2026/08/19 Daily Edition

Oregon was the first state to establish a legalized and regulated psilocybin industry. Since then, thousands have tried magic mushrooms. Here is the latest data from the state's real-life experiment.

Sonia Bellina's body was "abandoned" after "a murder of rare savagery", the family's lawyer says.

Israeli plans to build on the area east of Jerusalem - which would divide the occupied West Bank in two - have long been internationally condemned.

The phone’s artificial intelligence can order groceries, book tables and take photos on a user’s behalf. But is it something people really want?

Arturo Béjar, former Meta safety engineer, tells jury tech company was aware of products’ potential harm to children Meta has taken a “don’t ask, don’t tell” strategy when it comes to the safety of children on its social media platforms, according to a whistleblower who testified during a landmark trial against the company on Tuesday. He is slated to continue his testimony on Wednesday. Arturo Béjar, a former Meta safety engineer, told the jury that the company was aware of the harm its products caused children, which included its recommendations pushing content from sexual predators and violent and graphic images. He said he repeatedly raised the issue to various Facebook and Instagram executives but that they did little to resolve it...

A guide for asylum seekers published by the Home Office has told them not to rape or sexually harass people, including partners and children.

US interventions in Iran and beyond reveal a recurring pattern of regime changes, with high human and financial costs.

India hold off Pakistan 5-3 to finish second with six points as England top Pool D with nine points from three wins.

The Israeli military has announced a criminal investigation into the killing that shook the world.

Australian mushroom killer Erin Patterson's lawyers said Wednesday the jury was not properly sequestered in her trial as they sought to overturn her conviction in a triple-murder case that sparked a worldwide media frenzy. The 51-year-old was found guilty last year of murdering her husband's parents and an elderly aunt in 2023 by serving them a beef Wellington lunch laced with lethal death cap mushrooms.

Annette Young is pleased to welcome Joost Hiltermann, Special Adviser for MENA and training for the International Crisis Group. He sees the Palestinian Authority’s financial crisis not as an approaching emergency, but as an ongoing process of institutional and economic erosion. The PA has already lost much of its capacity to provide essential services, pay public-sector salaries in full, maintain infrastructure, and sustain education and health care. All the while, settlement expansion, settler violence and Israeli restrictions are occurring alongside financial measures that are threatening Palestinian institutions and economic life.

FRANCE 24 spent an evening with unaccompanied minors who are sleeping rough in Ceuta but refusing to return home. Amid the fear, the cold and the long wait for help, these young Moroccan migrants shared their stories.

Chidimma Adetshina is challenging efforts to have her deported from South Africa, which she says is her home.

On Tuesday, Libya's national oil corporation said the country needs around 40 billion dollars in investment to make the most of its energy resources. The country's unreliable access to energy is feeding into instability stemming from fighting between rival factions and political rivalries. Members of one of the country's governments, the one internationally recognised and led by PM Abdulhamid Dbeibah met for crisis talks in Tunisia this week, as FRANCE 24’s Lilia Blaise reports.

A massive cyberattack in France has exposed the personal information of some 700,000 people. After hackers breached the government database for taxes, it has now been revealed that other government sites have also been hacked.

Israel’s military on Wednesday announced its first criminal investigations into troop conduct in the war in Gaza, focusing on the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family and of 15 Palestinian paramedics. The military said it would not launch criminal investigations into three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders. FRANCE 24's Noga Tarnopolsky reports from Jerusalem.

Moderna and Merck say the experimental vaccine prevented the return and spread of the cancer in high-risk melanoma patients.

Comedians used to post footage of their performances to build a following. Now, some are finding that comic strip-style panels with captions pack a bigger punch.

Blockbuster market debuts by two technology companies show how Beijing is turning to local investors to finance its A.I. ambitions and reduce reliance on Wall Street.

While the government cites financial constraints for not being able to effect a biannual hike of 15%, the striking doctors argue that they received it during the pandemic, and are now insisting on 30% rise

Turkey firmly rejected on Wednesday ⁠what it called "untenable ​allegations" by Israel regarding its military position in Syria, after Israel bombed a Syrian air base near ​the Turkish border and said Syria was on the verge of permitting Turkish troops to deploy there. Israel carried out airstrikes against the Abu al-Duhur base near Aleppo on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from Turkey ​and criticism from a ‌US envoy who called the attack an "unnecessary escalation". FRANCE 24's Jasper Mortimer reports from Ankara, Turkey.

Palestinian news outlets reported a man with the number ‘44’ written on his forehead following a raid in Qabatiya.

A girl is taken to hospital in critical condition in what PM Burnham calls a 'terrible family tragedy'.

