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Coronavirus live news: Ireland reports highest daily rise in infections since May Australian death toll stands at 379; France removed from UK travel corridor; Greece and Croatia impose midnight curfew on bars and restaurants Theatres, casinos and bowling alleys reopen in England France could add British visitors to quarantine list after UK measuresUK adds France to Covid-19 14-day quarantine list‘Critical moment’: cases rise again in Spain 6.46pm BST Ireland reported 200 new Covid-19 cases arising from multiple clusters across the country on Saturday, the highest daily amount since the beginning of May. The country’s chief medical officer described this as “deeply concerning”. Ireland has reopened its economy at a slower pace than most European Union countr...

Police issue warning about Donald Trump-shaped ecstasy pills Man, 30s, from Luton arrested on suspicion of supplying the dangerous high-strength batch, police sayPolice have issued a warning about a dangerous high-strength batch of Donald Trump-shaped ecstasy pills.A man in his 30s from Luton has been arrested on suspicion of supplying the orange tablets, which bear the likeness of the US president, said Bedfordshire police. Continue reading... Go to Source

Give refugees crossing Channel a chance, say Windrush survivors Priti Patel risks replicating Home Office failings that led to scandal, victims and human rights campaigners warnSurvivors of the Windrush scandal have attacked the home secretary, saying her approach to the Channel migrant crossings is creating “the same set of conditions” that led to the government victimising the children of Commonwealth immigrants.A letter to Priti Patel from 100 prominent refugee and human rights campaigners, including members of the Windrush generation, warns that the “pattern of ignoring expert advice, failing to engage with civil society and branding migrants as criminal” replicates Home Office failings that caused the 2018 Windrush scandal. Continue reading... Go to Sourc...

Obama denounces Trump bid to deter voters with attack on post office USPS warns mail-in votes might not arrive in time to be countedObama: president trying to ‘actively kneecap’ postal serviceThere are growing fears over the handling of November’s US presidential election after it emerged that the US Postal Service (USPS) has warned it cannot guarantee mail-in votes will be counted in almost every state in America and Barack Obama accused Donald Trump of trying to “discourage people from voting”.In letters to 46 states, and the District of Columbia, the USPS has warned that it could not guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted – possibly affecting tens of millions of votes across almost the whole c...

'Deep remorse': Japanese emperor marks 75th anniversary of surrender Naruhito reflects on war actions at Covid-curtailed ceremony, marked elsewhere by former foes as Victory in the Pacific or VJ DayJapan has marked the 75th anniversary of its surrender in the second world war with Emperor Naruhito expressing “deep remorse” over his country’s wartime actions at a sombre annual ceremony curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic.Naruhito pledged to reflect on the war’s events and expressed hope that the tragedy would never be repeated. There was no word of apology from the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who gave thanks for the sacrifices of the Japanese war dead. Continue reading... Go to Source

'We can only help ourselves': women in Belarus take protests into their own hands After police beat up demonstrators, flower-bearing women take to streets demanding changeThe first chain of women appeared on Wednesday: a few hundred brave souls, dressed in white and holding aloft flowers, in a quietly powerful response to the gruesome violence inflicted on thousands of Belarusians over the previous days.By the next afternoon, columns of flower-waving women were everywhere, parading along the broad avenues of central Minsk smiling, laughing and resolutely demanding political change. Continue reading... Go to Source

Fury in Spain at US plans to produce ‘Iberian’ ham in Texas and Georgia Purists are angry with the Spanish government for failing to protect jamón’s integrityFor the purist – and there are many purists – top-class jamón ibérico de bellota (acorn-fed Iberian ham) must come from Iberian blackfoot pigs that spend the last months of their lives eating acorns on the dehesa, a traditional Spanish or Portuguese pasture shaded by mature oak trees.After being hung and dry cured for at least 36 months, the meat produced is silky with fat, and, say experts, has a flavour that can only come from the acorns. Spaniards consider jamón ibérico their greatest gift to international gastronomy – the caviar of the Iberian peninsula. Continue readin...

GCSEs: 2 million results set to be downgraded, researchers warn Exclusive: analysis suggests disadvantaged pupils will be even worse hit than in A-levels debacleTwo million GCSE grades recommended by teachers are set to be downgraded next week, with disadvantaged pupils even worse hit than in the A-levels debacle, according to analysis from leading researchers.Thousands of headteachers have called for urgent action to avoid “serious injustices” that could blight the life chances of their pupils, after their exams were cancelled due to coronavirus and the results decided by an algorithm that has been condemned as unfair. Continue reading... Go to Source

'It hasn't sunk in': Residents win 60% rent reduction in London council flats Tenants to pay lower social rents after campaign against corporate landlords at Custom House and Canning Town in NewhamHundreds of families in temporary accommodation in east London have had their rent reduced by around 60% following a four-year campaign against their corporate social landlord.The London borough of Newham announced this week that “following a series of management issues” 250 properties in the borough, which were leased out by the council to the property management company Mears, would be transferred back into council management. Continue reading... Go to Source

British visitors to France could face two-week quarantine after UK measures Netherlands, also removed from travel corridor list, rules out tit-for-tat Covid ruling Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBritish visitors to France could face a two-week quarantine in France, as the French government threatened retaliation after being removed from the UK safe travel list following a spike in coronavirus cases.But the Netherlands, which was also removed from the travel corridor list late on Thursday, has ruled out reciprocal measures. Continue reading... Go to Source

EU moves toward Belarus sanctions after crackdown on protests Bloc’s foreign ministers agree to freeze assets of individuals responsible for vote-rigging and violence against protestersEuropean foreign ministers have agreed to move toward sanctions on Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, after reports of the systematic abuse and torture of Belarusians swept up in the brutal crackdown on protests.A diplomatic source said the EU’s 27 foreign ministers had agreed that individuals responsible for the falsification of Sunday’s presidential elections and subsequent violence against protesters should face asset freezes and travel bans into the bloc. Continue reading... Go to Source

Magnum reviewing archive as concerns raised about images of child sexual exploitation Agency to review historical photographs after issue raised on website and social mediaMagnum Photos, one of the world’s most celebrated photographic agencies, is to re-examine the content of its archive of more than 1 million images after accusations it made available photographs that critics said may show the sexual exploitation of minors.In a statement, the president of Magnum, Olivia Arthur, said the agency, whose founders included Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, had begun an “in-depth internal review to make sure that we fully understand the implications of the work in the archive, both in terms of imagery and context. Continue reading... Go to Source