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A group of Anglican leaders from around the world have rejected the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as their leader after the Church of England backed prayers of blessing for same-sex couples. Archbishops representing 10 of the 42 provinces in the Anglican Communion have signed a statement saying they no longer consider Mr Welby "leader of the global communion". They added the Church of England was "disqualified" as their historic "Mother Church". It is the first time that the Archbishop of Canterbury's leadership has been rejected by such a large group of churches. Since its formation in 1867, the incumbent Archbishop of Canterbury has taken the role of spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, which is a global fellowship of 42 Anglican churches. He has no formal power - instead, he has moral authority and is seen as the "first among equals". Lambeth Palace, the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, said no formal change to the Anglican Communion's structure could be made without approval from its four governing "instruments".

A vast trove of Cambodia's Angkorian crown jewellery, some dating back to the 7th Century, resurfaced in London last summer, it has been revealed. The stolen items belonged to British antiquities smuggler Douglas Latchford. Experts say they have never seen most of the jewellery before and are stunned by its existence. The collection has been secretly returned to Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, and is due to go on display there in the country's national museum. Latchford died in 2020 while awaiting trial in the US. His family promised to return his stolen collection to Cambodia after he died, but the authorities did not know what exactly would be handed over or how it would happen. Brad Gordon, the head of Cambodia's investigative team, became the first representative of the nation to see the jewellery when he visited London last summer. He told the BBC: "I was driven by a representative of the Latchford family to an undisclosed location. In the parking lot was a vehicle with four boxes inside.

Sexual exploitation has been uncovered on tea farms that supply some of the UK's most popular brands, including PG Tips, Lipton and Sainsbury's Red Label. More than 70 women on Kenyan tea farms, owned for years by two British companies, told the BBC they had been sexually abused by their supervisors. Secret filming showed local bosses, on plantations owned by Unilever and James Finlay & Co, pressuring an undercover reporter for sex. Three managers have now been suspended. Unilever faced similar allegations more than 10 years ago and launched a "zero tolerance" approach to sexual harassment as well as a reporting system and other measures, but a joint investigation for BBC Africa Eye and Panorama found evidence that allegations of sexual harassment were not being acted on. The BBC's Tom Odula spoke to women who worked on tea farms run by both companies. A number told him that because work is so scarce, they are left with no choice but to give in to the sexual demands of their bosses or face having no income. "I can't lose my job because I have kids," said one woman. Another woman said a divisional manager stopped her job until she agreed to have sex with him.

Summary US President Joe Biden has made a surprise visit to Kyiv – his first visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded almost a year ago It comes as the anniversary of Russia's invasion approaches on 24 February Biden is expected to visit neighbouring Poland next Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels will discuss how to make sure Ukrainian forces have enough ammunition Russian forces have sustained "very high losses" in their assault on the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, according to UK intelligence Moscow's troops have been battling to break through Ukrainian defences around in the town in the Donbas region Ukraine's President Zelensky has described the situation as "very difficult" but says "we are breaking the invader

International atomic inspectors last week discovered that Iran has accumulated uranium enriched to levels just shy of what is needed for a nuclear weapon, according to a new report. Unnamed senior diplomats told Bloomberg that Iran has accumulated uranium enriched to 84% purity and a concentration to 6% below what’s needed for a weapon, marking the highest levels found by inspectors in Iran to date.

Sonic boom heard as meteor crashes into ground near McAllen, Texas A sonic boom was captured on a home video camera as a meteor crashed into the ground near McAllen, Texas. CREDIT: Fox 4 A nearly 1,000-pound meteor measuring two feet wide crashed into South Texas on Wednesday, according to reports. Fox station KDFW in Dallas reported that NASA confirmed the meteor broke apart as it fell through the atmosphere to its resting place near McAllen, Texas at about 6 p.m.

Nicola Bulley's partner Paul Ansell has told Sky News of his "agony" after police searching for the mother-of-two recovered an unidentified body from the river near to where she went missing. In a message sent to Sky News correspondent Inzamam Rashid, who has been in contact with the family throughout the three-week search, Mr Ansell said: "No words right now, just agony." "We're all together, we have to be strong", he added. The body was found around a mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen walking her dog, beside the River Wyre, in St Michael's on Wyre, after she dropped her daughters at school on 27 January. It is understood that a man and a woman walking their dog near to the river called the police to report seeing a person in the water, with officers then launching a search.

