Drug research, well-practised NHS staff and greater awareness of dangers give reasons for hope

Officers search just minutes’ drive from Kendall, where three-year-old vanished from his foster grandparents’ home in 2014Police have conducted a fresh search on the New South Wales mid-north coast as part of ongoing investigations into the disappearance of young William Tyrrell.Officers on Monday searched in the vicinity of Herons Creek, just minutes’ drive away from the town of Kendall, where three-year-old William vanished from his foster grandparents’ home in 2014. Continue reading...

Virgil van Dijk and Sari van Veenendaal hit out at pundit and say ‘enough is enough’The captains of the Dutch men’s, women’s and youth national football teams are boycotting a leading sports TV programme over the racist comments of a longstanding pundit, warning: “Enough is enough.”The Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk, and the Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal have led the way after years of the behaviour of Johan Derksen on the Veronica Inside show being explained away as straight-talking humour. Continue reading...

Footage shows man on his knees telling police officer ‘I’m not even fighting you’ as he is tasered at close rangeA New South Wales police officer repeatedly tasered an Indigenous man in the face, chest and neck during an arrest in Sydney on Monday.Footage circulated widely on social media showed the man, who did not appear to be resisting, repeatedly tasered by an officer during an arrest in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. During the arrest the man can be heard saying “I’m not even fighting you”. Continue reading...

In desperate need of hydrotherapy, Abi Palmer went to a sanatorium – and found herself surrounded by luxury. How has health been sold as a lifestyle choice?In 2017 I received an Arts Council England grant to complete research for my book Sanatorium. Writing a book was the only way I could think of funding a much-needed visit to a water-based physiotherapy rehabilitation programme, which was necessary to help symptoms caused by psoriatic arthritis and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. So I found myself in the sanatorium of my dreams: a thermal hydrotherapy centre on an island in the middle of the River Danube.It was a cold October when I made it to the island. There were bridges to the mainland, but I am not able to walk reliably for more than a few metres, and if I use my mobility scooter in the cold, my legs seize up quickly and become incredibly painful. As a result, I was almost completely isolated at the sanatorium. I only left the strange, insulated building when my mental health was suffering so much that the risk to my body began to feel worth it. Continue reading...

WHO reports record daily increase in coronavirus cases; Beijing doubles its daily testing capacity to identify cluster-related cases

Japanese media reports country has decided against hosting 2023 competition, leaving only Colombia and joint Australia-NZ bid in the runningAustralia and New Zealand’s joint bid to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup has taken a significant step forward amid reports on Monday its main rival Japan has withdrawn its bid.Ahead of Fifa executives gathering to decide the hosting rights on Thursday, Japanese news outlet Kyodo is reporting the Japanese Football Association will meet on Monday evening and is expected to announce the decision to withdraw from the running. Continue reading...

Western Australia won’t announce open borders date because of Victorian infection spike, premier says, while Gladys Berejiklian issues travel warning. Follow live

Online marketplace for medical supplies will allow continent to buy in bulk and lower costs, says South Africa’s president

The theft of Palestinian land is a legacy of British colonialism. The UK must stand in the way of further Israeli annexations

Fearful hotel workers asked to take on role of hospital support staff as cases in Delhi rise

Iran reports more than 100 deaths for third day in a row; UK death toll rises by 43; Chile deaths rise to more than 7,000. This blog is now closed. Follow our new blog below

New premier of the Pacific nation, Dalton Tagelagi, seeks to re-open island and ‘a return to the good old happy days’The two candidates for the seat of Mutalau, a village on Niue’s northern point, could not be separated. Both had the same number of votes, just as had happened in the last election; in 2017 it was 19-19, in 2020 it was 26-26.Related: Trevor the lonely duck gets tiny island of Niue in a flap Continue reading...

Home Office says it will launch ad campaign to ensure people are aware of support availableA cross-government working group has been launched in an attempt to address the challenges faced by the Windrush generation, two years after the then prime minister, Theresa May, promised to right the wrongs faced by those mistakenly classified as illegal immigrants by the Home Office.Duwayne Brooks, a campaigner and friend of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, has agreed to join the group, in recognition of the “terrible” treatment faced by the Windrush generation. He said he was “looking forward to working with the home secretary to ensure all those affected come forward to claim the compensation they deserve and get the support they need to move on”. Continue reading...

