Rule change to come into effect on 10 July, with full list of countries published on Friday

Friday: British socialite and ex-girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein charged with enticing of minors to engage in illegal sex acts. Plus, Kate Grenville on her new bookGood morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 3 July. Continue reading...

Nenets Autonomous District protest vote signalled anger over merger with Arkhangelsk region

Northern Ireland first minister asks Michelle O’Neill to resign amid lockdown breach claims

African Union says tourism revenues down $55bn; Indonesia reports biggest daily increase in cases

Advert says contracts will support UK testing strategy but critics fear move is ‘backdoor’ subsidy

The march of Europe Ecology is yet another example of how parties of the environment are steadily acquiring power and influence across the continentLyon, Strasbourg and Bordeaux; Besançon, Poitiers and Tours: the list of powerful cities that turned green, after France’s municipal elections last weekend, was long and impressive. Marseille has been a conservative fiefdom for decades. But a leftwing alliance propelled Michèle Rubirola, the candidate of Europe Ecology – France’s Green party – to the mayoralty. These were totemic victories, turning the once-peripheral Green party into a significant player in urban France.Sunday’s polls should have taken place in March but were postponed as France locked down. Perhaps because of that delay, and the lingering presence of Covid-19, turnout was low. That may have disproportionately helped Green candidates, whose voters tend to loyally turn out for local elections, and Europe Ecology is still well down the pecking order in national polls. But these caveats aside, the “green wave” in France offers heartening evidence that environmental priorities are truly beginning to shape and influence politics in Europe. Continue reading...

City government declares slogan ‘subversive’ and says anyone using it risks prosecutionHong Kong on Thursday banned the most resonant slogan of its protest movement as those who had taken to the streets over the past year appeared to be laying low the day after the introduction of sweeping draconian national security laws prompted demonstrations, violence, and mass arrests.A statement from the city government declared that “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time” had separatist connotations and was “subversive”, and that anyone using it risked prosecution under the new security legislation. Continue reading...

Sentencing delayed after Safiyya Amira Shaikh tells friend she wanted to ‘go through with it’Sentencing of an Islamic State supporter who plotted to blow up St Paul’s Cathedral at Easter has been postponed after she was recorded in a prison phone call saying she had wanted to “go through with it” and had only been delayed because she had been “doing drugs”.In an unusual delay, an Old Bailey judge was told on Thursday that after Safiyya Amira Shaikh listened to what was said on her behalf in courtroom mitigation last week, she contradicted her lawyers and denied that she had got “cold feet”. Continue reading...

Labour leader criticises government lack of leadership on schools; Scotland’s distancing rule to be relaxed for some sectors; lockdown-easing paused in some Scottish towns

China said UK will ‘bear all consequences’, raising possibility of retaliationChina has responded angrily to a UK promise to offer nearly 3 million residents of Hong Kong with British national overseas status (BNO), the right to settle in the UK.China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said Britain would “bear all consequences”, and China’s ambassador to the UK later said that Beijing “reserve[d] the right to take corresponding measures”. Continue reading...

City is second only to Leicester for rate of new Covid-19 infections and speculation on fresh restrictions is rife

Disproportionate use of stop and search risks alienating black men, says Sir Thomas WinsorEfforts to improve diversity among police officers are at risk of being thwarted by the disproportionate use of stop and search powers against black men, a senior policing watchdog has warned.Police chiefs have previously said that a drive to restore officer numbers by 20,000 over the next three years would help “accelerate” plans to improve diversity in policing. At the end of March last year, 93.1% of police officers were white and 6.9% were from other ethnic groups. Continue reading...

Neither Trudeau nor the governor general, Julie Payette, were present at the residences on the grounds man accessedCanadian police have arrested an armed man who had gained access to the Ottowa estate which includes the official residences of the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the country’s governor general.Neither Trudeau nor the governor general, Julie Payette, were present at the time of the incident early on Thursday, police said. Continue reading...

