11 Things Small Business Owners Can Learn From Michael Dell

French president tells Boris Johnson he must present concrete proposals for UK exit

Emmanuel Macron has described the Irish backstop as “indispensable” to a Brexit deal and urged Boris Johnson to set out his proposed alternatives as soon as possible, as he met the British prime minister in Paris on Thursday.

The French president told Johnson that the EU would like “visibility” on London’s concrete proposals for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU within a month, echoing language used by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel on Wednesday.

James Tyson decries ‘diplomatic failings’ after Iran rejects fiancee’s appeal

My fiancee is in an Iranian prison, a victim of the depravity of international relations

The fiance of Aras Amiri, a British Council employee imprisoned in Iran on spying charges, has accused the UK government of being “utterly blind to their responsibility” to try to secure her release.

An appeal against Amiri’s 10-year sentence was rejected without a hearing earlier this week, in a decision that prompted her family to call on the UK government to intervene.

• Financier created fund in new will two days before suicide
• Experts say prying open fund will be difficult for accusers

The will that disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein signed just two days before his jailhouse suicide puts more than $577m in assets into a trust fund that could make it more difficult for his dozens of accusers to collect damages.

Estate lawyers and other experts say prying open the trust and dividing up the financier’s riches is not going to be easy and could take years.

Allegation directed at employee of consulate in Hong Kong is often used by Bejing authorities to smear critics

Chinese state media has accused a worker at the British consulate in Hong Kong who is detained in mainland China of visiting prostitutes – an accusation often used by the authorities to smear the reputation of government critics.

Simon Cheng, 28, a trade and investment officer for Scottish Development International, travelled to Shenzhen, a city that borders Hong Kong, on 8 August. He sent messages to his girlfriend as he was about to cross back over the border at about 10pm and has not been heard from since.

Asylum seeker Alaa Sheikhi guilty of manslaughter of Daniel Hillig in Chemnitz

A Syrian asylum seeker accused of a killing that sparked a week of far-right street violence in the eastern German city of Chemnitz in 2018 has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Alaa Sheikhi, 24, was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison by the Chemnitz higher regional court on Thursday.

‘It would not have happened to a white kid,’ Angela Washington said after staff used a marker pen on Juelz Trice’s banned haircut

Juelz Trice came home from school earlier this year with permanent marker ink scribbled on his scalp, but it was not a prank played by one of his fellow seventh-graders. It was a punishment enacted by some of the staff.

The boy’s parents filed a federal civil rights lawsuit this week and have told the Guardian they believe the act, a hapless attempt to hide a “fade” haircut with a design that violated the school district’s dress code, was rooted in racism and left him humiliated.

Brazilian president claims green groups behind blazes, which have increased 84% over same period last year

The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has accused environmental groups of setting fires in the Amazon as he tries to deflect growing international criticism of his failure to protect the world’s biggest rainforest.

A surge of fires in several Amazonian states this month followed reports that farmers were feeling emboldened to clear land for crop fields and cattle ranches because the new Brazilian government was keen to open up the region to economic activity.

Richard Braine accused of stoking tensions after also saying there are no ‘moderate Muslims’

Richard Braine, the new Ukip leader, has been accused of whipping up religious tensions and anti-Muslim prejudice after leaked emails showed he argued that people should no more want Muslims to settle in their country than Nazis.

Braine, who won the leadership after a campaign in which he expressed anti-Islam views, also suggested that non-Muslims needed to help Muslims to “cast out their demon” and argued there was no such thing as “moderate Muslims”.

Democratic presidential hopeful’s 10-year plan warns of devastating economic consequences if crisis is not addressed

Bernie Sanders has laid out an ambitious 10-year, $16.3tn national mobilization to avert climate catastrophe, warning that the US risks losing $34.5tn in economic productivity by the end of the century if it does not respond with the urgency the threat demands.

