2026/08/16 Daily Edition

Exclusive: Campaigners say millions are missing out on key rights including sick pay and protection against unfair dismissal Andy Burnham is being urged to protect 4 million gig economy workers by prosecuting companies that use widespread “bogus” self-employment practices to deny people their rights. As the prime minister fleshes out his agenda, the Fabian Society and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have warned that millions of workers are missing out on key statutory rights including parental leave, redundancy pay and protection against unfair dismissal...

Firefighters in southwestern France are continuing to battle a wildfire that has burned 1,700 hectares of forest in the Landes region. The blaze has stopped spreading but remains out of control, with 550 firefighters, military personnel and six water-bombing aircraft working to contain it and allow evacuated residents to return home.

Israel's transfer of West Bank policing to civilian forces cements de facto annexation and empowers settler militias.

Nurses collapsing, builders with heatstroke, bus drivers in cabs that reach 44C. The new PM wanted to spend the summer talking about the cost of living – he should change his plans I don’t think I have ever written before about a British strike directly related to the climate emergency. But that’s exactly what began late last week in north London, with a zeitgeisty connection to Andy Burnham’s fixation on buses: picket lines outside depots and massed walkouts, while the temperatures in the relevant parts of the capital and its suburbs hovered at about 34C (93F). Last Friday, more than 1,500 drivers employed by the transport giant Arriva began a planned run of 26 stoppages through to October, affecting bus routes spread between London and Essex. Everything is being led by the union Unite, whose recent grievances include alleged company union-busting and assaults by the public on staff. But the fundamental basis of the dispute is at the heart of the national condition: the near-impossibility for millions of people of working through another insanely hot summer. John Harris is a Guardian columnist..

A Hamas delegation began a meeting with Egypt's spy chief on Sunday to discuss ways to advance the implementation of a post-war plan for Gaza, an official from the Palestinian group told AFP.

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben speaks to Wall Street Journal business reporter Theo Francis about refunds some businesses are getting on the billions of dollars they've paid on President Trump's tariffs.

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben speaks with Kevin Book of ClearView Energy about the United States' dwindling oil reserves as they hit the lowest level seen in more than four decades.

As wildfires rage across Europe and Britain swelters through its hottest summer on record, literary fiction has a vital role to play in capturing the severe consequences of climate crisis Earlier this summer, I travelled through Europe on a book tour. Everywhere I went, the heat broke records. In Italy, Germany and Spain, I sought refuge from the afternoon sun in air-conditioned hotels. In normally temperate Zurich, it averaged 37 degrees. I jumped into the Limmat for relief. On my final day in Warsaw, Poland had never been hotter – one of 14 countries to hit a historic high. In June, when I left to return to the US, Europe was scorching. At the end of July, as I write this, it is burning. Since the heatwaves began, there have been more than 10,000 excess deaths. Yet for many, myself included, the high temperatures brought nothing more than inconvenience – uncomfortable commutes, heat rash, less time outdoors. This seems to be a defining feature of today’s climate crisis; deadly for some, banal for others. Even when the world is on fire, it somehow doesn’t feel like an emergency for everyone...

The 55.6-metre (182ft) concrete figure is head-and-shoulders above Rio de Jaineiro's Christ the Redeemer.

Millions of Iranians struggle to make ends meet as war with US devastates the economy and sends prices soaring.

At least 11 people killed in one day of Israeli attacks despite truce extension brokered by US in June.

Housing secretary says developers will have to prove there’s no way to save pub, as she prepares planning shakeup All pubs will get protection from being turned into housing or offices under a shakeup of planning laws in England to be presented by Angela Rayner this week. The housing secretary will publish a new national planning policy framework aimed at loosening planning laws even further to help build 3m homes by the end of the parliament...

But to capture its benefits, the continent needs to develop an effective, common maritime policy.

Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia Sunday, killing at least six people in one of Kyiv's largest aerial attacks of the war.

As parts of Beth Chatto’s visionary drought-tolerant gardens in Essex turn brown, the head gardener offers advice Her debut book, in 1978, was titled The Dry Garden. Since then, the late Beth Chatto created a rich legacy with her expertise as a plantswoman and by setting up one of the oldest unwatered public gardens in England. Once a car park but transformed in 1992 into an experiment to test what plants were drought-tolerant in Essex, the driest county in the UK, Chatto’s gravel gardens south of Clacton are being visibly tested this year...

The Egyptian forward, who joined the Turkish club on a free transfer, came off the bench early in the second half.

Several Palestinian homes in the West Bank village of Qusra have been under siege for a week, with families trapped inside as supplies dwindle and water and electricity are cut off. Settlers have continued their attacks openly, despite the presence of Israeli soldiers and growing international pressure on Israel.

Hawaii has narrowly avoided a historic direct hit from Hurricane Lala, but torrential rain and hurricane-force winds are still causing widespread flooding, mudslides and power outages across the islands. Authorities are urging residents to shelter in place as the storm moves west and dangerous conditions persist.

