While the English lockdown eases, Welsh families are still separated and shops remain closed. But how long can the Senedd’s cautious Covid-19 strategy last?

Ground and air operation targets 150 suspected PKK positions, Ankara saysTurkey has launched launched a major joint air and ground operation against Kurdish militants over the border in northern Iraq, a move that suggests Ankara is growing bolder in its campaign against the decades-old Kurdish insurgency.Special forces were airlifted and deployed overland to the border region of Haftanin in the early hours of Wednesday for Operation Claw-Tiger. The campaign targeted 150 suspected Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) positions and was supported by jets, helicopters, drones and artillery, the Turkish defence ministry said. Continue reading...

India shocked by Himalayan border clash in which unarmed troops fought in the darkThe hand-to-hand combat lasted hours, on steep, jagged terrain, with iron bars, rocks and fists. Neither side carried guns. Most of the soldiers killed in the worst fighting between India and China in 60 years lost their footing or were knocked from the narrow Himalayan ridge, plunging to their deaths.India has reacted with shock and caution to the loss of at least 20 soldiers on its disputed border with China, with images of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, burned in Indian cities. Continue reading...

We risk development priorities becoming secondary to other foreign policy interests, at a time when they’re needed most

The actor has made a film about fathers – including her own, director Ron. She talks about the racist role that caused ‘a disturbance’ in her soul – and why working with Lars von Trier gave her acneWhen actor Bryce Dallas Howard started making the documentary Dads, her family was clear: this was not going to be about them. Her father Ron, the Oscar-winning director of A Beautiful Mind, was adamant that he wouldn’t appear on screen, despite having signed on as producer, while her husband, the actor Seth Gabel, told her: “Don’t make this ‘The Howard Show.’” Then, during production, her brother Reed found out he was going to become a parent. “I needed an expectant father in the film,” she tells me. “So I was, like, ‘All bets are off!’” Now her brother, father and late grandfather all feature in the end product, which is as frothy and sweet-smelling as anyone would expect from something made in partnership with Dove Men+Care.With her pale skin, copper hair and faintly febrile manner, the 39-year-old Howard is far more interesting than the film. There’s been an eclectic element to many of her career choices: she took over from Nicole Kidman as Grace, the well-meaning reformer whose good intentions go awry, in Lars von Trier’s harrowing Dogville sequel Manderlay, a disquisition on slavery that was shot, like its predecessor, on a bare sound stage with minimal props. (A final instalment, with Howard and Kidman playing sisters, was proposed by Von Trier but never materialised.) She was haunting in two M Night Shyamalan mysteries, one eerie (The Village), the other disastrous (Lady in the Water), and brought some pep to a run of tired franchises (Spider-Man, Twilight, Terminator, Jurassic World) as well as the odd prestige project. She was central to the only memorable scene in The Help, as the segregationist housewife chowing down on poo pie, and appeared last year as Elton John’s brittle, acidic mother in Rocketman. Continue reading...

Voiceover actor worked on all the Die Hard films and dubbed Tom Cruise and Spike Lee tooHe may have had a long and illustrious career in films, TV and radio, but it is fair to say Patrick Poivey, who has died in France at the age of 72, was not a familiar face to most people either in his home country or abroad.However, as soon as he opened his mouth, Poivey became Bruce Willis, and occasionally Tom Cruise, Kyle MacLachlan, Charlie Sheen and Spike Lee, not to mention the scruffy mutt in the French version of Disney’s Lady and the Tramp. Continue reading...

Record label announces ‘the most unfortunate, sorrowful news’ about singer from boyband TSTKim Jeong-hwan, known as Yohan in the Korean pop group TST, has died aged 28.TST’s record label, KJ Entertainment confirmed the news, saying: “We are sad to relay the most unfortunate, sorrowful news. On June 16, TST member Yohan left this world. The late Yohan’s family is currently in deep mourning.” The cause of death has not been announced. Continue reading...

Pyongyang news agency steps up war of words against Seoul as Kim Jong-un’s sister says South’s president has put his neck in ‘noose of US flunkyism’North Korea has accused South Korea of behaving like a “mongrel dog” bent on confrontation in a state media report that explains the regime’s decision to blow up a liaison office – a move that has significantly raised tensions between the two countries.A commentary carried by the state KCNA news agency said the South’s defence ministry was “bragging and bluffing, rattling the dialogue partner and stoking a confrontational atmosphere”, and warned that Tuesday’s destruction of the office – which opened in 2018 to foster better cross-border ties – could be a prelude to a “total catastrophe” in North-South relations. Continue reading...