Monday: Opening shops and workplaces heightens risk of coronavirus infections, modelling shows. Plus, Alan Jones handed new slot on SkyGood morning, this is James Murray bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 22 June. Continue reading...

Close family member of Khairi Saadallah, 25, fought in Libya against GaddafiKhairi Saadallah, the suspect in the Reading terror attack, is understood to be a Libyan national who came to Britain as a refugee from the country’s civil war, which began in 2014 during attempts to build a democratic state after the fall of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.Neighbours said a close family member of Saadallah’s had fought in Libya against Gaddafi and had faced anti-Muslim abuse after the family’s arrival in the UK. Continue reading...

Police in the German city of Stuttgart have said 20 people were arrested and four police officers injured after a drugs check in the city centre sparked attacks on officers and police vehicles and widespread vandalism of stores. The disturbance started as an apparent reaction to the police’s search for drugs, as groups of people partied in a central park late on Saturday night. According to German TV reports, people then attacked store fronts in a nearby shopping street, tearing up paving stones and smashing store windows

Government will not hesitate to make necessary changes to legal system, says PMBoris Johnson hinted at a fresh terror crackdown on Sunday when he said the government was ready to act on any lessons that emerge from the stabbing attack in a Reading park once police have completed their investigations.In a broadcast statement recorded in Downing Street and issued on Sunday lunchtime, Johnson said he was “appalled and sickened that people should lose their lives in this way”. Continue reading...

James Furlong was head of history, government and politics at the Holt school in WokinghamA “passionate”, “gentle” and “caring” secondary school teacher has become the first victim of the terrorist attack in Reading to be named.James Furlong was the head of history, government and politics at the Holt school in Wokingham, near Reading. He was one of three people who lost their lives after the stabbing attack in Forbury Gardens. Continue reading...

Two men died after reports of shooting in Moss Side early on SundayPolice are investigating a double murder that followed a lockdown street gathering of “hundreds of people” in Manchester.A 36-year-old man died after reports of a shooting near Caythorpe Street, Moss Side, at about 12.55am on Sunday. A 21-year-old was also taken to hospital with gunshot wounds but died later on Sunday, Greater Manchester police said. No arrests have been made. Continue reading...

Coronavirus has swept through tribes, killing elders – and inflicting irreparable damage on tribal history, culture and medicineWhen Bep Karoti Xikrin fell ill with Covid-19, he refused to go to a hospital.The 64-year-old chief of a Xikrin indigenous village in Brazil’s Amazon was plagued by headaches and fatigue and struggled for breath. But according to his daughter Bekuoi Raquel, he was afraid that if he were admitted to hospital he might never return. Continue reading...

At least three others seriously injured after attack in Forbury Gardens on Saturday nightThe killing of three people in a stabbing rampage in a park in Reading is being treated as a terrorist attack, police have said.A 25-year-old Libyan national is being held by police over the incident,in which at least three other people sustained serious injuries. Continue reading...

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The killing of three people in a stabbing rampage in a park in Reading is being treated as a terrorist attack, Met police assistant commissioner Neil Bosu has said. A 25-year-old Libyan national is being held by police over the incident, in which at least three other people sustained serious injuries.

The resurgence of Covid-19 has raised fears that China’s capital and its famous street life will never return to ‘normal’For just one day, Beijing was a Covid-free city.On Tuesday 9 June, local authorities reported that the last active Covid-19 case had been discharged from a local hospital. City health officials appeared without face masks at the daily press conference, to announce that there were “no new cases and no suspected infections”. Beijing, finally, seemed to breathe a little easier. The now-ubiquitous temperature checks, at the entrance to every office building, restaurant and hutong (alleyway), were dismantled. The Lama Temple and Beijing aquarium were open to the public for the first time since January and were immediately packed to capacity. It was a beautiful summer’s day – bright blue skies and the sharp Beijing light that glints golden on the city’s tower blocks. Continue reading...

Southern Transitional Council has taken control of remote archipelago in the Arabian SeaYemeni separatists have seized control of the island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea, deposing its governor and driving out the forces of the Saudi-backed government, which condemned the action as a coup.The Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared self-rule in the south of the country in April, complicating UN efforts to forge a permanent ceasefire in a war that has separatists and the government fighting as nominal allies in a Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels, who control the north. Continue reading...

