Agreement designed to deepen economic ties ‘signals a new beginning’, says Taiwan cabinet spokespersonThe United States and Taiwan have signed a trade deal aimed at deepening economic relations between both sides – in a move that has sparked a warning from Beijing.Taiwan’s government has described the deal as “the most comprehensive” trade agreement signed with Washington since 1979. Continue reading...

Singer-songwriter says he is ‘kind of flabbergasted it lasted as long as it did’ after performing in New York City once a month for the past decadeBilly Joel will conclude his monthly residency at Madison Square Garden in July 2024, with his 150th lifetime performance at the venue.“It’s hard to believe we’ve been able to do this for 10 years,” Joel said at a news conference on Thursday. “I’m now 74. I’ll be 75 next year. It seems like a nice number.” Continue reading...

Victoria Valentino is suing the actor and says he assaulted her and another woman at his home after giving them each a pillA former actress who alleges Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her and another woman at his home in 1969 sued him on Thursday under a new California law that suspends the statute of limitations on sex abuse claims.In her lawsuit, Victoria Valentino, 80, says she was an actress and singer 54 years ago, when she met Cosby, now 85. The comedian and actor later approached her at a Los Angeles cafe, where he spotted her crying over the recent drowning death of her six-year-old son. Continue reading...

Mayor of Greater Manchester says reform will stop parties voted for by a minority from having complete power at WestminsterAndy Burnham has called for MPs to be elected by proportional representation as part of Labour’s plans for a “radical rewiring of Britain”.The mayor of Greater Manchester’s proposals were supported by Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, at the Making Britain Work For Scotland rally in Scotland. Labour has proposed sweeping reforms to how UK democracy works, including replacing the House of Lords with a directly elected senate for the UK’s nations and regions. Continue reading...

Former This Morning presenter says he is ‘embarrassed and ashamed’ but denies grooming the manPhillip Schofield has said he is “utterly broken” and feels “embarrassed and ashamed” about his affair with a younger male colleague, but denied grooming the man.The former This Morning presenter, 61, resigned from ITV last week after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal relationship” with a man, who is now in his mid-20s. Continue reading...

Death of teenager at Carr Mill Dam prompts repeated warnings from rescuers about water safetyA 15-year-old girl has drowned in a reservoir in Merseyside, as rescuers highlighted the need to educate young people about the dangers of water.The girl’s body was recovered from the water at Carr Mill Dam in St Helens on Thursday afternoon, just days after a 15-year-old boy drowned in the River Eden in Carlisle. Continue reading...

The 12-week-old foal is back with its mother at Miller’s Ark Animals while police continue their investigationA countryside abduction has come to a tail-wagging end after a baby donkey that was stolen from a farm has been reunited with her mother and her “ecstatic” owners after a police investigation.On 15 May, the 12-week-old donkey, named Moon, was taken from Miller’s Ark Animals in Hook, Hampshire some time before 5pm. Missing for more than two weeks, Moon was recovered and returned to the farm on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

Tanks believed to have attacked area residents say is not close to any military targetTwenty-seven people have been killed and 106 injured after a market in a poor area south of Khartoum was shelled, according to local residents.Six tank shells were fired from al-Shajara, one of the few areas the army controls in the Sudanese capital, towards the neighbourhood of Mayo, residents said. Continue reading...

Officials acknowledge ‘genuine concerns’ in wake of MPs’ suspension over allegations of harassmentFemale Labour staff are said to be fearful of using the party’s official complaints process, prompting concern among senior officials as a long-serving MP is suspended over allegations of sexual harassment.Labour figures have acknowledged the “genuine concerns” of female colleagues, and have issued a “cast-iron commitment” to take any action necessary that will restore faith in the party’s processes. Continue reading...