Belgium is battling what has been described as the country's largest wildfire in modern history, forcing hundreds of villagers to evacuate near the German border. Firefighters, EU reinforcements and local farmers are working to contain the blaze as shifting winds and extreme heat complicate efforts.

Italian authorities have recovered three paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse, worth more than €9 million, months after they were stolen from a private museum near Parma. Five Moldovan suspects have been detained, with police saying the gang had carefully planned the heist and was equipped to disable the museum's security systems.

Morocco has deployed heavy security around the border city of Fnideq after false social media rumours claimed the border to Spain's Ceuta enclave would open. Hundreds of migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, have gathered nearby, raising fears of another mass crossing just weeks after tens of thousands attempted to enter the Spanish territory.

Malawi and Cameroon will face off this Sunday in Rabat at 9pm Paris time in the final of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations. A surprising matchup, with each nation hoping to secure the first continental title in its history.

Chadian opposition leader and former Prime Minister Succès Masra, who founded the opposition party Les Transformateurs and challenged President Mahamat Idriss Déby in the 2024 presidential election, was jailed for more than a year after being sentenced to 20 years in 2025. Pardoned by Déby on August 14, he has now spoken to France 24 about Chad's political situation and his future.

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon have killed at least 11 people, in what local authorities describe as the largest escalation since the June agreement. Speaking to FRANCE 24, Pierre Catoire, an emergency doctor working in the area, described a deteriorating humanitarian situation, saying some doctors lost their homes in Saturday’s strikes and healthcare workers are increasingly worried that hospitals could also be targeted. He said the most common injuries are blast and compression wounds, while doctors are also concerned about infections, as well as the long-term psychological impact on civilians.

Molendotech will collate data from daily tests that detect E coli and other bacteria amid reports of swimmers falling ill A UK university spinout behind a rapid bacterial water testing kit is planning to launch live water quality maps, as scores of beachgoers report falling ill after swimming. Molendotech, a spinout from the University of Plymouth, sells a portable test that detects E coli and other bacteria in water and delivers results on the spot, without waiting for days to get laboratory results...

Live video captures panic as gunman opens fire at park in Kentucky

Assessment that has found a jump in UK productivity emphasises urgent need to appoint a national statistician Keen new chancellor, John Healey, responded to last week’s better-than-expected economic news by claiming the government is “bringing hope back”. Growth did not plunge as feared after Donald Trump unleashed war on Iran – with GDP expanding at a pretty decent 0.4% in the second quarter. But what if we should have held on to a bit more hope all along? A new assessment of the UK’s recent productivity suggests this critical measure of the country’s economic strength may have been systematically underestimated...

A shooting at a U.S. Consulate has thrust a neighborhood with a troubled past into the center of an emerging criminal phenomenon: young guns for hire as gig workers in the underworld economy.

Artem Murdid, his mother and his girlfriend are accused of terrorism. They say they did nothing wrong.

As part of its expansionist approach to the Western Hemisphere, the Trump administration is trying to reassert its dominance, one U.S. visa at a time.

Novak Djokovic struggled in the hot conditions and was ousted from Cincinnati Open in his first match since Wimbledon.

Wynd Kaufman, 69, chained and locked the front doors of OpenAI’s headquarters last year with members of StopAI An activist who blocked the entrance to one of the world’s biggest AI companies is believed to have become the first person jailed for protesting against artificial intelligence as supporters dub her the “Rosa Parks of AI risk”. Wynd Kaufman, 69, surrendered herself on Friday to authorities in San Francisco. She was found guilty by a jury for her role in an action last year that saw members of the group StopAI chain and lock the front doors of OpenAI’s headquarters in protest against the pursuit of artificial superintelligence...

The United States and Iran are poised to blow past a deadline they had set themselves to broker terms on peace and Iran’s nuclear program.

At least 47 people have been killed after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia, triggering hundreds of aftershocks, widespread destruction and landslides. Rescue operations are underway as remote villages remain difficult to reach and the death toll is expected to rise.

US swim superstar Katie Ledecky was upstaged by Lani Pallister, while Kate Douglass made history twice in 50m freestyle.

Bus carrying Polish tourists overturns, killing 12 people and injuring 10 others on the M3 motorway near Mezokeresztes.

A three-year-old girl and a 75-year-old man have been pulled alive from the rubble days after Colombia’s earthquake.

Twelve people have been killed after a Polish tourist bus crashed in Hungary.

Civil war and military rule have weakened Myanmar’s health care system, while heavy monsoon rains have increased the risk of waterborne disease.

A Spanish fighter jet on Sunday shot down a drone that breached Romania's airspace near the border with Ukraine and Moldova, Romania's defence ministry said, in the latest incident to highlight the challenges facing NATO states bordering Ukraine.

Messi's record from the penalty spot is poor by his sky-high standards, including missing twice at the 2026 World Cup.

Half of Europe’s land is experiencing drought with rivers running low from the Danube to the Rhine.

