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climate

‘The world needs to pay attention’: Nepalis and Tibetans in New York respond to the Himalayan disaster

Half the world away, a Himalayan diaspora reacts in sorrow and pitches in to help victims in their home countries Geeta Tamang was getting ready for bed when her aunts shared news that upended her world. “My aunts came into my room and told me what had happened,” said Tamang, a 24-year-old computer science student at Queens College. She lives in Jackson Heights, home to one of the largest Nepali and Tibetan communities in New York City...

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 1:43:05 PM
world

Rescue operations ongoing as death toll continues to rise

Most arrive with nothing except the clothes they are wearing. As rescue efforts in communities buried by catastrophic flash floods along the border between Nepal and China entered their fourth day Saturday, authorities continued finding survivors and transporting them to safety. At relief centers, as some arrive, families wait anxiously for news of their loved ones as the death toll and the number of people unaccounted for continued to rise.

France 24 • 8/29/2026, 12:37:17 PM
power

‘Inept, incompetent, craven’: Scott Bessent struggles to clean up the president’s mess

There’s little optimism about treasury secretary’s ability to handle Trump’s tariffs, Iran sanctions and colossal US debt History remembers Gen Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the allied forces in Europe during the second world war, for his role in the D-day invasion of Normandy. Whether Scott Bessent will achieve similar posterity as the face of the “economic D-day” in Iran remains to be seen. The US treasury secretary, already trying to manage a $40tn national debt pile, this week took charge of Donald Trump’s effort to reverse-engineer his war of choice. Whereas the US would typically take on an adversary with diplomacy, sanctions and military force, in that order, the US president started with a six-month bombing campaign and now hopes that economic isolation can finish the job...

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 12:00:27 PM
sports

Alonso gets Chelsea’s priorities right by ditching Sánchez for winner Martínez | Jacob Steinberg

Signing of World Cup winner adds to sense that this is the summer when BlueCo got serious in transfer market Carlo Cudicini was a very good goalkeeper. However, José Mourinho was ruthless when he became Chelsea manager in 2004. Very good was not good enough. Mourinho wanted the best and one of the main factors behind the Portuguese winning the Premier League during his first season in charge was the decision to replace Cudicini with Petr Cech. There is an old line about a great goalkeeper being worth 15 points a season. It is not for nothing, for instance, that Brian Clough regarded Peter Shilton as one of his most important signings at Nottingham Forest. Shilton was key when Forest defied the odds by winning the Division One title in 1978 and there are plenty of other examples of promising teams taking the next step only after buying a top No 1...

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 11:00:26 AM
power

They laid down arms. Now ex-guerrillas in Colombia fear fate under new hardline president

‘Total peace’ plan of previous government led only 99 of Colombia’s 30,000 armed combatants to disarm, but new president Abelardo De la Espriella opposes peace agreements In mid-June, 99 guerrilla fighters were flown by helicopter to a small settlement in a rural area of southern Colombia where they lined up and, one by one, handed their weapons to government officials: rifles, pistols, machine guns and grenade launchers. They also stripped off their heavy tactical vests, field packs and camouflage uniforms, which were each piled into a bonfire to mark the beginning of a new life away from an armed conflict that has claimed nearly half a million lives in the last six decades...

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 10:00:24 AM
sports

Lando Norris agrees new deal until at least 2030 with ‘second family’ McLaren

Norris: ‘I want my whole career to be with McLaren’ F1 title holder says other teams have approached him Lando Norris has said he would like to see out his career with McLaren, as the defending Formula One world champion announced he has agreed a multi-year deal until at least 2030 with the team he described as like “a second family”. The 26-year-old, who won his first F1 title last season, joined McLaren to make his debut in the sport in 2019. He has been with them ever since and his current contract was due to run until the end of this year. Norris emphasised that he had not countenanced leaving McLaren and had made no approaches toward other teams – although some had made advances towards him...

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 9:26:53 AM
sports

Itauma chases Tyson’s history and fights to save his soul in first world title bout

Filip Hrgovic singing to the press is a stark contrast to the brooding Briton who is grappling with the blinding lights of fame and glory Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic have presented an intriguing study in contrast this week. The 21-year-old prodigy from Chatham in Kent, of Slovakian and Nigerian descent, has been a thoughtful and slightly brooding presence while the seasoned 34-year-old from Croatia has been full of sunshine and songs. On Tuesday, Hrgovic burst into a room where a few boxing writers sat and, looking tanned without a shirt beneath his leather gilet, belted out a word-perfect version of Saturday Night at the Movies, a 1965 ditty by the Drifters...

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 7:00:21 AM
culture

The Trials of Magnus Coffinkey review – time stands still at 3.43am in fringe fairytale

Summerhall, Edinburgh Angele and Malcolm Galea’s two-hander cycles through grief and sorrow as a broken-hearted hero is trapped in purgatory A fairytale plunges the reader into a dilemma then resolves it. But what if the happy ending never arrives? Will the tale just circle around into a netherworld, never finding a conclusion? That is the prospect in this two-hander by Malta’s Angele and Malcolm Galea, a couple whose experience of pregnancy loss finds expression in a thwarted fairytale – the kind of tale, perhaps, they might have read to their daughter...

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 6:00:19 AM
business

Sovereignty, farming and fishing: Iceland votes on its future with the EU

Country holds a knife-edge referendum that cuts across political divides on taking step closer to Brussels after Trump threats towards Greenland For a long time, the prospect of becoming the third generation to run his family farm was an exciting one, says Davíð Clausen Pétursson. Icelandic farmers were starting to get higher prices for their meat and milk, debt was no longer an occupational prerequisite and innovation was on the rise...

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 6:00:18 AM
technology

Hilarity, unease and relief: games show China is not over the finish line in humanoid robot race

World Humanoid Robot Games showcased leaps Beijing has made in the tech, but also highlighted limitations as US rivals prepare their own launches With exploding pelvises, enough comic pratfalls for a Buster Keaton show reel and the odd moment of ruthless violence, the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing gripped the world this week with an unsettling mixture of hilarity, trepidation and relief. The five-day showcase staked out China’s claim to undisputed leadership in humanoid robotics as android martial artists landed knockout roundhouse kicks and robot teams marched into the arena heralded by flag-waving captains astride giant robotic dogs. The games’ blue-riband event, the 100m, did not disappoint when the robot-sprinters ran quicker than Usain Bolt before slamming mindlessly into a padded wall in a blaze of sparks, flames and flying mechanical limbs...

The Guardian • 8/29/2026, 5:00:19 AM
world

Malaysian police arrest 7 Yemeni men in Kuala Lumpur after dangerous road stunt goes viral

Seven Yemeni men were arrested in Malaysia after they allegedly performed dangerous stunts while travelling in two vehicles along Jalan Sungai Besi early on Friday. Kuala Lumpur Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief Mohd Zamzuri Mohd Isa said the incident, which occurred at about 12.30am, came to light after a video of the incident went viral on social media. He said preliminary investigations found that both vehicles were travelling along Jalan Sungai Besi towards Jalan Bukit...

South China Morning Post • 8/29/2026, 4:00:25 AM
power

Iranian leaders admit economic toll of war with US as trade drops 35%

Iranian leaders are acknowledging the economic toll of war with the United States, with the supreme leader calling on the government to address the hardship while the president reported foreign trade has shrunk 35 per cent due to the American sanctions and blockade. The warnings came even as other leaders threaten the US with military retaliation and declarations that the Iranian navy maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway giving Iran ‌leverage through its ability to...

South China Morning Post • 8/29/2026, 3:23:00 AM
world

How the Philippines missed a Korean gambling racket worth US$3.8 billion

The Philippines spent years dismantling Chinese-linked gambling compounds in dramatic, headline-grabbing raids. But all the while, and with far less scrutiny, South Korean syndicates were building a parallel industry worth billions of US dollars – one that a spate of recent arrests suggests is still very much intact. The most recent involved a 29-year-old Korean woman named Kim Young-sun, who authorities allege ran a network of 23 illegal online betting websites out of offices in Pasay and...

South China Morning Post • 8/29/2026, 2:30:12 AM
money

White House teleprompter operator fined, forfeits winnings for betting on Trump’s words

A former White House teleprompter operator accused of using inside knowledge to make bets on the prediction market Kalshi has been ordered to turn over more than US$100,000 in profits and pay a US$65,000 fine as part of a settlement with federal authorities. The settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, announced on Friday, also dealt Gabriel Perez a three-year trading ban. Perez was placed on unpaid leave from his job at the White House after reports emerged that he used his...

South China Morning Post • 8/29/2026, 2:19:44 AM
world

Hong Kong’s long-term wealth hub status safe from mainland investment curbs: JPMorgan exec

Beijing’s recent curbs on cross-border investment and a tax shift targeting overseas insurance gains may create short-term uncertainty, but they will not undermine Hong Kong’s long-term competitiveness as a major wealth management hub, according to a senior executive at JPMorgan Chase. Kwang Kam-shing, Hong Kong CEO and chairwoman of North Asia at the biggest bank by assets in the United States, said she remained optimistic about the long-term outlook for Asia’s financial sector, citing...

South China Morning Post • 8/29/2026, 2:00:20 AM
power

Trump administration faces backlash over Yosemite park giveaway

US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering giving away a section of the renowned Yosemite National Park to a private developer. An investigation published on Friday by NOTUS, a news outlet, said the government had spent over a year quietly working to transfer a roughly 400-metre (0.25-mile) strip of the park to a company linked through a web of other entities to Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital. It is the latest move by the Trump administration to roll back conservation...

South China Morning Post • 8/29/2026, 12:55:52 AM
world

Japan to convert car park near Tokyo Station into missile shelter

The Tokyo metropolitan government has unveiled a plan to use an underground facility near Tokyo Station as a shelter for residents and tourists in the event of a ballistic missile attack. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told a press conference earlier this month that a survey would begin in the current financial year through March in preparation for revamping Yaesu car park, which is located about two to 11 metres (six to 36 feet) underground. The alterations are expected to include setting up...

South China Morning Post • 8/29/2026, 12:21:33 AM
world

Gen Z vs the khap panchayats: Old rules, new rebels

Haryana’s khap panchayats have issued diktats against love marriages within a village cluster or clan, and live-in and same-sex relationships. If people do not abide by these, they will be barred from entering their villages, the khaps say. This has drawn strong opposition from Gen Z on social media. A section of the youth, both women and men, say the personal choices of consenting adults trump community custom. And that laws, rather than elderly men, protect women, reports Ashok Kumar

The Hindu • 8/28/2026, 11:05:20 PM
world

China-Nepal floods: rescuers pull out survivors caked in mud as toll climbs

Rescuers pulled out survivors caked in dark brown mud and helicopters lifted stranded people to safety, as Nepal and China raced to respond to catastrophic flash floods that killed nearly 600 people and left almost 2,500 missing. The rescue efforts included a team that rappelled into a severely damaged checkpoint area on the Chinese side of the border between the two countries. Rescuers were on high alert for more flooding from a new lake that formed high up in the Himalayan mountains after the...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 8:21:45 PM
health

Doctors promise care ‘revolution’ as they agree first universal definition of heart attack

New guidance by world’s top cardiovascular health groups upgrades types of attacks that primarily affect women Doctors have agreed the world’s first universal definition of a heart attack, paving the way for millions of women to finally receive better treatment after decades of being “deprioritised”. In one of the biggest procedural shakeups in a generation, the world’s four leading cardiovascular health groups have signed off on new guidance for healthcare professionals when seeing suspected heart attack patients...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 5:00:03 PM
sports

Cartoon alpaca Cole Palmer is a unicorn in this world inventing moments of pure pleasure | Barney Ronay

Much like Central Cee, the Chelsea attacker is a distinct presence and right now is perhaps the only truly creative English player out there This week Central Cee launched his new Premier League song, called The Team. It owes its existence to a youth-centred, fist-bumping corporate tie-in with Coca-Cola, the press release for which appears to have involved a man in golf-casual clothing frowning at his computer screen for half an hour before typing “cool urban street words, what are?” into the AI search box, then nipping off for a quick brain-bowl strategy lunch with Roger from the Bluesky Synergy hub. The song is really good, because Central Cee is really good. He’s super-smart with words, funny and snappy, but also surprisingly tender and raw...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 4:59:43 PM
world

Nepal: 'Region has hundreds of high-altitude lakes prone to unleashing enormous volumes of water'

William Hilderbrandt is pleased to welcome David Fisher, Head of Delegation, Nepal International Federation of Red Cross. The scale of Nepal’s disaster cannot yet be fully measured. Entire communities remain difficult to reach, tens of thousands of people have been affected, and official assessments are only beginning. But the central challenge is already clear: this cannot be treated solely as an immediate humanitarian emergency. What happens to these communities in the years ahead depends heavily on what we do now. Emergency relief must be accompanied from the outset by planning, funding and action for long-term recovery, including rebuilding homes and livelihoods. If that work is postponed until international attention has moved elsewhere, many people may never fully recover. And signs suggest that the speed and destructive force of this extreme natural event could become more frequent.

France 24 • 8/28/2026, 4:57:59 PM
sports

Vulnerable Sabalenka and wide-open men’s draw set stage for US Open drama

Defending champion arrives at Flushing Meadows in poor form and with a host of challengers looking to usurp her Under any normal circumstances Aryna Sabalenka would not have lost her third round match at the Cincinnati Open last week. For all of her unforced errors, indecisiveness and the obvious tension surrounding her tennis, the world No 1 had led the unheralded Sára Bejlek 5-1 in the first set tie-break and then 4-1 in set two. She gave herself more than enough chances to close out a comfortable win. Instead Sabalenka returns to New York trying to find a path through her greatest crisis since she first reached No 1 in the rankings more than three years ago. That straight-sets loss in Cincinnati extended a mediocre 17-7 record dating back to the beginning of April without reaching a single final. She has just one more chance to turn her fortunes around as she tries to claim her first grand slam title of the year at the US Open, the tournament she has won on the last two occasions...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 4:39:37 PM
world

Reports that US wants big stake in Venezuelan oil and gas spark anger

Critics call move to gain long-term access to country’s massive energy reserves ‘predatory’ and ‘unconstitutional’ Reports that the US is preparing to claim a big stake in Venezuela’s massive energy reserves have sparked an outcry, with critics describing the move as “predatory” and “unconstitutional”. Several media outlets this week reported that the Trump administration – which abducted Venezuela’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, in January and has steered the South American country ever since – hopes to secure long-term access to its oil and gasfields...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 4:30:23 PM
world

Greenland to open truth commission over forced contraception scheme

Greenland's government said Friday it would ⁠establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to shed light on a campaign of forced contraception carried out by Danish authorities from the 1960s to 1990, after experts failed to agree on whether the practice constituted genocide. The brutal campaign saw thousands of Indignous women and girls receive intrauterine devices or contraceptive injections without their consent.

France 24 • 8/28/2026, 4:05:16 PM
culture

Artist defends Ronnie O’Sullivan mural in Sheffield saying it isn’t finished

Critics say painting looks more like a zombie but artist Chris Ashmore says ‘touch-ups’ are still to happen A street artist has defended his mural of the snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan in Sheffield after critics suggested the world champion looked like a zombie. Chris Ashmore was commissioned to produce the artwork featuring the former seven-time world champion for the back wall of the Spot On snooker club, the BBC reported...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 3:34:31 PM
business

Warsh signals US Fed may need to raise rates if above-target inflation lingers

The US central bank will “have work to do” if policymakers are not confident that underlying inflation is returning to its 2 per cent target, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said on Friday in remarks that acknowledged financial conditions do not appear restrictive and marked the closest he has come to acknowledging interest rate hikes may be needed to ease price pressures. “Here is my standard: We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 3:13:26 PM
world

At least 93,000 ‘in great need’ after Nepal-Tibet flash floods, says Red Cross

Federation says it fears death toll of more than 540 will continue to rise as rescuers reach cut-off areas Nepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updates Visual guide: how the deadly flooding unfolded Tell us: have you been affected by the flash floods? The Red Cross has said at least 93,000 people may have been affected by Wednesday’s flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border, which have killed more than 540 people, left another 1,500 missing, and triggered a huge rescue operation that is being hampered by fears of new flooding. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s largest humanitarian network, said it feared the death toll would continue to rise as some of the hardest-hit areas remained inaccessible after roads and bridges were destroyed by the torrents...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 2:54:58 PM
culture

Li Jin Hao: Falling from a Moon review – comedy’s Mr Nostalgia is now the man of the moment

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh In his award-nominated show, the standup ruminates on myth and memory with some lovely observations ‘There’s a moment when that ends,” muses Li Jin Hao, “and this begins …” As well as being jam-packed with swoonsome one-liners like that, Li’s show traces the tension between this and that; the draw the past exerts on this self-proclaimed Mr Nostalgia, versus the necessity of living in the present. Beginning with a yearning sun-and-moon myth learned at his granny’s knee, Li’s show – nominated for the Edinburgh comedy award – toggles between a day in his current London life and memories of his upbringing in east Asia, and a long-gone romance he can’t quite shake off. What makes the show distinctive, though, is the ruminative angle at which Li addresses his experiences, and the quality and consistency of its joke-writing – so many ravishing little insights revealing the world to us in shapes askew. It’s a leap forward from his 2024 debut, which signalled the talent but was sheepish in its delivery. The only thing sheepish here is the twisty livestock gag that opens Li’s show, with a swagger that marks a performer now in his element onstage...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 2:00:01 PM
world

Families of 33 missing Britons rush to Nepal as fears grow of more floods

Desperate relatives trying to reach loved ones last seen in area where entire villages have been swept away Nepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updates Visual guide: how the deadly flooding unfolded Tell us: have you been affected by the flash floods? Families are rushing to Nepal to search for the 33 British nationals who are still missing, as fears mount over the risk of a second wave of flooding in the region. The catastrophic flash floods that hit Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, thundering down valleys and sweeping away entire villages, have killed at least 538 people, while more than 1,500 remain missing...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 1:39:36 PM
world

Rock en Seine: Visually impaired spectators enjoy festival with audio description

At Paris's Rock en Seine, visually impaired festival-goers can enjoy concerts through live audio description. The festival is offering dedicated platforms, as well as headphones and receivers provided by the Valentin Haüy Association, a pioneer in audio description in France. Spectators can experience a concert with audio description each day of the music festival, from August 26 to August 30.

France 24 • 8/28/2026, 1:02:40 PM
culture

The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past – Geralt of Rivia returns after a decade in the sun

Before The Witcher 4 arrives in 2028, CD Projekt Red is returning us to the world of The Witcher 3 for one last foray. Looks like wind’s still howlin’ The game that graced us with Bathtub Geralt, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, arrived more than a decade ago. So it was a touch surprising this summer when developers CD Projekt Red announced a new expansion to the venerable adventure, titled Songs of the Past, for next year. It will release alongside a full remaster of the original game, which will be free for anyone who bought it back in 2015. (The studio is also working on a sequel, The Witcher 4, but that’s not due until 2028.) As it turns out, this is all possible thanks to a partnership with Fool’s Theory, a studio founded by CD Projekt Red veterans, which took on the brunt of the development work. “We’ve had this story in a drawer for many years,” explains Marcin Blacha, VP story director at CD Projekt Red. “Of course, we moved on to Cyberpunk 2077 and now The Witcher 4, as well as our other projects. But because we knew The Witcher 4 would take time, we saw a gap in our release calendar where Songs of the Past could go. Thankfully, we were able to find the right partner to help execute it.”..

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 1:00:00 PM
world

Nepal floods explained: The chain of events behind the disaster

A glacier broke apart. An ice and rock avalanche followed. Then came an earthquake, before a landslide triggered devastating floods that tore through kilometres of valley. This is what happened along the Nepal-China border, where rescue teams are still trying to recover survivors 48 hours after the catastrophe. FRANCE 24 breaks down the chain of events and the scientific explanations behind the disaster.

France 24 • 8/28/2026, 12:48:06 PM
health

Sweetener used in chewing gum and jam linked to strokes and heart attacks

High blood levels of xylitol associated with higher risk of major cardiovascular events, in largest study of its kind A common sweetener used in products such as chewing gum, toothpaste, jam, yoghurts and ice cream worldwide has been linked to an increased risk of strokes, heart attacks and death. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol present in some natural foods in very low amounts. It is also added – often in amounts 1,000 times higher – to artificially sweeten foods, beverages and oral care products...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 12:42:54 PM
power

Japan's controversial WWII heroes: How one kamikaze pilot escaped certain death

Towards the end of World War II, as US troops advanced across the Pacific, Japan resorted to a desperate strategy: kamikaze attacks. Thousands of Japanese pilots, with an average age of just 21, were ordered to crash their explosive-laden planes into enemy ships. More than 3,800 pilots gave up their lives, killing over 7,000 allied naval personnel. Our reporter Mélodie Sforza met one of the last surviving former kamikaze pilots.

France 24 • 8/28/2026, 12:42:02 PM
sports

All Blacks brace for Bok-lash as Erasmus adds late fly-half plot twist

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s inclusion may be a classic piece of misdirection from South Africa in their must-win match against New Zealand On the face of it, South Africa have been beset by disruption before their most significant match since the successful defence of their World Cup title. Rassie Erasmus had sought to lean further on the Springboks’ set-piece strengths by selecting Handré Pollard at fly-half for the second Test against New Zealand in Cape Town, suggesting a narrow gameplan. A return to the tried and tested. A reliance on what he knows best. Then came news of the “niggle”. Out goes Pollard, who, according to the Friday morning bulletin, suffered said niggle in training on Wednesday and failed a fitness test 24 hours before the match, and back comes the far more adventurous Sacha Feinberg‑Mngomezulu into the No 10 jersey. Feinberg‑Mngomezulu struggled in last week’s 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park, as he did on his comeback from injury against Argentina earlier this month, but the 24-year-old has a skill set that has marked him out as a future global star...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 12:35:16 PM
world

Nepal and Tibet: around 93,000 people affected, according to the Red Cross

The death toll continues to rise in the Nepal and Tibet floods as the situation remains fast-moving. The Red Cross says around 93,000 people have been affected. International aid is arriving from several countries, but rescue efforts have been hampered by the difficulty of coordinating operations in the remote Himalayan terrain. The epicentre of the disaster was only reached 48 hours after the floods began. FRANCE 24's Jamie Smith-Maillet has the latest.

France 24 • 8/28/2026, 11:42:48 AM
world

Nepal flash floods: 'Very challenging' for survivors who have lost their homes and their families

Alison Sargent is pleased to welcome Sunita Sharma, Head of Programs of Karuna-Shechen. While Nepal has considerable experience responding to natural disasters, the scale of the present devastation exposes a deeper challenge: Placing greater emphasis on preparedness. The immediate priorities are clear: finding those still missing and providing survivors with drinking water, food, shelter, clothing and medicine. But recovery cannot end there. Ultimately, they will need to rebuild confidence and entire communities. Given the scale of the destruction, that process could take years.

France 24 • 8/28/2026, 9:50:55 AM
world

In Tibet and Nepal, 'the most pressing fear is that the death toll could rise'

At least 472 people have been killed and more than 1,500 remain missing after devastating flash floods hit the Himalayan border between Nepal and China, where over 3,250 people have already been evacuated by helicopter. As rescuers race to find survivors, one of the biggest fears is that the death toll will continue to rise, with authorities also warning that an overflowing lake upstream could trigger more flooding. FRANCE 24's Navodita Kumari has the latest.

France 24 • 8/28/2026, 9:16:45 AM
world

US: Tate brothers remain in jail as judge delays bail decision

Andrew and Tristan Tate will remain in custody in Miami after a federal judge declined to rule on their bail request as they fight extradition to the UK, where they face charges including rape, assault, human trafficking and money laundering. The UK has until mid-September to submit its evidence to the US State Department, while the brothers continue to deny wrongdoing and claim their online personas were fictional.

France 24 • 8/28/2026, 9:10:00 AM
world

'Retrospective incrimination: First we shoot, we kill, and then we find a reason why it happened'

Liza Kaminov is pleased to welcome Nadav Weiman, Executive Director of Breaking the Silence. He says there is a troubling gap between how Israeli military operations in Gaza are publicly explained and what soldiers experience on the ground. Testimonies collected by Breaking the Silence suggest that this gap is not simply about individual incidents, but about the policies, assumptions and rules of engagement. The testimony surrounding the Nasser Hospital strike points to “retrospective incrimination”: rather than identifying a legitimate military target before an attack, evidence connecting those killed to Hamas may be sought afterward in order to justify the strike.

