Australian citizen detained in China amid increasing tensions between Canberra and Beijing

The foreign minister, Marise Payne, says the Australian government was notified in mid-August that Cheng Lei had been detained

An Australian citizen who works as a TV anchor for a Chinese state-controlled broadcaster has been detained as tensions between Canberra and Beijing escalate.

The Australian government was notified on 14 August that Cheng Lei, an anchor for a business show on the China Global Television Network, had been detained in Beijing.

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India accuses China of ‘provocative military movements’ near border

Two countries locked in standoff along southern bank of Pangong Lake in Ladakh

India has accused China of “provocative military movements” along their disputed border in Ladakh, escalating tensions between the two sides who have been locked in a months-long standoff.

A statement by India’s defence ministry said China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had “carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo” on the southern bank of Pangong Lake in Ladakh.

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New Zealand’s astounding wealth gap challenges our ‘fair go’ identity | Max Rashbrooke

New data shows the richest 1% are worth 68 times more than a typical New Zealander

The extent of wealth inequality in supposedly egalitarian New Zealand has been laid bare by figures showing the wealthiest individuals have over NZ$140bn (US$93bn) stashed away in trusts – and overall have nearly 70 times more assets than the typical Kiwi.

The new data, drawn from the 2017-18 Household Economic Survey, are likely to underestimate true inequality, as the ultra-wealthy are generally reluctant to take part in such surveys.

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Coronavirus live news: US nears 6m cases, Japan reports 600 new cases

Midwestern states report record infections; Colombia passes 600,000 Covid-19 cases; India sets global daily case record. Follow latest updates

The number of doctors in Indonesia who have died after becoming infected with Covid-19 has passed 100, according to the Indonesian Doctors Association.

The country is facing one of the worst outbreaks in south-east Asia, and there are growing concerns that a recent rise in cases is leaving hospitals overwhelmed.

Private tuition centres shut for the first time and traffic was lighter in South Korea’s capital on Monday, the first working day of tighter social-distancing rules designed to halt a second wave of coronavirus outbreaks, Reuters reports.

South Korea took the unprecedented step on Friday to restrict the operation of restaurants, coffee shops and so-called cram schools in the Seoul metropolitan area, with churches, nightclubs and most public schools having already been closed.

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Investigations into police and prison violence blocked by Fiji authorities, whistleblowers say

Exclusive: Allegations of brutality in Fiji’s prisons have been effectively ignored by the government’s human rights commission, insiders claim

Complaints against police and prison officers – including of a violent assault against a young inmate – have been blocked from being investigated by authorities, whistleblowers inside Fiji’s human rights watchdog have claimed, expressing concern the body is not independent of government influence.

Current and former employees of the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission have alleged investigators are regularly refused access to victims of alleged assaults by Fijian authorities, and that some rights violations by police or corrections officers are disregarded or not investigated properly.

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Child lifted metres into the air by giant kite at Taiwan festival – video

Footage shows a girl, 3, in Taiwan being lifted high into the air after becoming entangled in the strings of a kite. The unidentified girl was taking part in a kite festival on Sunday in the seaside town of Nanliao when she was hoisted several metres into the air by the giant, long-tailed orange kite. News reports said the girl was frightened but suffered no physical injuries in the incident. 


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Child, 3, catches in kite strings and is lifted high into air in Taiwan

Girl became entangled in tail of giant kite at festival and was rescued unharmed

A three-year-old girl in Taiwan was caught up in the strings of a kite and lifted high into the air before being rescued unharmed.

The unidentified girl was taking part in a kite festival on Sunday in the seaside town of Nanliao when she became entangled in a giant, long-tailed orange kite and was hoisted off the ground by several metres.

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The Guardian view on African success: a step closer to conquering polio | Editorial

We are tantalisingly close to eradicating the disease. Things may slip backwards because of science, thugs and exponents of ignorance

Polio arrives, if it announces itself at all, as a high temperature. Or a sore throat. Maybe a headache, or an upset stomach. It can go within a week or so, and be mistaken for flu. It is transmitted by poor hygiene, largely affects children under five, and many don’t realise they’ve had it. In 5-10% of cases, however, the virus affects the nerves, paralysing the legs in particular; sometimes it reaches the lungs. For most, this is temporary. For others – 30 years ago, this was 350,000 children a year – paralysis is permanent, and if it is of the lungs, they die. No one who has seen the effects of polio forgets.

In the early 20th century epidemics were frequent; in the United States transmission was blamed on everything from cats to blueberries to Italian immigrants. By the early 1950s, the US public ranked it second as its worst fear after nuclear war. When, in 1955, a vaccine was developed, the British held street parties. The numbers of cases dropped immediately. In 1960, Czechoslovakia was first to declare eradication. The last recorded case of naturally occurring polio in the UK was in 1984. Polio was declared gone in the Americas in 1994; in the western Pacific region (including China) in 2000; in Europe in 2002; India and south-east Asia in 2014. Last week, Africa joined their number. Only Pakistan and Afghanistan remain.

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