Factions step up offensives while international actors distracted by coronavirus pandemicLibyan armed factions have defied a UN call for a “global ceasefire” by escalating fighting across the country, with forces loyal to eastern warlord Gen Khalifa Haftar claiming to have gained control of a string of towns in the north-west.A spokesman for Haftar said his forces, the Libyan National Army (LNA), had also repulsed an offensive by the UN-backed government of national accord designed to capture its key airbase – the failure of which will increase the fragility of the Tripoli government and its dependence on its Turkish backers. Continue reading...

Fotofest in Houston is one of the major photography events in the world, and its central show this year was to have been African Cosmologies: Photography, Time and the Other. Curated by Mark Sealy of Autograph ABP, London, the show has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Howeverm the work of the 31 featured artists, looking at the intersection between the African diaspora, contemporary life and issues of colonialism and representation, can be seen in a companion book published by Schilt Continue reading...

The truth about how you can catch coronavirus, who is most vulnerable and what you can do to avoid infection

Majority of those infected during early stages in the north when protective equipment lackingForty-one health workers in Italy have died from coronavirus since the outbreak there began, as medics work relentlessly to try to turn the tide in Europe’s worst-affected country.The virus has infected more than 5,000 doctors, nurses, technicians, ambulance staff and other health employees. The majority were on the frontline in the badly affected northern regions and contracted the illness at the start of the outbreak when protective equipment was lacking. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Confidential documents reveal size and impact of years-long debacle and that government is still pursuing Australians to try and validate debtsThe federal government has privately admitted it will be forced to refund more than 400,000 welfare debts worth about $550m that were wrongly issued to hundreds of thousands of Australians under the botched robodebt scheme.Confidential government advice seen by the Guardian reveals for the first time the scope, size and impact on the vulnerable of the years-long robodebt debacle, including that the government expects to lose an upcoming class action against the income compliance program and intends to settle. Continue reading...

IMF and World Bank sign off $5bn in assistance with help of bridge financing from Norway, Italy, the UK and the EUSomalia’s debt will be slashed to a fraction of its current levels after almost $5bn (£4.1bn) of assistance was approved by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.A joint statement from the global financial institutions praised Somalia’s efforts at economic reform, allowing it to qualify for a debt relief programme and reintegrate into the global economy after 30 years. Continue reading...

The actor was one of the first celebrities to contract coronavirus. To celebrate his recovery, we round up his finest performancesYikes. This was one of the Hankster’s two directorial credits and it is a dull and lifeless autumn-years romcom, with Hanks playing opposite Julia Roberts, who is every bit as uneasy as the man himself. Continue reading...

Monarch has weekly meeting remotely, and royal guests at Commonwealth event are told flag-bearer had coronavirus

Isis gunmen held hostages for hours while Afghan special forces tried to end siegeGunmen and suicide bombers have killed at least 25 worshippers, including women and children, and injured many others in an early morning attack on a Sikh Gurdwara in the heart of Kabul.The attack lasted hours as the gunmen held hostages on Wednesday while Afghan special forces and international troops tried to end the siege in a complex that is home to many families, as well as a place of worship. Continue reading...

Spain records 738 deaths in past 24 hours, while death toll in Italy now double that of Hubei

Yuli Edelstein quits amid row over decision to shut Knesset citing coronavirus crisisThe speaker of Israel’s Knesset has resigned after fierce criticism of his refusal to reopen parliament, which he suspended last week citing a ban of large gatherings while the country tackled the coronavirus.Yuli Edelstein – a close ally of Benjamin Netanyahu in the ruling Likud party – came under fire as the suspension was decried as an attempt to shield both him and the embattled prime minister. Continue reading...

WHO says numbers likely to be significantly higher as South Africa imposes lockdown

IMF and World Bank lend their support in bid to help poorest countries strengthen their health systems

Alleged ringleader forced victims to carve ‘slave’ into their bodies and send him degrading images that were shared with scores of othersA sexual blackmail ring that operated on the app Telegram and targeted dozens of women, including underage girls, has rocked South Korea and triggered demands for authorities to crack down on the rising number of sexual offences online.Police on Wednesday took the unusual step of naming the man who allegedly ran an online network that lured at least 58 women and 16 girls into what authorities called “virtual enslavement” by blackmailing them into sending degrading and, in come cases, violent sexual images of themselves. Continue reading...

