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

Proposed agreement between union and BA involves at least 270 job losses and up to 20% pay cuts

Commissioner may have ‘thwarted the statutory process’ by stating on commercial radio he was heading to court before police held a scheduled meeting with organisersNSW police commissioner Mick Fuller may have undermined his own effort to stop a Black Lives Matters rally planned for Sydney by speaking to media about the issue before consulting the rally organiser, a court has been told.The demonstration, which will demand justice for David Dungay Jr, is scheduled for Tuesday despite NSW coronavirus health orders banning large gatherings of people. Continue reading...

Martín Vizcarra announced emergency decree putting health ministry in charge of system after Celia Capira chased his truckAs the presidential motorcade pulled away from the main hospital in Peru’s second city – fleeing an angry protest by medical staff and relatives of Covid-19 patients – one woman broke away from the crowd.Celia Capira ran sobbing after the truck carrying the president, Martín Vizcarra, yelling for him to go and see for himself the grim conditions at the hospital, where her husband was fighting for his life. Continue reading...

Pay gap in largest Lutheran denomination in Europe attributed to men occupying more senior positionsSixty years after the first female priests were ordained in the Church of Sweden, they now outnumber men – but only just.“From a historical perspective, this parity happened faster than we earlier imagined,” said Cristina Grenholm, the secretary for the Church of Sweden, as the former state church announced that 50.1% of its priests are female. Continue reading...

Federal treasurer unveils largest budget deficit since second world war and NSW records 19 new coronavirus cases. Follow all the latest news

After an historic election victory, Lazarus Chakwera explains his desire to give Malawians ‘dignity and development’Promising to “clear the rubble” of corruption within the government, Malawi’s new president is beginning his term by raising the country’s minimum wage in an attempt to win over both doubters and international donors.In an interview with the Guardian, Lazarus Chakwera, who won a historic victory over Peter Mutharika in June, urged Malawians to trust that he will deliver on his promises. Continue reading...

PM’s first visit since coronavirus outbreak comes amid growing support for independenceThe experience of the pandemic has underlined the “sheer might” of the union, Boris Johnson has said as he prepares to visit Scotland for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak.Speaking ahead of his trip on Thursday, the prime minister said: “The last six months have shown exactly why the historic and heartfelt bond that ties the four nations of our country together is so important and the sheer might of our union has been proven once again.” Continue reading...

Arrivals from Lesbos are stuck in poor conditions at the city camp, with those granted asylum left to fend for themselvesThe only refugee camp in Athens is barely a mile south-west of the Acropolis as the crow flies. Officials speak of Elaionas as a model reception centre, one that has blended decent living conditions with clockwork efficiency.A collection of colourfully painted cabins, set either side of concrete pathways, Elaionas was built on former wasteland off the Sacred Way, ancient Greece’s oldest road. It opened in 2015, at the height of the refugee crisis. But in the rush to house families ordered to leave Moria, the infamous holding centre on Lesbos, authorities have turned the facility’s football ground into a tent city that has become synonymous with desperation and despair. Continue reading...

Exclusive: hopes testing can begin in 2021 on product intended to free people of need for insulin injectionsAn Israeli company claiming to have created a tiny micro-pancreas that can “cure” diabetes for millions of people has said it will submit a request next month for human clinical trials in the UK.Betalin Therapeutics said its “bio-artificial” pancreas aims to free patients of the need for insulin injections and blood sugar monitoring. It is designed for people with type 1 type 2 diabetes who require insulin. Continue reading...

Home secretary Priti Patel says BNO visa changes were ‘proportionate response’ to China’s increasing control over the cityThe British government has outlined its pathway to citizenship for millions of overseas nationals in Hong Kong wanting to flee growing control exerted by Beijing over in the semi-autonomous city.The changes allow holders of British National (Overseas) status (BNO) and their immediate families to apply for entry visas from January 2021, for either two periods of 30 months or a single period of five years. Continue reading...

