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.'

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...

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...

Infections globally rising by a million a week; US reports 60,000 cases in a day; Trump rally and protests in Tulsa ‘likely contributed’ to surge

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...

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...

From workers on furlough to house buyers, how Rishi Sunak’s changes are affecting people

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...

TUC and thinktanks call for immediate action to stem rising tide of redundancies

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...

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...

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...

I wonder what happened in my local church, behind locked doors, for all these months

Top broadsheet says president taunted staffers wearing masks to protect against Covid-19 by claiming they were ‘for fairies’One day after announcing he had tested positive for coronavirus Jair Bolsonaro has come under fire for allegedly using homophobic language to mock the use of face masks.The Folha de São Paulo, a leading broadsheet, claimed Brazil’s far-right leader had baited presidential staff who were using protective masks, claiming such equipment was “coisa de viado” (a homophobic slur that roughly translates as “for fairies”). Continue reading...

Ex-governor of Hong Kong tells Tory lobby group an alliance is needed to protect rule of law

A crane has collapsed on to a house in Bow, east London, trapping people inside. The London fire brigade said it was working to free those trapped after the 20-metre-high crane fell

Residents rush to erase digital footprints as law gives police powers over online activityAt midnight on Tuesday, the Great Firewall of China, the vast apparatus that limits the country’s internet, appeared to descend on Hong Kong.Unveiling expanded police powers as part of a contentious new national security law, the Hong Kong government enabled police to censor online speech and force internet service providers to hand over user information and shut down platforms. Continue reading...

The star of Young Guns made his name as one of the Brat Pack. Three decades on, while others have crashed and burned, he is dreaming of ‘reopening’ the entertainment industry after lockdownIn a quiet corner of his Los Angeles home, Dermot Mulroney grapples with a question that many actors’ egos would not allow them to entertain: why isn’t he a bigger star?“Well, I had some alcoholism. That slowed me down. And I ... wasn’t six feet. Does that work? No, that’s a little flimsy. Let’s keep thinking.” Continue reading...

Philippe Monguillot left brain dead after assault by men not wearing Covid-19 face masks

Chancellor delivers summer statement in the Commons on UK economic recovery from pandemic

Announcement follows Guardian reports that cleaners felt pressure to work though they had symptoms of coronavirus

Sturgeon warns Scots not to bypass restriction by flying to or from airport in England

Government describes former international trade secretary as ‘ideal candidate’ for top jobLiam Fox, Britain’s former international trade secretary, will be nominated by the UK to be the next head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the government’s Department for International Trade has confirmed.Fox was a cabinet minister in Theresa May’s government between July 2016 and July 2019, and has been a Conservative MP since 1992. Continue reading...

Advice that works would not raise fire risk was given without reading document, inquiry toldThe fire engineer on Grenfell Tower did not look at plans showing the building might be wrapped in aluminium cladding panels before advising the works would not increase the risk of fire spreading across the building.Appearing at the public inquiry into the disaster that killed 72 people, Terry Ashton, a senior associate at fire engineer Exova, was asked if he created a “false sense of security” in the design team after he admitted he did not look at plans emailed to him about overcladding the building in 2012 before giving his advice. Continue reading...

Frantic talks after Moscow blocks draft security council resolution and agrees to only one border crossing pointFrantic talks are being held after Russia was accused of a “despicable and dangerous” use of its veto at the UN security council to block a draft resolution that would have renewed cross-border humanitarian aid to civilians in Syria.The veto came at the close of months of negotiations between security council members over the number of cross-border aid points that should be kept open, a dispute fuelled by the Syrian regime’s determination to control the supply of international humanitarian aid to the country. Continue reading...

Commissioner says incident involving British athlete has been referred to watchdog

Petitions filed in court to block work on first Hindu temple in capital since Pakistan’s creationThe controversial construction of the first Hindu temple in Pakistan’s capital has been halted after it was challenged in the courts.Plans for the Shri Krishna temple on a 1,860 sq metre (20,000 sq ft) site in Islamabad include a Hindu crematorium and a community hall for the city’s minority Hindu residents and visitors. Continue reading...

Will Ferrell’s new Eurovision movie dances to the bouncing beat of schlager, Germanic folk-pop reclaimed from the spectre of nationalism by embracing kitschAt the beginning of the new Netflix movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, aspiring musicians Lars (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) are workshopping material that will hopefully be good enough for Söngvakeppnin, the Icelandic talent show for a Eurovision place. But performing at a local bar, their attempts at presenting something new are cut short by patrons who clamour for Ja Ja Ding Dong, which the pair half-heartedly agree to perform. It’s an old hit, and exactly what the title suggests: oompah rhythms, accordion accompaniment, and lyrics halfway between nursery rhyme and sexual innuendo.Ja ja ding dong (Ding dong)

Chancellor announces £9bn reward for firms bringing back furloughed workers

Cut-price clothing chain falls victim to changing shopping habits and the Covid-19 lockdownTati, the much-loved cut-price clothing chain that has been a French retail institution for more than 70 years, is to close its original – and last – Paris store after public transport strikes and the coronavirus crisis sent sales plunging by more than 60%.Founded by a Tunisian immigrant at the end of the second world war in the shabby but exotic mainly west African Barbès district at the foot of Montmartre, Tati grew into more than 100 outlets around France, while its emblematic pink-and-white chequered carrier bags became a style statement for film stars and celebrities. Continue reading...

Deputy mayor says city will explore all routes to block train station redevelopment planParis city hall has promised to fight a government decision to give the go-ahead to a €600m (£540m) redevelopment of Europe’s busiest railway station, the Gare du Nord, described by its opponents as an urban disaster.“The city will explore all possible political and legal routes to block this project, using all the tools at our disposition,” Emmanuel Grégoire, the deputy mayor for urban development, said on Wednesday. “We will be appealing, obviously.” Continue reading...

Lawyers for the former Australian school principal launch an appeal in the Jerusalem high courtLawyers for the former Australian school principal Malka Leifer, who is wanted on more than 74 charges of sexually abusing students, have launched an appeal in the Jerusalem high court to a decision that she is mentally fit to stand trial and can be extradited to Australia.In May, Judge Chana Miriam Lomp said she had accepted the opinion of an expert psychiatric panel that Leifer was fit to face an extradition trial, after prosecutors successfully argued she was feigning mental illness to avoid trial. However, on Wednesday Israel’s Channel 11 (Kan) news channel reported an appeal to the decision had been lodged with the high court. Continue reading...

Pressure on fish stocks has led to sharks being passed off as swordfish or tuna, endangering the Mediterranean ecosystemFranco Comes last caught sharks more than six months ago, while longline fishing for swordfish in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Monopoli, Italy. He hauled in an accidental handful of blue sharks. They were tiny.“They are fewer and fewer, and they are also becoming smaller,” Comes says. “Twenty years ago, there used to be so many sharks – so many! They seem to have decreased by 80%. It’s not just me: every fisherman around here has noticed.” Continue reading...