‘Exceptional’ correspondence sent from Arles in 1888 is bought by Van Gogh MuseumA letter written by two of the greatest artists of the 19th century, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, about their visits to French brothels has been bought for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam for €210,600 (£189,000).The correspondence, previously held in private hands, has been described as “exceptional”. The two painters entwine descriptions of their experiences living together in Arles, Provence, with claims of certainty that their work is leading a “great renaissance of art”. Continue reading...

In a powerful statement to the Senate, Malarndirri McCarthy has read out the names of First Nations people who have died in custody, citing Guardian Australia's Deaths inside project.

Foreign secretary says cutting troop numbers will weaken security of both Europe and USGerman ministers have criticised Donald Trump’s plans to withdraw about 9,500 US troops from German soil, saying the move is likely to weaken America’s own security architecture as well as European security.“We think that the US presence in Germany is important for the security not just of Germany but also for the security of the United States and especially for the security of Europe,” Heiko Maas, the foreign minister, said during a state visit to Poland on Tuesday. Continue reading...

‘They call you and tell you the place and the date’ – but there are risks, with about 20 praying elderly women busted in one police raidThe invitations arrive via text message or social media. “They ask you for a kind of password to let you in,” said Jesús Preciado, whose father has attended the secretive gatherings in the Mexican state of Jalisco.Diego Martínez, whose mother has attended the backstairs events, said they were off-limits to anyone not in the know. “It’s invitation-only,” he said. “They call you and tell you the place and the date.” Continue reading...

Charities had called for clarity after confusion about when scheme in England would end

Victorian ALP administrator says the legitimacy of the membership must be established and it should be possible to do ‘reasonably quickly’The new administrator of the Victorian branch of the ALP, Steve Bracks, has attempted to calm internal tensions, saying it should be possible to conduct an audit of the membership “reasonably quickly” allowing the party’s federal executive to then determine whether or not to restore voting rights before 2023.The ALP’s national executive has launched an extraordinary intervention into the state branch as it grapples with the damaging fallout of the Adem Somyurek branch-stacking scandal, appointing party veterans Bracks and the former federal minister Jenny Macklin as administrators, and suspending all voting rights until at least 2023. Continue reading...

Chinese embassy in Canberra accuses Australian media of ‘rumours, lies and malicious slanders against China’ that has been picked up by politiciansChina has hit back at “baseless accusations” that are “completely rubbish” after Australia accused Beijing of spreading disinformation during the pandemic.At a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday, the Chinese government spokesman Zhao Lijian accused Australian officials of undermining international efforts to combat the virus. Continue reading...

Protesters in India burned effigies of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and called for boycotts of Chinese goods on Wednesday after a deadly clash at a disputed border site in the western Himalayas left 20 Indian soldiers dead. The deaths were the first since the last major border clash in 1967 between the nuclear-armed neighbours - also the world's two most populous countries - which have been unable to settle the dispute along their lengthy frontier

The anti-corruption body is urging anyone with relevant information to reach out; fifteen of the people who have tested positive in Vic are in quarantine. Follow live

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...

After three months of empty squares and alleys, and stranded gondoliers, Venice is welcoming tourists back

One month window to challenge convictions in England and Wales means women who have experienced trauma are unfairly criminalised, campaigners sayWomen who have been unfairly convicted or sentenced to jail are being denied the chance to redress miscarriages of justice because the appeals system in England and Wales is not fit for purpose, the law group Appeal has alleged.In particular, those who have been victims of trauma or domestic abuse are unable to make a legal challenge due to the “unrealistic” 28-day window allowed to make an application to the criminal Court of Appeal, the report highlights. Continue reading...

Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand's defence force will oversee the country's quarantine facilities and strengthen border requirements, after a slip-up allowed two arrivals from Britain to leave managed isolation without being tested for coronavirus - for which they later diagnosed positive. The prime minister said she would temporarily remove the compassionate exemption under which the pair were released from quarantine early

A unique platform lets teachers from Venezuela to Syria to Burundi earn a living teaching their language onlineLouisa Waugh and Ghaith Alhallak have met for language lessons in seven countries. “We counted it up the other day,” says Waugh, recalling the list of places from which she has video-called Alhallak: Britain, Mali, Senegal and Greece. Alhallak has answered from Lebanon, France and Italy, where he is now studying for a master’s degree in political science at the University of Padua.“You just need a connection,” he says. Continue reading...

Australian and New Zealand ministers say they are eager to do deals with the UK as their economies emerge from the coronavirus crisis

Survey shows retrenchment of identity positions in traditional political allegiancesBrexit has squeezed the political middle ground in Northern Ireland and pushed more people into their unionist and nationalist trenches.A post-Brexit opinion poll has found that those in the region deeming themselves neither unionist or nationalist has fallen to 39%. The Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey revealed that this figure was the lowest in 15 years. As late as 2017, 50% surveyed said they were neither. Continue reading...