High femicide rate and efforts to roll back legislation designed to protect women are under spotlightThe murder of a 27-year-old woman by an ex-boyfriend has sparked outrage in Turkey, shining a light on the country’s shockingly high femicide rate and government efforts to roll back legislation designed to protect women from gender-based violence.The remains of student Pınar Gültekin were discovered in woodland in the Aegean province of Muğla on Tuesday. According to Turkish media, she was beaten and then strangled to death by her former partner, Cemal Metin Avci, who then burned her body in a garbage bin and covered it in concrete. The 32-year-old has been detained on homicide charges. Continue reading...

Human rights coalition says cotton produced in camps in Xinjiang region finds its way into one in five cotton products worldwideMany of the world’s biggest fashion brands and retailers are complicit in the forced labour and human rights violations being perpetrated on millions of Uighur people in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China, says a coalition of more than 180 human rights groups.There is mounting global outrage over the atrocities being committed against the Uighur population in the region, including torture, forced separation and the compulsory sterilisation of Uighur women. Continue reading...

Visitor numbers expected to plummet by tens of millions in crisis that eclipses the 2004 tsunami, bird flu and Sars

The Guardian revisits people who are experiencing unemployment for the first time due to Covid-19 to find out how changes to jobseeker, announced this week, will affect themWith the treasurer on Thursday predicting unemployment of 9.25% by the end of the year, and 13 people currently on jobseeker for every job advertised, the Guardian spoke to newly unemployed people about how jobseeker changes will affect their lives.On Tuesday, the government announced that the jobseeker coronavirus supplement would be reduced by $300 to $250 per fortnight from 25 September. Continue reading...

Juan Tang is accused of lying about links to China military, amid tensions between Washington and Beijing after US orders Houston consulate to closeA Chinese researcher charged with lying to the FBI about her military affiliation has taken refuge in China’s San Francisco consulate, according to court documents, further escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing.The standoff in San Francisco comes at the same time the US ordered the closure of China’s Houston consulate, on grounds of involvement in theft of “American intellectual property and private information”. Continue reading...

Two brothers aged 10 and three escaped a blaze at an apartment in the south-eastern French city of Grenoble on Tuesday after they jumped into the arms of people watching below. The youngest boy was hanging from a window 10 metres above the ground, as flames and black smoke engulfed the apartment. The older boy followed. Both were uninjured in the fall, local media reported Continue reading...

Mayor of Grenoble hails rescue after brothers aged three and 10 are saved by people in street belowTwo young brothers have been saved from an apartment fire in the French city of Grenoble after dropping about 10 metres (33ft) from a window before being caught by people in the street below.The pair, aged 10 and three, were unharmed by the fall on Tuesday but might have suffered from smoke inhalation, French media reported. Continue reading...

Tory-backed thinktank is calling for increased funding for domestic students

Alexander Temerko admits being a Tory activist but not a Kremlin ally as Russia report publishedIn the wake of the long-awaited publication of the Russia report into interference in UK democracy, one of the most prominent Soviet-born donors to the Conservative party has said he is no “friend of Putin” and called for greater scrutiny of British ex-politicians working for Russian state firms.In an interview with the Guardian Alexander Temerko said he welcomed the publication of the intelligence and security committee’s (ISC) Russia report, which accused the government of turning a blind eye to Kremlin interference. “Better late than never. They finally published it,” he said. Continue reading...

Jeremy Corbyn’s statement caused astonishment among litigants in libel actionLabour’s decision to pay a six-figure libel settlement to ex-staffers who claimed the party was failing to deal with antisemitism has plunged the party back into civil war, with Jeremy Corbyn publicly condemning his successor’s decision to settle the case.Corbyn’s statement caused astonishment among the litigants in the libel action, with the Panorama journalist John Ware confirming to the Guardian that he was “consulting his lawyers” and raising the prospect of another costly court battle over Labour and antisemitism. Continue reading...

Thursday: Deficit, to be revealed today, will be Australia’s largest since the second world war. Plus, why the government should be retrofitting old homesGood morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 23 July. Continue reading...

