Karen Attiah says she was dropped by newspaper after 11 years for addressing political violence, race and gun control

Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah says she has been fired from the newspaper over social media posts about gun control and race in the aftermath of far right commentator Charlie Kirk’s killing.

Attiah, 39, recounted in a Substack post that she had been dropped as a Post columnist after 11 years for “speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America’s apathy toward guns”.

Talk of revolution in the coffee shops of Nepal increased after protest movements across south Asia

Across Kathmandu, the acrid stench of smoke still lingers. Singha Durbar, the opulent palace that housed Nepal’s parliament, stands charred and empty, its grand white columns turned a sooty black. The home of former prime minister KP Sharma Oli – who just last week seemed to have an unshakable grip on power – is among those reduced to ruins, while Oli remains in hiding, his location still unknown.

They stand as symbolic monuments to the week that Nepal’s political system was brought crashing down at the hands of a leaderless, organic movement led by young people who called themselves the Gen Zs, referring to those aged between 13 and 28.

Australia had governed PNG for decades and the transfer of power was an attempt to unify more than 800 language groups under one state

• Building a nation: Papua New Guinea 50 years on

Fifty years ago, on the day Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia, a young law student lowered the Australian flag and raised Papua New Guinea’s for the first time.

The 22-year-old, Arnold Amet, had spent the preceding years active on his university campus, debating the merits of independence, petitioning future leaders to abandon the British monarchy, and imagining what it might mean for his people to finally govern themselves.

Exclusive: Alternative dating app Feeld reports that the once-boutique studio is now a worldwide signifier of edgy yet popular entertainment

The dating app Feeld has revealed that mentions of the film studio A24 have increased 65% year-on-year in members’ profiles over the past 12 months.

Feeld caters for those seeking alternative relationship choices and overindexes for women and non-binary people, bisexuals and pansexuals, yet it reports that the majority of members whose profiles mention A24 are cis-gender male, straight and aged 26-30.

US president says deployment will be like the one in Washington DC and also adds St Louis to list of cities

• Trump to send national guard to Memphis and Chicago ‘probably next’

Secretary of state Marco Rubio will travel to Qatar on Tuesday, the Washington Post is reporting, after holding talks with Benjamin Netanyahu today in Israel.

As my colleague Julian Borger writes: “Part of [Rubio’s] mission on this two-day visit is to convey Donald Trump’s irritation at the Israeli missile strike on Doha that was aimed at Hamas leadership but killed their aides and a Qatari security officer.

Common sense dictates that drone technology should be harnessed to scan every elevated structure with a line of sight to a target.

If drones can enable the early detection and prevention of assassination attempts, why not use them? Better to have vigilant eyes in the sky than to remain blind to would-be assassins.

FAA ruled to have satisfied obligations in granting approval for expanded SpaceX operations next to wildlife refuge

A US district court judge on Monday rejected a suit by conservation groups challenging the Federal Aviation Administration approval in 2022 of expanded rocket launch operations by Elon Musk’s SpaceX next to a national wildlife refuge in south Texas.

The groups said noise, light pollution, construction and road traffic also degrade the area, home to endangered ocelots and jaguarundis, as well as nesting sites for endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles and for threatened shorebirds. US district judge Carl Nichols in Washington said FAA had satisfied its obligation “to take a hard look at the effects of light on nearby wildlife”.

President says three people killed in strike against vessel he said was transporting drugs ‘headed to the US’

Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States had carried out a strike on a second Venezuelan boat and killed three alleged terrorists he claimed were transporting drugs, expanding his administration’s war against drug cartels and the scope of lethal military force to stop them.

The US president gave few details about the strike, saying in a social media post that the action was on his orders and that it had happened earlier in the morning. The post was accompanied by a video clip showing the boat, which appeared to be stationary, erupting into a fireball.

• Franzoso suffered ‘major head trauma’ in accident

• Lindsey Vonn: ‘This is incredibly sad … RIP Matteo’

The Italian skier Matteo Franzoso has died at the age of 25 following a crash during pre-season training in Chile at the weekend, his country’s winter sports federation (FISI) has confirmed.

After suffering “a major head trauma” in the accident at the La Parva track on Saturday, Franzoso was taken by helicopter to the intensive care unit of a clinic in Santiago and placed in an induced coma. The FISI confirmed on Monday that he did not recover after “cranial trauma” and a subsequent swelling of his brain.

