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Nicolas Sarkozy to appear before judge in campaign funding case
British nationals in France face losing rights if they miss residency deadline
Israelis and Palestinians brace for unrest over ultranationalist march
‘Fine under the circumstances’: Christian Eriksen sends message to fans
South Korea says consensual sex act between male soldiers ‘bordered on rape’
UK-Australia trade deal to include 15-year cap on tariff-free imports
China hits back at ‘slanderous’ Nato claim it poses threat to west
Nicaragua rounds up president’s critics in sweeping pre-election crackdown
Jacinda Ardern criticises new biography, saying author misled her
One in five people in parts of EU pay bribes for healthcare, survey finds
Coronavirus live news: Russia imposes new restrictions after case rises; Japan to send 1m vaccines to Vietnam
UK Covid news: Gove suggests UK will have to learn to live with deaths at certain level
Losing ‘Freedom Day’ is galling for Boris Johnson, but things could get worse
Germans told to be patient as chemists start Covid vaccine pass scheme
The sexual assault of sleeping women: the hidden, horrifying rape crisis in Britain’s bedrooms
A different America: How Republicans hold near total control in 23 US states
‘The Silicon Valley of turf’: how the UK’s pursuit of the perfect pitch changed football
‘Our fight is more visible’: Goldman environment prize winners see shift in political winds
Great strides: how Annie Hall’s ‘dad pants’ conquered the world
Got the jab, bought the T-shirt: ‘vaxinistas’ and the rise of pandemic merchandise
Woman dies after falling from cliff at Durdle Door
Taking the pulse of DR Congo’s Nyiragongo volcano – in pictures
Telemedicine companies seeking to cash in on Covid pandemic boom
Potentially corrupt NSW government land purchase prompts inquiry into 20 similar deals
Eradicating polio is finally within reach. Why is the UK taking its foot off the pedal? | Anne Wafula Strike
Blood brother: the Kashmiri man who is India’s biggest donor
Vaccines and oxygen run out as third wave of Covid hits Uganda
England’s Covid lockdown lifting: is a four-week delay enough?
Expect China to be furious at being cast as a threat to the west
Marjorie Taylor Greene apologises for comparing Covid-19 masks to Holocaust – video
Biden says Putin a 'worthy adversary' ahead of talks – video

Nicolas Sarkozy to appear before judge in campaign funding case

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:37 AM PDT

Former president of France is accused of spending almost twice the legal amount during 2012 election campaign

Nicolas Sarkozy will appear before a judge on Tuesday accused of illegal campaign funding for his unsuccessful 2012 presidential re-election bid.

The former French leader is in the dock with 13 other associates and colleagues in what is known as the "Bygmalion" case.

British nationals in France face losing rights if they miss residency deadline

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 01:06 AM PDT

Call to extend 30 June deadline over fears Britons will lose access to healthcare and pensions

Campaigners have warned that tens of thousands of British nationals living in France and three other countries risk losing local healthcare, employment and other rights if they do not apply to remain resident in the next 14 days.

British in Europe, a group set up to protect the post-Brexit rights of about 1.2 million UK nationals living on the continent, have called on France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Malta to extend their 30 June deadline as the Netherlands has done, to 30 October.

Israelis and Palestinians brace for unrest over ultranationalist march

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 01:53 AM PDT

March through Jerusalem poses early test for Naftali Bennett's new government

Israelis and Palestinians are preparing for possible unrest before a planned march by Jewish ultranationalists through East Jerusalem that could ignite protests and clashes with police only weeks after an an 11-day Gaza war.

The march poses an early test for Israel's fragile new government, which was sworn in on Sunday and includes parties from across the political spectrum, including a small Arab party.

‘Fine under the circumstances’: Christian Eriksen sends message to fans

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 01:28 AM PDT

Denmark midfielder grateful for 'sweet and amazing greetings'
Eriksen says he needs further hospital tests after cardiac arrest

A smiling Christian Eriksen has insisted he is "fine – under the circumstances" as doctors work to determine the cause of his cardiac arrest.

