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- Coronavirus live news: trust in governments falls across G7; Brazil looks to reopen despite record deaths
- How a small Spanish town became one of Europe's worst Covid-19 hotspots
- WHO to resume hydroxychloroquine trial after earlier halt over safety concerns
- California: rise in Covid-19 cases raises fears over reopening and protests
- Madeleine McCann parents say focus on suspect 'potentially very significant'
- Revealed: UK banks and investors' $2bn backing of meat firms linked to Amazon deforestation
- Hong Kong braces as protesters plan to defy Tiananmen vigil ban
- Kim Yo-jong warns South Korea to tackle 'evil' propaganda balloons
- Andrew Bolt’s column mocking Greta Thunberg breached standards, press watchdog finds
- Japan to explore 'simplified' Olympics, says Tokyo governor
- New York Times under fire over op-ed urging Trump to 'send in the troops'
- Philippines police may have killed tens of thousands with 'near impunity' in drug war – UN
- Brazil official recorded calling black rights movement ‘scum’
- Putin orders state of emergency after huge fuel spill inside Arctic Circle
- Snake eels burst through the stomach of predators in bid to escape being eaten alive
- Tiananmen Square witnesses remember an air of celebration, and then 'Orwellian silence'
- Meghan on George Floyd killing: 'the only wrong thing to say is nothing' – video
- UK car sales slump as 2,000 workers lose their jobs in Covid-19 crisis – business live
- Pedal power: Zambia's female farmers go further by bike – in pictures
- Teenage girls accused of egging on assault of two men before one plunged to his death on Gold Coast
- #NiUnaMenos five years on: Latin America as deadly as ever for women, say activists
- The Gambia demands US investigation into police killing of citizen in Atlanta
- Women picking fruit for UK supermarkets 'facing new forms of exploitation'
- How were medical journals and WHO caught out over hydroxychloroquine?
- Obesity and coronavirus: how can a higher BMI increase your risk?
- Spain rekindles a radical idea: a Europe-wide minimum income
- 'Disastrous at a time like this': the US Postal Service is on the brink of crisis
- Barack Obama: 'You matter, your lives matter, your dreams matter' – video
- How London united for George Floyd and Black Lives Matter – video
- Business secretary Alok Sharma appears unwell in House of Commons chamber – video
- Moments of hope and solidarity from the George Floyd protests – video
- How to solve the UK's transport problem in the time of coronavirus – video
- Cafe culture returns to France after lockdown – in pictures
| Posted: 04 Jun 2020 02:35 AM PDT New Zealand marks 13 days without new Covid-19 case; €130bn German package cuts VAT, offers cash grants; Mumbai introduces new restrictions after hurricane
The World Health Organization will resume clinical trials of an anti-malaria drug researchers hope may treat Covid-19, after a study of the drug published in May by a major medical journal prompted them to halt trials due to safety concerns. The paper, published in the Lancet, said hydroxychloroquine was associated with higher mortality rates and higher rates of heart problems in Covid-19 patients in hospitals around the world. The finding prompted the World Health Organization's director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to announce the hydroxychloroquine arm of its Solidarity global clinical trial would pause while the study and other findings were reviewed. Related: WHO to resume hydroxychloroquine trial after earlier halt over safety concerns
Football with fans is back, and Shaun Walker reports on last night's Hungarian cup final between Honvéd and Mezokovesd: Related: 'The atmosphere was brilliant:' fans fail to keep their distance in Hungary Continue reading... |
| How a small Spanish town became one of Europe's worst Covid-19 hotspots Posted: 03 Jun 2020 10:00 PM PDT In the northern region of La Rioja, one medieval town has suffered a particularly deadly outbreak. And in such a tight-knit community, suspicion and recrimination can spread as fast as the virus. By Giles Tremlett When we first spoke, in mid-April, María José Dueñas began weeping within seconds. Her parents' home town, Santo Domingo de La Calzada, had the worst death rate from coronavirus in Spain, she told me on the phone. "I'm so scared," she said. Dueñas told stories of police clambering through windows to rescue the dying, who were too weak to open their doors. Regional politicians, meanwhile, refused to give town-by-town figures for the dead, stoking anxiety and encouraging conspiracy theories. Santo Domingo's locked-down residents, she claimed, were being deliberately kept in the dark as the virus silently stalked the town. Dueñas does not live in Santo Domingo, a town of 6,300 people set among patchwork fields of cereal crops in the northern Spanish region of La Rioja. She was born there, but now lives 28 miles away in Logroño, the capital of this wealthy region, best known for the rich red wines that bear its name. Her angry, sometimes wildly conspiratorial outbursts on local Facebook groups – some of which have been deleted against her will – mean not all her old neighbours will welcome her back. Continue reading... |
| WHO to resume hydroxychloroquine trial after earlier halt over safety concerns Posted: 04 Jun 2020 12:35 AM PDT Questions raised over study claiming drug linked to higher rate of mortality and heart problems in Covid-19 patients
