PM says government did not understand Covid-19 in early weeks; UK death toll rises by 138 to 45,677; ONS figures suggest cases in England stable or possibly rising

Spain, France and Germany weigh up new lockdown measures after July resurgence

Judges’ ruling comes after relatives challenge original decision to limit its scopeThe role the Russian state played in the death of a woman in the Wiltshire novichok poisonings may be examined in a British court after a successful legal fight by her family.Relatives of Dawn Sturgess argued her inquest should look at who may have ordered the attack from Moscow, claiming there is deep public interest in finding out as much about the atrocity as possible. Continue reading...

IMF says 30 years of gains for women could be erased as recession deepens

The recovery package promises deeper integration between European countries. Here’s why I think it won’t workDuring the early years of the eurozone crisis, I remember gauging its depths by the rapidly diminishing half-life of the celebrations that followed every European Union summit. Premature proclamations that the crisis was over inspired hope, which caused the money markets to rebound. But then, at some point, gloom would unfailingly return. As the years of austerity for the many and socialism for the few ground on, that point arrived sooner after each EU summit.Could it be that, at long last, this sad pattern has been broken by last week’s summit, which resulted in a brand new, €750bn post-pandemic EU recovery fund? Continue reading...

Party’s lawyer said private messages were presented selectively and without contextLabour’s most senior lawyer under Jeremy Corbyn formally warned the party that an internal report on antisemitism was deliberately misleading and relied upon improperly obtained private correspondence, leaked documents show.Thomas Gardiner, Labour’s director of governance and legal until last month, wrote that the report should not be circulated because party employees’ emails and WhatsApp messages had been “presented selectively and without their true context in order to give a misleading picture”. Continue reading...

Ruslan Kostylenkov says officers beat and sexually assaulted him to make him confessA defendant in a controversial Russian extremism case has accused the police of beating and sexually assaulting him in order to obtain a confession, the latest accusation of police torture in a high-profile trial in the country.In a courtroom statement on Friday, Ruslan Kostylenkov accused five police officers of tying him to a chair, beating him in the kidneys, and then sodomising him with the handle of a kitchen mallet so that he would confess on camera to belonging to an anarchist organisation. Continue reading...

Weeks ago, Australia was the envy of the world. Now it has more than 3,000 active coronavirus cases and Melbourne is in lockdown. What went wrong?

Until the final typescript of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which is set to be auctioned, the author had planned to call her Connie Gustafson

Law would give authorities power to regulate content on large social media sitesTurkey’s parliament is preparing to vote on a bill that would effectively block sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube unless they comply with strict new regulations, as Ankara significantly steps up its efforts to control social media content.The draft legislation would force social media companies with more than 1 million daily users in Turkey to establish a formal presence in the country or assign an in-country representative who would be legally accountable to the Turkish authorities. Continue reading...

Amelia Gentleman recalls the personality, experiences and battles of the leading campaigner

Many arrested in Jerusalem at demonstration against government’s handling of coronavirus outbreak

People pay tribute to leading Windrush campaigner who has died unexpectedly

Next week’s planned shipment of 2,000 bulls could contravene EU welfare regulations, campaigners say

Outgoing international development secretary says Britain’s ‘world superpower’ status will remain after merger with FCO, despite fierce criticismsBritain’s status as a world superpower in development is in “safe hands” under Dominic Raab, according to the international development secretary, as she prepares to leave her post.In an interview with the Guardian, Anne-Marie Trevelyan expressed sadness at leaving the Department for International Development (DfID), whose work is “truly impactful” and “doing good”, she said. But she said she has seen passion and enthusiasm in the foreign secretary towards helping developing countries become stronger. Continue reading...

Tit-for-tat move by Beijing comes after US ordered Chinese mission in Houston to close

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...

Company has previously resisted calls to change branding, saying it was named after American cheesemaker Edward William CoonThe Australian cheese brand Coon will change its name to help “eliminate racism” following a campaign stating the product name was offensive to Indigenous Australians.Friday’s announcement by Saputo, the dairy company that owns Coon, “to retire the Coon brand name”, comes after a decades-long effort to rename the cheese, including an unsuccessful 1999 complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission from Indigenous activist Dr Stephen Hagan. Continue reading...

Exiled journalist is offered a role at University of Canterbury amid celebration of successful application for refugee status

US Secretary of state calls for countries to triumph over Beijing’s ‘new tyranny’ as four Chinese nationals charged with visa fraudUS secretary of state Mike Pompeo has called on “free nations” to triumph over the threat of what he said was a “new tyranny” from China.“Today China is increasingly authoritarian at home, and more aggressive in its hostility to freedom everywhere else,” Pompeo said in a speech on Thursday that offered a stark view of Washington’s rivalry with Beijing. Continue reading...

