Bill Clinton fancied an Indian rather than tea with the Queen

Then US leader also turned down Chequers dinner because he wanted to ‘be a tourist’, archives show

Bill Clinton turned down tea with the Queen and dinner at Chequers because he wanted to “be a tourist” and try out an Indian restaurant during his first official visit to the UK with Tony Blair as prime minister, formerly classified documents reveal.

Downing Street wanted to pull out all the stops for a visit seen as crucial to “establishing a good working relationship” between the new prime minister and the then US president. Buckingham Palace contacted No 10 to say “HM the Queen would be very pleased” to invite the Clintons to tea at 5pm on their brief one-day detour from summits in Paris and The Hague.

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Widow denies organising murder of her British husband in Ukraine hit and run

Julianna Moore, formerly Ganna Ziuzina, told an inquest she did not seek to profit from Barry Pring’s death, as his family alleges

The widow of a wealthy British businessman killed in a hit and run in Ukraine as he celebrated his first wedding anniversary has denied organising his murder, an inquest heard.

Barry Pring, 47, suffered fatal injuries when he was hit by a vehicle using a stolen number plate while waiting for a taxi outside a restaurant in Kiev with his wife, Ganna Ziuzina, on 16 February 2008.

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Ben & Jerry’s to stop sales in occupied Palestinian territories

Vermont-based company says sales in the occupied lands were ‘inconsistent with our values’

Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream has announced that it will no longer sell its ice-cream in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying the sales are “inconsistent with our values.”

The announcement on Monday was one of the highest-profile rebukes by a well-known brand of Israel’s settlements which are regarded as illegal under international law.

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Trump supporter sentenced to eight months in prison for role in Capitol riot

  • Paul Hodgkins pleaded guilty to obstructing official proceeding
  • Sentence likely to set benchmark for later cases

A Florida man was sentenced on Monday to eight months in prison for his role in the 6 January insurrection in Washington, a punishment likely to set a benchmark for later cases.

Related: US justice department charges four Chinese nationals in Microsoft Exchange hack – live

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US condemns China for ‘malicious’ cyberattacks, including Microsoft hack

Justice department charged four Chinese nationals with hacking as Washington accused Beijing of threatening national security

The US has led allies in a sharp condemnation of China for “malicious” cyberattacks, including a hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software that compromised tens of thousands of computers around the world earlier this year.

Related: UK and allies accuse Chinese state-backed group of Microsoft hack

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Outcry after Nigerian TV stations told to curb reporting of security issues

Regulator’s move comes amid fears that limited press freedoms are being eroded by the government

Nigeria’s broadcasting regulator has told TV stations to limit their reporting of rising insecurity in the country and withhold details of incidents and victims, in a move widely criticised by the country’s media and civil society groups.

In a letter sent to the country’s broadcasters, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) said TV stations should refrain from “giving details of either the security issues or victims of these security challenges”, and they should “collaborate with the government in dealing with the security challenges” by toning down reporting and commentary.

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German flood alert system criticised for ‘monumental failure’

Questions raised over lack of warning as death toll passes 150 and villages are left without drinking water, power or gas

Germany is asking itself how one of the world’s richest countries managed to be taken by surprise by last week’s extreme weather events, as more details emerge of how early warnings about record rainfall and expected floods did not make their way to the communities most at risk.

In Erftstadt, south of Cologne, where a flooded gravel quarry swallowed up cars, houses and parts of a historic castle, residents who had installed the federal government’s weather warning app were advised on Wednesday to stay inside their house.

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Dozens dead in Mumbai after intense monsoon rains cause landslides – video report

More than 30 people have died in the Indian city after an intense burst of rainfall caused flooding and landslides, as changing monsoon patterns because of the climate crisis lead to more extreme rains across India.

The landslide in the eastern suburb of Chembur enveloped homes as people were sleeping and killed at least 21, according to the National Disaster Response Force

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Italy likely to toughen Covid rules with curbs on unvaccinated people

Government expected to bar unjabbed from some indoor venues and launch ‘green pass’ for travel

The Italian government is expected to impose restrictions on unvaccinated people as it scrambles to stem a resurgence in Covid-19 infections.

In a similar move to that seen in France, those not fully vaccinated could be barred from being served indoors at restaurants and bars and from entering stadiums, museums, theatres, cinemas, swimming pools and gyms.

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Migration and Covid deaths depriving poorest nations of health workers

Fragile health systems are at risk due to high numbers of medical staff leaving to work in richer countries, say experts

The loss of frontline health workers dying of Covid around the globe, is being compounded in the hospitals of developing nations by trained medical staff leaving to help in the pandemic effort abroad, according to experts.

With new Covid waves in Africa, and with Latin America and Asia facing unrelenting health emergencies, the number of health worker deaths from Covid-19 in May was at least 115,000, according to the World Health Organization. Its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, acknowledged data is “scant” and the true figure is likely to be far higher.

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Coronavirus live news: England lockdown measures lift as Johnson self-isolates; record new cases in Thailand

England’s remaining restrictions lifted from midnight; Thailand confirms record new infections for fourth consecutive day; lockdown extended in Australian state of Victoria

A quick snap from Reuters here that Taiwan’s government has approved the production of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s vaccine candidate.

The health ministry said in clinical trials in Taiwan the antibodies created by Medigen’s vaccine candidate have been proven to be “no worse than” those created by AstraZeneca vaccines, and that there were no major safety concerns.

In the UK, while vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi was on Sky News, over on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme they were also talking about the NHS app and the instructions it is giving to workers to self-isolate.