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier complained of lack of respect and engagement by UKThe latest negotiations in Brussels on an EU-UK trade and security deal have broken up early, with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, complaining of a lack of respect and engagement by the British government.The two sides ended the week’s talks – the first held in person since February – a day ahead of the jointly-agreed schedule amid evident frustration at the lack of progress in bridging what both Barnier and his UK counterpart, David Frost, described as “serious” disagreements. Continue reading...

Hunspach, in Alsace, a ‘peaceful’ settlement of 652 inhabitants, is unlikely to remain so for longFrench people have chosen Hunspach, once part of Sweden, in Alsace as their favourite village of 2020.The village of 652 inhabitants, on France’s eastern border with Germany, was selected in a TV poll of 700,000 viewers. Continue reading...

Scores of people have died in clashes following Haacaaluu Hundeessaa’s death on MondayEthiopian authorities are braced for further violence after two days of unrest following the assassination of the popular musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa earlier this week.So far as many as 88 people are thought to have died since protests following Haacaaluu’s murder at his home in Ambo, a city 70 miles, (110km) outside the capital, Addis Ababa, on Monday. Continue reading...

Decision follows recent revelation country has highest rates of tobacco use in the worldThe Jordanian government has banned smoking and vaping in all indoor public spaces a week after a Guardian investigation revealed tobacco use in the country had become the highest in the world.The country’s health ministry said on Wednesday all enclosed public areas would now be “100% smoke-free environments”, building on an existing but widely flouted ban on smoking inside government buildings and ending an exemption for hotels, cafes and restaurants provided they separated smokers from non-smokers. Continue reading...

Beijing says Britain will ‘bear all consequences’ of helping fleeing HongkongersChina has said it will take countermeasures against the UK should it grant residency to Hongkongers fleeing a harsh new national security law, promising that the UK would “bear all consequences”.On Thursday, senior Chinese officials said the UK had no right to give residency to Hongkongers in response to Beijing forcing a sweeping anti-sedition law on the territory. Continue reading...

Only one region voted against reforms, with results appearing to contradict independent exit pollsThe Kremlin and its supporters have won a controversial vote to amend the constitution and reset Vladimir Putin’s term limits, potentially allowing him to rule as president until 2036. Critics have challenged the result, saying that the voting was rigged to produce a blow-out win.The ad hoc vote, which did not fulfil legal criteria to be classed as a referendum, saw 77.92% of voters endorse constitutional amendments, with 21.26% against the changes, after all the ballots were counted. Turnout was nearly 68%, the election commission said. Continue reading...

Prof Michael Kidd says the milestone was passed in the last 24 hours; stay-at-home orders in place for 10 postcodes in Melbourne’s north. This blog is now closed

Therapy is helping some of the thousands forced over the border to Uganda to cope, but funding shortfalls mean resources are becoming scarcerAs darkness fell, Rebecca closed the door to her makeshift home. The day was over.The 29-year-old, who had been uprooted from South Sudan to a north Ugandan refugee settlement, sat on the bed where her four children slept and, at around 10pm, tried to take her own life. “By then I didn’t care about anything – not myself, not even my kids. The pain was too extreme,” she says. Her children awoke and their cries brought help from neighbours. Continue reading...

Sotheby’s will auction 1931 charcoal drawing that shines light on artist’s affair with Marie-Thérèse WalterA tender and largely unseen portrait by Picasso of his lover and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, which the artist personally kept until his death, is to appear at auction for the first time.The 1931 charcoal drawing shines light on one of the great love affairs of the 20th century and was made by Picasso when his affair with Walter was still a closely guarded secret. Continue reading...

Crackdown on illegal excavation and smuggling amid fears that scientific and historic heritage is being lostNew Zealand’s conservation minister has released plans to tackle the lucrative trade in the bones of the extinct giant flightless moa bird amid fears that millions of years of science is disappearing as entire skeletons are broken up and sold over the internet or smuggled overseas.Palaeontologists have been lobbying the government for years to crack down on the trade, with fossils illegally excavated and poached from crown land. Continue reading...