Governor of Russian border town says drone fell on road way; claims that three people killed in capital sought safety in locked shelter

Ukrainian president speaks of the importance of overturning Russia’s air supremacy with Patriot missiles and F-16s

Girl and her mother reportedly among the dead from falling debris after short-range missiles interceptedThree people including a child were killed and at least 11 people were injured in an early morning missile attack on Kyiv that hit apartment buildings, two schools and a children’s clinic, according to city authorities.The attack, on what is International Children’s Day in many post-Soviet countries, reportedly involved 10 Iskander short-range missiles, and there was only a few minutes’ warning before they hit. Most of the damage appeared to be from falling debris after the incoming missiles were intercepted by the capital’s air defences. Continue reading...

Pro-choice groups condemn rare enforcement of country’s total ban on terminationsA woman in Malta has been charged in court for having an abortion, in a rare enforcement of the country’s total ban on terminations.The Women’s Rights Foundation of Malta said: “What should have never happened [has] happened today: a Maltese woman was brought to court facing charges of having a medical abortion at home.” Continue reading...

Building societies offer rates over 7% – but deals have strings attached and are limited to existing membersA new savings account has been launched that pays an inflation-beating 9% interest – hours after a rival institution unveiled an account paying 7.5%.The Bank of England’s 12 interest rate rises in a row have spelled pain for millions of people with existing mortgages and those looking to take one out, but the flipside is that savers are now being offered some of the highest rates for more than a decade. Continue reading...

Celebrities and UK royals watch Prince Hussein marry Rajwa Alseif in marriage seen to secure succession and boost state tiesJordan’s monarchy has cemented the role of its 28-year-old crown prince with a wedding attended by global royalty, including Britain’s Prince and Princess of Wales, in a glittering show seeking to buttress the succession and move on from a painful family scandal.Crown Prince Hussein married Rajwa Alseif, a 29-year-old Saudi architect linked to her own country’s ruling dynasty, on Thursday afternoon in a match seen as boosting Amman’s rocky relationship with its more powerful and oil-rich neighbour. Continue reading...

Tribute paid to ‘values of forgiveness and gentle optimism’ of man wrongly jailed for 16 years over 1974 IRA atrocityHugh Callaghan, one of the Birmingham Six wrongly jailed for IRA bombings in 1974, has died aged 93.Callaghan died on 27 May after being admitted to Homerton hospital in London with chest pains, according to close friends. A passionate singer, he serenaded hospital staff almost until the end. Continue reading...

The Russian businessman is the father of Evgeny Lebedev, who was given a peerage by Boris JohnsonUkraine has imposed sanctions on Alexander Lebedev – the former KGB intelligence officer whose son Evgeny sits in the House of Lords – in connection with Vladimir Putin’s invasion.The national security and defence council in Kyiv imposed sanctions on Lebedev Sr last October. The decision – first reported by Tortoise media – emerged on Thursday and follows a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Continue reading...

More vocational subjects such as computing and business preferred by those studying in EnglandLanguages and the creative arts are falling out of favour among GCSE and A-level students, who are increasingly opting for more vocational subjects such as computing and business studies.Provisional figures for England show exam entries for German have fallen by 17% for A-level students and 6% for GCSE studies, while Spanish and French have fallen 13% at A-level, although there has been a 5% increase for Spanish GCSEs, and French entries stayed at a similar level. Continue reading...

If Cabinet Office has failed to comply with inquiry’s order to disclose the documents it could face legal battleMoldova’s president, Maia Sandu, and Britain’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, greet each other at a welcome ceremony during a meeting of the European Political Community at Mimi Castle in Bulboaca, Moldova.Brexit will be remembered as a “historic economic error” that damaged the UK economy and has helped to drive inflation higher, according to the former US treasury secretary Larry Summers. Continue reading...

Indhu Rubasingham’s legacy includes rebrand of north London theatre and bringing culturally diverse voices to stageOne of the UK’s foremost artistic directors is standing down from the Kiln theatre after more than a decade of bringing politically and culturally diverse voices to the stage.Indhu Rubasingham has been the artistic director of the Kiln theatre in north London since 2012 and became the first woman of colour to run a big London theatre. Continue reading...

