‘It’s been very tough’: hope of progress in gruelling battle against south Wales wildfire

Efforts of emergency services and military in Blaenavon appear to be working but there are fears for the future

More than three weeks after it began burning and two days after the military deployed to the area, there is hope that the huge wildfire on the hillside above the Ebbw valley village of Blaenavon may finally be coming under control.

Emergency workers and soldiers described a gruelling battle against the deep-seated peat fire that has spread over 4,000 hectares (9,800 acres), putting lives, farmland and property at risk.

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South Korea proposes talks to officially end war with North

Lee Jae Myung offers chance to end the conflict, which has been frozen since an armistice in 1953.

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Thousands of Bonnie Tyler fans gather to pay respects as coffin brought home

Fans line streets, singing Total Eclipse of the Heart ahead of Welsh singer’s Swansea funeral

Thousands of Bonnie Tyler fans lined the streets of her home town in south Wales to pay respects to the singer as her coffin was brought back to her former home.

The singer, whose real name was Gaynor Sullivan, died unexpectedly on 8 July in Portugal at the age of 75.

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Hawaii braces for direct hit from Tropical Storm Lala

Storm expected to strengthen to hurricane as state of emergency declared amid danger of ‘life-threatening’ floods

Tropical Storm Lala is set to hit Hawaii’s Big Island with hurricane force in a matter of hours, bringing dangerous winds, heavy rainfall and high surf in a sign of what a strengthening “super” El Niño in the Pacific may bring.

The tropical storm is currently about 420 miles (675km) south-east of Hilo on the archipelago’s largest island, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said in its latest advisory, packing winds of 60mph (97km/h). Lala is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the Big Island.

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Kennedy Center board votes again to renovate building and inscribe Trump’s name on it – report

The center has until next week to present plan to judge who had blocked earlier rehab and name change

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The board of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington is said to have voted once again to move forward with Donald Trump’s controversial plan to temporarily shutter the building for substantial renovations, as well as to inscribe the US president’s name on the facade of its building, despite a federal order for his name to be removed from the signage.

The board – mostly handpicked, staunch allies of the president – voted “to close the Kennedy Center’s main building, while keeping a newer addition to the campus, known as the Reach, open for limited programming and to operate as an active memorial to John F Kennedy”, according to the New York Times, which was first to report the results.

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Ebola outbreak on track to be deadliest ever, WHO chief says

The outbreak, declared on 15 May, has caused more than 2,000 deaths, with thousands more reported cases.

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US inflation eases as food and fuel costs cool

Annual US inflation dipped to 3.4% in July, with food costs slowing and housing keeping prices slightly higher.

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Trump’s justice department arrests expert on far right as part of SPLC crackdown

Prosecutors charge Heidi Beirich with financial crimes as part of case against the Southern Poverty Law Center

The justice department on Wednesday arrested a leading expert on far-right extremism, charging her with financial crimes as part of the government’s ongoing case against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

Federal prosecutors charged Heidi Beirich, who formerly served as the group’s chief financial officer, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.

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White House pushes DoJ to revive reflecting pool case against Olympian

Justice department is asked to weigh new charges against David Hearn after US attorney dropped vandalism charges

The White House has asked the Department of Justice to weigh new charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, according to a person familiar with the matter, pushing to revive a case Donald Trump has fumed about ever since an ally dropped the case citing insufficient evidence.

Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, dropped the charges against the man, David Hearn, on 31 July, blaming a contractor for a flawed installation. In a 20-page filing dismissing the charges, Pirro’s office said it had received evidence that damage to the pool occurred before Hearn visited it, and that “it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.” Hearn has maintained that he reached in the water to touch a piece of already detached lining while he was on a bike ride in June.

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Richard Tice accused of ‘nasty tactics’ over legal threat to the Guardian

Reform deputy leader condemned for seeking disclosure of documents that could reveal reporter’s sources

Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice has been accused of using “nasty tactics” in an attempt to intimidate journalists and deflect attention from his own financial affairs after issuing a legal threat to the Guardian.

In a letter sent from his lawyers, a Guardian correspondent was singled out for her reporting on a series of Tice’s financial transactions that were referred to the National Crime Agency.

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