If we really shouldn’t lie about our history, as the prime minister says, let’s finally open up about the atrocities of empire

Vienna force write on Twitter that ‘no one is reported for accidentally letting one go’A man in Vienna has been fined €500 (£447) for breaking wind loudly in front of police in a move the Austrian capital’s police force was at pains to defend.The Österreich newspaper reported that the penalty stemmed from an incident on 5 June and that the offender was fined for offending public decency. Continue reading...

Inside spaces reopened this week, but it’s the relaxed rules on outdoor terraces that bar and restaurant owners feel will create a quintessentially Parisian summer vibeOn a normal weekend, rue d’Aligre, near Place de la Bastille in Paris’s 12th arrondissement, is lined with raucous fruit and vegetable stalls and packed with shoppers and tourists heading for the historic Marché d’Aligre at its northern end. But now the stalls of the covered market are gone – they’ve moved to the open square in front of the food hall for easier social distancing – and the street’s bistro and bar owners are busy setting out tables and chairs on the pavement and in parking places.Until President Macron’s new announcement on 14 June of the opening up all of France from 15 June , Paris was classed as a zone orange, which meant restaurants and cafes could only serve customers outside. But Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, who has an election coming up on 28 June, delighted everyone except her rivals and motorist groups at the beginning of June by announcing a major relaxation of the rules on pavement terraces. And although cafes and restaurants can now reopen their inside spaces – albeit with reduced capacity due to social distancing regulations – Hidalgo has announced that the new terrace rules will last at least until the end of September. Continue reading...

Lawrence Cutajar allegedly interfered with investigation into death of journalist in 2017Malta’s police force has been ordered to open an inquiry into the country’s former police chief Lawrence Cutajar, following allegations that he interfered with the investigation into the 2017 murder of the prominent journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.The order to “formally” investigate him was made on Monday by a magistrate who is presiding over court proceedings in connection with the case. Continue reading...

Corona Warn App alerts users when they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive

Boris Johnson announces huge shake-up, with merged ministry to be led by Dominic RaabBoris Johnson has announced a massive reshaping of Britain’s foreign policy priorities by merging the Department for International Development with the Foreign Office under the leadership of the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab.“Distinctions between diplomacy and overseas development are artificial and outdated,” the prime minister claimed, as he announced the change to MPs. Continue reading...

Officers said their lives could be at risk if they were unable to use the technique for arrests

Photo of suspect issued to media in attempt to find gang that killed 28 people in 1980sBelgian detectives have appealed for information about the identity of a gun-wielding man in a fresh attempt to crack the case of the “Crazy Brabant Killers”, a gang that murdered 28 people, including children, in a series of raids and robberies in the 1980s.A photograph of an unknown male, sent anonymously in 1986 to officers investigating the notorious group, has been reissued to the media on the order of a judge in a renewed attempt to secure justice for the killers’ victims. Continue reading...

Decision taken despite United Nations finding coalition killed hundreds of children last yearThe UN has removed the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen’s war from an annual blacklist of parties violating children’s rights, despite the fact its own investigators found the coalition killed or injured hundreds of children last year.António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, said on Monday the coalition of Arab nations supporting Yemen’s exiled government would “be delisted for the violation of killing and maiming, following a sustained significant decrease in [casualties] due to airstrikes” and the implementation of measures aimed at protecting children. Continue reading...

Sculpture of Virgin Mary and child discovered 11-days ago by an angler looking for trout

MEP Nathalie Loiseau speaks out amid bafflement in Brussels over Boris Johnson’s ‘global Britain’ ambitionsThe UK will have weaker ties with the European Union on foreign and security policy, an ally of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has said, amid bafflement in Brussels over Boris Johnson’s “global Britain” ambitions.Nathalie Loiseau, Macron’s former Europe minister, who now chairs the European parliament’s security and defence subcommittee, told the Guardian that EU-UK foreign policy cooperation would decline in key areas, including some intelligence-sharing, military operations and the Galileo satellite system. Continue reading...

Live rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as stocks rise strongly in Europe

North Korea has blown up a liaison office set up to improve communications with South Korea in a row over defectors’ plans to send anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the heavily armed border. North Korea appears to have acted on a warning by Kim Yo-jong, the increasingly influential sister of the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, to destroy the 'useless' office.The office opened in September 2018 to facilitate inter-Korean cooperation after successful talks between Kim Jong-un and the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in.

Politician was shot last year after defending country’s policy of allowing in refugeesThe trial opens in Germany on Tuesday of two far-right extremists accused of killing a regional politician whose death shocked the country last year.Walter Lübcke, a member of Angela Merkel’s party who led the regional administration in the Kassel area of central Germany, was shot on his porch on 2 June 2019, and died later that night. Continue reading...

