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2026 News Archive

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scienceAugust 23, 2026The Guardian

Block export of ‘national treasure’ UK fossils, says MP

Sale of one of UK’s top collections overseas prompts call new rules to help keep items in country One of UK’s best fossil collections sold in ‘loss to the nation’ An MP has called on ministers to change export controls so that significant fossils can be classed as national treasures after one of the UK’s best collections, unearthed on Dorset beaches, was sold overseas. Last week, a Guardian investigation revealed that an unparalleled collection of fossils from the UK’s Jurassic Coast, comprising hundreds of specimens including ichthyosaurs, had been sold to the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi for what one source described as an “eight-figure sum”...

climateAugust 16, 2026France 24

US: Hawaii narrowly avoids direct hit as Hurricane Lala brings strong weather

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.

climateAugust 16, 2026France 24

Belgium battles its largest wildfire in modern history

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.

worldAugust 16, 2026France 24

Morocco tightens security as migrants gather near Ceuta border

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.

powerAugust 16, 2026France 24

Chad: Opposition figure Succès Masra speaks to France 24

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.

cultureAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

University spinout to launch water quality app for UK and US waters

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...

businessAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

A positive new report raises the question: was Reeves undermined by dodgy data? | Heather Stewart

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...

technologyAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

The first anti-AI protester to be jailed has a message for OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta: ‘Regain your humanity’

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...

worldAugust 16, 2026France 24

Indonesian earthquake: Aid reaches Flores as death toll climbs

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.

worldAugust 16, 2026France 24

Spanish fighter jet downs drone breaching Romania's airspace

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.

worldAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

Rescue teams search for survivors in Indonesia after powerful earthquake

Searchers dig through collapsed buildings and debris after 7.7 magnitude quake killed at least 51 people Rescue crews dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris in eastern Indonesia on Sunday as they searched for bodies and possible survivors a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 51 people, injured more than 100 and displaced thousands. At least 24 people died in Manggarai regency and 17 in neighbouring East Manggarai, with additional fatalities reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies, the national disaster management agency said. Rescuers were still searching for people feared buried beneath landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia...

technologyAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

‘Our children are less cognitively capable,’ says neuroscientist who wants to cut screen use in schools

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...

businessAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

From tourism to power generation and productivity, Europe feels economic cost of heatwaves

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...

cultureAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

AI cheating, leaked papers and marking errors: how exam protests went global

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...

technologyAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

‘We detected unusual activity’: the scam that uses AI to exploit your holiday photos

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...

powerAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

The Fair Hill Five: horse racing’s bizarre transatlantic betting coup – explained

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...

climateAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

Fire rangers of Mongolian steppe: climate crisis spurs revival of ancient knowledge – photo essay

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..

worldAugust 16, 2026France 24

France's Léon Marchand wins first European title in front of home crowd

Day six of the European Championships in Paris saw four-time Olympic champion Léon Marchand claim his first continental title by winning the 200m butterfly final. There was another gold medal for France later in the evening, with Mary-Ambre Moluh setting a new European record to win the 100m backstroke final.

businessAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

New UK cost of living crisis looms with soaring energy bills forecast to lift inflation

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%...

powerAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

Japan’s defence minister heads to Australia to meet Marles in wake of melon-gate controversy

Discussions to focus on Australia’s acquisition of Mogami-class frigates as Japan plays down Albanese’s podcast comments Japan’s defence minister will visit Canberra this week, the highest level engagement with Australia after controversy over Anthony Albanese’s comments about a gift of melons from prime minister Sanae Takaichi. The defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, will meet his counterpart and deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, on Tuesday, with discussions focused on Australia’s acquisition of Japan’s Mogami-class frigates and enhanced security cooperation...

worldAugust 16, 2026France 24

Live: Moscow targeted by 600 drones overnight, explosions heard in Kyiv

Six hundred drones targeted the Moscow region in a sustained overnight assault that wounded three people, the Russian capital's mayor said on Sunday, as Ukraine steps up long-range attacks into Russian territory. The assault came as Russian ⁠forces launched a ​missile attack on Kyiv, sparking fires in at least two districts of Ukraine's capital, Mayor ​Vitali ‌Klitschko said. Follow our live blog for all the latest updates.

climateAugust 16, 2026The Guardian

Destroyed crops, riverbed cyclists and a ‘Rock of Starvation’: how drought has devastated the Danube

The Guardian travelled 100 miles along the EU’s longest river, where some residents are struggling to secure drinking water For centuries, the rock was seen as a warning. When it began to emerge from the Danube, beneath Gellért Hill in Budapest, it meant the river had fallen so low that floating mills could no longer operate, crops were probably failing, and hunger would almost certainly follow. That is why, in the Hungarian capital, where over time the boulder became little more than a legend, it was named Ínség-szikla – the Rock of Starvation. Today, amid record-low water levels on the Danube, the rock has not only emerged from the water, but surfaced almost in its entirety, along with the sandy riverbed on which it rests, astonishing geologists and government scientists sent to examine it. And, much as the rock was said to warn, Hungary is now facing an unprecedented energy crisis that has forced the country to shut down all but one of its Danube-cooled nuclear reactors for the first time in 44 years...