2026 News Archive

Experts share the signs to look out for if you are worried about your porn use, and how to seek help.

Exclusive: anonymous flagging service says cases have surged, as watchdog says AI is making sexualised or ‘nudified’ content easier to produce Children in the UK have reported a surge in explicit deepfake images featuring their likenesses, as a safety watchdog warned AI is making such content easier to produce. The Report Remove service, which blocks intimate images from appearing online, said there had been a rapid increase in imagery that had been digitally manipulated or “faked” in some way, including with AI and nudification tools...

The remains of 56 people were found improperly stored and decomposing Thursday at a Chicago funeral home run by a couple who previously operated a crematory that was similarly shut down because of mishandled remains, authorities said.

Women in Gaza experienced nearly 4,000 miscarriages between January and June this year, according to a UN report that suggests that rate is more than three times higher than in the second half of 2025. Though it's not yet clear exactly what is behind the spike, a doctor in central Gaza says harsh living conditions as well as fear and anxiety are contributing factors.

Canada and the U.S. are shadowing two Chinese icebreakers operating in Arctic waters off Alaska, amid growing concern their scientific missions could also gather strategically valuable undersea data. Defence experts warn China’s expanding Arctic presence is testing Canada's already stretched military capabilities.

While U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Canada of allowing illegal drugs and traffickers across the border, the reality on the ground appears very different. CBC News recently spent two days with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in and around Detroit.

He complained of uneasiness upon arrival at Madurai Central Prison on Friday evening, after being in the custody of the CB-CID for three days while being questioned in connection with the case

A trip to watch a strokeplay exhibition by England’s restored captain serves as a reminder of what can be lost amid the demands of leadership My wife and I walked the kids down the hill to Edgbaston last Saturday afternoon, where our latest attempt at cricket indoctrination was the Birmingham Phoenix versus Welsh Fire game in the men’s Hundred. Though a one-sided defeat for the hosts – the Phoenix women at least got the win earlier in the day – it was decent enough, with the youngest (six) the only one to get restless before some tactical popcorn lifted spirits towards the back end of the game. The kindness of strangers meant she was happy regardless, having been gifted two foam meerkat paws and a giant red/orange Phoenix flag that looks as if she now supports some obscure separatist movement in the Balkans...

About 80,000 migrants cross the Morocco–Spain border at Ceuta, leading to at least 111 deaths.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 5.6 earthquake at 57 km WNW of Skwentna, Alaska. Significant events are those likely to have been felt or to have caused damage, and details are revised as more seismic data arrives.

At 22, Ramsey has already been on our screens for a decade, and nominated for every award going. So why do they find it strange to be called an actor? Bella Ramsey often feels more comfortable around older people. The actor, 22, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, has been working professionally since they were 11, when they got their first TV job as the child noblewoman Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones. For half of their life, they have been in adult environments, talking to adults, working with adults. Even so, the London cafe in which Ramsey has chosen to meet makes any retirement home look like a creche. It is full of old men with their dogs, popping in for a cup of tea and a morning chat. “It feels like it belongs in the Midlands. It feels a bit, like, shit and familiar,” says Ramsey, who grew up in the East Midlands and can say that with affection. Their curly hair is short, pushed back off their face, and they have a single gold hoop in one ear. The plan had been to go for a walk this morning, but it is raining so we have a cup of tea and wait for the drizzle to pass. Ramsey seems both younger and older than 22, depending on the moment. Sometimes, within a single sentence, they sound ancient and wise, and also like a bookish teenager, discovering with amazement how they think they might feel about the world...

Global pharmaceutical giants are doubling down on investing in China’s fast-growing biotech companies given the sector’s huge room for valuation growth, according to speakers at the Global Health Summit, which concluded in Hong Kong on Saturday. “Multinational pharmaceutical companies are shifting their business strategies in China away from asset-heavy operations,” said Xu Chenming, head of the healthcare group at Hong Kong-based Citic Securities. “They are moving towards investing in companies...

The protection, however, shall not extend to persons having criminal antecedents, as mandated in the order of Supreme Court, says the government order

Sian Phillips will step back from full-scale stage shows but continue other projects.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is attempting to prevent 50 percent tariffs against many Canadian goods scheduled for this month.