Downing Street officials say there has been neither ‘breakthrough nor breakdown’ on major sticking pointsDowning Street sources have denied Brexit negotiations between the UK and European Union have broken down, but admit they are at an impasse.After two full days of talks in London, No 10 officials described the current state of play as neither a “breakthrough nor a breakdown”. The latest round is expected to end on Thursday without advancing on a deal. Continue reading...

A gunman in Ukraine has released 13 hostages after the country's president agreed to post a video on Facebook recommending a 2005 animal rights documentary.

Italian authorities accuse firms of paying bribes to secure part of oilfield in deal worth $1.3bnItalian prosecutors have called for executives at Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni to face jail time over alleged corruption in a $1bn (£770m) oil deal in Nigeria.Fabio De Pasquale, one of Italy’s top anti-corruption prosecutors said Eni’s chief executive officer, Claudio Descalzi, should face eight years in jail. Continue reading...

Dramatic exit of an MP and a minister might signal a new attitude in a nation where politicians’ private lives have traditionally been off-limitsAfter a New Zealand MP quit and a minister was fired in successive days over allegations of sexual misconduct or inappropriate relationships, New Zealand’s prime minister was asked by a reporter if it was “open season” on any member of parliament who had “ever had an affair”.“I don’t want to get drawn into hypotheticals,” said Ardern, while announcing she had sacked Iain Lees-Galloway, her minister of workplace relations and safety, over his workplace relationship with a former staffer in his office who had also worked in an agency he oversaw. Continue reading...

Intelligence and security committee chair tells MPs no special advisers should be allowed near itJulian Lewis, the new chair of parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC), has demanded that ministers prevent Dominic Cummings and other special advisers from politicising its future inquiries.The independent MP told a Commons debate on the Russia report on Wednesday that he had been warned by a journalist that “some people within government” had tried to sack the committee’s civil service secretariat and “make political appointments” instead. Continue reading...

Readers respond to the intelligence and security committee report that shows the government failed to investigate Kremlin interferenceThe worst thing about the report on Russian interference is that it will have no impact whatsoever (Russia report reveals UK government failed to investigate Kremlin interference, 21 July). Tomorrow it will be forgotten. The prime minister will remain unscathed and impervious to criticism. He does not even have to face a properly functioning parliament to defend his blocking of the report’s release.Money laundering, illicit funding of the Conservative party, corrupt infiltration of the House of Lords, interference in political process, even murder on our streets will continue unimpeded. Marina Litvinenko will get no answers. UK foreign policy remains in tatters, our security compromised. Continue reading...

Hopewell Chin’ono arrested after reporting on alleged profiteering in deals for coronavirus suppliesLawyers for a prominent investigative journalist in Zimbabwe who was arrested this week have accused authorities of persecution after magistrates postponed a decision on bail for 24 hours, blaming a Covid-19 curfew.Hopewell Chin’ono, an internationally respected reporter, recently published documents raising concerns that powerful individuals in Zimbabwe were profiting from multimillion-dollar deals for essential supplies to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading...

Szabolcs Dull had recently publicly raised concerns about political interference at Index

Sir Reginald Sheffield says theft at his Lincolnshire estate left him depressed and anxiousDavid Cameron’s father-in-law has described feeling depressed and anxious after he was robbed in the grounds of his private estate in north Lincolnshire.Sir Reginald Sheffield was ambushed by three men on his 300-acre Normanby Hall estate in Flixborough on 14 April. Continue reading...

Exclusive: King’s College hospital in London forced to shut ICU after it failed checks

Party settles with whistleblowers and BBC reporter John Ware over ‘false allegations’

Labour leader asks why PM sat on report showing government underestimated Russian threat

Group arrested during Kampala lockdown and later released allege horrific abuse during the 50 days they were on remand in prisonTwenty LGBTQ+ men and women have filed lawsuits against the Ugandan authorities over alleged torture after they were arrested and imprisoned on charges related to the coronavirus lockdown.The group were held on remand for more than 50 days and according to a statement from the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), the legal organisation defending them, endured “taunting, flogging, scalding … as well as denial of access to food, sanitary facilities and medication”. Continue reading...

