World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

Qatar's neigbours dismiss emirate's response to list of demands
Venezuela: pro-government militiamen injure politicians in attack on Congress
Hamburg braces for G20 violence as tensions rise over police tactics
Mexican cartel shootout leaves 26 dead or wounded in latest violent clash
Canadian PM meets the Queen in Edinburgh – but not Nicola Sturgeon
Drought in Kenya drives girls as young as 12 to have sex for money
Panda fever grips Berlin on Chinese president's trip to Germany
French rights champion Simone Veil given coveted place in Panthéon
Morrissey claims he was held at gunpoint by police officer in Rome
EU call to aid vulnerable refugees amid rising Mediterranean death toll
Uber presses pause on primary taxi service in Finland until 2018
Father of modern Malaysia backs jailed former deputy in attempt to oust PM
Liu Xiaobo, China's most famous political prisoner, 'close to death'
US could use military force against North Korea, says Nikki Haley
North Korea: US and allies face shortage of good options over missile threat
Donald Trump's romance with China's Xi has cooled, 'ass-kicking' could lie ahead
The final bar? How gentrification threatens America's music cities
1930s cities from the air: the aerial photographs of Walter Mittelholzer – in pictures
Metropolitan police extend controversial spit hood trial across London
US-backed forces say battle to retake Raqqa from Isis 'will take months'
Why we need to get contraceptives to teenagers – podcast
Trump and Putin to hold first meeting as hopes for cooperation grow dimmer
'The system's violating everyone': the Canadian trans parent fighting to keep gender off cards
Perth hit-and-run accused tries to escape dock during court appearance
The Farm Belt führer: the making of a neo-Nazi
Amnesty says Turkey director and activists detained in Istanbul
Thursday briefing: Riot fears as G20 gets first taste of Trump
America's Cup parade: New Zealand crowds brave thunderstorm to welcome crew
Irish fishing industry is still plagued by abuse of migrants, senators hear
Caught no-handed: China tech CEO faces fine after driverless car stunt
Creche ban for Chinese babies in South Africa – archive, 6 July 1970
Dutch bank bans loans to tobacco industry on health grounds
Chinese and Indian troops face off in Bhutan border dispute
IMF warns G20 over protectionism in veiled criticism of Trump
Indian court allows guru's disciples to continue preserving his body in freezer
How the US could respond to North Korea's nuclear threat
China presents Germany with two giant pandas – video report
Ex-Guantánamo prisoner's payout faces challenge from US victims in firefight
Relaunched Blind Date to celebrate Pride with first LGBT episode
Coroner calls for changes to treatment of child refugees after death of teenager
Qatar rejects allegations it supports terrorism – video
Virginia set to execute man using 'potentially torturous' drug cocktail
'It was pure racism': the family of Bijan Ebrahimi on their fight for answers
Are you protesting at the G20 summit in Hamburg? Tell us why
Why we need to get contraceptives to teenagers – podcast transcript
Trump's lack of a North Korea strategy is drawing China and Russia closer | Isaac Stone Fish
Americans are in no celebratory mood this 4th of July. But they should be | Zachary Karabell
South Korean coffee artist recreates Munch's The Scream in cream – in pictures

Qatar's neigbours dismiss emirate's response to list of demands

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 11:54 AM PDT

Egyptian foreign minister says Qatar's response 'lacked any content' as Doha rejects of Gulf nations' demands

Qatar's neighbours have dismissed its response to their list of demands and said they will continue their blockade of the tiny, wealthy emirate, as the bitter diplomatic row in the Gulf showed no sign of abating.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut off ties with Qatar on 5 June, accusing it of supporting terrorism. On 22 June they issued a 13-point list of demands – including ending support for the Muslim Brotherhood and closing broadcaster al-Jazeera – to end the standoff and gave Qatar 10 days to comply.

Venezuela: pro-government militiamen injure politicians in attack on Congress

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 11:56 AM PDT

Men wielded sticks and bars in attack, which comes amid three months of often violent confrontations between security forces and protesters

Four Venezuelan politicians have been wounded after pro-government militias wielding wooden sticks and metal bars stormed the opposition-controlled Congress during a special session to mark the country's independence day.

