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• Candidates from two rival parties linked to a former rebel group led the first elections held in a predominantly Muslim region of the southern Philippines. • The region has seen approximately 150,000 combatants and civilians die since the 1970s due to ongoing conflict. • These elections mark a transition toward political governance in the country's poorest region, where development was previously stunted by war.

Black has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he did not know of Epstein’s criminal activitiesMore than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse praised the House oversight committee for unanimously voting to recommend that billionaire investor Leon Black be held in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas by the panel seeking his testimony and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) as part of its investigation into Epstein.“We commend Chairman Comer for showing real resolve in pursuing accountability in the Epstein investigation,” the survivors said in a statement. They said that the 41-0 vote sends a “clear message that wealth and influence do not put anyone beyond the reach of congressional oversight”. Continue reading...

Financier refused to comply with subpoenas seeking his testimony for the investigation into the late sex offenderThe House oversight committee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend that the House of Representatives hold Leon Black, the billionaire financier, in contempt of Congress, after he refused to comply with subpoenas seeking his testimony and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) sought by the panel as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Black contends the subpoenas are “invalid” and he is suing to block them.“Subpoenas are not suggestions; they carry the force of law and require full compliance” the representative James Comer, who chairs the committee, said in the chamber on Tuesday afternoon before the voting began. “Mr Black’s testimony is crucial to our investigation because he maintained a close personal relationship with Epstein for years during the time when Epstein was engaged in sex trafficking. Continue reading...

James Vlassakis was 18 when he became involved in the Snowtown killings, later pleading guilty to four of the 11 murdersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe youngest person jailed over the notorious Snowtown killings will walk free after serving a 26-year sentence behind bars.A decision to release James Vlassakis by South Australia’s Parole Board was upheld by the Parole Administrative Review Commissioner on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Office of inspector general’s report says practice at Florida immigration jail is not aligned with ‘humane treatment’Before the facility was shuttered, detainees at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” federal immigration jail were frequently locked in outside metal cages no bigger than a phone booth, according to a damning government watchdog report that said the practice “does not align with standards for humane treatment”.The findings from the office of the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were published on its website – and offer rare criticism of the Trump administration by one of its own agencies. Continue reading...

• Voters in a Muslim autonomous region of the Philippines held a landmark election on Monday after years of delays due to security concerns. • A shootout during the voting process killed three people, according to officials. • Up to 2.3 million voters were expected to select 80 representatives who will then choose a chief minister to lead the region.

• Chennai will host the Asian Cadet Cup, an international fencing championship for young athletes, from November 20-23. • The tournament will bring together more than 500 athletes, coaches, officials, and technical personnel from over 30 countries. • This event provides a high-level competitive platform for youth fencers to gain international experience and rankings.

Memorials and remembrances will mark the 25 years since the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 on 11 September 2001The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on Friday, with memorials and remembrance ceremonies taking place across the country to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks.In New York City, the national September 11 memorial and museum will hold its annual commemoration ceremony, with the families of victims gathering at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza and reading aloud the names of those killed in the 9/11 attacks and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Continue reading...

• The Indian junior men’s hockey team played to a 3-3 draw against Japan during their second Pool A match of the Junior Asia Cup in Moqi on Sunday. • India opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the game via a penalty stroke following a foul. • This result follows a dominant 14-0 victory over Indonesia in the team's opening pool match.

Officers responded to reports concerning safety of baby girl at property in Wincobank area of SheffieldFive people are being held on suspicion of murder after a newborn baby died from stab wounds in South Yorkshire on Sunday.Police officers found the girl at a property in Holywell Heights, in the Wincobank area of Sheffield, while responding to reports concerning her safety just before 6am on Sunday. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Gunmen ‌attacked worshippers in Dekara village on Friday taking women, children and older peopleAn armed group has posted a video showing what ⁠residents said were about ⁠600 women, children and ​older people abducted in an attack on a mosque in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State last week.The video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp, ⁠showed large groups of people seated in a forested area surrounded by armed men. Several children could be heard crying in the background. Continue reading...

Officers reportedly believed invitees were trying to make unauthorized entry on to Vandenberg base in CaliforniaFive news reporters and two members of the military who were invited to an event at Vandenberg space force base in California were briefly detained at gunpoint by security officers who thought they were gatecrashers, according to local news reports.The incident happened Monday ahead of an invitation-only groundbreaking for a new training facility for missile operators at the federal airfield near Santa Barbara, California. Reporters from Noozhawk and KEYT were among those detained, and both outlets published articles detailing the detainment. Continue reading...

Remains of 112 victims, including 40 children, recovered from rubble more than two years after residential block was destroyedMourners gathered in central Gaza on Tuesday for a mass funeral for 112 people, including 40 children, who were killed in 2023 in one of the deadliest Israeli strikes of the Gaza war.Their bodies could not be recovered until now because of Israel’s continuing strikes, which have slowed, though not halted, since the ceasefire in October. Continue reading...

Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, was arrested in New Jersey in June, and died after a ‘medical emergency’, agency saidAn immigrant being held at a New Jersey ICE detention center died on 1 August, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, is the 22nd person to die in ICE custody this year, according to agency data.Lopez-Cornejo, who is originally from El Salvador and first came to the US in 2006, was arrested by ICE agents in Plainfield, New Jersey, on 18 June and sent to Delaney Hall detention facility to await deportation. Less than two months later he suffered an unspecified “medical emergency”, and was later pronounced dead by University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, ICE said. Continue reading...

