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

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


Coronavirus live news: Europe sees increase in infections among younger people, says WHO chief

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:54 AM PDT

Regional director warns of increase in hospitalisations and deaths as winter comes; India records daily rise in cases of 75,000

New vaccines could be available from the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021, according to the French health minister, Olivier Véran.

Researchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine, with more than 170 candidate vaccines now tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO).

European countries have seen and increased incidence in Covid-19 infections among younger age groups this summer. And, with winter coming, those people will likely come into closer contact with the elder population, which could lead to an increase in hospitalisations and deaths, Kluge has said.

He has warned young people that "no one is invincible" and that this pandemic is a "tornado with a long tail". It is known what has to be done, he says, calling on nations to put in place effective test and trace systems.

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BAME Britons less likely to trust Covid health officials – survey

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 10:01 PM PDT

Exclusive: findings raise fresh questions about pandemic's disproportionate impact

Black and minority ethnic people trusted government scientists and public health officials less than white people did at the height of the UK's coronavirus outbreak, according to a study that raises fresh questions about the pandemic's disproportionate impact.

BAME people were more likely to believe their employers' advice than anything Boris Johnson or the government said, and trusted the NHS and Public Health England (PHE) less than white people did, the research suggests.

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EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan resigns after flouting Covid rules

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 12:56 PM PDT

Hogan's resignation comes after Irish government signalled it wanted him to quit or be sacked

The embattled European trade commissioner, Phil Hogan, has resigned his post after an outcry over his breaches of coronavirus rules during a golfing break in Ireland.

Hogan issued a statement on Wednesday night apologising to the Irish people and the EU commission for causing hurt and embarrassment, ending his attempts to ride out the controversy and keep his post as a key player in Brexit talks.

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UK coronavirus live: Covid isolation payments could go beyond lockdown areas, says Hancock

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:54 AM PDT

Health secretary questioned about announcement that people on low incomes will be paid £13 a day if they have to self-isolate for 14 days

The number of asylum applications received by the UK between April and June nearly halved quarter on quarter, fresh figures show, as the Covid-19 pandemic limited migration flows across the world, writes Jamie Grierson, the Guardian's home affairs correspondent.

There were 4,850 asylum applications made in the second quarter of the year, compared to 8,455 in the first three months of the year, Home Office statistics reveal.

Josh Halliday, the Guardian's north of England correspondent, has written on the responses today to the government's scheme to pay poorer workers to self-isolate. He writes:

The government trial to pay low-paid workers in England up to £13-a-day to self-isolate if they test positive for the coronavirus has been described as a "slap in the face" that would leave people without enough money to live on.

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, defended the level of payment as being based on statutory sick pay of £95.85 a week but the amount was roundly criticised as going "nowhere near far enough".

Related: Trial to pay £13-a-day for low-paid in England to self-isolate a slap in face, say critics

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Hurricane Laura: Louisiana braces for impact as 150mph storm makes landfall – US politics live

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:55 AM PDT

Just in cases residents weren't taking evacuation orders seriously yesterday, the Vermilion Parish Sheriff's Office posted their list of areas facing mandatory evacuation on Facebook yesterday with the following warning:

Those choosing to stay and face this very dangerous storm must understand that rescue efforts cannot and will not begin until after storm and surge has passed and it is safe to do so. Please evacuate and if you choose to stay and we can't get to you, write your name, address, social security number and next of kin and put it a ziplock bag in your pocket. Praying that it does not come to this! Expecting the worse but praying for the best. Be Safe and God Bless!!

Here's the latest from the National Hurricane Center on what can be expected from Hurricane Laura:

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Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake named as Rusten Sheskey

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:42 AM PDT

Officer was caught on video firing seven times into Blake's back at almost point-blank range

Police in Kenosha, the Wisconsin city rocked by protests and deadly violence since the shooting of Jacob Blake, have named the officer who fired multiple bullets into Blake's back.