Iran promises political response after several passengers were reportedly injured when Mahan Air plane quickly changed altitudeTwo US fighter jets came close to an Iranian passenger plane over Syrian airspace, causing the pilot to change altitude quickly to avoid collision and injuring several passengers, Iran’s official IRIB news agency reported.The agency initially said a single Israeli jet had come near the plane but later quoted the pilot as saying there were two jets that identified themselves as American. Continue reading...

Behrouz is a storyteller and each of his tales is a journey into a life enriched by resistance and survivalBehrouz draws with his finger an imaginary rectangle on the table and pointing to a spot on its outer edge says: “that’s where we lived, on the margins of the village”.The village of Behrouz’s childhood is located in the deprived Kurdish province of Ilam – itself in the outer western edge of Iran, near the border with Iraq. Continue reading...

The teenager’s violent death has inspired a broader movement against PNG’s endemic domestic abuseFor six full days 19-year-old Jenelyn Kennedy suffered. Her legs and arms were chained, witness statements to police say, her mouth gagged.They allege she died from being beaten, locked in her room. Her young children in a room down the hall. Continue reading...

Launch of projectile from satellite into orbit ‘threatens the peaceful use of space’The US and UK have accused Russia of testing an anti-satellite weapon in space, in the latest sign that a space-based arms race is heating up.General John Raymond, the head of the new US Space Force, said the alleged test of a projectile, conducted on 15 July, was “further evidence of Russia’s continuing efforts to develop and test space-based systems, and consistent with the Kremlin’s published military doctrine to employ weapons that hold US and allied space assets at risk.” Continue reading...

First section of Elizabeth line will not open as planned in summer 2021, board saysThe heavily delayed Crossrail will not open as planned in summer 2021 because of delays caused by coronavirus, its board has said.The troubled railway, from Berkshire to Essex via central London, was originally expected to open in December 2018 but repeated delays have pushed it back. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Research finds citizens had high level of knowledge about coronavirus and how it spread

First minister says no one should be ‘celebrating’ crisis as PM visits Scotland

Prime minister aims to use his visit to Scotland today to strengthen case for the union

Man, 19, and two children aged 15 in hospital after gunmen attack them from car in TottenhamTwo children and a young man have been shot and seriously wounded in Tottenham, north London, police said.A 19-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries in the attack and two boys aged 15 were also shot, one possibly suffering life-changing injuries. Continue reading...

Jason Lawrance brought appeal after he was convicted for lying about a vasectomy before sexA convicted rapist could make a bid for early release after winning an appeal in which judges ruled that lying to a sexual partner about being infertile is not rape.Jason Lawrance, a serial sex attacker who is serving a number of life sentences, was found guilty last July of raping a woman twice after lying to her about having had a vasectomy. Continue reading...

New research suggests that the global peak may be lower than expected. But the challenges will still be immense

Aboriginal people hold less than 1% of all water licences, a form of dispossession that needs urgent redress, researchers sayAboriginal people hold less than 1% of all water licences in Australia, a form of economic and cultural dispossession that needs urgent redress, according to a major study of water rights in the Murray-Darling Basin.Researchers from Griffith University found Aboriginal water entitlements in the New South Wales portion of the basin covered 0.2% of all available surface water, in a region where Aboriginal people comprise about 10% of the population. Continue reading...

The Day faced legal action from author after implying that her comments on gender harmed trans peopleA news website aimed at British schoolchildren has agreed to pay an unsubstantiated amount after it implied that JK Rowling’s comments on gender caused harm to trans people.The Day, which is recommended by the Department for Education and is designed to prompt teenagers to discuss current affairs, faced legal action from the Harry Potter author after publishing an article entitled: “Potterheads cancel Rowling after trans tweet”. Continue reading...

Outbreak thought to include footballers is one of several surges in infections in Czech Republic

Xi has stifled dissent at home and is increasingly willing for China to assert itself abroadEarlier this week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a rare meeting in Beijing with business leaders. Admitting that the Covid-19 pandemic had a “huge impact” on the country’s economy, Xi used a Chinese idiom to assure his listeners.“While the green hills last, there will be wood to burn,” he said. “If we maintain our strategy … we will find opportunity in crisis and turbulence. The Chinese people will surely prevail over all difficulties and challenges ahead”. Continue reading...

