A judge in Brazil has ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a protective mask when he is in public spaces in the capital, Brasilia, and the surrounding federal district. The far-right president has been criticised for belittling the risk posed by coronavirus.

He dismissed it as “a little cold” at the start of the pandemic. Brazil has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases and Covid-related fatalities in the world after the US. There are more than 1.1m confirmed cases of coronavirus in Brazil and more than 51,000 coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Despite these high figures, President Bolsonaro has repeatedly appeared in public without a mask while greeting his supporters.(BBC)…[+]

Complaints about noise from illegal fireworks has skyrocketed in several US cities in recent weeks, according to local authorities. Firework usage typically increases during the build up to Independence Day celebrations on 4 July.

But residents of New York, Oakland and other US cities have shared concerns on social media about an increase in night-time pyrotechnics. It is not immediately clear what is causing the sudden boom in activity.

Consumer firework use regulations vary both between and within states. Illinois, Ohio and Vermont allow sparklers but not fireworks, while Massachusetts bans all consumer fireworks outright, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. In New York State, ground-based or hand-held “sparkling devices” are allowed, while aerial fireworks and firecrackers are prohibited. In New York City, the rules are even more limited: all types of fireworks, including sparklers, are banned. By law, US consumers are not allowed to purchase professional grade fireworks.

Earlier this month, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh held a press conference on the boom in fireworks use, where he noted a 2,300% increase in complaints about fireworks to the city’s police.(BBC)…[+]

Health leaders are calling for an urgent review to determine whether the UK is properly prepared for the “real risk” of a second wave of coronavirus. In an open letter published in the British Medical Journal, ministers were warned that urgent action would be needed to prevent further loss of life. The presidents of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, Nursing, Physicians, and GPs all signed the letter.

It comes after Boris Johnson announced sweeping changes to England’s lockdown. The Department of Health said it would continue to be guided by the latest scientific advice and would give the NHS “whatever it needs”. On Tuesday, the prime minister said pubs, restaurants, cinemas and hairdressers will be able to reopen from 4 July.

The 2m social-distancing rule will be replaced with a “one-metre plus” rule, meaning people should stay at least 2m apart where possible, but otherwise should remain at least 1m apart while taking steps to reduce the risk of transmission, such as wearing face coverings. The 2m rule will remain in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, however. Both the government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and the chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty stressed Mr Johnson’s plan was not “risk-free” at Tuesday’s final daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing.(BBC)…[+]

A policeman involved in the killing of a black woman in the US state of Kentucky will be fired, city officials announced. Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot as she slept when officers entered her flat in Louisville on 13 March during a drugs investigation. Mayor Greg Fischer said Brett Hankison, one of three officers involved, will lose his badge.

Ms Taylor’s name has become a rallying cry at global anti-racism protests. The other officers have been placed on administrative leave amid an investigation. Mayor Fischer did not provide more details regarding the decision to fire Mr Hankison, citing a local law.”Unfortunately, due to a provision in state law that I very much would like to see changed, both the Chief and I are precluded from talking about what brought us to this moment, or even the timing of this decision,” he said.(BBC)…[+]

Human rights campaigner Malala Yousafzai has expressed her “joy and gratitude” after finishing her final exams at Oxford University. The 22-year-old, who survived a shot to the head by Taliban soldiers, studied politics, philosophy, and economics.

Tweeting earlier, she said: “I don’t know what’s ahead. For now, it will be Netflix, reading and sleep.” Ms Yousafzai was attacked for saying girls should be allowed to stay in education. She was shot in the head, neck and shoulder while travelling home from school after writing an anonymous diary about life under the extremists. After recovering from her near-fatal injuries, she and her family relocated to Birmingham.

In 2014, she became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize, at the age of 17. Three years later she accepted a place to study at Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford. Ms Yousafzai tweeted two pictures as she announced the news that she completed her degree. In one, she is celebrating with her family in front of a graduation cake.

The other was taken after a “trashing”, a tradition at the university where students are covered with food and confetti after completing their exams.(BBC)…[+]

A US Air Force sergeant with links to the far-right Boogaloo Bois movement has been charged with the murder of a federal security officer in California, the FBI says. Steven Carrillo is accused of killing David Patrick Underwood outside the courthouse in Oakland during Black Lives Matter protests last month. He was already charged with the murder of another officer eight days later.

Damon Gutzwiller was killed in an ambush near Santa Cruz on 6 June. Mr Carrillo, who is stationed at Travis air force base, was arrested during a subsequent confrontation. He appears to have used his own blood to write various phrases on the bonnet of a car he stole, the FBI said, including “boog” and “stop the duopoly”. “Boogaloo” is a term used by extremists to reference a violent uprising or impending civil war in the US, the FBI said. Adherents of the loose grouping known as Boogaloo Bois, which some liken to a militia, are anti-government and often carry assault weapons.(BBC)…[+]

The uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sentenced to four years in prison by a Paris court for money-laundering. Rifaat al-Assad was convicted of embezzling Syrian state funds to buy homes and offices worth €90m (£80m) to build a French property portfolio. The 82-year-old former vice-president denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers say he will appeal.

His property assets in Paris and London will be seized, the court ruled. Assad, who was hospitalised with internal bleeding in France in December, was not in court for the ruling. His London property is believed to be worth €29m (£26m).  He was once the second most powerful man in Syria – the military commander at the right hand of his brother Hafez, who led Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. Rifaat is known as the “Butcher of Hama” by some Syrians because of his alleged role in the bloody suppression of an anti-government uprising in the city in 1982 but he has denied any responsibility for the massacre. Between 10,000 and 20,000 people are estimated to have died.

Since 1984, when he led a failed coup against his brother, Rifaat has mostly lived in exile in France and Spain. After Hafez died in 2000, Rifaat proclaimed himself his brother’s legitimate successor. But Bashar became president.

When Syria descended into civil war in 2011 he called on his nephew to step down.(BBC)…[+]

The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to prevent former National Security Adviser John Bolton from publishing a new book about his time at the White House. According to the complaint, the book contains “classified information”. The move comes a day after President Donald Trump said Mr Bolton could face “criminal problems” over the release.

The book, entitled The Room Where It Happened, is due to be released on 23 June. “I will consider every conversation with me as president highly classified,” Mr Trump told reporters on Monday. “So that would mean that if he wrote a book and if the book gets out, he’s broken the law and I would think he would have criminal problems.”

However, the non-profit American Civil Liberties Union said that “any Trump administration efforts to stop John Bolton’s book from being published are doomed to fail”. Mr Bolton’s lawyer, Charles Cooper, said they were looking through the lawsuit and “will respond in due course”. In January, the White House said the book contained “top secret” details that must be removed, although Mr Bolton rejected this.(BBC)…[+]

South Africa’s president says it has been a “dark and shameful week” for his country following a surge in violence against women. Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks come after several femicides, including one woman who was eight months pregnant and found stabbed and hanging from a tree.

He noted they had occurred since some coronavirus restrictions were lifted, including a ban on the sale of alcohol.

The culture of silence around gender-based violence had to end, he said. “Gender-based violence thrives in a climate of silence. With our silence, by looking the other way because we believe it is a personal or family matter, we become complicit in this most insidious of crimes,” President Ramaphosa said. As many as 51% of women in South Africa had experienced violence at the hands of someone they were in a relationship with, the president’s statement said.(BBC)…[+]