My friend Magda Sagarzazu, who has died aged 70 of cancer, was a woman from the Basque region of Spain who moved to the Hebridean island of Canna and made it her mission to preserve and popularise the work of the married Gaelic scholars John Lorne Campbell and Margaret Fay Shaw.John, who bought Canna in 1939 and farmed it for 40 years before gifting it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1981, had known Magda’s father, Saturnino, since before the war. After Saturnino’s wife, Vicenta, died in 1958, John invited his friend and his two daughters to spend the summer on Canna – it was the beginning of an annual trip that lasted until Saturnino’s death in 1974. Saturnino did odd jobs, farm work or fishing with John and the girls played with the Canna children. Continue reading...

Chika Okeke-Agulu says sale of sculptures removed during 1960s civil war ‘perpetuates violence’ of conflict

The brutal ambush in the Himalayas is the latest aggressive move from Beijing by a nation battling crises on several frontsThe ambush set up by Chinese soldiers for an Indian patrol was medieval. In the high-altitude Himalayan no man’s land claimed by both countries, their forces have agreed not to carry guns, to diminish the chance of the long-running territorial dispute flaring into open war.So the People’s Liberation Army had dammed up mountain streams, which they unblocked as the Indian troops approached. The rush of water knocked many off their feet, and then the Chinese soldiers swept down, brandishing sticks encrusted with nails, Indian media reported. Continue reading...

Police arrest one man at scene and are not looking for anyone else over attack that they are not currently treating as a terrorism incidentThree people have died and another three have been seriously injured after a stabbing attack on Saturday night in Reading, police have confirmed.A 25-year-old man from Reading, about 40 miles west of London, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and is in custody, Thames Valley police said. They are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. Continue reading...

Omar Abdulaziz, who was close to murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, told of threat posed by Saudi ArabiaA prominent Saudi dissident who is living in exile in Canada said he was recently warned by Canadian authorities that he was a “potential target” of Saudi Arabia and that he needed to take precautions to protect himself.Omar Abdulaziz, a 29-year-old activist who had a close association with Jamal Khashoggi, the murdered Washington Post journalist, told the Guardian that he believed he was facing a threat to his safety and that the Canadians had credible information about a possible plan to harm him. Continue reading...

Pressure group claims disproportionate number of black people held for longer periods to ‘reduce black and brown migration to UK’Black people are detained significantly longer than white people inside the UK’s immigration detention system, prompting fresh claims of “institutional racism”.Although the Home Office does not record ethnicity data for detainees, analysis of nationalities of those recently held within the immigration detention estate found that citizens from countries with predominantly black and brown populations are held for substantially longer periods than those from predominantly white countries. Continue reading...

British firms fulfilling fighter jet contracts which enable kingdom to wage war in Yemen, despite the trade being ruled unlawfulThe government stands accused of ignoring a landmark court ruling restricting UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.In a judgment handed down a year ago, the court of appeal ruled it was “unlawful” for the government to have allowed the sale of arms to the kingdom for use in Yemen, where independent estimates suggest a Saudi-led coalition has been responsible for the deaths of more than 8,000 civilians since 2015. Continue reading...

Backbenchers and party activists are unimpressed by U-turns and dithering as public support continues to fallMinisters are expecting a wide-ranging government reshuffle in September in which Boris Johnson will sack key figures who are judged to have underperformed in the Covid-19 crisis.Cabinet sources said the move was now seen as inevitable. They believe sweeping changes will be made in an attempt to defuse mounting discontent on the Tory backbenches following a stream of U-turns and a fall in the party’s poll ratings. Continue reading...

Campaigners want affordable kits for all but health experts doubt efficacy of a mass exerciseA new divide is opening up between the “haves” and the “have nots” – this time over Covid-19 testing. While private schools and big businesses have introduced testing for their pupils and employees, allowing them to return to school and work, state schools and small businesses will be left to rely on the state. Campaigners warn that “testing inequality” could fuel greater financial inequality.Financial giants, such as Credit Suisse, have introduced antibody testing for their employees, while the Premier League restarted its season last week, thanks to rapid antigen testing of players and backroom staff. Ocado bought 100,000 testing kits for its staff when lockdown began and some private schools intend to use testing as part of their plan to get all children back into classrooms at the start of the next academic year. Continue reading...