Hamburg braces for G20 violence as tensions rise over police tactics

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 04:58 AM PDT

Police chief predicts 'not just sit-in protests but massive assaults' as Germany's second largest city prepares for summit starting on Friday

Tell us why you're protesting at the G20 summit

Hamburg is bracing itself for an escalation of violence on the eve of Friday and Saturday's G20 summit, after local people complained that heavy-handed police have ratcheted up tensions in Germany's second largest city.

A fleet of hi-tech water cannons was used to disperse crowds partying near the conference venue on Tuesday evening. Five people were injured and five arrests made, said police, who have warned that protesters could be hoarding weapons at secret locations.

Mexican cartel shootout leaves 26 dead or wounded in latest violent clash

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 03:09 PM PDT

Experts say that security has deteriorated in recent months as criminal groups squabble over the remains of the empire once controlled by kingpin El Chapo

Mexico's war on drugs: what has it achieved and how is the US involved?

A battle between rival drug cartel factions in Mexico's northern Chihuahua state left at least 26 dead and injured, officials have confirmed, in the latest series of violent incidents that have sent the country's murder rate soaring.

Chihuahua state officials say the shootout occurred in the hamlet of Las Vargas, deep in the rugged Sierra Madre mountains, where the illegal drugs business has deep roots in the local community and economy.

Canadian PM meets the Queen in Edinburgh – but not Nicola Sturgeon

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 11:07 AM PDT

Snub to Scotttish first minister by Justin Trudeau in UK en route to G20 summit suggests opposition to independence

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, has praised Scotland's role in global affairs after receiving an honorary degree for his campaigning on equality and diversity.

Trudeau was given the honour by the University of Edinburgh on Wednesday morning before he met the Queen for a private audience at the Palace of Holyroodhouse en route to a G20 leaders summit in Hamburg later this week.

Drought in Kenya drives girls as young as 12 to have sex for money

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 06:16 AM PDT

Families in desperate need of food are sending their daughters into prostitution to survive, according to an International Rescue Committee report

Girls as young as 12 are being forced into having sex for money to feed their families in drought-hit parts of Kenya.

Families in rural areas of Turkana, one of the regions hardest hit by late rains, are sending their daughters to urban centres to make money. Many are forced to sell their bodies, earning as little as 50 Kenyan shillings (37p) for sex, according to a report published by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) on Wednesday.

Panda fever grips Berlin on Chinese president's trip to Germany

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 10:48 AM PDT

Giant pandas become diplomatic symbol of a 'new beginning' between the two countries as Merkel welcomes Xi ahead of G20 summit

Already their names – Meng Meng and Jiao Qing – slide easily off the tongues of young Berliners, a reflection of the huge build-up there has been ahead of the unveiling of the pair of young giant pandas in the German capital on Wednesday.

Panda fever, which has gripped the city for weeks, reached its peak when the red velvet curtain of their €9m (£7.9m) glass enclosure was drawn to reveal the bamboo-chewing newcomers – a three-year-old female and a seven-year-old male – unaware of the considerable diplomatic responsibility that has been placed upon their shoulders.

French rights champion Simone Veil given coveted place in Panthéon

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 05:26 AM PDT

Holocaust survivor who died last week will receive rare honour of being buried in Paris mausoleum

Simone Veil, the French Holocaust survivor and human rights champion, who died last week aged 89, will receive the rare honour of being inducted into the Panthéon, President Emmanuel Macron has announced.

She has become only the fifth woman to be buried in the Paris monument, which houses the remains of great national figures.

Morrissey claims he was held at gunpoint by police officer in Rome

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 02:49 PM PDT

The singer says he felt 'terrorised' by the armed officer who he says detained him for half an hour and screamed in his face

The singer Morrissey said on Wednesday that he had been "terrorised" by a police officer in Rome who held him at gunpoint for half an hour on a busy street.

The former lead singer of the Smiths, a long-time fan of Rome who had returned to the Italian capital to record an album, said the officer unlocked his gun and "screamed into my face" as a crowd of more than 100 people watched.

