The culture secretary has urged the nation to ‘work out to help out’ as he announced that gyms, sports clubs, swimming pools and leisure centres will be able to reopen this month. Oliver Dowden also said theatres and musicians would be able to perform in open-air venues
by Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent on (#55H8C)
Actor’s account of his marriage to Amber Heard comes under close scrutiny on third day of libel caseThe Hollywood star Johnny Depp – who accuses his ex-wife Amber Heard of cutting off the tip of his finger when she hurled a vodka bottle – wrote at the time that he had caused the injury himself, the high court has heard.On the third day of Depp’s cross-examination at the high court in London, the 57-year-old’s narrative of how the couple’s marriage disintegrated came under close scrutiny. Continue reading...
After fierce debate about 19th-century spire, consensus builds over restoration of fire-torn cathedralThe spire of Notre-Dame in Paris should be rebuilt exactly as it was before fire engulfed the cathedral last year, France’s chief architect for historic monuments has told the commission that must decide how the building is to be restored.Philippe Villeneuve was to tell the National Heritage and Architecture Commission (CNPA) on Thursday his favoured option was a faithful reconstruction of the roof and spire, local media said. Continue reading...
Woman who has accused former MP of sexual assault weeps as she testifies in courtA woman who has accused a former Tory MP of sexually assaulting her while she was working at parliament wept as she testified at his trial, which heard that he accused her of misleading him about her romantic intentions after she spurned his alleged advances.The trial of Charlie Elphicke was told on Thursday that he got in touch with her after the alleged incident in 2016 and asked her: “Why were you so up for it in the beginning?” Continue reading...
Businesswoman is seeking £1.5bn from bank in high court action over £2bn Qatari loanA high profile businesswoman suing Barclays for £1.5bn over the terms of an emergency cash call in 2008 was called a “dolly bird” and a “tart” by top bank executives according to documents presented to the high court on Thursday.The terms used to describe Amanda Staveley were revealed in telephone transcripts allegedly detailing a conversation between Barclays’ former investment banking chief Roger Jenkins and the bank’s former head of European financial institutions division Richard Boath in October 2008. Continue reading...
New Covid-19 cases in Africa up 24% in a week after months in which it appeared to have been spared the worstSouth Africa’s health minister has warned of a “storm” arriving and pleaded with the country’s 58 million inhabitants to change their behaviour to slow the spread of Covid-19.Zweli Mkhize said South Africa was still following an “optimistic” curve, with the peak of the outbreak likely to be lower than predicted, but warned that within weeks there could be a shortage of beds to treat Covid-19 patients, particularly in the country’s most populous and wealthy regions. Continue reading...
Police have fired teargas to disperse protesters hurling flares and objects in Serbia’s capital as violence erupted for the second day in a row during demonstrations against the president’s handling of the country’s coronavirus outbreak. The president, Aleksandar Vučić, backtracked on his plans to reinstate a coronavirus lockdown in Belgrade this week, but it did not stop people from firing flares and throwing stones while trying to storm the parliament building
by Jamie Grierson Home affairs correspondent on (#55HE4)
Public turn to emergency number due to social services cuts and poor response on 101The police service in England and Wales is in danger of being overwhelmed by a surge in 999 calls driven by a lack of confidence in the non-emergency 101 line, a policing watchdog has warned.HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found that 999 calls increased by 11% in two years, as the public made less use of the alternative number. Continue reading...
Scarlet is joined by two other unreleased songs, Criss Cross and All the Rage, on a deluxe version of Goat’s Head SoupA long-lost song the Rolling Stones recorded with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page is to finally be released. Scarlet, thought to be named after Page’s daughter, was recorded in October 1974. It is described in a press release as having “layered guitar textures” from Page, and is “as infectious and raunchy as anything the band cut in this hallowed era”.It is to be released on a deluxe edition of the Stones’ 1973 album Goats Head Soup, recorded in Jamaica and containing the atypical hit single, Angie. It is generally seen as a notch below the run of albums that preceded it, including Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St, though Mick Jagger praised it above Main St on release, saying: “I really put all I had into it.” Continue reading...
Two presidential candidates reflect nation’s 30 years of political division since fall of communismIt was an event – or rather two events – that marked the symbolic nadir of 30 years of rancorous political division in Poland since the fall of communism in 1989.On Monday evening, Poland’s conservative president, Andrzej Duda, and his challenger in Sunday’s presidential election run-off, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, each held their own separate “presidential debate” in different parts of the country, each boycotting the other’s event and each fielding questions alone next to an unmanned podium bearing the name of their rival. Continue reading...
