Outrage in Brazil as Jair Bolsonaro avoids five charges related to Covid response

Senators call for investigation into top prosecutor after charges against president shelved

Brazilian senators are calling for an investigation into one of the country’s top prosecutors after she shelved several charges against the president, Jair Bolsonaro, over his mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A damning congressional inquiry had recommended that Bolsonaro be charged with nine offences, including crimes against humanity and charlatanism, for promoting false treatments such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.

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Morad Tahbaz has been freed from jail in Iran on electronic tag, UK says

Foreign Office confirms British-Iranian man is at home in Tehran and officials are working to free him permanently

Morad Tahbaz, the British-Iranian man held in a Tehran prison, has been released on an electronic tag, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed.

He had been due to be released on a tag at the same time as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were allowed to return to the UK in March, but he was only allowed to return to his mother’s home in Tehran for a few days before he was sent back to Evin prison.

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Monkey put down but hunt still on after attacks in Japanese city

Male identified as one of a group of monkeys that have wounded 49 people and counting in Yamaguchi

Hunters on the trail of a group of monkeys that have attacked and wounded nearly 50 people in western Japan have caught and killed one of them.

Officials in Yamaguchi city have been trying for weeks to track down the group, who have made national headlines by assaulting residents, leaving mostly mild scratches and bites.

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Russia will not take Donbas in ‘immediate future’, say western officials – as it happened

Moscow has ‘definitively’ lost initiative in battle for eastern region; Ukraine attacks key Russian held bridge in Kherson

Peter Beaumont in Kyiv has filed this report on a night when it appears that Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian-occupied Kherson:

A key Russian held bridge into the occupied southern city of Kherson was hit with a barrage of rocket fire by Ukrainian forces who appeared to be stepping up operations to isolate the city.

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Sandy Hook defamation jury told of Alex Jones’s ‘massive campaign of lies’

Infowars founder ‘attacked the parents of murdered children’ by telling audience shooting in which 26 died was a hoax, court hears

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones repeatedly “lied and attacked the parents of murdered children” when he told his Infowars audience that the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was a hoax, an attorney for one of the victim’s parents told a Texas jury on Tuesday at the outset of a trial to determine how much Jones must pay for defaming them.

Jones created a “massive campaign of lies” and recruited “wild extremists from the fringes of the internet … who were as cruel as Mr Jones wanted them to be” to the families of the 20 first-graders and six educators who were killed in the 2012 attack on the school in Newtown, Connecticut, attorney Mark Bankston said during his opening statement as Jones looked on and occasionally shook his head.

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At least 15 killed in second day of anti-UN violence in DRC

Protesters and United Nations personnel among dead after incidents that left about 50 injured

At least 15 people were killed and about 50 wounded during a second day of violent anti-United Nations protests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern cities of Goma and Butembo, authorities have said.

The dead included demonstrators and UN personnel as UN sites were attacked by crowds.

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How does the EU plan to cut gas usage by 15% this winter?

Industry to feel pinch first after all countries in bloc except Hungary agreed to voluntary reduction

The EU has agreed to cut its gas consumption by 15% in an attempt to stave off a winter crisis triggered by a sharp reduction or total shutdown of Russian gas supplies to the bloc.

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Briton jailed in Iraq for smuggling antiquities to be freed, says lawyer

Family of retired geologist Jim Fitton, 66, ‘over the moon’ after court quashes 15-year jail sentence

A retired British geologist is to be released from an Iraqi prison after his 15-year jail sentence for smuggling antiquities was quashed, according to his family and lawyer.

Jim Fitton, 66, was jailed after collecting 12 stones and shards of broken pottery as souvenirs while visiting a site in Eridu as part of an organised geology and archaeology tour.

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Principal of Uvalde elementary school suspended in wake of deadly shooting

Mandy Gutierrez put on administrative leave, as 77-page report details multiple failures from police and other Texas officials

The principal of the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where an intruder shot dead 19 students and two teachers in May, has been suspended from her job.

Mandy Gutierrez of Robb elementary school was put on paid administrative leave on Monday, her attorney Ricardo Cedillo said in a statement to the Associated Press.

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‘Nancy, I’ll go with you’: Trump allies back Pelosi’s proposed Taiwan visit

Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper support visit to ‘freedom-loving Taiwan’ but Biden concerned any trip would antagonise Beijing

Plans for Nancy Pelosi, the US House speaker, to visit Taiwan have prompted opposition from China and the American military but support from Republicans in Washington, including former members of the Trump administration.

Trump’s second secretary of defense, Mark Esper, told CNN: “I think if the speaker wants to go, she should go.”

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Zelenskiy accuses Russia of using rising gas prices to terrorise Europe – as it happened

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here

The Russian state-controlled energy company Gazprom has announced a drastic cut to gas deliveries through its main pipeline to Europe from Wednesday.

