World news | The Guardian

Earlier this year, shoutout service Cameo earned itself a $1bn valuation by connecting fans with their favourite celebrities. Its founder, Steven Galanis, discusses modern fandomWhat do Ghostface Killa, James Van Der Beek and Carole Baskin of Tiger King fame have in common? They’re all available through Cameo, an online “shoutout” service where subscribers can book a personalised video message from a growing army of actors, athletes, entertainers and more.The brainchild of founder Steven Galanis, Chicago-based Cameo has been around since 2017, but it was during the pandemic that it struck gold. Providing a much-needed revenue stream for performing artists hit hard by lockdown, and offering users a safe and memorable way to send some love, it boomed. Right now there are over 40,000 celebrities ready to say happy birthday to your mom, or give your boyfriend a pep talk, with roughly 1.3m messages sent last year alone. Continue reading...

Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath says state is running out of Pfizer vaccines, and Alice Springs will enter a three-day lockdown. This blog is now closed.

A searing heatwave that settled over western Canada has been blamed for contributing to the deaths of dozens of people in the Vancouver area Continue reading...

Statement seen as warning to judiciary to uphold Beijing’s interests or risk losing independenceHong Kong’s judicial system should reflect the will and interests of the Chinese nation, a senior official overseeing the national security law has said.The comments have been interpreted as a clear instruction from Beijing that Hong Kong’s once-vaunted court system is now expected to operate in the interests of the central government in Beijing, rather than the rule of law. Continue reading...

Sir Michael Marmot’s report says Covid figures from Manchester reveal sharp decline in social conditions

Queensland chief health officer says she did not want under 40s getting the vaccine, as federal government says there has been no change to advice

From tiny weeds to distant galaxies, the photographer likes to scrutinise the interconnectedness of everything. He talks about coping with lockdown – and living through his second pandemic

Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane scored the second half goals that earned England a quarter-final berth in Rome next Saturday7.06pm BST“We knew we needed to put a big performance in against a very good German side and I thought we done that today,” he tells the BBC. “Scoring for your country is always special and it’s definitely a special moment for me.“I celebrated and for half a second I thought ‘Don’t let it be offside’. I’m really happy it went in and I’m really happy we got the win.” He goes on to pay tribute to an all round great team performance, singling out Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips (whose name he struggles to remember!) for the manner in which they were “eating up the ground”.7.01pm BSTAn email: “I wonder what Jose Mourinho will have to say about Luke Shaw now,” asks David Wall, after the former Manchester United manager was heard obsessing about the England full-back earlier this week. Shaw looked a little out of his depth in the first half but was instrumental in both goals.He provided the inch-perfect cross for Sterling’s opener and did the leg work for the second goal too, winning the ball on the halfway line, driving forward through the centre and playing it wide to Grealish, who crossed to Harry Kane. Continue reading...

For England, it was always going to be about finding the moment, the one to blow apart a tight game, to cut through so much negative tournament history – particularly at the hands of Germany. And for long spells, as the tension rose to near unbearable levels at a raucous and emotional Wembley, the home crowd wondered whether it would come.Gareth Southgate had reverted to a 3-4-3, ignoring the clamour for greater fantasy and more creative players. It was the England manager sticking bravely to his principles, seeking security, the platform for the moment, and a part of the equation was patience, which was not in abundant supply inside the stadium. Continue reading...

Moderate Ulf Kristersson given three days to gain support before vote in parliamentSweden’s speaker of parliament has asked Ulf Kristersson, the leader of the rightwing opposition’s largest party, to see whether he could rally the votes to succeed the ousted prime minister, Stefan Löfven.Löfven announced on Monday he would resign rather than call a snap election after losing a confidence vote last week, leaving it up to the speaker to begin the search for his replacement. Continue reading...

Tribunal in The Hague to give judgment on Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović for role in ethnic cleansing in 1990sThe longest running war crimes case will come to a head on Wednesday with a verdict at The Hague tribunal on two former Serbian secret police chiefs for their role in atrocities in Croatia and Bosnia.It is historic not just because of its length, but also because of what it will say about Belgrade’s covert role in the 1992-95 Bosnian conflict and about the legal accountability of covert state sponsors of paramilitary groups. Continue reading...

Chief Brexit negotiator defends government position on musicians touring Europe with quip about singer’s early successDavid Frost, the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, has risked the wrath of Elton John and the wider music sector when he appeared to make light of the singer’s lobbying on the vexed question of visas.The singer, he told MPs, had hits long before the UK was a member state of the European Union. Continue reading...

Visit a sign of improving relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel despite Palestinian crisisIsrael’s foreign minister has inaugurated the country’s new embassy in Abu Dhabi in the first official Israeli visit to the United Arab Emirates since the two countries normalised relations last year.Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Yair Lapid appeared to reach out to other regional adversaries. Continue reading...