The Vermont senator has long spoken of the climate crisis as a existential danger to the US and the world, and he has previously endorsed a Green New Deal, which he put forward with the New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Exclusive: accidental release of intelligence officer’s name in Annastacia Palaszczuk’s diaries blamed on ‘administrative error’

The Queensland premier’s office has mistakenly published the name of a secret intelligence operative in an extraordinary national security breach potentially punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

The name of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) officer was accidentally published during the routine public release of Annastacia Palaszczuk’s diaries, a practice designed to boost government transparency.

From power cuts to infrastructure failure, the impact of climate change on US cities will be huge – but many are already innovating to adapt

Between record heat and rain, this summer’s weather patterns have indicated, once again, that the climate is changing.

US cities, where more than 80% of the nation’s population lives, are disproportionately hit by these changes, not only because of their huge populations but because of their existing – often inadequate – infrastructure.

In the Netherlands, where there are more bikes than people, serious money is being spent encouraging even more people to get on their bikes

In a nation with more bikes than people, finding a space to park can be a problem. The Dutch city of Utrecht is unveiling an answer at its railway station on Monday morning: the world’s largest multistorey parking area for bicycles.

The concrete-and-glass structure holds three floors of gleaming double-decker racks with space for 12,500 bikes, from cargo bikes that hold a family to public transport bikes for rent.

To protect itself from destructive flooding, the city has built a park designed to store and recycle rainwater

In Alicante it never rains but it pours. The city in southeast Spain goes without rain for months on end, but when it comes it’s torrential, bringing destructive and sometimes fatal flooding.

Or at least, it used to. In San Juan, a low-lying area of the city, authorities have built a new park with a twist. Called La Marjal, it serves as a typical recreation area and a nature reserve – but its primary purpose is to store, and then recycle, rainwater.

Kindergarten to join other businesses operating inside Staro SajmiĆĄte, in Belgrade, Serbia, as long-planned Holocaust memorial remains unbuilt

The greying, box-like building that houses the Savsko ObdaniĆĄte kindergarten has had many uses over the years.

At one point it was a restaurant; when you step through the front doors you find yourself surrounded by musty, brown 1970s-style dining furniture.

As a swipe at Scooter Braun, the singer will recreate her first six albums from scratch. But her plan ignores one of music’s vital truths

Let’s assume it can be done, even though we don’t know. Let’s take Taylor Swift’s word for it when she says she is going to rerecord the six albums she recorded for the Big Machine label before signing to Republic/Universal last autumn. Let’s presume her contract with Big Machine did not contain clauses preventing soundalike re-recordings, or prevent her from taking new runs at old tracks until a certain time period had elapsed.

The news came in a preview for her interview on Good Morning America, scheduled to air this Sunday, in which Tracy Smith asked if she was planning to make new versions of all her masters. “Oh yeah,” Swift replied. “That’s a plan?” Smith asked. “Yeah, absolutely.” She has said that recording will commence in November 2020. “I’m going to be busy,” she told Smith.

Paul Bussetti, 47, says burning of cardboard tower was not meant to be about victims

The burning of a model of Grenfell Tower on a bonfire was a joke about a group of friends, not about the 72 people who lost their lives in the blaze, according to the man who filmed the footage.

Speaking at Westminster magistrates court, Paul Bussetti claimed the video – shot at an annual party held by a friend – was considered “funny” by those involved. He said it was not intended to be about the victims of the 2017 fire.

Bussetti, 47, is on trial accused of sending a “grossly offensive” video on WhatsApp and causing footage of a “menacing character” to be uploaded on YouTube.

On Thursday, while giving evidence, the married father of two told the court it was “certainly not the case” that the figures in the cardboard model, which had “Grenfell Tower” written on it, were meant to be those who died in the fire.

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Boris Johnson’s meeting with the French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris

• Macron/Johnson’s statements and Q&A - Summary
• Macron/Johnson Q&A - Snap verdict

4.28pm BST

Boris Johnson has tweeted a picture of himself with Emmanuel Macron. In this one he’s got his feet on the floor.

