European Council is ready to grant Ukraine €9bn to aid in its post-war reconstruction – as it happened

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here

The Tass news agency is reporting that grain is being shipped from Kherson, which the Russians now occupy, to Russia.

They quote Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the military-civilian administration that has been imposed on Kherson, as saying “We have space to store (the new crop) although we have a lot of grain here. People are now partially taking it out, having agreed with those who buy it from the Russian side.”

Brigade and battalion commanders likely deploy forwards into harm’s way because they are held to an uncompromising level of responsibility for their units’ performance.

Similarly, junior officers have had to lead the lowest level tactical actions, as the army lacks the cadre of highly trained and empowered non-commissioned officers (NCOs) who fulfil that role in Western forces.

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Visa scheme for graduates from top 50 non-UK universities is launched

‘High potential individual’ route will allow eligible individuals to come to Britain without a prior job offer

Graduates from the world’s top 50 non-UK universities can apply to come to Britain through a new visa scheme.

Ministers hope the “high potential individual” route, which launches on Monday, will attract the “brightest and best” at the beginning of their careers to work in the UK.

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Sidhu Moose Wala: Punjabi singer and rapper shot dead

Musician whose real name was Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu was killed a day after his security cover was withdrawn

Indian police are investigating the murder of a popular Punjabi rapper a day after he was fatally shot.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, better known by his stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, was killed on Sunday evening while driving his car in Mansa, a district in Punjab state, northern India. Moose Wala, 28, was taken to hospital where he was declared dead.

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‘A journey to nowhere’: mothers who fled war in Ukraine

A series of portraits by the award-winning British photographer Lewis Khan from the Romanian border documents the stories of mothers and children who fled Ukraine as bombs and bullets rained down on their homes

The stories of four mothers fleeing Ukraine have highlighted the heart-breaking decisions that families have had to make during three months of war.

These compelling images also show what each family packed as they were forced to flee their homes. Some brought just a few changes of clothes, toys for their children and medical supplies, not knowing if they would be gone for weeks, months or even years.

Iryna*, with her 10-year-old daughter Nikolina*

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Negative views of Russia mainly limited to western liberal democracies, poll shows

Annual global survey of attitudes to democracy finds many countries maintain positive views of Russia

The sharp polarisation between mainly western liberal democracies and the rest of the world in perceptions of Russia has been laid bare in an annual global poll of attitudes towards democracy.

Within Europe, 55% of those surveyed for the Alliance for Democracies said they were in favour of cutting economic ties with Russia due to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, whereas in Asia there was a majority against, and in Latin America opinion was evenly split.

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Ukrainian MP urges west to supply long-range rockets or risk Russian victory

Kira Rudik says on visit to UK that without further military help Ukraine will fail to push back invaders

A Ukrainian MP visiting Britain has urged the west to supply long-range rockets to her country – and warned without further military help her country risked deadlock or defeat in its war against Russia.

Kira Rudik, the leader of the opposition liberal Golos party, said she was afraid of the three-month long war “becoming the new normal” and that the west would not supply the Nato-standard weapons Ukraine needed to push back the invaders.

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Pro-Biafra militants accused of killing pregnant woman and children in Nigeria

Woman and four children among 14 victims of latest wave of killings in south-east Anambra State

A spate of killings in south-east Nigeria blamed on a prominent Biafran secessionist group has sparked outrage and added another layer of insecurity in the country, where kidnappings for ransom are common in the north-west and an Islamist insurgency has been going on for more than a decade in the north-east.

In one incident last week a pregnant mother and her four children were killed as they were travelling home from a visit to family members on a motorcycle taxi. At least seven other people were killed in Anambra state last Sunday, a day after the mutilated bodies of an abducted state lawmaker and his aide were discovered.

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Top British diplomat’s husband pokes fun at New Zealand’s ‘crappiest fountain’

Tweet about Wellington water feature drew light-hearted responses from MPs and the public, with one saying: ‘There’s a fine line between iconic and crap’

The husband of New Zealand’s British high commissioner has announced his loathing of the Wellington bucket fountain, a well-known and polarising water feature that graces the centre of the nation’s capital.

Toby Fisher, husband of British commissioner Laura Clarke, tweeted: “After 4 years in Wellington, it’s time to be straight with you all, this is the crappiest fountain ever.”

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‘China in mind’: Japan mulls beefing up military as Ukraine war rings alarm

Country could double spending and acquire ‘first-strike’ capability in shift away from defensive postwar posture

Weeks after he became Japan’s prime minister last year, Fumio Kishida pulled on a dark green bomber jacket, the hinomaru flag emblazoned on his sleeve, and climbed into a tank.

Official photos show him displaying an awkward smile for his audience at Camp Asaka – the men and women of the the country’s Self-Defence Forces – an indication, perhaps, that postwar Japanese leaders and military hardware have not always been easy bedfellows.

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Colombia presidential election: leftist former guerrilla and populist outsider head to runoff

Rivals Gustavo Petro will face Rodolfo Hernández on 19 June amid growing discontent over inequality and inflation

Colombia’s election will go to a runoff between two opposing anti-establishment candidates on 19 June after voters on Sunday were unable to pick a president outright.

