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Australia Institute modelling shows top 20% of taxpayers get 80% of benefit of final two stagesThe final stages of the Turnbull government’s plan to dramatically flatten Australia’s income tax scales will provide a multibillion-dollar boon to the top 20% of income earners, and they deserve further scrutiny by parliament, a progressive thinktank says.The Australia Institute has produced new modelling of the most expensive elements of the government’s income tax plan, saying the Senate needs to understand how skewed they are towards richer households. Continue reading...

PM believes it would be wrong for Westminster to legislate on matter in devolved administrationTheresa May will oppose plans to let MPs vote to liberalise Northern Ireland’s oppressive abortion laws, Downing Street has signalled.The prime minister believes that it would be wrong for Westminster to legislate on a matter that should be decided by the devolved administration in Belfast and ministers fear that imposing pro-choice laws on Northern Ireland could backfire. Continue reading...

Church is seen by many as lacking compassion, archbishop of Dublin to tell congregation

People celebrate after Ireland calls for an end to the country's anti-abortion laws, with two-thirds of voters choosing to repeal the eighth amendment to the constitution. Orla O'Connor, co-director of the yes campaign, said it was 'a monumental day for women in Ireland'

Cautious celebrations begin as exit polls suggest landslide yes vote, with some using it to highlight the plight of women in Northern IrelandFigures across Ireland and Britain have hailed Friday as a historic moment after referendum exit polls strongly suggested Ireland could soon overturn its ban on abortions.Related: Support for Ireland's abortion ban appears to have melted away Continue reading...

‘Still,’ I say, to no one. ‘Nice day for it.’My wife is on holiday in Spain, riding horses with a friend. I’ve been on my own for about 24 hours, and I have already started talking to myself. With no one in the room to look up occasionally and say, “What are you going on about now?”, my exterior monologue has become a ceaseless narration. The dog thinks I’m talking to the dog. The dog is wrong.On Saturday morning I find myself alone in front of the TV, watching preliminary coverage of the royal wedding. I find it particularly compelling because absolutely nothing is happening. There are still almost two hours to go before kick-off. Continue reading...

Blue background represents Pacific Ocean, while quills denote communication and the power of words, says palaceA coat of arms has been created for Meghan Markle featuring California’s state flower and a blue background to represent the Pacific Ocean.Meghan, who is now known as the Duchess of Sussex, joined Britain’s royal family when she married Prince Harry at Windsor Castle home last Saturday. Continue reading...

São Paulo, the biggest city in South America, in state of emergency over fuel shortages while markets run out of foodBrazil’s conservative president Michel Temer has ordered the army and federal police to clear highways blockaded by striking truck drivers after a protest over soaring fuel prices entered its fifth day.The blockades have paralysed much of the country’s economy and prompted São Paulo, the biggest city in South America, to declare a state of emergency over fuel shortages. Continue reading...

Woman, 61, dies in hospital in north of capital after being admitted with head injuriesA 95-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his carer after a woman died in hospital, police have said.The Metropolitan police said they believed the 61-year-old woman’s injuries were sustained at a residential address in Islington, north London, where she was doing care work.

Club to reimburse people who cannot make Champions League final in KievLiverpool fans whose flights to watch their side in the Champions League final in Ukraine were cancelled face bitter disappointment after the city’s mayor said he had been unable to resolve the “utter shambles” in time.More than 700 supporters face missing the game after two operators cancelled a total of three flights to Kiev because landing slots could not be allocated for them. Continue reading...

Jhon Jairo Velásquez, known as Popeye, was paroled in 2014 after confessing to hundreds of murders and spending 22 years in jailColombian police have rearrested a former hitman for the late drug lord Pablo Escobar as part of an investigation into extortion.Related: Ex-Pablo Escobar enforcer who killed 300 seeks new career as YouTube star Continue reading...

Report claims €427,000 in ‘noncompliant’ expenses included 234 bottles of bubblyRail as they might against Europe being a waste of taxpayers’ money, it seems Europe’s far-right populists are not above wasting some of it themselves.Senior MEPs will discuss next week claims that the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group received €427,000 in “unreasonable” and “noncompliant” expenses for 2016, including for €400-a-head meals and a total of 234 bottles of champagne. Continue reading...

