Sir Philip Green charged in US over claims he touched pilates instructor

Arizona authorities accuse Arcadia mogul of repeatedly touching instructor inappropriately – claims Green denies

Sir Philip Green has been charged with four counts of misdemeanour assault in the US after a pilates instructor alleged he repeatedly touched her inappropriately, Arizona authorities have said.

Lauren Deakin, a deputy county attorney in Pima county, said Green had been formally charged with four counts of “knowingly touching another person with the intent to injure, insult or provoke”.

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Missouri abortion clinic to stay open – for now – after judge’s order

  • Michael Stelzer stops Missouri from allowing license to lapse
  • Threat to clinic came amid growing push against women’s rights

A judge has issued an order allowing Missouri’s only abortion clinic to continue to provide the service, just hours before the St Louis Planned Parenthood clinic’s license to perform abortions was set to expire.

Planned Parenthood supporters gathered outside the clinic breathed a sigh of relief after the ruling from circuit judge Michael Stelzer. He issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Missouri from allowing the license to lapse.

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Donald Trump defends tariffs on Mexico as stock markets reel

After 5% tariff announced, president tweets ‘Mexico has taken advantage of the US for decades’

Donald Trump has defended his decision to impose new tariffs on Mexico as stock markets worldwide were rattled by fears of an escalation in trade tensions.

“Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades,” Trump tweeted. “Because of the Dems, our Immigration Laws are BAD. Mexico makes a FORTUNE from the U.S., have for decades, they can easily fix this problem. Time for them to finally do what must be done!”

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Trump announces tariffs on Mexican goods until ‘migration crisis alleviated’

US will place a 5% tariff on all goods from Mexico to pressure the country to stop the flow of Central American migrants, Trump says

In a surprise announcement that could compromise a major trade deal, Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is slapping a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports to pressure the country to do more to crack down on the surge of Central American migrants trying to cross the border.

He said the percentage would gradually increase “until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied”.

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North Korea ‘executes envoy to US’ after Trump summit failures – report

South Korean paper claims Kim Hyok-chol has been killed and senior negotiator Kim Yong-chol subjected to forced labour

North Korea’s special envoy to the US, who was credited with paving the way for nuclear talks with Washington, has reportedly been executed over the failure of the recent summit between North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and Donald Trump.

The South Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying that Kim Hyok-chol and foreign ministry officials who conducted working-level preparations for February’s doomed Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi, were executed in March.

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Evidence Iran was behind Gulf attacks to be presented to UN, John Bolton says

Trump national security adviser says evidence can be shown as early as next week

Evidence that Iran has been behind recent attacks on oil tankers and pipelines in the Gulf is likely to be presented to the UN Security Council as early as next week, John Bolton, the US national security adviser, has revealed.

Bolton has previously said Iran was almost certainly responsible for the attacks, but without presenting evidence. In what is likely to be a showdown over the US’s aggressive Iran strategy, in which Bolton has taken a leading role, much will depend on how credibly the US intelligence agencies can show the Iranian government is directing attacks by proxies.

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Nuclear watchdog chief: no evidence that Russia is violating test ban

  • US general said Moscow had ‘probably’ violated moratorium
  • Lassina Zerbo contradicts claims of testing at remote island

The head of the international watchdog that monitors signs of nuclear testing has said there is no evidence to support a US allegation that Russia has conducted low-yield tests in violation of an international ban.

Lassina Zerbo, the executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO), said the agency had already investigated the claim made on Wednesday by the head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt Gen Robert Ashley, that Russia had “probably” violated the moratorium on tests of any yield.

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Resettlement of Rwandan rebels labelled a ‘frustrating’ hypocrisy

‘There never seems to be any consistent rule or fairness,’ specialist migration lawyer

A 28-year veteran of migration law whose Rwandan clients have all been denied Australia’s protection says the resettlement of two members of a violent Hutu rebel group shows a “frustrating” double standard.

Australia’s deal with the US to take in two former members of the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda, once designated a terrorist group by the US, has prompted consternation among some experts and lawyers. The pair were languishing in US detention after the collapse of a case against them for the slaughter of tourists in Uganda in 1999.

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Political chaos in Israel deals blow to Jared Kushner’s peace plan

Snap polls threaten Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ as Netanyahu reveals gift of map from his son-in-law during visit

Jared Kushner’s visit to Jerusalem to promote his troubled Middle East peace plan appeared to abruptly lose its remaining energy after an overnight crisis in Israeli politics plunged the country into a months-long election campaign.

