2026/08/25 Daily Edition

Torrential downpours will affect parts of England and Wales, delivering some of the wettest weather in several weeks

The polar bear image taken by Audun Rikardsen was among the 'highly commended' entries in this year's competition.

After last year's massive power failure Spanish and Portuguese firms are buying battery back ups.

The price of Bitcoin has risen in August but is still far below its peak almost a year ago - and companies are refitting their mines.

From baby banks to supermarket deals, there are many ways parents can ease the back-to-school burden.

Millions of households will be affected by an increase in the energy price cap by regulator Ofgem.

Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo, deported to Honduras, is latest military spouse to face removal amid Trump 2.0 The wife of an active-duty US soldier was deported on Monday to her native Honduras, according to her family and the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo is at least the seventh spouse or parent of an active-duty US soldier to be deported under the immigration crackdown during Donald Trump’s second presidency...

The social media giant is being sued by four states who allege it designed Facebook and Instagram to hook kids — and lied to the public about the risks.

The United States threatened sanctions for any country or entity that engages with Iran’s gold, digital assets, aviation, shipping and tech industries. Here’s why that matters.

Adam Mosseri testified in a case brought by states that claim the Meta-owned app created addictive features to hook young users.

Owner ByteDance ordered to erase illegally obtained child data in Brazil as crackdown on tech giants intensifies.

RSPB is considering measures it can take to improve resilience in the wake of a five week long fire

One scientist says there are thousands of sites across the UK that need investigating.

The amended law was an attempt by state Republicans to crack down on unproven claims of voting by noncitizens.

Celtic threw away a four-goal lead in Austria as they missed out on the Champions League for the second year running. The Scottish champions looked to be cruising into the league stage when Callum McGregor put them 4-0 up on aggregate against Lask with a 21st-minute deflected strike. However, they went on to endure one of their all-time European lows with a 5-1 defeat in Linz delivering a £20million-plus blow...

Oil prices fell for a second straight day on Tuesday as traders saw a reduced risk of renewed US military strikes on Iran after Washington instead threatened broader economic sanctions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared an “economic D-Day” against Tehran but gave no timeline or details on countries that could face penalties.

The US-led board overseeing the Gaza peace plan warned Hamas on Tuesday to halt militant activity, including flying kites, after Israel threatened retaliatory strikes. A Board of Peace official said Israel must also respect the ceasefire, limiting military action to responses to “genuine and imminent threats.”

Tariffs on Canada, threats against Iran’s partners and bond market intervention show a president weaponising US power while making Americans poorer at home Three moves in the last week have exposed the limits of Donald Trump’s economic bullying. The US slapped 50% tariffs on another $20bn of Canadian goods – then threatened the same rate on the cars, trucks, parts and steel that America Inc depends on. On Monday, the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, menaced Iran’s trading partners with exclusion from the US financial network, hoping that coercion can deliver what months of war have not. And as the costs of war, tariffs and pro-billionaire tax cuts helped send US bond yields higher, the Treasury stepped in to tame long-term rates. These are not contradictory policies but a gamble: that US economic power can be repeatedly weaponised without reducing others’ willingness to depend on it. The Trump administration’s “D-day” sanctions are potentially the most consequential because they expose the scaffolding of American financial power. While markets shrugged off the immediate threat, that calculation might change were the US to target a major Chinese refinery or bank. Such an escalation could spark a trade war with Beijing. The US has leverage. But China has pressure points – especially farmers in Republican states – that make using it costly. In the long run, there is a price to pay. Nations hold one another’s currencies partly because they trust the political relationship. Mr Trump is testing what happens when they don’t...

Health Ministry warns of 'complete collapse of the basic necessities of life' in Gaza as Israel's attacks continue.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces will dissolve as an independent military force under an agreement with Damascus

Congress members call on Marco Rubio to 'use every tool' at his disposal to secure release of 20-year-old Sama Safi.

Major Jason Watson faces charges under rarely-used military law prohibiting criticism of the US president.

