Starmer heads for first Nato summit stressing continued Ukraine support

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Labour has emphasised its commitment to national security and also its historical connection with Nato

Keir Starmer flies out this week to a turbulent Washington DC for a Nato summit aiming to emphasise the UK’s commitment to Ukraine at a time when the forthcoming US election puts the medium-term American position in question.

It is the new prime minister’s first international visit, four days after the election, and Starmer can expect to be feted by fellow leaders who are facing either, in the case of Joe Biden, an uncertain future or, in the case of France’s Emmanuel Macron or Germany’s Olaf Scholz, unpopularity at home.

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‘Disproportionate’ UK election results boost calls to ditch first past the post

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Campaigners for electoral reform say outcome has renewed pressure for proportional representation

The push for electoral reform in the UK has received a shot in the arm after the “most disproportionate election in history”, according to campaigners and academics.

Longstanding reform campaigners have become uneasy bedfellows with Reform UK’s Nigel Farage in recent days after Labour secured a 174-seat majority with just 34% of the popular vote.

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‘I panic when my phone rings’: the plight of Palestinians in Jordan

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In kingdom where half of people have Palestinian roots, rulers try to balance US ties with calls for action on Gaza war

Ahmed Saeed Abu Fares leans back in his cheap plastic chair and smiles. He has just got a call through to his older sister in Gaza. Though he is only 90 miles away in Jordan, this is an achievement. The conversation is brief, but long enough for Abu Fares to hear that she is safe. So too are her children. For the first time in weeks, the 63-year-old scrap dealer relaxes.

“We just couldn’t get through to check on them. When their house was bombed and two of my nieces were killed, it was two weeks before I found out. So I’ve been panicking when my phone rings. Every time, it is terror or fear,” Abu Fares says. “I feel much better now. She says they are all tired but OK.”

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Alice Munro knew my stepfather sexually abused me as a child, says Nobel laureate’s daughter

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Andrea Robin Skinner says her stepfather sexually assaulted her when she was nine, but her mother said she ‘loved him too much’ to leave him

The daughter of Nobel prize winner Alice Munro, Andrea Robin Skinner, has alleged that her stepfather sexually abused her as a child, and that her mother stayed with him even after he admitted to the abuse.

Skinner revealed the allegations in an essay and a news article in Canada’s Toronto Star on the weekend, writing about how her stepfather, Gerald Fremlin, began sexually assaulting her in 1976 when she was nine years old and he was in his 50s.

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Pistols Napoleon planned to use to kill himself sold in France for €1.7m

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Napoleon said to have tried to use the guns after defeat of French campaign, but grand squire removed the gunpowder, so French ruler tried poison instead

Two pistols that Napoleon Bonaparte once intended to use to kill himself were sold in France on Sunday for €1.69m (US$1.8m), the auction house said, with the government banning their export so that they stay in the country as national treasures.

The identity of the buyer at the auction in Fontainebleau south of Paris of the finely adorned objects was not made public but the final sale price, with fees, was above the estimates of €1.2-1.5m.

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How the French Election Results Unfolded – The New York Times

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  1. How the French Election Results Unfolded  The New York Times
  2. France election 2024 live: Leftist New Popular Front wins most seats, with Macron’s bloc second and Le Pen’s in third  CNN
  3. French elections: Riots erupt after left-wing coalition projected to win plurality of seats  Fox News
  4. France elections: French leftists win most seats as voters reject far right  The Associated Press
  5. Leftist alliance 'ready to govern' after trouncing Macron's ruling party  FRANCE 24 English
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Motorcyclist dies from heat exposure in Death Valley as temperature reaches 128F

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Another visitor in same motorcycle group hospitalized for ‘severe heat illness’ as other four members treated at scene

A visitor to Death Valley national park died Sunday from heat exposure and another person was hospitalized as the temperature reached 128F (53.3C) in eastern California, officials said.

The two visitors were part of a group of six motorcyclists riding through the Badwater Basin area amid scorching weather, the park said.

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Tropical Storm Beryl expected to make landfall in Texas as hurricane – NBC News

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  1. Tropical Storm Beryl expected to make landfall in Texas as hurricane  NBC News
  2. Beryl on track to slam Texas early Monday, before racing across US this week  Yahoo! Voices
  3. Beryl To Make Landfall In Texas As A Hurricane | Weather.com  The Weather Channel
  4. Live updates: Tropical Storm Beryl strengthens as it approaches Texas  CNN
  5. Beryl's wrath to be felt as far north as Michigan, Ohio this week  Fox Weather
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Israeli military takes foreign journalists into Rafah to make a case for success in its war with Hamas – CBS News

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  1. Israeli military takes foreign journalists into Rafah to make a case for success in its war with Hamas  CBS News
  2. Israel says its operation in Rafah is ‘limited’. Fighting there has left parts of it unrecognizable  CNN
  3. In Rafah, We Saw Destruction and the Limits of Israel's Gaza Strategy  The New York Times
  4. IDF official: 'Hamas struggles to continue fighting in Rafah'  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Rafah is a dusty, rubble-strewn ghost town 2 months after Israel invaded to root out Hamas  The Associated Press
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Biden insists he can reunite US as high-profile Democrats reportedly want him to quit race

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President hits trail in Pennsylvania as virtual lawmaker meeting with Hakeem Jeffries shows growing party doubt

Joe Biden insisted he was the person to reunite America in a second term in the White House and was “up for the job” as he hit the trail in Pennsylvania on Sunday – but the number of high-profile Democrats doubting his position as the presumptive party nominee only grew amid a campaign in crisis.

Pressure on the US president increased even further following his poor debate performance against Donald Trump last month and an underwhelming ABC interview last week, as a group of Democratic representatives met online with House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday.

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Netanyahu issues list of ‘non-negotiable’ demands as hostage talks slated to restart – The Times of Israel

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  1. Netanyahu issues list of ‘non-negotiable’ demands as hostage talks slated to restart  The Times of Israel
  2. Israel-Hamas war: Hamas gives initial approval to US backed Gaza cease-fire deal  The Associated Press
  3. Hamas's Cease-Fire Proposal Includes a Familiar Sticking Point  The New York Times
  4. Israel's New Demands Are Expected to Delay Completion of Hostage Deal, Sources Say - Israel News  Haaretz
  5. Hamas says it's waiting for Israeli response on Gaza ceasefire proposal  CNBC
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Tropical storm Beryl strengthens into hurricane as it approaches Texas coast

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Storm roars across Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to continue gaining strength as it heads towards the US

Tropical storm Beryl strengthened to again became a hurricane late on Sunday as it neared southern Texas, where its outer bands lashed the coast with rain and intensifying winds.

The hurricane was projected to come ashore early on Monday in the middle of the Texas coast around Matagorda Bay, an area about 100 miles (161km) south of Houston, but officials cautioned the path could still change.

The hurricane has sustained winds of 75mph (120km/h), according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, and was moving north-west at 10mph (16km/h).

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