Category Archives: World News

Trump claims US on way to ‘tremendous victory’ over Covid-19 as cases surge – live

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The White House is set to host its largest event since the start of the coronavirus pandemic with tonight’s Salute to America. Hundreds of chairs and tables have been set up on the South Lawn, where Trump will deliver a speech he says will celebrate American heritage. An administration spokesperson says social distancing “will be observed” and face masks will be offered but not mandatory.

Trump was first inspired to stage a mass display of pop and power on America’s birthday when attended the Bastille Day military parade as the guest of French president Emmanuel Macron back in 2017. An initial 2018 push to stage a parade that would have seen soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the streets of Washington was scuttled amid accusations that he was politicizing an important holiday, emulating displays in authoritarian countries and wasting taxpayers’ money.

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, along with the Department of Interior, will host the 2020 Salute to America on the South Lawn of the White House and Ellipse on Saturday, July 4. In addition to music, military demonstrations, and flyovers to honor our Nation’s service members and veterans, the President will deliver remarks that celebrate our independence and salute our amazing heritage. The evening will culminate with a spectacular fireworks display over the National Mall.

For 4 July, in the summer of protests over the killing of George Floyd, a picture gallery from Jameelah Nuriddin and Erin Hammond.

The eight images capture a giant 200-year-old flag, a young black woman with a giant afro, and various postures combining the pledge of allegiance and black power poses. They are accompanied by a manifesto that mirrors the preamble to the US constitution, written by Nuriddin, who is also the model in the series:

Related: Imagine a 'New America': reclaiming the American flag – in pictures

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166 die during protests after shooting of Ethiopian pop star

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Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was shot dead in Addis Ababa on Monday night, fuelling ethnic tensions

At least 166 people have died during violent demonstrations that roiled Ethiopia in the days following the murder of popular singer Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, police said Saturday.

Pop star Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, a member of the Oromo ethnic group, Ethiopia’s largest, was shot dead by unknown attackers in Addis Ababa on Monday night, fuelling ethnic tensions threatening the country’s democratic transition.

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‘Let’s do karaoke!’: Bangkok nightlife eases out of lockdown

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The city’s bars, clubs and even massage parlours are beginning to buzz again but the absence of tourists is taking its toll

A mix of K-pop, sweet Thai love ballads and 90s music reverberates along the corridor of one of Bangkok’s popular karaoke spots. In private rooms, parties of friends strike poses and bellow into microphones.

After three months of silence, Thailand’s nightlife was allowed to reopen on 1 July – provided venues follow government rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus. “You can dance, as long as you keep a distance from your friends,” explains Planisara Suksit, branch manager of Yes!! R&B Karaoke in Thonglor, her voice muffled by a face mask and plastic shield.

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High society to hideaway arrest: Ghislaine Maxwell’s dramatic fall

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For years she was at the centre of a web of influence but this week Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend will appear in a New York court

For a party girl with no parties left to attend, Ghislaine Maxwell’s 20-mile journey from her mountain hideaway in Bradford, New Hampshire, to Merrimack county jail was the brutal, cinematic finale to a social highlife that stretched across decades and continents.

Taken by surprise at 8.30am last Thursday, and accompanied by officers from at least six US law enforcement agencies, the 58-year-old was taken to the medium-security facility and later arraigned via audio-only video conference, accused of luring underage girls, one as young as 14, for her former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse.

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Fire breaks out at power station in Iran

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Fire follows several other incidents at facilities across the country, including some at sensitive sites

A fire broke out at a power station in south-western Iran on Saturday, Iranian media reported, the latest in a string of fires and explosions, some of which have hit sensitive sites.

The blaze, which affected a transformer in the power station in the city of Ahvaz, was put out by firefighters and electricity was restored after partial outages, Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, a spokesman for state-run power company Tavanir, told the semi-official news agency Tasnim.

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Stanley Johnson says Greece visit is essential to ‘Covid-proof’ villa

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Boris Johnson has refused to criticise his father over trip to holiday home during lockdown

The prime minister’s father, Stanley Johnson, has defended travelling to his villa in Greece amid growing condemnation by saying that he was making the property “Covid-proof”.

Government guidelines state that British nationals should avoid all but essential travel, but his son Boris has refused to criticise the trip and, on Friday, suggested the media should raise the issue directly with his father.

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Poland president plans to forbid adoption by same-sex couples

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Andrzej Duda, who is running for re-election, will propose a constitutional amendment later this month

Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, who is running for re-election in the conservative, Catholic EU member, said on Saturday that he wanted the constitution to explicitly forbid the adoption of children by same-sex couples.

He said he planned to propose a constitutional amendment on Monday.

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Record rainfall triggers floods and landslides in Japan – video

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Record heavy rain in western Japan has caused widespread flooding and landslides, forcing authorities to issue evacuation orders for more than 76,000 residents. Television footage shows homes and vehicles in Kumamoto prefecture partly submerged, and several bridges have been washed away

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Donald Trump says US ‘under siege from far-left fascism’ in Mount Rushmore speech – video

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Standing beneath Mount Rushmore on the eve of independence day in the US,  the president said the nation’s history was 'under siege from far-left fascism'.  He defended the symbolism of statues and monuments, including Mount Rushmore - which features the carved faces of four US presidents. They include George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who were slave owners. Trump said: 'These heroes will never be defaced. Their legacy will never, ever be destroyed. Their achievements will never be forgotten'

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Earl Cameron, ‘Britain’s first black film star’, dies aged 102

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Bermudian-born actor rose to prominence in the 1950s in films such as Pool of London and Sapphire, as well as appearing in the 007 film Thunderball

Earl Cameron, who with his debut role in the 1951 film Pool of London, became one of the first significant black actors in British cinema, has died aged 102. His agent confirmed the news to the Guardian, saying “he passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his wife and family” on Friday in Kenilworth in Warwickshire.