Adam Diver’s crossing turned into a gruelling 46-mile journey as he navigated tricky tides and jellyfishA former army captain has become the first person on record to swim between the UK mainland and the Isle of Man, in a gruelling 46-mile (74km) challenge navigating tricky tides and the near-constant attention of jellyfish.It was something of a “suffer fest”, said Adam Diver, 46, as he emerged shattered but smiling from the Irish Sea on Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading...

Bank of England data shows sharp dip in April as Nationwide says house prices falling at fastest annual rate since 2009

Chronic emergencies in Africa are being ignored while Ukraine dominates headlines and receives more funding, says NGOThe displacement of 2 million people in Burkina Faso has been named the world’s most neglected crisis, while the world’s attention and aid has been focused on Ukraine, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).Burkina Faso has endured five years of conflict with militias – who have attacked water sources and forced school closures – now controlling up to 40% of the country’s territory. Continue reading...

Government accused of paying ‘lip service’ to free speech as Arif Ahmed is given higher education roleA Cambridge philosophy professor is to become the government’s first “free speech tsar” for higher education in England, it has been revealed, in an announcement made initially only to one newspaper – a move that led critics to accuse ministers of paying “lip service” to free speech.Arif Ahmed told the Times he hoped to use his role to stand up for “all views”, and that he did not seek to take part in any sort of culture war agenda. Continue reading...

Business lobby group says it must make ‘difficult decisions’ amid crisis prompted by sexual misconduct allegations

Three-month old Kyra King sustained fatal injuries when husky escaped parents’ van at race eventA father has pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog, after his three-month-old daughter was fatally attacked by a husky last year.Vince King, 55, pleaded guilty to a charge relating to the death of his daughter, Kyra King, who sustained fatal head and neck injuries when she was mauled by his sled dog Blizzard. Continue reading...

Alex Belfield is banned from contacting two more people after previous ‘campaign of abuse’ against broadcastersA former BBC local radio presenter who was jailed for stalking broadcasters including Jeremy Vine has appeared in court again as he was banned from contacting two more people.The YouTuber Alex Belfield, 43, was jailed for five and a half years in September 2022 for stalking Vine, a Channel 5 and BBC Radio 2 presenter, as well as the BBC presenters Bernie Keith, Stephanie Hirst, Liz Green, Helen Thomas and Rozina Breen after he was found guilty of pursuing a “campaign of abuse” against them. Continue reading...

Ex-partner of Lord Ashcroft’s son discharged gun at Henry Jemmott in 2021 as the pair drank togetherThe Canadian socialite and former partner of the son of the billionaire and Conservative party grandee Michael Ashcroft has been fined after killing a police officer in Belize.Jasmine Hartin, 34, was ordered to pay £30,000 by the supreme court in Belize City for manslaughter by negligence. She must also undertake 300 hours of community service and film a video about the dangers of “drinking and making foolish decisions”. Continue reading...

New law that criminalises ‘wilfully damaging’ country’s national interest raises fears of crackdown on dissentZimbabwe’s parliament has outlawed criticism of the government before presidential and parliamentary elections in August, with violations of a new law punishable by up to 20 years in jail.The criminal law code amendment bill, widely known as the “patriotic bill”, contains a clause that criminalises “wilfully damaging the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe”. Continue reading...

A crime scene has been established and will be examined but police do not believe a third party was involvedThe bodies of a 15-year-old boy and a 58-year-old man have been found inside a home in Yamba on the New South Wales north coast.Police were called to Kookaburra Circuit on Thursday afternoon after reports two bodies had been found. A 58-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy were found dead at the property, both with gunshot wounds. Continue reading...

Results of extensive search for clues about missing girl at a remote Portuguese reservoir ‘need to be evaluated’German prosecutors have said a number of items recovered in searches last week that may be linked to Madeleine McCann’s disappearance have not yet been confirmed as evidence.The searches, which took place in Portugal after requests from German investigators, involved a large section of the Barragem do Arade reservoir being cordoned off, in an area about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing in 2007. Continue reading...

