Police confirm suicide bombing occurred in Mogadishu and a land mine detonated in BaidoaExplosions have rocked two of Somalia’s largest cities after a suicide car bombing near the port in Mogadishu and a land mine detonation on the outskirts of Baidoa killed four people.Ali Abdullahi, an official from the South West regional state, said the mine was detonated inside a restaurant by remote control as people were dining. Several others were wounded, he said. 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...
Attack happened about 2pm on Saturday afternoon while man was diving off Indian HeadA man has died after being attacked by a shark while spearfishing off Queensland’s Fraser Island.The attack happened about 2pm on Saturday while the Sunshine Coast man, 36, was diving off Indian Head on the eastern side of the island. Continue reading...
Unable to expand testing or hospital capacity, Narendra Modi’s administration has turned to bluster and brute forceThe response to the spread of coronavirus that most Indians are talking about this week is not an innovation in contact tracing or a big increase in hospital beds, it’s the death of a father and son in judicial custody in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It happened after the local police picked them up for complaining about having to close their small store early to comply with lockdown rules. In some ways, the case exemplifies India’s struggle with its coronavirus response: if you can’t beat it with a stick, what do you do?India now has nearly twice as many cases as the UK, and will surpass Russia to become the world’s third worst-affected country after the US and Brazil within days. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, is no Jair Bolsonaro; since his 24 March address to the country announcing a national lockdown, Modi has been relentlessly on message, and wears a mask and practises physical distancing. Continue reading...
In 2017, journalist Kim Wall became the story when she was murdered after boarding a submarine. Now, Kim’s parents are sharing her life and tragedy in a new bookOn a winter night in 2017, Joachim Wall was sitting in front of his daughter’s laptop at his home in Trelleborg, a town of around 45,000 and Sweden’s southernmost. He was going through thousands of pictures, trying to reorganize her archive – a task that would keep him busy for many more months.Suddenly, he heard a familiar ding: Kim, are you there? Continue reading...
More than 76,000 residents ordered to evacuate in west of the country amid massive floods and landslidesAt least two people were feared dead and 13 others missing in western Japan as record heavy rain triggered massive floods and landslides, forcing authorities to issue evacuation orders for more than 76,000 residents.The nation’s weather agency downgraded rain warnings on Saturday by one notch from the highest emergency level in Kumamoto and Kagoshima on Kyushu island, but prime minister Shinzo Abe urged local people to be “on maximum alert”. Continue reading...
by Lily Kuo in Beijing and Rachel Obordo on (#55BSR)
Guardian readers in or from Hong Kong share their views on the new national security lawIn late May, a week after Chinese officials announced a plan to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong, the Guardian issued a callout to people who believed they would be affected. We wanted to hear how people felt about the law, how it might change their lives, and how they felt about the last year of protests.The response was overwhelming. Within days we had received more than 30,000 messages from people inside and outside Hong Kong – the most for any Guardian community callout. Continue reading...
Industrial science museum will not be closed and moved to Parramatta but will operate across both sitesThe New South Wales government has made a U-turn on its decision to relocate Sydney’s Powerhouse museum, more than five years after the announcement was made.The industrial science museum in inner-Sydney’s Ultimo will not be closed and moved to Parramatta, but will stay open and operate along with the new Powerhouse facility planned for western Sydney. Continue reading...
Streaming platform says it is giving viewers ‘more choice’ after British singer accuses film of glamourising rapeNetflix will continue to stream hit Polish film 365 Days despite calls for its withdrawal, including by British singer Duffy, who accused it of glamourising rape and sex trafficking.The Welsh singer-songwriter wrote an open letter to the Netflix chief executive, Reed Hastings, raising her concerns about the film based on a bestselling Polish book trilogy by Blanka Lipińska. Continue reading...
AFL figures including Sam Newman say many people would regard their words as racially discriminatory and ‘we sincerely apologise’Three AFL figures including media commentator Sam Newman have issued a formal apology and signed a six-figure settlement with St Kilda great Nicky Winmar over comments they made on a podcast about Winmar’s famous stand against racism.In a 1993 game against Collingwood, Winmar, a Noongar man, lifted his St Kilda jersey and pointed to his skin after being racially abused. Continue reading...
France has a new prime minister after President Emmanuel Macron named career civil servant Jean Castex as the replacement for Édouard Philippe. Castex will be part of Macron’s ‘new course’ for the last two years of his mandate.Castex, from the centre right of French politics, coordinated France’s successful exit from lockdown and is widely known as Monsieur Déconfinement. He will form the next government
by Helen Davidson and Christopher Knaus on (#55BH4)
Exclusive: ruling says releasing cables and cabinet documents could damage Australia’s securityDecades-old documents relating to Australia’s involvement in the Indonesian invasion of Timor-Leste will remain secret after a court upheld the Australian government’s refusal to release them.It took the administrative appeals tribunal more than two years to rule on the case, finding that releasing the documents “could reasonably be expected to cause damage to the security or international relations of the commonwealth”. Continue reading...
by Nazia Parveen and Helena Smith in Athens on (#55BBW)
Trip by Stanley Johnson could weaken message on Covid-19 rules, warns Sage adviserThe decision by the prime minister’s father to travel to his Greek villa in apparent breach of Foreign Office guidance has been criticised by a government scientific adviser.Boris Johnson has refused to condemn his father, Stanley, for flying to Greece, despite current advice for British nationals to avoid all but essential international travel. Continue reading...