Yields, at recent highs this week, dropped after treasury’s vow to ‘provide greater liquidity support’ to bond market The US treasury is doubling its buyback of government debt in an effort to balance out the bond market and counterbalance investor concern over high inflation. The yield rate on 10-year, 20-year and 30-year treasury notes all hit 20-year highs this week, with the 30-year treasury yield rising to its highest rate since 2007. The rapid rise was concerning news for borrowers as major loans, including mortgages, are backed by treasuries...

Nigeria on Wednesday kicked off campaigns for the presidential election scheduled in January, with incumbent President Bola Tinubu seeking reelection against a fractured opposition. Africa's most populous country will hold the election against a backdrop of worsening economic and security crises that have caused anger among voters against Tinubu's government.

Israel on Tuesday accused Turkey of posing a threat by preparing to send troops to a base in Syria, which was hit in a strike condemned by the United States which blamed its ally. The strike marks extraordinary defiance by Israel of the United States, which has sought to support Syria's new government led by a former jihadist allied with Turkey.

Times reporters who cover the war, diplomacy, energy and the broader Middle East are joining our “Ask a Correspondent” feature as the conflict nears the six-month mark. Let us know what’s on your mind.

After years of war and destruction, Syrians are trying to reclaim their heritage – not least in the ancient city of Palmyra, where night-time tours are now being organised. As FRANCE 24’s Dana Alboz reports, it is a way of reclaiming the country’s history, but also of reviving a site that fell into the hands of the Islamic State group in 2015, where the group committed one of its worst atrocities.

Ukraine's lawmakers approved the country's new defence minister on Wednesday, a month after a reshuffle that triggered a public backlash after the dismissal of his popular predecessor Mykhailo Fedorov. The decision comes a day after Fedorov in a video statement called for a move towards elections that have been put off because of the Russian invasion. FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze reports from Kyiv, Ukraine.

Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies announced Wednesday that they are investigating senior officials in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, a day after the country’s recently fired defence minister called for national elections despite the ongoing fight against Russia’s invasion. The political drama was an unwelcome distraction for Zelenskyy as Ukraine’s war with its bigger neighbor extends into its fifth year. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Philip Turle tells us more.

Will Arsenal repeat, could Man Utd win, what about Liverpool? Breaking down the top clubs’ chances for 2026-27 season.

The Normandy beach town of Trouville-sur-Mer is a two-hour train ride from Paris, but feels a world away, with English Channel breezes and the sound of seagulls screeching through the cobbled streets.

A judge's ruling on Tuesday removed the last remaining block on Trump officials' efforts to cancel Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians.

Without Africans, no music is possible on this planet, says the 66-year-old musical icon from Benin.

The US chain said it received a $994 million pre-tax reimbursement, which resulted in its second quarter operating income rising to $2.6bn.

As a backlash grows over data centers, more local officials are facing recall elections for their support of the computing sites.

People say they’ve been secretly filmed in their own home, at concerts and at work. Are the wildly popular smartglasses the final nail in the coffin of personal privacy? “I’ve had one person who told me that their intentions were creepy,” a man tells me over a video call, on condition of anonymity. He’s based in Los Angeles, and while we speak, he eats what appears to be tuna directly out of the can. “He said: ‘I go to strip clubs, and I want to record the strippers … Normally I put my phone in my chest pocket, but the glasses are more convenient.’” The man I’m talking to runs a business called Ghost Metas. He’s one of hundreds of vendors, easily discoverable online, who specialise in disabling the flashing LED light embedded in Meta’s smartglasses that blinks when wearers capture photos, videos and audio. After Ghost Metas disables the LED, it’s impossible for someone to know they’re being filmed...

The digital bank said it was "rolling out a fix and moving quickly" to get the service working again

Initial findings from an RAIB investigation show an "irregularity" at the site near Lewes.

Loudoun County, Va., has gotten rich hosting more than 250 data centers, allowing it to cut property taxes. Other locales are taking note, even as a nationwide backlash over data centers grows.

Recycling system in Cambridgeshire that could save thousands of litres a day is deemed not in line with rules The largest water reuse system in the UK, which could save thousands of litres of water a day for people living in one of the driest regions of the country, is not allowed to be switched on because of drinking water regulations. As water supplies in England reach critical levels, the Guardian can reveal that a model water recycling system within an urban housing development in Cambridgeshire has not been switched on since it was made ready in 2021...

If elected, Guyanese politician, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett wants to prioritise climate issues and restore the United Nations as a force for good Don’t already get The Long Wave in your inbox? Today, I’m taking over the Long Wave to bring you one of those stories. This summer, Guyanese ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett has made history as the first Caribbean candidate for the prestigious post of United Nations secretary general. If successful, she will be the first woman to hold the position too. I spoke to her about the value of the UN, and what a Caribbean leader could bring to the role. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett started life in the remote Indigenous village of Santa Rosa, in the interior of the Caribbean and South American nation of Guyana...