How much longer can the world tolerate having this dangerous narcissist in the White House?This is where hubris and arrogance lead. By indefinitely postponing his summit with Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, in a fit of petulance and political cowardice, Donald Trump has squandered a golden opportunity for peace on the Korean peninsula, plunged the Asia-Pacific region into a period of renewed uncertainty, blindsided America’s allies, and resurrected the dread prospect of nuclear war.All may not yet be lost. But that’s no thanks to Trump. The author of The Art of the Deal thought he alone could pull off what had eluded successive US presidents. He prematurely hailed Kim’s decision to free three American citizens as a major breakthrough. He basked in utterly ludicrous talk, notably from Boris Johnson, of a Nobel peace prize. When Kim made clear “denuclearisation” did not mean what Trump thought it meant, he meekly offered more concessions. Continue reading...

As the people of Ireland cast their vote on whether or not to repeal an abortion law that is among the most restrictive in Europe, Irish voters living abroad have been returning from around the world to participate in this historic referendum

Taoiseach says he is ‘quietly confident’ as Ireland goes to the polls after hard-fought campaigns by both sidesThe people of Ireland are voting on Friday in a historic referendum on whether to repeal or retain a constitutional clause protecting the rights of the unborn that has produced one of the most restrictive abortion regimes in the world.Polling stations across Ireland opened at 7am and close at 10pm. At 6.55am in Dublin, voters were already waiting in the entrance of Our Lady’s Clonskeagh Parish secondary school. Continue reading...

Businesses capitalising on Liverpool’s Champions League match with Real Madrid in Ukrainian capital KievWhen Anna and Ronnie Ellis each parted with £450 for a seat on an “executive” coach from Liverpool to Kiev, they were expecting a few little luxuries for the 30-hour journey to the Champions League football final. Plug sockets, a toilet, maybe even a TV. Somewhere to store their bags that wasn’t their own laps would have been nice.But the minibus that pulled up outside the Arkle pub in Anfield on Thursday was a little more … rustic. Let’s just say the jerry can a fellow passenger had brought with him from work “for emergencies” was likely to be in high demand on the 2,750km-journey to the Ukrainian capital. Given the number of pints sunk in the pub beforehand, it may well have been full by the time the bus trundled on to the M62. Yet the cheerful couple were determined to make the best of things. “There was no way we were going to miss the match,” said Anna, white wine in hand. Continue reading...

Australian hardware chain’s doomed acquisition of Homebase ends with sale for a £1 fee to British company Hilco• Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon The Australian hardware chain Bunnings has pulled the plug on its disastrous $1.4bn venture into Britain, drawing an ignominious close to one of the worst retail acquisitions ever seen.After burning through hundreds of millions of dollars trying to sell the all-conquering sandpaper-meets-sausage-sizzle formula to DIY-crazy Britons, Bunnings’ parent group, Wesfarmers, said on Friday that it was offloading the 200-plus chain of former Homebase stores for a £1 nominal fee. Continue reading...

Today, happily, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation comes into force. It’s the data detox we’ve been waiting forAs from today you have the perfect excuse. “I haven’t been in touch because you didn’t respond to my last email – you know, the one where I said that you had to specifically opt in if you wanted further communications? Anyway, Mum, how was your week?”Related: What is GDPR and how will it affect you? Continue reading...

25 May 1871: The fighting throughout the day has been desperate and bloody beyond precedentST. DENIS, WEDNESDAY.

NSW senator had been urged to stand down by leader Richard Di Natale after losing preselection for the top spot on Senate ticket

Australia’s Indigenous children 18 times more likely to be in detention or under supervision

Trump letter to Kim Jong-un says talks are ‘inappropriate’ but North Korea says it made utmost effort to hold summitDonald Trump has cancelled his planned summit with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, blaming his decision on a threatening statement from the Pyongyang regime, and warning that the US military is “ready if necessary”.The abrupt decision, which came as a surprise to US allies in the region, came after an exchange of menacing statements from US and North Korean officials. Continue reading...

