Mistakes mean findings should not be used as evidence for relaxing rule, say professors

Police investigate alleged rape, suspected drug death and three stabbings on Saturday nightSix thousand people attended two illegal raves in Greater Manchester where an 18-year-old woman was allegedly raped, a man died of a suspected drugs overdose and three people were stabbed.Police said they were met with violence and pelted with objects when they tried to shut down one of the mass gatherings on Saturday night. Continue reading...

‘Safe corridors’ scheme aims to reactivate Spain’s travel sector following Covid-19 disruption

Prime minister announces fast-tracked infrastructure projects while opposition leader calls for progressive tax systemScott Morrison has promised to bring forward a further $1.5bn in infrastructure spending and fast track 15 priority projects in a bid to hustle the Australian economy out of the Covid-19 contraction.In a speech to the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (Ceda) on Monday, the prime minister will also provide an update on the deregulation agenda of his jobs package, which he says will be “a focus” for the recovery. Continue reading...

The chancellor has said a decision on whether to ease the 2-metre physical distancing rule in England will be for ministers rather than the government’s chief scientific advisers to rake. Sunak said the public would take confidence from the fact ministers were being advised by Sir Patrick Vallance and Prof Chris Whitty Continue reading...

Editor of news website Rappler could face prison if convicted under ‘cyber libel’ lawA verdict will be issued on Monday following the controversial trial of one of the Philippines’ most prominent journalists, in a case widely condemned as an attack on press freedom under Rodrigo Duterte.A court in Manila will issue a verdict on Rappler, one of the country’s most influential news websites, its editor, Maria Ressa, and former researcher and writer Reynaldo Santos Jr on Monday. Ressa, who was arrested last year on charges of “cyber libel” for a story published by Rappler in 2012, has described the allegations as baseless. Continue reading...

Poll finds less support for extending wage subsidy and supplement among Coalition votersThe majority of Australians believe extending jobkeeper and jobseeker would help the economy recover from Covid-19, but Coalition voters are the least likely to back continuing the $70bn wage subsidy and coronavirus supplement beyond September.Those are the results of the May Australian National University poll, which found that, among remedies for the coronavirus economic ills, support was strongest for investing in vaccine research, reopening pubs, clubs and cafes, followed by extending the jobkeeper and jobseeker programs and lastly opening borders. Continue reading...

Incidents down by nearly 40% as reduced maximum bet on terminals leads to fewer violent reactions to lossesGovernment-imposed cuts to the amount of money gamblers can stake on betting machines has led to a near-40% reduction in police callouts to bookies to deal with customers becoming violent after losing money.Police callouts fell by 38% following a legislation last year slashing the highest possible bet on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from £100 every 20 seconds to just £2, the Guardian can reveal. There were 1,803 police callouts in 2019, compared with 2,907, even though the reduced stake rules only took effect three months into the year. Continue reading...

A century after the 1918 pandemic, South America’s largest country has passed Britain to claim the world’s second-highest death tollAs a child growing up in 1940s São Paulo, Drauzio Varella remembers his grandmother’s tales of how the Spanish flu ravaged the blue-collar immigrant community they called home.“So many people died that families would leave people outside on the pavements, and early each morning the carts would come by to collect them and take them off to burial in mass graves,” remembered Varella, who would go on to become Brazil’s best-known doctor. Continue reading...

Country has one of the highest numbers of coronavirus deaths relative to population size

28-year-old man held on suspicion of outraging public decencyA man has been arrested on suspicion of urinating on the Westminster memorial dedicated to PC Keith Palmer, amid violent protests by far-right activists in central London on Saturday.The 28-year-old was arrested on suspicion of outraging public decency and is currently in custody in Essex after presenting himself at a police station. The incident is believed to have taken place in the afternoon of Saturday, 13 June. Continue reading...