EU call to aid vulnerable refugees amid rising Mediterranean death toll

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 09:49 AM PDT

Brussels urges member nations to support African migrants as record numbers attempt perilous sea crossing

Brussels will urge European countries to give shelter to more refugees from Africa to ease the pressure on Italy, as record numbers of people attempt the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean.

The European Union executive wants all member states – including the UK – to contribute to resettling a total of 37,000 vulnerable people from five north African countries by the end of 2018. Interior ministers meeting in Tallinn on Thursday will be called on by Dmitris Avramopoulos, the EU home affairs commissioner, to make voluntary pledges by the middle of September.

Uber presses pause on primary taxi service in Finland until 2018

Posted: 06 Jul 2017 02:15 AM PDT

Unlicensed cab service UberPop pulled from Helsinki as company continues to battle against regulation around the globe

Uber is pulling its primary service out of Finland as it waits for a law that will deregulate the taxi market to be passed.

The cab firm, which exclusively operates in the nation's capital Helsinki, is suspending its UberPop service, which allows any driver to sign up and offer unlicensed taxi trips.

Father of modern Malaysia backs jailed former deputy in attempt to oust PM

Posted: 06 Jul 2017 01:35 AM PDT

Mahathir Mohamad says former deputy Anwar Ibrahimm, jailed on charges of sodomy, should be freed to contest election against scandal-ridden Najib

Mahathir Mohamad, the father of modern Malaysia, is backing the man he sacked as his deputy and saw imprisoned on charges of sodomy to be prime minister, in an attempt to unseat the scandal-ridden incumbent.

In a remarkable political U-turn ahead of a general election next year, Mahathir now says that his former protege Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's most famous political prisoner and its most charismatic public figure, ought to be released from jail and allowed to contest parliamentary elections.

Liu Xiaobo, China's most famous political prisoner, 'close to death'

Posted: 06 Jul 2017 01:09 AM PDT

Nobel laureate and democracy campaigner was released from jail last month on medical parole after liver cancer diagnosis

The condition of China's most famous political prisoner, the democracy campaigner and Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, has worsened, family friends and local reports have said.

Liu, 61, was jailed in 2009 for allegedly trying to topple China's one-party state. He was given medical parole last month after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.

US could use military force against North Korea, says Nikki Haley

Posted: 06 Jul 2017 12:41 AM PDT

US ambassador to the UN says US will push for new sanctions after missile test and could use military if diplomacy failed

The US has said it could use its "considerable military forces" against North Korea as it made a push for new sanctions following Pyongyang's successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) this week.

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, told a security council meeting the US would submit a draft resolution within days "that raises the international response in a way that is proportionate to North Korea's escalation" but warned Washington had options if diplomacy failed.

North Korea: US and allies face shortage of good options over missile threat

Posted: 06 Jul 2017 12:32 AM PDT

Pyongyang's latest missile test has revived calls to 'deal with' Kim Jong-un. But all possible strategies carry huge risks

North Korea's successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could one day carry nuclear warheads to the United States has revived talk of military intervention in the reclusive state.

Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, once a somewhat abstract strategic concern for bureaucrats in Washington, have suddenly become more pressing. The secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, said earlier this year that all options are on the table for blocking its nuclear weapons programme.

Donald Trump's romance with China's Xi has cooled, 'ass-kicking' could lie ahead

Posted: 06 Jul 2017 12:26 AM PDT

The idea of a 'big marriage' to tackle issues such as North Korea is dead and what might come from their G20 meeting is unknown, but it will be tense

"Occasionally, yes, toughness does involve some old-fashioned ass-kicking," Donald Trump mused in "Surviving at the Top".

In his dealings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, though, the US president has until recently preferred to kiss.

The final bar? How gentrification threatens America's music cities

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 11:30 PM PDT

Austin, Nashville and New Orleans have thrived on the success of vibrant music scenes. But as rents rise and noise complaints become more common, do they risk ruining what made them famous in the first place?

At a Sixth Street bar in the heart of Austin, Texas a pop up version of Seb's jazz club from the Hollywood hit film La La Land is being set up – its blue letters yet to be switched on. Nearby, a replica of Breaking Bad's Los Pollos Hermanos fast food restaurant has appeared, causing a minor Twitter frenzy.