Jobs and trade numbers released this week show that Canada is recovering from trade turmoil, but another round of tariffs may arrive this month.

Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp and his son Roman embark on a journey around the Emerald Isle. For what reason, nobody really knows If you’re someone who believes the celebrity travelogue genre has been pushed too far, Martin & Roman’s Irish Road Trip (Monday, 8pm, Channel 4) is here to push you to the edge. Then continue pushing until you’re falling off a cliff into the Irish Sea. It is unclear why exactly the producers chose Martin Kemp and his son, Roman, to take viewers on a tour of Ireland. Which to be fair, the two men address in the first three minutes. Martin lived in the country briefly in the 80s during his Spandau Ballet era, we’re told. His mum “always said” she was half Irish but – as Roman points out – the family did an ancestral DNA test and they’re actually Germanic...

Ryan Murphy and Brett Easton Ellis team up for a retro serial-killer drama, and the California songsmith is back with a remarkable new album. Here’s the pick of the week’s culture, taken from the Guardian’s best-rated reviews..

Vicky Krieps puts her heart on the line in Anna Cazenave Cambet’s romantic drama, and the Glaswegian comedy superstar is back on stage for a massive UK tour Love Me Tender Out now Vicky Krieps heads up Anna Cazenave Cambet’s drama about a woman who splits amicably from her husband to follow her dream of becoming a writer, but then falls for a woman – at which point, the ex-hubby files for sole custody of their child. Also starring Monia Chokri and Antoine Reinartz...

The sponsorship deal between Cwmbran Celtic and the Welsh indie-rockers is part of a trend to monetise ‘adjacent audiences’ as much as it is a nostalgia trip As someone born on the cusp of the gen X-millennial divide, I am the perfect target for today’s 90s nostalgia. I played my modest, teenage part in the Battle of Britpop (verbal skirmisher, Blur division); I fervently sang – and, God help me, believed – that Things Can Only Get Better. Super Furry Animals were a band I knew only distantly, via the transgressive thrill of that song they had with all the swearing in. And yet the news they’ll be shirt sponsor for a Welsh football club this season has managed to whisk me straight back to a time when things seemed simpler, kinder and more hopeful. Nearly three decades have passed since Super Furry Animals last had their logo on a football kit. Back in 1999, their frontman Gruff Rhys and bassist Guto Pryce, both Cardiff City fans, persuaded their Bangor-born bandmates to lay down their north Wales allegiances for the duration of the Bluebirds’ Welsh Cup run – which was, incidentally, all they could afford. The cup shirts cost them £2,000 and were, according to Rhys, knock-offs made for ice hockey. This year’s beneficiaries are a more modest outfit: Cwmbran Celtic, just relegated from Wales’s second tier. Cwmbran is the town where the band send their stage props for repair, and given the props in question are giant inflatable bears, you wonder whether they could get one installed in goal...

European Aquatics Championships taking place in city Threat to water quality tested two years after Games Paris is staging its first high-diving competition in the Seine, with athletes launching themselves from a 20-metre platform in front of the Eiffel Tower – a spectacular new test of the city’s effort to reclaim its river for sport. The event on the Pont de Bir-Hakeim has also exposed the fragility of that ambition. Organisers suspended training on Thursday when traces of hydrocarbons were detected upstream. By Friday, the French Swimming Federation said the affected area had been treated, allowing athletes to return to the water and the event to proceed as planned. High diving concludes on Saturday with the final two rounds and medal events, while the broader European Aquatics Championships run through to 16 August...

Guardian journalist Ewan Murray and Sky Sports Golf commentator Ewen Murray on being mixed up by irate fans and ‘canteen commandos’ It started with an email in early 2011. “I don’t know what it is like in your country, sir,” wrote angry of Arizona. “But here in America we SPIT!!!” The penny eventually dropped. Ewen Murray’s commentary on Sky Sports about Tiger Woods emptying his mouth on a putting surface in Dubai triggered a reaction fired directly towards Ewan Murray of the Guardian. Murray of Sky fame can still recall it...

