The ruling could set a precedent; in states that have restrictive regulations, injunctions could be granted to allow the procedureActivists on both sides of Mexico’s abortion debate are bracing for a potentially historic supreme court hearing on Wednesday which could lead to decriminalisation across the country.The case before the five judges of the high court’s first bench involves an injunction granted in the eastern state of Veracruz, which ordered the local legislature to remove articles from its criminal code pertaining to abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Continue reading...
Oliver Dowden has dismissed the idea that coronavirus testing at airports could avoid the need for travel restrictions such as the two-week quarantine placed on people returning to the UK from Spain. 'It's not the case that you can simply test somebody and be sure they don't have the disease,' the culture secretary told BBC Breakfast. 'At this stage, it's just not the case that we can simply test at the border and give people that assurance.'
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...
The country’s mild competency over coronavirus can appear to be stone-cold genius compared with the UK’s blundering mess‘I think being a woman is like being Irish,” wrote Dublin-born novelist Iris Murdoch, “everyone says you’re important and nice, but you take second place all the time.” I sometimes think this sentiment reflects my own wariness as an Irish person of taking too many compliments from overseas, and explains why I find congratulations for the country’s current government a bit unsatisfying.The Economist recently called Ireland “an unlikely diplomatic superpower”, while a leader on these pages praised the “enviable beauty” of the Irish political climate. After years of alternating between calling Ireland’s Brexit tactics cynical and naive, even the Telegraph this month praised Ireland for “taking over the Eurozone” and “extending their grip” on the continent’s institutions. Having negotiated its way through the Brexit morass, swerved the worst of Covid-19, secured a seat on the UN security council, and won a historic EU judgment that means they have the right to insist the world’s richest country does not pay us any tax – hurrah! – Ireland’s place in the global hierarchy appears on the rise, and the UK has continued marvelling at the shrewd cunning of their plucky little neighbour. Continue reading...
Photographer James Oatway of MSF witnessed the misery caused by this preventable disease, as vaccination programmes are disrupted around the world Continue reading...
Australia experienced deflation for the year to June and economists expect the Covid-19 recession will keep prices lowAustralia has recorded the largest ever quarterly fall in inflation of 1.9% after the Morrison government temporarily made childcare free due to the coronavirus crisis.Economists expect the country’s Covid-19 recession will result in a prolonged period of low inflation, forcing retailers to cut prices or keep them low and crushing workers’ hopes of a pay rise. Continue reading...
Amateur photographer Alberto di Lenardo’s work was, for many years, hidden away in a secret room. Now the unguarded moments he captured are being published in An Attic Full of Trains Continue reading...
by Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies on (#5695R)
Pair of bronze statues shows a male figure kneeling and bowing before a ‘comfort woman’ in South KoreaJapan has reacted angrily to statues in South Korea that appear to depict the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, prostrating himself before a young woman who represents tens of thousands of wartime sex slaves.The pair of bronze statues, set up in a privately run botanical garden in the eastern county of Pyeongchang, shows a male figure kneeling and bowing before a seated “comfort woman” – a euphemism for the tens of thousands of girls and women, mostly from the Korean peninsula, who were forced to work in frontline brothels run by the Japanese military before and during the second world war. Continue reading...
by Jamie Grierson Home affairs correspondent on (#5695T)
New level of social tensions indicated by sharp increases in confrontational protests and hate crime, finds reviewThe number of protests involving confrontational tactics have increased nearly 20-fold in the past two decades, signalling heightened social tensions, an independent policing review has said.Led by Sir Michael Barber, a former adviser to Tony Blair, the first phase of the review found the number of protests involving confrontational tactics – such as blockades or occupations – rose from seven in 2000 to 126 in 2019. Continue reading...
Exclusive: sources inside Qarchak say British-Australian lecturer is unwell as friends and colleagues condemn government’s strategyKylie Moore-Gilbert was tearful, terrified and unwell inside Qarchak women’s prison before she was forcibly moved from quarantine into the general prison population, sources inside the jail have said.Details of Moore-Gilbert’s condition emerged as friends and colleagues publicly condemned the Australian government’s “quiet diplomacy” strategy, which they argue has failed to help her. Continue reading...
Plans mooted to pool strategic resources and lessen west’s dependency on ChinaThe Five Eyes intelligence alliance could be expanded to include Japan and broadened into a strategic economic relationship that pools key strategic reserves such as critical minerals and medical supplies, according to centre-right MPs working internationally to decouple the west from China.The coronavirus crisis has revealed the west’s key strategic dependencies on China, and plans will be announced shortly under Five Eyes auspices for a major increase in production of rare and semi-rare metals from Australia, Canada, and America in order to reduce dependency on Chinese stocks. Continue reading...