Steve Bracks and Jenny Macklin will lead an internal review into Victorian Labor. This blog is now closed

Class action lawyers raise prospect of misfeasance claim against ministersThe robodebt debacle’s financial cost looks set to grow after a judge suggested it was likely the federal government would have to pay interest on unlawful debts issued to hundreds of thousands welfare recipients over nearly five years.And in an escalation of the class action brought by Gordon Legal, lawyers for the firm raised the prospect of a misfeasance in public office claim that could force ministers to front court over the saga. Continue reading...

Photographer Henry J Kamara writes about his experience photographing the Black Lives Matter protest in London last weekend Continue reading...

As lockdowns linger and economies falter, girls who are out of school are at increased risk of being cut

How has the global coronavirus pandemic changed you, and what do you think life will be like on the other side? Find out how you compare to other Australians in this national survey Continue reading...

Panellists call for greater representation of Indigenous Australians and women in sport leadershipThe acting CEO of the NRL has said “the tide is turning” and codes need to support players who protest against racism on the field, while a Collingwood AFLW player called on AFL clubs to apologise to players like Adam Goodes and Héritier Lumumba.On Monday, a panel of Australia’s top sporting representatives said on the ABC’s Q+A program that Australian sport had a problem with racism and that sporting bodies needed to start taking action. Continue reading...

MPs question government’s 2-metre rule; UK official death toll rises by 38; Priti Patel condemns ‘far-right thugs’ at London march at weekend

F-15 jet plunged into waters off Yorkshire coast during training mission on Monday morningThe pilot of the US air force F-15C fighter plane that crashed off the north-east coast of England has been found dead.The aircraft, based in the UK, plunged into the North Sea off the Yorkshire coast while on a training mission at about 9.40am on Monday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Indigenous Australians represented 12% of such searches in two years despite being 3% of populationIndigenous Australians are significantly over-represented in the number of strip searches conducted by police in New South Wales, representing 12% of all searches in a two-year period despite only making up 3.4% of the state’s population.The Guardian can reveal that between 2016 and 2018 police in NSW conducted 1,183 strip searches on Indigenous people in the state, including one 10-year-old and two 11-year-olds. Continue reading...

EU agrees to look for early common ground as PM asks it to ‘put a tiger in the tank’ of talks

Spain to reopen borders on 21 June but other countries are adopting more targeted approach

MDF youth leaders gave graphic accounts of beatings and sexual assault to mediaThree female opposition activists in Zimbabwe who gave detailed accounts of torture, humiliation and sexual assault by unidentified state agents have been ordered to remain in prison to face charges that they invented their ordeal.The three women, all leaders of the Movement for Democratic Change’s youth section, have been held in the infamous Chirubi high-security jail since Friday. They face prison sentences of up to 20 years or a fine. Continue reading...

Two-year-old survived shooting in Harlesden after bullet missed artery by 1mmA two-year-old boy who was shot in the head survived after the bullet missed a crucial artery by 1mm, his family have revealed, as they appealed for anyone with information on the shooting to come forward.The toddler was one of four people, including his mother, who were shot in Energen Close, Harlesden, north-west London, on 3 June. Continue reading...

Court rules 1964 civil rights law bars employers from discriminating against workers based on sexual orientation or transgender statusThe supreme court has ruled that a landmark 1964 civil rights law bars employers from discriminating against workers based on sexual orientation or transgender status.The six to three verdict is the biggest victory for LGBTQ+ rights since the court upheld marriage equality in 2015. Continue reading...

Washington says it is outraged at conviction of Paul Whelan, who said he was framedA Russian court has convicted the US citizen Paul Whelan, a former marine and corporate security officer, on espionage charges and sentenced him to 16 years in a Russian high-security prison.The harsh sentence is likely to raise tensions between Russia and the US and followed a secret trial criticised by the US ambassador, John Sullivan, as a “mockery of justice”. Continue reading...

China now ranked above the US when it comes to collaboration with Australian researchers, but a new report finds that co-operation will come under increasing pressureAustralian researchers risk being caught up in the crossfire of intensifying “tech wars” between the United States and China, a new report warns.With technology now the defining element of the Trump administrations’s “strategic competition” with Beijing, American allies will come under increasing pressure to limit their science and technological interaction with China in critical dual-use fields, according to the United States Studies Centre’s report. Continue reading...

Millard Scott was shot with a stun gun during a drugs-related Met police raid but says officers did not search his houseA 62-year-old black man – the father of rapper Wretch 32 – who was shot with a Taser inside his home by police before he fell and lost consciousness, has said officers did not search his house for drugs despite claiming the raid was part of a drugs operation.Millard Scott was shot with a Taser during a raid by five officers at the height of the pandemic. The family were shielding because Scott cares for his 23-year-old son Shaquille, who is severely disabled with cerebral palsy. Continue reading...

