In today’s newsletter: Escalating costs mean Victoria will no longer host the competition – but can another host be found?
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition
Good morning.
“I’ve made a lot of very difficult decisions in this job – this is not one of them,” said Daniel Andrews, premier of Victoria in Australia, when he announced on Tuesday that the state was no longer willing to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026.
LawA British woman who was jailed for terminating her pregnancy after the legal time limit during lockdown will be released from prison and reunited with her children. A court of appeal judge said Carla Foster, a mother of three, needed “compassion, not punishment”, adding that her 28-month sentence would be reduced to 14 months and suspended.
HeatwaveThe EU has weighed in with help to combat wildfires in Greece, dispatching four Canadair water bombers as the battle to douse blazes that have raged around Athens intensified. Across Europe, back-to-back heatwaves have sent temperatures soaring, while Tuesday marked the 19th day the US city of Phoenix has been subjected to temperatures of at least 110F (43.3C).
UkraineAn investigation has identified four military units under Russia’s command that allegedly carried out human rights abuses during the occupation of the Ukrainian city of Izium. After liberating the city last year, Ukrainian troops discovered a mass grave, containing 447 bodies including the remains of 22 Ukrainian soldiers, as well as several torture chambers.
North KoreaAn American national has crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea into North Korea, according to the US-led UN Command overseeing the area. The body tweeted on Tuesday that the US citizen was on a tour of the border village of Panmunjom and crossed into North Korea without authorisation.
Policing | The 36-year fight for justice by the family of the murdered private detective Daniel Morgan has ended with the Metropolitan police this morning admitting liability for their errors and corruption, and paying damages. Morgan was found dead in March 1987 outside a London pub with an axe through his head. His family believe he had been about to expose police corruption.