Anti-racist groups in Italy have warned of a dangerous acceleration in attacks on immigrants after 12 shootings, two murders and 33 physical assaults were recorded in the two months since Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party, entered government as interior minister.

Opposition politicians have accused Salvini of creating a climate of hate following the attacks, which have coincided with an anti-migration drive that has included closing Italian ports to NGO rescue boats and a vow to expel non-Italian Roma. In one incident in July, a 13-month-old Roma girl was shot in the back with an airgun pellet. In at least two recent attacks on immigrants, the perpetrators have allegedly shouted Salvini’s name.

“Propaganda around anti-migrant policies has clearly contributed to creating a climate of hostility and to legitimising racist violence,” said Grazia Naletto, the manager of migration policies and racial discrimination of the Lunaria association, which publishes quarterly reports on the number of racially motivated attacks in Italy.(theguardian)…[+]

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, has described the result of the presidential election as fraudulent and illegitimate at an extraordinary press conference that was delayed when riot police dispersed waiting journalists. Chamisa, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), claimed his supporters had been subjected to violence and harassment and that the results of the election – the first since the army removed 94-year-old Robert Mugabe from office in November – had been manipulated.

It was his first public appearance since the incumbent president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, was declared the election winner early on Friday morning. “Mr Mnangagwa did not win the election in this country … we won this election emphatically,” Chamisa said. “If you go around the country you will find no celebration. This is a black day for democracy. We are seeing a repeat of the last regime.” Mnangagwa, who for decades was one of Mugabe’s closest collaborators, later invited media to his colonial-era official residence in Harare. The 75-year-old former spy chief said the elections had been free and fair and he reached out to Chamisa, saying he had a crucial role to play in Zimbabwe’s present and future.

“There will be some who are disappointed by the outcome [of the election] but I urge everyone to remember that we are all brothers and sisters, sharing one dream and one destiny,” Mnangagwa said.(theguardian)…[+]

Two people have died from apparent heatstroke in Spain and parts of the country are on red alert as the first heatwave of the summer tightens its grip on the Iberian peninsula, with temperatures as high as 45C (113F) forecast for the weekend.

A mass of exceptionally hot air began moving up from Africa on Wednesday, causing temperatures of 44C in some areas of Spain by Friday afternoon. Two provinces in the western region of Extremadura have been placed on red alert, as has the Salamanca province of Castilla y León, and parts of the usually temperate north-western region of Galicia. Madrid and most of central and south-western Spain were on orange alert, with temperatures as high as 40C predicted. Despite the surging temperatures, however, most of the Spanish coastline will be spared the worst of the weekend’s heat, with the Costa del Sol due to experience normal conditions for the time of year.(theguardian)…[+]