Thousands call on UK ministers to cut ties with US tech giant Palantir

• China and Indonesia have agreed to deepen military cooperation and expand strategic ties in technology, energy, and minerals to strengthen bilateral relations amid Asian geopolitical competition. • The Dutch public broadcaster Avrotros has withdrawn from the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, citing concerns that the event's independent and neutral character has been compromised.

Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in warm freshwater, and if it enters through the nose, can cause brain damageA North Carolina teenager has died after contracting a rare and often fatal brain-eating amoeba.The state’s health department (NCDHHS) confirmed the boy’s death on Monday, saying: “NCDHHS has been informed that the teen who developed a rare illness, caused by Naegleria fowleri died on Aug. 31, 2026. We extend our condolences to the family, friends and community impacted by this loss.” Continue reading...

Letter from chair of joint chiefs of staff addresses concerns over Trump officials using military to interfere with voteThe highest‑ranking US military officer says there are no plans to deploy troops to polling places during the November midterm elections – responding to Senator Elissa Slotkin’s request for information amid concerns about whether the Trump administration might send service members to election sites.In a letter obtained by the Guardian, first reported by the Associated Press, Gen Dan Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, told Slotkin “the Joint Force has no plans to send Federal military personnel or Federalized members of the National Guard to polling places during the 2026 elections”. He added that there are also “no plans to use such personnel to seize ballots, voting machines, or other election‑related material”. Continue reading...

Phantom Ranch, set up by Teddy Roosevelt, has welcomed exhausted hikers to its famed cabins for over a centuryTwo dead and at least 15 missing in Grand Canyon flash floodPhantom Ranch has been a solitary refuge visited by some of the most famous names of history. More typically, it’s been a beacon for the half-collapsed, exhausted and overheated hikers trudging down the Grand Canyon for more than a century.The sole lodge at the very bottom of the Grand Canyon, the cabins long had a near mythical reputation. Located along the Bright Angel Creek, which tumbles into the mighty Colorado River at the base of the canyon, they served as a reminder of the long history of one of America’s most spectacular but savage environments. Continue reading...

North Carolina DA says girl, 17, who disseminated attackers’ manifesto charged with murder by aiding and abettingA 17-year-old North Carolina girl who recorded a livestream of a shooting that killed three people at a San Diego mosque and disseminated the attackers’ white-supremacist writings has been charged with murder by aiding and abetting, a district attorney said on Monday.Forsyth county district attorney Jim O’Neill said at a news conference in Winston-Salem that the girl, whose name was not mentioned during the news conference, was arrested last week. On Monday, just before she was due to begin the school year, a grand jury indicted her on three counts of murder and one count of conspiracy. Continue reading...

Australian flight transporting aid supplies leaves for Nepal this morning. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn RAAF flight containing hygiene kits, shelter, and solar lights will leave for Nepal this morning, as the foreign minister and acting prime minister, Penny Wong, says grave concerns are held over the 43 missing Australians after the Nepal-Tibet flash flood.More than 4,400 people are still missing on both sides of the border, with more than 930 people confirmed dead. Wong told ABC’s 7.30 program last night that the federal government is urgently seeking to find the whereabouts of the 43 missing Australians.We are deploying an RAAF aircraft to deliver these kits which are designed to support people in circumstances of natural disasters that destroy infrastructure and their shelter.Whether it’s shelter kits, lights, hygiene kits, these are the things needed for those people who are facing the devastation of their homes and their communities.I first want to again express what I’ve been expressing to the families and friends of the 43 Australians who are not accounted for, that this is such a difficult time, it’s an incredibly distressing, traumatic time. I think all Australians are with you. And certainly we are with you. We are working to do whatever we can and to provide any information we obtain. Continue reading...

Justices’ 5-4 ruling permits Trump administration appeal to block lower court order halting above-ground workA divided US supreme court has permitted Donald Trump to continue building his controversial $400m White House ballroom amid legal challenges.In a 5-4 ruling, the justices permitted the Trump administration’s request to ⁠block a lower court order which had halted above-ground construction of the project while a lawsuit by a historic preservation group seeks to block it. Continue reading...

Beloved singer died last week at the age of 80Parton was born 30 miles from college campusThe Tennessee Volunteers will be honoring Dolly Parton with a helmet sticker this season, the college football team’s head coach, Josh Heupel, announced on Monday.Parton, a Tennessee native, died last week at the age of 80 from cancer. Continue reading...

RFK Jr, the health secretary, has suggested the death were ‘fabricated’ while the CDC claimed it was reviewing themTop US health officials and government agencies are currently not including the two recent measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania in their counts.“This is highly unusual,” said Debra Houry, former chief medical officer of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She noted that this did not happen with the three deaths reported from measles in Texas and New Mexico last year. Continue reading...

Singer, accused of murder and sexual abuse of teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez, to be represented by LA public defenderSinger D4vd lost his high-profile private lawyers on Monday at a hearing where he entered a new not guilty plea to charges that he killed, sexually abused and dismembered 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.It’s not clear why Blair Berk and her colleagues Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter parted ways with the singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke. They were replaced by a lawyer from the Los Angeles county public defender’s office. Continue reading...

TCG Isin expected to play vital role in locating Filo Jet’s voyage data recorder 514 metres below surfaceA deep-sea search and rescue vessel is on its way to Cyprus as Turkey joins efforts to retrieve the 20 people still missing after a passenger ferry capsized off the island’s northern coast.The TCG Isin will join the vast operation to find survivors after the high-speed ferry sank on Sunday barely four nautical miles outside the port town of Kyrenia. Continue reading...

From a darling of the Tory right to a moderate former army officer, we profile the key playersKemi Badenoch has kicked off the return to parliament with a reshuffle of her top team in order to take on Andy Burnham and Reform UK. She has made sweeping changes to the shadow cabinet and ruthlessly axed her shadow chancellor. Here is a run down of the new characters sitting across from Labour on the opposition front bench. Continue reading...