A group of divers in Thailand tried to save a whale shark whose tail was tied by rope. Video filmed on Saturday shows the whale shark swimming with a nylon rope tied around its tail.But the knife was too small and could not cut through the rope. Injured and with a rope still tied to its tail, the whale shark eventually swam away

Prime minister says release of two overseas arrivals without being tested ‘should never have happened and it cannot be repeated’

Human rights experts say plight of Australian raises concerns over whether the death penalty is being ‘weaponised’ for foreign political gainOn Saturday Chinese officials announced Australian man, Karm Gilespie, had been sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle 7.5kg of methamphetamine through a Chinese airport in December 2013. It was the first time since his arrest the public learned he was detained in China.It’s almost impossible to know the processes which led to Gilespie being found guilty and sentenced to death. China’s legal system is notoriously opaque, and information on executions is considered a state secret. Continue reading...

Verdict is political play at time of escalating tension with Australia, former detainees sayThe Australian man Karm Gilespie’s death sentence is diplomatic leverage deliberately created by China, a former investigator who was detained in China for two years has said.Peter Humphrey, a former fraud investigator and foreign correspondent who was detained in China with his wife from 2013 to 2015, said it was inconceivable that the death sentence was unrelated to diplomatic tensions with Australia, and the sentence had “nothing to do with the original case against him”. Continue reading...

Actor and eco-fashion advocate to take a seat on board of conglomerate that oversees Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Alexander McQueenEmma Watson, the actor and activist who made her name as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, has joined the board of the French fashion giant Kering, in a major coup for the world’s second-biggest luxury group.The British star, who was born in Paris, is the face of the Good On You app, which rates fashion brands on their ethical and sustainability credentials. Watson is also known for her work with Eco Age’s Green Carpet Challenge. She wears sustainable red carpet looks, frequently custom-made by top-tier designers, for most public appearances. Continue reading...

Anyone visiting the Russian president at his official residence must pass through a special disinfection chamber, state TV says

First loss of life in area in at least 45 years comes amid renewed disputeTwenty members of India’s armed forces have been killed in a “violent face-off” with Chinese soldiers on their disputed Himalayan border in the worst military crisis between the two countries in nearly 60 years.The deaths are the first loss of life in the border area since 1975, and come amid a renewed dispute between the two countries in recent weeks. Indian and Chinese soldiers, who often do not carry weapons in the area to avoid escalating conflicts, have brawled, detained each other and deployed forces and equipment in the western Himalayas in recent weeks. Continue reading...

A new National Audit Office report has exposed gaps in evidence for key aspects of immigration policyThe government’s policy of making life intolerable for people who are suspected of illegally entering the UK is yet to show that it can persuade them to leave, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found.The National Audit Office said that Home Office officials admit that they have no specific evidence to show the “compliant environment” policy – the successor to the “hostile environment” that led to the Windrush scandal – encourages voluntary departures or fosters compliance with visa and passport conditions. Continue reading...

Officials say mystery passenger has five years to present ‘justified claims’ of ownershipIf you happened to leave more than £150,000 worth of gold bars in a Swiss train, you can now come forward to claim it.Authorities in the central city of Lucerne have said a package containing bars worth about 182,000 Swiss francs was found in a train that arrived from the northern town of St. Gallen in October, and efforts to find the owner failed. Continue reading...

Louie Giglio said his choice of words was poor, but his attempt to rebrand white privilege should also grab our attentionOn Monday evening, Atlanta megachurch pastor Louie Giglio apologized for calling slavery a blessing. In an online church service, he was apparently aiming to have an “honest conversation around how racism has plagued our city for generations”.Then he said: “We understand the curse that was slavery, white people do, and [we] say ‘that was bad’. But we miss the blessing of slavery, that it actually built up the framework for the world that white people live in and lived in.” Continue reading...

Covid-19-related developments throughout the Pacific IslandsThe total number of Covid-19 cases across the Pacific stands at 314, with new cases reported this week in New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.New Zealand is under increasing pressure, both internally and from across the region, to consider Pacific countries as part of its proposed travel ‘bubble’, alongside, or even in place of, Australia. The foreign minister, Winston Peters, initially rejected including Pacific island nations, but later backtracked. Continue reading...

James Bowen, who met Bob during his battle with drug addiction, says pet ‘saved his life’The pet that inspired the book series and film A Street Cat Named Bob has died aged 14.James Bowen met Bob in 2007 during his battle with drug addiction when he found the cat abandoned and injured and decided to look after him. Continue reading...

