US country music star Dolly Parton has come out in support of Black Lives Matter, in a rare comment on politics.

She told Billboard Magazine: “Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!” With a broad fan base that spans the right and the left, the singer generally eschews political subjects. Her comments come amid a nationwide reckoning on race that has impacted all of US society, including country music. Although Ms Parton has not attended Black Lives Matter marches, she said she supported anti-racism activists’ right to protest. “I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen,” she told the music magazine.

The entertainment mogul – who owns Dollywood amusement park in her home state of Tennessee as well as other attractions – also spoke about her decision in 2018 to drop the “Dixie” from her Dixie Stampede attraction. A 2017 article in Slate critiqued Ms Parton’s attraction, calling it a “lily-white kitsch extravaganza”. “Dixie” was often used as a nickname for the southern states that made up the Confederate States of America during the US Civil War era.(BBC)…[+]

A Nigerian man has been rescued from the garage of his parents’ house in the northern city of Kano, where he had been locked up for three years, police say. Ahmed Aminu, 30, was discovered after a police raid on the family’s residence. Neighbours had alerted a local NGO about his plight, and the police were then called. Mr Aminu’s father and step-mother have been arrested and police say further investigations are under way.

In a horrific video shared on social media, an emaciated Mr Aminu, too frail to walk, was assisted into a vehicle as he was taken to hospital. He had visible calluses on his knees and his bones were apparent through the little flesh left on him. “We found Aminu in a terrible situation, urinating and excreting in same spot without [being] given any food and looking like he was going to die at any moment,” Haruna Ayagi, head of the Human Rights Network NGO, told the BBC. Police said the man had been locked up by his parents on suspicion of drug abuse and left without proper food and health care. Some reports said he had been locked up for seven years. This is the second time this week a victim has been rescued from horrific conditions in their parents’ house in Nigeria.(BBC)…[+]

The authorities hope to finish pumping out the remaining oil from the ship that has caused a huge oil spill off the coast of Mauritius on Wednesday. The aim is to transfer the fuel oil to land before the Japanese-owned MV Wakashio breaks up. The ship, believed to have been carrying 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil, ran aground on a coral reef on 25 July. Mauritius is home to world-renowned coral reefs, and tourism is a crucial part of its economy.

Fuel has been transferred to shore by helicopter and to another ship owned by the same Japanese firm, Nagashiki Shipping. France has sent a military aircraft with pollution control equipment from its nearby island of Réunion, while Japan has sent a six-member team to assist the French efforts. The Mauritius coast guard and several police units are also at the site in the south-east of the island.(BBC)…[+]

After a third night of protests in Belarus, the interior ministry says police fired back with live bullets when they came under attack in the southwestern city of Brest. Demonstrators with metal rods targeted officers and the police opened fire in self-defence, the ministry said. Clashes were also reported in Minsk and other cities, after main opposition figure Svetlana Tikhanovskaya fled.

A BBC crew was attacked by police, who have been accused of brutality. The protests erupted hours after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was awarded victory in Sunday’s presidential vote, which has been condemned by the EU as “neither free nor fair”. Mr Lukashenko won 80% of Sunday’s vote, according to election officials, but there were widespread allegations of vote rigging and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Belarusians had shown “the desire for democratic change” in the election campaign.(BBC)…[+]

“Serious injuries” have been reported after a passenger train derailed near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire as storms caused disruption across Scotland. A major incident has been declared and about 30 emergency service vehicles – including air ambulance support – have been called to the scene. Smoke can be seen coming from the area. 

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described it as an “extremely serious incident” and said there were early reports of “serious injuries”. Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, she said: “My immediate thoughts, and the thoughts of those across the chamber, are with all those involved.” The incident took place west of Stonehaven as torrential rain and thunderstorms caused flooding and travel disruption across many parts of central and eastern Scotland.

British Transport Police said its officers had been called to the scene of the derailment at about 09:43. NHS Grampian confirmed it was on a “major incident footing”, and ScotRail said it was assisting the emergency services.