These are just two of the attractions materialising in the city in time for the music and media festival South by Southwest (SXSW), and throughout the 10 days of the event it is hard to find someone who isn't wearing an official SXSW wristband worth $1,000.

1930s cities from the air: the aerial photographs of Walter Mittelholzer – in pictures

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 04:00 AM PDT

Pioneering aviator and co-founder of Swissair, Walter Mittelholzer, was an avid aerial photographer. A new book documents his obsession with the Middle East, and African cities from Cairo to Casablanca

Walter Mittelholzer Revisited: From the Walter Mittelholzer Photo Archive is published by Scheidegger & Spiess

Metropolitan police extend controversial spit hood trial across London

Posted: 06 Jul 2017 01:05 AM PDT

Met says trial is being widened because a successful pilot scheme was too limited – but critics say hoods breach people's rights

A trial of the controversial police spit hoods, which came to national attention after one was used on an innocent man during an arrest last year, has been extended across the whole of London, Scotland Yard has said.

Officers said an initial smaller pilot in the north-east of the capital had been successful but was too limited.

US-backed forces say battle to retake Raqqa from Isis 'will take months'

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 10:05 PM PDT

Diplomats plan for the fall of Isis, as Kurdish and Arab fighters continue to push forward into the terror group's Syrian stronghold

US-backed forces encircling Raqqa expect the fight to oust the remnants of Islamic State from its most symbolic Syrian stronghold to take at least three months, despite rapid advances towards the city centre this week.

The advance met with fierce resistance on Wednesday, as Isis fighters used an eighth-century fortified wall as a buffer against Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who had been claiming neighbourhoods of the city, while steadily closing in from its surrounds.

Why we need to get contraceptives to teenagers – podcast

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 11:03 PM PDT

For 1.8 billion young people – the largest cohort ever – family planning will be vital in shaping lives and livelihoods. As leaders prepare for the London Family Planning Summit, Lucy Lamble looks at the challenges ahead

Read the transcript

Subscribe and review: iTunes and Soundcloud, and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter

Research shows that in 2016 alone, 82m unintended pregnancies, 25m unsafe abortions and 124,000 maternal deaths were averted thanks to the use of contraceptives. Yet despite this, many people in the world still can't count on access to family planning. And cuts to US funding as part of Donald Trump's reinstatement of the "global gag rule" mean that there are even more challenging times ahead.

Trump and Putin to hold first meeting as hopes for cooperation grow dimmer

Posted: 06 Jul 2017 12:00 AM PDT

Russia's president may use Friday's meeting in Hamburg to get the measure of his US counterpart – and consider possibilities for finding common ground

When George W Bush first met Vladimir Putin in 2001, the frosty encounter unexpectedly warmed up after the two bonded over the story of a silver cross that Putin's mother had given him. Bush declared that he had "looked the man in the eye" and got a "sense of his soul".

Russia is hoping for a similar personal breakthrough when Donald Trump meets Putin for the first time at the G20 summit in Hamburg on Friday. Relations between the US and Russia are now riven by even more political differences than in 2001, but the two leaders' kind words for each other in the past suggest the possibility of developing a rapport.

'The system's violating everyone': the Canadian trans parent fighting to keep gender off cards

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 06:21 PM PDT

Baby Searyl has a health card with no gender marked but for trans parent Kori Doty it is a small win in a broader battle

A parent whose baby has been given a health card that does not specify a gender – believed to be a world first – has said the aim is to allow the child to discover their gender on their own.

"I think we're starting to understand that gender identity is not directly attached to genitals," Kori Doty, a non-binary trans person who does not identify as male or female, told the Guardian in an interview.

Perth hit-and-run accused tries to escape dock during court appearance

Posted: 06 Jul 2017 02:15 AM PDT

Christopher Gethin Lee, who is accused of driving his Mercedes Benz car at a parking inspector, restrained by security

A man accused of deliberately driving his Mercedes into a parking inspector and injuring him in a hit and run tried to escape from the dock during a Perth court appearance.

Christopher Gethin Lee, 42, was surrounded and restrained by security officers after trying to get over a glass barrier at Fremantle magistrates court on Thursday. He was then led back to the cells.