Rusten Sheskey, who has been employed by the Kenosha police department for seven years, was named as the officer caught on video firing seven times into Blake's back at almost point-blank range as he held him by his shirt.

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Christchurch shooting: mosque gunman sentenced to life without parole

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 06:59 PM PDT

Australian terrorist did not oppose the unprecedented sentence, which comes after three days of emotional victim impact statements

The terrorist who killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, will spend the rest of his life in jail, a judge has ruled. It is the first time under current New Zealand law that a sentence of life without the possibility of parole has been imposed.

Dozens more were wounded in the attacks in March last year in the country's worst peacetime massacre. It prompted an outpouring of grief and unity in New Zealand and around the world, and generated debate about how to deal with white supremacist terrorism.

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Mike Pence claims Americans would be unsafe under Biden in dark RNC speech

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 10:44 PM PDT

Vice-president does not mention Jacob Blake as he champions 'law and order on the streets' amid protests

In the shadow of deepening unrest in Wisconsin, Mike Pence warned darkly of the violence and mayhem that would ensue under a Democratic administration during a keynote address on the third night of the Republican national convention on Wednesday.

The vice-president, speaking from Fort McHenry in Baltimore, where the raising of the American flag during the war of 1812 inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that would later become The Star-Spangled Banner, echoed several conservative speakers in painting a dystopian portrait of America's major cities and accusing the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, of tolerating violence and vandalism.

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TikTok chief executive Kevin Mayer resigns after Trump call to sell US assets

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 10:21 PM PDT

In a letter to staff Meyer cited a 'sharply changed' political environment, after Donald Trump ordered ByteDance to sell up within 90 days

Tik Tok's chief executive, Kevin Mayer, has quit just months after his appointment, amid a "sharply changed" political environment after Donald Trump accused the platform of threatening national security.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that the former Disney executive would be replaced in the interim by Vanessa Pappas, the general manager. In a letter to staff, parts of which have been seen by the Guardian, Mayer said he had decided to leave after Trump ordered TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell its US assets to a US company within 90 days.

"In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for," the letter said.

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NBA joined by MLB teams in boycott to protest police shooting of Jacob Blake

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 06:04 PM PDT

  • Bucks' home of Milwaukee is close to site of shooting
  • George Hill says team is 'tired of killings and injustice'
  • MLB and WNBA teams also boycott in solidarity

On an extraordinary day for the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted Game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, leading the NBA to reschedule all other Wednesday night playoff games.

Milwaukee's baseball team, the Brewers, also confirmed they would not play their game scheduled for Wednesday evening.

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Colombia sees seven massacres in two weeks as wave of violence grips country

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:30 AM PDT

At least 39 people have been killed in the recent spate of unrest and the country has seen 46 massacres so far this year

A wave of massacres in which dozens of people have been killed across Colombia has prompted fears that the South American nation remains unable to turn the page on its decades-long civil war.

In the latest incident, the bodies of three young men were found late on Tuesday near a road outside Ocaña, a city near the country's eastern border with Venezuela.

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Hong Kong Free Press journalist denied visa amid fears for media freedom

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 09:00 PM PDT

Irish journalist Aaron McNicholas's visa was rejected in what's believed to the first such case at a local title

After months of reassurance that Beijing's national security law would not affect Hong Kong's free press, the government has denied a visa to local media outlet, the Hong Kong Free Press.

The English-language outlet had sought to employ a new editor, Aaron Mc Nicholas, an Irish journalist already based in Hong Kong. However the immigration department rejected an application to transfer his work visa after an almost six-month wait, without giving an official reason.

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FTSE 100 falls ahead of crucial Jerome Powell speech – business live

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 03:01 AM PDT

Rolling live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as investors anticipate new approach to inflation

The Fed has really been the dominant force in markets since the pandemic started. It laid on trillions of dollars of support for assets in the form of quantitative easing stimulus and opened the dollar taps as demand for the reserve currency rocketed during the panic.