France 24 • 8/28/2026, 8:58:15 AM
world

Weather tracker: More extreme rain in Japan and a tornado in France

Flash flooding and mudslides in Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures, while convective storms hit western Europe Following an “unprecedented” deluge in Chiba in mid-August, Japan has had more extreme rainfall in recent days. Moisture from the Sea of Japan brought relentless heavy rain to the prefectures of Ishikawa and Toyama on Thursday. In Himi, Toyama, 361.5mm of rain fell in 24 hours, equivalent to half the average annual rainfall in London and Paris. As a result of the downpours, several rivers burst their banks, leading to flash floods and mudslides with trees felled and buildings damaged. Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued its highest-level rain warning within the two prefectures earlier in the week as well as landslide warnings, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of thousands from the region. Models on Thursday indicated there could be a further 200mm of rain just south of this region as it continues to come in from the west...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 8:02:51 AM
culture

Fairytales pending: the fringe musicals hoping to live happily ever after

Edinburgh has given festival audiences a look at two long awaited musicals – Bliss and Disenchanted! – with both aiming to now scale up their spectacle The Edinburgh fringe is mostly where new work is forged but that’s not the full picture. Amid all the hot-off-the-press shows are a number of familiar titles that have been around for years yet are only making their professional UK debut now. That’s the case with two fairytale musical productions hoping for a longer life whose festival run is a chance to engineer that happily ever after. Bliss, co-created by Tyler Beattie and Emma Lively, won a new play award in the US in 2019 and had its world premiere in Seattle the year after. A handful of its songs were released in 2022. Now developed into what is billed as “the biggest new musical of the Edinburgh fringe”, it has a cast of 17 which exceeds regular fringe proportions – as does the running time (80 minutes rather than the standard hour)...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 7:00:52 AM
sports

Chess: Praggnanandhaa takes $200,000 Grand Tour finals after So wins Sinquefield Cup

The Indian, just 21, scored his second major success of the summer following Norway Chess at Oslo while Wesley So halved to Sinquefield Cup victory with nine straight draws India’s world No 12, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, won the Grand Chess Tour finals in St Louis on Thursday night when he defeated the US world No 2, Fabiano Caruana, in a mix of classical, rapid and blitz games by 15-13. It was the 21-year-old’s second major success of the summer following Norway Chess at Oslo and it earned him a record $200,000 first prize, up from $150,000 in 2025. Earlier, Wesley So, the US world No 6, won the prestigious Sinquefield Cup and over $100,000 for the second year in succession, despite a run of nine mostly colourless draws...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 7:00:50 AM
power

How the Iran war unfolded: every attack and oil price change – visualised

From the first US and Israeli strikes six months ago to the battle for Hormuz, this timeline plots how Trump’s war on Iran quickly became a regional conflict with global economic consequences On 28 February 2026, the US and Israel began large-scale strikes on Iran. Tehran responded by attacking Israeli and US allies across the Gulf. Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed on the first day of strikes, and the strait of Hormuz – a crucial waterway for transporting oil – was effectively closed soon after. The conflict quickly became a regional war with global economic consequences. Donald Trump: EPA/Trump Vance transition team US CENTCOM: AP Abbas Araghchi: AP Esmail Baqaei: Getty/Anadolu Masoud Pezeshkian: AP Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf: Getty/NurPhoto Iran flag: Alamy..

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 6:00:50 AM
world

Flood risk forces halt to rescues in Tibet, as Nepal death toll rises to 469

Lake has formed at epicentre of flood, forcing rescue teams to withdraw, Chinese state media report Nepal flash flood – latest updates Nearly 1,400 missing, mostly tourists, and hundreds killed Visual guide: how the deadly flooding unfolded Tell us: have you been affected by the flash floods? China has paused rescue work at the epicentre of the catastrophic flooding in Tibet this week amid fears that a lake ⁠formed at the ⁠site ⁠was ⁠at risk ​of ‌bursting, as the overall death toll in Nepal rose to 469 people, with more than 1,300 missing. A lake formed by immense piles of debris has begun overflowing towards the area where rescue teams were headed, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Friday...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 5:45:36 AM
world

Please don’t rearrange our shoes when we turn up, paramedics in Japan urge

It is polite to reposition a guest’s shoes when they arrive, but the emergency services in one city advise just skipping that part Etiquette, manners and consideration for others are integral pillars of Japanese society but there are times when they might go a step too far, according to one city’s emergency services. The fire department in the central city of Kanazawa has urged people not to tidy up the shoes that paramedic crews have taken off when entering a house, warning it could hinder their ability to get in or out quickly, particularly when carrying someone on a stretcher...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 5:25:07 AM
world

South Korea backs Trump’s North Korea outreach, but warns against being sidelined

South Korea supports US President Donald Trump’s efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, ‌but aims to ensure its security posture is not weakened and that Seoul is not sidelined, according to South Korea’s national security adviser. Seoul believed the resumption of talks between the US and North Korea should focus on progress on the North Korean nuclear weapons issue and must not undermine the country’s security readiness, Wi Sung-lac told reporters on Friday. “One point to keep in mind is...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 4:56:43 AM
power

US visa interviews on hold; China slams fresh sanctions over Iran: SCMP’s 7 highlights

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. The path to America is narrowing. Here’s what that means for legal immigrants US green card interviews are on hold worldwide, student and work visas are subject to new restrictions, and citizenship is under fresh scrutiny. The SCMP...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 4:45:04 AM
business

From maligned second city to Insta magnet: Marseille isFrance’s new capital of overtourism

This summer has been a tipping point. But it’s not too late to save what makes this place unique When I first started visiting Marseille more than 20 years ago, few could have predicted that France’s then beleaguered second city would become one of the most popular destinations in the most-visited country in the world. Tarnished by stereotypes and home to some of Europe’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, the port city seemed down on its luck, unloved and, in the eyes of many, somewhere to avoid. Tourists stopping at the city’s Saint-Charles station would clutch their bags while waiting for their connecting train to rural Provence, or the beaches of the Côte d’Azur. Two decades on, poverty and drug gang violence still affect parts of Marseille, but this rough diamond has been reinvented as a modish holiday destination. Last month, I saw a local TV channel asking whether Marseille had become France’s capital of tourism, after Booking.com revealed it had surpassed Paris and Nice as the most searched-for destination for French users of the site. Breathless foreign media coverage – the New York Times published a “36 hours in Marseille” guide in 2019 and another one in 2025 – has driven the number of overseas visitors. From seaside petanque to vocoder rap and pizza served on aluminium plates, influencers revel in the golden-hued aesthetic of the urban riviera and promote the city’s most Instagram-friendly corners. Tourist numbers are expected to reach almost 7 million this year...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 4:00:50 AM
culture

‘I’m an ever-changing vessel’: Erykah Badu on defying definition, life as a birth and death doula and her first album in 11 years

Why do the Texan innovator’s records take so long to make? ‘It’s important to gather the data,’ she says: the death, dating and dopamine behind her exquisite comeback alongside the Alchemist Erykah Badu needs the lights down low. The singer, producer, actor and registered doula shuffles into a private room at London’s Soho hotel and quietly asks for some changes to the atmosphere: lights dimmed, soft seat. A green juice would be great. As it turns out, Badu was out last night with Dave Chappelle, sitting with the comedian at a grand piano and playing songs into the wee hours. She looks mischievous when she thinks about the impromptu party, but declines to go into detail about what, exactly, went on. Instead, the 55-year-old smiles at me, eyes wide, her gold teeth glinting in the low light: “Oh yes,” she says slowly and quietly, like some kind of mysterious warlock. “It was a late one …”..

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 4:00:49 AM
world

What could Meta’s US settlement mean around the world – and what now for other claims against firm?

Other governments could seek similar concessions, while separate legal action is pending in places ranging from Kenya to the Netherlands In October 2021, Abrham Meareg’s father, a professor of chemistry in Ethiopia’s northern town of Bahir Dar, was shot at close range and died outside his family home. This was in the middle of the country’s civil war. For weeks, Facebook’s algorithm had actively promoted posts calling for the academic to be murdered, according to Meareg and Foxglove, a nonprofit organisation supporting Meareg’s lawsuit against the company in Kenya. These posts included photos of his father and his home address...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 4:00:48 AM
world

China-Nepal disaster death toll nears 500 as lake overflow threatens rescue work

The death toll from catastrophic flash floods and mudslides at the Gyirong Port border crossing between China and Nepal continued to rise on Friday, as satellite images revealed the full scale of the destruction. As of Friday morning, three people were confirmed dead and 558 missing on the Chinese side of the border, with 469 dead and at least 644 missing in Nepal. The tragedy unfolded on Wednesday morning when a massive Himalayan landslide triggered a fast-moving debris flow that swept down...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 3:51:41 AM
world

ICE agents in US to be equipped with pain-delivering electric shock gloves

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a US$16.7 million contract to purchase 6,000 pairs of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks, saying officers would use them to control detainees and protesters who resist. ICE moved forward with the purchase despite opposition from civil rights advocates and Democratic members of Congress, who said ICE officers cannot be trusted to use them appropriately. A notice published in a federal database Thursday said ICE entered into a no-bid...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 3:38:43 AM
world

South Korea, Japan and US set joint drills despite Trump cuts

South Korea said on Friday it would hold joint military exercises with the United States and Japan in September, after Washington scaled back annual drills with Seoul in an apparent bid to encourage dialogue with North Korea. The three countries would conduct the North Korea-focused Freedom Edge exercise from September 7 to 11 in international waters east and south of South Korea’s Jeju Island, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. “This exercise is a defensive drill conducted annually by...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 3:35:37 AM
health

China thinks big on brain-computer interfaces after world-first surgery

Chinese surgeons last month completed the world’s first commercial surgery to implant an invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) device in a patient with a spinal cord injury, a milestone in the neurotechnology development race with US companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink. This month a Chinese company, state-owned PICC Property and Casualty, launched the world’s first commercial insurance policy covering BCI implantation surgery. September will see the first undergraduates in China to major in...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 3:17:36 AM
world

South Korea to re-examine 310,000 missing person cases after fake record scandal

Renewed scrutiny comes after police officer accused of falsifying records in order to close the cases of people who were later found dead South Korean police will re-examine about 310,000 missing persons cases closed over the past three years, prompted by a scandal in which an officer was arrested on suspicion of falsifying records to close files on two people who were later found dead. The case has drawn national attention, with President Lee Jae Myung ordering an investigation into the police handling of it and telling the force to draw up a reform plan...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 3:06:40 AM
power

US judge blocks rule implementing Trump plan to curb mail-in ballots

A US federal judge on Thursday blocked the US Postal Service from implementing core parts of a new rule it adopted at President Donald Trump’s direction that would tighten mail-in voting requirements ahead of the November congressional elections. US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued a temporary restraining order ‌at the behest of Democratic-led states and voting rights groups after the US Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling that led to the lifting of earlier injunctions blocking...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 2:51:40 AM
world

Nepal-Tibet flash flood live updates: debris-clogged river at risk of flooding again; rescuers race to find survivors

The catastrophic flash flood has killed at least 389 people and left more than 1,300 missing, with hundreds of tourists unaccounted for Nearly 1,400 missing, mostly tourists, and hundreds killed Visual guide: how the deadly flooding unfolded Tell us: have you been affected by the flash floods? Chinese authorities have warned that an artificial lake formed after a catastrophic flash flood hit the China-Nepal border on Wednesday faces a “high risk of breaching and sending flood waters downstream”, according to state media. “According to forecasts, inflows into the lake could reach about 3 million cubic meters over the next three days amid continued rainfall, increasing the risk of a breach that could send flood waters downstream and potentially cause further damage in areas including Gyirong Port and elsewhere downstream”, state news agency Xinhua reported late Thursday. Rescue teams and military helicopters are searching for hundreds of missing people along the mountainous Nepal-Tibet border after a huge torrent of water and mud swept through communities following a glacier collapse on Wednesday. More than 390 people were killed, authorities in Nepal and China said, and more than 1,400 were missing, including hundreds of foreign citizens and pilgrims. More than 500 foreign citizens were among 826 people missing in Nepal, police and tourism ⁠officials said. Among those unaccounted for were 177 from India, 90 from the US, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada. Chinese state media said at least 558 were missing on the Tibet side of the border, of whom at least 260 were foreign nationals. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said he ordered the release of $2m from the UN’s central emergency response fund to help with medical care, shelter and water. US president Donald Trump said the flooding was terrible to see, describing how “strong, well-built buildings were wiped out like they were toothpicks”. Nepalese officials said dozens of bridges were destroyed and nearly 40km of roads damaged, complicating search efforts. The Nepalese army had rescued more than 100 people by helicopter, an army spokesperson said. Army teams also evacuated people trapped inside facilities linked to the Trishuli hydropower project, he said. Dozens of injured people were transported to Kathmandu for medical care. Rescuers found bodies in Nepal’s Chitwan district, hundreds of kilometres downstream from the hardest-hit areas. The Nepal Red Cross Society said the agency has shifted its focus from rescue to large-scale relief operations in the flood-hit districts. China’s premier, Li Qiang, arrived on Thursday in Gyirong to direct rescue efforts, alongside 500 military and paramilitary personnel...

The Guardian • 8/28/2026, 2:27:38 AM
world

And then there were seven in the silent hills

After decades of being caught between Maoists and the police, the seven families still living in Telangana’s Karreguttalu Hills are discovering life beyond fear. Once a formidable Maoist stronghold on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border, the hills are now opening up with roads, security infrastructure and the promise of electricity and development. But return of the State’s writ also raises questions about the future of the forests and the communities that have lived here for decades. Abhinay Deshpande reports

The Hindu • 8/28/2026, 2:27:26 AM
world

Thirty years of advancing equal opportunity

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Thirty years after Hong Kong established a statutory body to combat discrimination, equal opportunity has become increasingly embedded in laws, workplaces and community. As the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) marks its 30th anniversary this year, its record offers much to reflect on, but the work is far from finished considering the challenges brought by changing social needs. Following the enactment of the Sex...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 2:00:08 AM
world

White House construction cited in Trump helicopter close call with airliner

Construction work at the White House was a factor in the US presidential helicopter passing too close to a passenger plane in the skies over Washington earlier this month, investigators said Thursday. The close pass happened on August 4 after President Donald Trump took off on Marine One from a temporary site on the Ellipse, outside the grounds of the White House, during the construction of a permanent helipad inside the grounds. The White House and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 1:49:39 AM
world

Expanded Mid-Autumn Festival lantern show to light up Hong Kong. Here’s what to see

A more international and upgraded lantern show is set to light up Hong Kong’s Victoria Park during the Mid-Autumn Festival next month, as part of the city’s efforts to entice locals and tourists alike. The International Lantern Spectacular, organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, will be held at the Causeway Bay park between September 17 and 27, complementing other festive activities such as the Fire Dragon Dance in the nearby Tai Hang neighbourhood. To help readers get into the spirit of the...

South China Morning Post • 8/28/2026, 1:00:11 AM
power

Why Southeast Asia isn’t buying the US’ offer of ‘flexible realism’

In arguably his most important foreign trip, Elbridge Colby, US undersecretary for defence policy, visited key Southeast Asian capitals this month. In a speech in Manila, the Pentagon policy chief extolled America’s “flexible realism”, which he said serves “the practical, concrete interests of regular Americans” and echoes Southeast Asian nations’ commitment to “pragmatism, an openness to dialogue, respect for counterparts, proud nationalism, and a focus on economic prosperity”. Amid the United...

South China Morning Post • 8/27/2026, 9:30:08 PM
sports

USA’s Russell and Brazil’s Dos Santos smash world records on ‘crazy’ night in Zurich

Dos Santos and Russell smash hurdles world records Werro comes within 0.42sec of 800m world record Bednarek and Wanyonyi clock world-leading times Masai Russell and Alison Dos Santos each set a world record while Mondo Duplantis won a historic pole vault on a frenetic Thursday night in Zurich. The Letzigrund Stadium had a raucous sell-out 25,000 crowd and the still, balmy weather conditions helped the athletes no end...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 9:05:05 PM
sports

Uefa raises stakes with criminal complaint in battle to unseat Infantino | Matt Hughes

Uefa has begun a legal process against the embattled Fifa president in a dramatic new development Anyone who interpreted Uefa’s decision to withdraw a proposed boycott of Fifa competitions, revealed by the Guardian on Wednesday, as a backward step in the attempt to remove Gianni Infantino as Fifa’s president has been quickly disabused of that notion. In a stunning development that overshadowed one of the biggest days in the European football calendar as national football federation and club executives gathered for the Champions League draw in Monte Carlo, Uefa announced it was preparing to make a legal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland alleging “criminal mismanagement” for his role in the failed World Cup sell-off plan...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 7:00:36 PM
climate

Climate crisis could be destabilising mountain areas like Nepal, experts warn

Unusual heat this year may have melted ice and thawed bonds that hold glaciers in place – leading to catastrophe Nepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updates What caused the flash flood in Nepal and Tibet? The devastating flash flood that ripped through the border communities of Nepal and Tibet has heightened fears that the climate crisis is destabilising the geology of mountain and polar regions, threatening millions of people. Satellite imagery suggests a glacier collapse high in the Himalayas was the primary cause of the deadly torrent of mud, water and ice that tore along the Bhotekoshi River on Wednesday. It swept away buildings and roads and left at least 360 dead and 1,400 missing...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 6:02:51 PM
science

El Niño climate patterns supercharged by burning of fossil fuels, study finds

‘Godzilla’ event currently brewing could push 50 million people into acute hunger before the end of next year A series of strong El Niño climatic patterns in recent decades, such as the “Godzilla” event currently brewing that is set to warp weather around the world, have been supercharged by the broader overheating of the planet caused by the burning of fossil fuels, a major new study has found. El Niño is a naturally occurring phenomenon, taking place every two to seven years, when the waters of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean heat up, causing a cascade of impacts around the world. The latest developing El Niño, set to peak later this year, is set to be the strongest in living memory and has been informally dubbed a “Godzilla” event...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 6:00:34 PM
world

Red Cross mobilises in Nepal following natural disaster: 'Entire villages & communities washed out'

François Picard is pleased to welcome Tommaso Della Longa, Spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The immediate challenge in Nepal is not only the scale of destruction, explains Della Longa, but the difficulty of reaching communities whose roads, bridges and communications have been swept away. Their priority remains search and rescue and the delivery of life-saving assistance, even as they begin preparing for longer-term recovery. Yet this is also a deeply human crisis for first responders: local Red Cross volunteers are supporting their own communities while some have themselves lost homes or relatives.

France 24 • 8/27/2026, 5:53:51 PM
world

Why Trump wants H-1B skilled worker visas to cost employers more than $100,000

US President Donald Trump is once again trying to impose a $100,000 fee on employers seeking to hire skilled temporary foreign workers through the H-1B visa programme. But while tech titans like Elon Musk have long championed the programme as a crucial way of drawing top global talent to Silicon Valley, critics on both left and right say the scheme is largely used to replace skilled US-born workers with cheaper – and more easily controlled – foreign guest workers.

France 24 • 8/27/2026, 5:24:55 PM
power

US Patriot missile shortage in Europe ‘beyond critical’ due to Iran war, officials say

The US military is experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by US President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, an American defence official in Europe and a Nato official said, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in Nato countries to a potential Russian attack. The US defence official said the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles. The Nato official...

South China Morning Post • 8/27/2026, 4:52:49 PM
sports

Spurs paying price for World Cup and pre-season trip to Australia

Too many players are off the pace and Roberto De Zerbi has had no hesitation in naming names Jan Paul van Hecke was among those given an unwanted name-check by Roberto De Zerbi after Tottenham’s 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday. Not at the right level physically, was the gist of the manager’s comments. De Zerbi also mentioned Marcos Senesi and Sandro Tonali, two more of the club’s new signings. Their condition had to come as no surprise. It certainly did not to De Zerbi...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 3:27:04 PM
world

'National treasure: If we could all be like Dolly, it would be a much better place in the world'

As the world pays homage to the life and legacy of Dolly Parton, François Picard is pleased to welcome Nashville's Irene Kelley, Country musician and celebrated songwriter, alongside her daughter, Justyna Kelley, Country musician, songwriter, actress and producer. For the Kelley family, Dolly Parton’s significance lies in the extraordinary reach of her music, and even more in the way she turned intimate stories into something remarkably universal. Her songs were grounded in home and family, sharing life's immense struggles, while staying true to her values. The Kelleys see Parton as a national treasure who transcended generations, social class and the great political divide.

France 24 • 8/27/2026, 3:21:20 PM
world

USS Abraham Lincoln to visit port in Thailand after more than 250 days at sea

Thai navy says ‘routine’ visit’ will allow personnel to rest and recuperate amid reports of poor conditions onboard The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is set to make a temporary stop in Thailand next week as it heads back to the United States, Thai navy officials said, after spending more than 250 consecutive days at sea supporting US operations against Iran amid recent reports of poor living conditions and low morale onboard the vessel. The Lincoln left the Middle East several days ago after being relieved by the USS George Washington, and is now heading home to San Diego. A Thai navy official told Reuters this week that the carrier was expected to make a brief port visit in Thailand next week for the crew to rest and recuperate before continuing their journey home...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 3:05:55 PM
culture

Owl at Home review – this Edinburgh fringe hoot is a wise choice for children

Gilded Balloon Teviot, Edinburgh Songs, physical comedy and clever design come together in Theatr Iolo’s adaptation of Arnold Lobel’s offbeat story, aimed at over-fives Arnold Lobel was a writer with a keen sense of the seasons. Frog and Toad Are Friends, one of my favourite books since childhood, has a wonderful story where the excitable Frog wakes up his grumpy friend Toad and tricks him into enjoying the dawn of spring with him. Those stories celebrate togetherness but Lobel’s collection Owl at Home is about aloneness and being at one with your surroundings – even when the arrival of winter brings a snowstorm blowing through your roost. With his hair gelled into tufts, George Williams plays Owl in this adaptation by Rina Vergano and Theatr Iolo, directed by Lee Lyford. We find Williams dozing in an armchair on Anisha Fields’ accomplished set, which retains the cosy essence of Lobel’s illustrations but is less twee. The roost functions as an equally eccentric character in itself, filled with contraptions, dark wooden furniture and a periscope to nervously keep an eye on the world outside...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 2:53:25 PM
sports

Uefa preparing to bring criminal claims against Gianni Infantino over World Cup sale

Uefa says claims will be made in Switzerland It says claims relate to alleged criminal mismanagement Uefa is preparing to make a criminal complaint against Gianni Infantino for alleged “criminal mismanagement” in connection with his failed Fifa Forward Enterprise plan and has applied for the release of documents related to its conception. In an explosive escalation of the war engulfing football’s governing bodies, Uefa has made separate applications in the United States for information, including from Fifa...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 2:06:37 PM
health

AI can detect heart disease in women using mammograms, study suggests

Experts say findings mean breast screenings for cancer could also flag cardiovascular problems in women Doctors have discovered a way to use routine mammograms that screen for breast cancer to spot heart disease, the world’s leading – and frequently underdiagnosed – cause of death in women. Researchers analysed the scans using artificial intelligence and were able to successfully identify women with coronary heart disease, high blood pressure or who had suffered a stroke...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 2:00:16 PM
climate

Why climate extremes will not stop expansion of China’s nuclear power industry

While extreme weather is disrupting nuclear power generation in some parts of the world, it is unlikely to derail China’s rapid expansion in the sector, according to an industry specialist. The unusually hot and dry summer has disrupted reactors across Europe, forcing units to shut down from France to Romania, as river levels have fallen and water temperatures risen. France – where nuclear accounts for around 70 per cent of electricity generation – had a record shortfall of more than 20 per cent...

South China Morning Post • 8/27/2026, 2:00:10 PM
technology

AI-proof? Younger workers desert the digital world for traditional crafts

In a disrupted job market people are turning to heritage crafts such as bookbinding, metalwork and boatbuilding It’s a bleak moment for young people entering the workforce for the first time. For decades, a university degree seemed to promise a stable career – but entry-level white-collar jobs across almost all sectors are being disrupted by AI. Budding accountants, software engineers and junior lawyers increasingly find themselves displaced by cheap automation. Even creative fields are struggling against AI tech that can produce artwork, lengthy prose or complex design briefs in seconds...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 1:38:30 PM
technology

An $18bn settlement is a drop in the ocean for Meta – but the tide will still come for it | Chris Stokel-Walker

This week’s settlement without liability was pragmatic, but it doesn’t change the inevitability of further lawsuits around the world Not many people would count paying $18bn they didn’t expect to when they woke up that morning as a victory. Yet for Meta, the owners of Facebook and Instagram, the agreement with 52 US attorneys general to settle claims that it designed its products to be addictive to children, and misled people about their safety, could be described as a win of sorts. Meta denies wrongdoing, and the amount it plans to pay will be spread over a decade. Some of it is contingent on other big tech firms not named in its case coughing up too. The cash is chump change for Meta, which made around $60bn in profit last year. More damaging to the tech giant in the long run could be the agreement to unwind some of the mechanics it has spent two decades perfecting to keep us on its platforms. Chris Stokel-Walker is the author of TikTok Boom: The Inside Story of the World’s Favourite App..

