BBC was warned of author’s claim to possess missing clothes of child murder victim

• Reports reveal the CIA conducted drone strikes, torture, and forced disappearances near the coast of Ecuador, while the DHS is accused of targeting left-leaning groups in Minnesota via mass surveillance. • In the Middle East, rights groups claim Israel is destroying evidence of war crimes during Gaza rubble clearance, and Lebanon has condemned Israeli home demolitions as violations of international law.

Conservative authority says site is not safe for vulnerable people charity serves or general publicWestminster council is making it “impossible” for soup kitchens to operate by complaining about the “crowds of vulnerable people” who turn up to be fed, a charity has said.Steven Stuart, who founded Friends of Essex & London Homeless (FOELH) with his wife, Cheryl, a decade ago, said constant complaints from the council could force the soup kitchen to shut down. Continue reading...

The New York congresswoman’s power is in the spotlight as people wonder if the stars are finally aligning for her to run for US president in 2028“They assume that my ambition is positional. They assume that my ambition is a title or a seat. And my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country.”The words were delivered slowly, deliberately and with some steeliness by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her audience, crammed into the pews of Rockefeller Memorial chapel at the University of Chicago, burst into spontaneous applause. That was in May. In the three months since, the speculation around Ocasio-Cortez’s ambitions – for herself and for America – has only grown louder. Continue reading...

Campaigners fear deeper diplomatic contacts are undermining demands for improvements in human rights The Taliban in Afghanistan have launched a diplomatic effort to end their isolation as major regional and international powers show a readiness to engage more closely with the repressive regime despite its systematic human rights abuses.Five years after the Taliban took power, an increasing number of countries are renewing ties or scaling up diplomatic contacts with the hardline Islamists, who seized power in Kabul in 2021 after 20 years of brutal insurgent warfare. Continue reading...

Hundreds gathered with flashes of pink to farewell the five-year-old girl, who was allegedly murdered in AprilWarning: This story contains references to Indigenous Australians who have diedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA sombre funeral service for Kumanjayi Little Baby has been attended by hundreds of people from the Alice Springs community and surrounds.Wearing pink and some dressed in T-shirts bearing the face of the five-year-old girl, the crowd gathered under grey skies in the red centre capital on Saturday. Continue reading...

Senior colleagues dismiss Bragg’s migration figures as ‘personal views’ while others say critical response is an ‘overreaction’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLiberal senator Andrew McLachlan has publicly backed Andrew Bragg and urged colleagues to “follow his lead” after a public speech that has split colleagues and triggered a rebuke from opposition leader, Angus Taylor.At the National Press Club on Wednesday, Bragg announced a policy to slash the national construction code and suggested net overseas migration should be dropped from the current level of about 300,000 to below 180,000 a year to keep pace with new housing builds. Continue reading...

Torero print, one of 30 known to exist signed by Picasso, was stolen from Bill DeLind’s gallery in 2018Bill DeLind thought the Picasso print that was stolen from his Milwaukee gallery in 2018 was gone forever. But then police called last week and asked him to look at an artwork that a local landlord found while cleaning out a vacant apartment.DeLind immediately recognized the stolen Torero print, one of 30 known to exist signed by Picasso. Continue reading...

Fresh search teams to scour Nattai national park for Lily Hooper, 18, who failed to return home from a bushwalkGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe search for an 18-year-old bushwalker missing in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales since Wednesday is continuing, with fresh teams arriving at the Nattai national park on Saturday morning.Lily Hooper left her home in Sydney’s south-west about 8am on 12 August, after telling family she was going for a hike in the national park, north-west of Mittagong. Continue reading...

Quake hit Indonesia’s Flores region with a depth of 10km early on Saturday morningA powerful 7.7-magnitude quake has struck off the coast of Indonesia, the US Geological Survey said. No immediate casualties or damage were reported.The quake hit Indonesia’s Flores region with a depth of 10km at 5:58am on Saturday Indonesia time. It’s epicentre was 68km (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. Continue reading...

President said nine months at sea ‘not nearly long enough’ even as families call for attention to mental health crisisDonald Trump has downplayed concerns about US sailors enduring a record-setting deployment of nearly nine months aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Friday, saying the deployment is “not nearly long enough” as concerns mount over mental health and supply issues aboard the aircraft carrier.The US president made the comments during a brief exchange with reporters before flying to New York for an event highlighting falling violent crime rates across the US. Continue reading...

PM steps up climate response with measures including better water access and support for building farm reservoirsFarmers must not carry the risks of the climate crisis alone, Andy Burnham has said, as he announced £65m of funding to help them manage the devastating drought.The prime minister is stepping up his response to the immediate climate crisis after facing a backlash from his own MPs and Labour’s grassroots for not addressing the climate crisis despite wildfires tearing through Britain and a drought affecting food producers. Labour MPs argued Burnham had taken too long to talk about the climate crisis and had not made it a priority. Continue reading...