The World Health Organization will resume clinical trials of an anti-malaria drug researchers hope may treat Covid-19, after a study of the drug published in May by a major medical journal prompted them to halt trials due to safety concerns. The paper, published in the Lancet, said hydroxychloroquine was associated with higher mortality rates and higher rates of heart problems in Covid-19 patients in hospitals around the world. The finding prompted the World Health Organization's director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to announce the hydroxychloroquine arm of its Solidarity global clinical trial would pause while the study and other findings were reviewed. Continue reading... |
| California: rise in Covid-19 cases raises fears over reopening and protests Posted: 03 Jun 2020 05:11 PM PDT Some of the rise expected as counties accelerate plans to reopen and warm weather draws people to beaches and parks, expert says The number of coronavirus cases in California is on the rise after weeks of optimism that infections had slowed, raising fears that plans to reopen counties, along with mass protests against police brutality, could accelerate transmission of the virus. According to numbers from Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking coronavirus cases and deaths, California is one of 20 states that have seen an uptick in cases in the past five days. Continue reading... |
| Madeleine McCann parents say focus on suspect 'potentially very significant' Posted: 04 Jun 2020 12:30 AM PDT Spokesman says it is first time in 13 years he can recall police fixing sights on one individual The parents of Madeleine McCann believe the identification of a convicted German sex offender as the key suspect in their daughter's disappearance is "potentially very significant", their spokesman has said. An international appeal for information is under way after police in Britain and Germany revealed that a serving prisoner is the new prime suspect in the disappearance of the three-year-old on 3 May 2007. Continue reading... |
| Revealed: UK banks and investors' $2bn backing of meat firms linked to Amazon deforestation Posted: 04 Jun 2020 01:00 AM PDT Investigation uncovers ties between financial institutions and three Brazilian firms connected to environmental destruction British-based banks and finance houses have provided more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in financial backing in recent years to Brazilian beef companies which have been linked to Amazon deforestation, according to new research. Thousands of hectares of Amazon are being felled every year to graze cattle and provide meat for world markets. Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong braces as protesters plan to defy Tiananmen vigil ban Posted: 03 Jun 2020 04:48 PM PDT Tension high as authorities ban vigils marking 1989 pro-democracy movement as bill that outlaws mocking Chinese anthem is passed Hong Kong saw another tense day on Thursday as its legislature passed a controversial law criminalising mockery of China's national anthem as protesters prepared to defy a police ban and hold a vigil marking the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen square crackdown. The law passed after 41 voted for and 1 voted against the bill, after a number of pro-democracy lawmakers were ejected after staging a noisy protest. Continue reading... |
| Kim Yo-jong warns South Korea to tackle 'evil' propaganda balloons Posted: 03 Jun 2020 08:29 PM PDT North Korean leader's sister says continued air drops by defectors could jeopardise peacekeeping agreement Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has warned South Korea to stop propaganda leaflets coming over the border, warning it could wreck an agreement to reduce military tensions. Her statement came after anti-Pyongyang leaflets were sent across the border earlier this week by a group of North Korean defectors. The leaflets concealed in 500,000 balloons criticised Kim Jong-un's nuclear threats, according to the Yonhap news agency. Previous messages have also condemned North Korea's human rights record. Continue reading... |
| Andrew Bolt’s column mocking Greta Thunberg breached standards, press watchdog finds Posted: 03 Jun 2020 08:24 PM PDT News Corp columnist accuses Australian Press Council of sabotaging debate and doubles down by repeating slurs about Thunberg's autism Andrew Bolt's mocking column about Greta Thunberg, which referred to the young climate campaigner as "deeply disturbed" and "freakishly influential", breached standards and was likely to cause substantial distress, offence and prejudice, the press watchdog has found. The Australian Press Council ruled that the language in Bolt's August 2019 article breached standards because it attempted to "diminish the credibility of Ms Thunberg's opinions on the basis of her disabilities and by pillorying her supporters on the basis of her disabilities". Continue reading... |
| Japan to explore 'simplified' Olympics, says Tokyo governor Posted: 03 Jun 2020 10:09 PM PDT
Tokyo's governor Yuriko Koike has said it may be necessary to a stage a "simplified" Olympics next year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and that organisers were already discussing possible changes. Koike's comments come after the Yomiuri newspaper reported that various options, such as mandatory coronavirus testing and having fewer spectators, were being considered by organisers. Continue reading... |