Gustavo Petro, a leftist former guerrilla and onetime mayor of Bogotá, won the largest share of the vote, with 40%, but fell short of the 50% required to win outright and prevent a second round. Petro’s rival in the runoff will be Rodolfo Hernández, a business magnate and social media firebrand, who is viewed as a conservative, populist outsider.

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Russian shelling of Sievierodonetsk has destroyed ‘entire critical infrastructure’ of city Zelenskiy says – as it happened

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here

Ridge asks Rudyk whether she feels safe. She says she does in the UK, where she is currently visiting and meeting with politicians. Rudyk talks about hearing air raid sirens and attacks on cities in Ukraine.

“The threat and the fear is still there ... I will go back home, because this is the fight we have to put up and we have to win. I dream of the day that all Ukrainians will feel safe. They will be able to sit with their hands on their lap and think ‘we are okay now.’

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Train to nowhere: can California’s high-speed rail project ever get back on track?

Despite 14 years of work and about $5bn spent, the 2008 promise of quick transport between Los Angeles and San Francisco has not materialized

In the depths of the 2008 recession, Californians were sold on a beautiful dream: a bullet train that would whisk them between Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than three hours.

The project was to be the start of a new era of high-speed rail that would eventually stretch the full length of the west coast, from San Diego to Vancouver, across the desert to Las Vegas, and, eventually, all across the continental United States.

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‘That smile I will never forget’: the victims of the Texas school shooting

More details have emerged about those who were killed on Tuesday when a gunman attacked Robb elementary school in Uvalde, Texas

As the United States lamented the nation’s latest mass school shooting, in which a gunman killed 19 children and two adults after storming into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, more details emerged of those who died.

A law enforcement official said all victims were in the same fourth-grade classroom.

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Clashes in Jerusalem as Israeli nationalists march through Muslim Quarter

Israeli media estimated around 25,000 people took part in contentious annual flag march through Muslim parts of Ohld City

Thousands of Israeli religious nationalists have paraded through Muslim parts of the Old City of Jerusalem, putting the city on edge after violence during the same event last year helped spark an 11-day-war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip.

The annual flag march, in which Israelis enter the highly symbolic Damascus Gate and walk through the Muslim Quarter to the Western Wall waving the national flag, takes place around sunset on what Israel calls Jerusalem Day, the celebration of the capture and annexation of East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, a move that is not internationally recognised.

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EU to debate ban on Russian oil in face of Hungarian opposition

A deal to placate Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, could allow pipeline imports via Ukraine

The EU is debating whether to water down a ban on Russian oil imports to placate Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orbán, who is blocking the latest European sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

The bloc could compromise by banning Russian oil arriving in tankers but allow pipeline imports, a proposal that would allow Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to continue being supplied via the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline that runs through Ukraine.

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Champions League final chaos shows France in bad light, say opposition leaders

Jean-Luc Mélenchon criticises ‘confrontational policing’ at Paris final, saying country seems ill-prepared for future events

French opposition politicians have criticised the government over policing at the Champions League final in Paris on Saturday night, saying the chaotic scenes showed a poor image of France.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the radical left leader, whose left alliance is seeking to win seats in forthcoming parliament elections, said the “lamentable” and “worrying” scenes suggested France and its security services were not prepared for sports events such as next year’s Rugby World Cup or the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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Liverpool fans liken ‘terrifying’ treatment in Paris to Hillsborough

Witnesses say they feared for their lives as French police fired teargas into the crowds ahead of Champions League final

Families affected by the Hillsborough disaster have compared the “terrifying” treatment of Liverpool fans at the Champions League final to the crush that led to the deaths of 97 supporters in 1989.

Witnesses described seeing children “trembling with fear”, and adults scared for their lives, as French police fired teargas into crowds outside the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday night.

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Ukraine war is Putin’s death warrant, says wife of jailed politician

Vladimir Kara-Murza’s wife Evgenia says Russian president will fall over war in Ukraine

Vladimir Kara-Murza’s wife Evgenia thinks he will have been like a “hurricane contained inside a bottle” since he was arrested on 11 April in Moscow and held in pre-trial detention over a speech he had made in Arizona criticising the war in Ukraine.

“He has so much energy, so many ideas, and initiatives, that being contained within the four walls of a prison will be the hardest part for him,” said Evgenia, who has not been allowed to speak to him.

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Crash site found after plane goes missing over Nepal with 22 onboard

Bodies being recovered after army locates Tara Air aircraft that took off from Pokhara, after conditions hampered earlier search

Rescue workers in Nepal have recovered 14 bodies from the crash site of a small plane carrying 22 people that went down in a remote region, according to an airport official.

“The search for others is continuing,” said Tek Raj Sitaula, a spokesman for the Tribhuvan international airport in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

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Over 500 Ukrainian children stuck waiting for UK visa decision

Exclusive: sources say most have hosts ready under Homes for Ukraine scheme but have heard nothing

More than 500 Ukrainian children who fled the war without their parents are stuck waiting in limbo across Europe after applying to the Homes for Ukraine scheme, sources working closely with the Home Office say.

Most are teenagers who thought they would be eligible and have British families waiting to host them, but have heard nothing from the Home Office.

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