However, there are concerns that it is running out of firepower to stimulate the US economy (which is why central bankers have been so keen for fiscal stimulus since the financial crisis).

It has been widely speculated that the Fed will soon strengthen their forward rate guidance in response to the review to signal that rates will remain on hold for much longer into the economic recovery than during past economic cycles. The Fed is expected to signal a greater tolerance for allowing inflation to overshoot their target for a period perhaps through adopting a form of average inflation target.

Another potential focus could be any updated views on the effectiveness of other policy tools such as yield curve control whereby the Fed contemplates capping yields, although recent comments suggest it is unlikely to be implemented at the current juncture.

The FTSE 100 has lost further ground this morning - it's now down by 0.5% - but most investor focus is on what is to come later, when Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell addresses the virtual Jackson Hole conference.

Related: Central bankers to fish for compliments at virtual Jackson Hole summit

Market expectations are for a dovish Powell with the consensus view that Powell would unveil (or strongly hint) at the flexible inflation targeting framework. The new framework would allow for a short term overshoot in inflation above the target, and hence allow the Fed to keep accommodative policies for longer. We expect Powell to broadly outline the Fed's thinking around inflation targets and the rationale for a shift in the framework but refrain from providing exact details.

Given that the consensus view is already on the dovish side, it would be difficult for Powell to beat the current expectations. Risks that the Powell's tone, though dovish, fails to live up to current market expectations, which could be negative for risk sentiment.

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Rolls-Royce reports record £5.4bn loss as Covid-19 hits aviation

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 01:34 AM PDT

Several production sites to close after slump in demand for jet engines

The jet engine maker Rolls-Royce made a record loss of £5.4bn in the first half of the year, after the collapse in international travel during the pandemic led to to a slump in demand.

The Derby-based company said it had originally expected to manufacture 450 engines during 2020 but now planned to deliver only 250.

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South China Sea: US unveils first sanctions linked to militarisation

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 08:36 PM PDT

The latest US move against Beijing cracks down on firms whose goods may support Chinese military activities

The United States has blacklisted 24 Chinese companies and targeted individuals it said were part of construction and military efforts in the South China Sea, its first such sanctions move over the disputed strategic waterway.

The US Commerce Department said the companies played a "role in helping the Chinese military construct and militarise the internationally condemned artificial islands in the South China Sea".

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‘He was extremely radical’: MLK’s children on their father's life and George Floyd's death

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 10:00 PM PDT

Martin and Bernice King have continued their father's legacy, protesting for civil rights. They discuss Black Lives Matter, their ongoing grief and the upcoming March on Washington

When footage of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis, under the knee of a white police officer, was beamed around the world, Bernice King wept. She was five years old in 1968 when her father, Martin Luther King Jr, was killed by an assassin's bullet on a hotel balcony in Memphis. She was a year younger than Floyd's daughter Gianna.

"You feel the pain of the loss," she says over a video call, a framed photograph of her father on the mantelpiece behind her. "Because you know what it did to you, too. And you can only imagine what it's doing to that little girl."

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Trial to pay £13-a-day for low-paid in England to self-isolate a slap in face, say critics

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:29 AM PDT

Amount given to those that test positive for coronavirus criticised for being insufficient

The government trial to pay low-paid workers in England up to £13-a-day to self-isolate if they test positive for the coronavirus has been described as a "slap in the face" that would leave people without enough money to live on.

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, defended the amount as based on statutory sick pay of £95.85 a week butit was roundly criticised as going "nowhere near far enough".

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The amphibians of Alhambra – a photo essay

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 11:45 PM PDT

Its stunning Moorish architecture makes the Spanish monument one of the world's most visited. But photographer Ugo Mellone found the resident frogs, toads and newts just as fascinating

The Alhambra, which sits on a hill in Granada, Andalucía, is the only preserved palatine city of the Islamic period and a Unesco world heritage site. Once the residence of the Nasrid sultans, it is one of the most visited national monuments in the world.

