George Christensen revives diplomatic spat with threat to summons Chinese ambassador

Coalition backbencher wants to know why ambassador threatened a trade boycott after Australia called for international inquiry into coronavirus * Sign up for Guardian Australia’s daily coronavirus email * Download the free Guardian app to get the most important news notifications Diplomatic tensions between Australia and China may be reignited with an extraordinary threat by a Coalition backbencher to summons the Chinese ambassador to answer questions from a parliamentary committee. While the attempt to compel the ambassador to appear at a hearing in Canberra is almost certain to fail because of diplomatic immunity, the push interrupts a pause in public sparring between the two governments over the response to Covid-19. Continue reading...
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Xu Zhangrun, outspoken critic of Xi Jinping, detained by police in Beijing

Professor had been under house arrest after writing an essay lambasting the president over his response to coronavirus Chinese professor Xu Zhangrun, known for his scathing and public criticisms of China’s leader Xi Jinping, has been detained, according to friends of the legal scholar. Two friends of Xu, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals, told the Guardian that he had been detained on Monday morning. According to one, around 20 police officers and 10 vehicles arrived at his home in Beijing and took Xu away. Continue reading... https://bit.ly/2Z3QWQg

Have a heart, KitKat, don't break with Fairtrade

Nestlé is big in York, but the city is fighting the brand’s decision to make life harder for African cocoa farmers Here’s a quiz question: how many KitKats are produced in the Nestlé factory in York each year? A hundred million? Keep going. The plant makes a billion of the UK’s bestselling chocolate bars annually. That volume is one reason that the company’s shameful decision to end the brand’s Fairtrade certification will have such a devastating effect on cocoa farmers. I visited some of the Fairtrade-certified cocoa farms in Ivory Coast last year. Seeing the difference that a measure of financial security can make to some of the poorest villages on earth is a lasting lesson in the mechanics of hope. Continue reading... https://bit.ly/3e43Jqe

Italy tests 180 migrants rescued by ship for Covid-19

Migrants have been onboard vessel operated by charity SOS Méditerranée for over a week * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage Italy is carrying out tests on 180 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean with a view to transferring them to a quarantine vessel in Sicily, an interior ministry source has said. The migrants have been on the Ocean Viking ship operated by SOS Méditerranée for over a week, with fights and suicide attempts onboard prompting the charity to declare a state of emergency on Friday. Continue reading... https://bit.ly/3f27z4u

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