Today I met President @EmmanuelMacron in Paris. Let’s get Brexit done, sensibly and pragmatically and in the interests of both sides. Let’s get on with deepening and intensifying the friendship and the partnership between our nations. pic.twitter.com/qv7BlAOhW7

3.37pm BST

Boris Johnson opted for the informal approach as he sat down with Emmanuel Macron in the ÉlysĂ©e Palace. But is it really okay to put your foot on someone else’s table when you’re a guest? That would never have happened with Theresa May.

Demonstrators say they will persist until military-backed government is replaced by civilian democracy

Six months after a wave of protests began in Algeria, people are still demonstrating and the military-backed government appears determined to keep its grip on power.

The demonstrations have gained a familiar rhythm since tens of thousands of Algerians first took to the streets on 22 February. Thousands of students turn out on Tuesdays and there are larger protests each Friday.

There have been more than 72,000 fire outbreaks in Brazil so far this year, up 84% on the same period in 2018, according to the country’s National Institute for Space Research. More than half were in the Amazon. It followed reports that farmers were feeling emboldened to clear land for crop fields and cattle ranches because the new Brazilian government was keen to open up the region to economic activity. The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, instead accused environmental groups of starting fires

• Jair Bolsonaro claims NGOs behind Amazon forest fire surge – but provides no evidence

The family of Tanya Day welcome ‘a great first step’ and push for a ‘health and wellbeing based approach’

• An in-depth feature about the death of Tanya Day will be published by Guardian Australia on Saturday

The Victorian government has announced a plan to abolish the crime of public drunkenness four days ahead of an inquest into the death in custody of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day, who was arrested on the summary charge.

In its place will be a “health-based approach” that will “promote therapeutic and culturally safe pathways to assist alcohol-affected people in public places”, a government statement said.

We members of the G7’s Gender Equality Advisory Council are urging countries to ditch archaic and discriminatory laws and promote empowerment

The sheer tenacity of women raising their voices and organising for fundamental change has been, and will continue to be, the driving force for achieving women’s rights and a gender-equal world. Yet we cannot ignore the fundamental role that governments can play in either promoting or thwarting change.

That is why the four of us accepted French president Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to join 32 colleagues to form a G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council. On Sunday, we will present the culmination of our work; a package of recommended laws focused on ending gender-based violence; ensuring inclusive, equitable, and quality health and education; promoting the economic empowerment of women; and combating discrimination, ensuring full gender equality in policies and public life. In each area we point to laws from around the world that illustrate the type of action countries should take.

Nigeria marks three years without a wild polio case, meaning Africa could be declared free of the disease in 2020

Africa is on the verge of being declared polio free, after three years without any recorded cases of the disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Nigeria marked three years without a wild polio case on Wednesday, a “major milestone”. If no more incidences emerge in the next few months, Africa could officially be declared polio free in 2020. The last case was recorded in Borno state in August 2016.

Corruption watchdog accused of promoting ‘toxic’ workplace culture that silenced critical voices

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has been accused of promoting a “toxic” internal environment of bullying and harassment, making it the latest high-profile charity to come under fire over its workplace culture.

Seven current and former staff members said the organisation had “failed in its duty of care” to staff. They accused managing director Patricia Moreira of promoting a culture that enabled “bullying”, silenced critical voices, and used “gagging orders” – confidentiality clauses in termination agreements. Leaked internal emails and documents including a staff survey corroborate their accounts.

Bombing believed to be linked to Timothy Mtambo’s role at forefront of mass protests over alleged rigging of elections

The home of a leading human rights activist in Malawi has been petrol bombed in what is believed to be a targeted move to stop mass demonstrations planned for next week.

Three bombs were thrown at the car and home of Timothy Mtambo, the chairman of Malawi’s Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), and the executive director of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRC).

Climate emergency and population growth blamed for deteriorating water quality, with ‘cocktail of chemicals’ changing as countries become richer

The planet is facing a mounting and “invisible” water pollution crisis, according to a hard-hitting World Bank report, which claims the issue is responsible for a one-third reduction in potential economic growth in the most heavily affected areas.

The study, which assembled the world’s largest database of water pollution, assesses how a combination of bacteria, sewage, chemicals and plastics suck oxygen from water supplies and transform water into poison for people and ecosystems.