Cameron’s significance to the current generation of black British actors was underlined by tributes on social media. David Harewood described him as “a total legend”, while Paterson Joseph wrote: “His generation’s pioneering shoulders are what my generation of actors stand on. No shoulders were broader than this gentleman with the voice of god and the heart of a kindly prince.” Historian David Olusoga added: “A remarkable and wonderful man. Not just a brilliant actor but a link to a deeper history.”

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Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews ‘least stressed’ by Covid-19, says study

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Despite being hardest hit by the pandemic, the country’s most devout community score highest in a happiness survey

Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel have been happier and less stressed during the Covid-19 pandemic than others, including secular Jews, according to new research.

A study of the Israeli Jewish population by Tel Aviv University found levels of resilience were higher in ultra-Orthodox communities than other groups, despite this group being disproportionately affected by the disease in terms of both health and economic factors.

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Italy breaks up child abuse ring ‘that shared images of babies’

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Police say material, including photos of acts with newborns, shared on a well-known instant messaging platform

Italian police say they have broken up a child abuse ring used to share illicit material, including photos of newborns, via an instant messaging platform.

Police said on Saturday that the crackdown involved dozens of search warrants and led to the arrest of three people for allegedly possessing what was described in a statement as “huge quantities of pornographic material depicting minors”. About 50 people are under investigation.

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‘Hidden language’: Hongkongers get creative against security law

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Residents use wordplay including repurposed Chinese Communist party dogma to express frustration

Hongkongers are finding creative ways to voice dissent after Beijing blanketed the city in a new security law and police began arresting people displaying now forbidden political slogans.

Faced with the sudden threat of prosecution for anything that might promote greater autonomy or independence for the restless city, residents are using wordplay and even subverting Chinese Communist party dogma to express their frustration.

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Ghislaine Maxwell will not say anything about Prince Andrew, says friend

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Laura Goldman says she expects Maxwell to seek plea deal over charges relating to exploitation of young girls

Ghislaine Maxwell would never say anything about the Duke of York’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, according to one of her friends.

Maxwell appeared in court in the US on Thursday accused of helping disgraced financier Epstein “identify, befriend and groom” multiple girls, including one as young as 14.

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‘An ashram for the hummingbird’: the Trinidad haven for world’s tiniest bird

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Theo and Gloria Ferguson have created a garden specially designed to attract hummingbirds – and hundreds visit daily

At the foot of Theo and Gloria Ferguson’s property stands a giant silk cotton tree. Reminiscent of those enchanted species in children’s fables, this ancient sentinel’s huge varicose limbs yawn upwards and outwards, towards a canopy of leaves that scratch the sky. Eight adults linking arms would struggle to encircle its vast girth, proof of the aeons it has stood guarding the edge of Trinidad’s Maracas valley.

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‘Get me back to Caracas’: desperate Venezuelans leave lockdown Bogotá

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Their ambitions for a new life in Colombia shattered, migrants are lining up for the bus journey back to an uncertain future

Rosa Vera, a 40-year-old from a small town in crisis-ridden Venezuela, thought moving to Colombia would give her the chance to find work. Five months ago, she left her family and began the arduous journey to Bogotá, the Colombian capital, to look for a job.

Instead, as coronavirus shut down economic life in the city, Vera and more than 400 Venezuelans had no choice but to camp out for a month, waiting for help to get them home.

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Hongkongers on China’s crackdown: ‘I feel helpless and hopeless’

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Guardian readers in or from Hong Kong share their views on the new national security law

In late May, a week after Chinese officials announced a plan to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong, the Guardian issued a callout to people who believed they would be affected. We wanted to hear how people felt about the law, how it might change their lives, and how they felt about the last year of protests.

The response was overwhelming. Within days we had received more than 30,000 messages from people inside and outside Hong Kong – the most for any Guardian community callout.

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Portugal angered at being left off England’s safe travel list

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Foreign minister points out his country’s death rate from Covid-19 is a fraction of the UK’s

Portugal’s tourism sector reacted with fury and disbelief at England’s decision to maintain a quarantine regime for travellers coming from the country despite the UK having a higher death toll.

Portugal was left off a list of more than 50 countries that Westminster has deemed safe enough for travel without coronavirus-related restrictions, meaning holidaymakers returning from Portugal will have to quarantine for 14 days.

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‘Unite the nation’: Jean Castex replaces Édouard Philippe as French prime minister – video

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France has a new prime minister after President Emmanuel Macron named career civil servant Jean Castex as the replacement for Édouard Philippe. Castex will be part of Macron’s ‘new course’ for the last two years of his mandate.

Castex, from the centre right of French politics, coordinated France’s successful exit from lockdown and is widely known as Monsieur Déconfinement. He will form the next government

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Johnson’s father’s visit to Greece ‘could erode trust in guidelines’

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Trip by Stanley Johnson could weaken message on Covid-19 rules, warns Sage adviser

The decision by the prime minister’s father to travel to his Greek villa in apparent breach of Foreign Office guidance has been criticised by a government scientific adviser.

Boris Johnson has refused to condemn his father, Stanley, for flying to Greece, despite current advice for British nationals to avoid all but essential international travel.

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