Human Rights Watch suggests involvement of security forces in deaths over recent monthsAt least 180 civilians have been killed in recent months in a single town in Burkina Faso, with evidence pointing towards the country’s often-accused security forces, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).Between November 2019 and June this year, groups of dozens of dead bodies were found often tied and blindfolded, strewn along major highways, beneath bridges and across fields in the rural region, the report published on Thursday said. Most of the bodies were buried by residents while the remains of others were left unclaimed. Continue reading...
Obadiah Moyo has been charged with criminal abuse of office over the alleged awarding of a $60m contract for Covid-19 suppliesA Zimbabwean health minister charged with corruption in connection with the awarding of a multimillion dollar contract for Covid-19 medical supplies has been fired by the president.Obadiah Moyo was sacked by Emmerson Mnangagwa this week for inappropriate conduct by a public official. Continue reading...
Leader of investigation into IRA spy expects criminal cases to be ‘very much the exception’A multimillion-pound inquiry into one of the biggest spy scandals in British espionage history is unlikely to result in any major prosecutions against a state agent operating at the heart of the IRA or his handlers.Jon Boutcher, the head of Operation Kenova and the former chief constable of Bedfordshire, has admitted that prosecutions are “to be very much the exception” following his report into the Stakeknife controversy – the one-time head of the IRA’s internal security unit who was working as a double agent for British intelligence. Continue reading...
Attorney general should be stripped of the power to force tech companies to help security agencies potentially spy on the publicThe attorney general should be stripped of the power to approve orders that would force tech and social media companies to help security services to potentially spy on the public, the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor has said.In a report into the encryption legislation, the outgoing INSLM, James Renwick, called for that power and the ability for agency heads to compel assistance from tech companies to be moved to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and a new investigatory powers commissioner within it. Continue reading...
Duchess of Sussex asks court to protect anonymity of five friends who could be witnesses in caseThe Duchess of Sussex is seeking a court order to prevent the publisher of the Mail on Sunday from publicising the names of five friends who could be witnesses in an ongoing legal dispute, according to a court filing.Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers over articles in the Mail on Sunday last year that included parts of a handwritten letter she had sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018. Continue reading...
McBain claimed victory on Sunday, but Kotvojs delayed conceding due to the possibility postal votes may alter the resultLiberal candidate Fiona Kotvojs has conceded defeat in the Eden-Monaro byelection, saying the result is “now clear” five days after polling day.While the Labor candidate and former Bega Valley mayor Kristy McBain claimed victory on Sunday, Kotvojs had delayed conceding because of the closeness of the contest and the possibility postal votes may alter the result. Continue reading...
by Caio Barretto Briso in Rio de Janeiro on (#55H5S)
Far-right leader is adamant the young can rest easy but 3,500 Brazilians under the age of 40 have already died from Covid-19Young people should not fret about coronavirus, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro declared on Tuesday as he announced he had contracted the illness.But Hugo Dutra was youthful and fit: a dance-addicted millennial with no underlying medical conditions. He died in Rio on 18 April, after eight days on a ventilator. Continue reading...
Now that it has its own financial hubs on the mainland, Beijing may be prepared to risk the fate of its golden gooseLast week, the Chinese government passed a broad national security law criminalising dissent in Hong Kong. While the law has already had a chilling effect on protests, the consequences for Hong Kong’s economy are unclear. Since 1 July, Hong Kong’s stock market has climbed. Some foreign businessmen in Hong Kong have dismissed the law’s potential effect on business. This incredulity is unsurprising: for decades Hong Kong has thrived as a gateway for international capital into and out of China. Surely Beijing wouldn’t kill its own “golden goose”?But investors and businessmen, used to the unencumbered movement of capital, may have lost sight of recent changes. Contemporary China is different today to just 10 years ago, let alone to the 1990s when Hong Kong was handed over by the British. Now a global power that commands one-sixth of the world’s GDP and is increasingly authoritarian, it is approaching Hong Kong with a new rationale that is both political and economic. Continue reading...
The naturalist has appealed for donations to save ZSL, the conservation charity that has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The charity's director, Dominic Jermey, said the zoos would be unable to recoup the money lost even though they had been allowed to reopen, because of social distancing measures and heavily restricted visitor numbers. He said: 'Unlike any other UK zoo, our zoos are the lifeline for groundbreaking research at the world-renowned ZSL Institute of Zoology and fund our global conservation projects – work that has never been more vital.'
by Josh Taylor (now) and Amy Remeikis (earlier) on (#55GX5)
Eight of the nine public housing towers to move to stage 3 restrictions like the rest of Melbourne as Victoria records 165 new cases. Follow live news and updates
Prime minister Scott Morrison cancels extradition treaty citing the new national security law as ‘a fundamental change of circumstances’China has accused Australia of “gross interference” after Scott Morrison granted a range of visa holders from Hong Kong a five-year extension and suspended an extradition treaty with the city.The prime minister announced on Thursday that Australia would allow a range of visa holders to stay in the country for longer and then offer them a pathway to permanent residency – but has stopped short of creating a special humanitarian intake for Hongkongers fearing persecution under the new national security law. Continue reading...
