Foreign ministry condemns Valletta for not abiding by international rules and ordering stricken boat to Sicily at gunpointThe Italian government has confirmed that Malta’s armed forces turned a migrant boat away at gunpoint from Maltese waters, after giving them fuel and the GPS coordinates to reach Italy.Police in Sicily are investigating and the prosecutor’s office may open an investigation against Malta in the next few days. Maltese officers risk being charged with aiding illegal immigration. Continue reading...

Administrators outline position of UAE’s largest healthcare provider which faces multiple investigations

UQ chancellor Peter Varghese says he is concerned with the outcome of the disciplinary action against student activist Drew PavlouA student activist highly critical of the University of Queensland’s ties to Beijing has been handed a two-year suspension from the institution.Drew Pavlou faced a disciplinary hearing on 20 May at the university over 11 allegations of misconduct, detailed in a confidential 186-page document, reportedly linked to his on-campus activism supporting Hong Kong and criticising the Chinese Communist Party. Continue reading...

To meet rising demand for animal companions in lockdown, Public Animal Shelter in Rio de Janeiro allows people to check the profiles of available cats and dogs via social media. It then delivers the chosen pet to their new home

Birth mother’s legal battle to bring back son from US highlights flaws in system that allows children to be taken abroadWhen Mugalu* was adopted, his birth family says they were told they would still be able to speak to him regularly and he would come back for visits. “They said we would be one big happy family,” says his mother, Sylvia, wiping away tears.But Sylvia, 40, has not seen her son since he was adopted from Uganda almost seven years ago by an American couple. She is now fighting to get her son back, taking her case to the high court in Uganda and exploring her legal options in the US. Continue reading...

The Bike Station, a Scottish bicycle recycling charity, is offering free bikes to NHS staff and other key workers during the coronanvirus crisis. Photographs by Murdo MacLeod

Appointment of controversial former equalities chief to inquiry condemned by campaigners

Protesters have take to the streets again, this time over a national security law that is set to be imposed by Beijing. Verna Yu and Lily Kuo look at how the standoff compares with those of Hong Kong’s recent historyChina’s parliament has rubber-stamped a controversial national security law that is expected to be imposed on Hong Kong. The move follows a year of violent protests in Hong Kong and is unprecedented in its scope since the territory was handed over to China from the UK in 1997. Pro-democracy demonstrators fear the legislation will bring the semi-autonomous territory further under Beijing’s control.The journalist Verna Yu has been reporting for the Guardian in Hong Kong and describes to Rachel Humphreys the shock and despondency of Hongkongers as the new laws were announced a week ago. Lily Kuo, the Guardian’s Beijing bureau chief, looks at why China has decided to press ahead with this legislation – just as the Chinese government is desperate to recover from the coronavirus crisis and the international community is occupied with its own battle with the virus. Continue reading...

Money set aside for scholarship and volunteer projects will be redirected towards medical and humanitarian interventions in the regionAustralia is considering allowing Pacific labourers to travel to Australia to work where possible as part of a new foreign aid “policy pivot” that includes the redirection of $280m from Australia’s existing aid budget.The pivot, Partnerships for Recovery, detailing Australia’s regional and development response to the Covid-19 pandemic, has been released by the foreign minister, Marise Payne, and the minister for international development and the Pacific, Alex Hawke. Continue reading...

Friday: China passes repressive national security law to clamp down on Hong Kong. Plus, Adam Liaw power-ranks the best dishes of lockdownGood morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 29 May. Continue reading...

Lockdown returns to Seoul; Trump calls 100,000 US deaths ‘very sad’; community transmissions rise in Ethiopia

The bloc is showing the way in rebuilding coronavirus-ravaged economies to fight the climate emergency

Move paves way for anti-sedition laws that rights advocates say threaten freedoms, as US opposition buildsChina’s legislature has approved controversial national security laws for Hong Kong, dealing what critics have called a “killer blow” to the city’s autonomy and freedoms.Delegates of China’s National People’s Congress broke out into applause in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People after voting through a draft decision that paves the way for sweeping anti-sedition laws to be directly enacted in Hong Kong. Continue reading...

Carmaker seeks to ‘improve efficiency’ at UK plant and will reduce worldwide spending

Civil groups fear replacing 26,000 troops with a ‘political mission’ will threaten fragile security situation in DarfurActivists in Sudan are urging the UN and African Union not to go ahead with plans to withdraw 26,000 peacekeepers from Darfur this year, claiming the move will put lives at risk.The peacekeepers from the AU-UN hybrid operation in Darfur (Unamid), which has a mandate to protect civilians by force if necessary, will leave in October under plans expected to be agreed by the UN security council, although it is understood the UK and Germany want to delay troop withdrawal. Continue reading...

