flurry of follow-up stories in the US and elsewhere – may not be released to the public for three years or more. Continue reading...

Premier Gladys Berejiklian takes swipe at Queensland counterpart over surprise border closure as cluster in Potts Point expands

In 2019 there were 44,000 nursing vacancies across the NHS after years of austerityThousands of nurse training places and probation officer jobs will be created as part of a new government recruitment drive for the public sector.The Ministry of Justice is hiring 1,000 new probation officers just months after it was announced the service would be brought back under government control after a disastrous spell of part-privatisation. Continue reading...

Trump repeats his promise that the virus will disappear as US passes another somber milestone of 150,000 confirmed deathsSix months of coronavirus in the US, six months of Trump denials.As the US passed another somber landmark, with more than 150,000 confirmed deaths from Covid-19, the grim toll stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s repeated promise that under his leadership the disease would simply disappear. Continue reading...