When Edward Colston’s statue was toppled, colonialism and national memory became a part of the Black Lives Matter conversation. But what will change in the city?After the statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston was hauled to the ground last weekend, a series of black Bristolians clambered on his empty plinth and spoke from the heart about racism and the struggle for equality in the city and beyond.“This city needs to change,” declared Bristol rapper Wish Master, to a glinting wall of cameraphones held aloft by hundreds of black and white hands. “Ask any black person here today and they will tell you about racism.” Continue reading...

Changes could introduce gluten-free wheat and disease-resistant fruit and vegetables, say peers

As plastic screens, queues and tracking apps become the new norm, experts say more change is to comeLife has already changed beyond recognition for many of us.White-collar workers have been working from home for months after vacating office spaces in March. Pubs, restaurants and shops are a distant memory, with more of us shifting to Zoom and online shopping. Continue reading...

Letter from Westminster alumni demands changes to teaching of black cultureMore than 250 former pupils at Westminster School have signed a letter demanding that it combat the “toxic culture of racism within the student body”, promote the teaching of black culture and confront its links with the slave trade.It is one of the first indications that Britain’s public school system is now coming under pressure to follow the example of many universities and examine how it tackles racial and colonial issues. Continue reading...

Tutu Foundation claims Westway Trust, which manages 23 acres in north Kensington, is ‘suppressing’ final version of critical report

With streets pedestrianised and the mayor turning parking spaces into cycle lanes, motorists fear being squeezed out of public spaces

South Korean survivor claims support group failed to spend donations on welfareIt began with a call by a South Korean former “comfort woman” to end protests outside Japan’s embassy in Seoul – a rare attempt at reconciliation that has quickly spiralled into the biggest crisis the campaign for justice for survivors of wartime sexual slavery has faced in its three-decade history.Lee Yong-soo, a 92-year-old veteran campaigner, told reporters last month that she would no longer attend weekly rallies outside the embassy, claiming that they had only engendered hatred between young South Koreans and their Japanese counterparts. Continue reading...

Richard Horton does not hold back in his criticism of the UK’s response to the pandemic and the medical establishment’s part in backing fatal government decisions

Financial worries, childcare and enforced distance mean sex has taken a backseat during lockdown

People are still living in unsafe homes three years on from the tragedy, warns Keir Starmer

Second wave fears rise in China; Chile health minister resigns; British citizens evacuated from Colombia; European borders reopen

Boris Johnson’s bungled handling of the crisis spells financial disaster for the UKIf the struggle against the pandemic resembles a war, as Boris Johnson believes, then it’s pretty clear who is losing. By any pertinent measure, including the most damning one – the number of excess deaths compared with last year – Britain is being outdone by countries across Europe, most notably Germany. Johnson dislikes international comparisons. It’s shamefully obvious why. Britain is not second rate. He is.Late into lockdown, late on PPE, late on testing, test and trace, late on halting the avoidable care homes catastrophe and late on the reopening of schools, Johnson’s government now lags behind in launching an economic stimulus package to mitigate the potentially disastrous long-term effects of the virus. Last week’s report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development shows just how urgent the need is. Continue reading...

Government ministers outline measures being considered to reopen for international travel

The attack in Borno state follows the massacre of 69 villagers in a raid in the same areaIslamic militants have killed at least 20 soldiers and more than 40 civilians and injured hundreds in twin attacks in north-east Nigeria, residents and a civilian task force fighter said.The attacks, in the Monguno and Nganzai districts of Borno state, came just days after militants killed at least 69 people in a raid on a village in a third area, Gubio. Continue reading...

The US president may be the pro-democracy movement’s biggest backer, but some protesters feel they are being usedHong Kong’s pro-democracy movement has struggled to reconcile the support it has received from Donald Trump with his administration’s brutal crackdown on protests over the police killing of George Floyd.In the past few weeks, unprecedented Black Lives Matter protests, renewed by the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer, have spread to every US state and to countries across the world, regardless of pandemic restrictions. Continue reading...