Australian academic, psychologist and author Lea Waters shares some advice as other activities and social engagements are cancelled during the coronavirus crisis. The video forms part of a multipart series looking at ways we can all stay positive

Wednesday: PM announces strict new limits on public life in Australia. Plus, what to cook with your pantry leftoversGood morning, this is James Murray bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 25 March. Continue reading...

Men were part of hooligan skinhead scene in country’s former communist east

Bodies found in cargo container alongside 14 survivorsSixty-four people from Ethiopia have been found dead crammed inside a freight container in north-west Mozambique, a senior hospital official has said.The victims were discovered on Tuesday in a blue cargo container loaded on to a truck in the province of Tete. They were surrounded by survivors. Daily temperature highs in Tete are currently about 34C (93F). Continue reading...

What are the rules for the Covid-19 lockdown in the UK? The Guardian political correspondent Peter Walker clarifies what we are and are not expected to do to limit the spread of the coronavirus across the country

Treasury warned that British air hubs may close without urgent Covid-19 rescue deal

Latest coronavirus measures still not as stringent as some others around the world

Fears are growing about the spread of coronavirus in camps where few can afford soap, water is rare and social distancing impossible

Health minister Greg Hunt has asked for an urgent briefing on hydroxychloroquine but it has been known to cause heart damage and toxicityThe health minister Greg Hunt has asked for an urgent briefing about the clinical trial of a decades-old drug in the prevention of Covid-19, as countries race to find a way to prevent serious cases and slow the spread.But infectious disease experts have warned the drug, hydroxychloroquine, is far from proven as effective in treating Covid-19 and that it could take several months for results to be conclusive. In previous studies for other conditions, hydroxychloroquine has been shown to cause heart damage and toxicity. Continue reading...

Australia’s authorities warned that overcrowded jails face ‘uncontrollable’ coronavirus outbreakHundreds of New South Wales prisoners could be released early under new emergency powers announced on Tuesday by the attorney general, Mark Speakman.The powers will give the corrections minister authority to release inmates who are nearing the end of their sentences, or on remand awaiting court, on case-by-case basis. Continue reading...

Despite national cabinet process aiming for consistency, states and territories now have a patchwork of responses

Britons should ditch their reserve and get used to telling people to stay back, say experts

Woman in 70s taken to hospital after sustaining black eye in incident in HertfordshireThree teenagers have been arrested after an elderly couple were allegedly coughed at and assaulted in Hertfordshire.Police said the couple were approached by three males before one coughed in their faces in Paynes Park in Hitchin shortly before 1pm on Friday. Continue reading...

Australian welfare benefit for unemployed has been doubled to deal with fallout from outbreak

Police say 30-year-old suspect held after ‘totally unprovoked and random’ attack on SundayA woman has been arrested after the “totally unprovoked and random” murder of a seven-year-old girl in Bolton.The 30-year-old suspect, who has not been named, did not know the girl, Greater Manchester police (GMP) said. Continue reading...

EasyJet and Ryanair to stop flying on Monday and less than 5% of passengers expected at airports amid coronavirus

Carlos Eduardo Nascimento is the latest apparent victim of a trend aided by police impunity and Bolsonaro’s rhetoric, activists sayCarlos Eduardo Nascimento was at a bar with friends in the city of Jundiaí, 50km from São Paulo, when the police arrived.The only black man in the group, Nascimento, 20, was handcuffed, bundled into a squad car and driven away. Continue reading...

The pandemic is ravaging an already weakened economy. But Iranian activists across society are stepping upOn Monday evening, just five days ahead of Nowruz, the Persian new year holiday, police descended upon a small local market in west Tehran. They ordered local vendors to pack up their wares, their socks, colanders, and plastic flowers, telling them that by selling goods in public they were helping spread the coronavirus. On Tuesday evening, they returned, and found one tenacious seller hawking in the same place. “You, here again!” barked a security officer. “If I don’t sell, how am I going to pay my rent?” the woman asked plaintively.Related: UK presses US to ease Iran sanctions to help fight coronavirus Continue reading...