The 29-year-old Denmark midfielder continues to undergo tests in hospital after collapsing on the pitch during Saturday's game against Finland at Parken in Copenhagen.

South Korea says consensual sex act between male soldiers ‘bordered on rape’

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:03 AM PDT

Activists decry discrimination as court finds men guilty of indecency and hands down a six-month suspended sentence

A South Korean military court has been accused of discriminating against sexual minorities after it found two male soldiers guilty of indecency for engaging in consensual oral sex.

The ruling, which took place in March but emerged last week, found the soldiers' actions "bordered on rape" and handed them a six-month suspended prison sentence by applying the controversial article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act. This punishes "anal sex and other indecent acts" between military personnel with up to two years in prison.

UK-Australia trade deal to include 15-year cap on tariff-free imports

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:06 AM PDT

Agreement follows concerns from UK farmers about potential flood of cheaper meat

The UK has agreed the outlines of a trade deal with Australia, Downing Street has said, with a 15-year cap on tariff-free imports in place following concerns from UK farmers about a potential flood of cheaper beef and lamb imports.

The deal will be of limited importance to the UK economy – it is forecast to increase GDP by only 0.02% over 15 years – but is symbolically significant to Boris Johnson as the first post-Brexit trade deal that was not largely rolled over from an existing agreement.

China hits back at ‘slanderous’ Nato claim it poses threat to west

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 01:19 AM PDT

Beijing's EU mission issues forceful response to Nato communique, saying it shows 'cold war mentality'

China's mission to the EU has accused Nato of slander and of "hyping up the so-called 'China threat'" after leaders of the western alliance warned that the country presents "systemic challenges" to international order and security.

On Monday, at a summit in Brussels, leaders from the transatlantic security alliance, with Joe Biden in attendance for the first time, took a forceful stance towards Beijing.

Nicaragua rounds up president’s critics in sweeping pre-election crackdown

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:00 AM PDT

Arrests of opposition figures, including revered former guerrillas, represent 'last gamble of a dictator's family'

Nicaragua's Sandinista rulers have launched an unprecedented crackdown on the country's opposition, arresting a string of prominent critics of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice-President Rosario Murillo, in an apparent attempt to crush any serious challenge in November's elections.

Six opposition figures were arrested at the weekend, including revered former guerrillas who fought alongside Ortega during the campaign to topple the dictator Anastasio Somoza and went on to serve in the first Sandinista government.

Jacinda Ardern criticises new biography, saying author misled her

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 11:22 PM PDT

New Zealand prime minister says she agreed to interviews on basis that it was about a group of female leaders and 'not specific to me'

Jacinda Ardern has distanced herself from a recently released biography documenting her leadership style, less than a week after joining widespread criticism of a film that focuses on her role leading New Zealand during the Christchurch terror attacks.

The new book – Jacinda Ardern: Leading with Empathy – was written by activist and journalist Supriya Vani, and writer Carl A. Harte, based on "Vani's exclusive interviews with Ardern", according to its seller, Simon & Schuster.

One in five people in parts of EU pay bribes for healthcare, survey finds

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 09:00 PM PDT

Corruption report says third of EU residents used personal connections to access care during Covid crisis

Almost a third of residents in the EU relied on personal connections to access healthcare during the Covid crisis, and around one in five in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Lithuania paid a bribe for such services, a report on corruption has found.

Across the EU's 27 member states, nearly two-thirds (62%) of the 40,000 respondents in a survey conducted by Transparency International said corruption in their government was a major problem and three-quarters (76%) said it had been stagnating or getting worse.