The P-Funk bassist was a street kid in the 60s, got his break with James Brown, then spent much of the 70s taking LSD. He talks about drugs, racism, police brutality – and the healing power of music

Too Much and Never Enough, due in August, is expected to detail her role as primary source for exposé of the president’s tax affairs

Intervention, which could happen as early as Tuesday, follows allegations the rightwing powerbroker Adem Somyurek took part in substantial branch stackingLabor’s national executive is poised to consider an audit of party membership in Victoria, and administrative intervention, after allegations the controversial right wing powerbroker Adem Somyurek paid for branch memberships as part of a substantial stacking operation in the state.Somyurek on Monday resigned his membership of the Victorian ALP after the Nine Network reported on Sunday night that he orchestrated the payment of party memberships. The disgraced powerbroker resigned before he could he could be expelled by the party’s national executive, and he was sacked from the state ministry by the premier Daniel Andrews. Continue reading...

Case against editor of influential news website - who faces up to six years in prison - condemned as ‘a sinister action’One of the Philippines’ most prominent journalists is facing up to six years in prison after she was found guilty of “cyber-libel” charges, a verdict condemned as setting “an extraordinarily damaging precedent” for press freedoms.The ruling against Maria Ressa was issued by a court in Manila, where only a limited number of attendees were permitted as part of coronavirus prevention measures. The news website Rappler, its executive editor Ressa, and former researcher and writer Reynaldo Santos Jr were accused of cyber-libel over a story that alleged links between a businessman and a top judge. Continue reading...

Ship was considered low risk as updated status preventing passengers from disembarking was not reflected on assessment form

Lockdown exposed the scale of the commercial baby business in Ukraine, and now women hired for their wombs are speaking out

Two of most senior officers to serve in UK also warn over misuse of stop and searchTwo of the most senior black officers to have served in British policing have revealed that their careers were blighted by racism, and warned that the misuse of stop and search was leading to black men being treated as “property” by officers.The allegations by Patricia Gallan, a former Metropolitan police assistant commissioner and the highest-ranking black woman ever, and the former Met chief superintendent Victor Olisa, reveal troubling questions about race that continue to dog British policing. Continue reading...

Adem Somyurek sacked and Robin Scott resigns from ministry, as state records 12 new Covid-19 cases. Follow the latest updates 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...

Andy Cowell runs the Fenn Bell Conservation Project in Medway, Kent. After 12 weeks of closure, as running costs mounted, zoos were suddenly told with less than a week’s notice that they could reopen on Monday to reduced visitors. But smaller zoos such as Fenn Bell have had to spend funds they barely had just to create space for visitors to visit safely, and Cowell is still a couple of weeks away from being ready. He tells Richard Sprenger why he is so angry at how the situation has been handled and fears the possibility of having to euthanise his animals Continue reading...

President announces mandatory return to class and plans for economic recovery

Racism is embedded in structures and power dynamics, so we should logically conclude that we are not immuneAs events unfold in the US and across the world, colleagues in the aid sector are closely watching, and sharing their solidarity. After all they are allies and educators of human rights.Yet as various institutions grapple with their failure to address discrimination, there has been a disappointing lack of self-reflection in our sector. If we understand that racism is embedded in structures, that it is part of engrained power dynamics, we should logically conclude that we are not immune. Continue reading...

One of the most well-regarded journalists in the world, Maria Ressa has made a powerful enemy in Philippines president Duterte

Exclusive: senior official says contact tracing should be more effective before measures eased

Exclusive: Milk giants’ climate impact rising and production caps needed, say researchers

China capital enters ‘extraordinary period’ after another 36 new cases are linked to a second seafood market

Exclusive: Brussels officials feared disclosing Zagreb’s lack of commitment to monitoring would cause ‘scandal’EU officials have been accused of an “outrageous cover-up” after withholding evidence of a failure by Croatia’s government to supervise police repeatedly accused of robbing, abusing and humiliating migrants at its borders.Internal European commission emails seen by the Guardian reveal officials in Brussels had been fearful of a backlash when deciding against full disclosure of Croatia’s lack of commitment to a monitoring mechanism that ministers had previously agreed to fund with EU money. Continue reading...

Government TV ad is latest in a series of striking public service announcements using humour to tackle tricky subjectsIt’s a scene out of every parent’s – and teenager’s – worst nightmare: two adult-film actors turn up naked at the front door, to tell a stunned mother: “Hiya … your son’s been watching us online.”The sudden appearance of a smiling but nude Sue and Derek has become something of a sensation as part on an unusual series of TV ads by the New Zealand government about internet safety for young people. Continue reading...

Social media giant rejects ACCC proposal, saying it could cut out news completely without any significant impact on its businessFacebook has rejected a proposal to share advertising revenue with news organisations, saying there would “not be significant” impacts on its business if it stopped sharing news altogether.On Monday, the social media giant issued its response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which has been tasked with creating a mandatory code of conduct aimed at levelling the playing field. Continue reading...