In tonight's programme, the United States on Monday called for beefed-up U.N. sanctions against the warring parties in Sudan. Also, Muslims celebrate Mawlid across Africa but festivities were cancelled in Tigray because of recent drone attacks. And finally in the Kenyan village of Cheporor, a recent discovery of gold sent thousands of amateur prospectors rushing to the area.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a rescue operation on Tuesday for victims of 600-person mass abduction.

Department of Justice lawyers told a federal judge the venue 'cannot survive' without the US president's help.

Youth-led movement plans more demonstrations for next month.

Some leaders of the health movement are challenging a pillar of the president’s energy agenda.

Police used water cannons and batons as a few thousand protesters broke through security barricades in Bihar's capital.

Israeli forces told Palestinian American Lou Ridi he cannot walk on his own land in Qusra, while settlers roam freely.

More than 1,300 people were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Virginia and Maryland.

Omani FM hopes the two countries will 'soon announce' a joint temporary transit corridor through the Strait of Hormuz.

US singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist Dolly Parton died on Tuesday at the age of 80, her family said in a statement. The prolific songwriter released 49 studio albums, more than 100 compilation and collorabative albums, won 10 Grammys and 13 Academy of Country Music awards, and racked up 26 number one country hits during her six decades in the American music scene.

Mazloum Abdi, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday announced the dissolution of the group in a televised speech from the presidential palace in Damascus. The dissolution followed the integration of SDF fighters into the Syrian military, said Abdi, and represented a major victory for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The footage shows dozens of men, women and children sitting in a forest.

The operation included the arrest of 39 people in South Africa for romance and investment scams.

Beneath the wig and rhinestones, Parton was the genius behind strings of classic songs from Jolene to I Will Always Love You that continue to inspire new artists Dolly Parton, US country star, actor and philanthropist, dies aged 80 Dolly Parton dies aged 80 – latest updates Share your tributes and memories of Dolly Parton In December 1977, Dolly Parton submitted to an interview with ABC Television’s Barbara Walters, much against her friends’ advice. Walters was not noted for her deep love and understanding of country music. She was a notoriously tough cookie, a Boston-born, Sarah Lawrence-educated journalist who had battled scarcely believable sexism to become the first female co-host of an American news programme. The month before she met Parton, she had interviewed Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin while they were working out the terms of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty. It was all a very long way from Parton’s world, and the interview has something of the anthropological exercise about it. Walters looks aghast as Parton shows her around her tour bus, her collection of wigs and her “hand-washable and wrinkle-free” stage outfits (“you really like this? To me, it seems like horror”), and sits impassively as Parton sings Coat of Many Colours to her: an impressive feat, given the song’s saga of rural poverty and homespun wisdom is the mother of all tearjerkers from an artist never averse to yanking at her audience’s heartstrings. She asks Parton if people from “where I come from” would call her a hillbilly; regards the singer’s outfit with a jaundiced eye and tells her “you don’t have to look like this”. And, most infamously, she enquires: “Do you ever feel that you’re a joke?”..

SDF commander campaigns for Kurdish language preservation after decade fighting the Islamic State.

Among those charged are two Super Micro employees and one from Nvidia, marking another flashpoint in US-China AI rivalry Taiwanese prosecutors charged nine people Monday, including one from Nvidia and two from Super Micro, for illegally exporting “high-end AI servers” to mainland China, adding another wave of turbulence in the AI ​​rivalry between China and the United States. Prosecutors said the servers involved were graphics processing units known as “B300,” which have been banned from sale to China...

A thriving ‘conflict economy’ is extracting minerals while the military and armed groups inflict abuse on civilians, according to a new report on the scale of recent violence in Myanmar.

Removal of US sanctions offers Syria a chance to fully rejoin the global financial system after years of isolation.

Gangs targeted a key community on the outskirts of the capital, raising fears about the gangs’ next move. The mayor said at least 25 people had been killed, but the U.N. put the death toll at 47.