Coronavirus live news: Russia imposes new restrictions after case rises; Japan to send 1m vaccines to Vietnam

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:50 AM PDT

Several regions in east of Russia attempt to combat outbreak; Israel to end indoor mask mandates; Vietnam will receive 1m AstraZeneca doses manufactured in Japan

10.21am BST

Hong Kong providers of shipping services are breathing a sigh of relief after authorities announced they would ease strict quarantine restrictions imposed last July on vessels calling at the Asian shipping hub, trade sources said.

From Tuesday, crew of non-cargo goods vessels visiting Hong Kong for shipping services, including bunkering and provision supplies, will be exempt from the curbs, subject to conditions, the Marine Department told shipping firms in a letter.

10.00am BST

As the rate of coronavirus infections in Germany continues to fall, mandatory mask-wearing rules are set to be relaxed around the country.

Berlin's senate is today expected to announce that people will no longer have to wear face masks in busy shopping streets or zoos. Visitors to theatres, cinemas or opera houses will probably be allowed to wear simple cloth masks rather than medical FFP2 masks. A night-time ban on drinking in public spaces is also expected to be lifted in the German capital.

UK Covid news: Gove suggests UK will have to learn to live with deaths at certain level

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:50 AM PDT

Latest updates: Michael Gove also says does not rule out restrictions continuing beyond July

10.50am BST

All adults in England should be able to book a coronavirus vaccination by the end of this week, Sir Simon Stevens, the NHS England chief executive, said this morning.

Speaking to the NHS Confederation annual conference, Stevens said:

It is now very important that we use the next four weeks to finish the job to the greatest extent possible for the Covid vaccination programme, which has been a historic signature achievement in terms of the effectiveness of delivering by the NHS - over 60 million doses now administered.

By July 19 we aim to have offered perhaps two thirds of adults across the country double jabs.

10.33am BST

Mark Harper, the Conservative MP who chairs the Covid Recovery Group, which represents anti-lockdown or lockdown-sceptic backbenchers, told LBC this morning that he thought the government could have gone ahead "perfectly safely" with removing all remaining restrictions for England on 21 June, as originally planned. Harper said:

I listened carefully to what the prime minister said yesterday and I was in the House of Commons for the health secretary's statement, and it seemed to me we don't know anything today that we didn't know when the prime minister was telling us he was happy to move ahead on the 21st of June ...

Ultimately we've reduced the risk of this disease hugely by our fantastic vaccination programme, and, as the government says, we've got to learn to live with it, but the problem is every time we get to that point, ministers seem to not actually want to live with it and keep restrictions in place.

Losing ‘Freedom Day’ is galling for Boris Johnson, but things could get worse

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 07:30 AM PDT

Analysis: The PM will get a media pasting, but backtracking would be more painful than delaying

Boris Johnson has once again been persuaded that he must do the inevitable and cancel "Freedom Day" – a decision that will deeply rankle with him.

The prime minister is said to have complained to aides over the weekend about briefings to newspapers at the end of last week that a four-week delay was the likely outcome, saying he had technically not made the decision yet. But one thing matters more to Johnson than being able to join crowds in a packed pub on 21 June: not having to close them again a few weeks later.

Germans told to be patient as chemists start Covid vaccine pass scheme

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 06:14 AM PDT

Website crashes and queues form outside pharmacies as certificates become available for travel

Fully vaccinated Germans have been urged not to storm the country's pharmacies in the rush to obtain a Covid digital vaccination pass made available in thousands of stores on Monday.

The "Digitale Impfpass" or digital vaccination pass, is the official document to be used as part of the the European Union vaccine certificate scheme to facilitate travel across the bloc, which the European parliament agreed last month.

The sexual assault of sleeping women: the hidden, horrifying rape crisis in Britain’s bedrooms

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:00 AM PDT

A recent survey suggested a shockingly high proportion of women have been sexually assaulted by a partner as they slept. Now more and more are speaking out

Niamh Ní Dhomhnaill had been with her partner for almost a year when she discovered that he'd been raping her while she slept. At the time, she was 25, and a language teacher in a Dublin secondary school. Her partner, Magnus Meyer Hustveit, was Norwegian. The couple had moved in together within a few months of meeting, but things were tense. It wasn't a happy relationship.

