Wednesday briefing: Where France’s €1.6bn plan to clean up the Seine for the Olympics went wrong

In today's newsletter: The government has spent 1.6bn improving the river, but an ancient sewage system and the climate are muddying the waters

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An ambitious project to clean up the River Seine has left French officials up to their eyes in it.

Israel-Gaza war | Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, has been targeted and killed in Tehran, the group said in a statement early on Wednesday morning. Iran's Revolutionary Guard confirmed the assassination, which was reported on Iranian state TV early on Wednesday morning, with analysts also claiming Israel killed Haniyeh, the Associated Press said.

UK news | Keir Starmer has said those who rioted in Southport on Tuesday night will feel the full force of the law" after police vehicles were set alight and missiles hurled at officers. It came after far-right protesters pelted police with glass bottles and bricks and attacked a mosque following a knife attack that killed three children and left five other children and two adults in critical condition.

Conservatives | Kemi Badenoch, the frontrunner to be the next Conservative party leader, has been accused of creating an intimidating atmosphere in the government department she used to run, with some colleagues describing it as toxic, the Guardian can reveal.

US election 2024 | Donald Trump has repeated his weekend remarks to Christian summit attendees that they would never need to vote again if he returns to the presidency in November.

Health | The hidden cost of rising workplace sickness in the UK has increased to more than 100bn a year, largely caused by a loss of productivity amid staggering" levels of presenteeism, a report warns.