New chair Ed Warner suggests triangular tournament ‘Make it kid-friendly, make it a day at the seaside’ Sussex want to create a new T10 tournament for non-Hundred-hosting counties that would take place during August alongside the One-Day Cup. There is widespread frustration among the smaller counties at the limited cricket they currently play during the height of the summer, with Sussex having just four days’ play at home during this year’s Hundred, which began on 21 July and will conclude with the final at Lord’s on 16 August. Though the county of Sussex comes under Southern Brave’s umbrella, the franchise’s home matches take place at Hampshire’s Utilita Bowl...

Drug addiction groups are reeling after Trump officials said federal grants cannot be used to hand out test strips to drug users. The strips help users check street drugs for dangerous adulterants.

Industry body calls for more regular reviews of repeat prescriptions to tackle ‘growing problem’ The amount of wasted medicines thrown away in England in one year could fill 75 swimming pools, according to a pharmacy group. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) estimated that 3,400 tonnes of partly used medicines were disposed of in England in 2024-25...

I wish I could say that expressing concern for the pop star’s health is helpful – but I know from experience it’s not that simple The last time I opened X, a photo of Ariana Grande leaning over in a low-cut black dress, clavicle showing, was at the top of the feed. The post read: “hey @grok make Ariana Grande healthy and fat”. Images of celebrities at their most skeletal regularly rise to the top of social feeds because they generate enormous, dissenting engagement. Social media platforms have made half-hearted efforts to suppress explicit pro-eating disorder content; Instagram and TikTok redirect searches for “thinspo” toward support resources. Yet over the past couple weeks, Grande has sent users into a frenzy that outstrips the platforms’ attempts...

The indigenous Hmong people have lived in a mountainous region of northern Vietnam for centuries. But today, these farming communities are on the front line of the climate crisis. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and landslides are now part of their daily life. The terraced rice paddies tended by generations of villagers are struggling to cope, while important medicinal plants are disappearing due to deforestation.

Researchers at the University of Delaware are set to tag sharks off the US East Coast with small electronic devices for collecting data that could prove useful for hurricane prediction.

Abernethy: It’s been a period of heartbreak and gratitude, mourning the scorched landscape and staying away from home when the smoke got too close Parts of the Cairngorms have been on fire for over three weeks. Many places I take for granted that I can walk to are off-limits. Huge swathes of moorland that should be purple with heather, understoreys that should be thick with blaeberries, granny pines and younger trees, are scorched black. In places, the fires has burned down into the tree root system and the peat layer, and may smoulder for weeks. It’s been a period of uncertainty and despair. I’ll never forget the day the wind changed direction and a huge plume of smoke rose behind the trees immediately beyond our house. We waited to see if we would be evacuated, gathered passports, important documents, medicines, and packed a bag of clothes. When residents of nearby Nethy Bridge were advised to evacuate, we stayed with a friend just outside the perimeter for the night, something I never imagined having to do...

Look at our blazing forests and parched cities. Green policies aren’t a ‘luxury’, and we can’t burn more oil and gas. People need the truth Report: Sadiq Khan calls on Andy Burnham to commit to climate action as pressure grows over North Sea oil Europe is burning. This summer, an unprecedented series of heatwaves has swept through the continent and across many parts of the globe. The consequences have been nothing short of catastrophic. In recent weeks deadly blazes have torn through France, Greece and Spain, killing firefighters, forcing people from their homes and robbing them of their livelihoods. With Tuesday marking Britain’s 34th day of temperatures exceeding 30C (86F) this year, the UK has also found itself reckoning with ferocious heat. Wildfires have forced evacuations in Suffolk and the Cairngorms. In London – where parks have become burnt, brittle and brown – hundreds of grass fires have put our firefighters under pressure like never before. In July, the weather station at Kew Gardens recorded its first ever month without rain since it started operating in 1871. As rivers run dry and reservoirs run low, farmers are warning of food shortages amid the deepening drought. With thousands of deaths already estimated to be linked to the extreme heat we saw in May and June alone, it’s likely this figure will climb higher still. Sadiq Khan is mayor of London..