On the eve of the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine there are ominous warnings the Ukraine conflict could widen and draw in other countries. America says China is considering entering the conflict as an active partner of Russia and will start sending weapons. And there are very real fears Vladimir Putin is stepping up efforts to destabilise countries from Moldova to the Western Balkans.

North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, officials said – the latest missile launch in recent days by the country. Japan’s Defense Ministry said officials were still analyzing the data but estimated both missiles were fired at around 7:00 a.m. local time on Monday and fell into the Sea of Japan “to the east of the Korean Peninsula, outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone,” its statement said. North Korea acknowledged the incident, calling it a “super-large multiple rocket launcher exercise, which is a means of tactical nuclear attack.” The country said the exercise was a response to the combined air force forces of the United States and South Korea.

Instagram and Facebook users will now be able to pay for a blue tick verification, parent company Meta has announced. Meta Verified will cost $11.99 (£9.96) a month on web, or $14.99 for iPhone users. It will be available in Australia and New Zealand this week. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta chief executive, said the move will improve security and authenticity on the social media apps. The move comes after Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, implemented the premium Twitter Blue subscription in November 2022. Meta's paid subscription service is not yet available for businesses, but any individual can pay for verification. Badges - or "blue ticks"- have been used as verification tools for high-profile accounts to signify their authenticity. The subscription would give paying users a blue badge, increased visibility of their posts, protection from impersonators and easier access to customer service, Meta said in a post on their website.

Beneath Moldova's soaring parliament building, a parade of its most precarious file slowly past - bussed in by the thousand from across the country, each with their private tale of poverty and frustration. "We're a laughing stock - the government is mocking us," some cry. Capped in a blue woollen hat, Ala thrusts her wide pale face close to mine, and says: "There are people with four or five children who literally have nothing to eat." Energy bills here now consume more than 70% of household income, according to Moldova's president. Ala tells me they swallow half of her pension. "When we elected this government, they promised to raise salaries and pensions, but so far we haven't seen a penny," she says. Sunday's protests, organised by Moldova's pro-Russian Sor party, are being closely watched by governments across Europe and beyond. Most protesters travelled to the capital city Chisinau by bus, with their costs reportedly covered by the Sor party.

West Ham Tottenham have called for social media companies to take action after Son Heung-min was subjected to "utterly reprehensible" racist abuse online. The abuse occurred during Sunday's 2-0 Premier League victory over West Ham, during which substitute Son scored Spurs' second goal. Tottenham posted on Twitter saying they had reported the abuse towards Son. "We stand with Sonny and once again call on the social media companies and authorities to take action," they said.

North Korea has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Japan's government has said. The defence ministry confirmed it was launched on Saturday, flew for 66 minutes and landed in the Sea of Japan. It comes after Pyongyang showed off its massive military might in a parade that included more than a dozen ICBMs. On Friday, North Korea threatened to unleash an "unprecedentedly strong" retaliation to any military drills between South Korea and the US. The annual springtime exercises, which are due to start next month, are designed to help fend off North Korea's increasing nuclear threats. But Pyongyang has long insisted the drills are in preparation to invade North Korea. Saturday's missile, which is the first to be launched since new year's day, splashed down west of Hokkaido, in Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at 18:27 (09:27 GMT), Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. An EEZ is an area of the sea that a country has jurisdiction over. Japan's is a 200-nautical mile area off its coast.

After well over a year of talks between the UK and the EU it appears that a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol is finally around the corner. The set of post-Brexit trading rules for Northern Ireland has split political opinion since its inception in 2021. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been to Belfast to brief Stormont politicians on what the solution might look like. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - among the protocol's most vocal critics - says progress has been made and describes this as a "big moment" in the path towards a deal. Now the prime minister will return to the table with the EU, aiming to secure the final stages of an agreement. So what could a deal actually look like? And will it appease those who oppose the existing set-up?