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Anbessa review – heart-rending tale of a boy living on the edge

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:00 AM PDT

An irresistibly charismatic farm boy, displaced by a housing development on the outskirts of Ethiopia's capital, is the star of this affecting documentary

The American director Mo Scarpelli makes a miraculous discovery in her new documentary – a 10-year-old Ethiopian farm boy who has been displaced from his home by urbanisation. Scarpelli has said that when she spotted Asalif Tewold on the street in Addis Ababa, she knew instantly that she wanted to make a film about him. You can see why. A charismatic kid with energy and imagination, he's at that perfect stage of boyhood with an appetite for adventure and make-believe. That said, Scarpelli's observational film-making style, slow and lingering, is a challenge and likely to be off-putting to all but hardcore lovers of arthouse.

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Sisters die weeks apart from Covid-19 as virus ravages Navajo Nation

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 03:00 AM PDT

Cheryl and Corrina Thinn were among nearly 500 members of the reservation to die of the coronavirus

Cheryl and Corrina Thinn were almost joined at the hip. The sisters, both members of the Navajo Nation, shared an office at Tuba City Regional Health Care in Arizona. Cheryl conducted reviews to make sure patients were receiving adequate care. Corrina was a social worker. Their desks were just inches apart.

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Victoria reports 113 new cases, NSW nine and Queensland two – as it happened

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:25 AM PDT

Labor grills the Coalition on aged care and the PM discusses the foreign relations bill. This blog is now closed

That is where we will leave the live blog for this evening. If you want to follow the latest global coronavirus news you can follow our other live blog here.

Here's what we learned today:

#breaking Sports rorts: 70% of grants from separate fund went to Coalition seats, Greens say #auspol #sportsrorts https://t.co/iej3ex14JO

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Grassroots groups hold Beirut together, yet big NGOs suck up the cash | Hayat Mirshad

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 12:00 AM PDT

Local charities work constantly to support Lebanese society. It's time they had a fair share of foreign aid

Every person in Lebanon has probably been asked: "Where were you during the Beirut port explosion?"

My response is always the same: I was here, in Beirut.

On 4 August, when the explosion ignited our skies, I was here – fighting for my life as windows, doors, and buildings collapsed around me. I was still here in the painful hours that followed, working with fellow activists to spearhead clean-up efforts, distribute food and rescue neighbours trapped under the rubble. And when it was revealed that our government's alleged negligence led to the fatal blast, I remained here – on the streets with my sisters – to demand justice.

We were among the first to respond to this disaster. We were here before international aid workers arrived, before France hosted an international aid conference for the humanitarian response, and before the dust settled on our now devastated city.

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Netflix portrayal of female Indian Air Force pilot flies into flak

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 11:15 PM PDT

Gunjan Saxena was one of the first women in the IAF, but her biopic has drawn rebukes from fellow officers over sexism claims

Former and current members of the Indian military have criticised a Netflix film for portraying the armed forces as rife with gender discrimination.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has written to an Indian censor board, as well as Dharma Productions, which produced the film, and Netflix to complain that Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl "presented some situations that are misleading and portray an inappropriate work culture especially against women in the IAF".

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Dengue breakthrough after mosquitoes laced with natural bacteria

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 05:54 PM PDT

Infections in Indonesian city plummet after release of mosquitoes injected with Wolbachia bacteria

Infecting mosquitoes with a naturally occurring bacteria dramatically reduces their ability to transmit dengue, according to a breakthrough study that could pave the way to eliminating the disease.

Research conducted in Indonesia, where dengue is endemic, found that releasing mosquitoes infected with the bacteria Wolbachia into parts of Yogyakarta city reduced the number of dengue infections by 77% compared with untreated areas.