Drought and record heat have forced the Norfolk and Suffolk league to move kick-off to the end of August as the ground is deemed too dangerous to play on This summer’s record drought has forced a football league to delay the start of its season because “rock hard” pitches are a danger to its players. The 2026/27 season in the Anglian Combination League of 85 amateur teams in Norfolk and Suffolk was due to start next weekend...

Somosierra will be prime spot to view celestial alignment on 12 August, an event that poses logistical challenges Little stirs in the mountains above Somosierra beyond the wind that lashes the flat peaks, the cows that graze on parched grass and the sun that beats down on the abandoned aerodrome where generations of glider pilots learned to ride air currents alongside squadrons of vultures and red kites. But all this stillness will disappear, albeit temporarily, on the evening of 12 August, when swathes of northern and eastern Spain and the Balearic islands experience a total solar eclipse, the likes of which has not been seen here for more than 120 years...

From running red lights to dumping bikes, some Lime users get a bad rap. But many who grumble about them don’t appreciate their own privilege The night belongs to Lime bikes in the capital this summer. Buses and tube carriages are boiling, cars crawl between low traffic neighbourhoods and Thames Water roadworks, and pedestrians plod through the sticky heat. But Lime riders exist in a different, breezier realm: whirring along, chatting in pairs or blissfully alone, weaving through the city’s tree-lined maze, choosing impulsively between destinations, rarely stopping for anything or anyone. “My favourite part of a night out is Lime biking home,” writes Annie Lord, a dating columnist and author, in Freewheeling: Essays on Cycling. “As I ride up a hill, the bike’s electrics click … And, for a little while, I’m free.” Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist..

Figures show most leasehold flats in England do not find a buyer within six months, despite slashed prices ‘The market is dead for flats,” says Susan Young, who has been trying for some time without success to sell her two-bed flat in a popular Devon seaside resort. The first-floor property is in “immaculate condition”, Young says, thanks to the £15,000-£20,000 spent on renovations. It has “superb views” across the beach. And, perhaps most crucially, it is a freehold flat, so is untainted by the controversies associated with the discredited leasehold system...

TUC will urge John Healey to order ‘root and branch’ assessment of watchdog amid claims its forecasts downplay investment benefits The TUC is urging the new chancellor, John Healey, to order a “root and branch” review of the Office for Budget Responsibility, claiming the forecaster’s approach holds back investment. With Andy Burnham promising “good growth in every postcode”, the union umbrella body is calling on Healey to use his first budget on 28 October to re-examine the assessments of the watchdog...

Days after Gen Z protesters led by the Cockroach Janta Party brought down India’s education minister, dozens of women who took part in the demonstrations say they are facing a barrage of online threats. The protesters say that while the movement itself has ended, they are now facing a new battle on two fronts: in the courts and through doxxing. Our team on the ground sent this report.

Tonight and throughout the weekend, thousands of people across France will be looking up at the stars for the annual Nuits des Étoiles. The three-night event offers free stargazing in more than 400 towns, with astronomers on hand to help visitors spot Saturn, Mars and even distant galaxies. Camille Knight has the details.

US Senate confirms Todd Blanche in narrow vote despite concerns over independence of office.

Ukrainian drones have increasingly targeted warehouses belonging to Wildberries, which many Russians rely on as the country’s largest e-commerce business.

Red high-temperature warnings remained in effect for much of southern and western Italy through Saturday.

As Ukraine repeatedly strikes warehouses of the e-commerce site Wildberries, Tatyana Kim, its billionaire co-founder, faces her biggest test yet.

The inhabitants of the Chagos Islands were expelled by the British 60 years ago. Refugees were anxious to return this year, but their hopes have been caught in a morass of geopolitics.

A New York Times analysis details the July 20 crackdown on unarmed protesters in New Delhi that has provoked public outrage and accusations of excessive force.

A rampage at a high school in Thailand on Friday was the latest episode of gun violence in a country that has grappled in recent years with several attacks.

Hundreds of people attended a seven-day retreat in the Turkish countryside seeking transcendence through sema, the spiritual practice of whirling.