The Farm Belt führer: the making of a neo-Nazi

Posted: 06 Jul 2017 01:00 AM PDT

Gerhard Lauck was Germany's biggest supplier of neo-Nazi materials. His trajectory is a valuable case study in recognizing the signs of a budding hatemonger

They're easy to spot, the neo-Nazi and his driver, strolling side by side up Main Street beneath a noonday sun, flanked by the two-story brick and limestone buildings of Beatrice, Nebraska. But it's not the way they're dressed.

Gerhard Lauck, the man they call the "Farm Belt führer" doesn't draw attention to himself heedlessly, doesn't swaddle himself in swastikas – not any more, anyway, and not out here in south-east Nebraska, where he finally retreated after serving a four-year stint in a German prison for distributing neo-Nazi propaganda. He doesn't bark "Heil Hitler!" He doesn't shoot his right arm into the air.

Amnesty says Turkey director and activists detained in Istanbul

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 11:22 PM PDT

Idil Eser, head of Amnesty International Turkey, taken away during 'digital security and information management workshop'

Amnesty International has called for the release of its Turkey director and other activists after they were detained by police.

Idil Eser, the head of Amnesty International Turkey, was taken away on Wednesday along with activists and trainers during a "digital security and information management workshop" on Büyükada, one of the Princes' Islands off Istanbul, the human rights organisation said in a statement.

Thursday briefing: Riot fears as G20 gets first taste of Trump

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 10:41 PM PDT

Police on high alert as leaders converge in Hamburg … Blair not 'straight with the nation' on Iraq … and did Amelia Earhart end up a captive of the Japanese?

Good morning – it's Warren Murray bringing you up to speed.

America's Cup parade: New Zealand crowds brave thunderstorm to welcome crew

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 10:19 PM PDT

Ecstatic reception as Emirates Team New Zealand parade the Auld Mug in Auckland before national victory tour

Tens of thousands of joyful New Zealanders have braved a thunderstorm in Auckland to welcome home the America's Cup winners, who held the Auld Mug aloft on these shores for the first time in 17 years.

The Emirates Team New Zealand members waved at the crowd from the backs of vans for a slow, noisy procession down Queen Street to Waitemata Harbour, where they boarded a boat for a victory tour on the sea – dozens of yachts, sea kayaks and dingies floating by to catch a glimpse.

Irish fishing industry is still plagued by abuse of migrants, senators hear

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 10:00 PM PDT

Jobs committee is told migrant fishermen continue to face widespread problems including non-payment of wages

Widespread abuse and exploitation of Asian and African migrant fishermen continues to plague the Irish fishing industry, according to evidence presented to the jobs committee of the Irish senate on Tuesday.

The committee is investigating a permit scheme introduced by the Irish government in response to a Guardian exposé of working conditions on its trawlers in 2015.

Caught no-handed: China tech CEO faces fine after driverless car stunt

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 09:42 PM PDT

Executive at search engine giant talked about the smooth ride during video call to Beijing conference. The only problem is self-driving cars are banned in China

Tech company executives often like to call themselves disruptors, shaking things up in the hope of making a better world. But to Beijing police, the CEO of Chinese technology giant Baidu might simply be another unlicensed driver.

Robin Li placed a video call to an AI developer conference while riding in the passenger seat of a self-driving car on Wednesday. During the call, the head of the search engine company said the car was on autopilot and remarked on the smooth ride despite the traffic.

Creche ban for Chinese babies in South Africa – archive, 6 July 1970

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 09:00 PM PDT

6 July 1970: Under the country's apartheid laws, Chinese are classified as non-whites

Cape Town, July 5
The South African authorities have ordered eight babies to be removed from a creche in Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, because they are Chinese and the creche is in a "white" suburb of the city.

Under South Africa's race laws, Chinese are classified as "non-whites," along with Africans, Asians, and Coloureds. The law says they must be segregated from all white areas and those facilities set aside for whites.

Dutch bank bans loans to tobacco industry on health grounds

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 07:24 PM PDT

Decision by ABN Amro, which has six millions customers worldwide, is the first by a major bank in The Netherlands

The Netherlands' third-largest bank ABN Amro said Wednesday that it is ratcheting up its battle against smoking and will no longer extend credit to clients in the tobacco industry.

