British IS recruiter Sally-Anne Jones 'killed by drone'

British IS recruiter Sally-Anne Jones was reportedly killed in a US drone strike in Syria in June. Jones, from Chatham in Kent, joined so-called Islamic State after converting to Islam and travelling to Syria in 2013. Her death was first reported by The Sun. The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner said Jones had been a useful propaganda agent for IS on social media and her death would be "significant". Whitehall officials have declined...

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California wildfires: Winds fan 'catastrophic' blazes

Renewed high winds are fanning "catastrophic" wildfires that have killed at least 23 people in northern California, the state fire chief says. Thousands of people have been left homeless by the 22 huge blazes, which are spreading fast and unpredictably. Nearly 300 people are missing, but police say that may be due to the chaotic nature of evacuations. Entire towns in the state's wine-producing region have been abandoned. The fires are among...

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Deadlock over UK's Brexit bill, says EU's Michel Barnier

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier says there has not been enough progress to move to the next stage of Brexit talks as the UK wants. He said there was "new momentum" in the process but there was still "deadlock" over the so-called divorce bill, which he said was "disturbing". "Decisive progress is in our grasp within the next two months", he added. This week's fifth round of talks are the final discussions before a crucial EU summit...

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Gordon Strachan: 'Scotland have a problem - genetically, we are behind'

Strachan has been Scotland head coach since January 2013 Scotland boss Gordon Strachan said his team were "genetically behind", after they missed out on a World Cup play-off place with a 2-2 draw in Slovenia. Victory in Ljubljana would have made the Scots one of the eight best second-placed finishers, but Slovakia edged them out on goal difference. "We had to pick a team to combat their height and strength," said Strachan, who would not be...

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Zak Hardaker: Castleford Tigers full-back banned after positive drugs test

Castleford, who were without Zak Hardaker, were beaten 24-6 by Leeds in Saturday's Grand Final England and Castleford Tigers full-back Zak Hardaker has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for cocaine and will miss the World Cup. The 25-year-old was omitted from the Tigers' squad for Saturday's Grand Final loss to Leeds Rhinos and was not named in England's squad on Monday. Hardaker's failed test came after a Super 8s game...

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People have always whinged about young adults. Here's proof

Older people love to gripe about the entitled, lazy millennial generation. But it's nothing new – by delving...

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The world’s oldest scientific satellite is still in orbit. Nearly 60 years ago, the US Navy launched Vanguard-1 as a response to the Soviet Sputnik. Six decades on, it’s still circling our planet.

From his desk at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, space debris analyst Tim Flohrer keeps track of the 23,000 or so catalogued objects currently orbiting the Earth. They range from spacecraft and satellites – some working, most not – to discarded rocket stages and fragmented space hardware. All of them the result of 60 years of space exploration. Using radar data from the US Space Surveillance Network (also, primarily,...

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Catalonia crisis: What are the options for Spain now?

  Demonstrators in Barcelona: pro-unity (left) and pro-independence The independence referendum in Catalonia appears to have put the region on a path to secession from Spain. But will that happen? Catalonia's 7.5 million people are sharply polarised. At the weekend a vast pro-unity rally took place in Barcelona, rivalling the many pro-independence rallies the city has seen. Here we look...

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Ernesto Guevara: How my father inspired my Cuban motorcycle tours

Ernesto Guevara shares his father's love of motorbikes and cigars On 9 October 1967, guerrilla leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara was executed in Bolivia. Fifty years on, the BBC's Will Grant takes a motorbike tour of Cuba with the leader's son and asks him about the pressures of living under his father's legacy. At times, the family resemblance is uncanny. The stubbly beard, the unmistakable nose,...

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