Olivia Newton-John, best known for playing Sandy in smash-hit musical Grease, has died aged 73, her family says. The star died from cancer, her manager told the BBC. Her husband John Easterling said she “passed away peacefully” at her ranch in California on Monday morning. An actress and musician, Newton-John achieved commercial success as a […]

Australia continued their dominance of women’s cricket with a thrilling nine-run victory over India at Edgbaston to clinch Commonwealth Games gold. Having secured the women’s Ashes and World Cups in both the Twenty20 and 50-over formats, this success completed a fine quadruple for Meg Lanning’s side. Beth Mooney hit 61 to help Australia reach 161-8 […]

A ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants has come into effect after three days of violence which left at least 43 people dead. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militants said the truce will begin at 23:30 local time (20:30 GMT), after talks moderated by Egyptian mediators. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office confirmed the ceasefire. The […]

Twelve people have been killed after a bus carrying Polish pilgrims veered off a road in Croatia on Saturday and ended up in a ditch. All 32 surviving passengers are said to be injured, 19 of them seriously. The trip, organised by the Brotherhood of St Joseph Catholic group, included three priests and six nuns. […]

England’s hopes of winning Twenty20 gold are over after the home side fell to a four-run defeat by India in the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games. Opener Smriti Mandhana hit 61 off 32 balls, including three sixes, and Jemimah Rodrigues made an unbeaten 44 as India posted a challenging 164-5. Captain Nat Sciver and Amy […]

Defending champions England will face 2018 runners-up Australia in Saturday’s Commonwealth netball semi-final after a superb victory against New Zealand at a jubilant NEC Arena. The hosts rose to their toughest challenge of the Games so far, beating the world champions 54-44. England finish top of pool B and face Australia at 14:30 BST on […]

Four US police officers have been arrested and charged over the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor. Ms Taylor was killed in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, on 13 March 2020 by plainclothes police who were executing a “no-knock” search warrant. The hospital worker, 26, was shot as officers stormed the apartment just after midnight while […]

Indian media had reported that India had raised the issue of the Chinese research vessel that is scheduled to arrive at the Hambantota Port, with President Ranil Wickremesinghe. India had raised concerns after the Ministry of Defence in Colombo confirmed the ship’s arrival, despite New Delhi clearly outlining its concerns regarding the arrival of this […]

China has branded a landmark visit to Taiwan by US Speaker Nancy Pelosi as “extremely dangerous”. It accused Ms Pelosi, the most senior US politician in 25 years to visit the island China claims as its own, of “playing with fire”. “Those who play with fire will perish by it,” Beijing warned in a statement. […]

A leading human rights group has accused the new Sri Lanka Government of cracking down on dissent. The Sri Lankan Government is using emergency regulations to harass and arbitrarily detain activists seeking political reform and accountability for the country’s economic crisis, Human Rights Watch said today. Since Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as President on July […]

The US has killed the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a drone strike in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden has confirmed. He was killed in a counter-terrorism operation carried out by the CIA in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday. Mr Biden said Zawahiri had “carved a trail of murder and violence against American […]

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso is to drive for Aston Martin from 2023 on a multi-year contract. The 41-year-old Spaniard, who has raced for Alpine since 2021, will replace Sebastian Vettel following the German’s retirement at the end of the season. Alonso, F1 champion in 2005 and 2006, returned to the sport in 2021 after a two-year […]

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American actress Nichelle Nichols, best known for her role in 1960s sci-fi TV series Star Trek, has died aged 89. Ms Nichols broke barriers in her role as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in the series, becoming one of the first black actresses in the US to play a figure in authority. She was later employed by […]

Afghanistan’s Taliban forces have clashed with Iranian border guards on the frontier between the two countries. The Taliban say one of their soldiers was killed in Sunday’s fighting, which occurred in the border area between Afghanistan’s Nimroz province and Iran’s Hirmand region. Each country blamed the other for the incident. There have been several clashes […]

Taiwan’s Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-chang expressed concern that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would have the ‘complete capability’ to attack Taiwan by 2025. The Minister expressed concern while also highlighted sanctions as the means to deter aggression during a virtual seminar titled “Taiwan: is it key to the continuing world order?” organised by The Democracy […]

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered all civilians still living in parts of eastern Donetsk region under Ukrainian control to evacuate. Speaking during a late-night address from Kyiv, Mr Zelensky warned of an intensification of fighting. “The more people leave Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he […]

England swatted aside Sri Lanka as they overhauled a meagre total with 17 balls to spare in their opening Twenty20 match of the Commonwealth Games. Spinner Sophie Ecclestone justified her ranking as the best T20 bowler in the world with three wickets to sap Sri Lanka of momentum. The visitors washed up on 106-9 and […]

Brazil and Spain have reported their first monkeypox deaths. A 41-year-old man in Brazil became the first fatality from the virus outside Africa. Spain announced its first death soon afterwards, which is also the first in Europe. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency. But infections are […]

Jonny Bairstow’s devastating 90 helped England beat South Africa by 41 runs in a breathless, high-scoring first Twenty20 international in Bristol. Continuing his stunning Test form, Bairstow bullied the Proteas bowlers throughout his 53-ball assault as England racked up 234-6 – their second highest T20 score. Bairstow added 106 with Moeen Ali, who smacked 52 […]

Almost one million people in a suburb of Wuhan – China’s central city where the coronavirus was first recorded – have been placed under lockdown. Jiangxia district residents have been ordered to stay inside their homes or compounds for three days after four asymptomatic Covid cases were detected. China follows a “zero Covid” strategy, including […]

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A gunman killed two people and injured two others during an early morning shooting spree, police in the Canadian province of British Columbia have said. Emergency alerts issued shortly after 06:00 local time (13:00 GMT) warned of “multiple shooting scenes” in downtown Langley, a city about 25 miles east of Vancouver. Police confirmed a lone […]

Four democracy activists have been executed by Myanmar’s military in what is believed to be the first use of capital punishment in decades. The four – including activist Ko Jimmy and lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw – were accused of committing “terror acts”. They were sentenced to death in a closed-door trial that rights groups criticised […]

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) boss Vince McMahon, who turned the firm from a regional player to global giant, says he will retire amid a flurry of misconduct claims. He stepped down from his roles in WWE last month following reports he paid millions to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity. Mr McMahon remains WWE’s […]

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