A congressional committee voted this week to continue a federal ban on creating genetically modified babies in the United States. From a report: The House Appropriations Committee voted to retain the ban after the prohibition had been lifted last month by a subcommittee. The vote was part of debate over routine funding legislation for the Food and Drug Administration. "This is a prohibition that is accepted by nearly every nation in the world due to the unknown risks," said Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., during a hearing where the ban was restored. "The risks of harm are real." The ban prohibits the FDA from considering any proposals to study whether genetically modified embryos could be used to try to establish pregnancies. Some scientists oppose the ban because it bars them from conducting the studies necessary to determine whether it might one day be safe and effective to create genetically modified babies. The goal would be to prevent devastating genetic diseases. During the hearing, several Democratic committee members said they were reluctantly agreeing to reinstate the ban but hoped the issue would be reconsidered at some point.

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US Senator Tim Kaine says Trump administration granted one of the authorisations 16 days after Khashoggi was killed.

Ali Khamenei says Tehran will not abandon its missile programme and describes US offers of negotiations as a 'trick'.

The US president's son-in-law urged Middle East leaders to back a Palestinian 'peace plan' without Palestinian support.

'One day, I hope to open my own business and take control of my life,' says 18-year-old Kaumi Kolo, a former child vigilante in Nigeria.

JustAnotherOldGuy writes: A government watchdog says the FBI has access to about 640 million photographs -- including from driver's licenses, passports and mugshots -- that can be searched using facial recognition technology. The figure reflects how the technology is becoming an increasingly powerful law enforcement tool, but is also stirring fears about the potential for authorities to intrude on the lives of Americans. It was reported by the Government Accountability Office at a congressional hearing in which both Democrats and Republicans raised questions about the use of the technology. The FBI maintains a database known as the Interstate Photo System of mugshots that can help federal, state and local law enforcement officials. It contains about 36 million photographs, according to Gretta Goodwin of the GAO. But taking into account the bureau contracts providing access to driver's licenses in 21 states, and its use of photos and other databases, the FBI has access to about 640 million photographs, Goodwin told lawmakers at the House oversight committee hearing. Kimberly Del Greco, a deputy assistant director at the FBI, said the bureau has strict policies for using facial recognition. She said it is used only when there is an active FBI investigation or an assessment, which can precede a formal investigation.

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Significant backing is offered to Virgin Orbit and Spaceport Cornwall to make Newquay launches happen.

A 76-year-old woman is found by relatives lying on cold floor in South Africa hospital, her hands and legs tied to a steel bench.

MSF group slams migrant detention centre conditions, calls on EU to drop support for Libyan coastguard.

Apple is taking a new step to combat spam calls in iOS 13. Today, you can already install third-party spam call screeners on your iPhone, but if that's not good enough (or something you don't want to do), iOS 13 will add a new solution this fall. From a report: iOS 13 will be able to automatically silence any calls coming in from an unknown number. Even better, it'll automatically send them to voicemail. The new "silence unknown callers" option can be toggled on or off based on your preference, but I'm thinking most people will enable it right after updating and leave it that way. The feature is explained on this page of what's new in iOS 13. So many of the spam calls we're bombarded with on a daily basis are spoofed to look like a local number. But Apple says that iOS 13 will "use Siri intelligence to allow calls to ring your phone from numbers in Contacts, Mail, and Messages." Any number that can't be found in one of those places will be routed to voicemail.

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Families are looking forward to restarting their lives in Raqqa, their hometown and what was effectively ISIL's capital city before its defeat.

The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Kik for illegally raising $100 million through a 2017 digital-token sale, in one of its highest profile cases targeting a company for not registering an offering with the regulator. From a report: After losing money for years on its sole product, an online-messaging application, Kik raised more than $55 million from U.S. investors by selling a digital token called Kin without the proper disclosures, the SEC said in a Tuesday court filing. The agency is seeking unspecified monetary penalties. "Companies do not face a binary choice between innovation and compliance with the federal securities laws," said Steven Peikin, co-head of the SEC's enforcement division. Kik was among the biggest initial coin offerings in the past two years and has prominent backers. Venture capitalist Fred Wilson defended the Kin digital currency in a blog post, saying it is not a security.

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White House again directs former aides to defy congressional subpoena seeking documents for probes into Trump.

Organisers said 180,000 were in Victoria Park to commemorate the 1989 crackdown, as territory faces pressure from China.

There is support for pardoning war criminals among his conservative base but critics say US president’s action undermines chain of command.