My friend Mike Bower inspired and led the transformation of Sheffield at a time of political and economic crisis. As leader of Sheffield city council from 1992 to 1998, he drove the Heart of the City project: this brought together the Millennium Gallery, Winter Gardens, St Paul’s Place and Peace Gardens in the centre, introduced Supertram and engaged with the regeneration of the East End, which had been ravaged by industrial decline.Mike, who has died aged 77, has been described as a visionary by the former Sheffield MP Richard Caborn. To “visionary” I would add “tenacious” - his vision was for a long time resisted by his own Labour group, bruised by the costly experience of Sheffield’s hosting of the World Student Games – and “open-minded”. After a decade of barely concealed hostility from many Labour councils, he built bridges with the unelected industrialists entrusted with the city’s regeneration by Margaret Thatcher’s government. Continue reading...

Activists seemed on the brink of victory when they were stalled by the pandemic, now Congress is back in session with a historic billFeminists in Argentina like to say: “la lucha está en la calle” — the battle is in the streets. But with the country under a strict coronavirus lockdown, the women’s movement can no longer flood the streets.So on Thursday, activists have planned a series of virtual events to mark 15 years of their campaign to legalize abortion – and inject new momentum to campaign which was stalled by the pandemic, just as it seemed on the brink of victory. Continue reading...

Prime minister extends an olive branch by ditching union-busting legislation, but there are sharp differences in prioritiesThe Morrison government could push ahead with industrial relations changes even if the unions and employers are unable to bridge the sharp differences in their priorities to reach a consensus on reform, the attorney general has said.On Wednesday Christian Porter told ABC’s 7.30 the government wants “as much agreement as possible” from five industrial relations consultation groups but the prime minister had asked him to develop a product … out of every working group”, which may involve legislation. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Australian researchers query origin of data used for Lancet study, but stress there is no evidence drug is a safe or effective treatment• Sign up for Guardian Australia’s daily coronavirus email

Police let teenager who ran away be taken back home by father despite her fears he would be violentIran’s president has called for swift action to outlaw so-called “honour killings” after the death of a 14-year-old Iranian girl allegedly at the hands of her father prompted a nationwide outcry.Hassan Rouhani urged his cabinet to act after Romina Ashrafi was allegedly killed by her father for running away with her boyfriend, 34-year-old Bahamn Khavari, in Talesh, 320km (198 miles) north-west of Tehran. Continue reading...

Sajid Javid among MPs critical of Cummings lockdown actions; prime minister grilled about adviser’s breaches; test and trace strategy revealed

In part three of Stimulus under scrutiny, we look at why the government’s childcare recovery package has sent some operators to the brink of collapse

With UK’s route out of lockdown dependent on success, Dido Harding faces a huge challenge

Suburban rat infestations surge after city-dwelling rodents run out of foodEmpty offices and restaurants in the city of Sydney are driving hungry rats into homes and suburbs, and the loosening of restrictions could create “a new rat plague”, according to a leading rat-catcher.As city centres have closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, suburban rat infestations have spiked, according to Geoff Milton, a Sydney rat-catcher with 35 years’ experience. Continue reading...

Valladolid archaeologists find human skull in chapel where Christopher Columbus was also buriedSomewhere beneath a street in north-west Spain – probably between a bank branch and a budget clothes shop – lies the ruined chapel where an eight-toed rebel Irish lord was buried after his final, fatal mission 418 years ago.Red Hugh O’Donnell, who escaped captivity and led a rebellion that almost expelled the Tudor English forces from Ireland, fled to Spain after the Battle of Kinsale in 1602 when the rebels tried to team up with a beleaguered Spanish expeditionary force. Continue reading...

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Vow comes after Jerusalem court ruled ex-teacher is mentally fit to stand trial and be extradited over 74 sexual assault chargesThe alleged child abuser Malka Leifer will not be allowed to “evade justice”, Israel’s president has promised Australia’s prime minister, a day after a Jerusalem court ruled the former headteacher was mentally fit to stand trial and be extradited.“The state of Israel will not allow anyone to use its institutions to evade justice,” Reuven Rivlin told Scott Morrison in a phone call on Wednesday focused on the developing trial, his office said. Continue reading...

Loved ones pay tribute to those they have lost to the coronavirus pandemic, from a grandmother of seven to a 16-year-old

Mark McGowan says initial email from the agriculture department did not raise red flags about coronavirus

Amnesty International alleges that at least 10,000 died while being wrongly held – some of them in a centre part funded by the UKWidespread unlawful detention and torture by Nigerian security forces has aggravated the suffering of a generation of children and tens of thousands of people in north-east Nigeria, according to a new report.At least 10,000 victims – many of them children – have died in military detention, among the many thousands more arrested during a decade-long conflict with jihadist groups, according to Amnesty International. Continue reading...

Extraordinary party revolt and public criticisms reflect anger over aide’s lockdown breaches

System allows fans following a match on TV, the radio or online to encourage – or berate – players via their smartphones

Far-right activist claims to be investigating case of woman accused of lying about abuseThe family of a 19-year-old woman accused of lying about being groomed and abused in a Cumbrian town have appealed for calm after the far-right activist Tommy Robinson turned up claiming to be a journalist investigating the case.Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, ignored pleas from woman’s family to stay away from Barrow-in-Furness, where she was remanded in custody last week on charges of perverting the course of justice. Continue reading...