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 1:11:16 PM
climate

Hiker reunited with backpack 60 years after he fell into a glacier in Austria

Bag, camera and pipe belonging to 86-year-old are latest relics uncovered as glaciers melt due to global heating An 86-year-old mountaineer has been reunited with his backpack and climbing equipment after they emerged from a melting glacier in Austria – more than 60 years after he was forced to leave them there. Items including an ice axe, camera and a pipe dating from the 1950s or 1960s were discovered on the Sulztalferner glacier in Austria’s Tyrol region, at an altitude of 2,955 metres (9,700ft) above sea level, by a hiker in July...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 1:03:31 PM
culture

‘She should have been queen of the world!’ Readers remember Dolly Parton

From quiet acts of generosity and life-changing gigs to singing for a professional puppeteer, Dolly Parton has had a profound impact on readers’ lives • Photo gallery: fans pay tribute to Dolly Parton I had the opportunity to meet her when I volunteered to work the Country Music Awards in the late 70s. Me and three other kids had Dolly all to ourselves for about 20 minutes. I remember with disbelief how she took several unhurried minutes with each of us and gave us her undivided attention for that time. She had no reason to do this. She was just as genuine as they come. Her philanthropy was exceptional. Her talent speaks for itself. I miss her already. Larry Lipman, Tennessee..

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 1:02:10 PM
world

US lawmakers condemn right-wing podcast’s calls for Chinese-American internment

Asian-American lawmakers in the US Congress have condemned a right-wing podcast that called for the forced internment of Chinese-Americans during a hypothetical war with Beijing, warning that such rhetoric fuelled hate against the community. The joint statement was released by congresswomen Grace Meng, chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Capac), and Judy Chu, Capac’s chairwoman emerita, as well as congressman Ted Lieu, vice-chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. The...

South China Morning Post • 8/27/2026, 1:00:05 PM
power

Iran endures 6 months of US strikes as Trump’s war goals hit ‘dangerous impasse’

The Iran war has reached its endgame: a costly stalemate. Six months after US and Israeli ⁠forces attacked Iran, killing its supreme leader and maiming his son and successor, the Iranian government is under economic siege, but it still holds power and believes it has time on its side. A threat by US President Donald Trump to impose crippling new sanctions on Iran faces a fundamental problem: Tehran is betting he will not take the final step to break the stalemate – aggressively enforcing...

South China Morning Post • 8/27/2026, 11:53:30 AM
world

Meta agrees to pay $18 billion to settle US teen addiction lawsuits

Meta will pay up to $18 billion over the next decade and strictly limit how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under an agreement with nearly all US states to resolve claims it designed those social media platforms to addict children. The settlements announced on Wednesday end a federal trial over allegations Meta's products harmed children and the company misled the public about their safety.

France 24 • 8/27/2026, 9:29:24 AM
power

UK urged to help free British-Egyptian ‘arrested in Cairo over sister’s activism’

Lawyers claim Eman el-Shazly, from Birmingham, was detained in effort to silence her sister, a critic of Sisi regime The UK Foreign Office has been asked to intervene to secure the release of a British-Egyptian woman who it is claimed has been arrested in Cairo because of her sister’s political activism. Eman el-Shazly, a 45-year-old based in Birmingham, was arrested on 16 August while visiting Egypt. Her lawyers say she has been detained in an attempt to silence her sister Mona, a relentless and harsh critic of the Egyptian government on her UK-based YouTube channel...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 8:00:09 AM
sports

Reality check: just how good is Britain’s Moses Itauma? The expert view

Before the IBF world heavyweight title clash with Filip Hrgovic on Saturday, Barry Jones and Andy Lee analyse the unbeaten fighter On Saturday night the 21-year-old Moses Itauma expects to become the second-youngest world heavyweight champion in history, after Mike Tyson, when he fights Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic for the IBF title at the O2 Arena in London. In an attempt to sift through the hype and to assess the potential Itauma has shown, the Guardian asked Barry Jones and Andy Lee for their expert views on the strengths and possible weaknesses of the young British fighter. Itauma promises to become the dominant new force of the unpredictable heavyweight division but Hrgovic is his first real test as he strives to become a world champion in just his 15th fight...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 7:00:09 AM
sports

‘You start all over’: Linda Noskova battles fame and desire after Wimbledon glory

The women’s singles champion at SW19 on her off-court passions, growing up in Czechia, and the aftermath of achieving her dream Linda Noskova has spent almost her entire life working towards mastering her sport. She began travelling around Czechia, Europe and then the world for tournaments before she was a teenager. Her life decisions have revolved around tennis for as long as she can remember. Those early years prepared Noskova for the challenge of winning her first grand slam title, but the biggest lesson from her triumph at Wimbledon last month has been her lack of preparedness for everything that followed. The world did not come to a halt upon the completion of her ultimate goal. Life continues at the same pace, and now she must find her place in the sport once more...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 7:00:08 AM
world

Nearly 1,500 missing, mostly tourists, after Nepal-Tibet flash flood kills at least 165

Entire villages swept away after glacial collapse triggers flood in mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrims Nepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updates What we know so far Have you been affected by the flash floods? Nearly 1,500 people are missing, the majority of them tourists, authorities have said, after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet, roaring down valleys and wiping out entire villages, with the preliminary death toll standing at 165. Rescuers are racing to locate people missing in the mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrims, including the hundreds of nationals from India, the US, UK, Australia and Canada...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 6:51:40 AM
world

South Korean police look to charge 7 for lying about concrete structure in Jeju Air crash

South Korea’s police said on Thursday they were seeking indictments of seven transport ministry officials over the 2024 Jeju Air crash that killed all but two of the 181 people on board. The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air skidded off the runway at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea after its landing gear failed to deploy, slamming into a concrete structure and bursting into flames. Authorities have found traces of bird strike in the plane’s engines and the plane’s two black...

South China Morning Post • 8/27/2026, 4:06:52 AM
culture

Jeers, walkouts, stage invasions: will Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists trigger British audiences too?

It has inspired violent protests from Norway to Rome – and now it’s hitting the UK. Playwright Tiago Rodrigues explains why the far-right speech at the drama’s climax has proved so incendiary In February, turbulent scenes inside a German theatre made headlines around the globe. During the final act of a play at Schauspielhaus theatre in Bochum, the audience first jeered and whistled at a performer in the role of a far-right politician. An orange lobbed from the auditorium narrowly missed its target; eventually, two spectators climbed on to the stage and tried to wrestle the actor off. News of the incident travelled around the world: it seemed a bizarre throwback to a world in which people were not able to tell the difference between art and real life, like 19th-century Parisians stampeding out of a cinema after watching a train hurtle towards the camera. For the man who wrote the play, however, it was nothing unusual. “I was not surprised by the reaction,” says Portuguese playwright Tiago Rodrigues. “I was surprised by the fact that it was so surprising for so many people.” He describes the audience’s reaction to his play Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists as “very intense”, but also “typical”...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 4:00:07 AM
climate

The flat-pack skyscraper: how wood can shape the cities of the future

Our buildings are monuments to extraction and extreme emissions. But what if we turned from destructive concrete to timber? Last chance to buy the summer issue of The Long Read magazine, now with 15% off. It felt like arriving into the future. Or, at least, a fragment of a possible future. I drove north in the quiet digital bubble of my electric rental car. In 2024, Norway became the first country in the world where electric cars outnumbered petrol cars. A smooth, pristine motorway unfolded between farmlands and low hillsides of dense green forest. Long tunnels carried the route up above the banks of Lake Mjøsa, Norway’s largest lake. After a little more than an hour, the road curved downward to run parallel to the lakeshore...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 4:00:06 AM
technology

Everyone hates datacentres. Do we really need them? – podcast

AI companies have promised us world-shifting technology. But there’s a cost: loud, unsightly datacentres that drain environmental resources. As the government pushes their rapid growth, can local communities do anything to push back? Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s global technology reporter Aisha Down about the backlash to datacentres across the UK and around the world For tickets to the Science Weekly live event at the London podcast festival on the future of AI, visit the event page at kingsplace.co.uk Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod..

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 4:00:05 AM
climate

France to relax cheese production rules after drought takes toll on grazing land

Comté, beaufort and abondance makers can temporarily supplement cows’ diets as there is ‘no grass left to eat’ Strict production rules will be loosened for some of France’s most famous cheeses after drought and repeated heatwaves dried out grazing pastures, threatening the livelihoods of traditional dairy workers. Comté, a hard cheese made from raw cows’ milk in the Jura mountains, is France’s top-selling traditional cheese, with more than 62,000 tonnes produced last year. The government announced on Wednesday that its producers would be granted a temporary change to strict rules on grazing after farmers said extreme heat had scorched their pastures, putting production at risk...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 4:00:03 AM
technology

Black Box: episode 4 – Bing and I – podcast

Revisited: Guardian journalist Michael Safi looks into the world of artificial intelligence, exploring the dangers and promises it holds for society Today in Focus is on a summer break and will be back with new episodes from 1 September. In the meantime, we are bringing you season one of Black Box, before the launch of season two in early September. This episode was first broadcast on 14 March 2024. Two stories about the way artificial intelligence could make the world better – and is already doing so. In Montana, when Lee Johnson discovered his wife, Yokie, had cancer, he turned to AI – and was surprised by the answers he got. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, Prof Regina Barzilay’s experience with cancer has led her to build an AI system that can detect the disease years before a human can...

The Guardian • 8/27/2026, 2:00:01 AM
health

London neurosurgeons perform first successful AI-assisted operation to remove brain tumour

Surgeons aided by real-time analysis of camera footage that identified critical anatomy in brain to be avoided Neurosurgeons in London have performed the world’s first successful AI-assisted operation to remove a brain tumour, saving the sight of a 48-year-old man, health officials have said. The surgery was performed in May at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN), part of University College London hospitals NHS foundation trust, but details were kept secret until Thursday while the patient, Rhys Hibbert, recovered...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 11:01:25 PM
sports

Chelsea in talks with Martínez’s camp as Aston Villa close on striker Jackson

Blues consider making offer for Argentina goalkeeper Villa agree £65m Jackson deal as Watkins nears £50m exit Manchester City expected to make bid for Fernández Chelsea have been offered Emiliano Martínez and are considering a bid for the goalkeeper. The club are in talks with Martínez’s camp, and are also braced for a bid from Manchester City for the World Cup winner’s Argentina teammate Enzo Fernández. Martínez has told Aston Villa he wants to leave but a move to Juventus collapsed last week after Villa had signed his replacement, Zion Suzuki, from Parma for £30m...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 9:30:42 PM
world

South-Africa kingpin and the corruption commission

In tonight's programme, a three-day testimony of an alleged underworld kingpin exposed how deep the link between alleged criminals and high profile police officers is in South Africa. Also, in Tunisia grieving families lay their lost youth, all victims of a boat that went down in the Mediterranean Sea over the weekend. And finally in an era of mass production and electric machines, a young Kenyan fashion designer is taking a slower approach.

France 24 • 8/26/2026, 8:48:12 PM
climate

Girl, 13, among missing British citizens after flash flood in Nepal

More than 400 travellers are said to be missing after flood on Tibet border, including 33 Britons Flash floods on Nepal-Tibet border – latest updates Thirty-three British citizens including a 13-year-old girl are among more than 400 travellers missing after a flash flood on the Nepal-Tibet border, according to Nepal’s tourism board. The sudden flood happened on the Tibetan side of the Bhote Koshi River at about 8.30am local time on Wednesday. The 33 UK citizens are among at least 341 foreign nationals unaccounted for...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 5:33:33 PM
business

The London stock market dodged a bullet with Shein | Nils Pratley

China’s fashion giant will list in Hong Kong with a shrunken price tag – and big questions over its business model In a parallel world, we might now be preparing for the arrival on the London stock market of Shein, the giant Chinese-founded fast-fashion retailer. Or it could have happened already. The possibility of a London flotation was a running story during 2024 and into last year as politicians from both main parties engaged in behind-the-scenes wooing. Shein was seen as a shot of tech adrenalin for a listless local listings scene, and an opportunity to advertise the UK’s openness to international capital...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 4:21:36 PM
world

‘Shockwaves throughout the country’ following ‘gruesome’ killings in Haitian mountain retreat

Genie Godula is pleased to welcome journalist Harold Isaac on the ground in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. He says what we are witnessing in Haiti is not simply another episode of gang violence, but a profound challenge to the authority of the state at a moment when the country is attempting to return to electoral politics. With armed groups controlling roughly 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, the capital is effectively under siege, while the circulation of people, goods and services increasingly requires some form of negotiation with gang power. The attack in Kenscoff is especially significant because of its proximity to some of the country’s most affluent areas. This as authorities seek to organize Haiti’s first elections in a decade, against a backdrop of arms smuggling, institutional fragility and an unresolved political transition.

France 24 • 8/26/2026, 3:45:21 PM
world

South African police arrest two Thai men for allegedly smuggling parrot eggs

Bird eggs intercepted in homemade incubators at Johannesburg airport as officials try to halt wildlife trafficking South African police have arrested two Thai nationals in separate incidents for allegedly attempting to smuggle endangered parrot eggs out of the country as authorities try to stem the tide of wildlife trafficking. A 50-year-old Thai national was arrested at OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg on 20 August, carrying 50 bird eggs in a homemade incubator in a hand-luggage bag, South Africa’s environment ministry said in a statement...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 3:09:58 PM
world

Turkey says dissolution of Kurdish-led group crucial for Syrian stability

Turkey on Wednesday said the dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) marked a key step towards strengthening state authority and achieving lasting stability in Syria. Turkey has long regarded the SDF as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which waged an insurgency against the Turkish state for decades. FRANCE 24's Jasper Mortimer reports from Ankara, Turkey.

France 24 • 8/26/2026, 2:56:59 PM
world

Gang attack in Haiti: Anger mounts over police failures

At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 others kidnapped after armed men attacked a once-peaceful community near Haiti’s capital earlier this week, the United Nations said Tuesday. It is believed to be one of the largest mass kidnappings in Haiti in recent years, and one gang leader is threatening to kill the hostages if authorities kill any gang members as they try to secure the community nestled in the hills above Port-au-Prince. Sunday’s attack on Kenscoff pierced the belief that security in the troubled Caribbean country was improving. Journalist Harold Isaac reports from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

France 24 • 8/26/2026, 2:55:31 PM
world

'In Ceuta, they are eating the cats': Fake images and a persistent rumour

Cats “massacred” in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta? Three weeks after thousands of migrants crossed the border into Ceuta, Spanish websites and social media users are claiming that the migrants who have stayed are killing cats. But all of the dead cat photos that have been shared so far are either fake or have been taken out of context. Our team spoke to a local cat rescue organisation, which also confirmed that this is a rumour.

France 24 • 8/26/2026, 2:54:50 PM
climate

​W​hy are European leaders staying silent after our summer of climate shock?

Lethal temperatures ​and wildfires have exposed a widening gulf between voters demanding ​action and politicians unwilling to confront the long-term choices global heating requires • Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? The term “climate change”, said Mélenchon – the most likely rival to Marine Le Pen in next year’s presidential run-off, according to one poll this week – may sound “almost reassuring”, but its actual impact will feel like “landing on another planet whenever we leave home”...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 2:40:15 PM
health

‘I catch the signs a lot earlier now’: Amanda Anisimova on burnout and bouncing back

World No 10 is one of the best players yet to win a major and heads to Flushing Meadows in fine form after learning to embrace being uncomfortable Amanda Anisimova can see the signs now. It is just over three years since the American announced she would be taking an indefinite break for mental health reasons. A brilliant junior, she was a semi-finalist at the French Open in 2019 and seemingly destined for the top, only for her world to be rocked by the sudden death of her father, Konstantin, a few months later. Struggling for motivation and burned out, in May 2023, she revealed she would be stepping away from the sport. It turned out to be the best decision she ever made. “I learned how important it is to have a great balance on and off the court,” Anisimova says in an interview from New York, ahead of the US Open, where she will try to go one better than last year and win her first grand slam title...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 1:00:13 PM
technology

Hope and concern swirl for Ohioans around ‘world’s largest datacenter’

Piketon datacenter promises to generate thousands of jobs, but environmental groups voice concern over project On a winding road tucked away behind forests in the Appalachian foothills of southern Ohio is where OpenAI, Nvidia and Japanese investors are set to spend $500bn on one of the largest artificial intelligence datacenters on the planet. Last March, the energy secretary, Chris Wright, the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick and a host of Japanese and other dignitaries briefly descended on Piketon to enthusiastically break ground on a project to build 8GW worth of AI computing power...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 12:00:12 PM
sports

Uefa to lift boycott threat after Fifa promises no World Cup sale repeat

Uefa has received guarantees after ill-fated Infantino plan European sides will go to under-20 Women’s World Cup Uefa is to drop its threatened boycott of Fifa competitions after receiving concrete guarantees that the global governing body will never attempt a repeat of Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup. European teams have been cleared for participation in the upcoming Under-20 Women’s World Cup, along with subsequent tournaments, after Fifa provided the binding assurances that no equivalent of its president’s ill-fated scheme will be put on the table...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 11:16:27 AM
world

Mawlid festivities cancelled in Ethiopia's Tigray region over fears of drone strikes

In Ethiopia, festivities marking Mawlid, the Muslim holiday celebrating the birth of the Prophet Mohammed, have been cancelled at the last minute over fears of drone strikes. The cancellation comes just days after another major Tigrayan festival, Ashenda, was also called off at the last minute for the same reason. Drone strikes hit northern Ethiopia in recent days, as tensions between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the Ethiopian government continue to escalate. FRANCE 24's Tom Canetti reports from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

France 24 • 8/26/2026, 11:06:38 AM
health

Mpox is back – and in new countries. How can this outbreak be contained?

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...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 11:00:12 AM
technology

Fake US thinktank set up and funded by Israel sought to game AI for propaganda

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...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 11:00:11 AM
world

‘Major casualties’ feared after flash floods along Nepal-Tibet border

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 Guardian • 8/26/2026, 10:45:44 AM
world

Kremlin says CIA chief met Russian counterparts, not Putin, in Moscow

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.

France 24 • 8/26/2026, 10:44:26 AM
world

Germany increasingly in the crosshairs of hybrid attacks

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.

France 24 • 8/26/2026, 10:29:05 AM
world

Israel takes control of UN training centre for Palestinians

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.

France 24 • 8/26/2026, 10:15:00 AM
power

How Mark Carney’s speeches have become political earthquakes | Ted Widmer

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 Guardian • 8/26/2026, 10:00:42 AM
climate

Heatwaves show UK must do more to promote cycling and walking, campaigners say

Civil society groups argue climate crisis means transport sector needs to urgently reduce its carbon emissions Dozens of civil society groups have demanded the UK government do more to promote cycling and walking, after this summer’s extreme heat exposed the desperate need to decarbonise transport. This summer’s heatwaves and wildfires were “immediate, real-world manifestations of the climate emergency”, the groups said, making reform of transport – responsible for more carbon emissions than any other sector in the UK – an urgent priority...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 7:00:37 AM
power

Around the world, people are rejecting divisive and dangerous politics. We can – and must – build on that | Gordon Brown

The vast majority of the global public wants international cooperation on human rights, climate and AI. Like-minded countries must stand together to deliver Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, is already having to make one of his gravest decisions. He has to issue the instructions that he alone gives to the military, setting out the UK response in a doomsday scenario of a nuclear weapons attack on us. He will, as I did two decades ago, sign a piece of paper telling commanders whether or not to retaliate and, if so, whether through targeting civilian conurbations or military sites. These instructions are written down in the aptly named “letter of last resort”. Now, more than at any time since the 1960s Cuban missile crisis, the European public fears a third world war. With the nuclear Doomsday Clock developed by atomic scientists moving ever closer to midnight, and Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Poland and Germany contemplating either acquiring nuclear weapons or siting them on their soil, our world is descending from a rules-based order to a power-based one, where might is deemed right and brute force dominates. Gordon Brown is the UN’s special envoy for global education and was UK prime minister from 2007 to 2010 The future starts with us: Gordon Brown in conversation On Thursday 10 September, join Hugh Muir and Gordon Brown to discuss the intricate connections between global instability and civic decline, as explored in Brown’s new book, The Future Starts With Us. Book tickets here..

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 5:00:35 AM
science

Sand overextraction weakening riverbanks as concrete demand soars

Research finds demand has more than doubled since 2000 and 80% of current demand comes from Asia A booming demand for concrete has resulted in sand and gravel being extracted from riverbeds faster than nature can replenish it. A study published in Reviews of Geophysics shows that the demand for sand and gravel has more than doubled in the last two decades, with overextraction leading to weaker riverbanks, lower groundwater levels, coastal salt intrusion and poorer water quality. In 2024, city-building and infrastructure projects around the world turned 28bn tonnes of sand and gravel into concrete. Researchers reviewed data on sand and gravel extraction going back to 1974 and have shown that since 2000 demand has more than doubled, with more than 80% of current demand coming from Asia, supporting urban development and road-building across China and India in particular. They found much of the material was being extracted from rivers across Asia and Africa. Data on extraction is scarce but where it does exist the researchers showed that extraction often exceeded natural sediment replacement severalfold...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 5:00:35 AM
money

Is the Trump Treasury panicking over the level of US debt?

With the federal deficit near 6% of GDP and the national debt over $40tn, America’s fiscal position looks increasingly precarious Bessent ‘will lose’ battle with bond markets, ex-mentor warns Are we seeing the first signs of panic in Donald Trump’s Treasury? The US is by far the world’s biggest debtor, and the steady rise in global long-term interest rates – which I have long argued was inevitable – is starting to cause real pain. Until now, the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has dismissed concerns about US debt, which recently surpassed $40tn, as a big nothingburger. Growth, in his telling, will be so spectacular the US will easily be able to meet its interest obligations without any significant tax rises or spending cuts, while the rest of the world will happily keep feeding it money. But if Bessent really believes that, why is he trying to strong-arm the bond market by fiddling with the maturity structure of government debt?..

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 5:00:34 AM
business

‘A mockery’: how offshore tax havens are thwarting the UK’s transparency push

Critics say ownership registers are too costly and too complicated, scuppering attempts to expose alleged money laundering Since Britain’s offshore secrecy jurisdictions caved in to pressure from Westminster to embrace corporate transparency, finding out who owns a company in one of these island havens is, in theory at least, a piece of cake. Take the Cayman Islands...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 4:00:34 AM
power

Iran faces strait of Hormuz paradox as strategic value of chokehold erodes

Internal calls to end war get louder as Gulf neighbours plan alternative pipelines to cut reliance on waterway Is the strait of Hormuz, recently cited by the office of the Iranian supreme leader as “the pillar of Iran’s new security order”, and as transformative as possessing a nuclear weapon, in reality becoming a fast-diminishing asset, leaving Iran increasingly vulnerable to the new planned US wave of economic sanctions? It is the key debate that is raging inside Iran, with many different conclusions being drawn for Tehran’s negotiating strategy. Those who warn the strait’s value as a chokehold on the world economy will erode, leaving the country without foreign exchange reserves, argue that Iran’s negotiators should seek a deal soon...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 4:00:33 AM
technology

Nine CEO confident new AI laws will deliver a ‘world of growth in publishing’ as network slashes costs

Matt Stanton says company has ‘good pipeline’ of AI deals ahead even as it aims to cut $160m in costs Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The head of Nine Entertainment sees a “world of growth in publishing” on the horizon backed by laws designed to force tech platforms into commercial deals, even as the network cuts costs across its newsrooms. Parliament passed revamped media bargaining laws last week, clearing the way for levies on global tech platforms that fail to strike deals with Australian news outlets for the use of their journalism...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 3:30:15 AM
climate

Typhoon Narra: record flood waters submerge homes and force mass evacuations in China

Heavy rain expected in parts of Vietnam and southern ‌China, as another storm system, Typhoon Saudel, heads for Japan and Taiwan Widespread flooding triggered by Typhoon Narra has submerged homes and forced mass evacuations in southern China, as another storm system tracked towards Japan and Taiwan. Authorities in Chongzuo, in China’s Guangxi region – famous for its giant waterfalls and karst limestone mountains – on Tuesday evacuated more than 15,000 people after water ⁠levels surpassed a record high set in 2008...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 1:46:25 AM
technology

In China, talking to AI is normal. Now the government fears it might replace human intimacy

Companion bots are being regulated over worries they foster ‘emotional dependence’ and young people could stop marrying and having families When law student Zhao Wei heard that her AI boyfriend was going to be switched off, she was “heartbroken”. She had been talking to Wang Ye every day since she created him in January. “I was crying my eyes out – snot and tears everywhere,” the 19-year-old says...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 12:47:38 AM
culture

The Dog Stars review – Ridley Scott’s lethargic postapocalyptic drama is a misfire

An adaptation of Peter Heller’s 2012 novel never finds its footing with overly familiar survival beats and a glum lack of energy Looking towards the end of an August movie dumping ground littered with more unwanted trash than usual, there seemed to be a faint glimmer of hope, a shiny treasure poking out through the dusty mass of unnecessary sequels and sex purge romcoms. Somehow, there was a $110m-budget adaptation of an acclaimed novel directed by Ridley Scott, led by a recently Oscar-nominated rising star with support from two Oscar-nominated actors and an Oscar-winner. But why then would such a film be unveiled in between the summer blockbuster season and the upcoming deluge of prestige fall festival big hitters? A cursed weekend that’s recently been home to Jay Roach’s heinous War of the Roses remake, Dennis Quaid’s Ronald Reagan biopic and George Miller’s hard-to-define and even harder-to-love flop Three Thousand Years of Longing. Ever since The Dog Stars, based on Peter Heller’s 2012 novel, had been yanked from its far more encouraging date at the end of March, there were multiple red flags flying and the rotten end of August has ultimately become an appropriate punishment for a limp and lethargic film that only briefly fascinates in pushing us to wonder what anyone was really hoping this would end up being. It’s yet another grubby postapocalyptic survival tale, an overcrowded subgenre that hasn’t just reached maximum capacity on the big screen but on the small one too. In a world of seven Walking Dead shows, the beats are now far too familiar – artfully dishevelled actors grieve for the past and fear for the future as they scramble to find and protect resources – and there’s nothing new or notable here to conjure anything but deja vu...

