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Trump: Ex-aide Bannon has lost his mind

It's getting nasty between Donald Trump and his former chief strategist Steve Bannon. In a statement, the US president says Mr Bannon "lost his mind" when he was "fired" last August. Mr Trump also claims he had "had very little" to do with his election victory in 2016.

This follows Mr Bannon being quoted in a book as calling a meeting between Mr Trump's son, Donald Jr, and a group of Russians "treasonous". The book, by journalist Michael Wolff, also reports that Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka wants to become president, and that she mocks her father's hairstyle. It adds that the president has great admiration for media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, but that Mr Murdoch on one occasion described Mr Trump as an "idiot".

Meanwhile, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has dismissed a claim in the book that he warned Mr Trump that UK intelligence agencies may have spied on him as "categorically absurd".

The BBC's North America editor, Jon Sopel, writes that the falling-out between the president and Mr Bannon is a "vicious knife fight".

Sydney seaplane crash: Operation to raise wreckage begins

The Australian authorities have begun retrieving the wreckage of a sea plane that crashed near Sydney, killing six people, including five members of the same UK family. Compass Group chief executive Richard Cousins, his fiancée Emma Bowden, her 11-year-old daughter Heather, and Mr Cousins's sons Edward and William were among those who died. The other victim was the Canadian pilot, Gareth Morgan. Investigators say they should release a preliminary report on the crash within about 30 days.

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'Sedition' over, says Iranian general

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has said "enemies" involved in anti-government protests over the last few days have been defeated. The violence has resulted in 21 deaths, as demonstrations have widened from focusing on economic hardships and corruption into more general dissatisfaction with the country's rulers. Maj Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari announced that "sedition" had been overcome. But the Reuters news agency is reporting fresh protests after nightfall on Wednesday in the city of Malayer.

Do office queen bees exist?

BBC Reality Check

Instead of acting as mentors could successful female bosses be pulling up the ladder behind them because they perceive other women as a threat? This is the theory known as queen bee syndrome. First defined by psychologists at the University of Michigan in 1973, queen bee syndrome describes a woman in a position of authority in a male-dominated environment who treats subordinates more critically if they are female.

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What the papers say

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Details from the book about Donald Trump's White House are in many of the papers. The Times leads with the claims that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair warned the US president that UK intelligence may have spied on his aides during the election, which Mr Blair denies. The Daily Telegraph describes criticism of Mr Trump's team by former adviser Steve Bannon as "vicious". Meanwhile, the Daily Mail quotes a study suggesting children as young as 10 are addicted to social media as a source of self-worth. And the Sun leads on criticisms of Royal Mail by a Conservative MP for not printing stamps to mark Brexit, while doing so to celebrate the TV show Game of Thrones.

Daily digest

'Serious security flaws' Rush to fix computer chip problems

Storm Eleanor After disruption to UK, high winds batter northern Europe

Farming subsidies Payments to stay at same level for five years after Brexit, Gove promises

Royal wedding Council leader calls for begging crackdown in lead-up to Windsor celebrations

If you see one thing today

The fashion sense of Charles II

If you listen to one thing today

The world's first elected female head of state

If you read one thing today

Image copyright Archiv für Zeitgeschichte, ETH Zurich

Is this Switzerland's Schindler?

Lookahead

Today UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling is in Turkey to discuss civil and defence aerospace contracts.

10:00 Five nominees are announced for Bafta's EE Rising Star Award for actors. Last year's winner was Spider-Man star Tom Holland.

On this day

1958 New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary reaches the South Pole - the first overland explorer to do so since Captain Robert F Scott's expedition in 1912.

From elsewhere

A home for fishermen's orphaned sons offers hope (Washington Post)

Japan's endless search for modernity (The Atlantic)

A blazing summer seared into memory (Sydney Morning Herald)

The 280-mile walk that made Bach who he was (Spectator)