Officers fined after court says men used unjustified force when they pinned a Preston pensioner down outside his home in 2018Three police officers who brutally bashed a Melbourne pensioner in his front yard have escaped conviction and been fined.Senior Constables Brad McLeod and Florian Hilgart, and Constable John Edney were found guilty of unlawful assault during the arrest in September 2018. Continue reading...
Company charged under Work Health and Safety Act after deaths of four people on Thunder River RapidsDreamworld’s parent company will plead guilty to charges over the 2016 fatal Thunder River Rapids ride tragedy that killed four people.Ardent Leisure has been charged under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for allegedly failing to comply with its health and safety duty and exposing individuals to a risk of serious injury or death. Continue reading...
Non-urgent elective surgery cancelled, federal and state government intervene in sector as almost 20% of Victorian aged care facilities affected. In NSW, authorities scramble to contain localised outbreaks in Sydney. Follow live
Allies release joint statement of ‘deep concern’ over China’s actions in Hong Kong and repression of Uighurs and vow to fight disinformationAustralia has pledged to increase defence cooperation with the US in the South China Sea – but stopped short of making any specific new commitment on freedom of navigation operations, despite American pressure.The two allies have also decided during high-level talks in Washington to set up a working group to push back at false information across the Indo-Pacific region, warning that “state-sponsored malicious disinformation and interference in democratic processes are significant and evolving threats”. Continue reading...
Kept outdoors by coronavirus threat, hundreds view casket of congressman and civil rights iconBorn in Citronelle, Alabama, in the early 1950s, Frankie Blevins grew up with the cruelties imposed by the Jim Crow south: racially segregated drinking fountains, restrooms and restaurants.On her family’s first road trip, her mother packed food to sustain them for the entire trip, knowing they would not be allowed to stop for provisions along the way. Continue reading...
Wednesday: How 20% of Victoria’s private aged care homes became infected with Covid-19. Plus, lab-grown meat: environmental fix or food fad?Good morning, this is Emilie Gramenz bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 29 July. Continue reading...
Romantic seascapes – with political message in washed up life jackets – raise funds for Bethlehem hospitalA Banksy triptych, which aims to make a powerful political statement on the global migrant crisis, sold for £2.2m at an auction in London that also featured works by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Bridget Riley.The three paintings were offered by Banksy to raise money for a hospital in Bethlehem. Continue reading...
by Emma Graham-Harrison and Patrick Wintour on (#568TA)
Decision to fire Benny Tai, a tenured law professor, goes against previous ruling by the university senateA prominent Hong Kong professor and pro-democracy campaigner has been fired by his university, in a move that he and other critics described as a devastating blow to academic freedom in the city.It came amid growing fears that city authorities may try to delay upcoming elections to Hong Kong’s legislative council, where pro-democracy candidates expect a strong showing. The vote could be postponed for up to a year, on grounds of a spike in coronavirus cases, local media reported. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#568RK)
Lord Kerr says extra food-related costs may cause firms like Tesco to abandon regionConcerns that big British businesses, such as Tesco, will be deterred from trading in Northern Ireland after Brexit have been raised in the House of Lords.Lord Kerr, the architect of article 50 which enabled the UK to leave the EU, has said the special arrangements put in place to avoid a border on the island of Ireland may be a fatal trade barrier for some companies. Continue reading...
Geoff Reid on how to give clear and compassionate advice in a crisis. Plus letters from Hugh Darwen, Teresa Heeks and Valerie DavisFor a model of how to give advice and information so that people can “make informed judgments about travelling abroad” (Editorial, 27 July), ministers could do worse than revisit the impressive ITV This Morning interview with the husband and wife team who run the UK’s largest independent travel agency, Hays Travel. They were straightforward in answering questions, avoiding any hint of panic or complacency, and compassionate in their attitude to both customers and employees while explaining what they were doing at short notice in response to a chaotic situation. A credible understanding of risk was underpinned by good humour. Completely unexpected, it felt like an affirmation of human values to treasure as the crisis rolls on.
Appeal for witnesses as victim faces long recovery after car was deliberately driven at himAn NHS worker has been seriously injured in a racially aggravated hit and run close to the hospital in Bristol where he is based, police have said.The 21-year-old man suffered a broken leg, nose and cheekbone and will require reconstructive surgery. Police said the victim, who is facing six months of rehabilitation, could have been killed. Continue reading...
by Jamie Grierson Home affairs correspondent on (#5689H)
The recent arrest of a 12-year-old boy after an air gun was mistaken for a firearm, has put the spotlight on the laws restricting their useA 12-year-old boy was arrested and handcuffed at his north London home on 17 July after he was seen with a toy gun. Kai Agyepong was eventually dearrested after police officers established that it was a plastic pellet gun.Here we look at the legislation behind such weapons. Continue reading...
