The UK is at a “real risk” of falling behind the EU when it comes to workers’ rights, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) says. The union body said the EU had “various initiatives” in the pipeline which would improve standards once they became law. But it said the UK had no similar legislation on the way. The government said in protecting workers’ rights the UK already “goes further than the EU in many areas”. The TUC’s call comes three months after a new post-Brexit trade deal came into force between the UK and EU. Both sides have committed not to lower labour standards in a way that impacts trade or investment – but that does not mean they have to match each other. Nonetheless, the TUC said the UK had already failed to implement directives it agreed to while still a member of the EU, including:

Outrage has been growing over the death in police custody of a Salvadorean woman in the Mexican resort of Tulum on Saturday as more details of the incident emerged. A post-mortem examination suggests Victoria Esperanza Salazar’s neck was broken after a female officer pinned her to the ground. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said she had been “murdered”. The incident comes amid growing protests against femicides in Mexico. The 36-year-old from El Salvador had been in Mexico since at least 2018, when she was granted refugee status for humanitarian reasons. Her mother says she left her hometown of Sonsonate five years ago to escape the violence which El Salvador’s notorious street gangs were spreading.(BBC)…[+]

An Italian navy officer has been arrested after being caught in the act of handing secret documents to a Russian military official, police say. The men were stopped by military police on suspicion of serious crimes relating to espionage and state security. The Russian, who reportedly worked at the Russian embassy in Italy, is expected to be expelled. Russia’s ambassador Sergey Razov has been summoned to the foreign ministry in Rome.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said two Russian officials “involved in this very serious affair” were being expelled with immediate effect. The Kremlin said it hoped the “very positive and constructive nature of Russian-Italian relations will continue” but Russia’s foreign ministry is expected to respond to the expulsions.(BBC)…[+]

The cherry blossom season, Japan’s traditional sign of spring, has peaked at the earliest date since records began 1,200 years ago, research shows. The 2021 season in the city of Kyoto peaked on 26 March, according to data collected by Osaka University. Increasingly early flowerings in recent decades are likely to be as a result of climate change, scientists say. The records from Kyoto go back to 812 AD in imperial court documents and diaries. The city has experienced an unusually warm spring this year. The previous record there was set in 1409, when the season reached its peak on 27 March. The blossoms, “sakura” in Japanese, last only for a few days, but their appearance is tremendously important, both economically and culturally. Friends and family get together, and Instagram is awash with pictures.(BBC)…[+]

Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has replaced six cabinet ministers as his popularity plummets over his handling of the pandemic. Brazil’s health service is reported to be on the brink of collapse as the country battles a deadly second wave. It is the biggest reshuffle since Mr Bolsonaro came to power two years ago. He has consistently opposed quarantine measures, arguing that the damage to the economy would be worse than the effects of the virus itself. He also told Brazilians to “stop whining” about the coronavirus pandemic. More than 300,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Brazil, with more than 12 million confirmed cases.