Deputy health secretary chosen as agency’s interim director after firing of Susan Monarez

• Who’s who in the CDC crisis?

The White House has chosen a deputy of Robert F Kennedy Jr to serve as the acting head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a decision that comes as the standoff over the firing of director Susan Monarez has deepened, with Monarez’s lawyers claiming she will not depart unless Donald Trump himself removes her.

A White House official confirmed to the Guardian that Jim O’Neill, currently the deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), had been selected to temporarily lead the public health agency, giving Kennedy an ally in his efforts to overhaul US vaccine policy.

Deputy health secretary chosen as agency’s interim director after firing of Susan Monarez

• Who’s who in the CDC crisis?

The White House has chosen a deputy of Robert F Kennedy Jr to serve as the acting head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a decision that comes as the standoff over the firing of director Susan Monarez has deepened, with Monarez’s lawyers claiming she will not depart unless Donald Trump himself removes her.

A White House official confirmed to the Guardian that Jim O’Neill, currently the deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), had been selected to temporarily lead the public health agency, giving Kennedy an ally in his efforts to overhaul US vaccine policy.

Footage from a small North Island town store is the first confirmed sighting of Tom Phillips in a year, nearly four years after he disappeared with his three children

New CCTV footage believed to show New Zealand fugitive Tom Phillips and one of his children allegedly breaking into and stealing from a convenience store has been released by police.

Detective senior sergeant Andy Saunders told media on Friday that investigators believe the pair in the video are Phillips and one of his three children, who vanished almost four years ago. It is the first confirmed sighting of Phillips in a year.

Prime minister Narendra Modi’s four-day trip, which includes Japan visit, comes while India seeks to diversify trade and bolster ties with Beijing

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will land in China this weekend for his first visit in seven years – a trip that puts him in the company of Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin just as India’s ties with Washington have soured.

Modi’s visit to Tianjin for a regional security summit comes days after the US doubled tariffs on Indian exports to 50%, citing New Delhi’s refusal to stop buying Russian oil.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former prime minister Thaksin, has been accused her of failing to protect Thailand’s interests

Thailand’s constitutional court will decide on Friday whether suspended prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra should be removed from office over comments she made in a leaked phone call to the former leader of Cambodia.

Paetongtarn, Thailand’s youngest prime minister, was suspended last month after a recording was leaked of her phone conversation with Hun Sen, in which they discussed a simmering border dispute between the neighbouring countries.