Jeremy Corbyn to take part in live TV debate - but Theresa May has refused

Jeremy Corbyn has announced he will take part in a live TV General Election debate tonight and challenged Theresa May to join him.

The Labour leader will join the leaders of the Liberal Democrats, UKIP, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru, and the SNP's leader at Westminster, at the BBC event, which has been boycotted by the Prime Minister.

:: LIVE - Shock poll says May could lose majority

The Tories are to be represented by Home Secretary Amber Rudd, after Mrs May made clear that she would not take part in a face-to-face showdown with any other party leaders during the campaign.

Mr Corbyn had also previously refused to take part in a leaders' debate unless the PM also took part.

The veteran left-winger's decision to attend reflects a growing confidence in the Labour camp, buoyed by the latest YouGov poll that suggested the UK could be heading for a hung parliament on 9 June, with the Tories falling short of an overall majority.

War of words between Trump and Merkel continues

Trump met with Merkel at the White House in Washington in March [Jonathan Erns/Reuters]

US President Donald Trump called Germany's trade and spending policies "very bad" - intensifying a row between the longtime allies and immediately earning himself the moniker "destroyer of Western values" from a leading German politician.

As the war of words on Tuesday threatened to spin out of control, Merkel and other senior German politicians stressed the importance of Germany's Atlantic ties, with Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel suggesting the spat was just a rough patch.

Trump took to Twitter early in the day in the United States to attack Germany, a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel ramped up her doubts about the reliability of Washington as an ally.

"We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change," Trump tweeted.

READ MORE: Trump 'weakened' West, hurt EU interests: German FM

Later in the day, Trump's spokesman and the US ambassador to the United Nations said there were no problems in relations with Merkel or NATO.


Macron and Merkel vow to reform European Union




The tit-for-tat dispute escalated rapidly after Trump, at back-to-back summits last week, criticised major NATO allies over their military spending and refused to endorse a global climate change accord.

Trump said he will give his verdict on the Paris accord later this week and has warned Washington may pull out of a pact that European leaders see as the last best hope to slow global warming.

On Sunday, Merkel showed the gravity of her concern about Washington's dependability under Trump when she warned at an election campaign event in a packed Bavarian beer tent, that the times when Europe could fully rely on others were "over to a certain extent".

Those comments, which caused shock in Washington, vented Europe's frustration with Trump on climate policy in particular. And while German politicians sided with Merkel, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel signalled it was time for cooler heads to prevail.

"The United States are older and bigger than the current conflict," he said, adding relations would improve. "It is inappropriate that we are now communicating with each other between a beer tent and Twitter," he said in Berlin.

Martin Schulz, leader of Gabriel's centre-left Social Democrats, was less emollient earlier in the day when he told reporters Trump was "the destroyer of all Western values". He added the US president was undermining the peaceful cooperation of nations based on mutual respect and tolerance.

READ MORE: Germany's Merkel stresses EU loss of US and UK as reliable allies

In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said he agreed with Merkel that Europe needed to forge its own path.

"This takes nothing away from the importance of our trans-Atlantic ties and our alliance with the United States. But the importance we put on these ties cannot mean that we abandon fundamental principles such as our commitment to fight climate change and in favour of open societies and free trade," he said.

In Washington, Trump administration officials on Tuesday appeared to try to soften the message underlying Trump's tweet with comments emphasising the importance of US-European ties.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer, asked about the president's relationship with Merkel, told a news briefing: "I think the relationship that the president has had with Merkel, he would describe as fairly unbelievable.

"They get along very well. He has a lot of respect for her... And he views not just Germany but the rest of Europe as an important American ally."

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said repeatedly in an interview the United States would support its NATO allies.

On Merkel's apparent criticism of Trump, Haley said: "I think there's obviously some differences of opinion between the two of them, but at the same time I know what we believe in NATO and how strongly we believe about those allies and we're going to continue to do that."

Ariana Grande to be joined by stars for Manchester attack benefit gig

Ariana Grande will be joined by Justin Bieber and a host of other stars for a Manchester attack benefit concert on Sunday.