Ministers facing criticism over new rules for visitors who bring ‘significant economic benefit’

Landmark ruling orders state to pay reparations, protect trans people and legalise gender changeIn a landmark ruling for transgender rights, the Honduras government has been found responsible for the 2009 murder of the trans woman and activist Vicky Hernández. The ruling, at the inter-American court of human rights, was published on the 12th anniversary of Hernández’s death, and marks the first time the highest regional human rights court has held a state accountable for failing to prevent, investigate and prosecute the death of a trans person.The court has ordered Honduras, which has the world’s highest rate of murders of trans people, to pay reparations to Hernández’s family and implement a sweeping range of measures designed to protect trans people, including anti-discrimination training for security forces and state collection of data on violence against LGBTQ+ people. Continue reading...

Equality minister says draft law marks ‘giant step forward for LGTBI rights, particularly trans people’Spain’s government has approved a draft law that would allow anyone aged 14 and over to change their gender on official documents without the need for hormone treatment or a medical report, and which would also ban conversion practices and strengthen the rights of LGBTI people.The proposed measures – which follow months of wrangling between the Spanish Socialist Worker’s party (PSOE) and its junior coalition partners in the far-left, anti-austerity Podemos party – would abolish existing legislation that requires people wishing to change their gender to obtain a diagnosis of gender dysphoria and undergo hormone treatment. Continue reading...

Huge puppets, acrobats, dancers and musicians will join armed forces personnel for the pageant on 5 June next yearA giant dragon puppet will be the centrepiece of the platinum jubilee pageant as the story of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign is told through street theatre, dance, circus acts and marching bands during a central London spectacular.Described as “something of a reopening ceremony for the United Kingdom”, some 5,000 participants will be drawn from across the UK and Commonwealth, including military personnel, performers, key workers and volunteers for the event on Sunday 5 June next year. Continue reading...

Federal court hears Sydney woman, whose decomposing foot washed up on remote NSW beach, had 37 bank accountsSydney businesswoman Melissa Caddick faked many documents in the “quite elaborate fraud” she used to swindle trusting investors out of more than $23m, a judge has been told.She operated 37 bank accounts, sent investors fictitious portfolio evaluations and kept “meticulous” records, Farid Assad SC said in the federal court on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Until there is truth-telling in Australia about the colonisation process, reconciliation remains superficialFirst Nations people across Australia are mourning with Canadian First Nations families as evidence mounts of hundreds of deaths of children at residential schools.We are standing with our Canadian First Nations brothers and sisters on these recent horrific discoveries. Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews and Annastacia Palaszczuk say hotel quarantine system is stretched as states raise concerns about opening access to jab to under-40s

It is true that before British rule, India was starting to fall behind other parts of the world – but many of the arguments defending the Raj are based on serious misconceptions about India’s past, imperialism and history itselfThe British empire in India was in effect established at the Battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757. The battle was swift, beginning at dawn and ending close to sunset. It was a normal monsoon day, with occasional rain in the mango groves at the town of Plassey, which is between Calcutta, where the British were based, and Murshidabad, the capital of the kingdom of Bengal. It was in those mango groves that the British forces faced the Nawab Siraj-ud-Doula’s army and convincingly defeated it.British rule ended nearly 200 years later with Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous speech on India’s “tryst with destiny” at midnight on 14 August 1947. Two hundred years is a long time. What did the British achieve in India, and what did they fail to accomplish? Continue reading...

Demonstrations continue over treatment of Nizar Banat, a vocal critic of President Mahmoud AbbasDemonstrations against the Palestinian Authority (PA) have continued across the West Bank after the death in custody of one of President Mahmoud Abbas’s biggest critics.Several hundred people took to the streets of Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem for the fifth consecutive day on Monday to protest against the treatment of Nizar Banat, a social and political activist, who died during an arrest by the authority’s forces in Hebron on 24 June. Continue reading...

Camara Fantamadi died after picking tomatoes in scorching sun – critics question if ban will be respectedAuthorities in southern Italy have prohibited outdoor farm work during the hottest hours of the day after the death of a Malian farm worker, but a representative of the African community in Puglia says the ban does not go far enough.Officials in the region have banned farm work between 12.30pm and 4pm during the hottest days after Camara Fantamadi, a 27-year-old man from Mali, died after picking tomatoes under the scorching sun last Thursday. Continue reading...

The London fire brigade is tackling a blaze at Elephant and Castle, south London.The fire appeared to have started beneath railway arches near the train station, sending clouds of smoke billowing above the area. In a tweet, the fire brigade said it had 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters attending and urged people to stay away

Analysis: record low turnout makes it difficult to draw clear lessons but both Macron and Le Pen did badlyFrance’s regional elections produced a humiliating defeat for Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National (RN), stinging failure for Emmanuel Macron and thumping wins for incumbents from the country’s traditional centre-right and centre-left parties.A record low turnout of less than 35% makes it hard, however, to draw clear lessons for next year’s presidential elections, in which Macron and Le Pen remain clear frontrunners – although the race has certainly got a lot more interesting. Continue reading...

