Good morning.
Sri Lanka and Indonesia have deployed their militaries to help victims of floods that have killed more than 1,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia in recent days.
Millions have been affected by a combination of tropical cyclones and heavy monsoon rains, with ensuing flooding killing at least 502 in Indonesia, 355 in Sri Lanka, and 170 in Thailand. Three deaths have been reported in Malaysia.
The losses and damage are the worst in Sri Lanka since the 2004 tsunami that killed about 31,000 people and left more than a million homeless, while for Indonesia, it is the deadliest event since a 2018 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that killed more than 2,000 people in Sulawesi.
How many people remain missing? 508 people are missing in Indonesia and 366 in Sri Lanka. Our liveblog will bring you latest updates as rescue efforts continue.
Marco Rubio says ‘more work’ required after discussions with Ukraine in Florida about ending the war
US and Ukrainian representatives said the latest round of negotiations in Florida over ending the war in Ukraine were “productive”, but the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said “more work” was required.
The talks preceded a visit to Moscow by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, who is expected to discuss Ukraine with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrived in Paris on Monday to meet France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, with the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, telling La Tribune Dimanche: “Peace is within reach, if Vladimir Putin abandons his delusional hope of reconstituting the Soviet empire by first subjugating Ukraine.”
How do Ukraine’s European allies view the peace talks? There’s frustration that Europe is being excluded, with the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, saying “the Ukrainian are there alone”. But she called for the bloc to continue piling the pressure on Moscow via sanctions and giving Ukraine “military, financial and humanitarian support”. For the latest, head to our liveblog.
Trump ‘wouldn’t have wanted’ second strike on Caribbean boat survivors
Donald Trump claimed on Sunday he would investigate reports that the US military carried out a second strike on a boat in the Caribbean that it suspected to be trafficking drugs, killing the survivors of an initial missile attack.
The US president said he “wouldn’t have wanted” a second strike on the vessel during the incident on 2 September – the first publicized strike in a series of attacks that Washington says aim to combat the drug trade. In that attack, the US military saw two survivors of the first strike clinging to the burning vessel, and then hit the boat again, the Washington Post reported.
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, has urged Washington to investigate the strikes’ legality, saying there was “strong evidence” they constituted “extrajudicial” killings.
What’s behind the strikes? Is it really about drugs – or is it regime change in Venezuela?
In other news …
Hundreds of Palestinians face eviction from East Jerusalem following Israeli court orders in favor of settlers.
Police are searching for the suspect who killed four people, including three children, and injured 11 in a shooting at a family party in Stockton, California, on Saturday night.
Rising levels of hate are driving women out of Swedish public life, the country’s equality agency has warned.
Stat of the day: There will be 3.3m more new HIV infections by 2030 than expected, UNAids says
There will be 3.3m more new HIV infections by 2030 than expected, UNAids has predicted, after the Trump administration (and subsequently, other governments) slashed overseas aid funding. It is estimated that external health assistance in 2025 will be between 30% and 40% lower than it was in 2023.
Don’t miss this: Irish politician Cara Hunter on the ‘extremely pornographic’ deepfake that nearly ended her career
When Cara Hunter thinks back to the moment she learned there was a pornographic deepfaked video of her circulating, she compares it to “watching a horror movie”. It was 2022, and she was 27; deepfake technology didn’t have the mainstream status it now has, and it was less than three weeks before elections for the Northern Ireland assembly. She discusses the reaction from her party, the police, and those around her – and about her fears that experiences like hers will deter young women from entering politics.
Climate check: Law changes could soon bring balcony solar to millions across US
Clean energy advocates hope solar could quickly go mainstream, with law changes set to make the technology accessible to millions of Americans. While at present, fitting solar panels at home is out of reach for many households, panels that plug in to an ordinary wall plug could be coming to a balcony or patio near you, after lawmakers in New York and Pennsylvania filed bills to legalize them. These panels can cover a household’s electricity costs.
Last Thing: The rise of the intrepid female solo traveller
Travel companies are seeing an increase in bookings by solo travellers, as primarily older women head out to explore destinations on their own. The Guardian heard from six women who have embraced the open road about what they had learned, with one saying: “What I love about solo travel is that I am in my own essence, free of societal roles of wife, mother, employee.”
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