| New York Times under fire over op-ed urging Trump to 'send in the troops' Posted: 03 Jun 2020 08:18 PM PDT Decision to run opinion piece from Republican senator Tom Cotton sparks criticism from staff who say it puts people in danger The New York Times' decision to run an op-ed from the Republican senator Tom Cotton titled "Send in the troops" is drawing widespread criticism, including from Times staff. In the piece, Cotton called for the use of US military troops to quell civil unrest, and indicated the president would be justified in doing so under the Insurrection Act of 1807. Continue reading... |
| Philippines police may have killed tens of thousands with 'near impunity' in drug war – UN Posted: 03 Jun 2020 09:45 PM PDT Campaign of encouragement by high-level officials may have been seen by police as 'permission to kill', says damning report Tens of thousands of people may have been killed in the war on drugs since mid-2016 in the Philippines, amid "near impunity" for police and incitement to violence by top officials, the United Nations said on Thursday. The drugs crackdown, launched by President Rodrigo Duterte after winning election on a platform of crushing crime, has been marked by police orders and high-level rhetoric that may have been interpreted as "permission to kill", it said. Continue reading... |
| Brazil official recorded calling black rights movement ‘scum’ Posted: 03 Jun 2020 09:55 AM PDT Sérgio Camargo, who describes himself as a 'rightwing black man', made remark in April, according to recording The man tasked with promoting black culture by Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been recorded describing the country's black rights movement as "scum". Sérgio Camargo, a fervent Bolsonarista whose appointment as the head of Brazil's Palmares Cultural Foundation last year caused outrage, made the comments at the end of April, according to a recording obtained by the Estado de São Paulo newspaper. Continue reading... |
| Putin orders state of emergency after huge fuel spill inside Arctic Circle Posted: 03 Jun 2020 11:23 AM PDT President lambasts power plant owner 'for not reporting earlier' incident bigger than Kerch spill Vladimir Putin has ordered a state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel fuel spilled into a river inside the Arctic Circle. The spill occurred when a fuel reservoir at a power plant near the city of Norilsk collapsed on Friday. Continue reading... |
| Snake eels burst through the stomach of predators in bid to escape being eaten alive Posted: 03 Jun 2020 11:01 PM PDT Creatures' attempts are in vain, and as they are unable to burrow through the fish's ribcage, the eels become trapped in the gut of their captor It's no secret that nature can be brutal and violent, but a new Queensland Museum report on the death of some snake eels reads more like the plot of a horror movie than a scientific paper. Snake eels are a family of eel species that live most of their lives burrowed in the soft sand on the floor of the ocean. Continue reading... |
| Tiananmen Square witnesses remember an air of celebration, and then 'Orwellian silence' Posted: 03 Jun 2020 10:57 PM PDT Student protesters and journalists in 1989 recall the joy and hope before the crackdown It was mid-morning in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on 1 June, 1989. Someone had turned on a boombox playing 80s disco music, and people began to dance. A young couple spins in a small opening in the crowd. The woman smiles slightly, her eyes almost closed, as her partner in a loose dress shirt and blazer turns her. Around them, people are clapping. It is a photo that captures a side of the pro-democracy movement often overshadowed by what came after – the brutal military crackdown on the evening of 3 June and morning of 4 June. There is no official death toll but activists believe hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed. Continue reading... |
| Meghan on George Floyd killing: 'the only wrong thing to say is nothing' – video Posted: 04 Jun 2020 01:15 AM PDT In a video for a virtual graduation ceremony at her old high school in LA, the Duchess of Sussex recalled words of advice given by a teacher when she was 15, who said to her: 'Always remember to put another's needs above your fears.' She told the graduating students: 'I am sorry that in a way we have not gotten the world to a place that you deserve it to be' Continue reading... |
| UK car sales slump as 2,000 workers lose their jobs in Covid-19 crisis – business live Posted: 04 Jun 2020 02:27 AM PDT Live coverage as Aston Martin and car dealer Lookers announce costs savings plans
There is some interesting detail on the Bank of England's response to the pandemic on financial markets in a speech just published by Andrew Hauser, the executive director for markets at Threadneedle Street. While a lot ofthe speech is backward-looking at the big moments of the crisis, Hauser said that "further financial instability cannot be ruled out" as the pandemic's effects continue to be felt on markets. He said: Financial markets could come under strain again, if there is another leg to the global infection cycle, or if economic data come out persistently worse than expected. And even if – as hoped – we escape that, the sheer scale of our interventions means we must, in time, ask ourselves hard questions about the financial markets we rely upon, and their potential to amplify the sort of 'dash for cash' we saw in March and April.