Firefighters in Belgium battled one of the country's worst-ever wildfires late on Saturday as a rapidly growing blaze scorched more than 3,000 hectares of land. The EU scrambled helicopters and water bombers as hundreds of villagers were under evacuation orders.

Australia will begin buying back guns in November, almost a year after a shooting at Sydney's Bondi killed 15 people.

Hundreds of homes and public buildings have been severely damaged with at least 51 people killed.

Firefighters are tackling a fire at a market in Kyiv, while Moscow reports that a warehouse was hit.

Jared Cooney Horvath argues that educational technology undermines how children learn and develop Jared Cooney Horvath is on a mission. In the wake of global campaigns for smartphone bans in schools and social media restrictions for under-16s, the neuroscientist wants to raise the alarm about educational technology in classrooms. A former teacher, Horvath believes the use of screens and digital tools in schools is undermining how children learn and develop. “This might be one of the hardest truths our generation has to face,” he writes in his book, The Digital Delusion...

Low river levels have stalled German freight traffic and forced closure of nuclear plants in France Across Europe this scorching summer, workers have struggled in the heat as wildfires raged and critical infrastructure was shut down. Here we look at the impact of the heatwaves on several major economies across mainland Europe – with the help of analysis from economists at the Dutch bank Triodos, who estimate a total of €180bn could be wiped off EU GDP by the heatwaves. In the UK, the green thinktank Verdant said this week that the heat had already cost the economy £4.4bn by the end of July...

Student unrest sweeps India, Portugal and Mexico as grievances and pressure for good grades in tough job market collide Families with teenagers in education know the private, hidden pain of exam season. But this year, what might have been a summer of quiet family anxiety has erupted in several countries into public unrest. Exam-related turmoil has led to mass student protests in Mexico after nearly 60,000 university applicants were forced to resit tests amid suspected cheating, while Portugal’s disastrous attempt to digitise school exam marking sparked the country’s worst education crisis in decades...

Fraudsters use pictures posted on Instagram or Facebook to create emails seeking bank account details You are on a short break in Porto and post some pictures of your family on Instagram or Facebook. With a small section of the Douro river in the background, you think it could have been taken anywhere. A few days later, you get a text saying that your card was compromised. “We detected unusual activity while you were travelling in Porto – please verify immediately,” says the message...

The cyclists' union is "filled with anger" after the death of British rider Finlay Tarling during the Volta a Portugal race.

Four horses with little record of success suddenly won in the US. A seemingly coordinated betting operation across London did too – and now racing authorities want answers To understand why horse racing on both sides of the pond has been gripped by the Fair Hill Five over the past week, start with a basic principle of betting: when two unlikely horses win in back-to-back races, a wager correctly picking both should pay off handsomely. Last Sunday at New Jersey’s Monmouth Park, it did not. The sequence began with The Great Amira, a 17-1 longshot who went from finishing last in her previous two starts to winning wire to wire by nine and a half lengths. Her trainer then won the very next race with Tepeyac, who went off at about 4-1, and the meager Daily Double payout for picking both outsiders suggested the exact combination had been unusually well backed. Later that afternoon, two more longshots linked to the same Maryland training base were surprise winners at Saratoga...

Islam Makhachev records 17th UFC victory in a row in his welterweight title defeat of Ian Machado Garry.

Dozens more are seriously injured after the tourist bus overturned in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Thousands of evacuees on Indonesia's Flores island began receiving aid on Sunday after a 7.7-magnitude quake killed 48 people, injured dozens and damaged hundreds of houses and buildings. Some 5,000 people fled their homes and in some areas people were left without electricity and telecommunications.

Fire has always be part of life on the grasslands, but has grown worse due to rising temperatures and severe droughts. In response, people have turned to their nomadic heritage to help tackle the blazes Sodnomjamts Damchaabadgar squats in a shallow, rocky depression, working quietly with his hands. Inches above the rim of the pit, the wind whips across the grasslands. But in the marginal shelter of the dig site the air remains calm – essential for delicate operations. Damchaabadgar, a research fellow at the Institute of Archaeology at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, has erected a ger, a traditional nomad’s tent, nearby, which serves as his sleeping quarters and a field station. Two gers stand alone against the vast openness of the steppe in Eastern Mongolia. The ger – often called a yurt outside Mongolia – is a round dwelling designed to be assembled or disassembled in a matter of hours..

In Gaza the struggle to find lighters can mean the difference between cooking a meal or going to bed hungry.

Despite a genocide and multiple wars, analysts say the issues determining October’s elections fall far closer to home.

Two women were killed and two babies were injured when torrential rain sparked a flood and a landslide in rural northwestern Spain on Saturday, authorities said. The flood comes after weeks of heatwaves and wildfires in the country.

Latest reading on Wednesday likely to frame scale of challenge for new PM to ease pressures on households amid Iran war fallout British households are facing a renewed cost of living squeeze, with official figures expected to show this week that soaring energy bills drove up inflation in July to close to 3%. As the Iran war continues to send shock waves through global energy markets, economists predict the surge in UK gas and electricity bills last month will push Britain’s headline inflation rate to 2.9%...