Coldplay, Katy Perry, Usher, Take That, Pharrell Williams, Miley Cyrus and Niall Horan will also perform at Old Trafford Cricket Ground to raise money for the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

The gig comes almost a fortnight after the bombing which killed 22 people at Manchester Arena.

Fans who were at the show will be offered free tickets to Sunday's event, while general sale will start at 10am on Thursday.

Grande, 23, suspended her Dangerous Woman tour after the attack, but later vowed to return to Manchester.

She said: "I don't want to go the rest of the year without being able to see and hold and uplift my fans.

"I'll be returning to the incredibly brave city of Manchester to spend time with my fans and to have a benefit concert in honour and raise money for the victims and their families."

:: Manchester Victoria reopens after explosion

Image:Justin Bieber will also perform at Old Trafford Cricket Ground

More than £6m has been raised through the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, which was set up by Manchester City Council and British Red Cross to support survivors and victims' families.

Red Cross chief executive Mike Adamson praised Grande's "gesture of solidarity".

:: Bomb squad raid in Wigan linked to Manchester attack

He said: "This event is an opportunity for people to come together and celebrate things that unite us - music, humanity and the will to do something to help others."




The kick-off time for Manchester United player Michael Carrick's charity testimonial has been changed from 4pm to 2.30pm to accommodate the concert.

Earlier, Greater Manchester Police chief constable Ian Hopkins said he had been working with Grande's management team on the "finer details" of the gig.

"When the idea of the concert came up, the first reaction was we need to speak to the families of the victims and see what they feel," he told BBC Radio Manchester.

:: Victim's family - Government must 'open its eyes'

Theresa May protest song 'liar liar' hits No 1 on iTunes

A song describing Prime Minister Theresa May as a "liar" and calling the country "broken" has become the most downloaded on iTunes.

But although Captain Ska's anti-Tory song Liar Liar is proving popular among downloads, it is unlikely to be playing on a radio near you any time soon.

Liar Liar is set be the highest new entry on the UK Official Singles Chart this week, but impartiality rules during the election period mean it is unlikely to get radio air time, regardless of chart position.

The Big Top 40 show on Heart and Capital FM has banned the song from being played.

Image:In her bid to stay in No 10, Theresa May may be unintentionally making her way to No 1

The song samples clips of Tory speeches and has the chorus "She's a liar liar, you can't trust her, no, no, no".

Another lyric talks about the NHS, saying: "When there's nurses going hungry and schools in decline, I don't recognise this broken country of mine."

Other lyrics by the London-based ska band focus on poverty levels, schools and police cuts.

The seven-piece group is made up of session musicians who have performed with Vampire Weekend, Paloma Faith and The Streets.

Describing their music as "new wave political", the band said: "The success of this song shows people are fed up with this government of the rich, for the rich.

"We're overwhelmed with the support and our message is that people do have the power to change society if we act together."

All proceeds raised from the song between now and election day will be split between food banks and campaign group The People's Assembly Against Austerity.

The song was released on Friday, but an earlier version of the song released in 2010 in response to the coalition government reached number 1 in the UK reggae chart and number 89 in the official charts.

Meanwhile, a host of grime artists have come out in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Corbyn has received the support of rappers Stormzy, JME and Akala among others, who have been urging their social media followers to vote Labour.

There has even been a #Grime4Corbyn campaign offering those who sign up the chance to win tickets to a secret rave due to take place before the General Election.

US test-fires interceptor at intercontinental ballistic missile

The US military has carried out the first test of a missile defence system against an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Officials said the test of the Ground Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was successful.

Pentagon officials said the test was to simulate the capability for responding to a hypothetical North Korean ICBM.

The ICBM was launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific and was be equipped with a warhead which would approximate the qualities of a nuclear warhead.

The GMD interceptors carry no warheads themselves but rely on the kinetic energy of their impact to destroy the incoming missile.

Kinetic energy hits are intended to minimise the risk of detonating conventional warheads, including nuclear tipped ballistic missiles.

Image:The missile defence system is similar to the THAAD deployed in South Korea. File pic

It is a similar missile defence system to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, which was recently deployed in South Korea.