Former prime minister contradicts evidence of systemic discrimination, claiming higher crime rates account for disproportionate incarcerationTony Abbott has incorrectly claimed there is “no evidence” the justice system discriminates against Indigenous Australians, attributing disproportionate rates of incarceration of Indigenous people to a “higher offending rate”.The former prime minister and special envoy for Indigenous affairs made the comments to the Sun Herald on Sunday, in contradiction of evidence of systemic discrimination, as Australia’s political leaders grapple with mass rallies for racial equality amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Abbott was made a companion of the Order of Australia earlier this month for his “eminent service … to the Indigenous community” among other things. Continue reading...

Two women allegedly found with spray cans have been arrested after a Cook statue was defacedTwo women have been arrested after a Captain Cook statue in Sydney’s Hyde Park was defaced.Police were alerted to the vandalism about 4am on Sunday and arrested two women –aged 27 and 28 – nearby on College Street in the city centre, NSW police said in a statement. Continue reading...

There were violent scenes as protesters took to the streets across the country for the third consecutive dayHundreds of demonstrators angered by a deepening economic crisis rallied across Lebanon for a third consecutive day on Saturday, after violent overnight riots sparked condemnation from the political elite.Protesting against the surging cost of living and the government’s apparent impotence in the face of Lebanon’s worst economic turmoil since the 1975-1990 civil war, protesters in central Beirut brandished flags and chanted anti-government slogans. Continue reading...

Simon Birmingham says Cam Gillespie, arrested with over 7.5kg of methamphetamine, has 10 days to appealAustralia’s trade minister says the sentencing to death in China of an Australian man for drug smuggling should not necessarily be linked to the ongoing friction between the countries.Cam Gillespie was arrested with more than 7.5kg of methamphetamine in his check-in luggage in 2013 while attempting to board an international flight from Baiyun airport in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. Continue reading...

Liquidator of company that owned furniture brand understood to be investigating sale of stock and intellectual propertyMore than 3,000 customers owed money by the failed replica-furniture chain Matt Blatt are set to receive nothing, even though the company reaped more than $4.4m by selling assets in the weeks leading to its collapse.Customers, some of whom are owed more than $1,000, were informed of the collapse by text message a fortnight ago. Continue reading...

Ban on ‘gay cure’ therapies will apparently also be announced in new paperBoris Johnson is set to scrap plans to allow people to change their legal gender by “self-identifying” as male or female, it has been reported.Measures drawn up under Theresa May’s government to enable transgender people to change their birth certificate without a medical diagnosis have been ditched by the prime minister’s team, according to the Sunday Times. Continue reading...

Boat carrying dozens of people trying to reach Italy sank last week, reports sayAt least 61 people have died after a boat carrying dozens of people sank last week off the coast of Tunisia, according to local officials.According to an initial reconstruction of events, the boat, carrying people mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, had left the Tunisian coast from the city of Sfax, aiming to reach Italy. The shipwreck occurred between 4 and 5 June off the Kerkennah Islands, said investigators, and authorities were alerted on 9 June by fishermen who first spotted the floating bodies. Continue reading...

Anthony Fauci calls Trump rallies a danger to health; Australia’s chief medical officers warns against BLM rallies – as it happened

Research suggests public support for transition period delay to help combat coronavirusMore than half of people in Britain support an extension to the Brexit transition period, while three-quarters believe the UK should work very closely with the European Union to combat coronavirus, a survey suggests.Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove formally told the EU on Friday that the UK would not ask for a delay despite concerns that its departure would compound the economic chaos inflicted by the pandemic. Continue reading...

Tory pressure grows for a teaching plan amid fears that reduced schooling ‘is becoming default’

Group serves up thousands of hot meals to Australians and international students in needWhen Amritvir Sekhon and eight other Sikh men and women drove into Bairnsdale in the middle of the worst bushfire crisis in decades, locals didn’t know what to think.“They had never seen turbanned men with long beards before – we probably looked pretty alien from them,” Sekhon says. Continue reading...

