California Governor Gavin Newsom appears to have survived a rare state-wide vote to remove him with a clear majority, US media report. Republicans launched the election over his handling of the pandemic.

The Democrat, currently in the third year of his four-year term, had faced a field of 46 candidates, and was expected to win by a large margin. Both President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris campaigned with Mr Newsom ahead of the contest. The BBC’s US partner CBS projects that the governor will prevail, with about two-thirds of voters backing him and more than 70% of the vote tallied. “I’m humbled and grateful to the millions and millions of Californians that exercised their fundamental right to vote,” Mr Newsom said in a victory speech in Sacramento.(BBC)…[+]

Apple has issued a software patch to block so-called “zero-click” spyware that could infect iPhones and iPads. Independent researchers identified the flaw, which lets hackers access devices through the iMessage service even if users do not click on a link or file. The problem affects all of the technology giant’s operating systems, the researchers said. Apple said it issued the security update in response to a “maliciously crafted” PDF file. University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, which first highlighted the issue, had previously found evidence of zero-click spyware, but “this is the first one where the exploit has been captured so we can find out how it works,” said researcher Bill Marczak. The researchers said that the previously unknown vulnerability affected all major Apple devices, including iPhones, Macs and Apple Watches.(BBC)…[+]

Tropical storm Nicholas has been downgraded from a hurricane after making landfall on the Texas coast in the US, bringing heavy rain and the risk of life-threatening flooding. The storm was upgraded to a hurricane after reaching land at 00:30 (05:30 GMT), but has now weakened. More than 500,000 power outages have been reported in Texas, according to PowerOutage.us. President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Louisiana.

It comes just weeks after Hurricane Ida – the fifth strongest to ever hit the US mainland – killed dozens and left more than a million Louisiana residents without power. (BBC)…[+]

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is holding talks with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. It is the first official trip to Egypt by an Israeli premier for a decade.

The Egyptian presidency said the two leaders would discuss bilateral and regional issues, and ways to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Mr Bennett, who succeeded Benjamin Netanyahu in June, accepted an invitation to visit Egypt last month. Mr Netanyahu was the last Israeli head of government to make an official visit to Egypt in 2011, when he met then-President Hosni Mubarak just over a month before he was ousted by a popular uprising. He was reported to have also travelled secretly to Egypt in 2018 for unofficial talks with Mr Sisi, who led the military’s overthrow of Mubarak’s democratically elected successor in 2013 following mass protests. They also met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York several times.(BBC)…[+]

Peruvian officials are expected to decide later on Monday what to do with the body of Abimael Guzmán, the founder of the Shining Path rebel group, who died in prison on Saturday. Almost 70,000 people died or disappeared in the conflict between the Maoist group and the Peruvian state. There are fears that if he were to be buried, his gravesite could become a rallying point for extremists. Peru’s justice minister said he would like to see the body cremated. “The most appropriate thing would be a cremation so there’s no place at which certain Peruvians can pay tribute to this person,” he said. But Prime Minister Guido Bellido stressed that the decision would be up to the public prosecutor’s office and that the government would respect whatever decision is taken.(BBC)…[+]

A record number of activists working to protect the environment and land rights were murdered last year, according to a report by a campaign group. 227 people were killed around the world in 2020, the highest number recorded for a second consecutive year, the report from Global Witness said. Almost a third of the murders were reportedly linked to resource exploitation – logging, mining, large-scale agribusiness, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure. The report called the victims “environmental defenders” killed for protecting natural resources that need to be preserved, including forests, water supplies and oceans. Since the Paris Agreement on climate change was signed in 2015, the organisation says on average four activists have been killed each week.(BBC)…[+]

Chancellor Angela Merkel has targeted the centre-left favourite in the race to succeed her, in what is likely to be her final appearance before MPs. In a bid to bolster her own party’s candidate ahead of Germany’s 26 September elections, the outgoing leader was bitterly critical of Olaf Scholz, whose SPD is leading the polls.

Mrs Merkel warned that a vote for his party could let in the far left. “Germany faces a choice of direction,” she said.

Voters had two options, she said: either a government made up of the centre-left and the Greens “which accepts the support of the left-wing party, or at least doesn’t exclude it”, or a conservative-led government with her party’s candidate Armin Laschet as head. “That is exactly what Germany needs,” she told the Bundestag, weeks before the end of her 16 years as chancellor. A Laschet government stood for stability, reliability, moderation and centrality, she contended. (BBC)…[+]

El Salvador has become the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender in a move that has got the nation and the world debating the opportunities and dangers of cryptocurrency. From today, businesses will be obliged where possible to accept the controversial digital coins as payment. Millions of people are expected to download the government’s new digital wallet app which gives away $30 (£22) in Bitcoin to every citizen. Bitcoin fans around the world have been buying $30 worth of the digital coins as a show of support and to help boost the value of the volatile currency.(BBC)…[+]

Six minor girls in central India were stripped and paraded naked as part of a village ritual to summon rains. The incident took place in a drought-parched village in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh state. Videos that went viral on social media reportedly showed young girls walking naked with a wooden shaft on their shoulders which had a frog tied to it. Locals believe the ritual will appease the rain god and bring rainfall to the region. India’s National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has sought a report from the administration of Damoh district, where the village is located. The Madhya Pradesh police said they had not received any formal complaint against the event, but added that they had opened an investigation.(BBC)…[+]