The Guardian • 8/26/2026, 12:00:28 AM
culture

Dolly Parton’s peerless career turned country music cliches inside out | Alexis Petridis

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?”..

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 6:07:47 PM
world

At least 47 killed and dozens kidnapped in gang attack near Haiti capital

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...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 5:35:16 PM
business

Canada announces retaliatory tariffs on wide range of US goods

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...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 4:17:44 PM
culture

‘The whole world is becoming rightwing and anti-gay’: William Yang on 60 years of capturing LGBTQ+ life

Yang has taken more than 500,000 photographs since he first moved to Sydney in the late 1960s and now devotes most of his time to untangling the past As a young adult, William Yang discovered that his family’s story was actually a murder mystery. His uncle, William Fang Yuen, was killed by an employee on the family’s farm in far north Queensland in 1922, but his mother refused to tell him the full story. In 1990, he travelled to Innisfail in search of the truth. One aunt told Yang that his uncle and the worker had got into a fight over a gambling debt, and the worker had stabbed him to death with a spear. A cousin said a gang was involved. A local woman, who had been a child at the time, remembered it as a card game gone wrong...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 3:00:17 PM
world

‘Not an isolated incident’: Russian drones stalk Ukraine’s civilians in ‘human safaris’

The video of a Ukrainian cyclist being targeted and killed by a short-range drone posted – and later deleted – by the Russian military Friday left viewers outraged and shaken. But it’s not the first time that Russian drone operators have been accused of terrorising Ukrainian civilians by deliberately targeting them in “human safaris” denounced as a war crime by an independent UN commission.

France 24 • 8/25/2026, 2:27:23 PM
climate

‘Not any old vermin’: rats numbers are on the rise thanks to global heating – and poison may not be the answer

Robert Corrigan has been dealing with the ‘smart’ rodents all his life – and believes there are better solutions to deal with the growing infestation in the world’s cities “The rodents have paid for every single bill I’ve ever had – every mortgage, every car payment, every pint of Guinness,” says Dr Robert Corrigan. “It’s been a great ride and I’m still at it.” New York-based Corrigan is one of the most respected voices in the world of rodentology. Now in his 70s, he has devoted his entire adult life to studying rats and our relationship with them...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 2:00:38 PM
climate

We asked our climate reporters to highlight one idea for positive change. We got a chronicle of global transformation

There are countless initiatives around the world that can inspire people and spur them into action. Amid the devastation of the climate crisis, our journalists strive to highlight these stories of hope Climate campaign 2026: help us reach 30,000 acts of support The news is very often about the bad things (especially if you’re on the Guardian’s environment desk). Wildfires, floods, tipping points, billionaires making huge profits and buying themselves island refuges for the apocalypse … And yet, ticking along beside that is the steady pulse of what the rest of humanity is doing in response to the climate crisis. From housing developments with no cars to buildings made out of hemp, all over the planet people are ploughing ahead and changing their neighbourhoods and cities and the world. But as news stories typically need to be about new developments or things people didn’t previously know about, it can be hard to cover all those brilliant initiatives being undertaken in the background – no matter how cheering they are. Which is why, back in 2023, we decided to ignore the usual rules about what constitutes “news” and start writing about them anyway. Readers, we knew, would like to hear about them. Climate campaign 2026: help us reach 30,000 acts of support..

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 12:27:21 PM
world

Meet the young Kenyan designer preserving culture through traditional craft

At a time when fashion is increasingly dominated by mass production, a young Kenyan designer is taking a slower approach. Hillary Mukabwa, the founder and lead designer of Mukabwa Studio in Nairobi, works with hand looms to create cotton fabrics that he turns into clothes, bags and more in a deliberate attempt to reconnect with a craft increasingly being pushed aside by modernisation.

France 24 • 8/25/2026, 12:19:46 PM
culture

Artist known for sculptures of Mao Zedong jailed for slandering ‘heroes and martyrs’

Gao Zhen sentenced to three years in prison after already spending two years in detention Gao Zhen, a prominent Chinese artist known for provocative sculptures of the former leader Mao Zedong, has been sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of slandering China’s “heroes and martyrs”. The sentencing came two years after he was detained while visiting the country with his family, according to his wife and human rights groups. The case has attracted international condemnation, largely because the artworks at the centre of the case were created more than 10 years before China created the law under which Gao was charged...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 11:53:58 AM
power

China denounces US threat of sanctions over trade with Iran

Beijing says it will take ‘all necessary measures’ to protect its interests as US steps up efforts to isolate Tehran Explainer: could US sanctions threaten China-Iran ties? China has denounced the threat of US sanctions for its trade with Iran, saying any such measures would be illegal, and warned it will take “all necessary measures” to protect its national interests. Beijing’s rejection of the US threat of secondary sanctions for any country or entity continuing to trade with Tehran had been predicted. China buys an estimated 80% of Iran’s oil exports and it has defied previous US efforts to limit the flow of revenue to the Tehran regime...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 11:43:14 AM
climate

Climate-saving wonder – or €240m vanity bauble that ages like milk? The rocks set to hit Rotterdam docks

MVRDV – the firm behind Marble Arch Mound – says Rotterdam ROCKS! will inspire visitors to live sustainably. But in an era when the greenest building is the one that already exists, this tottering cairn looks set to misfire ‘It looks like something Shrek would throw up,” sniffed one online commentator, unflatteringly comparing Rotterdam ROCKS!, the recently unveiled proposal for a waterfront site in Europe’s largest port, with the vomitings of a cartoon ogre. Designed by Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, which gave London the supremely underwhelming Marble Arch Mound in 2021, Rotterdam ROCKS! (the use of EMPHATIC CAPITALS connoting an in-your-face energy) is the winner of a major architectural competition intended to create “a new world wonder”. But instead of a modern Hanging Gardens of Babylon or contemporary Colossus of Rhodes, MVRDV’s super slick renderings depict a pile of artificial “rocks” (or ROCKS!) stacked together in a humongously scaled tottering cairn, wreathed in suspiciously luxuriant foliage and sluiced by a preposterous waterfall...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 11:37:02 AM
technology

‘Environmental violence’: inside the fight to save indigenous land from becoming a nuclear dumping ground

New documentary To Use a Mountain spotlights the pain and triumph of resisting government efforts to turn parts of rural US into disposal sites Nuclear energy was supposed to be our salvation, humanity’s chance to retool technology first conceived as a weapon of mass destruction into an engine of limitless prosperity. But even as the industry touted nuclear fission as an economic game-changer (never mind the astronomical startup costs), a safety paragon (never mind the spills at Chornobyl, Three Mile Island and Fukushima) and harmless fodder for an American comedy institution (never mind that glowing rod on Homer’s back or the three-eyed fish), there was no getting around the matter of what to do with all the toxic waste (never mind nuclear’s claimed green credentials). The stagnant state of that dirty business brought Casey Carter, the director of the new avant-garde documentary called To Use a Mountain, back to his interview with a Washington state farmer who was part of a class-action lawsuit against the government over the release of radioactive material from the Hanford nuclear reservation – site of the world’s first full-scale plutonium production reactor. The farmer’s words still echo, despite ultimately being cut to fit the film’s 90-minute runtime. “He joked that nuclear power is the only faith-based energy because everyone always asks, ‘Do you believe in it?’” Carter says. “He was like, ‘You don’t have to believe in solar. It’s just a pretty good idea.’”..

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 9:00:53 AM
sports

Lego sales rise as World Cup and F1 ranges prove to be winners

Danish toymaker also scores success with KPop Demon Hunters, Star Wars and botanicals products Business live – latest updates Lego sales have risen by more than a fifth as tie-ups with the football World Cup, Formula One and the hit film KPop Demon Hunters as well as its flower-based and Star Wars kits drive demand. The Danish toymaker said its revenues increased by 21% to 41.9bn Danish kroner (£4.8bn) in the first six months of 2026, driven by strong growth in the Americas, Europe and the Asia Pacific regions. Sales by its clients to consumers rose by 22%...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 8:08:03 AM
climate

Triage by Claudia Rankine review – how should we respond to the world’s atrocities?

The American poet and essayist weaves memoir, fiction, criticism and lyrical lament into a tale of friendship in an age of existential crisis “Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental,” writes the multi-award winning Jamaican-American poet, essayist and playwright Claudia Rankine in the disclaimer to her latest work. “Unless it isn’t.” The pretzel-logic of this statement, its assertive ambiguity, sets the tone for a book that digs directly into the question of what we are to do with the idea of truth, when the world we live in is asking us “to hold, visually and emotionally, realities we do not yet have a viable system of language for”. In Triage, Rankine borrows from her personal history and from a world whose landscape now encompasses “the rise of fascism, the implementation through deportations of the Great Replacement theory, the starvation of devastated populations subjected to war and climate change”, and uses the material she gathers to pose a simple question. When faced with realities such as these, what do you do? Do you stand, or do you fall? The book begins with a friendship. Two young people – our narrator, and another she refers to only as “the theorist” – meet in college in the late 20th century, and are drawn to each other. They’re passionate; they’re idealistic; they’re committed to the activism of the time (“shantytowns were built on campus to protest apartheid South Africa”) and steeped in the texts and authors and philosophical conceits of the humanities. Over time, they develop a game. “When we spied each other during the day,” the narrator explains, “we had to collapse.”..

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 8:00:51 AM
world

‘Children were in pieces’: memories still raw 6 months after Iran school strike

For months, Masoumeh Zakeri has endlessly replayed the last night she spent with her nine-year-old daughter before she was killed in a strike on her school during the opening hours of the US-Israel war with Iran. Motahreh excitedly talked about coming holidays, planned weddings and the clothes she wanted to buy. She had a Ramadan pre-fast meal shortly before dawn and then Zakeri tucked her into bed. “I never saw her again. (That was) the last time,” the 44-year-old mother told Agence...

South China Morning Post • 8/25/2026, 7:09:13 AM
technology

‘Never seen this level of objection’: Scotland pushes back against datacentre boom

Holyrood ‘inching towards moratorium’ amid concerns over massive proposed developments in Auchtertool and beyond In a village 21 miles north of Edinburgh, a real estate consultancy plans to build a datacentre larger than the village itself – 35 metres high, with an area larger than 100 football pitches. Billed as the second-biggest datacentre in the world, the development in Auchertool, Fife, has attracted 1,600 objections...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 5:00:49 AM
power

China is the biggest buyer of Iran’s oil. Could US sanctions threaten those ties?

The US has put the world on notice to cease doing business with Iran, but experts say Washington is wary China could retaliate against any sanctions The US has unveiled an expansion of sanctions that it says will cut off Iran’s economic lifeline but stopped short of the most punishing measures, instead putting the world on notice to cease doing business with the Islamic republic. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent ⁠warned other countries would need to sever ⁠business ties with Iran or risk being ​forced out of the dollar-based financial system. He previously urged cooperation from China – the biggest buyer of Iranian oil for several years – although the US blockade of Iran’s ports, renewed in mid-July, has already cut much of the Iranian oil flows to China...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 2:44:59 AM
world

Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers

After repairs to Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture, officials employed a technique known as hikiya to move the structure more than two metres To chants of “so-re, so-re”, about 1,800 people came together in northern Japan over the weekend to pull a 360-tonne castle keep a little more than two metres closer to its original resting place as part of ongoing renovations. The keep – a fortified tower within a castle – had to be moved to repair a wall that was damaged in a major earthquake...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 1:10:44 AM
world

Colombia’s new president Abelardo de la Espriella announces immigration crackdown

Far-right leader echoes ally Donald Trump and says operations to ‘track down illegal immigrants’ should begin this week, amid earthquake aftermath Colombia’s far-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has announced a crackdown on immigrants, ordering authorities to detain and deport people who are in the country irregularly or have committed crimes. In office for just over two weeks, the millionaire former lawyer made the announcement on Sunday as the country continued to grapple with the aftermath of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on 10 August that killed more than 300 people and destroyed more than 30,000 homes...

The Guardian • 8/25/2026, 12:34:47 AM
world

US strikes a vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing 2 people in first attack in months

US Southern Command has struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two accused of trafficking drugs After a pause of more than two months, the US military announced Monday that it once again carried out a strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of trafficking drugs. It brings the overall death toll to 223 people killed in 67 strikes during the nearly year-long US campaign of bombing alleged drug boats off Latin America’s Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. US Southern Command says the campaign has resulted in the destruction of 64 speedboats, three “low-profile” ships and a semisubmersible craft...

The Guardian • 8/24/2026, 8:23:26 PM
world

Prince Harry quits board of wildlife charity after rangers’ human rights abuses

Spokesperson for Duke of Sussex says he remains an ‘active and avid supporter’ of African Parks’ mission The Duke of Sussex has stepped down from the board of a major African wildlife charity that had been at the centre of a human rights controversy. Prince Harry’s spokesperson confirmed he was no longer a trustee of African Parks, which admitted last year that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers in the Republic of the Congo...

The Guardian • 8/24/2026, 5:34:50 PM
world

MBS in the City of Light: In a world of realpolitik, does West value economic interests over values?

Jean-Emile Jammine is pleased to welcome Susanne Koelbl, Der Spiegel's award-winning foreign correspondent. According to Koelbl,, Emmanuel Macron’s decision to welcome Mohammed bin Salman at the Élysée reflects realpolitik in its purest form: 'Saudi Arabia had become too important for energy, regional security, investment and diplomacy in the Middle East to be permanently isolated. So Macron wanted to establish France as an independent, balanced power between the Mediterranean and the Gulf."

France 24 • 8/24/2026, 4:26:34 PM
world

Video shows hundreds held captive after Nigeria mosque kidnapping

Gunmen ‌attacked worshippers in Dekara village on Friday taking women, children and older people An armed group has posted a video showing what ⁠residents said were about ⁠600 women, children and ​older people abducted in an attack on a mosque in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State last week. The video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp, ⁠showed large groups of people seated in a forested area surrounded by armed men. Several children could be heard crying in the background...

The Guardian • 8/24/2026, 2:19:14 PM
business

Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon price rises in western Europe ‘highest in world’

World’s largest streaming services have also increased subscription costs repeatedly in US, research finds Business live – latest updates Subscribers to Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video in western Europe have faced higher price increases than in any other market in recent years, according to research. Over the past four years the world’s largest subscription video streaming services have dramatically changed their business models introducing lower-priced, basic advertising tiers to attract new subscribers, while also increasingly monetising users willing to pay more for a premium experience...

The Guardian • 8/24/2026, 1:45:04 PM
culture

Gaza documentary produced by the Guardian to receive world premiere at Venice film festival

Film directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the two Israeli co-directors of No Other Land, investigates ‘Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians’ during the war A new documentary about Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza, directed by Oscar-winning directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and produced by the Guardian is to receive its world premiere at the Venice film festival. The film, called NAZA, has been produced with Jim Wilson and executive produced by Jonathan Glazer, the team behind The Zone of Interest, and is the only documentary that will compete this year for Venice’s prestigious Golden Lion...

The Guardian • 8/24/2026, 1:16:20 PM
climate

World’s oceans hit hottest temperature on record in August

Average sea surface temperature outside polar regions was 21.1C on Saturday, latest data finds The world’s oceans were hotter than ever previously recorded on Saturday, according to the latest data. The average surface temperature was 21.1C, with the rising marine heat a stark indicator of the climate crisis. More than 90% of the heat trapped by carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning enters the oceans. The Guardian’s climate forum 2026 On Tuesday 20 October, join Damian Carrington, and our panel of experts – including Professor Andy Haines, Katie White MP, Asad Rehman, Shruti Suresh Gareth Thomas and Amy Fairman for a hopeful and solutions-focused evening. Book tickets here or at guardian.live..

The Guardian • 8/24/2026, 12:49:15 PM
world

Guinea searches for survivors after landfill landslides kill 30

In Guinea, a landslide at a garbage dump outside the capital Conakry has claimed the lives of at least 30 people. The government of the West African country says it has mobilised significant resources to try and find survivors that may still be trapped under massive piles of waste. Less than a week ago, that same government had announced plans to close the Dar-es-Salam landfill due to dangerous conditions there.

France 24 • 8/24/2026, 12:42:59 PM
power

US sanctions 'unlikely to get Tehran to bow down' despite effect on population

Iran has warned that Tehran would respond harshly to expanded U.S. sanctions, including measures against countries it sees as cooperating with Washington. The expanded sanctions come after weeks of impasse. The United States has not dislodged Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passed before the war started nearly six months ago. Now, Washington is hoping the extra sanctions will bring change. FRANCE 24's Reza Sayah tells us about the atmosphere in Iran, from Tehran.

France 24 • 8/24/2026, 12:34:40 PM
power

Iran vows to retaliate against countries that cooperate with fresh US sanctions

Test of US rhetoric will rest on whether nations such as India, China and Russia view economic threats as credible Iran has vowed to retaliate against any country that cooperates with the US attempt to impose fresh sanctions against Iran in what the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has billed as “the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary”. In advance of the US announcement, the United Arab Emirates, Iran’s single biggest trading partner in the Middle East, announced it was ending all trade with Iran, a move Tehran believes was coordinated between Washington and Dubai...

The Guardian • 8/24/2026, 11:53:10 AM
world

Europe ramps up support to Ukraine as its US-dependent air defence runs low

European leaders are meeting Kyiv as Ukraine holds celebrations for its 35th Independence Day. The so-called Coalition of the Willing is set to hold talks regarding support to the country, four-and-a-half years after the Russian invasion started, with the European Union having announced it was releasing over six billion euros in aid. But US support to Kyiv regarding critical air defence is still missing. FRANCE 24's Kethevane Gorjestani tells us more.

France 24 • 8/24/2026, 10:37:54 AM
world

'Scared to death': Over 40,000 people evacuated as Nevada's Hawk fire spreads

An additional 45,000 people have been placed under evacuation warnings in the northwestern US state of Nevada. This comes as the fast moving Hawk fire threatens the city of Reno. According to officials the fire was "human caused", but they have not detailed if it was set intentionally. Eight hundred firefighters have been mobilized to bring the blazes under control. Unpredictable winds have complicated the effort, and so far there's been zero percent containment.

France 24 • 8/24/2026, 10:10:48 AM
world

Despite ceasefire, Israeli strikes still kill in Gaza and the West Bank

Despite a ceasefire that has been in place since October 2025, violence continues in Gaza. On August 23, Israeli strikes left several people dead in the enclave, and a young boy was killed by the Israeli military in the West Bank, according to local authorities. Since the announcement of the truce, more than 1,280 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, while Israel has reported the launch of drones, balloons and kites towards its territory.

France 24 • 8/24/2026, 9:17:26 AM
business

New Fed chair faces critical test at Jackson Hole as inflation fears mount

Investors will hope Kevin Warsh offers ‘comfort blanket’ at annual meeting of central banks amid bond market anxiety The new US Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, faces a critical test this week amid anxiety in government bond markets over inflation and Donald Trump’s tax and spending plans. As the world’s most powerful central bank prepares for its annual Jackson Hole conference, analysts said bond traders would be looking for signals from Warsh over its commitment to fighting inflation...

The Guardian • 8/24/2026, 5:00:52 AM
world

Live: Ukraine backers gather as Russian attacks escalate, air defence runs low

Ukraine on Monday hosts a meeting of its key European backers to press for air-defence supplies and more pressure on Moscow, with Russian attacks killing more civilians than at any time since the first months of the invasion. The meeting of the Coalition of the Willing will be jointly chaired by the leaders of Britain, France and Germany. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

France 24 • 8/24/2026, 4:50:32 AM
world

Landslide at waste mound in Guinea’s capital kills 30, government says

Dump site in Conakry, which minister had just promised to move, collapsed after heavy rain in west African state A ⁠landslide at a huge waste dump in Guinea’s capital has killed 30 people, the government said on Sunday, after heavy rains overnight prompted it to ⁠collapse, engulfing nearby tents and shacks. The incident occurred less than a week after the government announced plans to close the ⁠site and relocate the waste because of the threat it posed, especially during the rainy season, which causes landslides and fatal flash ⁠floods each year in crowded, underdeveloped cities across parts of West Africa...

The Guardian • 8/23/2026, 10:16:53 PM
health

The Terror: Devil in Silver review – this psychiatric hospital horror is scary on so many levels

Expect gory set pieces and jump scares galore in the return of the supernatural anthology series, with Dan Stevens among the many poor souls terrorised by an evil spirit haunting their ward Things that go bump in the night? Bad. Things that go bump in the night in a dilapidated psychiatric hospital? Infinitely worse. That, basically, is the premise of Devil in Silver, the latest volume of anthology series The Terror, which began in 2018 with a supernaturally charged tale of a polar expedition to find out what happened to Sir John Franklin’s voyage. Crikey, it does not end well. The next was set during the second world war and was about shapeshifters from Japanese folklore terrorising a Japanese-American community in southern California. A hiatus followed, but now The Terror is back with a double dose of horror: a malevolent spirit moving in and out of the bodies of the patients of New Hyde psychiatric hospital, and the more tangible but no less frightening diabolism of the US mental healthcare system. Pepper (Dan Stevens, still of Downton Abbey fame despite his many varied roles since) is in New Hyde because the three policemen who arrested him after they caught a few punches he was aiming at his girlfriend’s controlling ex threw him in there rather than completing the paperwork the station would have required. There he meets the lost and suffering souls who have ended up in what amounts, due to underfunding and understaffing, to a holding pen rather than a rehabilitative or care facility. Dorry (Judith Light) is the longest-serving resident – put there decades ago by her husband because of her endless crying fits, though her later memories reveal a greater darkness. Kofi (Chinaza Uche) – or Coffee, as he is called by the rest of his companions until it is too late – was a structural engineer in Ghana but now depends on medication to keep himself steady. Loochie (played by non-binary actor b) ended up in the system after a violent incident with a sibling, but at least one member of staff believes her charge is able to cope in the real world and, as the hospital’s evil spirit gathers strength and wrath, gets the chance to prove it...

The Guardian • 8/23/2026, 9:05:42 PM
power

US envoy walks back his comments on Golan Heights that contradicted Trump’s position

The US special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey on Sunday walked back his comments from two days ago that Israel “still” occupies the Golan Heights in violation of UN resolutions, remarks that went against US President Donald Trump’s position on the disputed territory. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981. The United Nations and most of the international community consider the territory occupied Syrian land and does not recognise...

South China Morning Post • 8/23/2026, 7:44:53 PM
world

French centre-left candidate launches presidential bid amid divided left

Centre-left politician Raphaël Glucksmann on Sunday launched his bid for the French presidency, aiming to unite moderate left-wing voters and challenge Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s influence ahead of France’s 2027 election. With Marine Le Pen leading first-round polls, Glucksmann is seeking to position himself as a pro-European, pro-Ukraine alternative to both the far right and hard left.

France 24 • 8/23/2026, 7:38:57 PM
business

The lesson from Canada’s collapsed trade talks with the US: negotiation may be futile

Breakdown shows Washington now prioritises its own interests over any semblance of shared economic ground ‘No more!!!’: Trump lashes out after US-Canada talks devolve into trade war The calamitous collapse of trade negotiations between Canada and the United States is a warning to nations worldwide that pursuing any kind of dialogue with the current US administration is doomed at the outset, according to observers who say this recent episode indicates seeking a fair deal is futile. Andrea Lawlor, an associate professor of political science at McMaster University in Ontario, said: “No matter the closeness of the historical relationship, the American administration has signalled that it now prioritises its interests above those of some sort of global economic coordination or harmony...

The Guardian • 8/23/2026, 5:24:46 PM
world

Landfill collapse kills at least 30 in Guinea as rescuers search for survivors

A mountainous heap of refuse collapsed at Dar es Salam, the largest landfill in Guinea’s capital Conakry, early on Sunday killing at least 30 people, according to a provisional death toll from the country’s civil protection service. Heavy rains, which started at around 3am, washed over the refuse, triggering a landslide that buried nearby shacks. Lancine Sylla, the head of the suburb where the incident happened, said he feared a heavy death toll. Guinea’s minister for territorial administration,...

South China Morning Post • 8/23/2026, 4:54:40 PM
world

Greek Ithaca island hopes for big tourism boost thanks to Odyssey movie

Greece's most famous islands have spent this year fighting to keep tourists out... with Santorini and Mykonos now capping cruise arrivals and charging steep entry fees just to manage the crowds. But on one small island, they're hoping for the opposite problem. Ithaca, the legendary home of Homer's Ulysses, is banking on a Hollywood boost, as Christopher Nolan's Odyssey draws new attention to a corner of Greece that's largely stayed off the tourist map. Story by Camille Knight.

