2026/08/26 Daily Edition

Three men were convicted for their part in driving in a convoy from Liverpool to Berwyn SSSI.

Artifacts from Byblos have been on display in Paris in a show that highlights how modern-day conflict in the Middle East imperils the cultural heritage of the region.

The Delta system pulls together battlefield data to identify targets, creating a miles-wide “kill zone.” The technology is credited with helping to cut Russian advances to a near standstill.

The two countries said they would create a temporary shipping lane and clear mines in the waterway. Global oil prices dipped after the joint announcement.

ONS data shows rising toll of climate crisis, with officials warning this summer on track to set further records More than 40,000 extra people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected in normal temperatures, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday. The figures do not include this summer, when England has sweltered under a succession of heatwaves and is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths. The UK Health Security Agency announced on 30 July that an estimated 2,877 people had died in the May and June heatwaves alone. The total is almost double the figure for the whole summer in 2025...

Former Air France stewardess Sophie Lainault has had her cancer recognised as an occupational disease.

Death toll of nine likely to rise as floods and mudslide sweep away houses, roads, bridges and power projects Torrential floods ⁠in the Himalayan border areas of ⁠Nepal and in ​Tibet in China have killed at least nine people and destroyed roads, bridges and power projects, as authorities in both countries braced for more casualties. Houses and roads were swept away ⁠in Nepal while officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties” with some missing in the county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a land crossing between the neighbours...

The Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe held ​talks with Russian intelligence officials during his visit to ​Moscow ‌on ⁠Tuesday but did not ‌meet President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin ⁠said on Wednesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov ​said it was also too ​early to say ​whether such contacts ​between the two countries' intelligence ​agencies could help improve US-Russia relations.

The United States urged the UN Security Council on Monday to expand an arms embargo on the Sudanese region of Darfur to cover all of Sudan, saying the nation's brutal conflict risks regional expansion. The Darfur arms embargo, in place for over two decades, is set to expire on September 12, 2026 if a new agreement is not reached. Expanding the restrictions to all of Sudan would require a vote of the UN Security Council, with veto-holding Russia warning on Monday against new measures that would impact the Sudanese army.

The integration of the Kurdish administration within Syria's state institutions is now complete, Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said on Thursday, marking the end of the Kurds' long-held dream of autonomy. The announcement follows months of negotiations between the two sides after a January agreement that called for the full integration of Kurdish civil and military institutions into the state -- a move Washington deemed "historic". FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Andrew Hilliar tells us more.

Sought-after midfielder Bouaddi joins the Premier League club on a five-year deal worth $117 million.

Five other airport workers are also receiving treatment following the rare outbreak at German's busiest airport.

Canada has announced it plans to hit the U.S. with countertariffs that mirror its actions "dollar for dollar." And, remembering the legacy of country star and icon Dolly Parton, who died at 80.

The public health emergencies in 2022 and 2024 saw the virus reported in 145 countries, but in the new cases children appear particularly affected A fresh outbreak of mpox in Guinea Bissau – the country’s first – means the virus formerly known as monkey pox is back in the headlines. So what has changed? Since 2022, there have been almost 190,000 lab-confirmed cases of mpox reported worldwide in 145 countries. Before then, outbreaks of mpox tended to be relatively small and in a handful of African countries, where the viral infection was known to be endemic...

In effort to prime chatbots to make pro-Israel arguments the site published 124 reports, over 560,000 words in nine days, Guardian analysis shows A pro-Israel messaging website badged with the name of a thinktank that does not exist has published more than half a million words in nine days, built on a commercial platform that promises to optimize content so that AI chatbots will cite it. The site gives Israel’s position on subjects including the torture of Palestinian prisoners, Israeli war crimes and whether Israel has deliberately starved Palestinians in Gaza, all presented as neutral research...

Participants, often in vulnerable states, have little recourse if mistreated or injured.

Jack Klein takes heat readings, gives fans to overheated passengers and lugs big jugs of water into the stations On a recent August day in the subterranean furnace of New York City’s subway, one bearded, curly haired man was studying his phone for different reasons than the other wilting passengers – to track the soaring temperatures and ponder how underground train stations can cool down in an era of climate crisis. Jack Klein, a 31-year-old construction site manager, has in the past two years taken it upon himself to become a sort of guerrilla subway heat operative, sticking teardrop-shaped thermometers to steel beams in seven of the hottest Manhattan stations and posting social media videos of the hades-like summer temperatures that commuters have to endure...