Oscar winner to be awarded full $2.9m in damages after judges reject all publisher’s grounds of appealThe Sydney Daily Telegraph will have to pay the actor Geoffrey Rush a record $2.9m in damages after the tabloid lost its appeal against a historic defamation ruling.The newspaper and its publisher, Nationwide News – part of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, had challenged an Australian federal court decision from April 2019 that found claims conveyed in two of its news articles from 2017 that the Oscar winner had behaved inappropriately towards a colleague were not credible. Continue reading...

US president Donald Trump says he hopes the coronavirus will “just disappear”, despite states across the country experiencing record numbers of new Covid-19 cases. Speaking to Fox Business, the president was asked if he believed the virus will simply disappear. "Yeah sure. At some point. And I think we’re going to have a vaccine very soon too," he added. Trump has consistently been criticised for not promoting safety measures such as wearing masks, but told Fox Business he "thinks masks are good" and that when he wore one, he liked the way he looked "like the Lone Ranger".

Border officials say shipment contained 13 tons of weaves and other hair products worth $800,000US federal authorities have seized a shipment of products made from human hair believed to have been taken from Muslims in labor camps in China’s western Xinjiang province.Customs and Border Protection officials said that 13 tons (11.8 metric tonnes) of weaves and other hair products worth an estimated $800,000 were in the shipment. Continue reading...

Referring patients to anti-radicalisation scheme can worsen illness, charity saysMental health appears to be a significant factor behind referrals from the NHS to Prevent, the government’s controversial anti-radicalisation programme, a UK-based medical charity says.In an 18-month study, researchers at Medact found that a significant proportion of NHS referrals to Prevent came from mental health trusts or mental health departments. Continue reading...

Performers warn UK culture secretary of mass insolvencies as £4.5bn live music industry falters under Covid-19

Spain and Portugal reopen border as global tourism industry predicted to lose up to £2.6tn

As countries around the world begin restarting their economies after the coronavirus crisis, a growing chorus of prominent leaders have labelled this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tackle climate change by targeting post-pandemic stimulus toward areas that promote renewable energy. Will Australia take heed or continue to rely on fossil fuels?You can read Adam Morton’s piece on the green recovery here and find his reporting on Beyond Zero Emissions jobs plan here. Continue reading...

Readers respond to the reimposition of lockdown in the city after a surge in Covid-19 cases

Residents await Israel’s next move, concerned they could be isolated from the rest of the West BankThe future of Palestinians in the city of Jericho is suspended in uncertainty and fear as they wait for Israel to decide when and how it will annex vast swathes of the land that surrounding them, a step outlined in a US peace initiative which could leave residents isolated from other parts of the West Bank.“Annexation will suffocate us,” said Aisha Subeh, selling grape leaves on a street in Jericho. Continue reading...

Monuments to Spanish colonial-era figures have been attacked or removed but still have their supporters in the old countryA handful of towns in Spain have sought to wade into America’s reckoning with its past, offering to rehome controversial statues targeted over their links to colonialism and centuries of genocide against indigenous peoples in the Americas.Related: Protests target Spanish colonial statues that 'celebrate genocide' in US west Continue reading...

International pressure on Israel escalates as Netanyahu misses self-imposed target dateIsrael’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has missed his self-imposed target date for annexation of occupied Palestinian territories, as France warned of “consequences” and Boris Johnson made an appeal to Israel to reconsider the move in an article in the Hebrew media.Johnson, who described himself in the opinion piece as a “passionate defender of Israel”, said any annexation would be a “violation of international law”, adding the UK would not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders in the West Bank that were not agreed by both Israelis and Palestinians. Continue reading...

Demonstrators have clashed with police during protests over a national security law imposed by China, on the 23rd anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain

KSK soldiers to lose their jobs or be moved after reports of Hitler salutes and extreme attitudesGermany’s defence minister has disbanded a company of special forces, saying a culture of rightwing extremism had been allowed to develop behind a “wall of secrecy”.Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told reporters on Wednesday that “toxic leadership” in the company was found to have fostered an extreme rightwing attitude among some members of the Kommando Spezialkraefte, or KSK, unit. Continue reading...

