Reuters By Anthony Zurcher North America correspondent @awzurcher Hunter Biden’s deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to two misdemeanour tax evasion charges and defer punishment for lying on a gun license application collapsed in dramatic fashion in a Delaware federal courtroom on Wednesday. As a room full of reporters watched, the presiding judge, Maryellen Noreika,…

Arizona’s brutal heatwave, which has spanned nearly 30 days with temperatures above 43C (110F), is hurting the state’s resilient Saguaro cactus. The plants are losing their limbs, collapsing and entirely transforming in shape, said research scientist Tania Hernandez.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By Yusuf Akinpelu BBC News, Lagos From Mali in the west to Sudan in the east, a whole swathe of Africa is now run by the military. Niger was one of the few democracies left in the…

A pet dog, captured and carried away from its home during a burglary, was recorded by a security camera. Essex Police released footage of the incident, which happened at a house in Catmere End, Saffron Walden, at about 15:00 BST on Wednesday. The 16-month old Dachshund, called Twiglet, is heard barking and tries to escape…

Getty Images US casino mogul Steve Wynn is set to pay a $10m (£7.8m) fine to end a legal battle in Nevada over claims of sexual misconduct in the workplace. Gambling regulators were poised to approve a settlement deal, where the billionaire admits no wrongdoing. A Wall Street Journal report in 2018 alleged he harassed…

It is “virtually certain” that July is going to be the world’s warmest month since records began, according to scientists. Some researchers believe it might even be the warmest month in the past 120,000 years. The UK on the other hand, has experienced milder temperatures and a fair amount of rain. BBC Weather’s Ben Rich…

Getty Images By Kathryn Armstrong BBC News Mauritanian authorities have charged a high school student with blasphemy over a mock exam paper she submitted. The young woman was arrested last week for allegedly showing disrespect to the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam. If found guilty, she could be sentenced to death with no possibility…

Supporters of a coup in Niger have attacked the headquarters of the ousted president’s party, setting it on fire and stoning and burning cars outside. The small group of arsonists had broken away from a larger show of support for the coup leaders outside parliament, where Russian flags were on show. Read more on this…

Getty Images By Chloe Kim BBC News, New York US President Joe Biden has announced measures to try to tackle the effects of extreme heat as 46 million Americans suffer under heat advisories. Major cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, declared heat emergencies on Thursday. The actors union Sag-Aftra was forced to pause picket…

Reuters By Paul Kirby BBC News Ukraine’s military says it has had success on one of the front lines in southeast Ukraine, as Western officials talk of a major thrust taking place. The armed forces general staff said they were “solidifying positions” they had reached in the Staromaiorske area east of the city of Zaporizhzhia.…