Connor Read, who is married and has two children, was apprehended in June during residency permit interviewA British-born man who has lived in the US since he was nine years old has been held in an ICE detention facility for more than a month and a half under threat of deportation, it has been reported.Connor Read, 29, was taken by ICE agents after he was invited to a green card (residency permit) interview in Tampa, Florida on 3 June, and separated from his wife, Jaelin, 25, and his twin sons Ryder and Ozzie, three. Continue reading...

• Azerbaijan's president confirmed that clandestine talks between German and Russian officials recently took place in Baku. • The meetings occur as Azerbaijan continues to balance relations by providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine while refusing to join Western sanctions against Russia. • The secret nature of these discussions has raised concerns regarding Russia's potential influence over German policy during the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Three people reported injured after incendiary device allegedly thrown at building also housing ICE field officeAuthorities in New York City are investigating an explosion on Monday morning outside an FBI building in lower Manhattan that reportedly injured three people.Investigators said a person who allegedly threw an incendiary device at the scene was taken into custody. Continue reading...

Many of the more than 100 people awaiting processing on the tiny Pacific island are skipping meals to make ends meet, a new survey has foundFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMost refugees and asylum seekers held in Nauru’s detention centres say they cannot afford to buy enough food or access clean drinking water, despite the Australian government spending the equivalent of more than $9m per person last financial year.The group of more than 100 people have been sent indefinitely to the tiny Pacific island while they wait for their asylum claims to be processed. Many of the cohort say they are skipping meals to make ends meet, according to a new survey by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) advocacy group. Continue reading...

• Judicial Watch successfully used a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit to force the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to release eight pages of internal documents. • The released records reveal that an ODNI task force identified specific vulnerabilities within U.S. election systems that could be exploited by foreign adversaries. • The documents indicate that the Intelligence Community intentionally withheld information regarding these security flaws from the American public.

Spokesperson says islands ‘definitely’ belong to the UK‘PM wishes both teams well for the final, especially Spain’Keir Starmer supports the idea of Fifa investigating Argentina players who displayed a banner touting their country’s claim to the Falklands Islands after their World Cup semi-final win against England, Downing Street has said.Starmer, who watched the match while travelling to Ukraine by train for the final overseas trip of his prime ministership, endorsed a call by Peter Kyle, the business secretary, for Fifa to “thoroughly” investigate what rules may have been broken. Continue reading...

Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah will lose ‘close to a million and a half acres each’ and open land to developers and oil industryDonald Trump has approved a sharp reduction in the size of two national monuments in Utah held sacred by many Native Americans, in the latest move to open US public land to corporate developers and the oil and gas industry.The two monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, will see a reduction of “close to a million and a half acres each”, Trump said during an executive order signing event on Monday, undoing protections established by former presidents. Continue reading...

Presidential bid by leader of far-right National Rally has no shortage of supporters in scenic MontargisIn the small French town of Montargis, Jean-Antoine, a retired decorator, was pleased Marine Le Pen had again shaken up French politics by launching a bid for the presidency, despite her legal woes.“Even the judges said she didn’t personally profit from the money, it was for her party,” he said of Le Pen’s newly upheld conviction for embezzlement. “All politicians in France have always been schemers, it’s just a fact of life.” Continue reading...

Constituents to vote in contest being boycotted by major parties over financial scandal surrounding Reform leaderReform UK will request that the Clacton byelection be held on 6 August, the party has said, after Nigel Farage’s decision to resign from the seat.The Reform UK leader, who has represented the Essex constituency since the 2024 general election, said on Tuesday he was standing down and would put himself forward again in what he has sought to portray as a “people versus the establishment” contest. Continue reading...

Updated document also commits party to cracking down on inducements for online gambling, putting pressure on Albanese government to toughen reformsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor will water down its opposition to mandatory jail sentences but has abandoned an earlier draft of its policy platform that would have seen the party scrap its longheld stance entirely.The draft platform obtained by Guardian Australia also commits Labor to cracking down on inducements for online wagering, putting pressure on the Albanese government to toughen up its proposed reforms to gambling advertising. Continue reading...

Firm reportedly felt it was in public interest to test alibi offered by former prince after Virginia Giuffre accusationPizza Express held an internal inquiry to investigate Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s visit to its Woking branch, as he has claimed he did on the day he is alleged to have had sex with a teenage victim of Jeffrey Epstein 20 miles away in central London, it has been reported.According to sources who spoke to the BBC, senior management at the restaurant chain held the investigation because they felt it was in the public interest to test the alibi the former Duke of York had offered. The broadcaster reported that the company had found neither evidence he had been to the restaurant in Surrey, nor evidence to definitively say he had not. Continue reading...

• President Droupadi Murmu has approved the summoning of both Houses of Parliament for the 2026 Monsoon Session, as announced by Kiren Rijiju. • The session is scheduled to take place from July 20 to August 13. • The ruling NDA has strengthened its political position in the Rajya Sabha following the swearing-in of newly elected and re-elected MPs.

• England played to a surprise 0-0 draw against Ghana in their second World Cup group stage match. • Despite creating several late scoring opportunities, the Three Lions failed to convert, resulting in a single point for the game. • This result follows a dominant 4-2 opening victory over Croatia featuring goals from Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Marcus Rashford.

Husband arrested after Sylvie Yasmina, 54, and five children found at home in north-western provincePakistan police say they have rescued a French woman and her five children after she told authorities she had been held captive by her husband for more than a decade and subjected to years of domestic abuse in the country’s north-west.The woman, identified as 54-year-old Sylvie Yasmina, was rescued earlier this week from a mud-brick home in Bara, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, the district police chief, Waqar Ahmad, said. Continue reading...