Vice-president says White House will pursue those who praise Kirk’s death and groups that ‘promote terrorism’

JD Vance assailed what he called the “far left” and its increased tolerance for violence while guest-hosting Charlie Kirk’s podcast on Monday, saying the administration would be working to dismantle groups who celebrate Kirk’s death and political violence against their opponents.

Vance, hosting the podcast from his office next to the White House, spoke to high-profile members of the Trump administration and some of Kirk’s long-time friends in the movement, including Tucker Carlson and Trump adviser Stephen Miller.

International Black Indigenous Circus Week in Philadelphia brings together artists specializing in aerial, juggling clowning and more for various panels and shows

In an industrial building in north Philadelphia, teal and red fabric used for aerial tricks dangled from the high ceiling. Alyssa Bigbee, the co-founder of the Philadelphia-based International Black Indigenous Circus Week, called on five performers to circle around for the first rehearsal of their circus show titled The Rebellion: Anarchy. “Remember to breathe. Remember to pace yourself,” Bigbee told the group of mostly Black and brown artists. “Lean on each other and feed off of each other in terms of energy.”

As the song Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N’ Roses blared through the space, Bigbee strided up to a lyra, a metal circle resembling a hula hoop suspended from the ceiling. Her body undulated as she looped her legs in and out of the hoop. Artists linked arms and spun each other around. Later, they leaped into the air and simultaneously collapsed on to the floor. A commentary on the current sociopolitical environment since the November presidential election, the performance captured a range of emotions from anger to hope.

US secretary of state, who is visiting Jerusalem, warns of ‘Israeli counter reaction’ if allies recognise Palestine

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has put the Trump administration’s full support behind Benjamin Netanyahu in a visit to Jerusalem, saying Washington’s priorities were the liberation of Israeli hostages and the destruction of Hamas.

In public remarks standing alongside Netanyahu, Rubio did not mention the possibility of a ceasefire, and did not repeat his earlier criticism of Israel for carrying out an airstrike last week aimed at Hamas leaders in Doha, the capital of another close US ally, Qatar.

Comments follow remarks by Keir Starmer who is under pressure to be more proactive in defence of diversity

Downing Street has fiercely condemned Elon Musk for using “dangerous and inflammatory” language, after he told a crowd of protesters in London that “violence is coming” and “you either fight back or you die”.

Musk, the owner of the social media platform X, appeared via video link at the rally that left 26 police officers injured on Saturday. He spoke to the activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, while thousands watched and listened.

At the march attended by at least 110,000 people, Tommy Robinson was joined by some influential supporters

Britain witnessed one of the largest far-right demonstrations in recent memory on Saturday in London.

Organised by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, the “unite the kingdom” protest was attended by between 110,000 and 150,000 people, exceeding the estimates of organisers, while about 5,000 “anti-racism” campaigners mounted a counter-protest.

• France flanker to appeal against 12-match suspension

• Captain Manaé Feleu also sanctioned for high tackle

The France flanker Axelle Berthou­mieu has been banned for biting the ­Ireland back-row Aoife Wafer in their ­Women’s Rugby World Cup ­quarter‑final and the flanker will miss the semi‑final against England on Saturday.

Manaé Feleu, the France captain, will also miss the England clash as she has been banned for a high tackle in the Ireland game. Both players are appealing against the sanctions.

Captain insists club is pulling in the ‘same direction’ at last as Tottenham’s Champions League campaign kicks off

The way that Cristian Romero tells it, there was a kind of rage inside him, an overwhelming desire for Tottenham to be better that sometimes overtook him. The defender could not help himself, he needed to make his views known, but when all of the pieces were put together from last season and into the summer, it was difficult to see that he was planning on staying at the club.

There was the repost of a social media message last September that claimed he was tired because Spurs had not flown him back on a private jet from Argentina duty. Note: reposts can be endorsements. There was the complaint in December that the club’s lack of spending meant they were falling behind Premier League rivals. “You have to realise that something is going wrong – hopefully they [the board] realise it,” he said.

Report calls on governments to commit to renewed action at general assembly in New York, saying ‘a different path is still possible’

Hard-won progress on women’s access to healthcare, rights and employment is being put at risk from global conflict, cuts to aid spending, and a backlash against gender equality, according to a UN equality watchdog.