Canadian police confirm man had ‘several’ weapons and will face multiple chargesCanadian police say the armed man who rammed a truck through the gates of the prime minister’s residence was loose for 13 minutes before authorities finally spotted him.Media reports have identified the intruder as Corey Hurren, a reservist in the Canadian Rangers, a branch of the military that typically operates in remote and coastal regions. Continue reading...
With stipulations of mass testing and on-camera distancing from actors, it’s not just the romcom facing a bleak futureThis month, in theory, the latest Jurassic World sequel goes back into production on a London sound stage. And Wednesday – 1 July – was the day that Hollywood studios and TV producers planned to resume production in the United States. In fact, little if any American production has resumed, partly because some of the “tax incentive” states that attract studio productions are current virus hotbeds. Productions remain on hold or in preproduction limbo. The massive agency CAA announced this week that all staff will continue to work from home for at least the remainder of the year.Related: Sam Neill: ‘I should be at Pinewood. The Jurassic World III sets are there waiting’ Continue reading...
Pressure grows on Duke of York to ‘speak up’ after the arrest of his friend Ghislaine MaxwellThe Duke of York was accused of subjecting alleged victims of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to a “torture test” by his silence as lawyers for the women increased the pressure following the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell.As Maxwell, 58, remained in custody on charges of facilitating former boyfriend Epstein’s sexual exploitation of underage girls, lawyers for multiple women demanded Prince Andrew “be a man”, “speak up” and stop “deliberately avoiding” US authorities. Continue reading...
As Boris Johnson reopens pubs, a no-deal Brexit threatens to rain disaster on a country reeling from the pandemicDo you have the bunting out and the fireworks primed for Independence Day, with 4 July designated as the moment England ends its long national hibernation and flocks to the pub? To the untrained eye, the choice of a Saturday for the great unlocking might seem a tad rash, when, I don’t know, Monday was available to ease people in gradually. That point was put to Boris Johnson on LBC this morning, but he couldn’t offer even an approximation of an answer. Which leaves us to conclude that his government of geniuses picked Saturday solely because of the pleasing headlines that the Fourth of July suggested – rather forgetting that this is the day when Americans celebrate their escape from the rule of a dysfunctional London elite headed by a man with more children than you could count and prone to gibbering in public.Related: I love pubs so much I recreated mine in VR – but I'm staying home on 4 July | Tristan Cross Continue reading...
Front of magazine’s ‘Madness’ issue attacked as attempt to glamorise mental illnessVogue Portugal has been criticised for insensitive treatment of mental health on one of its latest magazine covers.The image – one of four covers created for its July/August “Madness” issue – features model Simona Kirchnerova crouched in a bath flanked by two nurses, with one pouring water over her head. The cover has been criticised both for attempting to glamorise mental illness and for the use of the outdated term “madness”. Continue reading...
Hatice Cengiz hopes trial in absentia will reveal circumstances of journalist’s death and location of remainsThe fiancee of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has told a Turkish court that all avenues for justice must be explored as 20 Saudi officials went on trial in absentia over the gruesome killing and dismemberment in Istanbul in 2018.Taking the witness stand on Friday morning at Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse complex, Hatice Cengiz had to pause several times to stop her voice from breaking. The absence of the 20 defendants, as well as Khashoggi’s still missing remains, weighed heavily over the proceedings. Continue reading...
The pro-democracy politician is continuing the fight from abroad and says the international front is keyThree years ago, Nathan Law was jailed for several months over his role in pro-democracy “umbrella movement” protests in Hong Kong. But even in prison, he never imagined he would consider fleeing his home.China’s decision to bring in a sweeping national security law that has criminalised many forms of peaceful protest in Hong Kong and carries penalties of up to life in prison changed that overnight. Continue reading...
Protective measures taken and social media erased as both question how they can operateJournalists and lawyers in Hong Kong are scrambling to adapt as Chinese authorities set up the apparatus to enforce a controversial national security law, including appointing a hardline party official to head a new security agency.Zheng Yanxiong, who is best known for tackling protests on the mainland, is to run the office established under the law that empowers mainland security agents to operate in Hong Kong openly and unbound for the first time. Continue reading...
Expert on Hans Christian Andersen says it is ‘hard to see what is racist’ about fairytaleThe statue of the Little Mermaid in the entrance to Copenhagen harbour has been daubed with the words “racist fish”.The 107-year-old statue has often been vandalised by protesters, ranging from pro-democracy activists to anti-whaling campaigners. As recently as January, “Free Hong Kong” was scrawled on the rock on which the 1.65-metre bronze sits. Continue reading...
