• Liam Wright is Australia’s seventh skipper in past year
• Tom Lynagh follows father’s footsteps in first Test

The Wallabies have named a first-time captain and seven debutants in the squad to take on Wales in the first Test in Sydney as a new era begins under head coach Joe Schmidt. The raft of changes mean that only five Australians – as well as three Welsh starters – remain from the last time the sides met, when Wales thrashed the Wallabies 40-6 during last year’s Rugby World Cup.

The new-look Australian squad will have their seventh captain in the past year with Liam Wright named to lead Schmidt’s first Test team since replacing Eddie Jones as coach. The blindside flanker has captained the Queensland Reds since 2020 and will lead his country for the first time in the Wallabies’ opening Test of the year on Saturday night.

• Eskin barred from Citizens Bank Park
• WIP host alleged to have kissed a worker without consent

Philadelphia sports radio host Howard Eskin has been suspended from Phillies home games for the rest of the season after investigations by his employer showed he kissed a worker for Citizens Bank Park’s food service provider without consent.

Audacy, the parent company for Philadelphia’s SportsRadio 94WIP, said in a statement it learned of the “unwelcome kiss” of the Aramark employee by Eskin and “immediately investigated,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Tuesday. The Inquirer also reported that Eskin has been suspended from the Philadelphia 76ers’ training facility.

Court of appeal reduces sentences of Finnegan Lee Elder, 24, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 23 over killing of Mario Cerciello Rega

An Italian court of appeal has upheld the murder convictions of two American men over the death of an Italian plainclothes police officer during a botched sting operation but reduced their sentences. The new trial was ordered after Italy’s highest court threw out their original convictions.

The court convicted Finnegan Lee Elder and sentenced him to 15 years and two months in prison and gave a sentence of 11 years to Gabriele Natale-Hjorth.

Suspect to plead not guilty after Mette Frederiksen assaulted in a Copenhagen square last month

A Polish man has been charged with assault over last month’s attack on the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, in a Copenhagen square.

A man walked up to Frederiksen in a square in central Copenhagen in the late afternoon on 7 June and punched her on her right upper arm. The prime minister suffered minor whiplash but was otherwise unharmed.

• 39-year-old expected to re-up on a two year contract
• Lakers drafted LeBron’s son, Bronny James, last week

LeBron James is making it official: He’s coming back for a record-tying 22nd season in the NBA, one where the league’s all-time scoring leader could share the floor with his son Bronny as teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers.

James has agreed to a two-year contract to remain with the Lakers, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said on Wednesday. The second year of the deal is a player option and means James could become a free agent again next summer, said the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced publicly. The deal is also expected to include a no-trade clause.

Department of Homeland Security says it plans more such ‘large charter flights’, sparking concerns for safety of migrants escaping poverty or repression

The US has sent back 116 Chinese migrants in the first such “large charter flight” in five years, the Department of Homeland Security has said.

“We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

• All-Stars will face US Olympic team in Phoenix on 20 July
• Clark gets most votes from fans, Reese is fifth

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will team up on the WNBA All-Star team to play against the US Olympic team led by A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.

The two rookies were selected on Tuesday by a combination of votes from the media, players and fans, as well as the league’s 12 coaches, to play in the game in Phoenix on 20 July.

Agreement would have shortened prison term but exposed alleged attacker to a federal terrorism-related charge

The man charged with stabbing author Salman Rushdie in 2022 rejected a plea deal on Tuesday that would have shortened his state prison term but exposed him to a federal terrorism-related charge, the suspect’s lawyer said.

Hadi Matar, 26, has been held without bail since Rushdie’s attack, in which he is accused of stabbing the acclaimed author more than a dozen times and blinding him as he was onstage, about to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York.

Artist behind controversial piece in Linz cathedral says vandalism shows there are still ‘people who question women’s right to their own bodies’

Vandals have beheaded a sculpture of the Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus on display in the cathedral in the Austrian city of Linz. The work had drawn criticism from some Catholics, who said it was blasphemous.

The sculpture had been on view at the St Mary Cathedral, Austria’s largest, as part of an art installation about women’s roles, family images and gender equality, the Linz diocese said in a statement. It said the vandalism, which occurred on Monday, had been reported to police.