Microsoft co-founder also expresses concern governments not prepared for technology’s impact in 6,000-word essay Business live – latest updates Bill Gates has called for “human reserved” jobs in certain sectors to prevent AI replacing them, and expressed concern that governments are not prepared for the impact the technology will have. In a 6,000 word essay titled The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make are critical, the billionaire Microsoft co-founder likened the need to spare roles from digital encroachment to how nature reserves operate to protect the environment...

Experts say Japanese lawmakers' visit to Beijing signals an attempt by Japan to defrost its worst China rift in decades.

Claudius Schaefer insists the influence of the FIFA president has 'grown from year to year'.

The Chinese president will attend the SCO summit in Bishkek, before travelling to Egypt.

Dolly Parton, the country music icon whose soaring vibrato vocals, poignant songwriting and sparkling costumes defined her rise from a log cabin in the Tennessee mountains to the height of stardom and acclaim, has died in Nashville. She was 80 years old. Known for her curvy physique, massive blond wigs and skin-tight outfits that served her self-deprecating wit, she was among the most beloved personalities in music and beyond — the rare celebrity whose appeal transcended generations, geography and politics. FRANCE 24's Culture Editor Eve Jackson tells us more.

In the remote Kenyan village of Cheporor, a recent discovery of gold sent thousands of amateur prospectors rushing to the area in recent weeks. The village now looks like a bustling small town, but is lacking the infrastructure to house these arrivals, posing security challenges.

Israeli forces took control of a vocational training centre run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in an east Jerusalem suburb on Tuesday, in its latest move targeting the beleaguered organisation. The raid drew condemnation from UN chief Antonio Guterres, and followed warnings by UNRWA that Israeli authorities were threatening its Qalandia training centre. The centre was established in 1952 and offers vocational training to around 340 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank every year, according to UNRWA.

Americans of all stripes united to grieve the death of country music legend Dolly Parton, offering a rare moment of agreement as presidents of both parties joined entertainment and business giants in paying her tribute. The singer, who was 80, was long heralded as one of the few celebrities that everybody loved. President Donald Trump announced the lowering of flags across the United States for a week, calling Parton's death a "true loss for millions of people."

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that the perpetrators of hybrid attacks against Germany, such as an explosive drone found at an airport, "will pay for them," without naming a target. NATO member Germany – a major supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russia – has long accused Moscow of targeting it with a campaign of hybrid attacks, espionage and sabotage. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Philip Turle tells us more.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led armed group, will integrate with the country’s military, in a sign of its weakened role.

The Kurdish-led ⁠Syrian Democratic Forces ​has been dissolved, the armed militant group's leader said on ​Tuesday, a major step in the integration plan agreed on earlier this year with the Islamist-led government in Damascus. The government and the group, which helped defeat the Islamic State with U.S. backing and held parts ​of northern and eastern Syria, agreed in January ‌to a phased integration of Kurdish fighters into the state, a plan Washington called a "historic milestone".

In DR Congo, the Ebola outbreak continues with at least 5,514 cases recorded, and 2,462 deaths. With fears the virus will reach the capital Kinshasa, authorities have begun stepping up patrols along the Congo River, as FRANCE 24’s team on the ground reports.

One million children in Afghanistan are suffering from life-threatening malnutrition in a worsening crisis sweeping the country, the United Nations warned Tuesday. Across Afghanistan, 3.7 million children suffer from wasting, meaning they are acutely malnourished, the UN children's agency UNICEF said. Afghanistan has endured repeated hunger emergencies in recent decades as it has struggled through civil war and other crises.

Researchers say benefits of two-dose Shingrix vaccine could be comparable to taking daily blood pressure medication The current shingles vaccine appears to significantly lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to scientists who say it could help prevent thousands of deaths each year. The research, based on records of 70,000 people in the US, found that those who had received Shingrix had a 12% lower risk of a cardiovascular diagnosis in the following three and a half years. If confirmed, this benefit would be comparable to taking a daily blood pressure-lowering medication, the scientists said...

Zvi Sukkot's actions have drawn widespread condemnation, including from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A Facebook post by Libyan Airlines announced the death of Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah and expressed the company's condolences to his family.