A woman’s chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth is more than a third lower than it was 25 years ago, UN Women said in its annual report, while girls are more likely to complete school than ever before. It also found that rates of intimate partner violence were 2.5 times lower in countries that had introduced comprehensive measures on violence.

Maurene Comey alleges firing was retaliation against father, former FBI director James Comey

Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor involved in cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and who led the recent case against Sean “Diddy” Combs, filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging her abrupt termination as politically motivated retaliation against her father, former FBI director James Comey.

According to the court documents, the justice department fired Comey without cause or explanation on 16 July, citing only “article 2 of the United States constitution and the laws of the United States” in a brief email. When she asked for a reason, the interim US attorney Jay Clayton told her: “All I can say is it came from Washington. I can’t tell you anything else.”

Medical tribunal rules ‘very low risk’ of Suhail Anjum, who had been dismissed by hospital in Greater Manchester, repeating behaviour

A doctor who left a patient midway through an operation to have sex with a nurse is at “very low risk” of repeating his serious misconduct, a medical tribunal has ruled.

Dr Suhail Anjum, 44, and the unnamed nurse were caught in a “compromising position” by a colleague who walked in on the pair at Tameside hospital. The consultant anaesthetist had asked another nursing colleague to monitor the male patient, who was under general anaesthetic, so he could go to the bathroom.

The boxer Ricky Hatton, who was one of the best-known British fighters of his generation and won several world titles, has died at the age of 46. We look back at his life and career

Broadcaster to dedicate Wednesday night schedule to unpicking US president’s false or misleading statements

More than 100 of Donald Trump’s inaccurate statements are to be dissected by Channel 4 to coincide with his state visit, in what it described as “the longest uninterrupted reel of untruths, falsehoods and distortions ever broadcast on television”.

The US president is expected to arrive in the UK on Tuesday night. He will enjoy a huge amount of special treatment as ministers attempt to preserve the special relationship, including a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle for Trump and his wife, Melania.

The president has shown no interest in uniting the US, nor in defending free speech – he is weaponizing this time for his gain

The public response to the killing of Charlie Kirk in cold blood, has revealed how drastically our democracy – our belief in the importance of free speech and in the irreplaceable life of each and every individual – has deteriorated over the last half century.

I was a senior in high school when John F Kennedy was assassinated, and a senior in college when Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King were killed. Plenty of conspiracy theories, some of which have never been put to rest, were floated and debated. But the difference between what happened then and what we are seeing now is that, in the aftermath of those violent deaths, there was a sense of shared grief, of national mourning. Those tragedies seemed to bring us, as a country, closer together in our shock and sorrow.

Revelation relating to then Northern Ireland home affairs correspondent, Vincent Kearney, a ‘matter of grave concern’

MI5 has conceded it “unlawfully” obtained the communications data of a former BBC journalist, in what was claimed to be an unprecedented admission from the security services.

The BBC said it was a “matter of grave concern” that the agency had obtained communications data from the mobile phone of Vincent Kearney, a former BBC Northern Ireland home affairs correspondent.

Trial of former paratrooper Soldier F, charged with two murders and five attempted murders, begins in Belfast

Soldiers disgraced the British army by targeting unarmed civilians in an “unjustified” and “gratuitous” use of force on Bloody Sunday, the murder trial of an army veteran has heard.

The shooting by the former paratrooper and his comrades was “unnecessary” and had a profound impact on Northern Ireland, a prosecutor told Belfast crown court on Monday at the opening of the long-awaited trial.

Recess, Brooklyn

A traveling exhibition of work from Palestinian artists aims to provide visibility to those whose lives have been devastated by the ongoing war

Artists will go on creating, even under the most extreme and inhumane of conditions. This truism is part of the message and the power of the Gaza Biennale, which is currently working to exhibit the art of dozens of Palestinians around the world – including in New York City, where the abolitionist arts non-profit Recess hosts an exhibition of work from more than 25 of these artists.

“They are artists, they need to create art,” said the Biennale organizers, who requested to be identified as the Forbidden Museum. “We need to help artists stand up for themselves with their skills. Just because you are an artist in the middle of a genocide doesn’t mean you don’t have anything to do.”