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Best known as one half of D’Unbelievables, Kenny also starred in Father Ted and The Banshees of InisherinThe Irish prime minister has led tributes to the comedian and actor Jon Kenny, who has died at the age of 66.Kenny died on Friday evening in Galway Clinic, his wife, Margie, told the Limerick Leader on Saturday. Continue reading...

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said ‘the enemy’ carried out three air raids, including one near Haret HreikImages are coming through of Israel’s strike on Beirut this morning, showing a large plume of smoke rising above the city.An Iranian official met with Elon Musk, according to a US official, AP reports. Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani met with Musk — a key Trump...

US president-elect says the war has ‘got to stop’ as German chancellor urges Putin to start talks with Kyiv in rare phone call. What we know on day 997Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia’s war against his country will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have once Donald Trump becomes US president next year.In a radio interview aired on Saturday, the Ukrainian president conceded that...

Confidential report comes in the wake of Senate inquiry which highlighted ‘deficiencies in branch closure processes’ across regional areasGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian banks would have to meet a minimum level of service in regional areas or contribute funding to bolster the number of branches and ATMs offered by other institutions, in a proposal put forward by Treasury.According...

Connor Brackin, 24, reportedly quit job after alleged killing of animals whose wellbeing he was sent to check onA sheriff’s deputy from the US state of Tennessee is facing criminal charges and reportedly quit his job after he fatally shot seven dogs whose wellbeing he had been sent to check on.Connor Brackin, 24, was on duty for the McNairy county sheriff’s office on 4...

Shock waves triggered by archbishop’s resignation are culmination of years of simmering rage among churchgoers and survivors of abuseAs the faithful give thanks to God in England’s 16,500 parish churches on Sunday, beneath the comforting ritual of prayers and hymns will run a strong undercurrent of shame, anger, sadness and dread.The Church of England is facing its biggest crisis in modern times, and there...

Rocky Leanders, then 15, was beaten with wooden paddle by Smyth at camp where boys were made to swim nakedWhen John Smyth gave a presentation at their school about his Christian holiday camps in 1993, Rocky Leanders and his school friends were “blown away”.“This is Zimbabwe in the early 90s; the technology wasn’t great. These guys set up a projector with colour videos of...

Anthony Albanese meets with leaders of Peru and Indonesia as middle nations seek to diversify trade away from the USThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has hailed “inclusive trade and investment” at a major Asia-Pacific economic forum in Peru where leaders are attempting to push against the protectionist policies favoured by US president-elect Donald Trump.Speaking at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders summit, which...

Rosemary Coogan, European Space Agency’s second UK recruit, will be deployed to ISS for six monthsShe beat a field of more than 22,000 candidates and has a PhD in astrophysics and a background as a Royal Navy reserve, but the newly qualified British astronaut Rosemary Coogan believes that in future space travel should not be restricted to elites.Coogan, 33, from Belfast, who is the...

Exclusive: Rights group expresses concerns as it emerges US spy tech company has been lobbying UK ministersThe US spy tech company Palantir has been in talks with the Ministry of Justice about using its technology to calculate prisoners’ “reoffending risks”, it has emerged.The proposals emerged in correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act which showed how the company has also been lobbying new...

Another 16 infants were in critical condition after the blaze at a neonatal unit in Jhansi, Uttar PradeshTen newborn babies have died after a fire broke out at the neonatal unit of a hospital in northern India, with another 16 clinging to life.The fire broke out late on Friday at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical College in Jhansi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, 450km...

Authorities warn of ‘life-threatening’ surges as sixth storm to pound the country in the past month intensifiedPhilippine authorities ordered all vessels back to shore and people in coastal communities to leave their homes as Super Typhoon Man-yi neared the storm-weary archipelago nation.Man-yi will be the sixth major storm to pound the Philippines in the past month, killing at least 163 people, leaving thousands homeless...

Supermarket fizz bursts the prestigious French label’s bubble in blind tastings by consumer group Which?Champagne at prosecco prices? Every little helps. Tesco’s Finest champagne has triumphed over the prestigious French label Moët & Chandon in a festive quaff test.The Tesco Finest premier cru brut champagne received the top score of 82% in a blind taste test conducted by the consumer group Which?. The £25-a-bottle...

Transparency International writes to EU requesting inquiry into potential failure to declare travel and ticket expensesAn NGO has called for an investigation into five far-right members of the European parliament, warning of a potential failure to declare expenses for a trip to attend a gala dinner in New York headlined by Donald Trump.Transparency International’s EU office has written to the parliament’s watchdog on MEP...

Gellibrand, Dereel and Kadnook residents told to leave as total fire bans declared across parts of South Australia and VictoriaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSeveral communities in Victoria’s west have been urged to evacuate as firefighters work to control a number of bushfires.A short-lived heatwave has brought hot, dry and windy conditions to much of southern Australia, with total...

Victoria police believe building on Spencer Street was empty at the time of the blazeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPolice are investigating a warehouse fire in West Melbourne which led to 150 people being evacuated from an apartment complex in the middle of the night.Fire Rescue Victoria found the warehouse “fully involved with fire” after being called to the...

Samuel Woodward, 27, sentenced to life without parole over stabbing of Blaze Bernstein, who was gay and JewishA California man convicted of stabbing to death a gay University of Pennsylvania student in an act of hate was sentenced Friday to life without parole in prison.Samuel Woodward, 27, was sentenced in a southern California courtroom at the end of an all-day hearing for the murder...

Prime minister Dick Schoof said party leaders decided to work together after five-hour crisis meetingThe Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof’s rightwing government averted a crisis on Friday when a junior minister resigned over alleged racist comments by cabinet colleagues, but the coalition government will remain in place.The deputy finance minister, Nora Achahbar, handed in her resignation late on Friday as the Netherlands grapples with...

Local clerks say they received threatening emails last week, amid a series of hostile election-related incidentsThe FBI confirmed it is “aware” of bomb threats that targeted election offices in several Oregon counties. Local clerks in Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson reported receiving threatening emails last week, just days after election day.The FBI said that none of the threats were deemed credible. Continue reading...

High court rules Aboriginal woman can pursue damages for abuse allegedly suffered in state care more than 60 years agoFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe high court has ruled an Aboriginal woman can pursue damages on some allegations of historical sexual and physical abuse while in state care in Queensland.The woman,...

Leavitt was Trump campaign’s national press secretary and assistant press secretary in first administration. This blog is now closed.Trump’s staffing picks and likely contenders – so farRepublicans are set to take control of the Senate next year, where one of their first jobs will be to confirm Donald Trump’s nominees for cabinet posts. Should they object to the president-elect’s picks, he has threatened to...

Palm Springs approves settlement for displaced Black and Latino families after decades-long fight for compensationThe Palm Springs city council on Thursday unanimously approved a $5.9m reparations settlement with former residents of a largely Black neighborhood that was leveled in the 1960s for commercial development.The city council was also set to approve another $21m for housing and small business support aimed at the former residents...

Nationwide says New Forest is most expensive national park with an average property price of £576,000Buying a home in a national park comes at a 25% price premium, with the New Forest the most expensive of the 13 parks in England and Wales, according to Britain’s biggest building society.Nationwide said properties in a national park enjoy a valuation almost £67,000 more than a similar...

Leavitt served as the national press secretary on Trump’s campaign and assistant press secretary during his first administrationTrump’s staffing picks and likely contenders – so farDonald Trump named his White House press secretary on Friday, placing Karoline Leavitt, a 27-year-old firebrand from his inner circle, in position to aggressively defend him.The job of the White House press secretary typically is to help inform the...