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The Children's Place cancels millions of dollars of garment orders from Ethiopia

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 05:05 AM PDT

Largest US childrenswear retailer blames Covid for move, as employees say they are struggling to buy food after wage cuts

The largest childrenswear retailer in the US has cancelled millions of dollars worth of clothing orders from suppliers in Ethiopia because of the coronavirus pandemic, pushing companies into debt and leaving employees facing pay cuts.

The Children's Place (TCP), which has more than 1,000 stores in the US and 90 around the world and had a turnover of $2bn (£1.5bn) last year, cancelled orders from Ethiopia in March and delayed payments by six months for orders completed in January and February, suppliers told the Guardian.

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Republican convention delivers whirlwind of lies great and small

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 10:10 PM PDT

Speaker after speaker piled falsehood upon falsehood to recast Trump as a saintly feminist preoccupied with the nation's health

As Hurricane Laura roared towards the southern US coast, the Republican national convention unleashed Hurricane Liar.

There were lies aplenty at the last convention in Cleveland four years ago but, in those innocent days, reporters were still reluctant to call a lie a lie. Donald Trump blew that up on his first day in office when he and his officials claimed his inauguration crowd was bigger than Barack Obama's.

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New Zealand media put Christchurch gunman in his place with focus on victims

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 09:50 PM PDT

New Zealanders and media embody Jacinda Ardern's approach to deny gunman publicity, muting coverage until life sentence delivered

On the first day of sentencing, New Zealand's public broadcaster TVNZ put out its nightly news bulletin. The legal process unfolding in Christchurch made it to fourth spot, behind three domestic Covid-19 stories.

Radio New Zealand (RNZ) focused its attention on the victim impact statements. The gunman himself barely warrants a mention, beyond the briefest physical descriptions from journalists in the room.

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Mike Pence claims you 'won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America' in RNC address – video

Posted: 27 Aug 2020 02:44 AM PDT

Continuing to fan the flames of fear, on the third day of the Republican national convention the US vice president, Mike Pence, said: 'The hard truth is you won't be safe in Joe Biden's America'.

In a dark speech laden with ominous warnings about a future without Trump at the helm, and incorrect statements about the president's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pence vowed to 'make America great again, again'.


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'Unite and heal': Democratic nominee Joe Biden speaks about Jacob Blake shooting – video

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 02:13 PM PDT

Democratic nominee Joe Biden says he has spoken to the family of Jacob Blake, the African American man who was repeatedly shot in the back by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

'What I saw in that video makes me sick,' Biden said of the footage of Blake being shot while three of his children looked on in a nearby car.

The Democratic nominee went on to urge protesters to remain peaceful and avoid 'needless violence'. Biden repeated the words of Blake's mother, Julia Jackson, who said yesterday that her son would not want to see violence and destruction carried out in his name.

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Trump’s presidential powers on full display at day two of RNC – video report

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 08:54 AM PDT

Ethical questions were raised during day two of the Republican national convention, as Donald Trump was accused of misusing trappings of his office for political purposes and using the White House as a prop. 

Pardoning convicts, naturalisation ceremonies and speeches from the White House were just a few of the items on the agenda that caused concern. 

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Chaotic scenes as gunfire rings out during unrest after Jacob Blake shooting – video

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 08:50 AM PDT

Footage taken from the third night of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, appears to show an armed civilian fire at a person before running towards police officers. The protests began after the police shooting of Jacob Blake three days ago. Video posted on social media showed chaotic scenes as gunfire rang out, scattering people in the street. Two people have been killed, and another injured

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'I don't want pity, I want change': Jacob Blake's sister gives powerful testimony – video

Posted: 26 Aug 2020 02:47 AM PDT

Letetra Widman, the sister of Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back by police on Sunday, gives an impassioned plea saying that above all the other labels given to her brother, he is human.

Letetra said she had been inundated with messages of support but that all she really wanted was change.

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