Post from east London Safer Neighbourhoods Team deleted and officer reprimandedA branch of the Metropolitan police has been criticised for a tweet saying that “kicking down doors” was one of its “favourite things” to do.The post, from the account of the Safer Neighbourhoods Team in Homerton, Hackney, London, was deleted about an hour after its publication Wednesday morning following criticism from other Twitter users. Continue reading...

Police in Italy have seized more than 84m fenethylline tablets, weighing 14 tonnes, at the port of Salerno, in what they say is the biggest seizure of amphetamines in the world. Fenethylline is known by some as the ‘Isis drug’ after investigations found it was used by Islamic State fighters during battles and sold by the group for profit

Police use water cannon and pepper spray as people take to the streets to protest new security law introduced by China

Forces urge people to drink responsibly as lockdown rules are eased further on SaturdayPolice forces across England will deploy additional patrols on Saturday as pubs reopen as part of the biggest easing of Covid-19 lockdown measures to date.Pubs, restaurants, cafes, hotels and other hospitality and entertainment services will open on Saturday for the first time since mid-March, with strict conditions in place. Continue reading...

Rise in harvesting could affect ability to combat climate crisis due to carbon absorption capacity reducingEurope has lost a vastly increased area of forest to harvesting in recent years, data suggests, reducing the continent’s carbon absorption capacity and possibly indicating wider problems with the EU’s attempts to combat the climate crisis.Many of the EU’s forests – which account for about 38% of its land surface area – are managed for timber production, and thus harvested regularly. But the loss of biomass increased by 69% in the period from 2016 to 2018, compared with the period from 2011 to 2015, according to satellite data. The area of forest harvested increased by 49% in the same comparison, published in the journal Nature Research. Continue reading...

Carlos Decotelli stepped down after five days following reports he lied about his credentials in blow to BolsonaroBrazil’s latest pick for education minister has been forced to resign after just five days following reports that he repeatedly lied about his qualifications, the most recent in a series of embarrassing blows for the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.Carlos Decotelli, an economist and former navy man, stepped down yesterday after Brazil’s Getúlio Vargas Foundation business school publicly refuted his claims he had worked there as a teacher. Continue reading...

Up to 3 million people in Hong Kong could be eligible to live, work or study in the UK under a bespoke immigration system announced by Dominic Raab in response to the imposition of national security legislation on Hong Kong by China. The foreign secretary accused China of a 'clear and serious violation' of the joint declaration signed with the UK, and pledged the government would 'honour' its commitment to citizens of the former British colony

One French driver in five admits to a Jekyll and Hyde personality when they take the wheelThe French are the road-rage champions of Europe, according to a survey, with the highest number of drivers who feel they become more aggressive when they get on the road.The 10th annual poll of “responsible driving” published by the Vinci Motorway Foundation and carried out by the Ipsos polling agency in 11 European countries, revealed that one French driver in five – and more in the Paris area – has a Jekyll and Hyde personality behind the wheel. Continue reading...

Exclusive: figures reveal locations with highest levels of new infections after Leicester

Charity and woman argued government policy hindered access to maternity healthcareA woman who faces decades of repayments to the NHS for maternity care has lost a case in the high court challenging the government’s healthcare charging regime for migrants.The woman, who cannot be named, brought the legal challenge along with the charity Maternity Action, which works to end inequality and improve healthcare for pregnant women. Continue reading...

Accepting temporary pay cut is ‘right thing to do’ after collapse in demand, says pilots’ union

Agreement would resolve two sexual misconduct lawsuits on behalf of multiple women against imprisoned former film producerThe attorney general for New York said on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached to settle two sexual misconduct lawsuits on behalf of multiple women against Harvey Weinstein for nearly $19m.But attorneys representing six of the women who have made accusations against the imprisoned former film producer called the proposed deal a “sellout” that did not require Weinstein, 68, to accept responsibility or personally pay out any money. Continue reading...