2026/08/14 Daily Edition

The Total Eclipse of the Heart star went global, but villagers felt they all knew her personally.

Bond villain, Begbie, male stripper … the Trainspotting and Full Monty star has played everyone from Sherlock Holmes to Rumpelstiltskin. As his latest directorial project premieres in Edinburgh, he is here to answer your questions You’ll know Robert Carlyle for many things – getting his kit off in The Full Monty, being skewered through the heart with a plutonium rod as Bond villain Renard in The World Is Not Enough, playing Sherlock Holmes in Watson, joining Line of Duty as a gruff specialist firearms officer, and appearing opposite David Tennant and Toby Jones in ITV’s The Hack. He also appeared as Adolf Hitler in Hitler: The Rise of Evil and (uncredited) as John Lennon in Yesterday; as a cannibalistic soldier in Ravenous; Rumplestiltskin in Once Upon a Time; and the British prime minister in Cobra. But it’s hard to ever fully dissociate him from the fantastic moustache he sports as violent, pint-swilling psychopath Francis Begbie in Trainspotting – a moustache that is now, unbelievably, 30 years old and heading back to cinemas in a new 4K restoration from 21 August...

theSpace Triplex, Edinburgh Four skaters enter into feral competition in this darkly funny yet flimsily plotted play about female teenhood The title refers to the figure-skating legend and Olympian who, in the noughties, captivated the US with her performances on ice, winning a total of five world championships. Here, the four teen skaters trying to make it big worship her, quite literally, invoking her for strength on and off the ice. It is a great central idea with moments of frozen action as each girl sends a wish, a fear or prayer up to a godlike, absent Kwan in their most anxious or exhilarated moments. Christie Spessard’s play has verve, capturing the extremes of adolescent life and competitive sport. Energetically directed by Ryan Pangracs, it is full of humour with some zingers and movement that contains a true sense of gliding. At theSpace Triplex, Edinburgh, until 29 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews..

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh This one-man comic play, told at breakneck speed and featuring West Side Story-like dance-numbers, is highly entertaining It’s as if Joseph Morpurgo had never been away. The Londoner made a splash on the fringe a decade ago with several high-concept comedy shows, of which thrift-shop source material and multimedia presentation were standout features. After a nine-year absence, the same is true of Highlander 70, a one-man comic play built exclusively around an American high-school yearbook salvaged from half a century ago. Drawing on that book’s text and (mainly) innocent black-and-white photographs of wholesome teens, Morpurgo cobbles together a breakneck tale of dorky David Moon’s last day of school. He must navigate assembly, the big game, graduation – and then he’s free. “What could possibly go wrong?” In Morpurgo’s telling, plenty, as our juvenile hero (face painted grey, the better to resemble his monochrome original) embarks on a quest to recover his missing diary, which contains mortifying evidence of a crush on schoolmate Beth. Standing in his way, the school’s martinet principal, its bully Roscoe Peltz and his crew of unconvincing tough guys, and a dance-hall full of dangerously intoxicated adolescents. At Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, until 30 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews..

Five people have died after heavy rain and flooding in Japan, with thousands more left stranded.

⚽ All the latest football news, comment and previews ⚽ This weekend’s fixtures | Read Football Daily | Mail Tom First up, big news in the murky world of football politics from Matt Hughes this morning:..

Fighter jets ​on a NATO air defence mission shot down ​a drone that entered the airspace of Latvia, a NATO and European Union member, early Friday, Latvia's armed forces ​said.

Known as the Kanyeleng, they have transformed their experience of child loss through a tradition of music.

They may have sold Robbie Ure, their top scorer, to Sevilla, but the team from Uppsala have good reason to believe they can finish the job For most teams, losing a forward with 15 goals in 15 games midway through the season, amid a historic title chase, might be cause for panic. Sirius, the runaway Allsvenskan leaders, are not most teams. “I’m actually really confident,” says Henrik Castegren, the club captain, when asked about the team’s ability to adapt after Robbie Ure’s move to Sevilla for a club-record fee, reported to be £5.6m plus add-ons. “I’m really happy for Robbie, but also quite sad because I enjoyed playing with him a lot. I think he was by far the best player in this league for the first six months [of the season] … but, with that being said, I’m feeling quite comfortable with us moving forward.”..

