As another religious painting restoration goes horribly wrong, we take a look at some of the finest examples of butchered statues, art installations and frescoesIn the latest instalment of the greatest genre of art news – and I write that as a lover of art – another restoration has gone awry. The word “awry” is being generous.This is the revelation that a private collector, based in Valencia, paid €1,200 (£1,070) for a restoration job on baroque painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables. It is no longer immaculate. It now looks like an e-fit issued by a local police force, with those thin eyebrows popular in the 90s. What’s more, the restorer (who it turns out was a furniture restorer by trade) made two attempts – the second significantly worse than the first. That one, the e-fit one, has the Virgin Mary staring straight ahead, which isn’t even the same position as the original, which has Mary looking to the heavens. Continue reading...

People across the UK make the most of relaxed coronavirus restrictions to get outside and enjoy the sunny weather Continue reading...

Portugal, Spain and Bulgaria reimpose some restrictions to contain fresh outbreaks

Rob Behrens, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman, is concerned about the lack of complaints he has received, while Paul Hobbs wishes that politicians had a better grasp of current affairsI have been concerned for some time that given the known problems with the Windrush compensation scheme – highlighted in exemplary fashion by Amelia Gentleman – very few complaints have reached me, the UK’s national ombudsman. With so few successful claims completed and serious problems being reported by claimants, those who are dissatisfied with the process or outcome of their attempt to get compensation can speak to their MP, who can refer their complaint directly to the ombudsman service.The ombudsman service has a vital role to play in securing fair outcomes for people who have suffered injustice. I welcome the announcement of a cross-government group in an attempt to address the challenges faced by the Windrush generation (Windrush scandal: cross-government group aims to tackle ‘terrible’ treatment, 22 June), and I look forward to liaising with the group to ensure that people are made aware of all possible routes of redress.

Reaction in Gütersloh highlights the problems governments may face if restrictions return

French court hears forgery network manufactured bags between 2013 and 2014 for a profit of more than €2mFormer staff of the luxury French brand Hermès have appeared in court accused of faking designer handbags including the celebrated “Birkin” named after the British singer Jane Birkin.A total of ten people are on trial, seven of them former workers at the company who are alleged to have made dozens of fake bags sold for tens of thousands of euros. Continue reading...

Mountaineering groups voice safety concerns as hillwalkers set to return

Abayomi Ajose’s family say he was looking out for friend when shot alongside Cheriff Tall, 21A children’s services worker who was shot dead along with another man at a lockdown gathering in Manchester was acting as a “peacemaker” when he was murdered, his family have said.Abayomi Ajose, 36, who is understood to have worked for Manchester city council, and Cheriff Tall, 21, suffered fatal injuries when they were shot at close range in the early hours of Sunday morning. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer condemns PM for ‘dodgy answers’ at PMQs; Johnson claims UK has effective ‘cluster-busting’ operation; further lockdown easing in Scotland announced

Emma Nicholson’s views on same-sex marriage raised as concern by writers and one former Booker winnerDamian Barr is leading a charge of writers, including one former Booker prize winner, who are calling on the Booker Foundation to remove the allegedly “homophobic” peer Emma Nicholson from her position as vice-president.Lady Nicholson of Winterbourne, who voted against the same-sex marriage bill in 2013, is the widow of the late former chairman of Booker, Sir Michael Caine, who helped establish the prize. She is currently a vice-president of the Booker Foundation, and a former trustee of the prize. Continue reading...

Amnesty says pandemic has led to greater ‘marginalisation, stigmatisation and violence’ in 12 countries including UK

Aid worker Tauqir Sharif’s citizenship was revoked in 2017, after working on humanitarian projects in the region for four yearsA British man living in rebel-held northwest Syria has been abducted by the area’s dominant jihadist group, his family has said.Tauqir Sharif and his wife, Racquell Hayden Best, from Walthamstow, east London, have been working on humanitarian projects in Syria since 2013 and are currently living with their five children in Idlib province, the last opposition bastion of the country. Idlib has been controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a militant group with links to al-Qaida, since January 2019. Continue reading...

World Economic Outlook says UK economy is on course to shrink by 10.2% in 2020

Real estate heir gave millions to Democrats and was father of Elizabeth Hurley’s sonThe film producer and financier, real estate heir and Democratic political donor Steve Bing has died aged 55. The Los Angeles County coroner said it was suicide.Bing produced the 2000 Sylvester Stallone film Get Carter and was a major investor in the 2004 Tom Hanks animated film The Polar Express. He co-wrote the 2003 comedy Kangaroo Jack, which was savaged by critics but made nearly $90m at the box office. He was also a producer on Martin Scorsese’s 2008 Rolling Stones documentary Shine a Light, and a co-producer with Mick Jagger on a forthcoming documentary on Jerry Lee Lewis. Continue reading...

Owen Paterson says loss of his wife of 40 years has come as ‘terrible shock’ to familyThe wife of the Conservative former cabinet minister Owen Paterson has been found dead at their family home.In a statement, Paterson said the loss of his wife, Rose, had come as a “terrible shock” to the family. Continue reading...