Employers are avoiding paying maternity benefits and purging union members as orders plummet during Covid-19, say activistsA few weeks ago, Kalpona Akter’s phone started vibrating. She watched with mounting dread as message after message poured in. First there was the garment worker who had been sacked for demanding personal protective equipment for his colleagues. Then pregnant women and union members started calling for help, saying they were also losing their jobs.As Bangladesh’s garment sector reels from the economic impact of Covid-19 and the shock of £2.4bn of cancelled or suspended orders inflicted on the industry by overseas fashion brands, a wave of job losses has swept across the country. Moreover, during lockdown hundreds of thousands of workers were not paid for work they had already done. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent on (#55H3F)
Legal challenges mount against new law, which allows warrantless arrests and could affect delivery of coronavirus aidAn anti-terrorism law that grants sweeping powers to president Rodrigo Duterte’s government is facing mounting legal challenges, as rights groups warn the legislation signals a new, dark chapter for the Philippines.The act, which lawyers say uses a vague and overly broad definition of terrorism, permits warrantless arrests and allows authorities to hold individuals for weeks without charge. It is to be implemented later this month, though at least six petitions against the law have already been filed in the supreme court. Continue reading...
They look after our loved ones but are often forced to ignore sickness as statutory sick pay is such a pittanceA few days ago, I spent a sunny afternoon with a woman who believed the government had left her little option but to kill.Sitting in a park, Grace and I watched her two little boys scampering among the trees. “I was trained to promote life, to preserve life, to save life,” the graduate in public health told me. Yet now she felt, “I and my colleagues may have no other choice except to kill people.” Continue reading...
by All photographs by Patrick Meinhardt on (#55H2N)
More than 60,000 Nigerians live in Minawao refugee camp in Cameroon after fleeing from Boko Haram. Many have PTSD and other mental health conditions because of what they endured. Here are some of their stories Continue reading...
Aisha Wakil knew many of Boko Haram’s fighters as children. Now she uses those ties to broker peace deals, mediate hostage negotiations and convince militants to put down their weapons – but as the violence escalates, her task is becoming impossible. By Chika Oduah
Researchers found decision-makers did not consider claimants were at risk of persecutionPeople seeking asylum in the UK and Europe on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity are routinely seeing their claims rejected because of a widespread “culture of disbelief” and an “impossible burden of proof”, researchers have said.Calling for a major overhaul of the way asylum systems treat LGBT+ claimants, the team from the University of Sussex said that across Europe, one in three were refused because officials simply did not believe their sexual orientation or gender identity. Continue reading...
Correspondence with former governor general Sir John Kerr to be released in full after Prof Jenny Hocking’s lengthy battlePreviously secret correspondence between the Queen and former Australian governor general Sir John Kerr surrounding the dismissal of Gough Whitlam will be released in full on Tuesday morning, Australia’s national archives has confirmed.The decision will guarantee the public will be able to access the entirety of the so-called palace letters, a series of more than 200 exchanges between the Queen, her private secretary and Kerr, the then-governor general, in the lead-up to the 1975 dismissal of Whitlam, the then-Australian prime minister. Continue reading...
Different rules in different states could cause confusion, Gareth Evans says after traveller who flew into Sydney refuses Covid-19 checkJetstar’s chief executive, Gareth Evans, has blamed NSW Health for a failure to screen passengers on a flight from Melbourne to Sydney, saying the Sydney screening was just “a double-check” of one already performed in Melbourne and different rules in different states could “cause confusion”.Jetstar flight JQ520 landed at Sydney airport just before 7pm on Tuesday night, five hours before the border between Victoria and New South Wales was due to close and 19 hours after restrictions were placed on anyone from the Melbourne area travelling into NSW. Continue reading...
One resident of the city who took part in pro-democracy demonstrations feels he can never return home but hopes one day to be reunited with his family“Leaving a place that I love was very difficult. We’re all Hong Kong people who come out to protest because we love Hong Kong. But now we are forced to leave.”Jay* is a former Hong Kong resident who attended many of last year’s protests including on the frontlines. He was arrested and charged with riot offences, but fled the city when he was being released on bail several months ago. He is now among dozens of Hong Kong residents seeking political asylum in Australia. . Continue reading...