Gladys Berejiklian warns case numbers will continue to ‘bounce around’ as Mark McGowan announces a four-day lockdown for Perth and the Peel region

An $11m grant announced to pay for leave for aged care staff to be vaccinated; Darwin in lockdown after four cases; restrictions for WA and SA; Queensland makes masks mandatory in hotspots. Follow live

Misinformation and access issues combined with patriarchal social norms fuelling disparity in distribution across most states

As the singer for pioneering all-female band the Go-Go’s, Carlisle took on a sexist music industry – at a cost. She talks about overcoming addiction, the media’s obsession with her weight and finding happiness in her 60sIt hardly matters – who really cares about these things? – and yet it does. This year the Go-Go’s will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and earning a place at the museum in Cleveland, Ohio, for all its naffness, is still a mark of influence and recognition. “I always said: ‘Fuck them, I don’t care,’” says Belinda Carlisle, the band’s lead singer. “But when it actually happens, it’s: ‘Oh, this is not so bad.’”The Go-Go’s have had a reappraisal in the past year, thanks mainly to a documentary by the film-maker Alison Ellwood. It tells the story of how these scrappy young LA punks put together a band (the lineup shifted until arriving at the current five members) and made history – incredibly, they are still the only female band who write their own music and play their own instruments to have reached the top of the US album charts. That was in 1982. As with many female artists, belittled for years by the male-dominated music industry and press, the recognition feels long overdue. Continue reading...

In the first of a series looking at chronic pain and long Covid, Linda Geddes explores the growing realisation that pain can be a disease in and of itself – and the pandemic could be making it worse

New Zealand officials announced that the bubble would be paused until midnight on Tuesday

Thinktank warns of ‘dangerous complacency’ with strength of jobs market and pay growth both weaker than thoughtThe strength of the UK jobs market and rates of pay has been overstated, according to new research, just as the government prepares to cut back its wage support scheme for furloughed workers this week.There is a risk of “dangerous complacency”, the Resolution Foundation warned, as people are still working fewer hours than they were before the pandemic and headline pay growth is overstated. Continue reading...

Rassemblement National fails to win region in south of France stronghold after rivals form ‘Republican front’Marine Le Pen’s far-right party has suffered a serious electoral blow when it failed to win a regional election in its stronghold in the south of France.The Rassemblement National (RN) had pinned its last chances on taking the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region (PACA) after emerging victorious from last week’s first-round vote, although by a small margin. Continue reading...

Josh Frydenberg’s intergenerational report reveals commonwealth will need to use deficit spending to cover services for next four decadesAustralia’s population is forecast to grow slower and age faster than anticipated and the government will be forced to use deficit spending to pay for services for the next 40 years, the latest intergenerational report has found.The brainchild of former treasurer Peter Costello, the intergenerational report, also known as the IGR, maps out what Australia will look like in four decades’ time, barring any major upheavals or sudden policy switches and is released every five years. Continue reading...

Nathan Maung says security forces punched, slapped and beat him, and kept him blindfolded for over a weekMyanmar’s security forces punched, slapped and beat a US journalist and kept him blindfolded for more than a week of interrogation, he said after being deported to the United States following more than three months in detention.Nathan Maung, 44, the editor-in-chief of the online news platform Kamayut Media, was detained in a raid on 9 March and freed on 15 June. He said his colleague Hanthar Nyein, who remains in detention, had been tortured more harshly, as had other people he met in prison. Continue reading...

Moscow has reported the highest death toll of any Russian city, while the Delta variant is forcing tighter restrictions in the Asia-Pacific regionMoscow has recorded the highest Covid-19 daily death toll of any Russian city so far, as the highly contagious Delta variant forced tougher restrictions on countries across the Asia-Pacific region and fuelled mounting concern over holiday travel in Europe.Vaccinations have brought infection numbers down in many wealthy countries, and curbs on daily life continue to ease in much of the EU and US, but experts warn the fast-spreading strain means the pandemic – while slowing globally – is far from over. Continue reading...

Injured child found at same location as IOPC receive referral from Thames Valley policeAn investigation has been launched after one man was shot dead by police and another was found dead inside the same property in Milton Keynes.The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said it had received a referral from Thames Valley police (TVP) and that the investigation was at a “very early stage”. Continue reading...