England’s men start their post-Bazball future next week with a three-Test series against Pakistan. Cricket correspondent Ali Martin will be online at 2pm BST on Friday 14 August to answer your questions about this new era for the team – and anything else you’d like to discuss Ask a question: log in or Next week Joe Root returns as England captain under new coach Stephen Fleming as the men’s team look to turn their summer around after defeat to New Zealand earlier in the summer as Ben Stokes dramatically announced his retirement and before Brendon McCullum was relieved of his duties. Ali Martin will be here at 2pm BST on Friday 14 August to discuss the new shape of the team. Post any questions you might have below about England, the men and women’s Hundred season or anything else you’d like to ask our cricket correspondent. Ask a question: log in or.

South Africa and Ghana claim Africa's two FIFA Intercontinental Playoff spots as Nigeria and Ivory Coast go out.

Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, is youngest ever British women’s champion while Supratit Banerjee, 12, becomes England’s youngest ever international master A new generation took over at the top of British chess on Sunday, when a trio of youthful talents demonstrated their skills on a national stage. Shreyas Royal, 17, of Dartford, Kent, became the youngest ever British champion, breaking Michael Adams’s 1989 record by two months and underlining his status as an emerging world-class talent. Bodhana Sivanandan, aged 11, and Supratit Banerjee, 12, also delivered memorable performances. First prize at the University of Warwick, Coventry, was £10,000...

The club will be led by two joint head coaches, Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen, during their Championship campaign The last thing the Championship needs is another spying scandal, so when a lorry emblazoned with KGB parked up alongside Lincoln City’s training ground on Tuesday lunchtime there was laughter as staff pondered whether the Soviet Union were examining their set pieces. It shows the relaxed atmosphere at one of the second tier’s newest clubs, one that has witnessed a summer of change yet maintained continuity by appointing joint head coaches. Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen have replaced Michael Skubala, who led the Imps to 103 points and promotion to this level for the first time in 66 years before leaving for Bristol City. It was a symbiotic appointment because while the former assistants were devising a sales pitch to the club’s hierarchy, the wheels were already in motion to promote from within. Their plan is to banish English football’s memories of Liverpool’s ill-fated pairing of Roy Evans and Gérard Houllier. The duo are doing final preparations for Saturday’s season opener at the Riverside against Middlesbrough, who have spent over £20m on summer signings – Lincoln have spent a quarter of that across their 142-year history, indicating the task ahead...

Tourists have prioritised winning at home with spin in recent times, leaving their attack leaning heavily on Abbas’s guile for England tour When Pakistan last arrived in England for a Test tour, in the Covid-bubble summer of 2020, they brought along the future. Shaheen Shah Afridi, 20, was the towering left-armer set for world domination. Naseem Shah, 17, was armed with a Test hat-trick and a velvety action, the right arm whipping the ball down at 90mph. They looked the part, carrying the grand traditions of Pakistani fast bowling, a reminder of the golden names that came before: Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis. Mohammad Abbas joined Shaheen and Naseem in that seam attack as the odd man out, 30 and medium-fast, a first-class specialist, the accountant in a movie-star lineup. But six years on Abbas is the great survivor, the only one of that triumvirate named in Pakistan’s squad for their three-Test series in England starting next week. Shaheen and Naseem have suffered for their art – the former has struggled with the red ball since a knee injury in 2022 – and fallen victim to the tragicomic mismanagement of the Pakistan Cricket Board...

Four people taken to hospital in Stourbridge, West Midlands with 500 people evacuated in southwest France Four taken to hospital and homes damaged in West Midlands fires UK prime minister Andy Burnham also responded to the wildfire in West Midlands, saying his thoughts are with everyone affected. “I’m in touch with local leaders like [West Midlands Mayor] Richard Parker and will be speaking to emergency services on the ground as they continue their response. Our firefighters are working in incredibly difficult conditions and putting themselves at risk to keep others safe. A huge thank you to them and everyone supporting the effort tonight.” “Please stay safe and follow their advice.”..