President outdoes himself in new press conference as he attacks the Danish prime minister, Jewish Democrats and the press

Donald Trump started off precisely on-message.

Strolling to the end of a White House driveway on Wednesday ahead of his departure for a veterans event in Kentucky, the president began speaking while still walking toward a crowd of waiting reporters. “So the economy is doing very, very well,” he said.

Family of New York man insists ‘we’re not finished’ after dismissal of Daniel Pantaleo, who put Garner in a banned chokehold

One thousand, eight hundred and sixty days after Eric Garner was killed on the streets of Staten Island, New York, his family finally received a sliver of justice.

On Monday, the New York police department (NYPD) commissioner, James O’Neill, announced the NYPD would fire Daniel Pantaleo, who, on that hot summer’s day in July 2014, placed the unarmed 43-year-old in a banned chokehold that contributed to Garner’s death.

By cancelling his state visit to Denmark, the US president has again showed his thin skin

Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to cancel his state visit to Denmark after it rejected his unsolicited offer to buy Greenland at a knockdown price took most people by surprise, not least his own ambassador.

“Denmark is ready 
 Partner, ally, friend”, tweeted Carla Sands, the neophyte US envoy to Copenhagen who was previously an actor and chiropractor. Hours later, it was off.

President could call snap election, seek new coalition or install caretaker government

“This government ends here,” said Giuseppe Conte, as he announced his resignation as Italy’s prime minister on Tuesday. After almost two weeks of twists and turns, what happens next is far from clear.

The president, Sergio Mattarella, is now calling the shots in a crisis triggered when Matteo Salvini pulled the plug on the League’s tenuous relationship with the Five Star Movement (M5S) in an attempt to capitalise on his popularity and become PM.

Trevor Mallard, New Zealand's House of Representatives speaker, cradled and bottle fed a lawmaker's baby while he presided over a debate.

Baby Tƫtānekai Smith-Coffey, the son of Labour MP Tamati Coffey and his husband Tim Smith, was born in July via a surrogate mother

The US president said his life would be easier if he had not mounted a trade war with China but went on to say ‘I am the chosen one’ to take on Beijing. Donald Trump said the US would probably make a deal with China

• With boasts and insults, Trump sets new benchmark for incoherence

Large demonstrations and violent protests have taken place across the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. On Wednesday, Jakarta said it was sending a further 1,000 security personnel to tackle the unrest, sparked by the arrest of Papuan students in the Indonesian city of Surabaya. Indonesia’s communications ministry cut the internet to its most eastern province on Wednesday ‘until the atmosphere of Papua returns to being conducive and normal’. Jakarta has battled an independence insurgency in the region since it was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a widely discredited UN-sponsored ballot

The US president has renewed his attack on four Democratic congresswomen who have been critical of Israel, and reiterated a longstanding antisemitic trope implying that American Jews had divided loyalty to America and to Israel.  Over almost 24 hours he has repeatedly described Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats as showing 'either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty'

• Trump stands by antisemitic trope that sparked anger among Jewish Americans
  
• Trump says US is considering abolishing birthright citizenship – live
  

The US president has said his administration is looking at ending the right of citizenship for US-born children of non-citizens and people who entered the country illegally. 'We're looking at that very seriously, birthright citizenship, where you have a baby on our land, you walk over the border, have a baby – congratulations, the baby is now a US citizen ... It's frankly ridiculous,' Donald Trump told reporters

• Trump says US is considering abolishing birthright citizenship – live
  

The Brazilian president has said NGOs could be burning down the Amazon rainforest to embarrass his government after he cut their funding. Bolsonaro had no evidence but said 'everything indicates' that NGOs are going to the Amazon to set fire to the forest

• Jair Bolsonaro accuses NGOs of setting fire to Amazon rainforest

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, says she is 'disappointed and surprised' by the US president's decision to cancel his state visit after she dismissed suggestions of selling Greenland as 'absurd'. Here's a look back at what drew the US president to want to make the ‘large real estate deal’ and the strong reaction to his suggestion

• Is Trump's deep fear and envy of Obama behind his plan to purchase Greenland?