On that particular night, Ní Dhomhnaill had been out with Hustveit and other friends, but left early, alone, because she felt unwell. "I'd only drunk water but I'd gone to bed and was out for the count," she says. "I didn't hear Magnus come back, which is unusual because I'd always been a light sleeper."

A different America: How Republicans hold near total control in 23 US states

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:00 AM PDT

In those states, Republicans hold the governorship and the legislature, giving them the power to take aim at abortion access, trans rights, voting and gun safety

Democrats across the US cheered last month, as Texas legislators staged a walkout from the statehouse to block the passage of a Republican bill that would enact a number of restrictions on voting access.

‘The Silicon Valley of turf’: how the UK’s pursuit of the perfect pitch changed football

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 10:00 PM PDT

They used to look like quagmires, ice rinks or dustbowls, depending on the time of year. But as big money entered football, pristine pitches became crucial to the sport's image – and groundskeepers became stars

It was a big moment for English football talent when Real Madrid poached Paul Burgess from Arsenal in 2009. After starting his career at Blackpool FC, Burgess had arrived at the north London club in 1999, rising to prominence at the age of just 21. He excelled on the European stage during Arsenal's Champions League campaigns in the early 2000s, and shone at Euro 2004 in Portugal. Four years later, he put in another commanding performance at the European Championships. Not long after that, Real Madrid, the most prestigious club in world football, made their sensational transfer swoop.

If you don't remember any of this, it's not because Burgess was a flop at Madrid. It's because he was Arsenal's head groundsman. Burgess's transfer was the beginning of a Europe-wide spending spree on British turf talent. Real's rivals Atlético snapped up Dan Gonzalez, who had impressed with his work for AFC Bournemouth. Tony Stones, who got his start looking after bowling greens in Barnsley before eventually becoming head groundsman at Wembley, was signed to oversee the French national stadium, the Stade de France. Fifa, meanwhile, signed Alan Ferguson, a Scot who had won seven Groundsman of the Year awards during 12 seasons at Ipswich Town, as their first in-house senior pitch manager.

‘Our fight is more visible’: Goldman environment prize winners see shift in political winds

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 12:30 AM PDT

This year's winners include a Japanese coal fighter, a Vietnamese protector of pangolins and a Peruvian forest defender

For more than 20 years, Kimiko Hirata has fought a long and often lonely battle against coal in Japan, but for the first time the climate activist believes the dirtiest fossil fuel is on the run, not just in her country but across the world.

Like several other winners of this year's Goldman environmental prize, the frontline campaigner sees a shift in the political winds that has created a rare – and perhaps final – opportunity to reduce emissions and rebuild the planet's natural life support systems.

Great strides: how Annie Hall’s ‘dad pants’ conquered the world

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 10:00 PM PDT

After a year of loungewear and dressing from the waist up, these tailored but informal trousers have won over everyone from Kendall Jenner to the Duchess of Cambridge

Scrolling through the Instagram page of model and Kardashian scion Kendall Jenner, one photo, posted on 28 April, stands out. In this one, she's not on a Vogue cover or the deck of a yacht, but crossing a New York street. And instead of a bikini or cycling shorts and a crop top, she's wearing a pair of tailored beige trousers, cinched with a black leather belt, pleated and full in the hip, loose of leg, teamed with a white T and an oversized shirt. It's one part Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, one part Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, one part Kennedy weekending at Martha's Vineyard.