France defends tracking app amid privacy concerns and Hungary aims to lift state of emergency

Chris Lower and wife Margie, who has stage four cancer, have made plans that depend on their deal with the investment firmEarlier this year, Margie and Chris Lower cleaned out their tiny corner of tropical paradise in Mission Beach, preparing to hand the keys of their fisherman’s shack to investment firm Mayfair 101.Margie, who has stage four bowel cancer, had wanted to be closer to hospitals for medical treatment and family. She imminently needs about $60,000 from the sale of their home to pay for a course of immunotherapy. Continue reading...

Tow truck industry in greater Toronto area has recently become a hotbed for organized crime looking to profit from lax regulationPolice in Canada have arrested 20 people and brought hundreds of charges – including first-degree murder – in their latest attempt to disrupt violent turf wars between rival tow-truck operators.York regional police, which oversees a region north of Toronto, announced the arrests on Tuesday as part of an investigation dubbed Project Platinum. Continue reading...

Producer who worked with artists such as Shabba Ranks, Garnett Silk and Morgan Heritage was a maverick of the dancehall eraRenowned Jamaican record producer Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon died in a Kingston hospital on 21 May, aged 59. The cause of death was kidney disease.One of the most respected producers of the dancehall era, Dixon transformed contemporary reggae several times over, enjoying tremendous international success with Shabba Ranks, Garnett Silk, Sizzla Kalonji and Morgan Heritage. He is also considered as an architect of the reggaeton genre that swept Latin America in the early 1990s, since some of its earliest hits sampled his work with Ranks. Continue reading...

Momentous ruling comes six years after extradition request first filed for alleged child sex abuserAn Israeli court has ruled that the alleged child sex abuser Malka Leifer is mentally fit to stand trial and can be extradited to Australia, where the former Melbourne headteacher is wanted on 74 sexual assault charges.The pivotal ruling comes six years after Australian police first filed an extradition request, and follows dozens of hearings and setbacks in a dramatic court saga in Jerusalem that has deeply strained relations between Israel and Australia. Continue reading...

Report also warns of ‘dire impact’ of pandemic worldwide with large number of children failing to return to school after lockdowns easeThe suspension of vaccination programmes, school closures and a surge in domestic violence during coronavirus lockdowns are likely to derail a decade’s worth of progress for children, according to new global research.The Kidsrights Foundation on Tuesday published its annual rankings of children’s rights in 182 countries with Iceland scoring top for the second year running followed by Switzerland, Finland and Sweden. Continue reading...

Poor communication between authorities had impact on 14-year-old’s county lines exploitation, review findsOffficials failed to capitalise on a “reachable moment” with Jaden Moodie, the 14-year-old who was ultimately murdered in gang violence, when he was arrested three months before his death more than 100 miles from his home in possession of 39 wraps of crack cocaine.Moodie was knocked off his moped and set upon by four youths who stabbed him fatally nine times in January 2019 in the middle of the street in Leyton, east London. Continue reading...

Governments and WHO face pressure to ban commercial trade in wild animals, but experts say this would criminalise a way of life for millions of people

The closure of Moriah college and Waverley college comes just a day after all students resumed classes in New South Wales

Children at risk of forced labour; WHO says don’t assume cases will keep declining; US brings forward Brazil travel ban to Tuesday

Syrian mercenaries are just part of Istanbul’s plan for supremacy in the eastern MediterraneanThe first time Wael Amr got on a plane was not quite what he had hoped for. Air travel in films led him to imagine how glamorous it would be to leave Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province for an exotic holiday abroad.Instead, in March the 22-year-old – who had signed up with Turkish military recruiters and travelled over the border to Turkey – took his first ever plane journey from Turkey to Libya, where he is now fighting on a dangerous frontline in someone else’s war. Continue reading...

Jazz musician who was key to Davis’s sound was the last surviving player on the classic albumJimmy Cobb, the jazz drummer and last surviving player on Miles Davis’s seminal 1959 album Kind of Blue has died from lung cancer at age 91.Cobb was key in helping to achieve the cool disposition of a handful of Davis’s masterworks, including 1959’s Porgy and Bess, 1960’s Sketches of Spain, 1961’s Someday My Prince Will Come, the 1962 live set Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall and Live at the Black Hawk sessions. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson shows no sign of removing backing from chief adviser after his breach of lockdown rules

Data shows that of the 859 application lodged since September, only 30 have been acceptedA cashless debit card “opt out” scheme introduced last year to allow people to exit the controversial program has been plagued by long delays, leaving participants trapped on income management.Data provided to the Senate estimates process reveals the Department of Social Services is taking an average of five months to process claims from participants proving they are financially responsible. Continue reading...

Embroidered serviette used during coronation also went for several times its estimate