IMDb has changed its rating system to mitigate trolling of the film, which has been a target of racism since the Black actor Halle Bailey was announced as ArielThe biggest film website in the world has said that the new, live action remake of The Little Mermaid has been the subject of “review bombing”, with mass negative reactions posted by bots to bring down the average review score.The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) said on Wednesday that the “unusual voting activity” it had detected on the reviews page for the film had led it to make changes to its rating system to mitigate unfair trolling. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Policy misunderstands realities of caring roles and has left hundreds of thousands of families in poverty, study findsThe UK’s controversial two-child benefit limit, which restricts welfare payments to larger families to force parents to get a job, has failed to increase employment levels – but it has left hundreds of thousands of households in poverty, according to the first study of its kind.The government introduced the two-child limit in 2017, arguing that removing eligibility for benefits worth £3,000 a year per child for a family’s third and subsequent children would “incentivise” parents to move into work, or work more hours to make up the difference. Continue reading...

Justice Anthony Besanko found newspapers established substantial or contextual truth of allegations of murders of unarmed civilians in Afghanistan

Officers continuing to investigate incident on beach in Dorset that left eight other people injuredPolice have confirmed that no vessel is believed to have been in physical contact with a 17-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl who died after getting into difficulty in the sea off Bournemouth beach.Dorset police received a report from paramedics at about 4.30pm on Wednesday of people requiring assistance on the beach near Bournemouth pier. Emergency services attended the scene and 10 people were recovered from the water. Continue reading...

Three people including child killed in early morning missile attack on Kyiv; eight wounded in shelling of Belgorod region in Russia

On the day a judge ruled the Victoria Cross winner had lost his defamation case and been proven to be a war criminal, Roberts-Smith didn’t turn up to court

Seven chairman Kerry Stokes, who parachuted the former soldier into a network job in 2015, says ‘the judgment does not accord with the man I know’For Seven’s chairman, Kerry Stokes, the verdict in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial was all bad news.The cost of the trial is estimated to be between $25m and $35m and, with the billionaire media proprietor bankrolling the former soldier and Seven employee, Stokes’s legal tab will be significant if he does pick up the bill.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Long-serving MP who represents Swansea West faces investigation after claims from five women

Worksafe NSW launches investigation as site staff told missing detonator and accelerant require other components to activate it

Justice Anthony Besanko has handed down his decision in the federal court in Sydney in the defamation trial brought by Australia’s most decorated living soldier – follow live updates and watch a replay of the live stream

Parliament passes landmark legislation aimed at reducing number of Indigenous children entering care

Education minister says if he were to freeze indexation, it would cost taxpayers who might not have a degree

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An inquiry investigating how the ACT criminal justice system handled Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations has likely finished hearing evidence

Man, 55, from north of Brisbane accused of attacking 15 children some of whom he befriended while working as a driver between 1983 and 2001

In the federal court of Australia the judge dismissed the Victoria Cross recipient’s case against three newspapers who accused him of war crimes

Exclusive: Analysis shows shift towards non-EU and British workers in sectors which once relied on EU workforceThere are now more non-EU than EU workers in a number of sectors that were previously reliant on European citizens, demonstrating the Brexit effect and the impact of international events on immigration patterns.Guardian analysis shows that the number of non-EU workers surpassed their EU counterparts for the first time in 2022, at an average of 2.7 million against 2.5 million workers last year. Continue reading...

Failure to provide proper financial support left millions exposed to pandemic, says union bossThe Covid inquiry must take an unflinching look at how the UK’s lack of decent sick pay left the country “brutally exposed” during the pandemic, the TUC has said.The UK entered the pandemic with the lowest rate of statutory sick pay (SSP) in the OECD, an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, and with millions unable access it, the union body claimed. Continue reading...

Rideshare giant to limit pricing during disruptions in an area with transport minister stressing it will come ‘at no cost to taxpayers’