Campaigners say Operation Sillath leading to practices that breach Dublin ConventionThe Home Office has launched an initiative to deport migrants who cross the Channel from France to the UK in small boats, the Guardian has learned.The initiative, known as Operation Sillath, is thought to be in response to rising numbers of people arriving in boats from France. Earlier this month a record 145 people were picked up after crossing the Channel on 8 May as they headed for the Kent coast. The previous daily record was 102 in February 2020. There were 297 boat crossings by migrants in 2018, 1,890 last year and at least 1,040 so far this year. Continue reading...

BMA and Hillsborough lawyer among those to back call for independent investigation

The makers of the hit BBC and Hulu series described the repurposing of footage as ‘deeply disrepectful’The producers of the hit TV series Normal People have issued Pornhub with a takedown request after sex scenes from the programme were uploaded to the porn site. According to Variety, a 22-minute compilation was uploaded to the website last week, but was later removed. However, footage is still available on other adult websites at the time of writing.The programme’s executive producer, Ed Guiney, told the entertainment industry website that its makers were “hugely disappointed” to see the footage end up on a porn website, adding that it was “both a violation of copyright and more importantly, it’s deeply disrespectful to the actors involved and to the wider creative team”. Variety confirmed with Pornhub that the video had been removed following a takedown request. Continue reading...

Britain’s highly rated disease preparation failed on coronavirus – possibly because ministers followed a plan for flu

Mayor sees pandemic as chance to change travel habits and revitalise city

A summary of the major developments in the coronavirus outbreak across Australia

Anish Kapoor among those pouring scorn on redevelopment of Lutyens’ central vista, branding it an act of ‘political fanaticism’

The singer-songwriter said ‘there has to be a place in feminism for women who look and act like me’, citing her lyrics on ‘submissive roles’Lana Del Rey has hit out at the accusations that she “glamorises abuse” that have trailed her throughout her decade-long career. In a lengthy text post to her Instagram account, the 34-year-old singer criticised “female writers and alt singers” who she says have blamed her “minor lyrical exploration detailing my sometimes submissive or passive roles in my relationships” for “[setting] women back hundreds of years”.She wrote: “In reality I’m just a glamorous person singing about the realities of what we are all now seeing are very prevalent emotionally abusive relationships all over the world.” She said she had been “honest and optimistic” about her “challenging” relationships: “News flash! That’s just how it is for many women.” Continue reading...

Annastacia Palaszczuk says she won’t be lectured to by NSW, ‘a state that has the highest number of cases in Australia’, while Joel Fitzgibbon opens new front in China row. This blog is now closed

Hygiene measures, pandemic leave and a plan to respond to positive cases are rare, UComms poll of workers finds

Coronavirus has stalled opposition’s momentum against president who was recently found guilty of mass murder as country heads into an electionWith the economy in tatters, corruption scandals piling up – and a recent mass murder conviction to add to his previous guilty verdicts for drug trafficking, it seemed until recently that president Desi Bouterse’s 40-year grip on power in Suriname was coming to an end.Related: Suriname president guilty of murder over 1982 executions Continue reading...

Antarctica is turning green due to the climate crisis and the phenomenon is potentially offering sustenance to other species, according to the first large-scale algae map of the peninsular by University of Cambridge scientists.

Strong winds tore down electricity pylons, walls and buildings, with full scale of damage still being estimatedThe most powerful cyclone to hit Bangladesh and eastern India in more than 20 years tore down homes, carried cars down flooded streets and claimed the lives of up to 20 people.Authorities began surveying the damage Thursday after millions spent a sleepless night which saw 165km/h (102mph) winds carrying away trees, electricity pylons, walls and roofs, and transformer stations exploding. Continue reading...

Government accused of using coronavirus as a pretext to ban march on 4 June, the anniversary of the massacreOrganisers of Hong Kong’s Tiananmen Square vigil have urged people to “be water” and find their own ways to hold commemorations after coronavirus bans on gatherings were extended.The annual event marking the 1989 brutal crackdown by the Chinese army on protesters is traditionally the largest and only authorised commemoration of the massacre anywhere in China. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Minister’s bills, obtained under freedom of information, included pages noting download limit breaches carrying charges he later agreed to repayStuart Robert received pages of bills noting excess data charges, adding up to hundreds of gigabytes a month and thousands of dollars, his mobile broadband bills reveal.In 2018 the MP, who was then the assistant treasurer and is now the government services minister, repaid almost $38,000 he had charged taxpayers for internet access for his Gold Coast home in 2016. Continue reading...