Banks, post offices and airports will also be subject to new rules, government confirms

Four flatmates asked to replace banner hanging above Crouch End high street with something less ‘offensive’Police have ordered the removal of a banner hanging above a high street that read “white silence is violence”, allegedly claiming it was offensive to white people.Four flatmates in Crouch End, north London were warned about the banner on Saturday in a visit by two officers. When it remained hanging from windows in the flat above a hairdressers, an officer returned on Sunday and ordered it be taken down. Continue reading...

Renate Blauel claims damages as high as £3m for breach of privacy after the release of RocketmanSir Elton John’s ex-wife Renate Blauel adopted a new identity and went into hiding in a British village an attempt to shed her connection to the singer, according to court filings in her multimillion pound legal case against the songwriter.Blauel is seeking substantial damages from John, which could be as high as £3m, claiming he has caused her deep psychological distress by repeatedly breaching a 1988 divorce agreement to not discuss their marriage. Continue reading...

Former UK Finance chief apologises to businesswoman after telephone transcripts revealed by high courtA top City banker questioned whether businesswoman Amanda Staveley was sleeping with Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, calling her “thick as shit” and commenting on the size of her breasts, after she took part in talks to save Barclays from a public bailout in 2008.The comments by Stephen Jones were detailed in telephone transcripts released by the high court on Thursday and were recorded when he worked in the bank’s investment banking division. Last month he resigned as chief executive of the banking lobby group UK Finance, just weeks before the comments were due to be revealed as part of the court case brought by Staveley over the terms of the emergency fundraising deal. Continue reading...

Ceredigion council in mid Wales produces document to aid correct and consistent use

With more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases reported daily African nation becomes worst-hit region on the continent

Kabukicho is far quieter than usual but is being accused of fuelling a coronavirus second wave

‘Heartbroken’ texts sent after actor went on 36-hour cocaine binge, libel trial hearsAmber Heard described Johnny Depp as “nuts”, “violent” and a “madman” in private texts sent to her mother early on in their relationship, but hid the extent of the violence from her, the high court has been told.The messages were sent, Heard said, after the Pirates of the Caribbean star went on a 36-hour cocaine and whisky binge in his LA home, during which he accused her of having affairs. Continue reading...

Bruno Dey, 93, found guilty of accessory to murders in final months of second world warA 93-year-old former SS guard has been found guilty of accessory to the murder of 5,232 people at a Nazi concentration camp in the final days of the second world war.Bruno Dey, who was 17 when he joined Stutthof concentration camp as a guard, was handed a two-year suspended sentence by a youth court in Hamburg on Thursday morning. Continue reading...

The rubber-faced funnyman made Ace Ventura, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber in the same year. But as he prepares to publish his memoirs, we ask: was that as good as it got?By and large, Jim Carrey either makes good films or very, very bad films. The latter includes mush such as The Majestic, comedic misfires such as The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and such dreary genre misfires as Dark Crimes. But it also includes The Number 23, a thriller in which Carrey becomes obsessed with a book that he forgot he wrote, about the number 23. The book was written by a man named Topsy Kretts. Say it out loud. That’s right: it sounds like “Top Secrets”. The Number 23 is a terrible film, but you can watch the heck out of it drunk. Continue reading...

YouGov survey for BikeIsBest finds 77% support changes despite protests by pro-motoring groupsGovernment plans to boost levels of walking and cycling after the coronavirus crisis are under threat from a minority of objectors, whose views do not represent the opinions of many Britons, a pro-cycling campaign has claimed.Research carried out for the BikeIsBest organisation found 77% of Britons would support changes in their local area to encourage more cycling and walking. Continue reading...

The Triunfo de la Cruz region has been embroiled in a struggle to save their ancestral land from developers and drug traffickersFears are growing for the safety of five black indigenous men in Honduras who were abducted from their homes last weekend by heavily armed gunmen in police uniforms.The victims are Garifuna fishermen from the town Triunfo de la Cruz on the north coast – a region where communities are embroiled in a longstanding struggle to save their ancestral land from drug traffickers, palm oil magnates and tourism developers aided by corrupt officials and institutions. Continue reading...

Exchanges show how American prosecutors stymied British efforts to extradite key suspectBritish anti-corruption investigators accused their US counterparts of deceiving them during a row over a criminal inquiry that threatened cooperation between the countries and prompted the UK to complain that “we look like fools”.The extraordinary dispute is laid bare in a series of confidential exchanges, seen by the Guardian, between senior levels of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which prosecutes large-scale bribery and corruption, and the US Department of Justice. Continue reading...

Data gives insight into scale of pandemic in country already hit by humanitarian crisis