With no guarantees that Benjamin Netanyahu’s Trump-friendly government will stay in power past the summer, any progress made with Kushner – Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser – is at risk of being revoked by the next Israeli administration.

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Trump: Mueller ‘should have never been chosen’ for special counsel – video

Donald Trump has said Robert Mueller 'should never have been chosen' for the position of special counsel, claiming Mueller wanted to replace James Comey as FBI director. Trump's remarks come a day after the former special counsel said at a press conference that investigators could not conclude that the US president had not committed a crime

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Trump calls Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage ‘very good guys’ – video

Donald Trump praised the politicians on Thursday, saying they were 'two very good guys, very interesting people'. Speaking to reporters as he left the White House, the US president said he wasn't sure he would endorse either candidate to be the new UK prime minister: 'I haven't thought about supporting them. Maybe it's not my business to support people. But I have a lot of respect for both of those men'

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China tells US provoking trade disputes is ‘naked economic terrorism’

Senior official says China is ‘not afraid’ of a trade war as Beijing signals potential restrictions on rare-earth exports

Provoking trade disputes is “naked economic terrorism“, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Thursday, ramping up the rhetoric against the US amid a bitter trade war that shows no signs of ending soon.

Zhang Hanhui, China’s vice foreign minister told reporters in Beijing China opposed the use of “big sticks” such as trade sanctions, tariffs and protectionism.

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‘Out of sight’: White House reportedly steers USS John McCain away from Trump

Officials wanted ship bearing the name of Trump’s nemesis blocked from view during president’s trip to Japan

The White House made it clear that Donald Trump was not to catch sight of a warship named after his Republican nemesis, the late Arizona senator John McCain, during his visit to a naval base in Japan this week, according to media reports.

Citing an email dated 15 May from an official at the US Indo-Pacific Command to US navy and air force officials, the Wall Street Journal said the USS John McCain “needs to be out of sight” during Trump’s Memorial Day visit to Yokosuka base on Tuesday, the final day of his state visit to Japan.

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Refugee swap Rwandans: how did they pass Australia’s ‘character test’?

Two men accused of killing tourists were resettled despite being members of a group on a terrorist exclusion list, as judge in their case brands them ‘dangerous’

Two Rwandans who were let into Australia under a secret US aslyum deal could have been rejected under Australia’s strict and vigorously enforced character test, a migration law expert has said.

The assessment comes as an American judge who heard their US asylum case insisted they were “dangerous” and had posed a threat to the safety of the US.

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Qatari PM to attend Saudi Arabia summit after two-year blockade

Gulf Cooperation Council will meet to discuss Iran’s alleged role in Gulf drone attacks

A possible US-backed thaw in Qatari-Saudi relations has been signalled by Qatari diplomats travelling to Saudi Arabia to lay the ground for their country’s attendance at a major summit in Mecca on alleged Iranian aggression in the region.

Qatar’s attendance will be seen as the biggest rapprochement between the two countries since the Saudis launched a sweeping economic and political blockade against the gas-rich country two years ago, accusing Doha of trying to undermine Saudi Arabia, fund terrorism and promote the Muslim Brotherhood across the Middle East.

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Mueller: if Trump clearly had not committed a crime ‘we would have said so’ – live

Special counsel gave public statement for first time about the investigation, prompting a response from Donald Trump: ‘The case is closed’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tiptoed around calls for impeachment in a new statement responding to Mueller’s remarks. In her comments, she praised Mueller for his work and vowed to continue investigating the Trump administration.

“The Congress holds sacred its constitutional responsibility to investigate and hold the President accountable for his abuse of power,” she said. “The Congress will continue to investigate and legislate to protect our elections and secure our democracy. The American people must have the truth.”

Former South Carolina Democratic party chair Jamie Harrison on Wednesday launched his campaign for the Senate seat held by Lindsey Graham.

Here’s his launch video:

I may not be a superhero, but I am a proud South Carolinian, and I'm ready to fight for a better future for our state and our country. I hope you are, too. Find out how you can #JoinJaime and get involved: https://t.co/2jIqtqbKAB pic.twitter.com/zTjktJ1RpA

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Robert Mueller gives first public statement on Trump-Russia investigation – video

Special prosecutor says investigators did not have confidence that the US president did not commit a crime. Delivering his first statement on the Trump-Russia investigation, Mueller explained the investigation was bound by the longstanding Department of Justice policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted

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