The Amsterdam-based bank's decision came as it announced a new partnership with the national Heart Foundation in the fight against smoking, which kills some 20,000 people every year in the country of 17 million, according to a recent study.

Chinese and Indian troops face off in Bhutan border dispute

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 07:12 PM PDT

Regional rivalry escalates as forces mobilise near borderland that China claims but India says is in Bhutan

China has demanded the withdrawal of Indian troops from a scrap of disputed territory to end an escalating border row between the two Asian powers that has drawn in tiny Bhutan.

Beijing claims the Indian troops are occupying its soil, but both Bhutan and India maintain the area in question is Bhutanese territory.

IMF warns G20 over protectionism in veiled criticism of Trump

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 02:51 PM PDT

Narrowly pursuing national interests could damage all countries, lender says before Hamburg meeting on Friday

The International Monetary Fund has warned leaders in the run-up to the G20 summit in Hamburg that they are putting at risk a recovery in global growth by pursuing national policies at the expense of internationally agreed rules on trade and climate change.

Indian court allows guru's disciples to continue preserving his body in freezer

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 01:16 PM PDT

Court does not rule on whether Ashutosh Maharaj, who died of cardiac arrest in 2014, is in fact still alive and in a deep meditative state, as his followers believe

An Indian court has allowed disciples of a spiritual guru to preserve his body in a freezer, as they believe he is in a deep state of meditation and will return to life.

Ashutosh Maharaj, founder of the multimillion-dollar sect, Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan (Divine Light Awakening Mission), apparently died of a cardiac arrest in January 2014.

How the US could respond to North Korea's nuclear threat

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 12:57 PM PDT

Experts weigh in on a possible US reaction to North Korea's successful intercontinental ballistic missile test, from further sanctions to diplomacy

Public urgency about the threat of North Korea developing a reliable long-range nuclear weapon capable of striking the US was sharpened by news of what Pyongyang and outside analysts say was a successful intercontinental ballistic missile test.

Any immediate US response must take into account the ability of North Korea to instantly launch a devastating strike against allies in Japan and South Korea, including the almost 30,000 US troops stationed on the Korean peninsula, with chemical, biological or possibly nuclear weapons. Conflict with China lurks as an additional grave concern.

China presents Germany with two giant pandas – video report

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 11:55 AM PDT

Chinese president Xi Jinping officially presents two giant pandas to Berlin's zoo on Wednesday. German chancellor Angela Merkel said the bamboo-munching newcomers would be special ambassadors for the two countries. The pandas, Meng Meng and Jiao Qing, landed in Berlin on June 24 and have been settling in at the zoo since then, out of public view.

Panda fever grips Berlin on Chinese president's trip to Germany

Ex-Guantánamo prisoner's payout faces challenge from US victims in firefight

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 11:37 AM PDT

Medic's widow and injured soldier file application to receive settlement Canada owes Omar Khadr, once the detention camp's youngest detainee

The widow of an American soldier killed in Afghanistan has turned to a court north of the border in an effort to block the millions of dollars in compensation due to be paid by the Canadian government to Guantánamo Bay's onetime youngest prisoner.

Relaunched Blind Date to celebrate Pride with first LGBT episode

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 11:00 AM PDT

Campaign group Stonewall 'thrilled' as Channel 5 announces 'inclusive' show will air on day of London's Pride parade

More than 30 years after it was first broadcast, Blind Date is to reach a landmark moment this weekend when it airs its first LGBT episode.

The dating show, which returned to British screens last month on Channel 5, is showing the episode to coincide with London's Pride parade on Saturday.

Coroner calls for changes to treatment of child refugees after death of teenager

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 10:52 AM PDT

Inquest into death of Mohammed Hassan, 17, hears how he was held by British officials in France before died under lorry as he tried to reach UK

A coroner has called for changes to the way Home Office officials in Calais and Dunkirk deal with vulnerable child refugees after a 17-year-old Kurdish refugee fled Isis in Iraq only to be crushed under the wheels of a lorry while trying to seek sanctuary in the UK.

Mohammed Hassan was detained by Home Office officials in Dunkirk for several hours last year before he concealed himself around the wheel area of a lorry heading from France to the UK.