There was also a rapid drop in new orders received by UK construction companies, which was almost exclusively attributed to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Residential builders did slightly better during May than civil engineers or office builders, but the reading for that segment was still only 30.9. Around 64% of the survey panel reported a drop in construction activity during May, while only 21% signalled an expansion. Where growth was reported, this was mostly attributed to a limited return to work on site following shutdowns in April. A gradual restart of work on site helped to alleviate the downturn in total UK construction output during May, but the latest survey highlighted that ongoing business closures and disruptions across the supply chain held back the extent of recovery. It seems likely that construction activity will rebound in the near-term, as adaptations to social distancing measures become more widespread and the staggered return to work takes effect. However, latest PMI data pointed to another steep reduction in new orders received by UK construction companies, with the pace of decline exceeding the equivalent measures seen in the manufacturing and service sectors. Continue reading... |
| Pedal power: Zambia's female farmers go further by bike – in pictures Posted: 03 Jun 2020 11:30 PM PDT A bicycle scheme is shaving hours off long journeys to get milk fresh to market, boosting women's incomes and benefiting their whole community
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| Teenage girls accused of egging on assault of two men before one plunged to his death on Gold Coast Posted: 04 Jun 2020 02:08 AM PDT The girls, 15 and 16, have been charged with the murder, robbery, deprivation of liberty and torture of Cian English Two teenage girls allegedly filmed and egged on the brutal assault and torture of two men in a Gold Coast apartment before a Brisbane teen plunged to his death trying to escape. The girls, aged 15 and 16 from Coomera, were charged on Thursday with the murder, robbery, deprivation of liberty and torture of Cian English, 19, in Surfers Paradise on 23 May. Continue reading... |
| #NiUnaMenos five years on: Latin America as deadly as ever for women, say activists Posted: 04 Jun 2020 02:15 AM PDT Campaigners say coronavirus is compounding problem of domestic and gender violence It has been five years since pent-up fury over staggering levels of violence against women erupted in a wave of public protest across Argentina under the slogan Ni Una Menos (Not One Less). What started as a hashtag quickly grew into a movement, pushing women's rights to the top of the agenda in Argentina, before quickly spreading across South America as millions of women took a stand against gender violence. Continue reading... |
| The Gambia demands US investigation into police killing of citizen in Atlanta Posted: 03 Jun 2020 06:45 AM PDT Shooting of Lamin Sisay, son of former UN diplomat, last week prompts outrage as family and friends reject police version of events The Gambia has demanded the US investigate the police killing one of its citizens, a former UN diplomat's son. The shooting of Lamin Sisay, 39, in Atlanta last week prompted anger in the Gambian community, who have described it as another example of the police brutality against black Americans that has prompted country-wide protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Continue reading... |
| Women picking fruit for UK supermarkets 'facing new forms of exploitation' Posted: 03 Jun 2020 05:59 AM PDT As Covid-19 causes workforce shortages, UN urged to urgently investigate worsening conditions in Spain's strawberry industry Women picking strawberries in Spain for UK supermarkets are facing new forms of exploitation, unions and lawyers warn, as the industry is hit by labour shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This week a coalition of rights groups and lawyers have appealed to the United Nations to urgently investigate allegations of deteriorating working conditions and a lack of protection for workers against Covid-19 infection. Continue reading... |
| How were medical journals and WHO caught out over hydroxychloroquine? Posted: 03 Jun 2020 10:34 AM PDT Studies under microscope after Guardian investigation reveals flaws with data from US company Surgisphere
Some scientific papers stop the world in its tracks. In the middle of a raging pandemic, a study in the world's leading global health journal that seemed to prove President Trump wrong to laud the drug hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 was always going to have a massive impact. It did. When the paper flagged a higher risk of death on the drug, trials were stopped all over the world, including one by the World Health Organization. Now it's in danger of unravelling. Continue reading... |