France 24 • 8/23/2026, 1:43:52 PM
health

Ebola day 100: why this outbreak could become the deadliest in history – video explainer

More than 2,000 people have died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the first case of this epidemic was recorded in May. The Guardian's global health correspondent, Kat Lay, spoke to CDC Africa's Yap Boum II to understand why health teams on the ground are struggling and what is being put in place to try to contain the spread Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo now deadliest in country’s history..

The Guardian • 8/23/2026, 10:50:36 AM
sports

China shows off record-breaking robots at strategic games

The five-day World Humanoid Robot Games are underway in Beijing, featuring 51 events, 30 sport competitions and more than 2,000 humanoid robots. They have already revealed the technology can out-run and out-jump humans and that they are capable of sports such as table tennis and soccer. And the machines will also take on human tasks, such as connecting cables or handling packages. For China, the Games are another chance to showcase its competitiveness in the global tech race. Details by Eliza Herbert.

France 24 • 8/23/2026, 10:22:37 AM
world

Venezuela: Two months after the quake, 12,500 people still live in temporary camps

Two months after two earthquakes struck Venezuela, more than 12,500 people are still living in temporary camps in La Guaira. Many survivors are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of loved ones and their homes. They have been forced to adapt to precarious living conditions, exposed to the elements, with little access to medical care and humanitarian aid. France 24 reporters Herminia Fernández and Julio Uribarris visited three camps housing earthquake survivors.

France 24 • 8/23/2026, 9:45:24 AM
world

Ukraine: Zelensky asks for more Patriot interceptors as civilian deaths hit highest level since 2022

Kryvyi Rih is still digging through the wreckage. The Russian strike on a shopping centre there, in President Zelensky's own hometown, has now claimed at least sixteen lives, with several people still unaccounted for. It has added urgency to the request Zelensky has been making for months: he needs Patriot interceptors as the threat of winter looms. Camille Knight has more.

France 24 • 8/23/2026, 9:05:59 AM
power

Why Trump’s economic pain could spark more Iranian attacks on Gulf nations

President Donald Trump is betting new sanctions, a naval blockade and ramped-up economic pressure against Iran’s trading partners can accomplish what thousands of bombs and missiles could not: force Tehran to accept a deal to end the war on US terms. But like other US efforts to force Iran into capitulation, there is one main problem: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has claimed control of the vital Strait of Hormuz and sent volleys of attack drones across the Gulf, may be...

South China Morning Post • 8/23/2026, 7:04:02 AM
health

London’s low emission zone is working – so why are cities around the world so cautious about clean air?

Similar initiatives have been launched from Barcelona to Bogotá, but they have misinformation, political pressure and vested interests stacked against them Ten years ago, Alastair Harper was an advocate for young people’s health sitting in a stuffy meeting room in London planning an air pollution campaign. “My phone started buzzing,” he said. “I took the call, and then told the room I needed to leave immediately. “I had to get to UCLH [one of London’s major hospitals]. My own child was headed there in a blue-lit ambulance because she was struggling to breathe London’s toxic air.”..

The Guardian • 8/23/2026, 7:00:26 AM
world

Quake-prone Indonesia’s first nuclear power plant plan stokes safety fears

Coal-dependent Indonesia is reviving decades-old plans to build nuclear power plants that were put on hold following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, as it seeks to meet its decarbonisation targets. Some members of the public and experts, however, have voiced concerns about the risks of a nuclear disaster in the quake-prone country, despite one of the leading candidate sites being an uninhabited island considered not to be in an active seismic zone. The government began discussing...

South China Morning Post • 8/23/2026, 3:52:00 AM
power

Iran’s new security chief says neighbours who join US economic war will be considered ‘enemies’

Hardliner Mohsen Rezaei also threatens American economic interests in first interview since appointment to supreme national security council The new leader of Iran’s top security body has warned its neighbours against joining new US efforts to squeeze Tehran’s economy, and threatened US commercial interests in the region, as Donald Trump doubled down on his fanciful view that the strait of Hormuz was a new US territory. Mohsen Rezaei, the hardline new leader of Iran’s supreme national security council, told state television that Iran would target oil-shipping routes out the Gulf – alternatives to the strait of Hormuz – if its neighbours joined what he called the “economic war” waged by the US. Those neighbours would be “considered an enemy” and “we will target their interests”, he said...

The Guardian • 8/23/2026, 3:34:27 AM
power

Iran condemns US plans to announce new sanctions

Iran on Saturday denounced US plans to announce ⁠new sanctions that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic’s economy and have an impact on its most important trading partners including China. Iran on Saturday warned countries against taking part in the United States’ “economic war” against the Islamic Republic, saying they would be considered enemies. “We declare to all countries … do not join the economic war waged by the United States. Any country participating in the imposition of...

South China Morning Post • 8/22/2026, 9:21:14 PM
business

Canada vows ‘dollar for dollar’ response as US puts 50% tariffs on some goods

Collapse of trade talks could lead to job losses, but biggest impact on traditional allies is expected to be political The US has imposed 50% tariffs on some goods from Canada, and the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has vowed to match them “dollar for dollar” after the collapse of trade talks. The tariffs came into force on around $20bn (£14.6bn) of goods – ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors – at 04.00 GMT. Trade experts said the tariffs could result in some job losses, but the largest impact is expected to be political, driving a further wedge between the traditional allies...

The Guardian • 8/22/2026, 2:04:57 PM
world

Man leaves young son on Mount Fuji before ascending Japan’s highest peak

Boy, seven, had complained of feeling tired so father left him with snacks and a soft drink and continued his climb A man who abandoned his seven-year-old son on Mount Fuji in Japan after the boy complained of feeling tired while on a family hike has been reprimanded by local police. A worker on Japan’s highest mountain discovered the child sitting alone on a bench near the sixth station of the Fujinomiya trail at an altitude of more than 2,000 metres (6,500 feet) on Thursday...

The Guardian • 8/22/2026, 12:25:16 PM
sports

Andy Burnham says he wants to bring men’s World Cup back to UK in 2042

PM tells regional mayors during informal discussions he is keen for tournament to return to British Isles Andy Burnham has said he wants to bring the men’s World Cup to the UK in 2042, returning the tournament to Britain for the first time in almost eight decades. During informal discussions at No 10 North in Manchester on Friday, the prime minister told regional mayors he was keen for the tournament to be played in the British Isles...

The Guardian • 8/22/2026, 12:13:28 PM
health

Antwerp's 'human zoo': Belgium confronts shame of colonial past

In 1894, when the Belgian city of Antwerp was hosting a World's Fair, more than a hundred Congolese people were forcibly brought to the city to be exhibited in the Congo Pavilion. In this "human zoo", seven Congolese men ultimately died of disease. Today, this shocking episode still haunts Belgium as one of its colonial history's darkest chapters. This year, a monument to the victims was unveiled. Report by Alix le Bourbon and Dave Keating.

France 24 • 8/22/2026, 11:05:57 AM
world

Tupac murder trial: Cans the prosecution use the defendant's words against him?

Who killed Tupac Shakur? Three decades after the rap superstar was murdered in Nevada, a trial in Las Vegas intends to answer that question. 63-year-old Duane Davis is accused of orchestrating the drive-by killing. Kim Langtree, lecturer in Law and the University of Salford in the UK, has been following the case closely. She delivers her analysis of the case’s latest developments.

France 24 • 8/22/2026, 11:03:24 AM
world

Children among wounded in Zelensky's hometown, struck by Russian drones

Early this Saturday, Russian strikes killed at least two people in Ukraine. In Zaporizhzhia, a drone killed a man and wounded four, according to officials, while a warehouse was on fire in Kyiv. It comes after a Russian bombing killed at least 20 people on Friday, 16 of them in two successive strikes on a busy shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih. Details by FRANCE 24 correspondent in Kiyv, Emmanuelle Chaze.

France 24 • 8/22/2026, 9:38:57 AM
world

Albanese: Canberra to join Australia’s gun buy-back program after Bondi attack

Australia’s capital will join a gun buy-back ⁠as part of ⁠a response to a ⁠shooting spree that killed 15 at a Jewish festival in Sydney, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday. Albanese’s centre-left government enacted laws in January for the gun buy-back, tighter checks for gun ‌licences and a crackdown on hate in the wake of the December 14 gun attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales. The state, Australia’s most populous, became the...

South China Morning Post • 8/22/2026, 9:36:45 AM
sports

‘See you at the hairdressers’: Infantino’s bizarre reply to bald reporter

Fifa president tells Sky man: ‘You have a nice haircut’ Defies Concacaf president plea to stay away ​from youth event Gianni Infantino told a reporter “I’ll see you at the hairdressers” after he was asked whether he had betrayed football over his aborted World Cup sell-off plan. The Fifa president was stopped outside a hotel in the Dominican Republic by the Sky News US correspondent, James Matthews, who challenged the under-fire leader of football’s governing body over why he had not resigned, despite calls from across the game for him to step down...

The Guardian • 8/22/2026, 8:09:22 AM
business

Hook, hold, harvest and hide: Meta’s alleged strategy laid out in first week of landmark trial

In trial that opened on Tuesday, California and 28 other states accused the company of designing addictive sites and violating laws protecting children’s privacy Meta’s business can be boiled down to four words that begin with the letter H: hook, hold, harvest, hide, according to a lawyer who is prosecuting the world’s largest social media company. The owner of Facebook and Instagram “hooks” in users, “holds” them on its platforms for as long as possible, “harvests” their data and then “hides” the truth from the public, she argued...

The Guardian • 8/22/2026, 8:00:58 AM
culture

‘A brilliant initiative’: the Youth Sport Games goes from strength to strength

Europe’s biggest amateur sports event for children – that has drawn celebrity ambassadors ranging from Sean Dyche to Alastair Campbell – has marked its 30th birthday in Split On a dais overlooking the Adriatic, 20 children are playing chess. Arranged in a circle, they are competing not against each other but against the grandmaster Nigel Short, who passes awkwardly around the group playing one move each time. The children are no slouches, the best young chess players from the Balkans. But, in a twist, they can also call on the support of celebrity coaches. And so we have the unusual sight of precocious chess talents being coached through their games not just by the former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, but by the former Burnley manager Sean Dyche and, in quite the eyebrow-raiser, the rightwing tech billionaire Peter Thiel. This is just one event at the Plazma Youth Sport Games (YSG), which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in the Croatian city of Split this month. Described by some of its more esteemed visitors as “the Davos of sport”, it brings eminent figures from the world of sport and politics to the Dalmatian coast each summer. More important, it is also the biggest amateur sports event for children in Europe. Just under half a million young people from across Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia and North Macedonia took part in qualifying for this year’s event. The finals in 10 sports – from chess to 3v3 basketball – are then held over the course of a week in Split. Alongside the competition, children are encouraged to learn lessons in teamwork, collaboration and putting phones away. The organisers describe Plazma as both a sporting event and a “social project”...

The Guardian • 8/22/2026, 7:00:57 AM
science

Subterranean salad: underground farmers seek solution to food crisis in disused UK mines

Researchers in North Yorkshire feel the clock ticking as they aim to transform British food production It has the vibe of a Bond villain’s underground lair but the workers in hi-vis and helmets aren’t weighing and packing hard drugs or parts for a death laser. It’s pak choi and lettuce. More than 1,000 metres down, researchers in North Yorkshire have created the world’s deepest underground farm and are running trials for a project that could transform UK food production...

The Guardian • 8/22/2026, 7:00:56 AM
sports

Amy Hunt pipped into second by Kayla White on return from European gold rush

Briton felt ‘tired’ before Lausanne Diamond League 200m Audrey Werro triumphs in 800m in front of home crowd Britain’s Amy Hunt, who won a historic four golds at the recent European Athletics Championships, had to be happy with second behind the American Kayla White in the 200m at the Lausanne Diamond League on Friday. White won in 22.18sec, with Hunt holding off Nigeria’s Favour Ofili in a photo-finish at 22.32. Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the two-time former world champion in the event, pulled up with 70m of the race to run. Hunt said she had been “tired before the race and my pre-competition felt pretty stiff”...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 8:41:57 PM
power

Iran president says time to end war while Tehran is in position of strength

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday it was time to end the months-long Middle East war with the US because Tehran appeared to be in a stronger position than Washington. Talks between the long-time foes remain on hold, and the war started by the US and Israel in February has been locked in a stalemate. Tehran is keeping the key Strait of Hormuz partially shut, and Washington is persisting with a naval counter-blockade of Iran. “It is better that we bring the war to an end now as we...

South China Morning Post • 8/21/2026, 6:29:22 PM
world

Millions in Cuba face water shortages as oil crisis deepens

In Cuba, seven months of an effective oil blockade imposed by the Trump administration has not only increased power outages but is also leaving more and more people without running water. In August 2025, 2.6 million people on the Caribbean island nation had difficulty accessing water, according to the Cuban Institute of Hydraulic Resources. Today, that figure has risen to 3.5 million – around a third of the population. FRANCE 24’s Ed Augustin reports on the health risks rippling through the island.

France 24 • 8/21/2026, 3:28:52 PM
world

Deadly daytime heat turns Japanese farmers nocturnal

Japan's farmers are opting for more nocturnal schedules as daytime summer heat makes working conditions dangerous. North of Tokyo, Motoaki Iijima harvests flowers in his illuminated greenhouse long after sunset. The farmer was pushed to make a dramatic change after a worker suffered heatstroke picking sunflowers in the greenhouse three summers prior. A few towns away, poultry farmer Tetsuya Usuba has also adopted a nocturnal schedule, waking his flock at 2:30 am to eat.

France 24 • 8/21/2026, 3:25:21 PM
culture

Salty Brine: How Strange It Is (The Neutral Milk Hotel Show) review – one of today’s most powerful stage voices

Summerhall, Edinburgh Intertwining his diaries with Anne Frank’s gives Brine a tough job, but his passionate performance and force of will combine in a heady brew It’s a hell of a swing to make a show paralleling your first love with Anne Frank’s – the more so for that show about her to end on an uplift. But Salty Brine is nothing if not the man for a big swing. This most overbrimming of cabaret artists is in town with his Living Record Collection project, which makes shows inspired by, and featuring, the songs from beloved rock and pop albums. This one takes Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea as the launchpad for an inquiry into religious traditions, the origins of the world, the migration of souls – and the adolescent passions of Frank and Brine. Is it in poor taste, I wondered, to co-opt the horrifying story of this murdered teenager for aesthetic effect? In Brine’s defence, the album in question itself riffs dreamlike on Frank’s story, fashioning from it something deeply moving – and the same could be said, for my money, of How Strange It Is...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 3:07:18 PM
climate

What a record-breaking El Nino could mean for the world

This year's El Nino is on track to be the strongest on record, threatening to unleash extreme weather across the globe and make 2027 the hottest recorded year by far. It is expected to be the most "intense" El Nino in more than a century, the head of long-range forecasting at the UK's Met Office warned on Friday. Stacked on top of long-term human-caused climate change, the temporary jolt will offer a glimpse of the heat the world can expect by the late 2030s, experts say.

France 24 • 8/21/2026, 2:28:01 PM
sports

Jannik Sinner ‘very sad and disappointed’ as knee injury puts him out of US Open

World No 1 makes ‘difficult decision’ to miss slam ‘New York has a special place in my heart’ Jannik Sinner will miss the US Open with a right knee injury. The world No 1 has not played a match since beating Alexander Zverev last month to successfully defend his Wimbledon title, missing the Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati. The news comes a day after his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, whom the Italian lost to in the final in New York 12 months ago, revealed he will make his comeback at Flushing Meadows after four months out with a wrist injury...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 2:21:49 PM
sports

Rugby brain injury case able to continue after high court ruling

Governing bodies had asked for ruling to end cases Judge says claimants ‘blameless’ for missing documents More than 500 former rugby union and league players’ lawsuits ⁠over neurological injuries can continue, London’s high court ruled on Friday, despite their former lawyers’ failure to disclose ⁠key medical evidence ⁠to governing ​bodies. World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union, plus the Rugby Football League and the ⁠British Amateur Rugby League Association, argued the claimants’ lawyers had repeatedly failed to provide records...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 12:09:49 PM
business

Airbus bows to remote working demands after series of strikes

Aeroplane maker said to have watered down plans to restrict working from home to one day a week Airbus has reportedly bowed to employee demands on remote working, after a series strikes over its chief executive’s return-to-the office orders. The world’s largest aeroplane maker is said to have watered down plans to restrict remote working to one day a week from September. Currently, staff are able to work remotely for two...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 11:37:23 AM
culture

Strangers in their own land: Mexicans deported from Trump’s America find refuge in ‘Little LA’

With plentiful jobs and community support, one Mexico City neighbourhood has become a haven for those who have lived much of their lives in the US With its wide avenues lined with tall palm trees, its quaint cafes and old-school cantinas, as well as the mix of English and Spanish spoken on the street, the Tabacalera neighborhood in downtown Mexico City has a certain US feel – so much so that it is has become known as Little LA. The nickname is about more than appearances, however. In recent years, this corner of the metropolis has become a haven for many Mexicans deported from the US, particularly those who spent years or decades living across the border and for whom Mexico feels like a foreign country. In Little LA, they have found a more familiar place to belong...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 10:00:31 AM
world

Trump ultra-loyal aide Natalie Harp in the spotlight

She is a near-constant presence at US President Donald Trump's side, but until recently his ultra-loyal aide Natalie Harp had managed to stay out of the spotlight. That has all changed since it emerged the 35-year-old was one of a handful of people who secretly swapped from Air Force One with Trump in Turkey after a security threat. The blonde executive assistant to the president was then mentioned by a Democratic senate hopeful, in comments that set the internet alight – and incensed the White House.

France 24 • 8/21/2026, 9:42:04 AM
health

Ebola outbreak: five big questions

On 23 August, it will be 100 days since the Bundibugyo strain was first reported. How did it became the DRC’s most deadly outbreak and what must be done to stop it becoming the world’s largest? Almost 100 days ago, Africa’s public health watchdog reported an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There have now been almost 5,000 cases and more than 2,000 deaths since 15 May, making this Ebola outbreak the biggest and most deadly in the DRC’s history...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 9:02:22 AM
sports

‘The friendship disappeared’: López faces Romero after years of sparring and support

Boxing’s most mercurial star is putting an old friendship aside as he moves up to 147lb to challenge Rolly Romero for the welterweight title he won against Ryan Garcia For more than a decade, Teófimo López’s friendship with Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero endured through amateur tournaments, Las Vegas sparring sessions and the mismatched peaks and troughs of two volatile careers. That friendship ended, López says, the moment they signed to fight one another. On Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena along the Vegas Strip, the 29-year-old López will challenge for Romero’s World Boxing Association welterweight title. The former lightweight and junior-welterweight champion is moving up to 147lb in pursuit of a belt in a third division. For Romero, himself a three-weight belt-holder after stacking titles at 135lb and 140lb, a victory would add another marquee name to a résumé transformed by last year’s upset of Ryan Garcia. The fight will be broadcast globally on Dazn pay-per-view and will see the champion go off as a roughly 2-1 underdog...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 9:00:31 AM
sports

Uefa and Concacaf discuss joint Nations League in latest challenge to Fifa

Biennial tournament could launch as early as 2028 Confederations are seeking to oust Gianni Infantino Uefa and Concacaf have begun talks about setting up a combined Nations League tournament featuring all 96 European and North and Central American and Caribbean countries, in another direct challenge to Fifa. The Guardian has learned that having come together to push for Gianni Infantino’s removal in the light of the World Cup sell-off controversy, the two confederations are now working on creating their own biennial tournament, which could launch as early as 2028 after the next European Championship...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 9:00:30 AM
sports

Retail sales in Great Britain fall despite heatwave increasing food and drink demand

Volume of goods sold in stores and online dropped 0.5% in July, ONS says Business live – latest updates Retail sales across Great Britain weakened last month despite the men’s football World Cup and record temperatures boosting the demand for food and drink. The Office for National Statistics said the volume of goods sold in stores and online fell 0.5% in July. That is down from 0.7% rise in June – revised down from initial estimates of 1% – and a 1.3% rise in May...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 8:58:10 AM
world

China’s Typhoon Maysak death toll soars to 159 as region tallies catastrophic losses

The official death toll from Typhoon Maysak’s devastating floods in southern China jumped from 39 to 159 on Friday, as authorities updated the figures for the first time in six weeks. According to media briefings held in Nanning and Guigang in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, 10 people remained missing and the disaster affected more than 1.65 million people, state news agency Xinhua reported. The typhoon triggered “historically rare, large-scale and persistent heavy rainfall” in the province in...

South China Morning Post • 8/21/2026, 8:12:15 AM
world

Indonesian quake survivors recall trauma of all-day intense aftershocks, self-rescue

Carolus Winfridus was asleep when an earthquake struck off Indonesia’s island of Flores, as he was awoken by intense rumbling and saw his wardrobe doors flying open. He and his family quickly scrambled for a way out of their house in the town of Maumere, Sikka Regency, one of nine regencies hit by Saturday’s devastating 7.7-magnitude quake that killed almost 80 people and displaced nearly 100,000. Survivors and officials describe how blocked roads, power cuts and relentless aftershocks have...

South China Morning Post • 8/21/2026, 8:03:05 AM
climate

Increased rainfall and storms to hit UK due to biggest El Niño for a century, says Met Office

‘Unprecedented’ weather pattern over Pacific Ocean to be felt worldwide with severe droughts expected in southern hemisphere The El Niño event developing over the Pacific Ocean is likely to be the strongest for more than a 100 years, the UK’s Met Office has said. Increased rainfall and storms are forecast to hit the UK this autumn as a result of the “unprecedented” weather pattern, which will also cause severe droughts in the southern hemisphere, the Met Office warned...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 7:42:21 AM
sports

Chess: Magnus Carlsen wins Esports World Cup in Paris without losing a game

Norway’s world No 1 outclassed the field and won the $250,000 first prize at the four-day event in France Magnus Carlsen, Norway’s world No 1, triumphed again last weekend when he won the 2026 Esports World Cup, staged over four days at the prestigious venue of the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Carlsen retained his title from Riyadh 2025 and took home a monster first prize of $250,000 (£183,000). The time limit was close to blitz, 10 minutes each per player with no per move increment, a format where blunders would be hoped for, and were indeed made, as entertainment for the capacity audience...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 7:00:29 AM
business

Retail sales fall despite World Cup and hot weather boosting alcohol and drinks trade – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest events in global financial markets, the economy and major corporate moves Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Retail sales fell in July after a bumper period the previous month, despite the World Cup luring punters into pubs and the hot weather boosting alcoholic drink sales in supermarkets. 7am BST: ONS retail sales data 7am BST: ONS public finances 9am BST: Flash PMI eurozone 9.30am BST: UK flash PMI 2.45pm BST: US flash PMI..

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 6:24:22 AM
world

Russia’s missile tests around disputed islands anger Japan

Pacific fleet launched missile drills near what Moscow calls the Kuril Islands but Japan regards as its Northern Territories Japan has criticised missile tests carried out by Russia’s navy around the disputed islands visited by Vladimir Putin last week amid continuing tensions between the two countries. Russia’s Pacific fleet said on Thursday that it had fired Bastion surface-to-ship missiles from Etorofu, the largest island in the disputed archipelago, simulating an attack on enemy vessels, hitting all of its targets approximately 300km away...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 4:54:01 AM
health

Python named Jodie Foster first snake to receive pioneering cancer treatment

Chester zoo resident, 23, ‘back to her usual feisty self’ after electrochemotherapy for tumour in her jaw A 15ft (4.5-metre) python is believed to be the first snake in the world to be given a pioneering, life-saving cancer treatment normally used on humans. The 50kg reticulated python, named Jodie Foster after the Hollywood star, has just turned 23 and lives at Chester zoo. Keepers first became concerned that she may be unwell when she began eating less and spending more time inactive in her habitat...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 4:00:25 AM
money

Anxiety over war, wildfires and cyber-attacks leads to growth in cash stocks in EU

Value of banknotes in circulation rises from €1bn in 2016 to €1.6bn in 2026 as people advised to keep stash of cash The number of banknotes in circulation in the EU is increasing despite widespread smartphone payments, new data shows, with wildfires ripping through parts of Europe fuelling demand for an emergency stash of cash. While cash plays second fiddle to contactless payments in many cities across Europe, the amount in circulation is actually going up, Philip Lane, the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), said at the MacGill summer school conference in Ireland...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 4:00:24 AM
world

Tiananmen Square vigil organisers found guilty in Hong Kong of ‘inciting subversion’

Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung - leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance – were tried under under a 2020 national security law Two Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils marking China’s deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 were found guilty of “incitement to subversion”, in a case widely criticised as exemplifying the erosion of freedom of expression in the Chinese city. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41 “incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power”, a press summary handed out to reporters said...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 2:45:42 AM
world

Japan executes man behind pachinko parlour arson that killed 5

Japan executed on Friday a man convicted of an arson attack on a pachinko parlour in 2009 that killed five people, authorities said. It was Japan’s first hanging since Takahiro Shiraishi, the “Twitter killer” who murdered and dismembered nine people, was put to death in June 2025. Sunao Takami, the man executed on Friday, doused a pachinko parlour – a popular game mixing pinball and a slot machine using small steel balls – near his home in Osaka with petrol and set it on fire, killing four...