Medics increasingly at odds with government that is urging citizens to ‘coexist’ with Covid-19

No it will notSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...

Leading academics and a major Muslim advocacy group voice alarm over bill that would allow questioning of 14-year-oldsThe Morrison government is facing pushback from leading academics and from a major Muslim advocacy group about new powers allowing the domestic spy agency to question people as young as 14.The dean of law at the University of New South Wales, George Williams, said the government’s proposed new law was a case of “overreach” and agency powers kept being increased “in what typically is a one-way street without any sense of what the endgame is”. Continue reading...

Infection rates in Latin America growing rapidly as lockdowns ease in Europe

Committed student came to UK with family as they fled Lebanon a decade before she was killed in BlackburnFive years after her family fled violence in Lebanon, a 14-year-old Aya Hachem sat with her parents at a charity event to help traumatised refugees settle into life in Lancashire.Hachem was not one to simply settle. She thrust herself into British life. She learned English, excelled at school, and became one of the Children’s Society’s youngest ever trustees aged 16. She seemed destined to fulfil her ambition to become an international lawyer. Continue reading...

Israeli court rejects request for country’s prime minister to be absent from start of proceedingsAn Israeli court has ordered the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to appear for the opening of his criminal trial in Jerusalem on Sunday.Netanyahu’s lawyers had asked the court for an exemption from appearing for the opening of proceedings. Continue reading...

HC-One faced being stopped from running Home Farm after concerns over its management

A summary of the major developments in the coronavirus outbreak across Australia

Samantha Murozoki bartered her jeans and sneakers to stop the food running out, inspiring others to pitch in

Jealous friend unable to admit to ‘extreme betrayal’ and her evidence is ‘nothing but a pack of lies’, coroner saysA coroner has delivered a scathing assessment of a jealous friend who catfished Sydney woman Renae Marsden, finding she lied repeatedly to an inquest.The coroner Elaine Truscott said Camila Zeidan created the fake persona “Brayden Spiteri” to coerce and control Marsden between late 2011 and August 2013. Continue reading...

Both city and state aim to recruit thousands to trace contacts of those diagnosed with coronavirus as part of plans to reopen

We bring together all the latest on new and active Covid-19 cases, as well as maps, stats, data and graphs from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, ACT and NT to get a broad picture of the Australian outbreak and track the impact of government response.

Malaysian man receives sentence remotely for role in 2011 drug deal as city-state tries to curb its coronavirus ratesA man has been sentenced to death in Singapore via a Zoom video-call for his role in a drug deal, the city-state’s first case where capital punishment has been delivered remotely.Punithan Genasan, a 37-year-old Malaysian, received the sentence for his role in a 2011 heroin transaction on Friday, court documents showed, with the country under lockdown to try to curb one of the highest coronavirus rates in Asia. Continue reading...

Survivors say an armed forces’ patrol vessel intercepted an overloaded dinghy, giving the refugees fuel and GPS coordinates for Sicily

The actor on 40 years in show business, why he channelled Donald Trump in American Beauty – and having a face that makes directors sickThe director Robert Altman used to tell Peter Gallagher, the suave star of his 1992 movie The Player: “Gallagher, you’re so good-looking it makes me sick.” To hear Gallagher impersonating the gruff auteur, it was not quite a compliment. But he was used to that.During a heated rehearsal for The Real Thing, Gallagher’s breakout role on Broadway at the age of 29, another director, Mike Nichols, admitted to not being able to stand the sight of him. “And we were close!” says Gallagher cheerfully, speaking over Zoom from his home in Los Angeles. He responded by growing an “awful white goatee” until Nichols pleaded for him to shave. Continue reading...