Prichard Colon suffered neurological damage that required emergency surgery following a boxing bout in 2015.

OFC’s 11 votes could prove crucial in Fifa election Stance shows continued backing from smaller nations The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has declared their support for Gianni Infantino following demands for the Fifa president to resign from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation in a development that further highlights world football’s civil war. After a meeting of its executive committee in Fiji on Wednesday, the OFC issued a statement on Friday praising “the progress achieved over the last decade” by Fifa in its first public comments since the abandoned World Cup sell-off plan emerged this month...

Cartoon royalty were lined for a live-action toon hybrid Coyote vs Acme. Then it was shelved as a tax write-off. But its cast, crew and fans fought for its release. Three years later it’s set to be a surprise summer hit Back in 2020, Dave Green started making his new film, Coyote vs Acme. Mixing live action with animation, it would be an unconventional courtroom drama that pitched actor Will Forte against a host of 2D Looney Tunes characters – including cartoon royalty such as Foghorn Leghorn, Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny. This, Green believed, would weave a heady spell for cinemagoers of all ages. Six years later, his film is finally about to be released. When Green first called “Action!”, his dark hair was not yet flecked liberally with grey. It is now. “We’ve held on to a lot of hope these past few years,” Green says from his home in Los Angeles, “and we never really let go of it.”..

Muse Betty Freeman sits at the centre of this sun-drenched book about art, eccentricity, and the spirit of Los Angeles David Hockney was 29 years old when he came to Betty Freeman’s house to photograph her swimming pool. Scouting locations for the pool paintings that would make him a household name, he took preparatory snaps of his partner, Peter Schlesinger, emerging naked from the water. And yet something about his aloof and quietly eccentric host, who dusted the hunting trophies while a handsome young man padded around her patio in the altogether, intrigued the artist. So he asked whether he might photograph her too, and she agreed. Completed a year later, Beverly Hills Housewife (1966/7) shows a beautiful woman standing outside a beautiful house. The scene is lit by an unbroken sun, her blond bob is undisturbed by any breeze, a lush fern sets off her popping pink dress. She is surrounded by the symbols of mid-century American prosperity: a chair by Le Corbusier, a tasteful modernist sculpture. We don’t need the title to know the place and time, because Hockney’s paintings have come to define them in our imagination: shimmering water and scattered light, bright colours and reflective surfaces, a clean and impassive contentment...

On their new album, Smith is subverting their singer-songwriter roots to tell a queer love story. They talk about their shifting fanbase, the nasty undercurrents of fame – and finding sanctuary in New York City Sam Smith logs on to our video call with the username “Lily of the Valley”, the May-born singer’s birth flower. It sets a serene tone. They’re in Guadalajara, Mexico, for the latest stop of a residency tour, titled To Be Free, in support of their fifth studio album. Instead of Smith’s usual jet-lagged arena itinerary, this lower-key excursion stops at smaller venues in only six cities and sheds the ostentatious theatricality of their last outing. On stage on their last tour, “I was flailing around on a massive gold bum and had, like, seven costume changes,” Smith says with a chuckle. It’s intimacy they’re after now, the ability to satisfy their “craving to look at people again”, which matches the romantic feeling of their fifth album, Hazel Eyes. But for Smith, whose genre-shifting stardom has been accompanied by harsh controversies, it’s also a chance to observe who’s still in their corner: “There’s some wonderful people that have stayed, but it’s a completely different room than it was with In the Lonely Hour,” their 2014 debut...

Doctors and nurses describe rise in fall injuries and other heat-related problems on top of stifling working conditions “The big thing A&E doctors are seeing during extreme heat now is falls in the elderly,” says Dr Adrian Boyle, an A&E consultant at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge. “During this summer’s five heatwaves I’ve seen elderly people get light-headed and dizzy and fall down a whole flight of stairs and break multiple bones, purely because of the heat. The last fall down stairs because of the heat resulted in multiple broken ribs, a wrist and her lower leg...

Friday is delivering another day of near record heat to the continent, but toward the end of the weekend temperatures could retreat to seasonal averages.