Event comes as country prepares to vote on constitutional changes that would allow Putin to remain in power until 2036Few face masks could be seen on the Red Square as Vladimir Putin hosted foreign leaders and war veterans, now in their 90s, at the country’s Victory Day military parade, which came the number of coronavirus cases in Russia surpassed 600,000.Thousands of Muscovites ignored calls to stay home and crowded along Tverskaya Street and near the Kremlin to see tanks, artillery pieces, and ICBMs make their way through Moscow and onto the Red Square, where the parade marked the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Continue reading...

Martin is ‘making steady progress’ on The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited sixth book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, from isolation in his cabinAs lockdown eases around the world, George RR Martin has revealed he is currently isolating in “an actual cabin in the mountains” and hopes to finish his long-awaited fantasy novel The Winds of Winter “next year”.Martin said he was spending “long hours every day” working on the book, which will be the sixth in his series A Song of Ice and Fire. Set in the fantasy kingdom of Westeros and its environs, peopled by warring factions, occasional dragons and direwolves, the bestselling fantasy series was adapted by HBO into the television series Game of Thrones. Although the television storyline concluded a year ago, fans have been waiting for The Winds of Winter, the penultimate book in the series before A Dream of Spring, since the publication of A Dance With Dragons in 2011. Continue reading...

Russia is holding its postponed Victory Day military parade despite rising coronavirus infections. The parade celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany and has grown since Vladimir Putin came to power Continue reading...

Embassy in London claims construction project is covered by diplomatic immunityA row over the construction of a wall at the Chinese consulate in Belfast has escalated after China said it would ignore a legal order to temporarily halt the work.A letter from lawyers for the Chinese embassy in London to residents objecting to the security wall said diplomatic staff did not recognise the jurisdiction of courts in Northern Ireland. Continue reading...

ALP leader also makes overture to Scott Morrison to reach bipartisan consensus on energy policy mechanismAnthony Albanese has committed Labor to setting a new medium-term emissions reduction target consistent with scientific advice before the next federal election.The Labor leader made the commitment after a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday which included an overture to Scott Morrison to reach a bipartisan consensus on an energy policy mechanism. Continue reading...

How has Covid-19 progressed where you live?The 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...

ADF as well as NSW, SA, Tasmania and Queensland called in to help

António Guterres says plans to annex around 30% of the disputed territory would ‘destabilise’ the regionThe United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, has expressed hope that Israel will hear global calls and will not go ahead with annexation of parts of the West Bank, which would undermine a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.The UN has been consistently conveying the message “that annexation would be not only against international law but it would be a major factor to destabilise the region”, he told Associated Press in an interview. Continue reading...

Pakistani Muslim woman lodges legal complaints saying hostile workplace hampered her careerA former officer for the Metropolitan police has lodged two claims with an employment tribunal against the force, citing a hostile and “racist” work environment that forced her to resign.The Pakistani Muslim woman, who has requested not to be named, claims she was forced to resign from her role as an inspector superintendent in January 2020. At that time, she was the most senior female BAME and Muslim officer in the Metropolitan police. Continue reading...

His life has been a rollercoaster ever since Jaws. Richard Dreyfuss talks about Hollywood hell-raising, cocaine burnout, his flirting heyday – and the trouble with #MeToo

Tool in Yiwu comes after a rise in domestic violence during Covid-19 lockdowns and quarantine measuresThe city of Yiwu in eastern China is set to begin a pilot programme that allows residents to check whether their partner has a history of domestic abuse before getting married.According to a notice on the Yiwu government website, the city will on 1 July unveil a searchable database that includes the information of offenders from across the country, those who have been convicted, subjected to restraining orders or sentenced to detention over domestic violence since 2017. Continue reading...

Leandro Maduro Costa entertained patients in a Rio hospital before his death from coronavirus

Closure of Nigeria’s schools during lockdown has hit access to learning for poorer children

Improved economic deal could strengthen hand of Tehran’s reformists, says reportEuropean diplomats are being urged to restart shuttle diplomacy with Iran after the US presidential election in November or risk Tehran hardliners gaining still wider control of Iran’s many layers of government and its economy.The European 3 (E3) – Germany, France and the UK - managed to maintain their unity at a meeting on Friday at which they agreed to keep the nuclear deal alive, oppose a US plan for the snapback of sanctions and possibly limit the lifting of the UN conventional arms embargo on Iran due to take place in the autumn. Continue reading...

Talent agency job ad lists long skinny limbs, acne scars, facial lines, missing bones and large eyes as desirable featuresHave an overbite, ears that stick out, small eyes, or a “bulbous or interesting” nose? Hollywood has finally come calling.A New Zealand talent agency is looking for actors to appear in the big-budget Lord of the Rings television adaptation, due to resume filming in the country shortly, and is seeking urgent applications from people they have euphemistically deemed “funky looking” in an unusual job advertisement. Continue reading...