Ivan Ko hopes to find site between Dublin and Belfast to host 50,000 fellow HongkongersA property tycoon from Hong Kong wants to build a city in Ireland to host 50,000 emigrants from the semi-autonomous region in a plan he likens to the puritans arriving in America.Ivan Ko, founder of the Victoria Harbour Group (VHG), an international charter city investment company, hopes to find a 50 sq km site between Dublin and Belfast to create a new city, named Nextpolis, from scratch. Continue reading...
Tit-for-tat move follows similar measures by Ottawa, Canberra and London over its controversial new security lawChina has suspended Hong Kong’s extradition treaties with Canada, Australia, and the UK, in a tit-for-tat move after similar decisions by those countries over its controversial new security law.On Tuesday, China’s ministry of foreign affairs said Hong Kong was suspending criminal assistance agreements, including extradition, accusing those countries of “politicising judicial cooperation”. Canada, Australia and the UK cancelled extradition agreements with the semi-autonomous territory after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law that critics fear will be used against government critics. Continue reading...
French hillside scene in Tree Roots may have been painted hours before artist’s deathThe exact location from where Vincent van Gogh is likely to have painted his final masterpiece, perhaps just hours before his death, has been discovered with the help of a postcard.The scene in Tree Roots, a painting of trunks and roots growing on a hillside near the French village of Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris was first spotted on a card dating from 1900 to 1910 by Wouter van der Veen, the scientific director of the Institut Van Gogh. Continue reading...
by Kate Proctor Political correspondent on (#567YS)
Kemi Badenoch made comments after Mina Agyepong said she feared police would shoot her childrenMinister Kemi Badenoch has blamed the family of a 12-year-old boy arrested over a toy gun for “inflaming tensions” about police behaviour.Mina Agyepong said she feared police would shoot her children when officers raided her home in north London and handcuffed her 12-year-old son Kai. Their search recovered a plastic pellet gun. Continue reading...
by Jason Burke Africa correspondent and Nyasha Chingo on (#567YT)
Ruling Zanu-PF accuses US delegate of fomenting unrest ahead of planned anti-corruption demonstrationsZimbabwe’s ruling party has threatened the US ambassador with expulsion, amid an intensifying crackdown on opposition and union activists ahead of planned anti-corruption demonstrations on Friday.Officials from the Zanu-PF called ambassador Brian Nichols “a thug” who was fomenting unrest by funding protest organisers. Continue reading...
Both Brussels and London have moved in talks, and both grasp the political advantages of even a minimal free trade agreement• Charles Grant is the director of the Centre for European ReformAfter six rounds of talks, the UK and the EU are far from reaching an accord on their future relationship. Both sides are warning that failure – meaning that Britain would leave after the transition period on 31 December without a deal – is a real prospect. Those working for Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator, complain that the British have wasted July by refusing to offer meaningful compromises.Failure is certainly possible. But a deal this year is more likely, for several reasons. First, there has been more progress than one might suppose from the public comments of Barnier and David Frost, the UK negotiator. The EU has hinted at a softer line on fisheries and state aid, and agreed that an arbitration mechanism rather than the European court of justice should adjudicate on disputes. Continue reading...
An ACT judge is presiding over a rape trial that has begun in the Northern Territory supreme courtOne of the Northern Territory’s most powerful police officers raped a female colleague after a night out at a ball, a Darwin court has been told.The supreme court jury trial began on Tuesday for the former NT police assistant commissioner Peter Bravos, 53, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape. Continue reading...
It is not clear if recent funding changes will encourage students to study science instead of humanities, the Covid-19 parliamentary inquiry hearsEducation department officials have revealed the government has no modelling about whether university funding changes will incentivise students to study science instead of humanities, the rationale for fee hikes provided by Dan Tehan.The department’s deputy secretary of higher education, Rob Heferen, told the Covid-19 inquiry on Tuesday fee changes had produced “muted” results in the past and declined to answer questions about why the price of some courses such as social work will be increased by 113%. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#567WN)
Exclusive: LSE report says even sectors unscathed from coronavirus crisis will be severely impactedA Brexit hit is looming for sectors that have emerged relatively unscathed from the Covid-19 pandemic, new data has showed.A report from the London School of Economics says Brexit will deliver a double shock to the economy – with worsening business conditions for those sectors that have survived the impact of coronavirus and lockdown measures – whether Boris Johnson secures a deal with the EU or not. Continue reading...
Britain made a mistake in slapping a quarantine on people travelling from Spain, the country's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said on Monday. The UK has also extended coronavirus guidance advising against all non-essential travel to the country. The UK government's sudden decision to impose a two-week quarantine on arrivals shocked travellers between the two countries