Scientists race to untangle complex links between exposure and mortality as fire weather grows more prevalent A thousand kilometres from the infernos gorging on northern Ontario’s boreal forests, Erin O’Connor watched the sky above Canada’s biggest city turn an “almost post-apocalyptic” orange as it filled with light-scattering particles of soot and ash. Stepping outside the halls of Toronto General hospital, where air filters were keeping patients safe from the worst of the fumes, she was struck by a smell so strong it felt like standing by a campfire. “It really hit you in the face as soon as you walked outside,” said O’Connor, who runs University Health Network’s emergency department and saw a rise in patients presenting with allergies and shortness of breath. “As the days progressed, it was like that everywhere. It seemed even inside you could smell that burning.”..

How we tracked down "The Spider" who was once one of the most-feared men in Syria.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was the deciding vote after a lengthy stand-off.

Gianni Infantino's alleged lover was given a severance payment over the affair by Uefa while he was its general secretary, according to a Daily Telegraph investigation.

London mayor points to ‘terrifying scenes’ this summer amid speculation Burnham may back Jackdaw and Rosebank projects Sadiq Khan: This burning summer is the proof: the voices of climate denial aren’t just delusional, they’re deadly Sadiq Khan has called on the government to commit to revamped climate action and to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas, as the UK endures a summer of drought, wildfires and heatwaves. Writing in the Guardian, the mayor of London said that Andy Burnham’s administration must reaffirm its commitment to net zero and make clear it will continue to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas “to get Britain back on track.”..

South Western and GTR announce fightback after move away from paper tickets increases fare dodging There is more than one way to commit fraud and, for some rail travellers, it has been as simple as a couple of taps on their phone as their train approaches its destination. That telltale last-minute purchase of a digital ticket – for the shortest journey that will allow them to bleep through the gates, regardless of how far they have travelled – is one of a number of illegal wheezes that train operators are trying to eliminate, with the enthusiastic backing of the government department that will directly oversee most of England’s rail services when they are renationalised next year...

Trump ally Abelardo De La ‌Espriella vows to start ‘profound transformation’ of country’s destiny as he is sworn in The ​Trump administration plans to provide $1bn in security assistance to the ⁠government of Colombia’s new ​rightwing ‌president, the US state department announced, soon after Abelardo De La ‌Espriella was sworn in and used his inaugural speech to pledge a vigorous fight against drug trafficking, as well as austerity measures to restore confidence in the economy. De La Espriella, 48, won June’s runoff election with ⁠promises to crack down on armed groups, shrink ⁠the state by as much as 40% and ​revive the oil and gas sector...

Cuba's energy crisis is colliding with economic collapse, as Washington ramps up sanctions on the island. Caught between American pressure and crisis at home, Cubans are struggling just to get through the day. A France24 report from Havana.

More headaches for US President Donald Trump over his planned White House ballroom: a federal appeals court has ruled that the administration must halt the $400 million construction project, saying it has not been approved by Congress. The ruling follows a challenge by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sought an injunction against the project last year. A three-judge panel upheld that injunction in a 2-to-1 decision. Trump has vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court. Camille Corcoran has more.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is making his first official visit to Serbia, in a notable move given Belgrade’s close ties with Moscow and its refusal to impose sanctions on Russia. Zelensky is seeking to shore up international support as Russian strikes on Ukraine intensify. He met Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for dinner on Friday, with the two leaders set to hold official talks on Saturday. Helena Ivanov, Associate Research Fellow at The Henry Jackson Society, shares further insights on the importance of this visit.

Nearly 10,000 Punjabi soldiers who died in World War I have been added to casualty records for the first time.

Russian missile strikes killed four people, including a child, ​in ‌the Kyiv region on Saturday, said local authorities. The attack came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Belgrade on a landmark visit to Serbia, a country with close ties to Moscow. FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze reports from Kharkiv.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday, aimed at strengthening collective deterrence. Under the pact, an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all. Simon Moritz tells us more about what’s in the agreement.

Russia continued its overnight attacks after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of Ukraine's dwindling supplies of missile interceptors.

Tehran at War (Part 2/2). In Iran, the war with the United States is also fought through enormous, state-sponsored posters. Murals transform walls into billboards advertising the official narrative, designed to carry the government's voice far beyond its borders. FRANCE 24 examines this visual strategy, shaped during the Islamic Revolution and supercharged by artificial intelligence.