Authorities investigate death of eight-month-old who ‘had pre-existing condition’Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has said it has removed an eight-month-old baby from a list of people killed by Israeli troops while authorities investigate to determine the cause of death.The ministry announced last week that Leila al-Ghandour died from teargas inhalation during a 14 May demonstration along the frontier, where it said Israeli fire killed more than 60 people. Continue reading...

Price of commemorative coins reduced – but customers who have already bought them have asked if they can get their money backThe Donald Trump summit with Kim Jong-un may be over. But the opportunity to buy a coin commemorating the doomed meeting is not. In fact, it just got cheaper.The White House Gift Shop slashed the price of the “President Trump United States and Korea Summit Coin” on Thursday, after Trump cancelled the planned meeting with the North Korean leader. Continue reading...

Joe Root’s side have now been dismissed for under 250 in seven of the 14 Test innings they have played since September at Lord’sSeems new dawns last longer in the Arctic winter than they do in English cricket. At Lord’s their latest broke at around 3.30pm, when Jos Buttler walked out to join Ben Stokes in the middle, then set again 40 minutes later when Stokes was dismissed leg-before and Buttler was caught at second slip. By 4.30pm, England were all out for 184. They had lost six wickets for 35 runs in 63 balls. Sudden and short as it all was, the mayhem lasted long enough to make one thing clear – whatever was wrong with the team’s batting in the winter, it hasn’t been fixed in the spring.It was the seventh time England had been dismissed for under 250 in the 14 innings they have played since they were last at Lord’s, when they beat the West Indies here in September. So much for home comforts. The green, green grass here wasn’t any easier or more forgiving than the hard surfaces of Brisbane and Perth, or any of the other spots where they were routed last winter. Continue reading...

George Ormond accused of sexually abusing 19 boys over 25-year periodTeenage boys in Newcastle United’s youth football teams were sexually abused by a coach who was working for the club as a “driver, kit man and gopher”, a jury has been told.George Ormond is alleged to have abused boys while they were staying at a hotel organised by Newcastle United, the prosecuting barrister, Sharon Beattie, told Newcastle crown court. Continue reading...

Washington and Pyongyang were talking at cross purposes, and the debacle began and ended with gut decisions made by TrunpThe short, turbulent history of the Trump-Kim summit, from its surprise announcement in March to its abrupt cancellation on Thursday, is the chronicle of a trainwreck foretold.The debacle had been predicted by just about anyone with an experience of negotiating with North Korea, and experts who repeatedly warned that Washington and Pyongyang were talking at cross purposes. Continue reading...

In an edited extract from One Last Spin, Drew Rooke explores one of the world’s most intense, accessible and ruinous forms of gambling: Australia’s poker machinesTim Freedman, the lead singer of the Australian rock band The Whitlams, turns heads when he enters the Coopers hotel in Newtown, in inner Sydney. Wearing an open brown-leather jacket over a plain collared shirt, dress pants and leather shoes, he looks more like a teacher than a rock star. He has thick eyebrows, short greying hair, wrinkles beneath his brown eyes, and a thin band of stubble from ear to ear. As he takes a seat across the table by the front window, the bartender nudges his colleague and points in our direction.

Noura Hussein, whose case has been taken up by Naomi Campbell and Emma Watson, vows to help other women forced to marryThe lawyers for a young Sudanese woman sentenced to death for killing her husband as he tried to rape her have formally appealed the ruling as a petition calling for her to be spared reached a million signatures.The legal team working on behalf of 19-year-old Noura Hussein, whose case has become an international cause celebre, had until Thursday to file an appeal to the death sentence handed down by a Sudanese court 15 days ago. Continue reading...

President Tsai accuses China of ‘crude behaviours’ as Burkina Faso ends diplomatic relations with TaipeiThe Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, has lashed out at China after Burkina Faso broke diplomatic ties with the island, the second country to do so this month.The move, which has been welcomed by China, came after the Dominican Republic switched recognition to Beijing earlier this month, leaving Taiwan with only 18 diplomatic allies around the world. Although it was not immediately clear if Burkina Faso and China would establish diplomatic relations, officials in Taipei said it was only a matter of time and blamed Beijing for the setback. Continue reading...