Two weeks later, Danielle Haim wore an identical pair of pale, full, elegantly tailored trousers on the red carpet at the Brits, just a few days after model and entrepreneur Rosie Huntington-Whiteley posed on her Instagram in the same. (Fashion sleuths point to the Igor Pant by The Row, for sale at a cool £860, as being the originator of this trend.) In the last week of May, Jennifer Lawrence was photographed in New York wearing creamy front-pleat trousers with a cropped white T-shirt on the same day that the Duchess of Cambridge, more usually a dress-wearer, wore a slightly darker pair to attend the opening of a new hospital in Kirkwall, Scotland. International travel might be virtually grounded, but there is no stopping the global spread of this look.

Got the jab, bought the T-shirt: ‘vaxinistas’ and the rise of pandemic merchandise

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 12:07 AM PDT

Like fans after a gig, people are broadcasting being vaccinated with branded merchandise, while vintage 'pharma-merch' is going for high prices on eBay

This summer's trend is not a dish or a dress, but a clean bill of health posted on social media. There's even a word for it: a "vaxinista" – a combination of "fashionista" and "vaccine" – is someone who has not only had both jabs, but wants to broadcast it via vaccine selfies, cards and even merchandise.

This interest in pharmaceutical merch has now reached a strange new frontier: used pharma memorabilia. On eBay, old mementoes branded with Pfizer and AstraZeneca logos are selling for tens and hundreds of pounds. AstraZeneca paperweights and ballpoint pens are going for £150 and £50 respectively. Bids for a Pfizer lab coat begin at £106, a "pre-loved" Pfizer denim shirt at £100 and a Disneyland Pfizer conference T-shirt at £144. Meanwhile, newspapers from the day the vaccine was announced are selling for more than £40.

Woman dies after falling from cliff at Durdle Door

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 12:04 AM PDT

Dorset police investigating death on Monday afternoon at popular coastal spot

A woman has died after falling from a cliff at a popular coastal spot.

Dorset police said they were investigating the circumstances of the incident, which took place on Monday afternoon at Durdle Door.

Taking the pulse of DR Congo’s Nyiragongo volcano – in pictures

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 11:00 PM PDT

Four experts from DR Congo's Goma Volcano Observatory took the trail up Mount Nyiragongo last week to get a closer look at the volcano which last month spewed rivers of lava and forced the evacuation of a city

Telemedicine companies seeking to cash in on Covid pandemic boom

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:30 AM PDT

Millions have avoided in-person consultations in the past year and providers see 'asynchronous' care as the future of health

Companies are hoping to cash in on what has become one of the inarguable winners in the pandemic economy – virtual healthcare – by offering subscriptions to circumvent the complex US health insurance system.

Think Netflix, but for medicine. At least, that's the promise to patients.

Potentially corrupt NSW government land purchase prompts inquiry into 20 similar deals

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:45 AM PDT

Independent investigation of purchase of contaminated site for Parramatta light rail put on hold to allow separate Icac probe to run its course

A deeply flawed and potentially corrupt land purchase by the New South Wales government has prompted an investigation of 20 similar property acquisitions, an inquiry has heard.

A NSW parliamentary inquiry is currently probing the state government's purchase of a contaminated block of land in the Sydney suburb of Camellia for $53.5m, just months after it was purchased at a fraction of the cost by property developer Billbergia.

Eradicating polio is finally within reach. Why is the UK taking its foot off the pedal? | Anne Wafula Strike

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 12:01 AM PDT

Instead of cutting the aid budget – including 95% from the plan to stamp out the disease – Britain should take a global lead

Despite the Covid pandemic, there have been just two recorded cases of wild polio in 2021 – in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the two remaining hiding places for the disease. But eradication is not guaranteed. Polio is virulent and spreads quickly. Even one case poses a threat to unvaccinated children everywhere, which is why a new strategy launched last week by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) outlines a plan to utilise this small window of opportunity for the world to end polio for good.

A 99.9% fall in polio cases globally in recent decades is thanks in large part to the GPEI and its supporters. The British government's recent announcement that it will slash its contributions to the GPEI by more than 95% has been a body blow. The funding cut amounts to almost a quarter of the annual World Health Organization polio eradication budget.