Barrister says Home Office’s unwillingness to protect 11-year-old makes a mockery of FGM protection ordersHuman rights lawyers have launched a scathing attack on the Home Office for failing to grant asylum to an 11-year-old girl found by judges to be at high risk of female genital mutilation if removed from Britain.The girl, who is thriving at school and only speaks English, was brought to the UK in 2012 by her mother, herself a victim of what is known as type 3 FGM whose two sisters died after being cut in their native Sudan. Continue reading...
A summary of the major developments in the coronavirus outbreak across AustraliaGood evening, here are the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in Australia. This is Josh Taylor and it’s Friday 3 July. Continue reading...
Officer Joseph Mensah was found to have acted in self-defence in two of the shootings, with another currently under reviewJay-Z’s social justice initiative Team Roc has called for a Wisconsin police officer to be fired and prosecuted, after he shot and killed three people while on duty.Joseph Mensah, of Milwaukee suburb Wauwatosa, killed Alvin Cole, Antonio Gonzales and Jay Anderson in three separate incidents between 2015 and 2020. He is under review for the most recent killing, of Cole, but the earlier two were deemed self-defence and he did not face charges. 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...
NGOs warn of rising uncertainty over programmes to tackle poverty and Covid-19 despite assurances from ministersThe government’s plans to merge the Department for International Development (DfID) with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been criticised for a chaotic lack of clarity as NGOs are told to cut aid programmes.DfID said it was due to review its aid spending because of a fall in gross national income, but stressed no decisions had been made. However, experts in the aid sector say there are already signs of cuts among programmes tackling poverty and Covid-19. Continue reading...
Khan choreographed more than 2,000 songs during a 40-year careerSaroj Khan, a top Bollywood choreographer, has died in a Mumbai hospital, her family has announced. She was 71.The three-time National Award winner was hospitalised last Saturday after she complained of breathlessness. She tested negative for Covid-19, the Press Trust of India news agency said, and died early on Friday. Continue reading...
Coronavirus thwarts plan by survivors to light candles for dozens of detainees who died in airstrike on detention centre during Tripoli fightingOne year on from the migrant detention centre bombing in Tajoura, eastern Tripoli, dozens of refugees and migrants who died have never been formally identified.At least 53 people were killed and 130 injured on the night of 2 July 2019, according to the UN, after an airstrike by a foreign aircraft supporting eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar’s forces hit a hall where migrants and refugees were locked up. Continue reading...
Many European services have resumed and there are some excellent deals on national rail pass. Our expert gives the lowdown on summer train travelAs I explored Switzerland by train in early March, the coronavirus clouds were gathering on the horizon. Within a few days, borders closed and Europe’s rail network fragmented. Eurostar scaled back to just a handful of journeys a day. Slovenia suspended its entire rail network, while in Croatia, Portugal, Spain, Finland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia not a single train ventured beyond its borders.But the big surprise was how quickly the international network revived. That process started in early May, initially with local cross-frontier services being reinstated (mainly to support border-hopping commuters), closely followed by longer-distance Eurocity and high-speed international services. Continue reading...
Campaigner Simon Cheng, granted asylum in UK, says shadow parliament would send ‘clear signal’ to BeijingHong Kong pro-democracy activists are discussing a plan to create an unofficial parliament-in-exile to preserve democracy and send a message to China that freedom cannot be crushed, campaigner Simon Cheng has said.Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, was convulsed by months of often violent, pro-democracy and anti-China demonstrations last year, resisting Chinese interference in its promised freedoms and posing the biggest political crisis for Beijing since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#55AJD)
Grassroots groups have rallied to help traumatised former residents of the Park InnWhen Gabriel Vest ran into Asda on Sunday evening with £300 to spend on underwear and socks, staff at Glasgow’s southside branch were initially bemused. He explained he was buying emergency supplies for around 90 asylum seekers evacuated from the Park Inn hotel last Friday after Badreddin Abedlla Adam, from Sudan, stabbed six people before being shot dead by police. “Then they just wanted to help. I didn’t even have to queue.”Vest, who ordinarily works with Bikes for Refugees, was bulk-buying for Maslow’s, a nearby community shop that supplies second-hand clothing for newly arrived migrants, and that day was hurriedly putting together packages for residents who had had to leave their belongings behind the police cordon. “I got a message from another volunteer who was at the hotel, to say there was one man who was still in his underwear because that was how he’d left his room when the fire alarm had gone off. He was left like that for two days. It was grim.” Continue reading...
Websites the Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet say they won’t provide links to Rowling’s website or use photos of the authorTwo of the biggest Harry Potter fan sites have distanced themselves from author JK Rowling because of her beliefs on transgender rights, calling them at odds with the message of empowerment in her best-selling books.Websites the Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet said on Thursday they would no longer provide links to the British author’s personal website, use photos of her, or write about achievements that do not relate to the world she created. Continue reading...