The Russian gas export monopoly said it was halting the operation of one of the last two operating turbines due to the “technical condition of the engine”, cutting daily gas deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline to 33m cubic metres a day – about 20% of the pipeline’s capacity.

Today we saw another gas threat to Europe. Even despite the concession regarding the Nord Stream turbine, Russia is not going to resume gas supplies to European countries, as it is contractually obligated to do.

All this is done by Russia deliberately to make it as difficult as possible for Europeans to prepare for winter. And this is an overt gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe - this is exactly how it should be perceived. And they don’t care what will happen to the people, how they will suffer - from hunger due to the blocking of ports or from winter cold and poverty... Or from occupation. These are just different forms of terror.

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New words in French dictionaries show ‘great suppleness’ of language

Pandemic and climate crisis account for most new entries in authoritative Le Robert and Larousse dictionaries

From covidé (infected with coronavirus) to confinement (lockdown) and éco-anxiété (climate anxiety) to verdissement d’image (greenwashing), the pandemic and the climate crisis account for most new French words, Le Monde has concluded.

But if 28% of recent additions are essentially English, according to an analysis by the paper, nearly half are French coinages, demonstrating what it called the language’s “great suppleness, as well as the creativity and humour of its users”.

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EU agrees plan to ration gas use over Russia supply fears

Despite most energy ministers backing the scheme the EU was forced to water down proposals

The EU has been forced to water down its plan to ration gas this winter in an attempt to avoid an energy crisis generated by further Russian cuts to supply.

Energy ministers from the 27 member states, except Hungary, backed a voluntary 15% reduction in gas usage over the winter, a target that could become mandatory if the Kremlin ordered a complete shutdown of gas to Europe.

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IMF slashes global growth forecast as top three economies ‘stall’

Problems in the US, China and eurozone will result in first contraction since start of pandemic, report says

The International Monetary Fund has slashed its growth forecasts for the next 18 months after warning that the world’s three biggest economies are all stalling and inflation is higher than previously forecast.

In a downbeat update to its April world economic outlook (WEO), the IMF said problems in the US, China and the eurozone had resulted in global output falling in the second quarter of this year – the first contraction since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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British tourist, 21, killed by helicopter blade in Greece

Three arrested after Jack Fenton hit by rear rotor while reportedly trying to take a selfie at heliport in Athens

Three people have been arrested after the death of a 21-year-old British man killed by a spinning rotor blade when he disembarked in Athens from a helicopter chartered by his family from Mykonos.

Greek authorities said the aircraft’s pilot and two ground engineers were detained after the incident.

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‘Parks are wild by nature’: Yosemite visitors undeterred by raging forest fires

Picnics, treks, camping and swimming continue despite hazardous air quality and ash in national park

Yosemite national park’s dramatic vistas were shrouded by a thick grey haze on Monday afternoon, as smoke from the fiercely burning Oak fire hung over its granite peaks. Along the road winding toward the valley, skeletal trees told the story of the Washburn fire that tore through just weeks earlier.

The blazes – the two largest to ignite in California so far this year – have besieged Yosemite during one of its busiest months, causing entrance closures, cancellations, and cloaking the landmark in hazardous air.

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Insurance uncertainty poses challenge to Ukraine grain deal

Traders remain sceptical of UN-backed plan to export vital food supplies through mined Ukrainian waters

Worries over insurance are the biggest obstacle to grain ships leaving Ukraine’s Black Sea ports this week, exporters say.

Questions remain over whether insurance companies will be willing to insure the vessels as they navigate the mined waters, while buyers are hesitant to make new orders given the risk of Russian attacks.

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Blackouts in China as heatwave pushes electricity usage to record levels

High temperatures expected to continue for at least another week with more than 300 cities forecast to reach 35C

A long-running heatwave in China has pushed electricity usage to record levels in some areas and led to blackouts, with warnings that the high temperatures are expected to continue for at least another week.

More than 300 cities were forecast to reach temperatures above 35C on Tuesday. China Southern Power Grid Company said Monday’s usage had surpassed last year’s peak load by 3%. The Guangdong province power grid also hit a record high, reaching 142m kilowatts, an increase of 4.89% over last year’s peak load. Blackouts were reported in the provincial capital, Guangzhou, which has recorded a full week of maximum temperatures above 37C, including highs of 40C on Sunday and Monday.

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Tunisia referendum approves expansion of president’s powers – officials

Electoral commission – controlled by President Kais Saied – says 95% voted yes in constitutional referendum, which was boycotted by opposition groups

Tunisian president Kais Saied has celebrated the almost certain victory of the yes vote in a referendum on a new constitution that hands him wide-ranging powers and risks the return of authoritarian rule in the birthplace of the Arab spring.

Preliminary results for the vote, held a year to the day after Saied sacked the government and froze parliament in what rivals have called a coup, were due late on Tuesday, with a full tally not expected until next month. However, according to an exit poll taken by the Sigma Conseil institute, an overwhelming 92-93% of those who voted on Monday supported the new constitution.

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