Poland Duda narrowly beats Trzaskowski in presidential vote

Poland's incumbent President Andrzej Duda has narrowly beaten challenger Rafal Trzaskowski in Sunday's presidential vote.

With 99.7% of constituencies returning results, the conservative Mr Duda had won 51.2% of ballots.

The vote has been widely seen as a battle for the country's future as well as its strained relations with the European Union.

Mr Duda's win is expected to lead to further controversial reforms.

These include reforms to the judiciary and continued opposition to abortion and gay rights.

Alex Pullin: Australian world-champion snowboarder dies

Two-time world champion snowboarder Alex Pullin has died while spearfishing in his native Australia, local officials have confirmed.

Pullin, 32, was found unresponsive off a beach on Queensland's Gold Coast on Wednesday.

He was treated by paramedics at the scene but could not be revived, authorities said.

Nicknamed "Chumpy", Pullin was Australia's flagbearer at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

A Queensland Ambulance spokesman said: "The man was spearfishing off Palm Beach. He was brought to shore by bystanders where he was treated by local lifesavers and paramedics."

A snorkeller had spotted Pullin unconscious underwater on an artificial reef, local media said.

Lifeguards brought him to shore and called paramedics about 10:30 local time (00:30 GMT).

The athlete had previously shared pictures online of himself spearfishing, swimming and surfing.

The sport's Australian peak body, Snow Australia, said it was "shocked and saddened" by Pullin's death, leading tributes from fans and others.

"Alex was a beloved member of the Snow Australia community and he will be dearly missed," it said in a statement.

Pullin's represented Australia in snowboard cross at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Olympics.

Trump targets foreign workers with new visa freeze

US President Donald Trump has extended a pause on some green cards and suspended visas for other foreign workers until the end of 2020.

High-skilled tech workers, non-agricultural seasonal helpers, au pairs and top executives will be affected.

The White House said the move will create jobs for Americans hurting economically due to the pandemic.

But critics say the White House is exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to tighten up immigration laws.

1. Trump's bid to end immigration policy 'unlawful'
2. Immigration to US to be halted due to virus - Trump
3. Trump's 'wealth test' begins for US immigrants

Who's affected?

In a briefing for reporters, the administration said the freeze, in place through the end of the year, would impact about 525,000 people.

That includes an estimated 170,000 people blocked by the decision to extend a ban on some new green cards - which grants permanent residence to foreigners. The White House first announced it was halting those visas in April, an order that had been set to expire on Monday.

§  Trump signs immigration green card suspension

Existing visa holders are not expected to be affected under the new restrictions announced on Monday.

The order also applies to H-1B visas, many of which are granted to Indian tech workers. Critics say these visas have allowed Silicon Valley companies to outsource American jobs to lower-paid foreign employees. Last year, there were about 225,000 applications competing for 85,000 spots available through the H1-B visa programme.

The order will suspend most H-2B visas for seasonal workers, including those in the hospitality industry, except those in agriculture, the food processing industry and healthcare professionals.

The order will restrict J-1 short-term exchange visas, a category that includes university students and foreign au pairs who provide childcare. Professors and scholars are not included in the order. There will be a provision to request exemptions.

L visas for managers and other key employees of multinational corporations will also be suspended.

What's the reaction?

The aim is to get "the best and the brightest" and "the most value for our economy", a senior official said on the background call.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favours restrictions, told AP news agency: "This is a bold move by the Trump administration to protect American jobs."

But the American Civil Liberties Union said: "It's the exploitation of a pandemic to reshape immigration law, while superseding Congress."

The new policy is also opposed by many businesses, which rely on foreign workers.

"As the economy rebounds, American businesses will need assurances that they can meet all their workforce needs," the Chamber of Commerce wrote in a letter this month warning against new restrictions.

"To that end, it is crucial that they have access to talent both domestically and from around the world."

Corona virus: Brazil becomes second country to pass 50,000 deaths

Brazil has become the second country, after the US, to register more than 50,000 deaths from Covid-19.

It comes amid growing political unrest and days after the country confirmed more than one million corona virus infections.

Experts warn that the peak of the outbreak in Brazil is still weeks away.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded the biggest one-day increase in cases, with the Americas responsible for most of the new infections.

Of the 183,000 new cases reported in 24 hours, more than 60% were from North and South America, the agency said.

However, the growing outbreak did not stop thousands of supporters and opponents of Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro from taking to the streets in rival protests on Sunday.

Anti-government demonstrators are calling for Mr Bolsonaro to be impeached. It follows the arrest on Thursday of a former aide and family friend who is accused of corruption.

His supporters say Congress and the Supreme Court are trying to curb his powers.

Mr Bolsonaro has also been heavily criticised for his response to the coronavirus outbreak. He has opposed lockdowns and openly disagreed with advice from his government's own health ministry.

On Sunday, the ministry announced that 641 more deaths had been registered in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 50,617. Over the same period, it also registered more than 17,000 new infections.

Only the US has fared worse, with 2.2 million cases and nearly 120,000 deaths.

§  Brazil becomes second country to hit one million cases

Mr Bolsonaro argues that the economic impact of the measures will be much bigger than the virus itself, a position shared by many. But his overall approach to the crisis has led to the resignation of two doctors as health minister.

There was no national lockdown, but states and cities adopted their own measures. After months of restrictions, some are slowly being lifted, even though infection levels remain high.

There is still concern that the health system will be unable to cope in some places, and that the disease is spreading faster in deprived neighborhoods and remote areas, such as indigenous communities, where access to adequate care is difficult.

As well as the pandemic, Mr Bolsonaro is facing a growing political crisis. He is under investigation for allegedly trying to interfere with the police for political motives, which he denies, while the Supreme Court is carrying out two separate inquiries into his allies.

On Sunday, police in the capital, Brasilia, kept rival groups apart as they marched outside Congress and the Supreme Court buildings.

Other large gatherings took place in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

George Floyd's funeral hears calls for racial justice

The funeral of George Floyd, an African American whose death in police custody spawned global outrage, has heard impassioned pleas for racial justice.

Speakers in the church in Houston, Texas, lined up to remember a man whose "crime was that he was born black".

Mr Floyd died in Minneapolis last month as a white police officer held a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes, his final moments filmed on phones.

Four police officers involved have been sacked and charged over his death.

His coffin was taken from the church driven in a motorcade to the Houston Memorial Gardens where he was to be buried beside his mother.

One of Mr Floyd's nieces, Brooke Williams, called for a change in laws which, she argued, were designed to disadvantage black people. 

"Why must this system be corrupt and broken?" she asked. "Laws were already put in place for the African-American system to fail. And these laws need to be changed. No more hate crimes, please! Someone said 'Make America Great Again', but when has America ever been great?"

 Republican President Donald Trump's Democratic opponent in the November presidential election, Joe Biden, addressed the service in a video message, saying: "When there is justice for George Floyd, we will truly be on our way to racial justice in America."

Mr Biden has sharply criticised Mr Trump, accusing him at the weekend of making "despicable" speculative remarks about Mr Floyd.

But the Democratic politician was himself recently accused of taking black American votes for granted when he said African Americans "ain't black" if they even considered voting for Mr Trump.