The quiet-spoken Canadian prime minister has spoken unutterable truths Is it perhaps a sign of the times that Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, has become a thrilling orator? A sober banker, he speaks calmly, without many vocal inflections. We expect Canadians to be somewhat flat; even a little boring, and yet Carney has already delivered two remarkable speeches in 2026, and the year is far from over. The first, at Davos, described a “rupture in the world order”, and “the end of a pleasant fiction”. By that, he meant that the world could no longer depend on the United States to lead the Pax Americana that has largely kept the peace since the end of the second world war...

The flood in Rasuwa - an area north of Kathmandu bordering Tibet - is feared to have swept away villages.

Sanctions and the US-Israel war on Iran have left the country's people unable to keep pace with rising prices.

Tambov Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov says Wildberries ‌logistics centre "completely ​destroyed by fire".

The government is under pressure to support billpayers when domestic energy prices predicted to rise further.

Authorities say casualties could be much higher, alongside heavier losses of property.

The price of electricity is soaring in the summer heat, when fans and air conditioners are working nonstop. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, people are having their power cut when they can't pay their bills.

US Air Force refuelling planes caused anxiety in Bezmer. While their departure has brought relief, tensions persist.

In Ghana, a grassroots movement is championing nutritious, homegrown, climate-resilient produce, rather than western imports After three years at catering school, Abiro Wisdom was certain of one thing – he did not want to go into catering. At least not the route that he might be expected to take. His course at Accra Technical University had prepared students for working in international hotels, focusing on French, Italian and Mexican cuisine. The nutritious, homegrown food that Wisdom had eaten while growing up in Bolgatanga, northern Ghana, did not feature at all. “I didn’t see myself there,” he says of the big chain hotels. “I felt I wouldn’t be myself working there – I wouldn’t be able to talk about the food from where I come from.”..

Greater Thameslink Railway says these upgrades are part of the wider renationalisation plans.

Business owners are preparing for financial pain after the latest U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed. But many Canadians are embracing a show of resistance.

The number of arrests last month showed a rise of roughly 15 percent over June's count.

Scottish champions Celtic thumped by LASK as Sabah knock out Hapoel Beer-Sheva with a late goal in the qualifying round.

Celtic lose to Lask in qualifier from 4-0 up on aggregate ‘That’s my team and that’s my responsibility,’ O’Neill says Martin O’Neill has admitted Celtic’s Champions League qualifying collapse from 4-0 up ranks as one of his most painful nights as the club’s manager. Celtic held a four-goal aggregate lead against Lask on Tuesday when Callum McGregor scored in the 21st minute in Austria, building on a 3-0 first-leg victory, and appeared to be cruising into the league stage. But they lost 5-1 on the night after extra time to go out in extraordinary fashion...

The cost of the fuel, used in farm machinery, trucks and other heavy equipment, has surged because of the war in Iran and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.

UN chief Guterres said the attack underscores 'the alarming security situation in Haiti' due to gangs.

Lindsey Graham's sister up for election to his US Senate seat

Thousands in Japan are pulling this historic castle back into place

Uber and Wayve had said they would start trips ‘later this summer’ but launch now looks unlikely this year The rollout of robotaxis on the streets of London is unlikely to happen this year, as regulatory and technical hurdles push back the ambitious schedule set out by the UK government. Only weeks ago Uber and London-based Wayve were granted the first minicab licences in the capital to allow them to offer self-driving taxi rides to paying customers – but with a human safety driver in place, for now – and said they would start trips “later this summer” before a full public launch...

US President Donald Trump scored two badly needed victories Tuesday as his preferred candidates in South Carolina and Oklahoma won the Republican runoffs. The sweep interrupts a bruising run for Trump, whose endorsed candidates had lost 10 Republican contests this cycle, including six in the previous two weeks, as his own approval ratings fell sharply.

Throughout her lifetime, Dolly Parton worked to build a better world, while becoming inextricable from the American imagination. She was embraced by fans across gender, race and class, embodying a mythology typically inaccessible to even the most influential historical figures. It is one of her greatest legacies: to take what you have and help someone with it.

The 23-year-old joins from Swiss champions Young Boys on a five-year deal, making him the third Algerian in the league.

Growing doubts about the US security umbrella are forcing new strategic calculations across the region.

Every country tells a different economic story. It's time to test your knowledge of the big ideas we've collected on our World Tour. Eight questions stand between you and your Summer School diploma.

UN rights office spokesperson slams Israeli threat of forced evacuations from Gaza communities over kite flying.

A US Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed after an unplanned landing in Colorado.

Video shows the moment a Palestinian boy was shot during an Israeli raid on a UN facility in occupied East Jerusalem.