Suspected short-range missile launches come as Pyongyang announces legislature to meet in April amid coronavirus pandemicNorth Korea fired two projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, South Korea’s military reported.The launch on Saturday follows two earlier this month, when North Korea fired short-range missiles and multiple projectiles, according to South Korea’s military, drawing US and Chinese appeals for Pyongyang to return to talks on ending its nuclear and missile programmes. Continue reading...

Video shared on social media shows clear and calm water in Venice as animals take advantage of the lockdown in Italy to move into usually crowded spaces. Dolphins and wild boar have been spotted as ports and roads have been quiet as the country remains under strict quarantine at least until 3 April

Pair lighten a grim week by getting married with the street as witness in Spain’s answer to Italy’s balcony singing

A&E doctor Nishant Joshi has highlighted the plight of NHS staff facing a shortage of protective equipment while on the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak. Joshi, who works at Luton and Dunstable general hospital, said: ‘If we don’t have masks to protect ourselves … It’s just bits of cloth. If that’s the problem at the start, what’s it going to be like in a few months’ time?’

Until India accepts brutality begets brutality, plague of sexual violence will go on

As coronavirus continues to spread around the world, the Marseille tradition of soap-making is enjoying a renaissance, as the French public rediscovers this essential local product

My newspaper has found itself on the frontline of the crisis. Free information is more important now than ever

Management says it is ‘taking latest government advice’ and terminating employment

Authorities fear that passengers from Ruby Princess might be unaware Covid-19 cases were onboard and be ‘wandering around’ city

Jobseekers can now request appointments be carried out over the phone or online, while Centrelink debt recovery continues despite Covid-19Welfare recipients will have their mutual obligations relaxed during the coronavirus crisis, but the government has stopped short of heeding calls from Labor, the Greens and social service groups to suspend them entirely.Facing growing pressure to ease the burden amid a looming economic downturn and increasingly strict social-distancing guidelines, the employment minister, Michaelia Cash, said on Friday the government had adopted a range of measures aimed at making the system more flexible during the Covid-19 outbreak. Continue reading...

Australian academic, psychologist and author Lea Waters discusses how altruistic behaviours are vital for our mental health as we come to grips both personally and as a society with the coronavirus crisis. This video is one of a multi-part series looking at ways we can all stay positive during the coronavirus crisis.

With limited intensive care beds, governments are putting their hopes in preventing and detecting the outbreakCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageGovernments across Africa are rushing to reinforce measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, fearing that fragile health systems will be swiftly overwhelmed if the disease spreads beyond a small number of cases on the continent.World Health Organization (WHO) officials have called for a strong response to a “tremendously fast rise in the number of countries with cases being confirmed”. Continue reading...

As climate change makes winemaking a torrid business in southern Europe, viniculture is taking off in ScandinaviaIn a corner of his whitewashed 18th-century homestead, Håkan Hansson – the fifth generation of his family to farm this gently undulating stretch of land in southern Sweden – keeps a worn set of diaries, but not just for sentimental reasons.Related: Climate change forces cognac makers to consider other grape varieties Continue reading...

Volunteer army led by a local taxi driver scours the streets in the middle of the night to save endangered birdsA taxi driver in New Zealand has swapped drunken revellers for wayward seabirds in an attempt to halt the decline of one of the nation’s endangered species.Local cabbie Toni Painting leads a volunteer army that scours the streets of the South Island town of Kaikoura in the middle of the night in search of Hutton’s shearwater chicks that crash-land onto the road – mistaking the shiny bitumen for the sea. Continue reading...

Parisians have been told to remain indoors for 15 days, with exemptions on buying groceries, visiting doctors and getting medication, or commuting for those unable to work from home

Alliance of 16 anti-racism groups says report on scandal proves ‘institutional failures to understand racism’