Analysis: research suggests ‘scarily fleeting’ contact could infect, and that places with high jab rates are susceptible

When a 72-year-old man fell unconscious into the Nervión River in the northern Spanish city of Bilbao, Senegalese migrant Mouhammad Diouf did not hesitate. Diouf jumped into the river and for 15 minutes kept the man afloat. The 27-year-old arrived in Spain four years ago after a 20-month journey. After the video of the rescue went viral, a request was opened on Change.org to reward his courageous act with legal permission to stay in Spain.• This video was republished on 27 June 2021. Due to mislabelled agency content, an earlier version misattributed a video interview to Mouhammad Diouf when the speaker was Serigne Sene.

New Covid restrictions for the greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Wollongong have been introduced. Can you have visitors? Is mask-wearing compulsory? Is travelling permitted? Here’s the full list of what you can and can’t do in NSW

As China marks the centenary of its ruling party, we examine key episodes in its tempestuous history, including the Long March, Mao’s purges and Xi Jinping’s rise to the top of an emerging superpowerAnyone visiting First Meeting Hall in Shanghai, the museum recreating the site of the first conclave of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) in 1921, will also find themselves in one of the city’s fanciest districts. Continue reading...

The man who led the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission insists an independent investigation into decades of abuse of Indigenous children is essentialCanada urgently needs an independent investigation into the deaths of thousands of Indigenous children at church-run residential schools if the country ever hopes to finally confront the horrors of its colonial past, the man who led the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has told the Guardian.Murray Sinclair, a former senator and one of the country’s first Indigenous judges, warned that the “undiscovered truths” of the schools are probably far more devastating than many Canadians realize – including the deliberate killing of children by school staff and the likelihood that such crimes were covered up. Continue reading...

Documents include details on HMS Defender in Ukrainian waters and possible Afghanistan plansClassified defence documents containing details about HMS Defender and the military have been found at a bus stop, prompting an investigation from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).The department said an employee reported the loss of the documents last week, which were discovered by a member of the public in a soggy heap behind a bus stop in Kent early on Tuesday morning, the BBC reported. Continue reading...

The pop legend and the US indie star have long been friends and fans of each other’s music. With Grant staying chez Elton and about to release a new album, the pair sat down to discuss politics, homophobia – and why Elton should never write lyricsIt’s a boiling hot day in rural Berkshire, and a man in navy satin Gucci shorts has just walked into his library. It’s all ornate chairs, wooden globes and Buddhist statues, its oiled shelves lined with books about history, the arts – and tons about music. The scene is one of airy tranquillity, the perfect place for two culture-loving good friends to hole up for a chat.One of them isn’t here yet – he’s popped to the bathroom after having his photo taken – but Elton John can’t stop raving about John Grant. “We have so many things in common – photography, art, music – it’s as if we’ve known each other for ever. And he’s fun!” Grant wanders in shyly in a pink baseball cap, weathered Talk Talk T-shirt, and glossy white DMs. “Much more fun than his records are anyway, haha.” Continue reading...

Historians embrace inaccuracies in TV adaptations as a way to tell new storiesWhen Ada Shelby in Peaky Blinders ate popcorn as she watched a silent film, some historically minded viewers may have choked on their own popcorn at home, since the snack was not invented until “talking pictures” came in. Fans of authentic detail were also upset when female characters in early episodes of the BBC drama The Tudors sported long, billowing sleeves, a style only introduced later when Anne Boleyn became queen.Charges of historical inaccuracy have dogged costume dramas from the outset, prompting complaints about anachronistic language, decor and technology. Occasionally, attacks on the fidelity of a show can become a question of national importance, as when the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, called for the Netflix series The Crown to be prominently labelled “fiction”. Continue reading...

You feel like you’ve been taken for a ride, but maybe your friend was really asking for loveThe question Last year, a friend asked me to become part of a Go Fund Me drive to raise money for her medical treatment. At first I and other friends sprang into action, but later we began to question our (and her) actions.Many years ago, this friend had an illness she recovered from after gruelling treatment. Then she was diagnosed with a recurrence and treated successfully, again. Her illness (or perhaps the fear of it returning) has been the dominant focus of her life. Then she told me she had had some troubling news regarding a new diagnosis – and the Go Fund Me drive was started. But it later transpired the money was not for any kind of last-ditch experimental treatment and that she had opted for an elective operation at a private hospital as a precautionary measure. Continue reading...

Peruvians backing socialist Pedro Castillo and rightwinger Keiko Fujimori march in Lima as electoral jury prepares to decide poll outcomeSupporters of Peru’s rival presidential candidates – socialist Pedro Castillo and rightwinger Keiko Fujimori – have taken to the streets amid uncertainty over a legal challenge to the outcome of the closely contested 6 June election.Thousands of Castillo supporters marched on Saturday toward Plaza San Martín in the capital Lima, a block from the headquarters of the electoral jury that will decide the outcome. They carried giant banners and photos of the socialist candidate, calling for his apparent election win to be confirmed. Continue reading...

UK records highest daily rise in Covid cases since February; Thailand will ban eating in at restaurants in the capital and surrounding provinces