French authorities are calling for police to enforce fines against climbers who attempt to scale Mont Blanc without proper clothing and equipment.

The move follows a series of deaths and accidents on Europe’s highest mountain. Earlier this month, a Hungarian woman and her nine-year-old twins were helicoptered off the peak by mountain rescuers. Jean-Marc Peillex, mayor of Saint-Gervais, from where many Mont Blanc climbers set off, issued a local decree taking “immediate effect” last week warning that hikers would face fines if they were not adequately equipped to tackle the 4,810m (15,774ft) peak. Now, he is asking the French government to send more gendarmes up into the mountains to enforce the rules. His list of required equipment for those taking a local route known as the “royal path” up Mont Blanc include a hat, sunglasses, ski mask, climbing shoes and warm wind-proof jacket. Peillex said the decree, which will be posted on mountain paths in French, English, German and Russian, was a “rap over the knuckles” for the “hotheads, who refuse to listen to advice”.(theguardian)…[+]

The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has railed against the west, saying any security cooperation with western nations or the reopening of their embassies would not happen until they cut ties with opposition and insurgent groups.Shortly after Assad gave his speech, a shell hit the first international fair in the country since the war began six years ago, killing and wounding several people.

Assad’s defiant comments come at a time when his troops and pro-Iranian militia are gaining ground across the country under the cover of Russian airstrikes. Many countries have ceased calling for him to step down. Speaking in front of dozens of Syrian diplomats in Damascus, Assad praised Russia, Iran, China and Lebanon’s Hezbollah for supporting his government during the conflict. He said Syria would look east when it came to political, economic and cultural relations. “The direct support of our friends, politically, economically and militarily, made our advance on the ground greater and the losses of war less. Therefore, they are our partners in these achievements on the road to crush terrorism,” Assad said.

“Let’s be clear. There will be no security cooperation nor opening of embassies or even a role for some countries that say that they want to play a role in ending the crisis in Syria before they clearly and frankly cut their relations with terrorism. At that point maybe we can speak about opening embassies.”(theguardian)…[+]

Donald Trump described anti-fascist and anti-racist demonstrators who converged on Boston as “anti-police agitators” on Saturday, in a tweet that seemed destined to revive the still simmering controversy over his remarks equating the far right and anti-Nazis in Charlottesville last weekend.

“Looks like many anti-police agitators in Boston,” Trump tweeted. “Police are looking tough and smart! Thank you.” But he later seemed to back the right to demonstrate, posting: “Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!” He added: “I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!” An estimated 40,000 leftwing counter-protesters – including various Black Lives Matter groups and activist group Violence in Boston – marched through the city to historic Boston Common, dwarfing a small group of conservatives holding a “free speech rally”. Many gathered near a bandstand abandoned by conservatives who delivered a series of speeches.

Boston Free Speech, a conservative activist group that organized the midday event, had publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville on 12 August. Nevertheless, some far right activists had at one point been invited to speak at the rally, before later dropping out over fears for their own safety. Asked about this, a spokesperson for Boston Free Speech would not comment, but claimed to have also invited representatives from Black Lives Matter to speak too.(theguardian)…[+]

The missing seven-year-old British-Australian boy Julian Cadman was among the 13 people killed in the Barcelona terror attack, his family has confirmed. The Spanish missing persons bureau said his family had confirmed that the boy died after a van crashed into pedestrians on Las Ramblas on Thursday. In a statement, it said: “Julian Cadman’s family has told us he is unfortunately one of the victims of the attack and has asked us to thank all the people who have spread the news.

“In these very unjust, hard and painful moments, we accompany Julian’s family and friends. Rest in peace. “Once again we wish to reiterate our appreciation and involvement in your search.” In the immediate aftermath of the attack it was unclear what had happened to Julian, who had dual British-Australian nationality. On Friday Theresa May, the prime minister, said the British government was “urgently looking into reports of a child believed missing, who is a British dual national”.

Reports emerged that he had been separated from his mother, who was badly injured. It is understood that she is in a serious condition in hospital. Relatives shared pictures of Julian in an attempt to locate him, while his father and grandmother were understood to have arrived in Spain on Saturday after travelling from Australia.(theguardian)…[+]

Iraq and Saudi Arabia are negotiating a new alliance that would give Riyadh a leading role in rebuilding Iraq’s war-torn towns and cities, while bolstering Baghdad’s credentials across the region.

Meetings between senior officials on both sides over the past six months have focused on shepherding Iraq away from its powerful neighbour and Saudi Arabia’s long-time rival, Iran, whose influence over Iraqi affairs has grown sharply since the 2003 ousting of Saddam Hussein. Iraq and Saudi Arabia have long been considered opponents in the region, but a visit by the Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to Riyadh last week and a follow-up trip to the UAE further thawed relations which had already been much improved by high-profile visits between the two countries.