Morrison’s push for the alliance to hold ‘regular’ meetings reflects a ‘misunderstanding’ of national interests, experts sayThe Morrison government’s push for economic talks among finance ministers from countries in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance remains vague, with no details yet about the frequency of meetings or their agenda.But some experts have argued the move to coordinate economic policies with Australia’s traditional security partners reflects a “very deep misunderstanding” of our modern economic interests given the group excludes Asia and most of Europe. Continue reading...

PM responds to violence as more than 100 arrests made during ‘guard our monuments’ protestBoris Johnson has condemned violence by protesters in central London on Saturday as “racist thuggery” in a post on Twitter. “Anyone attacking the police will be met with full force of the law. These marches and protests have been subverted by violence and breach current guidelines,” he wrote.The prime minister continued: “Racism has no part in the UK and we must work together to make that a reality.” Continue reading...

Peaceful protest erupts into skirmishes as anger at death of George Floyd resonates in France

Photos emerge of man urinating next to plaque honouring officer stabbed in Westminster terrorist attackA man has provoked outrage after being pictured urinating next to a memorial to PC Keith Palmer, the officer who was stabbed to death during the Westminster Bridge terrorist attack in 2017.The man was part of a thousand-strong gathering in Westminster on Saturday that descended into violent attacks on police officers, with many present members of far-right extremist groups. Continue reading...

As the lockdown eases, the cliff edge awaits• You can buy your own print of this cartoon Continue reading...

Rightwing demonstrators, who announced they would turn out on Saturday to protect London's monuments from anti-racism protesters, were involved in scuffles with police outside Parliament.In and around Parliament Square, hundreds of people wearing football shirts, chanting 'England, England' and describing themselves as patriots, gathered alongside military veterans at the Cenotaph war memorial.The group sang songs in support of rightwing activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the name of Tommy Robinson. 'Winston Churchill, he's one of our own,' they also chanted, near his statue which last weekend was sprayed with graffiti reading: 'Churchill was a racist'.

Hundreds of people bade farewell to a 16-year-old Mexican-American boy who was shot dead by police in southern Mexico. Alexander Martínez was laid to rest in a funeral that reflected his passion for football – friends brought his coffin to a local football pitch so that he could 'score' a final goal.Martínez was shot in the head by police on Tuesday night and another teenager was also wounded in the incident and later died in hospital. The case, which is still under investigation, has sparked outrage in Mexico with protests planned in Acatlán de Pérez Figueroa, Martínez's home town

About one in three men aged 18 to 24 reported no sexual activity in past year between 2000 and 2018, Jama report saidIn 1975, David Bowie famously sang of a girl who wanted “the young American/ All night”. Nearly 50 years later, however, a lot of young Americans are having less sex – and can’t even blame the coronavirus for it.According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, data collected between 2000 and 2018, two years before the pandemic, shows that “approximately one in three men aged 18 to 24 years reported no sexual activity in the past year. Continue reading...

US public health expert said another wave of infections ‘not inevitable ... if you approach it the proper way’Leading US public health expert and White House coronavirus taskforce member Dr Anthony Fauci has said the US may not see a “second wave” of cases of Covid-19.According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, the US has recorded more than 2m cases of Covid-19 and nearly 115,000 deaths. Continue reading...

São Paulo to dig up cemeteries to clear spaces for coronavirus deaths; new rise of infections in Darfur, Sudan; New Zealand goes 22 days with a new case

Mistake raises questions over whether Christian Brückner had time to dispose of evidenceCriminal investigators in Germany notified Christian Brückner as early as 2013 that he was on their radar in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, raising questions over whether they inadvertently allowed the suspect to dispose of evidence.According to a report in the news weekly Der Spiegel, Brückner received a letter from police in Braunschweig on 4 November 2013 inviting him to be interviewed as a witness in the “missing person case Madeleine McCann”. Continue reading...

Welsh Guards stage unique ceremony to replace trooping the colour during lockdown

Man suffered life-threatening injuries and two women also shot in early hours of SaturdayA man and two women have sustained gunshot wounds after attackers opened fire on people attending a party in Harlow, Essex.Essex police said the man, who is in his 50s and from nearby Grays, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries early on Saturday. Continue reading...