Two high-profile cases that had spurred international condemnation of the country’s conduct in Gaza were transferred to the military police. Such investigations have rarely led to convictions.

In 2022, Rory Kennedy exposed the aviation safety scandal in which 346 people died – but since then, a plane door has blown out mid-flight and more whistleblowers have come to the fore. Will anyone pay for this? It is unfortunate that a sequel was required to Rory Kennedy’s 2022 documentary feature, which alleged that the profit-driven culture at a US aeronautics firm led to two plane crashes and the deaths of 346 people. But given the lack of corporate accountability evident at the end of Downfall: The Case Against Boeing – and the apparent complicity of regulatory body the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – it was inevitable. Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing opens with a rundown of a significant development in the story: the mysterious death in March 2024 of John Barnett, a former Boeing employee turned whistleblower. Barnett, a contributor in the first film, was in the middle of a deposition when he was found dead at his hotel, which investigators ruled a suicide. Is this another casualty to add to Boeing’s mounting death toll? And is the alarming aviation safety scandal – supposedly resolved in November 2020, when the FAA lifted its grounding order on the Boeing 737 Max – in fact still ongoing?..

Young people are calling for justice after a former Communist Party official killed a teenager in a car crash. The government’s response has been surprising.

Off the coast of Dakar, Goree Island is home to the Senegal’s first elite boarding school for girls. The Mariama Ba School of Excellence encourages its students to challenge what has traditionally been expected of girls across the predominantly Muslim West African nation. The school has a 100% completion rate, and admits 35 students, whose tuition and board are completely state-funded, each school year.

Network Rail and Southern owner GTR apologise after investigators reveal picture of possible heat-buckled track Rail operators have apologised after a report into last Thursday’s train derailment in East Sussex found a “track geometry irregularity” on the approach to the site where the train derailed on the hottest day of the year so far. An interim report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said CCTV images showed the fault existed before the incident occurred near Lewes, injuring 30 people...

Palestinian detainees were marked with numbers during a mass Israeli arrest campaign in Qabatiya.

Jose Mourinho is back for a second spell at Real Madrid who, he says, didn't need Barcelona's new signing Rodri.

St Paul’s Cathedral, London Elemental roars and full-frontal vocal expressivity as the UFO focuses on a mission bigger than a good performance There were climaxes in Verdi’s Requiem that would surely have registered on a seismometer as they gathered into a thrillingly elemental roar before dissipating as a series of echoed convulsions into the vast dome above. There were choral susurrations that swept over the orchestra, exhortations delivered in crisp consonants. There were sinuous woodwind lines that took a few seconds to wend their way out of the orchestral clamour, and vocal soloists – Natalya Romaniw, Natalie Lewis, René Barbera and Jongmin Park – who cut instantly through it in a shock of full-frontal expressivity from the very front of the stage. Four years after making their UK debut with their second ever performance, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra is now on its fifth international summer tour. Founded by Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson in response to the Russian invasion in February 2022, this orchestra has always had a mission bigger than producing a good performance. And what counts as “good” is always shaped by circumstance, after all. As the numerous speeches that preceded the music stressed, the UFO tour as “cultural ambassadors”, their work centred on hope and resilience, solidarity and justice at what one Ukrainian diplomat called “probably the most difficult moment in our modern history”. One of the orchestra’s percussionists is away at the frontline – so too is the son of composer Bohdana Frolyak, whose Gloria opened the concert, its smudgy chromaticism weighted with sadness...

The UAE announced the embargo, accusing Iran of launching missiles into its territory.

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem reports on what’s happening in a so-called ‘pilot zone’ in southern Lebanon.

Hamas, breakaway Fatah faction consider unified electoral list to challenge Mahmoud Abbas as political landscape shifts.

It is extremely difficult for trucks to get through the Israeli blockade, let alone for drivers to reach aid warehouses.

Manufacturer, which makes Jaecoo and Omoda brands, will open facility in Bedfordshire in autumn The Chinese carmaker behind the irreverently nicknamed “Temu Range Rover” is plotting further UK expansion with a major research and development centre in England. Chery, which makes the Jaecoo and Omoda car brands, said the launch of a new R&D site was “the next step in our long-term plan” for Britain as it also moves towards manufacturing its cars in the UK...

The man is alleged to have been one of the scuba divers who planted explosives on the pipelines in 2022.

The ICC has expressed concern over the Trump administration's campaign.

After reports that Iran targeted the UAE with two ballistic missiles, the Emirates has suspended trade with Tehran.

Rescue operations ongoing after mine collapse kills dozens in the Central African Republic near the Cameroon border.

It is not yet clear what caused the two vehicles to crash into each other in the early hours of Wednesday morning.