Val Kilmer, star of Top Gun and The Doors, dies aged 65

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Known for his roles in Batman Forever, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Tombstone, the prolific actor’s cause of death was pneumonia

Val Kilmer, the actor best known for his roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever and The Doors, has died at the age of 65.

His daughter Mercedes told the New York Times that the cause of death was pneumonia. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered, after treatment with chemotherapy and trachea surgery that had reduced hisability to speak and breathe.

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Outrage in New Zealand after 11-year-old girl sent to psychiatric ward and drugged in identity mix-up

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Report finds police mistook girl for missing woman in blunder that has appalled political leaders

An 11-year-old girl was restrained, injected with anti-psychotic drugs and placed on a mental health ward after New Zealand police mistook her for a missing woman, a report found on Wednesday.

Health officials and police have scrambled to explain the mix-up, which has appalled political leaders and stoked outrage across the country.

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A wary Europe awaits Rubio with NATO’s future on the line – AP News

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  1. A wary Europe awaits Rubio with NATO’s future on the line  AP News
  2. Secretary Rubio’s Travel to Brussels  U.S. Department of State (.gov)
  3. At Brussels Foreign Ministers Summit, All Eyes Will Be On Marco Rubio  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
  4. US keeps NATO allies in the dark on Russia relations  Euractiv
  5. Ukraine's foreign minister to attend NATO foreign ministers' meeting this week, may meet US secretary of state  Українська правда
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Nike, Bulls Quiet as Trump Admin Links Apparel to Gangs – Sportico.com

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  1. Nike, Bulls Quiet as Trump Admin Links Apparel to Gangs  Sportico.com
  2. ‘He is not a gang member’: outrage as US deports makeup artist to El Salvador prison for crown tattoos | US immigration  The Guardian
  3. U.S. immigration scorecard for deportations relied on tattoos, social posts, court filings show  NBC News
  4. The Makeup Artist Donald Trump Deported Under the Alien Enemies Act  The New Yorker
  5. Advocates say flawed 'checklist' targets Venezuelans for deportation under archaic wartime act  NPR
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US bombing of Yemen compounding dire humanitarian situation – rights groups

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Anti-Houthi air campaign, details of which were revealed in Signal scandal, has brought further destruction to country

A ramped-up US bombing campaign on Yemen has killed civilians and brought further destruction and uncertainty to the poorest country in the Middle East, compounding an already dire situation after Donald Trump cut aid, according to local people, humanitarian workers and rights groups.

“Now the rampant bombing has started, you never know which way things will go,” said Siddiq Khan, who works as a country director in Yemen for the aid charity Islamic Relief.

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White House studying cost of Greenland takeover, long in Trump’s sights – The Washington Post

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  1. White House studying cost of Greenland takeover, long in Trump’s sights  The Washington Post
  2. How much will it cost Trump to acquire Greenland? White House preparing an estimate  Firstpost
  3. Can US fund Trump’s expansionist ambitions in Greenland? White House does cost analysis  The Indian Express
  4. The 'smartest thing' Greenland can do as Trump amplifies takeover talk  MSN
  5. US assessing cost of maintaining Greenland if acquired – The Washington Post  RBC-Ukraine
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Neil Young says he may be barred from returning to US over Donald Trump criticism

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The US-Canadian dual citizen speculates he may be ‘barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor’ after his European tour, after years of speaking against Trump

Neil Young has shared his concerns of being barred from the US after his European tour later this year, thanks to his outspoken critiques of Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, on his website Neil Young Archives, the 79-year-old musician – who has dual Canadian-American citizenship – wrote of his fears after the recent spate of people being detained and deported upon entering the US. These incidents have been credited to vague or unspecified visa issues, but have frequently affected individuals who have criticised the Trump administration either publicly or in messages on their phone read by immigration officers.

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Ex-Costa Rica president says US visa revoked after criticism of Trump

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Óscar Arias, 84, who won Nobel peace prize in 1987, said US president was behaving like ‘a Roman emperor’

Former Costa Rican president and Nobel winner Óscar Arias said on Tuesday that the US had revoked his visa to enter the country, weeks after he criticized Donald Trump on social media saying he was behaving like “a Roman emperor”.

Arias, 84, was president between 1986 and 1990 and again between 2006 and 2010. A self-declared pacifist, he won the 1987 Nobel peace prize for his role in brokering peace during the Central American conflicts of the 1980s.

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Hegseth indicates US backing for Taiwan – but it is transactional Trump who has the final word

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Defence secretary’s trip to Asia shows the Trump administration is engaged with the region, but analysts warn Taipei to tread carefully

On Tuesday China’s military launched joint drills around Taiwan, sending ships, planes and some bizarre propaganda videos across the strait to both warn and punish Taiwan’s government over what Beijing calls “separatist activity”.

The purported provocation was recent assertiveness by Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, who in March designated China a “foreign hostile force” and announced 17 measures to counter its espionage and influence operations.

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Cory Booker breaks record for longest Senate speech with Trump condemnation

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In speech that began Monday night, Democratic senator warns of ‘grave and urgent’ danger of Trump administration

Cory Booker, the Democratic US senator from New Jersey, has broken the record for longest speech ever by a lone senator – beating the record first established by Strom Thurmond, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Booker’s speech eventually ran to 25 hours and five minutes. Having begun at 7pm on Monday night, was not a filibuster but instead an effort to warn of what he called the “grave and urgent” danger that Donald Trump’s presidential administration poses to democracy and the American people.

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