The arrival in the Saudi capital of Sadr – a protagonist in the sectarian war that ravaged Iraq from 2004-08 and who has enduring ties to Iran – highlights a new level of engagement which could see Riyadh play a significant role in the reconstruction of the predominantly Sunni cities of Mosul, Fallujah, Ramadi and Tikrit.(theguardian)…[+]

Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old paralegal killed when a car rammed into counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, last Saturday, has said she has “no interest” in speaking with Donald Trump.

“I understand that President Trump wants to speak with me, I’ve heard from his press secretary and a few other people, and it’s not that I’m trying to be callous, it’s that I have no interest in speaking to politicians just to hear them say, ‘I’m sorry,’” Bro told ABC’s Good Morning America. “If I felt like that’s all they wanted to say, that would be different, but I feel like I’m wanted to be used for political agendas and I’m resistant to that.”

Bro had initially thanked Trump for his “words of comfort”, but changed her mind following the memorial service for Heyer on Wednesday, after Bro said she saw “an actual clip of him at a press conference equating the protesters … with the KKK and the white supremacists.” The ABC host, Robin Roberts, asked Bro whether she had spoken directly with the president.(theguardian)…[+]

An urgent search is underway for a child with dual British nationality who is believed to be among the missing after the terror attacks in Spain, the UK prime minister has said. Theresa May spoke after a British man living in Australia appealed for information about his seven-year-old grandson, Julian Alessandro Cadman, who became separated from his mother, Jom, during the chaos.

“Julian is seven years old and was out with Jom when they were separated, due to the recent terrorist activity. Please share if you have family or friends in Barcelona,” said Tony Cadman, whose Facebook profile says he lives in Australia and is originally from Dorset. May told Sky News that Britain was “urgently looking into reports of a child believed missing, who is a British dual national.” She did not name him. It has been reported that the child and his mother previously lived in Kent, and Tony Cadman posted a picture of Julian wearing a uniform from a British nursery school.(theguardian)…[+]

Human Rights Watch has denounced a call by Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte for police to shoot rights activists who get in the way of his bloody drug war.

Duterte should immediately withdraw his statement or be investigated for possibly instigating or inciting violence against Philippine rights advocates, the New York-based advocacy group said. The body’s deputy Asia director, Phelim Kine, said the threat “is like painting a target on the backs of courageous people working to protect the rights and upholding the dignity of all Filipinos”.

Duterte “should retract his reprehensible remarks immediately before there is more blood on his hands”, he added. Speaking following the bloodiest night of his one-year tenure in high office, Duterte said he would investigate human rights defenders criticising him, or order officers to kill them. “One of these days, you human rights groups, I will also investigate you. That’s the truth. For conspiracy,” Duterte said. “If they are obstructing justice, you shoot them,” he said. “So they can really see the kind of human rights.”(theguardian)…[+]

Brigitte Macron has said she will have a clear role at the Élysée Palace despite public opposition to her taking the official title of France’s first lady. In her first interview since her husband Emmanuel was elected president in May, she also said she could not understand the fuss over their relationship and the 25-year age gap.

Her comments came after the president, whose popularity has plummeted, abandoned plans to create an official title for his wife after public disapproval. During his campaign, Emmanuel Macron had pledged to create an “official first lady status”. But after his arrival at the Élysée, a petition opposing such a move received 314,000 signatures. Presidential advisers have said a “communication” regarding her status will be released soon. In an interview with French Elle magazine, Brigitte Macron said her role would be “determined not by a law but by a transparency charter” informing the French public of the number of staff assigned to her and the cost.(Theguardian)…[+]

Spain lacks the resources and capacity to protect the rising number of refugees and migrants reaching it by sea, the UN refugee agency has said. The warning from UNHCR comes as the Spanish coastguard said it rescued 593 people in a day from 15 small paddle boats, including 35 children and a baby, after they attempted to cross the seven-mile Strait of Gibraltar.

The number of refugees and migrants risking the sea journey between Morocco and Spain has been rising sharply, with the one-day figure the largest since August 2014, when about 1,300 people landed on the Spanish coast in a 24-hour period.

About 9,300 migrants have arrived in Spain by sea so far this year, while a further 3,500 have made it to two Spanish enclaves in north Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, the EU’s only land borders with Africa.

María Jesús Vega, a spokeswoman for UNHCR Spain, said police were badly under-resourced and there was a lack of interpreters and a shortage of accommodation for the new arrivals. “The state isn’t prepared and there aren’t even the resources and the means to deal with the usual flow of people arriving by sea,” she said.(theguardian)…[+]