Our once-mild climate is increasingly extreme – and how we talk about it is now another front in the culture wars In this fragmented but supposedly mild country, watching and talking about the weather forecast is meant to be a reassuring, unifying activity. Collectively, we have created and maintained a national climate narrative of small disappointments and pleasures. The first weather forecaster to appear on British TV, George Cowling, made his debut on the BBC in January 1954, predicting that “tomorrow would be rather windy”, but “a good day to hang out the washing”. For most of the 72 years since, such brief, carefully calibrated broadcasts have provided people from Aberdeen to Penzance with practical information, small talk and minor grumbles about essentially the same situation: living in a country where the weather is constantly changing, in a paradoxically unchanging way. Yet like the traditional British climate, that common weather culture may now be evaporating. “Met Office considers issuing red ‘extreme heat warning’ across Britain while nation enjoys ‘incredible summer’,” said the headline above the forecast on the GB News website on Monday, caught between terror and delight at the latest heatwave. As the climate crisis has affected this country in more and more unmistakable but uneven ways, TV weather forecasters have increasingly struggled to find the right language to describe this transformation’s daily consequences. Their struggle influences and exemplifies that of many Britons to understand, and work out what we think about, the apparent end of the weather patterns we expected to shape our whole lives. Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist..

Authorities evacuated 525 people from the village of Luglon on Friday as wildfire tore through pine forests in southwestern France, burning 1,100 hectares and advancing to within a few kilometres of the village centre amid an unprecedented wildfire season.

The anti-immigrant Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage beat comic opponent Count Binface on Friday as was expected, regaining the seat in Parliament he quit a month ago to trigger the widely mocked by-election in the seaside town of Clacton.

US firm tightens oversight of automatic licence-plate readers after reports of misuse by police officers.

The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln.

Rolling coverage of the latest and economic news, as US sells 30-year bonds at highest borrowing costs since 2001 Gennadiy Goldberg, head of US rates strategy at TD Securities, agrees that the rise in US borrowing costs is “problematic” for the Trump Treasury, adding (via the FT): “They have to fund the government at more expensive levels.” “Investors are being asked to absorb a growing supply of government debt globally at a time when deficits remain large, inflation uncertainty persists.” “If investors continue demanding greater compensation for inflation and fiscal risks, long-term yields could move higher and away from 5% even if Treasury auctions remain well covered.” 10am BST: Eurozone flash GDP report for Q2 1.30pm BST: US retail sales for July 3pm BST: University of Michigan’s US consumer confidence index..

Cancellation of the conference, in which around 700 participants were to take part, including scholars from China, has stoked a controversy over whether the Nepal government has succumbed to pressure from Beijing, which has in recent years steadily expanded its influence in Kathmandu

Justice J.B. Pardiwala asked what was wrong with the government reaching out to give “some succour to the families who have suffered such a tragedy”

The three deceased were reportedly playing at thier uncle's house when he hacked them to death

Hit by heatwaves and low rainfall, food producers are finding novel solutions to help crops and cattle survive Ponds and collection tanks, drought-resistant crops and a certain rodent. As the climate crisis brings more extreme weather to Britain, farmers are experimenting with new tactics to tackle drought – and flooding. The string of heatwaves and drought conditions experienced across vast swathes of Britain this summer has brought a series of challenges for food producers, particularly those growing crops more suited to the UK’s traditional climate...

The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln. FRANCE 24's Monte Francis brings us more with this report.

Paris Saint-Germain have reached an agreement with Barcelona to sign Ferran Torres, according to reports in French and Spanish outlets on Thursday evening. The forward, who scored the match-winner for Spain in the World Cup final, is expected to sign with the European champions for around €50 million.

B.Y. Raghavendra said that if the ban order was not withdrawn immediately, the BJP would hit the streets to protest against the government

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform U.K., won the parliamentary by-election in Clacton. Count Binface, his costumed main rival, came second.

From chefs to paramedics, workers tell the Guardian how they are coping and unions outline the changes needed in the workplace In the sweltering kitchen of the Plimsoll pub in north London, the head chef, Joshua Swinney, has a frozen tea towel wrapped around his neck to combat the heat. As temperatures exceeded 35C (95F) in the capital, workers who were not lucky enough to be in air-conditioned offices sweltered in the heat...

