Maine voters head to polls on Tuesday for closely watched primary election

• Morocco and the United Arab Emirates are evolving their long-standing bilateral relations into a strategic geoeconomic alliance focused on trade, investment, and connectivity. • The partnership has strengthened significantly since the Arab Revolts of the early 2010s as both nations converged on their assessments of regional threats and international developments.

• Israeli PM Netanyahu has rejected a 15-point Gaza peace plan proposed by Donald Trump, while the NYT reports allegations of torture and abuse against Global Sumud Flotilla activists in Israeli detention. • In the Middle East, Iran is nearing a pact with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but tensions remain high as Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked a Saudi Aramco refinery.

• Heightened insecurity caused by the shifting defense capabilities and regional ambitions of Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia has led to the formation of a new Islamic defense alliance. • This strategic pact involves Pakistan and Turkey, emerging as a response to regional instability and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to weaken Iran.

State’s Democratic lieutenant governor bests Angie Craig in another election contest pitting a progressive against a moderatePeggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, won the Democratic primary for US Senate in the state, in another election contest that pitted a progressive against a moderate, this time with immigration issues at the center.The US Senate race in Minnesota, in which Flanagan ousted congresswoman Angie Craig, was yet another example of progressive campaigns toppling moderates as an anti-establishment wave continues across Democratic primaries. But the state’s race was also a response to the long shadow of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in January. Continue reading...

The Comac C919 will fly from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, although experts say it could take generations for it to challenge the west’s dominance of the industryChina hopes to break into the world of commercial aviation with the first international flight of a Chinese-made passenger jet scheduled for Wednesday.The Comac C919 will take off from Beijing capital international airport at 3pm, landing in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, just over two hours later. Continue reading...

Ahmed, who maintains his innocence, was accused of putting his father in a headlock in MarchThe man who disarmed one of the gunmen allegedly responsible for the Bondi Beach massacre has had an assault case against him tossed out.Ahmed al Ahmed, 44, had been accused of putting his father in a headlock on 9 March and intimidation over an alleged incident in June. Continue reading...

Prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul calls for tighter gun controls and ‘decisive penalties’ after nine dead in school shooting Thailand has suspended firearms licences after last week’s deadly school shooting, as the bodies of the teenage attacker and the grandparents he killed were cremated.The prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said he had ordered the interior ministry and police to stop issuing licenses to possess, purchase and carry firearms, and called for “tighter controls and decisive penalties”. Continue reading...

Officers may not have fully unzipped the bag containing the sex doll to avoid destroying evidence, one expert saysRevelations that a “body” found inside a suitcase was actually a lifelike doll may have been embarrassing for police, but experts say officers followed the correct procedure.New South Wales police on Sunday were called to Oallen, a town near Goulburn, after two members of the public found a suitcase containing what they believed to be human remains, dumped on the side of the road. Continue reading...

Lindsey Graham’s sister, appointed to replace the Republican, held a narrow lead in the Senate primarySign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailSenator Darline Graham, appointed to complete the Senate term of her late brother, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has advanced to a runoff election for the Republican nomination of the seat. It remains unclear who she will face on 25 August.Graham held a narrow lead in the polls going into the abbreviated special primary on Tuesday, which predicted a close contest for second place. Congressman Russell Fry, Congressman Ralph Norman and former governor Mark Sanford polled within a point of each other in the most recent survey from the Trafalgar Group. Graham has loudly trumpeted her endorsement from Donald Trump, but also enjoys the support of South Carolina’s governor, Henry McMaster, and John Thune, the Senate majority leader. Continue reading...

The prime minister tells the Guardian that last year’s diplomatic rift with ally New Zealand could be on voters’ minds as they head to the pollsAs voters in the Cook Islands prepare to head to the polls in a high-stakes general election, they will have much to reflect on. Over recent years, politics in this small island nation has been defined by fierce debates about deep-sea mining, diplomatic rifts with ally New Zealand and a major reshaping of the country’s foreign partnerships.In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, days before Wednesday’s poll, Cook Islands prime minister Mark Brown defended his four-year term and the decisions he made that have seen this South Pacific nation of 17,000 people pushed into the international limelight, turning it into a battleground for influence between Beijing and western powers. Continue reading...

According to manufacturer, shock ‘is usually effective in bringing individuals into compliance in less than three seconds’ICE plans to spend up to $20m (£15m) to purchase thousands of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks for officers and agents by March, according to a notice published Monday by the Department of Homeland Security.The devices, called Glove (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky. Continue reading...

New research sheds light on the genetic basis of the venomous insect’s ‘weird mating behaviour’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIf you think you’ve had a bad one-night stand, spare a thought for the male redback spider, whose sole reproductive partner eats him after sex.Male redbacks appear to invite this cannibalism through a “self-sacrificial somersault”, with new research shedding light on the genetic basis of the behaviour. Continue reading...