French nursing unions called for a national strike to ask for better working conditions and to demand the government keep its promise to overhaul France’s hospital system in response to the coronavirus crisis.Police fired teargas after being pelted with objects by a small minority that overturned a car during the demonstration led by healthcare workers

Wednesday: One Nation leader claimed expenses for three-night Perth fundraising trip. Plus, a ‘major breakthrough’ in the treatment of coronavirusGood morning, this is Emilie Gramenz bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 17 June. Continue reading...

Ex-Barclays executive Stephen Jones says he apologised over alleged sexist remarks referred to in court documentsThe boss of the banking lobby group UK Finance has resigned just weeks before his alleged sexist remarks about the financier Amanda Staveley are due to be revealed in the high court.Stephen Jones, a senior Barclays executive during the financial crisis who became the first chief executive of UK Finance in 2017, said he had also apologised to Staveley and the body’s staff about the comments, which were made as the bank scrambled to save itself from nationalisation in 2008. Continue reading...

Carlos Lehder Rivas ran Medellín cartel alongside Pablo Escobar that smuggled cocaine worth billions to the US in 1970s and 80sThe man who co-founded the notorious Colombian Medellín drug cartel alongside Pablo Escobar has been transferred to Germany from the United States, according to Spiegel Online.Carlos Lehder Rivas, who has both German and Colombian citizenship, was escorted to Germany by two US officials on a regular passenger flight from New York to Frankfurt and handed over to German authorities, the report said. Continue reading...

‘Covid summer food fund’ announced after pressure from footballer and campaigners

To stay coronavirus free, countries face unsustainable social and economic losses

A trillion-dollar tech giant can brush off fines but altering the way it operates is a different matterThe only certainty about the EU competition commission’s inquiry into Apple is that it will take years to complete, which is probably why the iPhone maker’s share price was gloriously untroubled. The other reason for the air of calm is that financial penalties from the EU – even when delivered in the billions, as they often are – can be brushed off as small change by big tech companies with trillion-dollar valuations.Related: Apple Pay and App Store face investigation over competition rules Continue reading...

Police say alleged assault on Chechen boy may have sparked reprisals in Grésilles areaThe French government has vowed to bring an end to violence in the usually placid eastern city of Dijon after it was hit by a fourth night of unrest allegedly linked to score-settling by members of the Chechen community.According to police, the incidents appear to have been sparked by an alleged assault this month on a 16-year-old Chechen boy, prompting reprisal raids. Continue reading...

Member of public seeks judicial review of Max Hill’s ‘inaction’ over alleged lockdown breachesA judicial review is being sought over the failure of the director of public prosecutions, Max Hill, to investigate Dominic Cummings for alleged breaches of the coronavirus lockdown rules.The complaint has been lodged on behalf of a member of the public, Martin Redston, who is concerned the DPP has shown insufficient independence from the government over the movements of Boris Johnson’s key adviser. Continue reading...

Real-time access to EU police databases has not yet been agreed in the negotiationsThe UK risks losing its real-time access to a watchlist of suspected terrorists if it does not strike a comprehensive Brexit deal on justice and security, peers have been told.The concerns of the policing consequences of a collapse in Brexit talks were raised by members of the Lords EU security and justice sub-committee during questioning of the Home Office minister James Brokenshire. Continue reading...

Crossbenchers fear bill will allow developer donations banned by states, as Labor says it’s negotiating with the governmentSenator Jacqui Lambie and the Greens have lashed out at a government bill reimposing weaker federal laws on donations, warning that it will allow developer donations banned in stricter state regimes.Lambie and the Greens democracy spokeswoman, Larissa Waters, have called for an inquiry to examine the bill, after Labor’s Don Farrell told caucus the opposition was negotiating with the government, sparking fears the bill could be waved through with opposition support. Continue reading...

The conviction of the veteran journalist is a frightening indication of the country’s direction under Rodrigo Duterte

The prime minister’s plane, also used by royalty, is getting a new paint job costing £100,000 plusThe RAF VIP plane used by Boris Johnson and senior members of the government to travel around the world is to have its grey livery repainted red white and blue in a makeover estimated to cost more than six figures.The Union Jack-inspired paint job for the Voyager aircraft comes two years after the prime minister complained about the dullness of its former colour. Continue reading...

Unicef, Save the Children and Christian Aid among organisations warning move will harm those most in need and reduce UK’s power overseasThe prime minister’s announcement on Tuesday that the Department for International Development (DfID) will be merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been met with widespread anger and disappointment among UK aid charities.Stephanie Draper, the CEO of Bond, a UK network for international development NGOs, said the announcement on Tuesday, during the coronavirus pandemic, couldn’t have come at a worse time. Continue reading...