Most owners would consider installing aircon as heatwaves lead buyers to focus on ability to stay cool, Rightmove says Searches for homes for sale in the UK with air conditioning have more than doubled this summer as heatwaves push staying cool up the list of priorities for homebuyers, alongside nearness to good schools and transport links. In the week of the UK’s fifth heatwave, in which temperatures in parts of England hit 38C, the property website Rightmove said the heat was influencing how Britons thought about their homes, with more people paying attention to how comfortable a property would be during hotter weather...

The storm cut power to more than 20,000 households and left 7,000 people stranded at Tokyo's Narita airport.

After Maduro’s removal, US influence in Venezuela soared, but experts say Washington may still have to ‘own’ Venezuela.

Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull spoke to candidate for MP, Count Binface, as votes were counted in Clacton.

Environmental NGO Greenpeace warns that spill has rapidly expanded to 1,300 square kilometres, threatening ecosystems.

Record rainfall in Chiba claims lives as more than 22,000 households without power on busy Bon Buddhist holiday week.

Historic Taybeh, a Palestinian Christian town in the occupied West Bank, targeted by settlers in coordinated attacks.

More than 2,600 villages have been flooded in Assam this year, in a climate disaster made worse by uncontrolled deforestation and mining in the region It was a normal July morning in the Indian state of Assam. After finishing her chores and eating breakfast, Gitali Phukon, a resident of the town of Gaurisagar, left her home to buy groceries. After two days of rainfall that had made the unpaved roads muddy and slippery, the sun was shining. But less than an hour later, she returned home to a nightmare: the Mitong River, which runs through the town, was overflowing and water was gushing through the streets...

The Supreme Court has reinforced safeguards against arbitrary arrest, holding that an arrested person must be informed of the grounds of arrest; constitutional protections under Articles 21 and 22, along with judicial guidelines, seek to balance the state’s power to arrest with the individual’s right to personal liberty and dignity

The largest reservoir in the United States, located on the border of Arizona and Nevada, just hit a record low.

Mr. Kim has ignored the U.S. and South Korea's offers to resume diplomacy and has focussed on taking steps to bolster his nuclear arsenal since his summitry with U.S. President Donald Trump broke down in 2019

Evacuation orders issued for 400,000 as torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture as flooding risks remain high despite rainfall easing At least four people died in eastern Japan after “unprecedented” heavy rain that left nearly 7,000 stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport, and forced thousands to take refuge in government buildings. The torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Thursday night, triggering landslide warnings and power outages. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people in Chiba and other areas, and about 45,000 homes lost power, as 115mm of rain fell hourly, approximately the same amount usually recorded for the whole month of August...

Brazil has not yet decided whether it will proceed with retaliatory measures, but commits to defending its position.

Blaze fuelled by hot, dry and windy conditions comes within metres of West Kalimantan rehabilitation centre Orangutans rescued from wildlife traffickers face a new threat from the record number of fires that have broken out in Indonesia in recent weeks. Flames have come within metres of an animal rehabilitation centre in West Kalimantan as hot, dry and windy conditions have been amplified by a powerful El Niño and the human-driven climate crisis...

Taking El Obeid would allow the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces to consolidate its hold on western Sudan, a significant strategic goal.

An oil slick from the tanker the Caroline Bezengi has reached Oman’s coastline weeks after the vessel ran aground.

Malian army says the soldiers were held prisoner by Tuareg and al-Qaeda-linked armed groups in the northern region.

The result could offer an early signal of shifting alliances and voter sentiment before the presidential race.

A new US report said China had moved goods through nations with lower tariffs to dodge higher levies.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened Thursday to subject Iran to economic isolation "like the world has never seen before", adding that new measures are expected next week. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

Bodycam video captured the moment lightning struck just metres from South Dakota Highway Patrol officers.

Donald Trump says the law stopping him from seeking a third presidential term is ‘very strong’.

The government of Delcy Rodriguez held its first talks with part of Venezuela's opposition. But what will they achieve?