Heard tells court of row between the two actors that led to Depp throwing dozens of bottles at herAmber Heard has admitted she sometimes got angry and would “lose her cool” but has blamed a barrage of bottle-throwing on her ex-husband Johnny Depp.On the third day of giving evidence in the high court, Heard recalled a ferocious row between the two Hollywood actors, which she said started when she tried to stop him drinking spirits at a location house in Australia where he was filming for the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Continue reading...

An intergalactic refugee travels through time to modern-day Brazil in an eerie tale that has real-life corruption at its heartBrazilian director Adirley Queirós here cobbles together something comparable, though far more lo-fi, to Wong Kar-wai’s 2046: a haunted, backwards-looking sci-fi assembled from textures of the past, which encourages you to pick through the wreckage of political ideology it strews in its wake. Wellington Abreu plays WA4, a Mad Max-style refugee from outer space who, as punishment for an illegal land occupation on his own planet, is sent to Earth to assassinate the real-life former Brazilian president Juscelino Kubitschek on the inauguration day of the capital city, Brasília, in 1961. But his ship crash-lands in the present day, in the satellite city of Ceilândia, an overflow enclave for the dispossessed that represents how the country’s utopia has been thwarted. Continue reading...

Exclusive: some say it’s ‘unfathomable’ to only have three months to prepare for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians exam amid a heavy pandemic workloadHundreds of trainee physicians who were told an exam they must pass to be eligible for specialist training would be deferred until 2021 due to Covid-19 are distressed after the Royal Australasian College of Physicians said on Monday the exam will in fact be held in about three months’ time.The decision will affect around 700-800 physician trainees in Australia and around 100 in New Zealand who are eligible to sit the exam, which involves a written and clinical component. Continue reading...

In the week that MPs published their report, ministers said Russian state-sponsored hackers were targeting UK scientists developing a coronavirus vaccine Continue reading...

Reece Kershaw signals he may seek new powers if tech giants push ahead with greater use of end-to-end encryptionThe head of the Australian federal police has backed warnings about the rising threat of rightwing extremism and vowed to clamp down on terrorism regardless of the ideology behind it.The commissioner, Reece Kershaw, used his address to the National Press Club on Wednesday to also raise the alarm about the growing number of child exploitation cases – and signalled he may seek new powers if tech giants like Facebook push ahead with greater use of end-to-end encryption. Continue reading...

New figures reflect surge in violence against women during pandemic while government implements austerity measuresViolence against women has surged in Mexico since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but the country’s president has downplayed the problem and slashed the budgets of agencies charged with addressing women’s issues.Figures released this week show that crimes such as femicides climbed 7.7% in the first half of 2020, when compared with the same period last year, and shelters have reported a sharp rise in the number of women attempting to flee domestic violence. Continue reading...

From anxiety to grief, our charts illustrate five areas of mental strain faced by people across the country Continue reading...

Go-between in car bombing of Maltese journalist was found in pool of blood despite 24-hour police guardThe self-confessed middleman in the murder of the Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has suffered multiple knife injuries to his neck, torso and wrist, hours before he was due to give evidence in the case.Melvin Theuma, a former taxi driver, was found in a pool of blood at his home on Tuesday evening and was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery. He is now in a stable condition, police said at a press conference on Wednesday morning. Continue reading...

New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has fired her immigration minister after being told he had engaged in a 12-month-affair with a staffer in his office.Iain Lees-Galloway's affair took place over a 12-month period and Ardern was concerned that an abuse of power may have taken place.

Counter-espionage laws to be strengthened as government accused of failing to respond to security threatLegislation to clamp down on foreign spying is being considered by Downing Street in the wake of a damning report laying bare the impact of Russian influence in Britain and accusing the government of “badly” underestimating the threat posed by the Kremlin.Under the new legislation, foreign agents would have to register in the UK in a move modelled on similar requirements in the US and Australia. Continue reading...

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...

About 2,000 Israelis rallied outside the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday amid ongoing protests against Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of a worsening coronavirus crisis and alleged corruption Continue reading...