Pompeo lands in Riyadh for Khashoggi talks ... Asylum seekers in limbo at US-Mexican border ... Rembrandt work to be restored in public

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with Tuesday’s headlines. If you’d like to receive this briefing by email, sign up here.

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Top story: Bill Gates ‘heartbroken’ by Microsoft co-founder’s death

Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975 and went on to spend his considerable fortune on philanthropy and his varied personal passions, died on Monday aged 65.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Paul Allen and Bill Gates in 1981. Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex/Shutterstock

Gates said he was “heartbroken” at the passing of his childhood friend, who had been suffering from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. An avid sports fan, Allen owned the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks won their only Super Bowl in 2014, under his stewardship.

– Giving back. Allen contributed more than $2bn across a spectrum of philanthropic interests, including ocean health, elephant conservation, homelessness and scientific research.

– Sunken ships. He also funded several successful expeditions in search of US and Japanese warships sunk during the war in the Pacific.

Pompeo arrives in Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi crisis talks

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mike Pompeo talking with Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir in Riyadh. Photograph: Leah Millis/AP

Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, has landed in Riyadh for talks with King Salman over the suspected murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared during a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago. Pompeo’s visit began amid reports the Saudis would at last acknowledge that the Washington Post columnist was indeed killed at the consulate.

– MBS missing. The powerful Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, whom Khashoggi criticised, was noticeable by his absence from the talks, though Pompeo was due to have dinner with him later on Tuesday.

– ‘Rogue killers’. Donald Trump, whose administration has previously embraced Bin Salman, suggested on Monday that Khashoggi could have been murdered by “rogue killers”.

Asylum-seekers live in limbo under ‘zero tolerance’ policy

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Guatemalan asylum-seeker Ruben Prado waiting at the border in June. Photograph: David J Phillip/AP

In day two of our Zero Tolerance series, the Guardian uncovers more of the dreadful human impact of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policy. Patrick Timmons finds asylum seekers trapped in limbo at the US-Mexican border, with neither country willing to accept them. And Margaret Katcher reports on how undocumented survivors of violence and rape have had their path to a US visa blocked by the “zero tolerance” policy.

Rembrandt masterpiece to be restored as the world watches

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Photograph: Peter Dejong/AP

One of the world’s most celebrated paintings is to undergo restoration in public at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, with art lovers invited to watch the process in person or via live stream. The Night Watch, painted by Rembrandt at the height of the Dutch golden age in 1642, is the best-known work in the museum’s collection, visited by 2 million people every year.

– Dutch master. The painting’s full title is Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq. It was commissioned by Cocq, the leader of Amsterdam’s civil guard.

– Paint box. A clear glass chamber is being built to enclose the conservators as they work on the painting, which was last restored in 1975, following a knife attack by a Dutch teacher.

Crib sheet

– A coven of witches has announced plans to place a hex on supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh in a ceremony at an occult bookstore in New York.

– Cannabis-using Canadians are preparing to navigate a set of complex new rules and regulations when the country becomes the second in the world to legalise recreational marijuana on Wednesday.

– The creators of Facebook accounts that fell victim to the firm’s recent purge of more than 800 “inauthentic” political pages say they were unfairly targeted.

– A defamation suit brought by the adult film actor Stormy Daniels against Donald Trump has been dismissed by a federal judge.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Global swarming: is the genetically modified honeybee on the way? Photograph: Guardian Design/Getty Images/iStockphoto

‘Frankenbees’: the dangers of building a better bee

Despite the best efforts of environmentalists and the EU, the European honeybee population is still in a slump. But, writes Bernhard Warner, many beekeepers are horrified by the latest proposed solution: genetically modified bees.

How America’s year of major hurricanes unfolded

From Harvey to Matthew to Michael, North America has faced a series of devastating hurricanes in the past 12 months, forcing urgent discussions over disaster preparedness and the future threat from climate change. Oliver Milman recaps a record year.

Is our obsession with true crime turning nasty?

As the hit documentary Making a Murderer returns for a second season on Netflix, Arwa Mahdawi wonders whether the increasing taste for handsomely produced true crime stories is merely an excuse to exploit private tragedy.

Why two old, centrist white men could hold the keys to the Senate

With Democratic hopes of reclaiming the US Senate in November beginning to fade, the midterms may come down to two veteran Democrats fighting for seats in deep red states: Joe Manchin in West Virginia and Phil Bredesen in Tennessee. Ben Jacobs reports.

Opinion

A year after the murder of Malta’s leading investigative journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia – whose reporting pointed to corruption at the highest levels of the Maltese government – not a single politician has been questioned in the case. Margaret Atwood joins the international calls for justice.

When a journalist is murdered, all of society suffers. We lose our right to know, to speak, to learn.

Sport

Can LeBron walk on water with the Lakers? Will the Warriors strike gold again? Our writers make their predictions for the coming NBA season.

England claimed a rare victory over Spain on Spanish turf on Monday night, with Raheem Stirling breaking his cold streak to score two goals in the 3-2 Uefa Nations League win.

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