Quake strikes in south of country but is felt more than 400 miles away in Mexico CityA 7.5-magnitude earthquake has rattled large swaths of southern and central Mexico, killing at least five people.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said one person was killed in a building collapse in Huatulco, Oaxaca, while state governor Alejandro Murat said a second person was killed in an apparent house collapse in the mountain village of San Juan Ozolotepec and a third died in circumstances he did not explain. Continue reading...

Covid-19-related developments throughout the Pacific Islands• Sign up to get this Coronavirus in the Pacific briefing delivered to your email every WednesdayThe total number of cases of Covid-19 infection listed by the World Health Organization for the region stands at 352, an increase of 38 since last week – a reminder that although infection rates may be slowing in the region, the crisis is far from over.US inability – or unwillingness – to cope with coronavirus is affecting the Pacific. A spate of new cases have been reported on Guam’s largest air force base. Continue reading...

Both Prevent and MI5 deemed Khairi Saadallah not worth investigation, while police still seek motive for triple stabbingThe suspect in the Reading stabbings was twice assessed by security services but was deemed to pose no danger of staging an attack, it has emerged.Khairi Saadallah, 25, was referred to Prevent, the government’s anti-radicalisation strategy, and then to MI5 in the past two years. He was arrested on Saturday following the stabbing to death of three men in a park in Reading, Berkshire. Continue reading...

The government's chief medical adviser has said that a second spike in Covid-19 cases is inevitable if people ignore the conditions that are supposed to apply to the lockdown being relaxed.

Markus Braun released on €5m bail amid mystery of billions missing from German payments firm’s booksThe former chief executive of a company once regarded as one of Germany’s hottest stocks – a payment processing company with ambitions to be a global leader in a world where cash was history – was yesterday bailed from police custody after posting a deposit of €5m (£4.5m), public prosecutors in Munich said on Tuesday afternoon.Markus Braun, 51, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of falsifying accounts at Wirecard. The once highly rated German business, operating in the go-go financial tech sector, has now admitted to a €1.9bn (£1.7bn) hole in its balance sheet. Braun, who styled himself after Apple’s Steve Jobs, wearing black turtleneck sweaters, is also accused of manipulating the markets. Continue reading...

A strong earthquake hit southern Mexico on Tuesday, shaking buildings in the centre of the capital Mexico City hundreds of miles away, and sending people fleeing their homes into the streets. Situated at the intersection of three tectonic plates, Mexico is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. The capital is seen as particularly vulnerable as it is located on top of an ancient lake bed.

Pilgrimage to Islamic holy sites usually attracts 2.5m visitors; about 360,000 Germans face new restrictions

Priti Patel says she will do all she can to help people wrongly told they were in UK illegally

No 10 scraps daily press conference after today; 2m rule stays in Scotland and Wales; UK death toll rises by 171

Patients are looking for cure as healthcare system is on brink of collapse, say doctors

It’s less about Kate and Meghan and more about Elizabeth and Philip – or so says the new book Battle of Brothers

Novelist Dillibe Onyeama wrote book about abuse received during time at elite school

While 51% of Australians trust the US, just 30% trust Donald Trump to act responsibly on the world stageOnly a quarter of Australians trust China to act responsibly in the world – with such faith crashing nearly 30 percentage points in the past two years – according to the Lowy Institute’s latest annual poll of sentiment towards global issues.And while the poll shows a large majority of Australians value the alliance with the United States, and a slim majority trust the US to act responsibly on the world stage, that is not matched by faith in Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Brussels accused of trying to stop UK government from defending British farmersBritish and EU negotiators have hit a new obstacle to securing a trade and security deal after clashing over €70bn of subsidies handed to European farmers by Brussels, the Guardian can reveal.The EU’s negotiating team led by Michel Barnier was accused in the latest round of talks of seeking to block the government from defending British farmers from cut-price European imports. Continue reading...

Russia’s postponed military parade will take place on Wednesday as Putin seeks referendum boost

Sharp reduction in heritage body’s budget is part of wider savings due to Covid-19 costsThe Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has often boasted of the strength and longevity of Mexican culture and learning, once saying that “when buffalo were still grazing in what is now New York, there were already universities and printing presses in Mexico”.But archaeologists fear that a recent wave of swingeing budget cuts will decimate research into the country’s pre-Columbian past, and leave thousands of ancient sites – including Aztec temples and Mayan cities – at the mercy of looters. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as the latest PMI reports show the global recession is easing

Workers taken ill after suspicious package emitting pungent odour causes panicAn overwhelming smell coming from a suspicious package at a Bavarian post office caused six workers to be taken to hospital and many more to be evacuated – only for police to discover that durian fruit, and not a dangerous gas, was the reason for the panic.Police and firefighters rushed to the scene in Schweinfurt on Saturday over fears that a parcel was releasing a harmful substance. Twelve postal workers received treatment for nausea, including six who were taken to hospital as a precaution, the German broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk reported. Continue reading...