South China Morning Post • 8/21/2026, 2:38:31 AM
climate

Panama canal to reduce shipping as El Niño strikes vital route

Further restrictions on shipping lane possible as Central America gripped by severe drought The Panama canal will cut the number of ships passing through it starting next month because of drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon, the operator of the strategic waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific said Thursday. From 3 September, the number of vessels allowed through each day will fall from 36 to 34 due to low water levels in two artificial lakes that feed the canal, the Panama Canal Authority said. From 15 September, the number of ships permitted will drop to 32...

The Guardian • 8/21/2026, 2:21:55 AM
world

US deports 20 people to Liberia, the first of 1,200 migrants under Trump deal

Agreement is among largest third-country deportations driven by Trump administration’s immigration crackdown Twenty deportees from the United States arrived in Liberia on Thursday, as part of a new agreement that will see the west African country receive as many as 1,200 people under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The group arrived at the Roberts international airport outside the capital, Monrovia. The Liberia-US agreement is one of the largest third-country deportation arrangements pursued by the administration since Trump returned to office last year...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 7:57:59 PM
sports

Players welcome record $108m US Open prize fund and will not stage protests

Total prize pool for tournament will be $108m Players guaranteed $140,000 for making first round The world’s leading tennis players have welcomed the US Open’s announcement of a 20% increase in prize money and agreed not to continue their protests at this year’s tournament as a result. The build up to both the French Open and Wimbledon was overshadowed earlier this year by a media boycott as the players continue to demand a greater share of tournament revenues, but after the US Tennis Association announced a record prize pot of $108m there will be no such disruption at Flushing Meadow...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 7:23:21 PM
business

Mark Zuckerberg buys 440-acre Strancally castle estate in Ireland

Meta chief executive paid roughly €20m for gothic-style mansion built in 1830 and its surroundings It stretches the definition of pied-à-terre but Mark Zuckerberg now has a pad in Ireland: Strancally castle. The Meta chief executive and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have bought the gothic-style mansion and its 178-hectare (440-acre) estate in county Waterford to use as a base during visits to Ireland...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 5:39:44 PM
business

JD Sports boss is still struggling to turn up the heat amid tepid trainer market

Latest profit warning is particularly disappointing in a World Cup year, which should have given the business a sporty buzz JD Sports cuts £50m from profit forecast as cost of living pressures hit trainer sales It was a slower quarter for “high-heat footwear product”, said JD Sports. It didn’t mean it was struggling to shift sandals during a heatwave. Rather, it was referring coyly to the big global trainer brands’ failure to come up with hot new designs. When Nike and Adidas, reckoned by City analysts to account for slightly more than half JD’s sales, are on tepid form, the self-styled “king of trainers” retailer usually is as well. The low-heat grumble will be familiar to JD’s shareholders. So, too, the one about “incremental cost of living pressures”, especially in the US. And the phrase “a promotional market” has appeared so often in the company’s updates in the past couple of years that it would be easier to tell us when discounting isn’t dominant...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 5:14:31 PM
money

Why is US bond market turmoil hitting governments worldwide? | Richard Partington

As yields are dragged higher in the UK, Europe and Japan, the impact for consumers and businesses will be far-reaching Government borrowing costs around the world have surged to the highest levels in decades amid growing fears over US bond market turmoil. Anxiety about Donald Trump’s handling of the US economy, and concern that the US president’s war with Iran is driving up inflation, are triggering a sell-off in the US bond market...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 4:14:59 PM
sports

Maracanã to host opening game and final at next year’s Women’s World Cup

Stadium has hosted two men’s World Cup finals Arena Itaquera in São Paulo will host 10 matches The Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro will host the opening game and the final of next year’s Women’s World Cup. The 78,838-capacity stadium, which hosted the finals of the 1950 and 2014 men’s World Cups as well as the finals of the Olympic football competitions in 2016, will be the venue for Brazil’s Group A match on 24 June and the final on 25 July. Fifa released the schedule on Thursday for all 64 matches for the tournament, which features 32 teams. The draw will take place this year after more of the qualification playoffs have been contested...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 3:25:54 PM
world

Spain expands Ceuta migrant shelters to ease crisis

The Spanish government announced on Thursday the creation of shelters for 1,800 migrants in Ceuta in a bid to relieve the humanitarian crisis there following last month's influx from Morocco. Some 72,000 migrants breached the border in an unprecedented and deadly rush into the north African territory on July 30-31, with 70,000 having since returned to Morocco, according to Spanish government figures. FRANCE 24's Sarah Morris reports from Madrid, Spain.

France 24 • 8/20/2026, 3:18:09 PM
sports

Maddison Levi: Wallaroos debut for explosive sevens star has New Zealand on red alert | Angus Fontaine

The code-hopping winger is one of the hottest properties in world rugby but says she feels ‘vulnerable’ ahead of her eagerly-anticipated first 15s Test cap Maddison Levi is widely considered the most exciting rugby player in the country. But this weekend the Gold Coast 24-year-old is a “vulnerable” rookie as she faces up to the biggest challenge of her career: finally making her hotly-anticipated debut in the 15-a-side game for Australia in a historic Test against New Zealand on Saturday. “I’m really excited,” Levi says. “Representing Australia in two codes is a pretty special achievement and this is a new environment and a massive challenge. I know I’ll probably make mistakes out there and I’m feeling pretty vulnerable but I’ve always set myself high standards and this is about me becoming a better player.”..

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 3:00:54 PM
sports

Robot building and Essien: Yirenkyi’s circuitous path to Premier League

Coventry’s £26m record signing from Nordsjælland, a Right to Dream academy alumnus, can make a top-flight splash It is mid-July in Kössen, an Austrian village on the edge of the Alps, close to the German border, at Nordsjælland’s pre-season camp. The Danish Superliga club’s coaching staff, including Michael Essien, are preparing for the new campaign, the stunning scenery par for the course. Every training session is recorded by a drone. The operator with the joystick in his hands? Well, that would be Caleb Yirenkyi, the Ghana midfielder who returned a week early from his post-World Cup break. He requested to join his teammates in the drills, but after physios told the 20-year-old he required more rest Yirenkyi did the next best thing. It is a story that speaks volumes of his modest character and, a month on, he is poised to make his Premier League debut at Arsenal on Friday after Coventry made him their £26m record signing...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 2:29:33 PM
world

Ceuta: FRANCE 24 brings you up-to-speed

🇪🇸 🌍 🔎 In Ceuta, the fate of migrants who crossed into the Spanish enclave at the end of July remains murky, but the trauma of the precarious journey remains. Most of the migrants who remain are forced to sleep in dangerous conditions, many among them unaccompanied minors. Meanwhile, the families of those who attempted the crossing have little to no news of what happened to their loved ones. FRANCE 24’s Hamza Hahboub, back from the enclave, brings you up-to-speed on the situation.

France 24 • 8/20/2026, 1:31:40 PM
power

ICC slams US decision to sanction the court's president and a senior prosecution lawyer

The International Criminal Court on Wednesday slammed the latest US sanctions targeting senior ICC staff, including its president, as a “flagrant attack” on the global tribunal's independence and vowed to continue seeking justice for atrocities around the world. The State Department announced Tuesday that it had hit ICC president Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and ICC senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, who is from Senegal, with sanctions that freeze any assets they have in US jurisdictions or come into contact with the U.S. financial system.

France 24 • 8/20/2026, 1:30:15 PM
world

Huge questions loom over Prince Harry and Meghan's shock return to UK

Dozens of questions swirled Thursday as Prince Harry prepares to move back to the UK with his wife and children, six years after his departure sparked a bitter rift with the royal family. In a surprise move, Harry and Meghan "plan to leave the United States by the end of the month to settle in a private, non-royal residence, which is said to be located outside London", The Daily Telegraph reported late on Wednesday. FRANCE 24's Delano D'Souza tells us more.

France 24 • 8/20/2026, 1:24:23 PM
business

China: Robots box and dance at Beijing's 2026 World Robot Conference

More than 300 companies are displaying humanoid robots, industrial machines, service robots and other forms of embodied artificial intelligence at the Beijing's 2026 World Robot Conference. The five-day event kicked off on August 19, coinciding with Unitree's stock-market debut. The company, China's best-known humanoid robot maker, saw shares increase nearly six-fold on opening day. The conference comes as robotics emerges as a new front in the US-China rivalry.

France 24 • 8/20/2026, 12:37:36 PM
culture

There is nothing scientific about The Great ADHD Myth? ‘documentary’ | Gina Rippon

Channel 4’s programme wastes a chance to ask important questions about how ADHD is diagnosed and treated, instead indulging in unscientific methods and conspiracy theories Prof Gina Rippon is emeritus professor of cognitive neuroimaging at the Aston Brain Centre, Aston University When Channel 4 announced that it would air a documentary titled The Great ADHD Myth?, an outpouring of fury followed. Despite this, I set out to approach it as a scientist – not just as a scientist whose own work has dealt with developmental disorders, but as someone who has enormous respect for the scientific process and for the importance of evidence-led debate. Channel 4’s press release claimed the documentary sought to determine whether attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was a “genuine neurodevelopmental disorder, or a social construct”. At one level this is a brave enterprise. ADHD is recognised worldwide as a disorder, by the World Health Organization and our own NHS among others. Estimates suggest ADHD affects roughly 8% of children and adolescents and about 3% of adults worldwide. To overturn this consensus would require robust, reproducible findings capable of explaining away decades of genetic, developmental and clinical research. The press release described the documentary as “science-led”, which hinted at just such an enterprise. Was it really science-led? Prof Gina Rippon is emeritus professor of cognitive neuroimaging at the Aston Brain Centre, Aston University, and the author of the books The Gendered Brain and The Lost Girls of Autism Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please..

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 12:18:28 PM
sports

‘He must resign’: Fans’ petition calls for Infantino to quit as Fifa president

Fans say Infantino has ‘lost the right to lead’ Statement also calls for Fifa to be reformed Fans’ groups worldwide have launched a petition calling for the resignation of Gianni Infantino as Fifa president and for wholesale reform of the organisation. Infantino is under mounting pressure after being forced to abandon plans to seek private investment to run Fifa tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 11:13:15 AM
culture

‘I painted myself blue – but got skin problems’: how four Edinburgh stars created their weird characters

From a cake-baking Elton John to possibly the most horrible man in the world, comedians reveal how they get in character – and how far they can push things In the Covid lockdowns, I was drawing all these silly things, and one day I drew Elton John as a scone. It brought me lots of joy. I love Elton John and everything he’s about – his music and his outfits – and my first job as a musician was in a bar in Soho, where I used to play his back catalogue. I turned the drawing into a very silly character, just for my enjoyment...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 11:00:51 AM
business

Crypto bank part-owned by Trump family offers depositors way to ‘gain favor’ with White House, experts say

Democrats have called World Liberty Trust Company a stark example of corruption but officials claim there is no insider dealing Two fundamentals underpin the business model of a new crypto bank partly owned by the Trump family, cryptocurrency experts tell the Guardian. World Liberty Trust Company received conditional approval this month from the US office of the comptroller of the currency (OCC) to start a bank. An entity affiliated with Donald Trump and his family members owns about 38% of the company. The agency is led by a political appointee of the US president...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 10:00:49 AM
world

Australia 'outraged' over Israel decision to close probe into aid worker killings

Australia's top diplomat Penny Wong on Thursday said relations with Israel were "difficult" after it dropped a probe into the killing of aid worker Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom and her colleagues in Gaza. Australian national Frankcom was among a group of seven World Central Kitchen staff killed in April 2024 when their aid convoy was hit by an Israeli air strike. Their deaths triggered global outrage and a renewed push to ensure the safety of aid workers in Gaza.

France 24 • 8/20/2026, 9:19:30 AM
climate

Without action wildfires in Europe will increase 39% even in best-case climate scenario, study finds

Improvements in fire management however could mitigate increases by more than 70%, study shows Wildfires are projected to burn 39% more of Europe by the end of the century even in the best-case scenario for stopping the planet from heating, a study has found, unless action is taken to manage them better. The increase in hot, dry and windy weather that leads to small fires turning into raging infernos is to engulf more of Europe as carbon pollution pushes temperatures higher. In the worst-case scenario the researchers modelled, which would see global heating reach 3.6C above preindustrial levels, the burnt area would almost triple...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 9:01:47 AM
world

Whales spark joy in New York but face threats from boat traffic

Eager cruise passengers zipping around New York's southern shores rush to the starboard bow: a humpback whale is up for air, a breathtaking sighting set against Manhattan's iconic skyline. Such scenes are no longer uncommon in the city's waterways, sparking excitement for animal lovers but also forcing new policy efforts to protect whales venturing into one of the busiest port regions in the United States.

France 24 • 8/20/2026, 8:58:19 AM
world

Migrant women tell of sexual harassment in Spain's crisis-hit Ceuta

Some women who entered Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on July 30 as part of a mass migrant crossing say the hardships of ​sleeping rough as they wait to be registered are compounded by the threat and fear of sexual harassment. Authorities say that between 5,000 and 8,000 people remain in the enclave, more than two weeks after 72,000 people crossed from Morocco ⁠in a deadly border surge.

France 24 • 8/20/2026, 8:54:23 AM
world

Investigation into killing of Hind Rajab and Gaza paramedics comes ‘extremely late’

The investigation into the killing of Hind Rajab and paramedics in Gaza launched by the Israeli army came as a “surprise” in the country, “because so much time has passed” since the events took place, FRANCE 24 correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky said. “The timing is extremely late.” But Tarnopolsky said “the fact that these two very renown cases are being referred to criminal investigation is already an admission on the part of the Israeli army that something here went deeply wrong.”

France 24 • 8/20/2026, 6:06:07 AM
sports

Instant classics, odd inspirations and barcodes: 2026-27’s best and worst kits

A look at six of the best and worst of the new season’s strips gives us Pro Evo chic, throwbacks done right, and how – and how not – to use stripes The Premier League season kicks off on Friday and league debutants such as Christos Tzolis and Victor Muñoz, along with masses of fans, will be pulling on their teams’ shiny new strips. There were some lovely efforts at the World Cup (not least by the co-hosts the USA), and others more tedious than a 0-0 draw. It’s a mixed bag once again. Manchester City have gone with an ombre design, which feels – apposite for a gradient fading of colour – exhausted as a look in 2026. In the most surprising but successful collaboration since Olivia Rodrigo and Robert Smith,Sunderland have teamed up with Elvis Presley, or his estate, anyway, for a pink away shirt that nods to the supporters’ longstanding unofficial anthem Can’t Help Falling in Love...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 5:00:44 AM
culture

Weatherwatch: Climate crisis fuelling steep fall in migratory bird numbers

Many species under threat use the African-Eurasian flyway, one of the planet’s largest mass-migration systems It may still feel like summer, but in the world of birds, autumn migration is already well under way. Cuckoos and swifts have already left us, and while swallows and many species of warbler will not depart our shores until September, many species of Arctic-breeding waders have begun to stop off at our coastal marshes to refuel for their long journey south. This year, however, there could be fewer than usual. A review by the British Trust for Ornithology, working with other international conservation organisations, has found that more than half of these global travellers are suffering major declines in numbers – a worrying downward trend. Many of those under threat use the African-Eurasian flyway, one of the largest mass-migration systems on the planet...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 5:00:44 AM
business

Oxfam ‘can’t guarantee future’ of charity shops as it also reviews warehouse business

Dwindling donations and stiff competition from secondhand sellers online prompt review but ‘no plans for closures yet’ Oxfam is reviewing the operations of its three warehouses in Batley, Bicester and Milton Keynes and says it “cannot give guarantees” on the future of its high street shops in a “difficult economic climate”. The charity said it had no plans to close warehouses or shops but insiders fear that Batley, which houses Oxfam’s main textile recycling centre, will shut as part of a cost-cutting drive because the West Yorkshire site’s lease is up for renewal...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 5:00:43 AM
climate

The threatening thaw: climate professor on heatwave risks to tipping point of permafrost

Prof Gustaf Hugelius warns wildfires could accelerate release of methane and carbon as vast regions approach irreversible thresholds Heatwaves and wildfires are not just scorching forests, they are adding to the tipping point risks in the world’s vast permafrost regions, which contain three times more carbon than all the living vegetation on Earth. This is a major concern for Gustaf Hugelius, a professor at the Bolin Centre of Climate Research at Stockholm University, Sweden, and a leading authority on the risks from thawing tundra and peatlands. In this Q&A, he explains why the world should pay attention...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 4:00:43 AM
culture

Magicians and margarine: 10 of the funniest jokes from the Edinburgh fringe 2026

Every year, hundreds of standups from across the world descend on the venerable festival. Here are some of their finest one-liners 10 of the funniest jokes from the 2025 fringe Olaf Falafel: I remember thinking, as I taped a piranha to my boomerang, this could come back to bite me. Richard Stott: To the person who stole my bank card and spent all my money on ancestry.com – you know who you are...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 4:00:42 AM
world

‘Like a miracle’: 84-year-old woman pulled alive from rubble three days after Indonesian quake

A landslide triggered by the quake had blocked access to the village where Paulina Pobi had lived, leaving her buried under the collapsed remains An 84-year-old woman has been discovered alive in the flattened remains of her home three days after a powerful earthquake hit eastern Indonesia, authorities have confirmed. The 7.7-magnitude quake struck off Indonesia’s Flores island on Saturday morning, killing at least 73 people, injuring more than 900 people and displacing nearly 60,000 others...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 12:57:42 AM
world

More than 100 dead after goldmine collapses in Central African Republic

The collapse was caused by a landslide, while local officials say the death toll is likely to rise as recovery efforts continue More than 100 people have died after an artisanal goldmine at a small village in western Central African Republic (CAR) caved in due to a landslide, local officials and aid workers said on Wednesday. The landslide happened on Tuesday afternoon in the village of Zamboye, about 50km (31 miles) from the town of Baboua and close to the border of Cameroon. Footage on social media appeared to show an avalanche of sand descend on a group of people, likely the miners, and cover them...

The Guardian • 8/20/2026, 12:14:17 AM
sports

‘Believe your eyes’: Masters says Premier League’s integrity cannot be doubted

CEO says English football is ‘everything that it should be’ Concern over perception following World Cup scandal Richard Masters has sought to reassure fans that the Premier League remains “everything that it should be” after the Folarin Balogun red-card scandal called the integrity of disciplinary decisions into question. Both Masters, the chief executive of the Premier League, and Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer for English football, were critical of the process that led to Fifa’s ­disciplinary committee suspending the USA striker’s one-game ban for a year after an intervention by the US president, Donald Trump. Masters went further, calling for a candidate with “a different offer” to run against Gianni Infantino for Fifa president next year...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 9:08:21 PM
sports

Manchester City target Roma’s Manu Koné as Spurs talk over Savinho and Marmoush deal

France World Cup midfielder could cost £50m Tottenham discussing £150m double deal for forward pair Manchester City have identified Roma’s Manu Koné as a potential target to strengthen further Enzo Maresca’s options in midfield. While City have already bought Elliot Anderson for £116m and are closing in on the £85m signing of Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi, Maresca admires Koné for his dynamic mode of play. He would be expected to cost about £50m...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 8:56:13 PM
world

Five Americans among seven killed in safari helicopter crash in Kenya

Officials say all seven people onboard killed, including Telemundo executive and Ecuador intelligence chief Seven people, including five Americans, were killed when a safari helicopter crashed on Wednesday morning in a remote part of northern Kenya, according to local police and the state department. Among the dead were an executive with Telemundo, the US-based Spanish-language network owned by NBC Universal, and the director of Ecuador’s national intelligence service...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 8:17:39 PM
health

The Guardian view on the Ebola outbreak in the DRC: a case study in why international aid matters | Editorial

The Trump administration’s ‘America first’ approach has contributed to the scale of the crisis now unfolding in one of the world’s poorest countries For months health experts have warned that the scale of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could surpass the one that swept west Africa in 2014-16. This week, the authorities in the DRC announced that a grim milestone has already been passed: at least 2,325 people have died from the virus, making it the deadliest of the country’s 17 outbreaks and the fastest-growing in history. There is no effective vaccine against Bundibugyo – a rare strain of the virus that spread fatally undetected during the spring, often being misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid. In contrast to neighbouring Uganda, which succeeded in eliminating an outbreak, multiple factors are combining to let the disease rip through the DRC. The worst-affected region is contested by armed groups, and a context of population displacement and chronic insecurity has made monitoring and surveillance more difficult. Ebola treatment centres have been attacked as a result of misinformation and community distrust...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 5:59:29 PM
power

Kim Jong-un’s sister casts doubt on Trump’s claims of secret US-North Korea talks

President says he plans to meet dictator this year but Kim Yo-jong says Washington remains Pyongyang’s enemy Donald Trump has said he is planning to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong-un later this year even as the reclusive leader’s younger sister cast doubt on their communications and dampened hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough between the two leaders. Trump, who also claimed North Korea had 57 nuclear weapons, had suggested he and Kim were holding secret negotiations on Tuesday after announcing the US would downgrade its participation in military exercises held by South Korea, a US ally. Asked whether Kim had responded to his request for a conversation, Trump said: “Yeah, he has.”..

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 5:39:56 PM
power

Israeli military probes killings of Hind Rajab and Palestinian paramedics

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.

France 24 • 8/19/2026, 3:47:52 PM
culture

‘We never apologised for our rage or revenge-seeking’: riot grrrl legends Heavens to Betsy reunite

Alongside Bikini Kill and Bratmobile, Corin Tucker and Tracy Sawyer created a feminist punk vernacular that’s still inspiring the likes of Olivia Rodrigo. They recall the clarity and conviction of their historic teenage exploits Back in June, a cut-and-paste photocopied flyer began appearing on telegraph poles around Portland, Oregon, promoting a DIY show by an apparently defunct band at an intimate community space. The band hadn’t mentioned it online, but hopeful fans bought every ticket anyway. Their bet paid off: the gig really was the first in 32 years for Heavens to Betsy, the pioneering feminist punk duo of drummer Tracy Sawyer and singer-guitarist Corin Tucker – the latter’s band before Sleater-Kinney unleashed her visceral vibrato unto the world. Tucker proudly made the flyer herself. Heavens to Betsy were barely out of high school when they played their very first show, 35 years ago this week, in Olympia, Washington, a two-song set as part of a now-mythical indie fest dubbed the International Pop Underground Convention. The festival also featured the likes of Fugazi, Bikini Kill and Melvins; meanwhile Heavens to Betsy had practised only a couple times. Before an audience of about 100, Sawyer was so terrified that all she could think was, “This has to be over soon.”..

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 3:00:16 PM
power

Spain to allow 500 children in Ceuta to go to mainland in immigration U-turn

Madrid government changes stance after previously saying anyone who entered territory illegally would be sent back The Spanish government has U-turned and said it will allow 500 migrant children in Ceuta to relocate to the mainland. The majority of the estimated 70,000 people who crossed into Ceuta – a Spanish territory on the coast of north Africa – on 30 July have returned to Morocco. However, under Spanish law, the state has a duty of care to young, unaccompanied migrants until they reach the age of 18...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 2:33:24 PM
world

Australia mushroom killer's lawyers point to jury irregularities at appeal

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.