Brussels has shown concern about the rhetoric of M5S and League, but the ragtag coalition has domestic worries of its ownItaly’s unlikely new coalition partners, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right League, disagree on so much that the new government will have a “conciliation committee” to settle its internal differences.But on some things, most notably an avowed desire to stick it to Europe, the two rival parties agree, and if they follow through on their promises Italy will be set on a collision course with the EU. The question is: will they? Much suggests they will not. Continue reading...

Older Catholics disilllusioned by the church’s dogmatism hold the key to Friday’s referendum. They know times have changedWhen Irish people vote in Friday’s referendum on whether to repeal the country’s constitutional ban on abortion we will vote on a practicality: do we allow women to access healthcare in their own country? Because women in Ireland already have abortions. They have them in Britain, the Netherlands, or elsewhere in Europe. They also have them illegally in Ireland, by taking abortion pills bought online.But the vote is also about something more profound – it is about confronting a historical social context and the enduring legacy of a dogmatic Catholicism that historically sought to control women’s sexuality. Continue reading...

Amnesty investigation alleges ‘horrendous abuse’ by Nigerian military in camps where thousands reportedly died of hungerThousands of women and girls who believed they were being led to safety from Boko Haram by Nigerian security forces were instead systematically abused in exchange for food and assistance, an Amnesty International investigation has revealed.The shocking claims were made by more than 250 people interviewed over a two-year period. Some allege they were raped by members of the Nigerian military and Civilian Joint Task Force (Civilian JTF), while others say they were starved. The troops ordered civilians out of their villages and into satellite camps, where thousands of people, including children, have died of hunger, the report claims. Continue reading...

From badminton to bonsai pruning to a precarious nap, it’s all going on high above the packed streets of Kowloon, Hong Kong. This series by Romain Jacquet-Lagrèz is a record of life in one of the world’s densest neighbourhoods Continue reading...

With byelections set for 28 July, Labor is unhappy at delay and the fact the ALP national conference is on the same weekend. All the day’s events, live

Peter Dutton says Labor ‘fabricated’ transcript but MP says it was a ‘genuine mistake’ by her staff

Detention of man relates to earlier arrest in north London of 18-year-old by armed police, Met saysCounter-terror police have arrested a teenager in Hertfordshire on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sets out six conditions for Europe if it wants Iran to remain in agreementIran’s supreme leader has said that American objections over the 2015 nuclear deal were a pretext for regime change, vowing that the US was bound to fail like “the famous cat in the Tom and Jerry” cartoon.Speaking two days after the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, threatened Iran with “the strongest sanctions in history”, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran could restart the nuclear activities it halted under the agreement if Europe failed to safeguard the agreement after the US pulled out. Continue reading...

Daughter of double agent says she would like to return to Russia ‘in the longer term’Yulia Skripal has said she wishes to return to Russia “in the longer term” despite the nerve agent attack on her and her father Sergei, which she described as life-changing.Related: Sergei Skripal discharged from Salisbury hospital Continue reading...

ABF staff on the island have made repeated requests to Canberra for intervention• Sign up to receive the top stories from Guardian Australia every morningDoctors on Nauru have pleaded with the Australian Border Force to move a terminally ill Afghan refugee off the island for palliative care.The oldest Afghan Hazara held on Nauru, 63-year-old Ali*, has advanced lung cancer and his prognosis, according to doctors familiar with his case, is “dire”. Continue reading...

Four former high-ranking officers convicted of 1981 rape and torture of young woman and disappearance of her teenage brotherFour former high-ranking Guatemalan military officers once considered untouchable have been convicted of crimes against humanity. They were also found guilty of aggravated sexual abuse against a young activist, Emma Guadalupe Molina Theissen, one of a small number of civilians who escaped army custody during the country’s 36-year civil war.Three of the officers – the former head of the armed forces, Benedicto Lucas García, former intelligence chief Manuel Antonio Callejas y Callejas and local commander Hugo Ramiro Zaldaña Rojas – were also found guilty of the forced disappearance of Emma’s 14-year-old brother Marco Antonio and sentenced to 58 years’ jail by the court for high-risk crimes in Guatemala City. Continue reading...

