1. PM to urge for global vaccination drive
Boris Johnson will urge the heads of other leading nations to commit to vaccinating the world against Covid-19 by the end of 2022. The prime minister is expected to set out a target for global vaccination at a summit of the G7 group of advanced economies. However, while the US, France, Germany, Italy and Japan have all said how many doses they will donate to the global vaccine programme, the UK has yet to put a figure on its planned contributions.
2. G7 tax deal ‘not good enough’
Campaigners say a landmark deal struck by rich nations to make multinational companies pay more tax does not go far enough. G7 finance ministers agreed to battle tax avoidance by making big companies contribute more in the countries where they do business. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, who hosted the summit, said the agreement would create “a fairer tax system fit for the 21st Century”. But Oxfam says an agreed 15% global minimum corporate tax rate is “far too low”.
3. William and Kate to ‘save Union’?
Plans are being drawn up for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to spend more time in Scotland to bolster the Union. Amid fears in Buckingham Palace that politicians are “losing Scotland,” aides want William and Kate to become a visible symbol of the bonds between England and Scotland. “They think of it as their Union,” said a source close to the royal household.
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4. Trump property prices slump
Donald Trump’s properties are suffering a price slump as his once “gilded name loses its shine,” reports The Observer. A review of more than 4,000 transactions over the past 15 years in 11 Trump-branded buildings in Chicago, Honolulu, Las Vegas and New York found prices for some condos and hotel rooms available for purchase have dropped by one-third or more. “They’re giving them away,” said one buyer.
5. Blair: time to distinguish on jabs
Tony Blair says it is “time to distinguish” between people who have and haven't had a Covid vaccine because it “makes no sense at all to treat those who have had vaccination the same as those who haven’t”. The former PM also said that easing rules for those who have had both jabs will prove a powerful incentive for others to take the vaccine. His statement followed news that 13.5m first and second doses of the vaccine were given out in May.
6. At least 132 dead in Burkina Faso attack
Armed men have killed over 132 people in an attack on a village in northern Burkina Faso. Government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura said in a statement that the local market and several homes in Solhan were also burned down. President Roch Marc Christian Kabore described the assault as “barbaric,” while the authorities are blaming it on jihadists. In March, attackers killed 137 people in coordinated raids on villages in southwestern Niger.
7. Guns ruling angers campaigners
A federal judge has ruled that California’s ban on assault weapons is unconstitutional and described the AR-15 rifle as “like a Swiss Army Knife”. Judge Roger T Benitez said the rifle – which has been used in many of the nation's deadliest mass shootings – is the pinnacle of home self-defence. The state’s Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom, said the judge’s description of the weapon invalidated the soundness of his ruling.
8. Puppy disease could pass to people
Vets across the country are on alert for a new disease that can jump from dogs to humans. Following a surge in demand for puppies during lockdown there has been a significant rise in cases of brucellosis in dogs. Public Health England on said 250 people have been tested for the disease but no one has returned a positive result. The infection is incurable in canines but people can be treated with antibiotics.
9. Mexico holds major elections
Mexico is holding midterm elections with more than 93 million registered voters choosing candidates for more than 21,000 elected posts in all three levels of government. CNN says one candidate is a former boxer who “promises to fight for people as hard as he did it in the ring,” while another “launched his campaign by coming out of a coffin, telling people that he should be buried alive if he wins and doesn’t fulfill his promises”.
10. Holograms expected at Bafta gala
Stars are expected to attend this year’s Bafta Television Awards, both in physical and virtual form. Among those expected to appear physically at Television Centre are Michaela Coel, Graham Norton and Billie Piper. However, the BBC says others will take part via video call or in hi-tech hologram form. Among the nominated shows are Sir Steve McQueen’s BBC anthology series Small Axe, which is up for six awards in four categories.
