Almost $4bn more for Victoria’s contentious Suburban Rail Loop to be included in federal budget

Army supported by Russian mercenaries launches airstrikes after offensive by coalition of Islamist extremists and Tuareg separatistsMali’s armed forces, supported by Russian mercenaries, have launched airstrikes targeting a rebel alliance of Islamist extremists and Tuareg separatists as the ruling junta struggles to maintain its hold on power in the unstable west African country.Earlier this week warplanes targeted the key northern town of Kidal, which was lost when the rebels launched a surprise offensive across much of Mali in late April. Continue reading...

Bafta winner tells preview screening in Bristol there is not enough on television about the female perspectiveThe Bafta-winning actor Katherine Parkinson has lauded the television series Rivals for its “radical” depiction of sex from a woman’s perspective.Speaking at a preview screening in Bristol, where much of the series was filmed, Parkinson, who plays the romance author Lizzie Vereker in the show, said there were not enough examples on television of a woman’s view of sex. Continue reading...

Man admits to coating relic in concrete after taking it from church because he objected to it being displayed, police sayCzech police have found the skull of a 13th-century saint, days after it was stolen from a church in the north of the country.Police said they had arrested a suspect, who they said admitted to taking the skull of Saint Zdislava of Lemberk from a glass shrine in the basilica of St Lawrence and St Zdislava in the town of Jablonné v Podještědí on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer accuses Robinson of ‘peddling hatred and division’ and archbishop of Canterbury urges people to ‘choose hope’ Eleven foreign far-right activists have been blocked from the UK ahead of a rally by Tommy Robinson supporters as Keir Starmer accused him of “peddling hatred and division”.The archbishop of Canterbury urged people to “choose hope”, and faith leaders spoke out before the rally on Saturday, the second of its kind after more than 100,000 attended one last year. Continue reading...

Mississippi politicians are threatening to redraw the district of Bennie Thompson, the state’s lone Democrat in CongressThe supreme court decision that effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act (VRA) “was red meat to the Republican legislators of the south” the US House representative Bennie Thompson said.Conservative lawmakers in Mississippi, where Thompson is both the state’s lone Black and only Democratic congressional representative, have used the opportunity to explicitly target him, threatening to redraw the second congressional district, that he represents. Continue reading...

US president said he and Chinese leader ‘settled a lot of different problems’ but gave little detail on solutionsTrump China visit live – latest updatesDonald Trump’s whirlwind trip to Beijing – the first US presidential visit in nearly a decade – wrapped up with much fanfare but little clarity about what was actually achieved.Trump said on Friday that he and Xi Jinping, China’s leader, “settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve”. But he didn’t provide much detail on what those solutions were. Continue reading...

UK government borrowing costs jump amid political uncertainty and oil price rise that fuelled inflation worriesBusiness live – latest updatesThe pound was heading for its worst week in 18 months on Friday as City traders anticipated that the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, could face a challenge from the Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, later this year.After days of uncertainty over Starmer’s future, sterling dropped by almost three cents, or 2%, during the week to $1.336 on Friday, a five-week low. That would be the largest weekly drop against the US dollar since Donald Trump’s election win in early November 2024. Continue reading...

Adam Kent suspended after Tory councillors joined forces with Greens and Lib Dems to end Reform’s minority controlThe Conservatives have suspended the party’s leader at Worcestershire county council after he made a deal with the Greens and Liberal Democrats to oust Reform.Reform UK gained control of the council a year ago but its tenure has been marked by a series of controversies and political infighting. This included a bitter leadership battle in which the now former Reform councillor Jo Monk was replaced as leader of the council in April. Continue reading...

With the primary election less than three weeks away, the gubernatorial and mayoral races have taken a fiery turnSparring on the debate stage, well-timed statements addressing the slightest misstep by an opponent and countless social media jabs: election season is heating up in California’s major primaries.With the primary election less than three weeks away, the gubernatorial and mayoral races have taken a fiery turn as candidates undergo last-ditch efforts to convince voters of their governance chops. Continue reading...

Media regulator announces commitments by Elon Musk’s platform to crack down on terrorist and hate contentElon Musk’s X platform has pledged to block UK access to accounts linked to banned terrorist groups under an agreement with the communications regulator to crack down on terrorist and hate content.X will also review suspected illegal terrorist and hate content within 48 hours and seek expert advice on how to handle user reports of such content. Continue reading...

Students from Reading Blue Coat school, and Highdown secondary school and Sixth Form Centre receiving treatmentTwo schools attended by pupils receiving treatment for meningitis have been named amid an outbreak of the infection in Berkshire which has caused the death of a student.The patients attend Reading Blue Coat school and Highdown secondary school and Sixth Form Centre, according to the UK Health Security Agency. Their close contacts have been offered antibiotics as a precaution. Continue reading...

Ken Murphy’s pay could rise even higher following scrapping of food waste target and weakness of rivalsBusiness live – latest updatesThe boss of Tesco made £10.8m last year, about £1m more than the year before, as the UK’s biggest supermarket hit its highest share of the market in a decade.Ken Murphy could make even more this year after being handed a 3% rise in basic pay to £1.54m and cutting food waste was scrapped as a target for his long-term bonus, according to Tesco’s annual report. Continue reading...