Again it seems like there are two broad schools of thought – either the app is a nuisance that is causing over a million people, many of whom are vaccinated, to be told to stay at home when they are not at risk of developing a serious bout of Covid. Or it is a valuable diagnostic tool that is simply reflecting the fact that there are a lot of Covid cases out there in England, and it is spreading.

This is a problem and I think it could get worse. It is disruptive to the business. We had to close, in the last seven days, 33 pubs due to lack of staff because of self-isolation. Across the industry we think it is about one in five of our team members who have been affected by this and therefore it is causing a real issue for us setting up business on a daily basis – we’re having to have shortened hours in some circumstances.

We’ve been talking for a while internally about living in the ‘United Pingdom’ and it has become a huge challenge for individuals and businesses. Up to 25%, in some areas, of our staff have been asked to self-isolate. We’ve been able, through flexibility and sharing of labour, to keep sites open so far but it has been a very close call in certain circumstances, and I would echo that I think there is a different way of reacting to the pings for vaccinated people and using lateral flow tests that would help industries of all sorts a great deal and keep the economy functioning.”

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Guns, gangs and ‘bad aid’: Haiti’s crisis reaches full throttle

Incessant foreign meddling and corrupt elites have ensured life for Haitians remains mired in violence and poverty. President Moïse’s assassination marks an escalating catastrophe

The Haitian political activist Marie Antoinette Duclair appears to have been unaware that two men on a motorbike were following her car through the badly lit streets of Port-au-Prince.

Her passenger on the night of 29 June was a journalist, Diego Charles. They had been attending a meeting, and she was now, at 11 o’clock at night, dropping him at his home in the Christ-Roi area of Haiti’s capital.

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US father and son jailed in Tokyo for helping Carlos Ghosn flee Japan

US army special forces veteran Michael Taylor was sentenced to two years and his son Peter for one year and eight months

A Tokyo court has handed down the first sentences related to Carlos Ghosn’s arrest and escape from Japan, imprisoning US army special forces veteran Michael Taylor for two years and his son Peter for one year and eight months for helping the former Nissan chairman flee to Lebanon.

“This case enabled Ghosn, a defendant of serious crime, to escape overseas,” Hideo Nirei, the chief judge, said while explaining the judgment. “One year and a half has passed, but there is no prospect of the trial being held.”

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Came to fight, stayed for the freedom: why more Kurdish women are taking up arms

All-female militias in Syria have swelled in numbers in response to Turkish incursions. The comradeship and life outside traditional gender roles is proving appealing to many

Zeynab Serekaniye, a Kurdish woman with a gap-toothed smile and a warm demeanor, never imagined she’d join a militia.

The 26-year-old grew up in Ras al-Ayn, a town in north-east Syria. The only girl in a family of five, she liked to fight and wear boys’ clothing. But when her brothers got to attend school and she did not, Serekaniye did not challenge the decision. She knew it was the reality for girls in the region. Ras al-Ayn, Arabic for “head of the spring”, was a green and placid place, so Serekaniye settled down to a life of farming vegetables with her mother.

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New Zealand farmers’ demands are unrealistic – but they are suffering and deserve support | Philip McKibbin

Our society is changing and farmers are dealing with the most difficult aspects of it

On Friday, tractors crawled through cities and towns across New Zealand, in a planned demonstration against environmental regulations. The “Howl of a Protest”, organised by the rural grassroots organisation Groundswell, involved thousands of people.

I live in central Auckland – the most urban of urban centres – and I sympathise with farmers. They are clearly in pain, and understandably so. The changes they are being forced to make will affect not only their businesses, but also their lifestyles and traditions.

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Europe’s unluckiest train station gets new lease of life as hotel

Once-grand Canfranc was known as the Titanic of the mountains, but fell into disrepair thanks to fire, derailment and war

It earned the nickname “Titanic of the mountains”, but now the monumental and ill-fated train station at Canfranc is to get a new life as a five-star hotel, 51 years after the international rail link across the Pyrenees closed.

The story of Canfranc, a village more than 1,000 metres (3,280ft) above sea level on the Franco-Spanish frontier, is one of vainglorious ambition and abject failure, of incompetence and corruption, of intrigue, smuggling and a century-long run of bad luck.

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Young North Koreans told to shun slang and ‘cultural penetration’ from South

Editorial in official newspaper calls on youth to follow ‘traditional lifestyles’ and stick to ‘superior’ language

Young North Koreans have been warned to adhere to the country’s standard language and follow “traditional lifestyles” as part of the regime’s campaign to stamp out cultural influences from neighbouring South Korea.

In an editorial published on Sunday, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ party, railed against the creeping influence of the South on everything from hairstyles to the spoken word.

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Kurt Westergaard, Danish cartoonist behind Muhammad cartoon, dies aged 86

Westergaard was known for drawing a caricature of the prophet Muhammad which sparked outrage around the Muslim world

Danish artist Kurt Westergaard, known for drawing a caricature of the prophet Muhammad that sparked outrage around the Muslim world, has died at the age 86, his family told Danish media on Sunday.

Westergaard died in his sleep after a long period of ill health, his family told newspaper Berlingske.

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Politicians from across world call for ‘global green deal’ to tackle climate crisis

New alliance urges governments to work together to deliver a just transition to a green economy

People around the world need a “global green deal” that would tackle the climate crisis and restore the natural world as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, a group of politicians from the UK, Europe and developing countries has said.

The Global Alliance for a Green New Deal is inviting politicians from legislatures in all countries to work together on policies that would deliver a just transition to a green economy ahead of Cop26 UN climate talks in Glasgow this November.

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