A 36-year-old man has died after being shot in Manchester’s Moss Side area, police sayA 36-year-old man has died after being shot in Manchester, police said.A second victim, aged 21, is in a life-threatening condition after the incident, which is believed to have taken place in the Moss Side area of the city. Continue reading...

Nirvana frontman’s 1959 Martin D-18E sold to Australian who will put it on tour, with proceeds going to help struggling artistsThe guitar used by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain during the band’s famous MTV Unplugged in New York concert has sold for more than $6m (£4.8m) at auction.The 1959 Martin D-18E featured in the grunge group’s performance in November 1993, five months before Cobain’s death aged 27. Continue reading...

Testing a ‘double-edged sword’, says Trump; Chile death toll nearly doubles; Australian state ‘absolutely at risk’ of second peak

Bodies of French bulldogs were among about 500 dogs discovered on flight from Ukraine at Toronto airportCanada has launched an investigation after some 500 puppies – 38 of them dead – were found on board a Ukraine International Airlines plane at the Toronto airport, officials said Saturday.The surviving French bulldogs, a popular breed in Canada, were suffering from symptoms including dehydration, weakness and vomiting when they were found on the flight from Ukraine that landed at Toronto Pearson airport on 13 June, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement. Continue reading...

Every summer, the Presena glacier in northern Italy is protected from the sun with huge reflective tarpsA vast tarpaulin unravels, gathering speed as it bounces down the glacier over glinting snow. Summer is here and the alpine ice is being protected from global warming.In northern Italy, the Presena glacier has lost more than one third of its volume since 1993. Continue reading...

The defence department confirms 145 personnel continue to assist Queensland police with border controls

Scientists say current methods of estimating lion numbers could be drastically wrong, with serious consequences for the big catsFrom widescreen high-definition wildlife documentaries to food brands, royal crests, sporting teams and Disney movies, the lion is one of the most appropriated and revered animals on the planet.But this reverence sits in contrast to the falling numbers of the living, breathing muscular cats in Africa. Continue reading...

Geoffrey Berman says he will continue to investigate duke’s relationship with sex offender despite pressure to resignThe senior US prosecutor investigating links between Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein has vowed to carry on with his enquiries despite a dramatic attempt by the Trump administration to force him to resign.In a late-night announcement on Friday, US attorney general William Barr declared Geoffrey Berman was stepping down, a development seen by critics as designed to benefit Trump politically and challenge the independence of the Justice Department. Continue reading...

Partial draft of legislation shows Beijing intends to set up national security agency in cityBeijing has released details of a controversial anti-sedition law under which China will set up a national security agency in Hong Kong and maintain jurisdiction in “certain circumstances”.A partial draft of the legislation widely seen as a blow to the city’s autonomy was released on Saturday, paving the way for the central government to ram the law through despite opposition within Hong Kong and international condemnation. Continue reading...

The PM is expected to announce travel agreements with a small number of countries within days

Gelsenkirchen bucks global trends with new monument as other cities confront relics of colonial pastWhile a global row rages over the controversial pasts of historical figures immortalised as statues, on Saturday a divisive new monument to the former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin will be unveiled in Germany.More than 30 years after the communist experiment on German soil that followed the second world war ended, the tiny Marxist-Leninist party of Germany (MLPD) will install Lenin’s likeness in the western city of Gelsenkirchen. Continue reading...

As counties end the second week of Governor Ron DeSantis’ ‘safe, smart, step-by-step’ policy, the state marks a record high in daily casesIt has been seven weeks since Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis took a coronavirus “victory lap”, pressing ahead with a swift reopening program while berating the media for a “doom and gloom” approach he said bore little relation to reality.“We haven’t seen an explosion of new cases,” DeSantis insisted during a 29 April news conference, a day on which the state’s Covid-19 tally increased by 347. Continue reading...

A vampire in Shanghai, artists on Hydra, and identical twins run away to New Orleans... dazzling novels plus the best politics, history,and memoir to take you away from lockdown