Blood brother: the Kashmiri man who is India’s biggest donor

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 11:00 PM PDT

The 'blood man' of conflict-racked Kashmir has donated 174 pints of blood since 1980 but feels 'crushed' by his poverty

Shabir Hussain Khan was taking an afternoon nap when he heard a commotion outside his house. A friend had been injured in a football match and had lost a lot of blood. Khan, who did not have any transport, rushed to the hospital by foot to donate some. It was 4 July 1980. Yesterday the man known locally as the "blood man of Kashmir" donated his 174th pint of his blood to strangers at the public hospital close to his Srinagar home.

"Blood is not something you can buy in the market," says Khan, who has an O-negative blood group. "In those days blood donation was not common, nor were blood banks. The way blood is available readily now, it was not like that before. Also there was no connectivity at that time. We only had radios and two or three landline phones in the entire locality."

Vaccines and oxygen run out as third wave of Covid hits Uganda

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 10:00 PM PDT

Vaccine thefts reported and hospitals unable to admit patients as cases leap 2,800% in a month

Uganda has all but run out of Covid-19 vaccines and oxygen as the country grapples with another wave of the pandemic.

Both private and public medical facilities in the capital, Kampala and in towns across the country – including regional hubs in Entebbe, Jinja, Soroti, Gulu and Masaka – have reported running out or having acute shortages of AstraZeneca vaccines and oxygen. Hospitals report they are no longer able to admit patients to intensive care.

England’s Covid lockdown lifting: is a four-week delay enough?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 10:35 AM PDT

Analysis: Even a short pause is expected to reduce the number of people going to hospital as more people are vaccinated

The roadmap out of lockdown – England's strategy to return to a life more normal – was heavy on dates from the start. The first three steps, in March, April and May, passed so smoothly that a crucial point was easily forgotten: reopening rested on data, not dates, at least that was what scientific advisers hoped. Well, now the data has spoken.

England is not in lockdown today. Children are back at school. Cafes, restaurants and pubs are open. People can mix indoors, albeit in small numbers. Thousands can watch football matches. As the country moved from one step to another, more contact between people was expected to fuel cases, hospitalisations and even deaths. To keep them to a minimum, we have the vaccination programme.

Expect China to be furious at being cast as a threat to the west

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 09:20 AM PDT

Analysis: Political divergences within Nato's 30 members – from the US to North Macedonia – may well threaten ambitions for its strategy on China

When the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) was established on 4 April 1949, its mission was to counterbalance armies from the Soviet Union that were stationed in central and eastern Europe after the conclusion of the second world war.

After Emmanuel Macron, the current leader of one of its founding members, France, called it "brain-dead" in 2019, some analysts said the alliance will have to look for a new unifying mission to keep itself relevant in the new age of great power competition between the US and China.

Marjorie Taylor Greene apologises for comparing Covid-19 masks to Holocaust – video

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 07:25 PM PDT

Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene apologised for comparing Covid-19 mask requirements and vaccinations to the Nazi Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews. 'I have made a mistake and it's really bothered me for a couple of weeks now, and so I definitely want to own it,' Taylor Greene said. Her apology on Monday came amid calls from some Democrats to censure her for the Holocaust remarks. Her comments had also been denounced by Republican congressional leaders

Biden says Putin a 'worthy adversary' ahead of talks – video

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 06:18 PM PDT

Joe Biden said meeting with Vladimir Putin would be 'critical' and that he would offer to cooperate on areas of common interest if the Kremlin so choses. Biden warned that if Russia chose not to cooperate in areas like cybersecurity 'then we will respond'. The US president also characterised Putin as 'bright', 'tough' and 'a worthy adversary'. When questioned by reporters, Biden said the potential death of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, now jailed in Russia, would be a tragedy and would hurt Russian relations with the rest of the world and with the United States. The two men are meeting in Geneva on 16 June for the first time as presidents

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

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