‘They worked among the snake-charmers and belly-dancers of Marrakech. I christened them Kesh Angels and gave them heart-shaped sunglasses’When I first met Karima, she was 14 years old and selling bracelets in Djemaa el-Fna, the bustling central square in Marrakech. She’s the girl on the very right here, leaning to the side. They’re all henna girls now, Karima and her friends, and they posed for this in 2010, in front of the Theatre Royal in Marrakech.Djemaa el-Fna, which means “internal space”, is where all the snake-charmers, storytellers and belly-dancers work, in among food stalls and other types of entertainment. The square’s been there for centuries. It’s like a vast piece of street theatre, full of people all day long – tourists and Moroccans alike, there to buy food, have henna done on their hands, or just become part of the big play. Continue reading...

I feel scarred by the constitutional amendment that meant I had to travel to Britain for a terminationI’ve never been involved in politics or campaigned for anything. If you’d told me 10 years ago that I would one day be stepping up and speaking in public about liberalising abortion law in Ireland, I would have called you crazy. But all that changed on a warm autumn day in 2011.Related: Ireland’s abortion referendum is revolutionary politics, whoever wins | Lizzie O’Shea Continue reading...

Chris Bowen says Labor wants election to be ‘referendum’ on big business company tax cutsScott Morrison has revealed the full cost of the government’s personal income tax cut package, setting the scene for a showdown when Labor attempts to sever the $40bn third phase of cuts in the Senate.After Labor spent the day pressing the Turnbull government to commit to taking the big business component of its company tax cuts to the next election, the treasurer revealed new details about the seven-year income tax cut package first announced in the 2018 budget. Continue reading...

Major survey commissioned after film-maker finds evidence many Indian men may have suffered child abuseA film-maker asked by the Indian government to conduct a study of male survivors of child sexual abuse has said there is a culture of indifference in the country about “what happens to men as boys”.Insia Dariwala is linvestigating links between unresolved male trauma and its impact in later life, after an online survey of 160 Indian men showed that 71% of respondents had been sexually abused as children. Continue reading...

Attack on restaurant targeting former state prosecutor brings war on drugs to one of city’s trendiest avenuesWitnesses said the shootout seemed like something straight out of an action movie: heavily armed men swarmed a posh Japanese restaurant, where a former state prosecutor was leaving after a long lunch. Luis Carlos Nájera’s bodyguards returned fire and a gun battle ensued on the streets of a trendy neighbourhood in the Mexican city of Guadalajara.Fifteen people were injured in the attack and subsequent narcobloqueos – roadblocks made by torching buses and other vehicles to hamper police operations – left 15 injured. An eight-month-old baby boy died after suffering severe burns in a bus attack; his mothersuffered burns to 90% of her body. Continue reading...

Agreement would create jobs at home and in Europe, Malcolm Turnbull says• Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noonAustralia will push for expanded access to Europe’s agricultural markets in free trade talks with the EU after its member states gave the green light for negotiations to start within weeks.The trade minister, Steve Ciobo, has said Australia would aim for a “high-quality, comprehensive free trade deal with the European Union in as quick a time as possible” but would not “sacrifice the quality of a trade deal for speed”. Continue reading...

At least 21 Nigerians received student visas ‘tainted by corrupt conduct’• Sign up to receive the top stories from Guardian Australia every morningTwo officials at an Australian embassy in South Africa have reportedly been sacked amid an investigation into allegations that Nigerian nationals paid bribes for visas.The Herald Sun reports that at least 21 Nigerians received Australian student visas, which a high-level investigation said were “tainted by the corrupt conduct of the department officers”. Continue reading...

Nine people have been killed in southern India after police opened fire on protesters who have been calling for the closure of a copper smelter in the port city of Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu state. Protesters, who have been demonstrating for more than three months, set vehicles on fire and threw stones at police, prompting them to open fire