North Korea's ballistic missile tests have created tensions between Pyongyang and Washington, with Kim Jong Un featuring commonly in discussions between President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The California test came as the US ambassador to the UN said the Trump administration believed Beijing was using back channels with North Korea in an attempt to get it to stop missile and nuclear tests.

Despite UN and unilateral sanctions, North Korea has continued with its missile tests. It has argued the sanctions are an infringement of its right to self-defence.

Its most recent test of a medium-range Scud missile was claimed as a success, although North Korea's ability to launch a ballistic missile capable of hitting intercontinental targets has been disputed.

The state has stressed that it will continue to develop a pre-emptive strike capability.

Royal Navy escorts Russian ships through English Channel

A Royal Navy warship has escorted several Russian ships through the English Channel over the bank holiday weekend.

The HMS Mersey was called on to shadow the vessels as they passed through British waters.

The incident - described as "routine business" for the navy - is the fourth such incident in the past two months,

The Portsmouth-based patrol vessel was tasked to locate, monitor and escort intelligence ship Vasily Tatishchev and the depot ship PM82.

A Russian tug and the frigate Severomorsk were also shadowed. The Severomorsk was later handed over to fellow Navy ship HMS Iron Duke to be escorted out of the UK area of interest.

HMS Mersey is one of four River Class patrol ships, three of which conduct fishery protection, general patrols and other maritime security duties around the UK.

A fourth, HMS Clyde, is permanently deployed to the Falkland Islands.

In January a Royal Navy frigate closely shadowed a Russian warship which was sailing through British waters on its way back from Syria.

In April the navy kept a "vigilant watch" on two Russian warships as they passed through the English Channel.

And a month later navy warships shadowed a surfaced Russian submarinethrough the Strait of Dover.

RAF jets are also often scrambled to watch Russian military planes that fly close to UK airspace.

In February, Typhoons were deployed from Lossiemouth in Scotland and Coningsby in Lincolnshire to monitor two nuclear-capable Tupolev TU-160 Blackjack bombers

Trudeau invites pope to Canada

Pope Francis meets Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a private audience at the Vatican on Monday [Ettore Ferrari/Reuters]


Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Pope Francis to visit Canada to apologise to indigenous peoples for the Catholic Church's treatment of aboriginal children in schools it ran there.

Starting in the late 19th century, about 30 percent of children of Canada's native peoples, or about 150,000 children, were placed in what were known as "residential schools" in a government attempt to strip them of their traditional cultures and ancestral languages.

For more than a century the schools were government-funded, but many were administered by Christian Churches, the majority by Roman Catholics. Many children were physically and sexually abused.

READ MORE: Canada's dark history of abuse at residential schools

Canada accused of 'cultural genocide'

"I told him how important it is for Canadians to move forward on real reconciliation with the indigenous peoples and I highlighted how he could help by issuing an apology," Trudeau told reporters after meeting the pope on Monday.

He said he had invited the Argentine-born pontiff to make the apology in Canada.

Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said in a 2015 report that the practice, which kept children from the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples far from their parents, amounted to "cultural genocide".

The commission made 94 recommendations, including that the pope issue a formal apology in Canada to survivors and their descendents for the Church's "role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse" of the children.

Trudeau said in their private talks, the pope "reminded me that his entire life has been dedicated to supporting marginalised people in the world, fighting for them, and that he looks forward to working with me and with the Canadian bishops to figure out a path forward together".

Canadian bishops have said the pope might visit next year.

READ MORE: Canada accused of 'cultural genocide'

Trudeau said he and the pope also discussed climate change. Unlike US President Donald Trump, who met the pope last week, Trudeau and Francis agree that climate change is caused by human activity.

"We talked about how important it is to highlight the scientific basis of protecting our planet and the moral and ethical obligations to lead, to build a better future for all people on this Earth," Trudeau said.

At last week's Group of Seven (G7) summit in Sicily, Trump refused to back a landmark international agreement reached in Paris in 2015 to reduce global warming.

Trump said he would decide this week on whether to pull out of the accord, which was backed by his predecessor Barack Obama.

Trudeau, who is Catholic, said he had "a deeply personal and wide-ranging, thoughtful conversation with the leader of my own faith".