The Republican Senate candidate announced the plan with a graphic X flagged as ‘Made with AI’ US politics live – latest updates Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the US Senate in Texas, has unveiled plans to tackle the “negative impact” of datacenters amid a growing backlash across the political spectrum. Paxton, endorsed by Donald Trump but facing a close contest against Democrat James Talarico, posted a “Texas first” datacenter plan on X with a graphic that the social media network flagged as “Made with AI”...

Customers give their verdicts as a Morrisons store becomes the first the UK to test trolleys that scan, weigh and tally costs Lancashire has been the site of many British innovations throughout history, from the spinning jenny, which transformed textile production, to the creation of jelly babies. Now it has welcomed another first: AI shopping trolleys...

Exclusive: Rules on special administration seen as potential ‘roadblock’ to reshaping how UK’s essential services are run Andy Burnham is considering ripping up the country’s insolvency laws to make it easier to bring key utilities such as Thames Water under public control. Sources have told the Guardian the prime minister is considering a range of options as he seeks ways of delivering on his promise to radically reshape the way Britain’s water and energy companies are run...

Israeli authorities have sparked another confrontation with the United Nations after seizing a UN facility in East Jerusalem and promising to close it down permanently.

Removal of decades-old designation offers major sanctions relief for Syria, aiming to boost post-war reconstruction.

Fatah and Dahlan's Democratic Reform hold talks in Alamein as fears grow over a potential opposition coalition.

Washington reportedly alerted Ukraine to refrain from strikes until delegation leaves Moscow, US media reports.

Gang leader threatens to kill hostages after attack in Kenscoff in which homes were also set alight ‘A massacre’: Haiti gangs carrying out mass killings At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 others kidnapped when armed men attacked a once peaceful community near Haiti’s capital at the weekend, the UN has said. A gang leader has threatened to kill the hostages if authorities kill any gang members as they try to secure the community of Kenscoff, nestled in the hills above Port-au-Prince...

European Commission says it is 'assessing' Spain's request after some 70,000 migrants surged into North African enclave.

The police fired water cannons at protesters in the state of Bihar, while the leaders of the ‘Cockroach’ student movement vowed to return to Delhi’s streets.

Survey indicates majority of Democrats in first six states to vote for 2028 nominee believe Israel committing genocide.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday ordered security agencies to conduct a rescue operation after the mass kidnapping of worshippers during an attack on a mosque in the north-central Niger State last week. Local authorities were still trying to verify the number of missing people, but local residents said roughly 600 women, children and elderly people had been abducted.

US judge rejects Maxwell’s claims that newly released Epstein files could help overturn her sex-trafficking convictions.

Cameroon midfielder joins EPL powerhouse for a fee understood to be worth up to 70 million pounds.

Videos showed Israeli troops standing by as Zvi Sukkot attacked the monument with a sledgehammer. The military said soldiers had stopped the demolition.

Government resilience campaign aims to ensure people can cope in a national disaster, in order to free resources for most vulnerable UK citizens will be told to stock up on tinned food and take steps to ensure they are prepared for national emergencies as part of a new government campaign to improve the nation’s resilience. The new campaign from the Cabinet Office will set out ways people can prepare for extreme weather events and potential attacks from hostile states, including stocking up on bottled water, sources told the Guardian...

After nearly two-weeks without power, Gary, Indiana residents and officials call for accountability, infrastructure improvements, and customer relief measures.

Ottawa’s ‘focused response’ to levies imposed by Donald Trump on Canadian products comes after trade talks collapsed last week US politics live – latest updates Canada has announced it will impose tariffs on a wide range of key American industries including cosmetics, dairy, wood products and outdoor equipment in the coming weeks, as it retaliates roughly “dollar for dollar” against levies imposed by the US. In a strong Canadian countermove to tariffs levied by Donald Trump, which took effect on Saturday after trade talks collapsed the day before, Canada’s finance and industry ministers on Tuesday called the measure a “focused response” to what they see as unfair trade practices...

Under the proposal, states would no longer need to provide public notice or solicit comments on air pollution permits for data centers and other projects.