Six people have died in wildfires that are sweeping across California and fouling the air with heavy smoke across much of the western US. The worst of the hundreds of fires burning across the state are in the mountains to the south and east of San Francisco. The fires are thought to have been started by lightning strikes amidst an historic heat wave.

Hundreds of buildings have burned down and thousands more are threatened. Over 10,000 fire-fighters are battling the blazes, which have been burning on steep, difficult to access terrain and have been fueled by strong winds.

With more than 650,000 coronavirus cases, California also has the highest number of infections the US, and some evacuees have said they are afraid to go to emergency shelters. One woman told CNN that she was forced to flee to a community centre in Vacaville, but is refusing to go inside for fear of catching coronavirus. “Not only are we dealing with Covid, but with also the heat and now the fires,” said Cheryl Jarvis, who said she is currently sleeping in her Toyota Prius.(BBC)…[+]

Russian doctors treating Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who fell into a coma after being taken ill on a plane, have changed their minds and agreed to let him be flown to Germany. The doctors, in the Siberian city of Omsk, had earlier insisted he was too ill to be moved.

His supporters suspect he was poisoned, and accuse the authorities of trying to cover up a crime. A medically equipped plane is waiting to take him to Germany for treatment. Reports say he could leave within hours. “The patient’s condition is stable,” Dr Anatoly Kalinichenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. “As we’re in possession of a request from relatives to permit him to be transported somewhere, we have now taken the decision that we do not object to his transfer to another in-patient facility.“(BBC)…[+]

The head of the US Postal Service has vowed the agency is “fully capable and committed” to handling the nation’s mail-in votes for November’s election. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told lawmakers that postal votes will continue to be prioritised and that recent policy changes were not made in attempt to influence the 2020 election.

Democrats say new delivery policies could lead to issues with postal votes. The row quickly became a top campaign issue in the past two weeks. Mr DeJoy, a top Republican donor and former logistics executive appointed to lead the agency in May, told a senate panel on Friday that the delivery changes – which have drastically slowed deliveries – were based on a “data-driven” review of mail volume. He addressed the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee amid a public furore to the changes, and amid concerns that they were made to help re-elect US President Donald Trump.(NU)…[+]

Police in Israel have launched an investigation into the alleged gang rape of a 16-year-old girl at a hotel in the southern resort town of Eilat. Two people have been detained so far. One of the suspects said more than 30 men had sex with the girl, but denied rape, according to local media reports. The men are accused of raping the teenager while she was intoxicated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for those responsible to be “brought to justice”. “This is shocking, there is no other word. This is not only a crime against the girl, this is a crime against humanity itself that is worthy of all condemnation,” he tweeted on Thursday. The teenager filed a complaint to police last Friday. According to Israeli media reports, she went to Eilat earlier this month with a friend, and met up with a group of the friend’s acquaintances. They all went out to drink together before going back to a hotel, where the men allegedly raped the girl, one after the other.(BBC)…[+]

The stakes could not have been higher for Kamala Harris as she made history to formally accept the Democratic vice-presidential nomination. How did she do? Only three women have been on the top ticket for a major party before, and none has made it to the White House. The California senator, who spoke in an almost empty auditorium in Delaware, is also the first African American and Asian American to be nominated. We asked voters and experts to assess her performance.

A single mother to three boys, Ms Reese was “thrilled” by the news last week that Kamala Harris would serve as Joe Biden’s running mate. “Kamala has been a superpower in our government, not only showing the world what strong ambitious women of colour can do for our communities, but also speaking up for the voiceless within the justice system and in service.” For 37-year-old Reese – an author, healthcare worker, and a black woman – Harris’s speech tonight showed her “a woman connected to people”. “Tonight, we saw a vulnerable human being with a heart, with compassion, with character,” she said. “This is a key component we have been missing in the White House and that wasn’t lost.(BBC)…[+]

Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny is unconscious in hospital suffering from suspected poisoning, his spokeswoman has said. The anti-corruption campaigner fell ill during a flight and the plane made an emergency landing in Omsk, where doctors said he was in a coma and they were trying to save his life.

His team suspects something was put in his tea at an airport cafe. The Kremlin said that it wished Mr Navalny a “speedy recovery”. Mr Navalny, 44, has for years been among President Vladimir Putin’s staunchest critics. In June he described a vote on constitutional reforms as a “coup” and a “violation of the constitution”. The reforms allow Mr Putin to serve another two terms in office, after the four terms he has already had.(BBC)…[+]

France is to make face masks compulsory in most workplaces as it grapples with a resurgence in coronavirus cases.

The new rule is likely to apply to all shared spaces in offices and factories where there is more than one employee present. The measure is set to begin on 1 September. Individual offices will be exempt. France has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus cases since July and masks are already widely used. Its average number of new cases over seven days is now well above 2,000, double what it was at the start of the month. About 220,000 people have now been infected and more than 30,000 have died. 

Health officials suggest that almost a quarter of new clusters have been linked to workplaces outside medical settings, reports BBC Paris correspondent Lucy Williamson. The spike comes as the government encourages the country back to work in order to fill a 11% hole in its budget, she adds. France imposed one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns in March, which was gradually lifted from 11 May.(BBC)…[+]

Canada’s deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland will be taking over the role of finance minister, Canadian media report. Bill Morneau stepped down on Monday from the top finance job amid pressure from opposition parties, after five years in the role. Ms Freeland, 52, will become the first woman to hold the powerful portfolio in Canada.

She is one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s most trusted ministers. Canada is going through its worst economic crisis since the Second World War due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. She has previously held several high-level cabinet positions, including the international trade portfolio. As foreign minister she helped renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement – or Nafta – with the US and Mexico. Besides her current role as deputy prime minister, she also oversees relations between the federal and provincial and territorial governments.

The former journalist was first elected as a member of parliament (MP) in 2013. (BBC)…[+]

Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has called for peaceful rallies across the country, after she was forced to leave for Lithuania in the wake of a disputed election. “Don’t stay on the sidelines,” she said, proposing a broad council to work on the transfer of power. Alexander Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994 but Sunday’s presidential vote was condemned by the EU and US. Protests have erupted across the country calling for him to quit.

Some 6,700 people were arrested in the wake of the election, and many have spoken of torture at the hands of the security services.As protests continued for a sixth day and walkouts from state factories grew on Friday, EU foreign ministers held an emergency video meeting and agreed to prepare new sanctions on Belarusian officials responsible “for violence and falsification”.(BBC)…[+]