Kevin Lindsay, the Scottish organiser for train drivers’ union Aslef, said: “We are aware that this is an extremely serious incident and our thoughts are with everyone involved.” The RMT union’s Mick Lynch said: “The facts behind this ‎incident will need to be established in due course, but at this stage we are focussed on support and assistance and our thoughts are with all those impacted by this tragedy.”(BBC)…[+]

Employment in the UK fell by the largest amount in over a decade between April and June, official figures show. The number of people in work decreased by 220,000 on the quarter, said the Office for National Statistics. This was the largest quarterly decrease since May to July 2009, the depths of the financial crisis.

The youngest workers, oldest workers and those in manual occupations were the worst hit during the pandemic, the ONS added. The figures do not include the millions of people who are furloughed, those on zero-hours contracts but not getting shifts, or people on temporary unpaid leave from a job, as they still count as employed. As such, they do not capture the full impact of the pandemic. Similarly, the UK unemployment rate was estimated at 3.9%, largely unchanged on the year and the previous quarter.(BBC)…[+]

Iran has sentenced two men to 10 years in jail for allegedly spying for foreign governments, the judiciary says.

Massud Mossaheb was convicted of spying for Israeli and German intelligence over his senior role in the Austrian-Iranian Society. The other man, Shahram Shirkhani, was accused of working for UK intelligence. Five other Iranians have been arrested on charges of espionage in recent months, a spokesman said. International rights organisations regularly raise issues about the justice system in Iran, with Human Rights Watch noting that the country “regularly fell short of providing fair trials and used confessions likely obtained under torture as evidence in court”. 

Speaking on Tuesday, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said Mr Shirkhani had attempted to recruit others to Britain’s MI6 agency. He was also accused of passing information about Iranian banks and the defence ministry “to the enemy”. The length of his sentence was not confirmed by Mr Esmaili, but a state-run news outlet said Mr Shirkhani had received a 10-year sentence….[+]

Belarus’s main opposition leader says she took a “very difficult decision” to leave the country, after disputing an election result she claimed was rigged. In a YouTube video, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she did it for her children as protests continued for a second night. One person has died.

A second video, apparently filmed when she was detained on Monday and showing her reading a script, has also emerged. She was “safe” now in Lithuania, the country’s foreign minister said. Poll results gave President Alexander Lukashenko 80% of the vote, but there have been numerous claims of fraud. Violent clashes between police and protesters have broken out over the two nights since the election was held, and there have been numerous reports of police brutality. Mr Lukashenko, 65, who has ruled the former Soviet country since 1994, has described opposition supporters as “sheep” controlled from abroad.(BBC)…[+]

A Chicago rapper known as FBG Duck has been killed in an upscale retail shopping district as the city reels from above average levels of violence. The rapper, whose legal name is Carlton Weekly, was shot by four people who emerged from two cars at 16:30 local time (22:30BST) on Tuesday, then fled. The shooting occurred in the Gold Coast area, a luxury and boutique shopping district near the city’s downtown.

Police say the city’s murder rate has risen 152% over last year. A man and woman who were with Weekly, 26, were also hit by gunfire and taken to hospital for treatment, police say. Police have closed off the street to investigate, and are reviewing security camera footage to try to identify the attackers, who are still at large. Gun violence is normally rare in this region of the city, which is near Chicago’s famed Magnificent Mile district. Weekly rose in prominence in 2018 with his hit single, “Slide”, which was remixed by 21 Savage, and got his start in Chicago’s drill music scene in 2013, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He released four records in the last five years, and countless solo singles with his Fly Boy Gang rap crew, Pitchfork reported.(BBC)…[+]

Cori Bush, a racial justice activist who was once homeless, has ousted a 10-term political veteran in Missouri’s Democratic primary election. She defeated Congressman William Lacy Clay 49% – 46%. Either Mr Clay or his father, a civil rights activist, has held the seat since the 1960s. An ordained minister and former nurse, Ms Bush would be the first black woman to represent Missouri in Congress. Her win is the latest upset against establishment Democrats by newcomers. She had campaigned for Senator Bernie Sanders during his presidential run. Praising her on Twitter, Mr Sanders said Ms Bush would “take on the corporate elite of this country when she gets to Congress”.  Ms Bush, 44, had lost to Mr Clay, 64, during the 2018 primary in Missouri. Mr Clay is a long-time lawmaker who has represented the St Louis area for two decades. His father is a co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus.(BBC)…[+]