France 24 • 8/19/2026, 2:30:23 PM
culture

‘I’m not Mr Saturday Night’: the highbrow brilliance of Ahir Shah, past winner of comedy’s top prize

Three years ago, he won the Edinburgh comedy award with a work in progress. Now he’s back with a show inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins and Friedrich Nietzsche. Isn’t this all a bit grownup? Among past winners of the Edinburgh comedy award, few seemed less likely when the starter’s pistol fired than Ahir Shah in 2023. Not because Shah wasn’t a contender: he had been nominated twice before. But that year he arrived on the fringe with a mere work in progress, not even eligible for the award. Shah’s director, the great Adam Brace, had recently died and the comic had just returned to the stage after a break from comedy. But then Ends, a tribute to the performer’s late grandfather and a hymn to multicultural Britain, began gathering steam. Shah reclassified it as a work-now-finished and, to a chorus of rapturous acclaim, it bagged the biggest prize in world comedy. Three years on, he is returning with the follow-up: less uncut diamond this time and more, he hopes, a polished gem. But didn’t the success of Ends prove polish was unnecessary? “You can get very in your head approaching the fringe, thinking: ‘Well, it has to be absolutely locked in by August because x thousand pounds are on the line,’” Shah admits. So doing a work in progress allowed him to “quiet some of those voices – and have less of a panic attack about what you’re going to say”...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 2:16:03 PM
culture

Coyote Vs Acme review – quirky comedy returns from the dead to flip Wile E Coyote’s slapstick-violent world

After being shelved as a tax-writeoff, this Looney Tunes reboot redraws the hapless hunter as the Erin Brockovich of the cartoon world Here is a quirky, peculiar, yet strangely diverting live-action-toon hybrid of the kind that hasn’t been popular at the movies for many a day; it gives us a new twist on the surreal forever war between Wile E Coyote and the speedy Road Runner (catchphrase “beep beep”, pronounced “meep, meep”). The music over the closing credits will incidentally disappoint fans of this animated franchise; they’ve gone with the Clash’s I Fought the Law, but surely it should be Roadrunner from Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers? Coyote Vs Acme is a comedy whose obsessive and hyperactive pedantry is exhausting, but arguably part of the point, aimed at America’s litigious culture, corporate arrogance and monopoly capitalism. So when producers Warner Bros initially decided to shelve the whole thing as a tax writeoff, that must have felt to director Dave Green like an ironic cartoon anvil to the head. Well, the film was rescued and it would be great therefore to discover that this is a masterpiece. Sadly it’s not, but there are some laughs and the pure fanatical oddity makes this watchable...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 12:00:14 PM
world

Meta knowingly hooked children and misled public, prosecutors tell court

Meta knowingly hooked and exploited children, a US federal court heard Tuesday in a trial against the social media giant on charges that it deliberately made Instagram and Facebook addictive to young users. In what many experts have called social media's "big tobacco moment," a coalition of states is asking that Meta be penalised by around $200 billion for designing products addictive to children.

France 24 • 8/19/2026, 9:28:12 AM
world

UN atomic watchdog says found tons of nuclear material at Syria site

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said Tuesday its inspectors had found several tons of nuclear material in Syria, at a site Damascus reported to the agency last month. Speaking at a news conference in Damascus, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, praised Damascus's "courageous decision" to report the undisclosed site, which dates back to the rule of ousted former leader Bashar-al-Assad.

France 24 • 8/19/2026, 9:19:47 AM
power

Activist forced out of US after criticising Trump-aligned Colombian politician

Beto Coral held up banners in Florida warning fellow Colombians to not vote for Abelardo de la Espriella In the week before Colombia’s presidential election, Beto Coral, a well-known activist living in the United States, travelled to Florida to persuade fellow Colombians not to vote for the far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. Coral held banners outside polling stations in Miami warning that the millionaire lawyer, whose candidacy was endorsed by Donald Trump, would “help deport all of you”...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 9:00:12 AM
power

In cutting joint drills, Trump has given South Korea’s president what he wants. So why does Seoul look so uneasy?

President Lee Jae Myung has long pushed for stronger homegrown defences, yet Donald Trump’s move has sparked alarm in some quarters At their first summit, in August last year, South Korean president Lee Jae Myung told Donald Trump: “If you, Mr President, become the peacemaker, then I will assist you as the pacemaker.” The remark at the Oval Office captured the thrust of Lee’s approach to the North: dial down the military posturing and make repeated peace overtures to revive dialogue, even if they have been consistently rejected by Pyongyang largely over Seoul’s insistence on denuclearisation...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 5:40:29 AM
climate

Tourists on pastry quest overrun scenic spot in Italian mountains

Alpine communities hit out after influencer videos draw huge queues to Friedrich August refuge in Dolomites Hundreds of people overwhelmed a mountain hut in the Italian Dolomites, not for the panoramic views but in search of a creamy pastry, reigniting the debate about social-media-driven tourism. The visitors ventured en masse to the Friedrich August refuge – perched at 2,300 metres (7,500ft) above sea level, between Col Rodella and Passo Sella in Val di Fassa – some reportedly waking up at dawn or camping overnight, just to ensure they could buy a freshly baked krapfen, a traditional German pastry similar to a doughnut, before they ran out...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 4:00:05 AM
climate

Carbon pollution has fuelled ‘massive expansion’ of marine heatwaves in Europe, study finds

Hottest periods this year in most sea regions would have been ‘virtually impossible’ in a preindustrial climate Carbon pollution has fuelled a “massive expansion” of marine heatwaves in Europe this summer, research has found, with some waters recording temperatures 6C higher than normal. The hottest fortnights of this year would have been “virtually impossible” in a preindustrial climate in three of the four sea regions studied, according to analysis by World Weather Attribution, while in the Celtic region, which covers much of the water around the British Isles, heat hit levels that used to strike just once a century...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 4:00:05 AM
world

Father and 2 daughters killed in Malaysian immigration truck crash

A father and his two daughters died after an Immigration Department truck allegedly ran a red light and triggered a series of crashes in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur early on Wednesday. Preliminary investigations found that the empty truck, driven by a 43-year-old man, was headed to Chow Kit district at about 1am to pick up undocumented migrants detained in an operation, said Kuala Lumpur Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zamzuri Mohd...

South China Morning Post • 8/19/2026, 3:30:16 AM
world

Vietnam police confirm ex-politician spared charges over crash that killed teen in Hanoi

A former Vietnamese politician unintentionally killed a ⁠teenager in a traffic accident in central Hanoi last year but was exempted from criminal prosecution, a police officer told state television, shedding light for the first time on a case that has fuelled criticism online for months. The interview was broadcast on Monday evening, days after people began leaving flowers at the site ‌where the accident occurred last May, in what dissident and youth groups described as an act of protest in the...

South China Morning Post • 8/19/2026, 3:15:11 AM
power

US-led drills to end six days early, South Korea says, amid Trump push for Kim Jong-un talks

South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise would end on 21 August at the request of the US South Korea’s military has confirmed that joint military drills with the US will be cut short, days after Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back the exercises. In a statement on Wednesday, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said at the request of the US side, the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise – which began on Monday would end on Friday, six days earlier than originally planned...

The Guardian • 8/19/2026, 2:18:25 AM
climate

Introducing Ulez was my hardest decision as mayor of London – but now we know its astonishing impact | Sadiq Khan

Critics said I was attacking motorists. It’s more important for me that the city’s children are no longer breathing dangerous levels of pollution Ulez led to better lung size and function among London children, study finds When I introduced London’s clean air zone – the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) – more than seven years ago, no city had ever attempted anything quite like it. At the time, the scheme in central London provoked fierce opposition. When I decided to expand it – first in 2021, to inner London, and then again in 2023 to the whole city, making it the biggest clean-air zone in the world – my detractors were louder still. I had, they claimed, declared war on drivers in blind pursuit of a policy that may not even work. All the mainstream political parties, including my own, were opposed. In recent years, though, those critics have gone quiet. There is now a mountain of evidence to show that the Ulez has slashed air pollution and improved air quality across London, and research published by Imperial College London earlier this year showed that this is already saving lives. Between 2019 (when I first introduced the Ulez) and 2024, estimated deaths associated with air pollution in the capital fell by around 40%. But a new, independent study published by Queen Mary University of London today goes further still, showing how – by helping to clean up the capital’s air – the Ulez is improving the lungs and lives of London’s children. Sadiq Khan is mayor of London..

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 10:30:02 PM
sports

Lisa Nandy urges deal to keep Rugby League World Cup on free-to-air TV

Premier Sports secure rights with BBC not bidding Nandy: ‘As a fan myself, I share fans’ disappointment’ The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has urged administrators to strike a deal to allow this autumn’s Rugby League World Cup to be shown on free-to-air broadcast after it was announced the event would be shown in the United Kingdom exclusively on subscription TV. The BBC’s longstanding relationship with the sport has led to it consistently showing the Rugby League World Cup irrespective of where and when the tournament has been held. But that tradition will seemingly end this autumn, after it was confirmed the broadcaster would not bid for the rights to show the event, which will be held in Australia...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 8:10:46 PM
money

Chelsea’s boardroom rift: if Boehly goes who will Clearlake have left to blame? | Sam Cunningham

Despite another reset with a new manager and fresh strategy, the boardroom drama persists at Stamford Bridge Perhaps, in hindsight, it was always going to end this way. As some of the world’s wealthiest investors scrambled to find funds after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine set a series of dominoes toppling that forced Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea, it threw together some unexpected allies. Todd Boehly became the public face of the winning bid, convincing US sports mogul Mark Walter and Swiss businessman Hansjörg Wyss to join as 12.8% minority investors. Private equity firm Clearlake Capital put in 61.6%, bringing owners Behdad Eghbali and José E Feliciano, who made their fortunes investing in tech, into the leadership fold...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 4:53:13 PM
world

Philippine school shooter kills fellow student and himself in livestreamed attack

Country’s second fatal school shooting in two months took place in southern city of ⁠Zamboanga A student livestreamed himself shooting and killing another pupil in a classroom in the southern Philippines before taking his own ⁠life, ​the second school attack in the country in less than two months. The shooting took ⁠place at a school attached to Ateneo de Zamboanga University in the southern city of ⁠Zamboanga, a Catholic private institution in western Mindanao. Zamboanga city’s mayor, Khymer Adan Olaso, told the DZMM radio station that the ‌shooter “managed to enter carrying a high-powered firearm and a.45-calibre pistol”...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 1:21:43 PM
world

Singapore’s seniors turn to parkour to boost balance and strength

Parkour may conjure images of rowdy teenagers swinging from building to building in urban landscapes, but since 2017, coach Tan Shie Boon has been using these techniques to improve Singaporean seniors’ strength and agility. Tan’s Movement Singapore classes have gone viral online, showing people in their 60s and 70s climbing structures, vaulting over railings, rolling down slanted surfaces and jumping off platforms.

France 24 • 8/18/2026, 11:15:59 AM
business

‘Picky bits’ on the menu as British shoppers snap up picnic food in heatwave

Consumers also turn to supermarket deals to save money, helping slow grocery price inflation Business live – latest updates Shopping baskets took on a decidedly summery complexion during last month’s heatwaves as consumers filled up on a British picnic staple: picky bits, and grocery inflation slowed. Spending rose on foods such as potato salad, olives and coleslaw, while ice-cream sales also increased, according to new data from Worldpanel by Numerator, a market research company...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 10:29:58 AM
world

Visit Rome by night: Italian capital tests new tourism strategy

In the face of recent heatwaves and the big crowds that saturate the historic tourist sites during the day, this summer, Rome is testing a new way to visit the city: by opening tourist sites at night. This initiative includes museums, parks, archeological sites, monuments, villas, and historic residences. A revolution in the tourist rhythm explained by our correspondent in Rome, Natalia Mendoza, along with Bernard Bedarida and Charlotte Davan Wetton.

France 24 • 8/18/2026, 9:20:03 AM
technology

The best vacuum cleaners in the UK for hard floors, carpet and pet hair – tested

From handheld to corded, self-emptying to stick models, these are our resident cleaner’s favourite vacuums for a spotless home • The best cordless vacuum cleaners, tested • How to make your vacuum cleaner last longer Buying a vacuum cleaner isn’t as easy as you might think. With so many brands and models to choose from, it can be bewildering. Sticking with established brands isn’t necessarily a safe bet, with past performance being no guarantee that the latest models will be as good. Meanwhile, prices can be deceptive, with some affordable models now closing the gap on top-of-the-range brands when it comes to cleaning performance. You can’t know all this by browsing through a department store or online. The ideal thing to do would be to take a few models home to try them out – but good luck persuading anyone to let you do that. Thankfully, you won’t have to try because I’ve tested an array of models for you. I’ve measured each one’s ability to perform a range of real-world cleaning jobs, so you can discover the best vacuum cleaner for you...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 9:01:05 AM
business

Cooling UK labour market ‘questions need’ for Bank of England rate hikes; grocery inflation slows to two-year low – business live

Brent crude climbs above $91 a barrel as US-Iran ceasefire ends Grocery inflation in the UK has slowed to the lowest rate in almost two years, bringing some relief to households, a monthly survey shows (ahead of tomorrow’s official inflation data). Inflation at supermarkets and other grocers eased for a fifth month, to 2.1% in the four weeks to 9 August – the lowest since October 2024, according to Worldpanel by Numerator. With inflation slowing again, this marks the fifth consecutive month of easing prices. Shoppers are feeling the relief with 39% now feeling financially comfortable, marking the highest level of financial confidence since November 2021. But it’s by no means the same picture for all, with 20% reporting that they are struggling, and this has a clear impact on spending decisions. Among these households, 30% are more likely to prioritise grocery essentials over additional summer spending such as holidays and travel. The continued heat across the UK has certainly impacted the way people are eating and drinking. Earlier this summer we saw that mealtimes were being pushed later in the day, with 13% of evening meals now eaten after 8pm. Shoppers have been trying to stay cool this month, with soft drinks growing 15.1% in spend, while the freezer aisle saw shoppers stocking up on ice cream, sorbet and frozen fruit to beat the heat. A brighter spot was that the rate of youth unemployment came down to 16.2% in June. This is relatively good news, but the data are volatile and so we would perhaps not place too much weight on one month’s data. Moreover of course this is a high level, which has climbed by over 2.5 percentage points over the past two years. It’s encouraging to see signs of progress in the latest figures, with employment on the up and a continued fall in unemployment rate. We will continue to reform welfare and employment support so that more people can live independently and restore opportunity across the country...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 8:06:25 AM
world

Fake troops loot earthquake-hit homes in Japan’s Kumamoto

Men in military fatigues identical to those worn by Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Forces (SDF) are reportedly prowling evacuated communities in Kumamoto prefecture to loot abandoned homes and businesses in the aftermath of last month’s earthquake. An official at the prefectural government confirmed media reports of “fake SDF personnel” attempting to enter properties in affected areas, although she said the authority’s immediate priority was still to find shelter and provide food and medical care...

South China Morning Post • 8/18/2026, 7:58:57 AM
world

Middle East live: Iran declares 60-day negotiation deadline null and void

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the 60-day negotiation deadline set out under the June Iran-US memorandum of understanding for a lasting settlement had been rendered null and void by "violations" committed by Washington. After meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, US envoy Jared Kushner said Monday he hoped to see the start of Hamas's disarmament within "30 days". Follow the latest developments.

France 24 • 8/18/2026, 5:07:06 AM
technology

Democracy v the machine: the birth of the digital age and the warnings that were ignored

Many hoped that the march of technology would usher in an egalitarian utopia – but some foresaw the threat it would pose to liberal society. Why did nobody listen? One of the stranger things about this dizzying, headlong moment in time is that it doesn’t have much of a past. Everything is about the future of this, the future of that: the future of work, the future of humanity, the future of the planet. It’s as if everyone is screaming (some ecstatically, most terror-stricken): robots are taking over the world! Meanwhile, you can’t put down your phone, unplug, delete your AI apps, tell Zoom to piss off; it feels as if you are racing toward something, and can’t stop, or look back, or think straight. But of course this weird moment in history does have a past. It comes from somewhere. It wasn’t inevitable. Things could have turned out differently. They still can. And if you look back, one thing you’ll see is that a lot of people saw this all coming. They foresaw our present when it was still the future. They thought it might turn out fabulously, a computer utopia. And they worried it might turn out disastrously. Above all, they issued warning after warning about the rise of what I call the artificial state, the replacement of the liberal democratic nation-state, the consent of the governed, with the rule of people by machines. They warned of a future in which democratic deliberation would be replaced by prediction by calculation, the public sphere would be supplanted by data-driven commerce, and drones would take the place of the demos. Why didn’t anyone listen? The new underworld is made up of innocent and well-intentioned people who work with slide rules and calculating machines and computers which can retain an almost infinite number of bits of information as well as sort, categorise, and reproduce this information at the press of a button. Most of these people are highly educated, many of them are PhDs, and none that I have met have malignant political designs on the American public. They may, however, radically reconstruct the American political system, build a new politics, and even modify revered and venerable American institutions – facts of which they are blissfully innocent...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 4:00:13 AM
world

Torrential rains kill one in South Korea while Philippine capital battles major flooding

More than 800mm of rain was recorded in the South Korean city of Geoje, which triggered a landslide that killed one person Torrential downpours that have pounded southern parts of South Korea have killed one person and injured four others, officials have confirmed. Heavy rains have been recorded in South Gyeongsang province, including the city of Geoje, where the 800-mm deluge triggered a landslide, the interior and safety ministry said...

The Guardian • 8/18/2026, 12:37:42 AM
health

Extreme heat more dangerous for people 60 and over than previously thought

Study finds older adults could face harmful heat stress at just 1.5C of warming above preindustrial levels People aged 60 and over face dangers to their health from exposure to heat at much lower temperatures than previously thought, research has found. Older adults will bear the brunt of increasingly frequent sustained spells of extreme heat globally as the world continues to warm up, according to a study in The Lancet Public Health...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 10:30:06 PM
sports

Sergio’s stunner lights up El Sardinero on Racing Santander’s emotional La Liga return | Sid Lowe

Teenager’s glorious strike made it 2-0 against Villarreal – but though they were pegged back to a draw the match sealed a feelgood return from the abyss “The poor kid couldn’t believe what had happened; none of us could have if we’d just done what he had just done,” said Álvaro Mantilla, Racing Santander’s captain in the match they had longed for more than anything in the world. Which was why the kid – a 19-year-old from just along the coast who had been at the club half his life – wasn’t the only one crying. The day Sergio Martínez played his first game for Racing, he had climbed into the stand to hug his grandad; the day he played his first in primera, on Sunday afternoon at the Sardinero, he just about managed to stand before it, legs giving way a little and tears coming to his eyes. All around him they felt it too, 22,413 people absolutely losing it. What he had just done was, well, everything. At least that’s how it felt right then. “Euphoria”, his captain called it. In his first game in the first division, his third start ever, Sergio hadn’t just scored; he had scored the kind of goal you get in a comic, all explosions and exclamation marks. The ball sat up like an invitation and Kapow! – Sergio smashed it on the bounce, a cartoon arrow drawn to the top corner. It tore through the air and through time, flashing past at 126km an hour and 14 years a second, so Sergio ran to the corner, holding the badge he has worn since he was 10. There, there was a wobble as it came to him just what he had done. Bloody hell, this was actually happening...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 5:15:00 PM
business

China’s economy showing signs that slowdown may be extending

Industrial output and retail sales slump in July after one of the country’s weakest quarterly growth rates ever China’s economy is showing signs of extending a slowdown with a slump in industrial output and retail sales in July, adding to pressure on Beijing to intervene with measures to support activity. After the world’s second largest economy posted one of its lowest quarterly growth readings on record in the three months to June, the latest figures suggest it continued to falter in July...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 3:36:25 PM
culture

Top album releases linked to rise in fatal crashes as ‘distracted’ drivers access music

Harvard study finds traffic fatalities increase by 15% on release dates compared with similar days either side The release of a new album by Taylor Swift might be a cause for celebration among her fans, but such events have also been linked to a more sombre phenomenon: an increase in fatal car crashes. The team behind a new study say it sheds light on the impact of distracted driving. “You can’t randomise people into using their phones, and drivers rarely volunteer what they were doing in the seconds before a crash,” said Dr Vishal Patel, first author of the study based at Harvard Medical School...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 3:00:02 PM
health

Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo now deadliest in country’s history

At least 2,325 people have died from the virus, according to official data, with outbreak on track to be biggest in history The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is now the deadliest in the country’s history, with at least 2,325 people dead, according to government data, surpassing the toll from the 2018-20 outbreak. The DRC’s public health institute said confirmed cases had risen to 4,945, including 101 detected in the previous 24 hours...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 2:07:31 PM
health

What is Ebola and why is the outbreak in DRC causing so much concern?

Strain of virus with no vaccine has potential to overrun response impeded by conflict and misinformation Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are losing their battle to contain the country’s deadliest Ebola outbreak. DRC’s health ministry declared an outbreak in Ituri province on 15 May, though sequencing shows it had begun in February. It has since spread to five other provinces and is on track to overtake the 2014-16 west Africa outbreak as the largest in history...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 12:53:16 PM
world

Europe’s wildfires: How prepared are we for the next fire?

Massive wildfires are burning across Europe, from Belgium and Greece to Spain, Italy and France. Alexander Held, Senior Expert at the European Forest Institute, explains why fires are spreading into unexpected areas and whether Europe is facing a new normal. He also looks at how citizens can help prevent and limit wildfires, while stressing the need for greater resilience and better funded government support to deal with increasingly extreme fire seasons.

France 24 • 8/17/2026, 12:52:20 PM
business

JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon warns UK chancellor not to hike taxes on banks

Billionaire CEO of world’s biggest bank says any windfall tax on sector’s bumper profits could harm jobs in City Business live – latest updates Jamie Dimon, the boss of the US bank JP Morgan, has urged John Healey not to use his first budget as chancellor to increase taxes on banks’ bumper profits. Speculation has been growing that a windfall tax could be imposed on UK lenders to fund Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, with campaigners estimating such a move could raise £19bn...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 12:26:33 PM
business

Senior Russian banker fired after scathing speech on wartime economy

Andrei Klepach of VEB said Russia’s economy was falling behind China, US and ‘in some respects Ukraine’ Europe live – latest updates The chief economist at Russia’s second-largest bank has been fired after a series of critical comments about the state of the economy, including warnings that Moscow would not win a prolonged economic war with Ukraine. Andrei Klepach, who had served in the role at the state-controlled development bank VEB since 2014, was fired days after Russian media reported on a scathing speech he had delivered to fellow economists in May...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 10:29:58 AM
climate

Wildfires rage in France and Greece as Belgium tackles enormous blaze – Europe live

Wildfire thought to be largest in Belgium’s history creeps closer to German border prompting evacuations Belgium’s King Philippe will visit the area affected by what is believed to be the largest wildfire in the country’s history this morning, after a weekend of intense firefighting in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve. The fire has been raging since Friday afternoon, burning more than 3,000 hectares of land, provisional figures show...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 7:39:32 AM
culture

Agrippa by Robert Harris review – persuasive portrait of rivalry in ancient Rome

This fictional memoir by Octavius’s right-hand man shows us bloodshed, betrayal and hectic jockeying for power If you’re one of those people who thinks about the Roman empire several times a week, Robert Harris has you covered. He follows his trilogy of novels about the life of Cicero and his one-off about the unpleasantness in Pompeii with a narrative that takes us from civil war through the assassination of Julius Caesar, with all the bickering and bloodshed that follows, on to the decisive battle of Actium and Octavius’s apotheosis as Caesar Augustus. We meet Cicero, Fulvia, Lepidus, two Caesars and a burly Antony (“Imagine, if you will, a statue of Hercules with a club in one hand, a wineskin in the other”). Here’s the clever bit: he narrates it all from the point of view of Octavius’s right-hand man, Agrippa, a much less well-remembered figure. Harris tells us he “left behind no speeches, few letters and only a couple of sentences of direct quotation”. Yet Agrippa was “effective co-ruler of the Roman world for many years” and “the greatest general of the period”. Octavius couldn’t have risen without him, but he seems to have done his best to write him out of the story afterwards, according him only two passing mentions in the Res Gestae Divi Augusti...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 6:00:46 AM
technology

Are Microsoft’s AI plans being held back by a shortage of chips?

Guardian investigation finds apparent discrepancy between what tech company has said about its AI capacity – and the number of advanced chips it has in operation The chips are quite small and some can be held in the palm of a hand. They are fundamental to the development of artificial intelligence models – and the world’s biggest technology companies need vast numbers of them to keep ahead. Microsoft is one of them. And, on paper, it seems to have a problem. A Guardian investigation has found an apparent discrepancy between what the company has said about its AI capacity – and the number of advanced AI chips it has in operation...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 4:00:46 AM
power

Trump orders cuts to South Korea joint drills despite warnings of North’s growing battlefield experience

President says move is based on ‘very good relationship with Kim Jong-un’ but US military officials have said Ukraine war is boosting regime’s combat capabilities Donald Trump has said he is scaling back joint US military drills with South Korea aimed at deterring North Korea, despite military officials from both countries warning that Kim Jong-un’s regime was learning new battlefield tactics from the Ukraine war. The drills under Ulchi Freedom Shield, one of two major annual exercises held by South Korea and the US, start on Monday and run until 27 August...

The Guardian • 8/17/2026, 12:19:53 AM
culture

Summer jobs bounce back in UK thanks to busy calendar of sport and music

Industry tracker finds ‘exceptionally warm weather’ has helped boost job listings in hospitality and tourism sector The summer job has staged a comeback this year thanks to the hot weather and a packed calendar of events such as the men’s football World Cup, new UK figures show. Recent months have seen a significant increase in seasonal hiring in sectors such as hospitality and tourism compared with summer 2025, said the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), which runs a monthly labour market tracker...

The Guardian • 8/16/2026, 11:01:38 PM
power

Chokepoints and the cost of cutting off access

In 2022, Ukraine asked SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to activate Starlink coverage around Sevastopol to support an attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. He refused, saying SpaceX would become “explicitly complicit in a major act of war”; he later also cited US sanctions covering Crimea. At the moment that mattered, one private actor had the final say. It exposed a question hidden inside every chokepoint. We usually ask where dependence is concentrated: a strait, mineral, technology, network. But three...