| Obesity and coronavirus: how can a higher BMI increase your risk? Posted: 03 Jun 2020 04:48 AM PDT Experts call for more weight loss treatment in UK as studies show obese people are more vulnerable Less than a year ago, Boris Johnson was taking a stand. Milkshakes, he said, should not be taxed. "If we want people to lose weight and live healthier lifestyles, we should encourage people to walk, cycle and generally do more exercise. Rather than just taxing people more, we should look at how effective the so-called 'sin taxes' really are, and if they actually change behaviour." Continue reading... |
| Spain rekindles a radical idea: a Europe-wide minimum income Posted: 03 Jun 2020 04:26 AM PDT Podemos leader enlists Portugal and Italy to lobby for policy as depression looms for coronavirus-ravaged southern Europe It's been proposed, probed and pushed to the margins of the European Union for more than two decades. Now, as Europe reels from tens of thousands of coronavirus deaths and millions of lost jobs in the worst recession for generations, ministers from Spain, Italy and Portugal say the time has come to revive a radical idea: a pan-EU minimum income. "This is the moment for debates about social protection," Pablo Iglesias, Spain's deputy prime minister for social rights and leader of Podemos, told the Guardian. "Anyone who finds themselves in a vulnerable situation should have access to protection mechanisms that allow them to fill their fridge and care for their family." Continue reading... |
| 'Disastrous at a time like this': the US Postal Service is on the brink of crisis Posted: 03 Jun 2020 04:00 AM PDT The post office could be key to people voting during the pandemic but perverse financial rules and Trump's hostility put that at risk Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the United States post office had been atrophying from financial turmoil. Over the past decade, post offices have been closed across the country, rural mail delivery is stretched thin, and thousands of post office workers' positions have been eliminated. The outgoing postmaster general recently warned that without immediate support the agency could run out of funds within the year, and in that case might need to shut down. Continue reading... |
| Barack Obama: 'You matter, your lives matter, your dreams matter' – video Posted: 03 Jun 2020 06:52 PM PDT Addressing a panel from his My Brother's Keeper movement in the wake of George Floyd's death, former US president Barack Obama had a message of hope for young people of colour, saying they had witnessed too much violence. 'I want you to know you matter, your lives matter, your dreams matter,' he said. Obama also discussed the idea that both voting and protest can 'bring about real change' and that the current scary times can be an opportunity. |
| How London united for George Floyd and Black Lives Matter – video Posted: 03 Jun 2020 03:43 PM PDT Thousands of protesters have marched through central London in an overwhelmingly peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration that culminated in passionate crowds gathering at the heart of Westminster. The demonstrators, the vast majority of whom were under 30, chanted: 'No justice, no peace, no racist police', 'I can't breathe' and 'the UK is not innocent', in a lockdown-defying demonstration that was largely organised through word of mouth and social media away from established anti-racism groups. Continue reading... |
| Business secretary Alok Sharma appears unwell in House of Commons chamber – video Posted: 03 Jun 2020 01:14 PM PDT Alok Sharma, the business secretary, has been tested for coronavirus after feeling unwell while delivering a statement in the Commons. Sharma appeared ill and to be sweating while he spoke about a bill. The parliamentary authorities are understood to have given the area a deep clean and MPs were at the time sitting at least two metres apart. 'This was done as a precaution,' a House of Commons source said Continue reading... |
| Moments of hope and solidarity from the George Floyd protests – video Posted: 03 Jun 2020 08:22 AM PDT Cities across the US witnessed another night of protests despite widespread curfews a week after George Floyd's death. Among the violence and anger, moments of peace and hope have emerged as some police forces have shown solidarity with protesters, and anti-racism demonstrations have spread around the globe Continue reading... |
| How to solve the UK's transport problem in the time of coronavirus – video Posted: 03 Jun 2020 04:04 AM PDT Those who can, should go back to work, Boris Johnson has said. But how will people get to work safely? If we take public transport, will there be enough space to physically distance? If we take the car, will the roads cope with all the extra traffic? Josh Toussaint-Strauss tries to figure out some answers, with the help of Peter Walker and Matthew Taylor Continue reading... |
| Cafe culture returns to France after lockdown – in pictures Posted: 03 Jun 2020 02:48 AM PDT In Paris, contented customers sit outside cafes and sip their morning espressos for the first time in 11 weeks. There are, however, strict rules: bars and restaurants have permission to sprawl across pavements but tables must be 1m apart. In the rest of France, customers can now be served inside while maintaining the same distance Continue reading... |
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