Written in 2004 and auctioned for charity, Serpentine sees an adult Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon revisit Trollesund in search of secretsA previously unseen His Dark Materials story about a teenage Lyra, written by Philip Pullman over a decade ago and that he never intended to publish, will be released this autumn.Serpentine, out in October, follows Lyra Silvertongue as she returns to Trollesund, the remote town where she first met the armoured bear Iorek Byrnison and aeronaut Lee Scoresby in Northern Lights. A novella, it is set after the end of the trilogy His Dark Materials, but before the start of Pullman’s recent book, The Secret Commonwealth. The story sees Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon “older and a little wiser, and in search of an answer to a shocking, secret condition – their ability to separate – from the witch-consul, Dr Lanselius”, revealed the publisher, Penguin Random House Children’s. Continue reading...
National Piers Society says award recognises decade of improvements made by ownersClacton pier has been crowned pier of the year in what its co-owner called a “perfect morale booster” at a difficult time.The Essex attraction reopened on 4 July after lockdown measures were eased, having been closed since late March. Continue reading...
Thursday: Victoria’s capital shuts down again – and this time the optimism is gone. Plus, childcare providers told they may have to repay jobkeeperGood morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 9 July. Continue reading...
Economic experts, unions and Labour sound warning after summer statementRishi Sunak has been warned he will need to act far more decisively to prevent mass unemployment this autumn after unveiling a £30bn mini budget designed to tempt nervous consumers out their Covid-19 hibernation.The chancellor announced a short-term cut in VAT for hospitality and tourism and an August “eat out to help out” discount scheme as the government sought to send out a message to the public that it was safe to leave their homes and enjoy themselves. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#55GSG)
International trade secretary tells PM and chancellor plans risk smuggling and damage to UK reputationAn extraordinary cabinet row has erupted over Brexit with Liz Truss warning that Boris Johnson’s border plans risk smuggling, damage to the UK’s international reputation and could face a legal challenge from the World Trade Organization.The international trade secretary wrote to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and Michael Gove on Wednesday warning of four “key areas of concern” over their plans for the border next January. Continue reading...
Boris Johnson is learning the hard way that the UK’s position on the globe is a relevant factor in its negotiations with BrusselsIt is possible that Boris Johnson meant it when he said last year that Brexit would not involve checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but only if he did not understand the deal he had signed. His position made sense as dishonesty or ignorance. It was never true.As Brexit talks continue in London this week, it turns out the government has submitted to the EU its application to put border control posts at Irish Sea ports. That is a necessary act of compliance with the Northern Ireland protocol in the withdrawal agreement. Continue reading...
by Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent on (#55GDX)
Court hears allegation that film star was too intoxicated to recall assaulting Amber HeardThe film star Johnny Depp has been accused in court of suffering “blackouts” and having no recollection of his violent past because of his excessive drinking and drug-taking.During his second day in the witness box at the high court in London, the 57-year-old actor faced allegations that his self-destructive behaviour and jealousy of his ex-wife Amber Heard led him to assault her repeatedly in the course of their four-year relationship. Continue reading...
The court heard details of an email written by Heard which she compared Depp to Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeJohnny Depp has accused his ex-wife of “building a dossier” from early in their relationship as an “insurance policy for later”.The high court heard details of an email written by Amber Heard to the star, which was never sent, in which she compared him to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Continue reading...
by Presented by Rachel Humphreys and reported by Carm on (#55GQS)
One of the most prominent journalists in the Philippines has been convicted of ‘cyberlibel’ in a court process condemned by human rights groups. Journalist Carmela Fonbuena in Manila describes the chilling effect the verdict has had on free expressionMaria Ressa is one of the most prominent journalists in the Philippines with decades of experience as a print and TV reporter. She is also the executive editor of Rappler, an online news site. Continue reading...
by James Button and Julie Szego. Photography by Chris on (#55GQR)
The cramped conditions of the city’s public housing high-rises have an upside, according to those who live thereWhen Nor Shanino was a teenager in the early 2000s and wanted company on a Saturday morning, he would go to the 20th floor of his building and start knocking on doors. Many families had six or seven kids living in three-bedroom apartments, so it didn’t take him long to find someone he knew. Then the pair would knock on another door, and another, and before long a group of 10 noisy boys would be slowly descending in the building’s shuddering lift before emerging to play in Debneys Park, the large green space that lies beside the four high-rise buildings commonly known as the Flemington housing commission flats.No one had any money, so families didn’t have gaming consoles or multiple TVs, Nor says. Instead, all day, he and his male friends played sport. In summer it was cricket or tennis, in winter, football or soccer –“whatever was on TV at the time”. There was basketball, too, and next to the court was a bench under a big tree where people went to talk. “We called that bench the parliament. If people got into an argument, we’d say, ‘Take it to the parliament.’” Continue reading...
At least four others injured after 20-metre-high crane falls on two houses in BowA person has died after a crane collapsed on to two terraced houses in east London, trapping people inside, the fire service has said.London fire brigade said crews were searching houses as part of a complex rescue operation after the 20-metre-high crane fell in Bow at 2.39pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...