Met Office predicts scorching day across country before thunderstorms on Thursday

How far can you drive? What are the travel restrictions in NSW, Queensland and Victoria and when will they be lifted? Can you visit your family or parents in Tasmania, ACT, SA, WA or NT? Untangle Australia’s Covid-19 laws with our guide

Prime minister says flexible working options can boost productivity and domestic tourism and improve work/life balance

Former Today show host accuses Farrow of shoddy journalism in his Catch and Kill book as journalist responds that Lauer is ‘just wrong’Matt Lauer has accused Ronan Farrow of shoddy and biased journalism in his book Catch and Kill, which included a rape accusation against the former Today show host that Lauer claims is false.Farrow, a Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer at the New Yorker, said Lauer “is just wrong”. Continue reading...

Rami Makhlouf, former backer of Assad regime, also barred from doing business with state

Wednesday: Gas and coal sectors welcome the government’s proposed climate measures. Plus, if you failed to tick off your quarantine to-do list, join the clubGood morning, this is Emilie Gramenz bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday, 20 May. Continue reading...

Authorities waited hours to warn the public that the gunman, who would eventually kill 22 people, was using a fake police carPolice in Nova Scotia knew that a gunman carrying out a murderous rampage was traveling in a fake police car 12 hours before they warned the public, according to a recently unsealed warrant.New details of Canada’s worst mass shooting were revealed on Tuesday after media outlets successfully petitioned for the unsealing of warrants used during the hunt for the man to search two properties he owned. Continue reading...

Coronavirus rebellion by councils forces government to say it will not sanction them

Fiji-born Taitusi Ratucaucau told he is not eligible for free treatment due to immigration statusThe children of a Commonwealth-born veteran, who is struggling to find £27,000 to pay for emergency surgery, have called on the government to waive mounting NHS and immigration fees.Their public appeal came as the veterans’ minister, Johnny Mercer, said he was making inquiries about the case of Taitusi Ratucaucau, which was revealed by the Guardian on Monday. Continue reading...

Authorities say they have evidence tying Toronto attack in which a woman was murdered and two others injured to ‘incel’ movementPolice in Canada are treating a machete attack in which a woman was murdered and two others injured as an act of terrorism, after discovering evidence suggesting that it was motivated by violent misogyny.The move is thought to be the first time that terrorism charges have been brought in a case connected to the so-called “incel” ideology. Continue reading...

Cases growing in Brazil, South Africa and India as Spain begins to open beaches and restaurant terraces

Chief negotiator David Frost says proposed trade deal would make UK ‘bend to EU norms’Britain’s chief negotiator, David Frost, has accused Brussels of treating the UK as an “unworthy” partner by offering a low-quality trade agreement that he says would force the country to “bend to EU norms”.In an extraordinary letter to the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, the prime minister’s envoy says Brussels’ proposal that EU state aid rules be part of British law is “egregious” and “simply not a provision any democratic country could sign”. Continue reading...

George Eustice, the environment secretary, has urged Britons on furlough to 'lend a hand' picking fruit and vegetables on British farms, as only a third of the pickers from eastern European countries who usually complete the work have arrived this year

Family pays tribute to Phoenix Netts, 28, whose death is being investigated as murderA woman whose remains were found in two suitcases in Gloucestershire last week has been named by police as 28-year-old Phoenix Netts.The discovery close to a quarry near Coleford in the Forest of Dean came after a member of the public reported some erratic driving. The vehicle was located a short while later and two suitcases were discovered containing human remains. Officers used DNA analysis to help identify Netts’ body. Continue reading...

Families forced to halt hunt for nearly 62,000 who’ve vanished since ‘war on drugs’ began in 2006: ‘We can’t go out and search’

Previously dismissed mob is characterised by ‘primitive’ forms of brutality, say investigatorsOn 1 April, just as Italy was at the peak of its coronavirus crisis, a man in a protective face mask approached a residential home for vulnerable old people in Foggia in the southern region of Puglia. He was not coming to help residents, however, but rather to blow the home’s doors off with an explosive device.The incident, in which fortunately no one was injured, came as no surprise to the care home’s owner, Luca Vigilante. He had only recently completed repairs following a bomb attack on the premises in January. Continue reading...

Education minister claims scheme a success but says old system was effective as more parents set to return to workSign up for Guardian Australia’s daily coronavirus email

A summary of the major developments in the coronavirus outbreak across Australia

Measures tightened further in city of 700,000 close to Russian border that has been deemed a high-risk area