Texas floods: more than 100 people dead and at least 161 still missing

Texas governor Greg Abbott said many people staying in state’s Hill Country still unaccounted for as questions mount over official response to disaster

Rescue crews continued on Tuesday to comb through parts of the Texas Hill Country devastated by catastrophic flash flooding over the Fourth of July weekend, but with more than 100 dead and hope fading for survivors, efforts have increasingly turned to search and recovery.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the death toll across the six affected counties surpassed 100. Most of the deaths were in Kerr county, where officials said 87 bodies had so far been recovered, including 56 adults and 30 children. Identification was pending for 19 adults and seven children with one additional person still unidentified, county sheriff Larry Leitha told a news conference.

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The Bayeux Tapestry, a British Masterpiece, Returns to England After 900 Years – The New York Times

  1. The Bayeux Tapestry, a British Masterpiece, Returns to England After 900 Years  The New York Times
  2. Bayeux Tapestry to return to UK on loan after 900 years  BBC
  3. France's Bayeux Tapestry to return to Britain after 900 years  Reuters
  4. The Bayeux Tapestry will be displayed in the UK for the first time in nearly 1,000 years  ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
  5. There’s more to the Bayeux Tapestry loan deal than meets the eye…  The Independent
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Firefighters from Mexico aid Texas flood search and rescue: ‘There are no borders’

Team of firefighters and first responders volunteer along Guadalupe River after mass flooding in show of solidarity

A contingent of firefighters and first responders from Mexico arrived in Texas over the weekend to aid in search and rescue efforts following the devastating flooding of the Guadalupe River in a show of solidarity with their northern neighbors.

“When it comes to firefighters, there’s no borders,” Ismael Aldaba, founder of Fundación 911, in Acuña, Mexico, told CNN on Tuesday. “There’s nothing that’ll avoid us from helping another firefighter, another family. It doesn’t matter where we’re at in the world. That’s the whole point of our discipline and what we do.”

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Family of UK couple held in Iran did not know pair’s whereabouts for month

Son of Lindsay Foreman said they had also not known for fortnight if she and husband, Craig, had survived Israeli bombing

The son of a British woman who has been held in Iran since January on espionage charges along with her husband has told the Guardian he lived with the agony of not knowing their whereabouts for a month or in the past fortnight whether they had been killed in the Israeli bombing on Tehran’s Evin prison on 23 June that left more than 70 dead.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 52, were arrested on 3 January in Kervan City in southern Iran while travelling through the country from Armenia to Pakistan on a motorcycle journey to Australia. The Foreign Office were informed they were due to be taken to Tehran on around 8 June, raising fears they may have been caught in the Tehran attack, but on Tuesday they were informed they were still held in Kervan.

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Netanyahu vows to combat what he calls ‘vilification against Israel’ online

On Capitol Hill, Israeli PM says ‘demonization’ led to drop in support for Israel among US voters, especially Democrats

Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he’s vowed to combat an orchestrated social media campaign of “vilification and demonization” that he says is responsible for a drop in support for Israel among US voters, especially Democrats.

“I think there’s been a concerted effort to spread vilification and demonization against Israel on social media,” the Israeli prime minister told journalists on Capitol Hill after being asked to respond to opinion polls showing a move away from the historic trend of strong backing for Israel.

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Canadian police seize largest ever weapons cache in terrorism inquiry

RCMP arrested and charged four people who were trying to form an ‘anti-government militia’ and capture land

Police in Canada have arrested and charged four people, including active military members, who they allege were “planning to create anti-government militia” and to “forcibly take possession of land” in the province of Quebec.

The scope of material uncovered by police, including explosives and assault rifles, marks the largest weapons cache ever seized as part of terrorism investigation.

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Norman Tebbit, Consertavive Force in Britain and Thatcher Ally, Dies at 94 – The New York Times

  1. Norman Tebbit, Consertavive Force in Britain and Thatcher Ally, Dies at 94  The New York Times
  2. Forget left and right: Norman Tebbit was a working-class hero. Politicians now could learn much from him | Henry Hill  The Guardian
  3. Obituary: Norman Tebbit  BBC
  4. Norman Tebbit, conservative ally to Margaret Thatcher, dies at 94  The Washington Post
  5. Lord Tebbit, pugnacious Tory who articulated the Iron Lady’s views to the man on the street – obituary  The Telegraph
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NHS bosses fear fresh resident doctors’ strikes could embolden other staff

The Royal College of Nursing and Unison are undertaking indicative ballots to assess members’ willingness to strike

A looming fresh wave of strikes by resident doctors could encourage other NHS staff including nurses to take industrial action over pay, health service bosses fear.

Resident doctors, formerly junior doctors, in England are threatening to stage stoppages until January in pursuit of their demand for a 29% pay rise, after 90% voted in favour in a ballot on a 55% turnout.

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Watchdog to investigate police shooting of man with chainsaw in Kent

IOPC says officers feared man was also carrying explosive device during incident near Maidstone

An investigation has been launched after police in Kent shot a man wielding a chainsaw who was feared to have an explosive device, leaving him seriously injured.

The shooting happened at about 9pm on Monday close to the Park Gate Inn in Hollingbourne, near Maidstone.

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Ed Miliband abandons plan to charge less for electricity in Scotland

Energy minister decides against ‘zonal pricing’ backed by Octopus founder but opposed by many other energy firms

Ed Miliband has abandoned plans to charge southern electricity users more than those in Scotland, after senior officials warned it could put off investors and make it more difficult to build renewables.

Sources have told the Guardian that the government has decided not to proceed with the scheme, known as “zonal pricing”, and that the decision will be announced once it has been signed off by the cabinet.

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Russian minister’s death serves as warning to political elite – BBC

  1. Russian minister's death serves as warning to political elite  BBC
  2. Russian minister dies by suicide hours after getting fired by Putin, officials say  CNN
  3. Russia Confirms Death of Minister Hours After Kremlin Dismissed Him  The New York Times
  4. Russia’s transportation minister found dead in what officials say was an apparent suicide  AP News
  5. Russian transportation official drops dead in office on same day as transportation minister’s suicide  Meduza
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