Qatar rejects allegations it supports terrorism – video

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 10:48 AM PDT

The Qatari foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, rejects the allegation that Qatar supports terrorism. Speaking at Chatham House in London, Thani says Qatar has fought extremism and invested in education programmes to counter radicalisation. Foreign ministers from four Arab nations have sought to isolate Qatar over its alleged support for extremist groups

Qatar accuses Saudi Arabia of forcing it to surrender sovereignty

Virginia set to execute man using 'potentially torturous' drug cocktail

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 09:17 AM PDT

William Morva is set to be put to death on Thursday using a cocktail of unregulated drugs which have been shown to cause severe distress in the past

Virginia is preparing to kill a 32-year-old man using a controversial lethal injection formula that may have subjected the last prisoner to be executed by the state to an excruciating death equivalent to drowning.

William Morva is set to be put to death on Thursday using a cocktail of three medical drugs. Two of the chemicals have been obtained from compounding pharmacies – private outlets that are not subject to the full regulatory regime followed by regular drug manufacturers.

'It was pure racism': the family of Bijan Ebrahimi on their fight for answers

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 08:16 AM PDT

Two women whose brother was murdered after a hate campaign from his neighbours tell how they lost faith in the system

There were two moments in particular when Mojgan Khayatian realised that the racism faced by her brother, Bijan Ebrahimi, went beyond the crude bigotry of individuals to the callous indifference of institutions.

The first came in 2007, after Ebrahimi's flat in Bristol was set on fire while he was still in it. He survived and the council moved him. But before he left the first flat his sister came over to help him clean it up.

Are you protesting at the G20 summit in Hamburg? Tell us why

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 07:28 AM PDT

If you're taking part in this year's G20 protests, we'd like you to tell us why

Thousands of protesters are expected to disrupt the G20 summit this week to voice their grievances against the annual meeting of world leaders – which, this year, includes Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Police say they expect 5,000 protesters to take part in a "Welcome to Hell" march as delegates arrive in Hamburg airport on Thursday afternoon. A "G20 not welcome" march on Saturday is expected to attract up to 100,000 members of anti-fascist, feminist and climate activist groups. A separate march, "Hamburg Shows Attitude", has been organised by a collection of non-profit organisations.

Why we need to get contraceptives to teenagers – podcast transcript

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 11:00 PM PDT

For 1.8 billion young people, family planning will be vital in shaping lives and livelihoods. As leaders prepare for the London Family Planning Summit, Lucy Lamble looks at the challenges ahead

Listen to the podcast

LL Lucy Lamble

BS Beth Schlachter

Trump's lack of a North Korea strategy is drawing China and Russia closer | Isaac Stone Fish

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 03:41 AM PDT

If the two sides keep expanding their common interests, that could be far more devastating to the United States' long-term interests than Kim and his missile

In a dramatic change, the most shocking response to North Korea's 3 July missile test – which some analysts think demonstrates Pyongyang's ability to strike Alaska or Hawaii with a ballistic missile – came not from Donald Trump, but from Beijing and Moscow.

Trump's Twitter response to the launch contained his typical combination of bluster, insult and prodding. "Does this guy have anything better to do with his life," Trump said on 3 July, probably referring to the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, adding, "perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!"

Americans are in no celebratory mood this 4th of July. But they should be | Zachary Karabell

Posted: 04 Jul 2017 03:00 AM PDT

We know what is going wrong. But we ought, for a moment, to acknowledge how much is going right in the world

As the United States commemorates 241 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Americans are not in a celebratory mood. According to most polls, 60% of the country believes that America is on the wrong track; that number is slightly higher among Republicans.

That sour mood is not a product of the Trump administration; the last time a majority believed the country was headed in the right direction was shortly after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. And this is not solely an American phenomenon.

South Korean coffee artist recreates Munch's The Scream in cream – in pictures

Posted: 05 Jul 2017 03:57 AM PDT

Barista Lee Kang-bin is taking coffee art to the next level, recreating miniatures of famous paintings, including Van Gogh's The Starry Night, on foamy cups of java at his central Seoul cafe

Aneka Info

World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

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