South China Morning Post • 8/16/2026, 9:30:09 PM
power

Brazil’s Lula launches historic fourth term bid – but son of jailed Bolsonaro stands in his way

President, 80, vows to keep far-right from power as Flávio Bolsonaro tells supporters he will ‘fight this system’ Brazil’s leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has launched his campaign for a historic fourth term and vowed that as long as he lived he would not allow the “shameless” right to return to power. Addressing a sea of supporters in São Bernardo do Campo, the industrial city where his political career began nearly half a century ago, the 80-year-old politician reminded voters of the chaos and violence that unfolded during the 2018-22 presidency of his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, whose son Flávio Bolsonaro will face Lula in October’s presidential election...

The Guardian • 8/16/2026, 6:44:41 PM
technology

The Guardian view on the changed world of job interviews: missing the human factor | Editorial

Andy Burnham’s doubts about Zoom interviews apply more widely to a hiring process being transformed by AI Almost half of UK jobseekers have found themselves pitching to an AI bot, according to recent research, leading many to give up in frustration. As one despairing applicant lamented in the pages of the Guardian a few months ago: “The hiring process has become so mechanised, both figuratively and literally, that it’s hard to believe that the people who end up getting hired aren’t merely the best at gaming the system.” For young people especially, experiencing repeated rejection without interacting with a single human being is alienating as well as disappointing. It was encouraging, therefore, to hear Andy Burnham voice concerns about online recruitment processes on a recent employment-focused podcast. Describing the jobseeking environment for young people as “harsh”, the prime minister criticised the widespread use of interviews on Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and questioned whether applicants could properly convey their personal qualities without a face-to-face meeting. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please..

The Guardian • 8/16/2026, 5:30:31 PM
climate

Greek island wildfire kills two people as helicopters called in to tackle Belgium forest blaze

Belgium battling biggest fire in more than a century as flames near German border and 600 people told to evacuate Two people have died in fires on the Greek island of Salamis as firefighting aircraft were called on to help tame the biggest blaze in Belgium in more than a century in the latest wave of wildfires in Europe. The bodies of two people were recovered from the Peristeria beach area of Salamis on Sunday after two fires broke out on the island, a fire department spokesperson told AFP. Hundreds of people have been ordered to evacuate...

The Guardian • 8/16/2026, 3:16:45 PM
world

West Bank: Activist recounts life under settler siege in Qusra

A week after Israeli settlers began besieging Palestinian homes in the West Bank village of Qusra, human rights activist Netanael Hanadaro joined FRANCE 24 to recount what he witnessed there. He said he and other NGO members reached the isolated homes on foot and left food outside for the trapped residents, with the Israeli army saying it would deliver the supplies. Hanadaro described an extraordinary situation in which the homes, located on the outskirts of the village, have been surrounded by settlers while the army works to prevent clashes between the settlers and activists.

France 24 • 8/16/2026, 2:38:57 PM
business

Interest rate dilemma for central banks as inflation rises but growth slows

The Federal Reserve, the ECB and the Bank of England appear unclear on how to tackle inflation amid the Iran war New UK cost of living crisis looms as rising energy bills lift inflation Inflation rates have been falling across the industrialised world, but fears that the Middle East war will raise oil prices means central banks are sitting on their hands when they should be raising interest rates to subdue inflationary pressures. The US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank are still smarting from the criticism of their inaction in 2022 when inflation soared above 10% in the UK and eurozone, and over 9% in the US...

The Guardian • 8/16/2026, 2:00:27 PM
world

Week in pictures: A solar eclipse, quake in Colombia and Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank

A solar eclipse seen across parts of Europe, ongoing search-and-rescue efforts in Colombia after a devastating earthquake killed at least 300 people and left hundreds missing, and escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, condemned by the US ambassador to Israel as "acts of terror": FRANCE 24 takes a look at the week's most striking images.

France 24 • 8/16/2026, 12:02:18 PM
climate

‘It is not only a future certainty – the disaster is already here’: why we need climate fiction

As wildfires rage across Europe and Britain swelters through its hottest summer on record, literary fiction has a vital role to play in capturing the severe consequences of climate crisis Earlier this summer, I travelled through Europe on a book tour. Everywhere I went, the heat broke records. In Italy, Germany and Spain, I sought refuge from the afternoon sun in air-conditioned hotels. In normally temperate Zurich, it averaged 37 degrees. I jumped into the Limmat for relief. On my final day in Warsaw, Poland had never been hotter – one of 14 countries to hit a historic high. In June, when I left to return to the US, Europe was scorching. At the end of July, as I write this, it is burning. Since the heatwaves began, there have been more than 10,000 excess deaths. Yet for many, myself included, the high temperatures brought nothing more than inconvenience – uncomfortable commutes, heat rash, less time outdoors. This seems to be a defining feature of today’s climate crisis; deadly for some, banal for others. Even when the world is on fire, it somehow doesn’t feel like an emergency for everyone...

The Guardian • 8/16/2026, 11:00:24 AM
world

South Lebanon: Doctor describes escalating humanitarian toll

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon have killed at least 11 people, in what local authorities describe as the largest escalation since the June agreement. Speaking to FRANCE 24, Pierre Catoire, an emergency doctor working in the area, described a deteriorating humanitarian situation, saying some doctors lost their homes in Saturday’s strikes and healthcare workers are increasingly worried that hospitals could also be targeted. He said the most common injuries are blast and compression wounds, while doctors are also concerned about infections, as well as the long-term psychological impact on civilians.

France 24 • 8/16/2026, 9:46:15 AM
technology

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...

The Guardian • 8/16/2026, 8:00:20 AM
climate

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..

The Guardian • 8/16/2026, 6:00:17 AM
power

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...

The Guardian • 8/16/2026, 4:44:30 AM
world

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.

France 24 • 8/16/2026, 4:42:16 AM
world

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...

The Guardian • 8/16/2026, 3:57:34 AM
world

Moroccan police arrest more than 100 people as they attempt to enter Ceuta

Border security tightened after social media posts call for another mass crossing into Spain’s north African territory Moroccan police have arrested 111 people as they tried to enter Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta, amid ⁠tightened security on both sides after social media posts ​called for another mass crossing. The attempted crossing on Saturday came two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta, causing tensions within the EU and prompting anti-immigration rhetoric among far-right parties worldwide. At least 96 people died trying to ⁠reach European soil...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 6:08:21 PM
power

Alarmed by the alarm: people react to ‘severe alert’ on phones with message on UK wildfires

Many complained online that piercingly loud tone was ‘overreach’ while others lamented lack of action on decarbonisation On Friday at 7pm, Thérèse Coffey was nine miles away from a nuclear power station when her phone made a loud, piercing and very worrying sound: it was a “severe” emergency alert. “Was expecting [a] much more specific alert, not a generic message on wildfires,” the former Tory cabinet minister said on X. She wasn’t alone in being alarmed by the alarm sent to phones in England and Wales. In the aftermath, thousands of social media users expressed their shock at alert. Some shared funny memes and others lamented what they viewed as lack of government action on decarbonisation. Academic John Ritzema called it a “massive overreach” and said the alert system should be “meant to be for ‘drop everything and prepare for something terrible’ situations”, something Coffey echoed, saying alerts should not become commonplace to avoid “Peter cries wolf situations”...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 3:54:15 PM
technology

‘Once I started zooming in, I never stopped’: the mesmerising art of macro photography

Converts describe a demanding form of capturing nature very close up that has grown in popularity in last few years Vote here for your favourite invertebrate of the year “I always just pray ‘please don’t fly away’,” says Dara Ojo. As a wildlife photographer, he can handle spending minutes, hours and sometimes days waiting for the shot, but insects are not always very cooperative. Ojo is one of an increasing number of photographers turning their lenses towards something smaller: macro photography. This refers to photographing the natural world at an extremely close range, close enough to see the facets of a fly’s eye, or the geometry of a spider’s face...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 2:00:01 PM
sports

Scotland hope to name 39-year-old Pocognoli as successor to Clarke in fresh approach

Belgian would be first non-Scot in role since Berti Vogts Scotland face Slovenia on 26 September in Nations League The Scottish Football Association hopes to name the Belgian Sébastien Pocognoli as the successor to Steve Clarke as manager early next week. The 39-year-old, who was sacked by Monaco in June, will become the country’s first non-Scottish manager since Berti Vogts, who was in charge from 2002-04. Clarke’s abrupt departure came as Scotland exited the World Cup at the group stage. He had signed a four-year contract extension immediately before the tournament. It quickly became clear the SFA would turn towards a foreign manager; Jon Dahl Tomasson and Kasper Hjulmand were linked with the position...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 1:09:59 PM
culture

Missed out on tickets to see the Bayeux tapestry in London? A £1,000 hotel stay will get you in

British Museum’s £33 tickets sold out in a day but some slots have been reserved for guests at five-star One Aldwych Those hoping to snare a glimpse of the Bayeux tapestry when it comes to the British Museum this September faced nine-hour online queues, with the £33 tickets sold out within a day. But the monied guests of a five-star hotel in Covent Garden have not had to go to such arduous lengths to get a view of the nearly 1,000-year-old depiction of William the Conqueror’s victory over King Harold II of England at Hastings in 1066...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 1:00:57 PM
culture

Charlene Kaye: Diversity Shredder review – killer riffs slay toxic music industry

Gilded Balloon Teviot, Edinburgh This is a fun and feverish journey, with well-crafted comedy and screaming guitar, through the star’s career so far In an industry that claims to be inclusive, it’s so easy to feel tokenised. For musician and comedian Charlene Kaye, it has been an uphill battle feeling like the token queer Asian female guitar player, in demand to cater to people’s otherwise superficial concern around diversity, as well as their attempts at being perceived as politically conscious. But if you’re booked and busy, and genuinely skilled at what you do, does it matter if the requests come in through slightly nefarious means? Diversity Shredder is a fun and feverish romp through Kaye’s journey of finding her artistic voice, and what it means to be an Asian American musician in the context of a very broken and unbalanced capitalist system. Using well-crafted, multi-genre musical comedy along with her masterful guitar skills, Kaye reflects on the mental gymnastics at play when you’re a person of colour trying to navigate a career in music, when all people really seem to want is Cassandra from Wayne’s World. At Gilded Balloon Teviot, Edinburgh, until 30 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews..

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 1:00:57 PM
business

Met apologises for exposing 143 email addresses of Mohamed Al Fayed victims

London police force tells Telegraph incident was result of ‘human error’ and it is conducting an investigation The Metropolitan police have apologised for accidentally exposing the email addresses of more than 140 victims of Mohamed Al Fayed. In a group update about its investigation into the former Harrods owner, the force copied the email addresses of 143 victims of Fayed in a message that included about 12 other recipients, the Telegraph reported...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 12:22:47 PM
sports

Prichard Colón, boxer left with brain damage after 2015 fight, dies aged 33

Puerto Rican suffered brain bleed in only defeat WBC blamed illegal blows to back of the head Colón had won his first 16 professional fights The boxing world was in mourning Friday following the death of Puerto Rican fighter Prichard Colón at the age of 33, 11 years after he sustained brain damage in the only defeat of his professional career. Colón’s death was confirmed in statements by the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Organization late Thursday...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 11:42:02 AM
sports

Women’s U20 World Cup boycott may hurt in short term but can send Fifa a vital message | Tom Garry

Women’s football has much to gain from the kind of reforms that threats to snub upcoming tournaments might prompt. Infantino should be taken on “And I say to all the women … Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights. You have the power to change. You have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don’t have to do. You do it. Just do it. With men, with Fifa, you will find open doors. Just push the doors. They are open.” Those were the condescending words of Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, three years ago during a tone-deaf speech in Sydney, which left his audience, including some of the most senior women in the game, exasperated. It is a damning indictment of Infantino’s tenure that his patronising monologue on the eve of the Women’s World Cup final now barely even creeps into the top 10 of the most controversial moments since his latest re-election, in March 2023...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 11:00:55 AM
sports

Wicket: Beyond the boundary – a photo essay

Through the Royal Photographic Society’s Eamonn McCabe bursary programme, Nathan McGill set out to explore women’s cricket across Bradford. What emerged was a close and extended engagement with one club: Bradford Park Avenue Ladies Cricket Club Interest in women’s cricket is expanding rapidly across the country. Attendance and viewing figures for this year’s Women’s T20 World Cup in England reached an all-time high, while the recent Test at Lord’s set a new attendance record for a women’s Test match. This month, the Hundred match between London Spirit and Southern Brave also set a new record for attendance at a women’s group game. Yet visual culture often struggles to keep pace. Historic archives remain sparse, although growing interest is creating a richer contemporary record – one to which this project, Wicket, contributes. Wicket is rooted in relationships and place. The project puts women and girls at the centre of the narrative, creating images that foreground not only participation but belonging, camaraderie and community. Bradford Park Avenue Ladies is a visibly diverse, intergenerational team shaped by a range of lived experiences – a reflection of Bradford’s social fabric, though still largely absent from mainstream images of cricket...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 11:00:55 AM
technology

Gen Z flocks to BirdTok as birding takes flight: ‘It’s a craving for something real’

Social media and Shazam-like birdsong apps drawing young people to hobby as they seek a gentler connection to the outside world Sorry Elon, but they’re not your kind of tweets. Social media users are flocking to TikTok to join a burgeoning trend for birding videos as the hobby attracts a younger demographic. With the internet ever more cluttered with polarising, shouty and AI content, evidence is emerging of Britons preferring a gentler, more melodic window on the world in the shape of footage of the nation’s feathered friends...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 9:00:53 AM
technology

Secondhand booksellers in UK and Ireland suspect AI firms behind ‘strange’ bulk orders

Development comes after Anthropic was found to have spent millions on books to scan for ‘data acquisition’ Secondhand booksellers in the UK and Ireland are reporting a flurry of bulk orders from mystery buyers, amid speculation AI companies are acquiring the tomes for their data. Bookshops contacted by the Guardian say they have been receiving orders from buyers in the US, Canada, continental Europe and the UK. The increase has been replicated around the world, with booksellers in the US, Australia and Europe also reporting unusual orders...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 8:00:51 AM
sports

Carter Gordon impresses on return as Wallabies surge clear of Japan for dominant win

Australia 56-17 Japan in Nations Championship Test in Townsville No 10 shows why he could be solution to coach Les Kiss’s problem Les is proving more for the Wallabies, with new coach Les Kiss leading the side to a second consecutive victory in an eight-try 56-17 triumph over Japan in Townsville. The impressive victory gives the Australian men their first three-match winning streak since 2024 and fires the hearts and hopes of fans in the 14-month run-up to the 2027 World Cup. In eight attempts, Japan had never beaten Australia at home. But after a scratchy, scary three-point win in Osaka last week, the Wallabies had to be far more ruthless on Saturday. Kiss’s strategy to swap his starters and finishers again paid off, with several of the Wallabies exciting young stars seizing their chance to shine on the big stage...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 7:28:00 AM
sports

La Liga 2026-27 preview: Madrid look to Mourinho in bid to dethrone Barcelona

Florentino Pérez pressed the Special One button again after two straight trophyless seasons at Real, but Lamine Yamal and co remain title favourites A lot has changed since José Mourinho was last appointed Real Madrid manager, but a lot has also not changed. Before his first game in charge in 2010, Spain had just become world champions, their extra-time winner in the final scored by a Barcelona player after their opponents, who had been reduced to 10 men, had tried to kick them off the park. Like then, Mourinho’s task is to take down a Barcelona team that have won two La Liga titles in succession. And like then, he has a host of world-class talent at his disposal. Florentino Pérez is also still around – and he is largely the reason why Mourinho is back. After the chief executive, José Ángel Sánchez, was said to have led the charge to appoint Xabi Alonso last summer, the 79-year-old club president has made the decision his own this time. He promised Mourinho, who won La Liga with 100 points in his first spell, would return if he was re-elected in snap elections in June and the announcement came, in true Pérez style, on the opening day of the World Cup...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 7:00:50 AM
power

China blasts Japanese officials’ visit to Yasukuni Shrine on WWII anniversary

China has “strongly condemned” Japanese leaders for visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and making an offering on the 81st anniversary of Japan’s announcement of surrender in World War II. Beijing lodged a formal protest after Japanese defence chief Shinjiro Koizumi visited the shrine on Saturday. China and many other countries in Asia view the site as a symbol of Japanese militarism. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi did not visit the site in person but she sent a ritual offering to...

South China Morning Post • 8/15/2026, 6:00:48 AM
sports

‘In the heatwaves, it’s crucial’: the fight to save France’s rural swimming pools

Ageing facilities offering daily refuge face funding threat as record temperatures parch the countryside Suzy Bernard took a breath and jumped into the deep end of her village swimming pool with a splash. “There’s a wonderful feeling of wellbeing in the water,” said the former hospital healthcare assistant, who recently learned to swim aged 75 and was now gliding along with her daughter and grandson...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 4:00:46 AM
business

Flamenc Oh!! review – frills, flirting and fierce footwork in breezy Spanish comedy

Assembly Hall, Edinburgh Can you dance flamenco to Eye of the Tiger? Of course, says the company Yllana, in a flamboyant celebration of breaking down barriers You don’t need to know anything about flamenco to enjoy Flamenc Oh!! That overuse of exclamation marks gives you an idea of the subtlety of this fun/silly dance-comedy by Spanish company Yllana, based on flamenco’s battle between tradition and modernity (which is a real thing in the flamenco world, with its division between purists and progressives). Here is our patriarch with his straight spine and authoritarian streak, banning all music other than flamenco from his family. There’s mother and daughter in polka dots and frills, the son forever trying (and failing) to impress his dad, and their hunk of a cousin who has returned from his travels with some new guitar chords and a love of the blues, ready to upset the status quo...

The Guardian • 8/15/2026, 4:00:46 AM
power

Japan’s Takaichi sends offering to Yasukuni on WWII anniversary, Koizumi visits shrine

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday sent a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, while the country’s defence chief Shinjiro Koizumi visited the site as Japan marks the 81st anniversary of the end of the second world war. Sources have said Takaichi, a conservative, is likely to refrain from visiting the war-linked shrine on the war anniversary. The shrine honours Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals. Visits by Japanese prime ministers and lawmakers...

South China Morning Post • 8/15/2026, 1:17:08 AM
world

Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off coast of Indonesia and tsunami warning issued

Quake hit Indonesia’s Flores region with a depth of 10km early on Saturday morning A powerful 7.7-magnitude quake has struck off the coast of Indonesia, the US Geological Survey said. No immediate casualties or damage were reported. The quake hit Indonesia’s Flores region with a depth of 10km at 5:58am on Saturday Indonesia time. It’s epicentre was 68km (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 11:43:18 PM
sports

Raúl Jiménez’s injury-time penalty salvages point for Wolves against Blackburn

Raúl Jiménez marked his return to Wolves with the stoppage-time equaliser that saved them from an embarrassing start to their return to the Championship. The Mexico striker, who scored against England during the World Cup finals, retained his composure to convert a penalty given for handball by Rayan Alebiosu that would have had VAR questioning whether the defender was in the area when Jackson Tchatchoua’s cross struck his arm. Thankfully for Wolves, the video assistant referee is no longer their problem. Jiménez, who had bought scarves for all supporters in the South Bank in gratitude for their response to welcoming him home, tucked away his first goal in this second spell for the club he graced during their recent heyday...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 9:21:18 PM
world

Ontario free to axe Toronto bike lanes, region’s top court rules

Win is significant for region’s premier, Doug Ford, who blames protected zones for city’s traffic ills The Ontario government is now free to rip out Toronto’s bike lanes on its busiest streets after the region’s top court ruled in favour of the province on Friday, overturning a lower court’s decision that decreed removal would violate constitutional rights. The win is significant for Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, and his government, who have long railed against Toronto’s bike lanes, blaming the protected zones for the city’s traffic ills...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 9:03:43 PM
sports

Europe’s top clubs threatened Club World Cup boycott before Fifa plan collapsed

Ultimatum issued hours before plan was scrapped European Football Clubs demanded Infantino back down Europe’s leading clubs threatened not to participate in future Club World Cups unless Gianni Infantino withdrew his Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, issuing their ultimatum hours before the plan was scrapped. In a letter to the Fifa secretary general, Mattias Grafström, seen by the Guardian, the influential European Football Clubs (EFC) group warned its cooperation with future tournaments would hinge on Infantino backing down. It said the threat will hold unless a joint venture between EFC and Fifa – a framework for which has already been agreed – is completed before television rights can be sold for the 2028 Women’s Club World Cup...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 6:00:34 PM
business

Canadian plasma clinics pause collections after deaths of two donors

Government launches investigation into potential unsafe practices at Spanish healthcare company Grifols A chain of private plasma donation clinics in Canada said Friday it is pausing collections after the deaths of two donors and a new government investigation into potential unsafe practices. Grifols, the Spanish healthcare company that runs 17 clinics across Canada and is the country’s only private clinic for plasma donation, said it informed Health Canada of its decision to temporarily pause collections on Wednesday...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 4:21:39 PM
business

Smart glasses controversy sidelines the benefits for disabled people | Letter

Guardian readers reflect on the ableism rife in the debate about Ray-Ban Meta eyewear, despite the life-changing difference they can make Your editorial on Meta’s smart glasses acknowledges their value to blind and visually impaired people, then asks that this “not be allowed to distract” from the harms (The Guardian view on Meta’s smart glasses: regulators must get on the front foot, 10 August). As an optometrist who owns a small independent practice, I’d suggest that it is visually impaired people who are being treated as the distraction. I was reluctant to stock Ray‑Ban Meta, having no fondness for Meta or Luxottica, but colleagues persuaded me of the benefits for people with sight impairment. The reality has surpassed that. The majority of our buyers have a visual impairment or learning difficulty. One man, practically illiterate, now has the world read to him...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 3:22:59 PM
sports

Continental clash: where world football stands on Fifa and Infantino – explained

With Oceania praising Fifa on Friday, all six confederations have finally had their say on the fallout from the World Cup sell-off plan The Oceania Football Confederation’s (OFC) decision to belatedly issue a statement following this week’s executive committee meeting praising Fifa’s “progress achieved over the last decade” means all six continental confederations have finally had their say on the fallout from the World Cup sell-off plan that has split world football, with the votes seeming tied at three apiece on the key issue of whether Gianni Infantino should remain as Fifa president...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 1:26:51 PM
culture

‘Murakami saw his book come alive!’: the Japanese company bringing the author’s science fiction masterpiece to the stage

A play based on the writer’s dreamlike novel Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is touring the world, riding a wave of interest in Japanese culture. Its creators talk about how they adapted the famously cryptic tale Tatsuya Fujiwara is no stranger to London’s Barbican theatre. It was here nearly 30 years ago that one of Japan’s biggest film stars, now 44, made his stage debut. He was just 15, plucked out of an audition of more than 5,000 hopeful youngsters by the revered theatre director Yukio Ninagawa for his play Shintoku-Maru. It kickstarted Fujiwara’s career, and three years later he landed a role in the cult dystopian film Battle Royale, going on to star in hit TV dramas and blockbuster films, all the while continuing to perform in Ninagawa’s acclaimed productions. Now, Fujiwara returns to where it all began, to perform in a stage adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s science fiction novel Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. The story alternates between two seemingly unrelated narratives: a cyberpunk thriller set in Tokyo, and a surreal fantasy that unfolds within a mysterious walled town. Directed by the French choreographer Philippe Decouflé, the play premiered in Tokyo in January, toured Japan until March, then Singapore in April. After the Barbican run this autumn, the tour will wrap up in Paris...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 12:00:27 PM
culture

Alien: Isolation 2 – another strong female protagonist stalked in a terrifying new world

Creative Assembly could strike gold again with this follow-up to their fan-favourite, film-inspired game … if you’re brave enough to venture outdoors Alien: Isolation redefined Alien games on its release in 2014, bringing the original taut, haunted house theme of the first movie to fans who had mostly been fed action-packed shooters. Cowering under desks and inside lockers wasn’t a new thing; being hunted by an intelligent and lethal xenomorph that could spring down from a duct at any moment was. “I was thinking about what we could do for a sequel while we were still finishing the first game,” reveals Creative Assembly’s Alistair Hope, creative lead on Alien: Isolation and its sequel. “But we didn’t actually start the project until around the time of the 10th anniversary. We’ve seen the response grow over time, watching [Alien: Isolation] continue to find new players, even though it’s a relatively old game. And they’re surprised there isn’t a sequel.”..

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 12:00:27 PM
culture

‘We get 200 tourists a day’: when your house becomes a TV star

What’s it like to live on the set of a soap opera? Or above Ted Lasso’s favourite pub? The residents of the homes made famous by hit TV shows tell all Half the world recognises the apartment that Carrie Bradshaw lives in. Or the New Jersey mansion where Tony Soprano ate, slept and obsessed over the ducks in his swimming pool. In the 1990s, if you asked a good chunk of the global population where Will Smith lived, they would instantly picture a huge, white abode in Bel Air. For the real people who call those places home, this can be an issue...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 12:00:26 PM
business

US firms that kept DEI policies despite ‘go woke, go broke’ threats thrived

Exclusive: Companies that kept policies did just as well financially, even after Trump’s executive order, as those that didn’t Conservative backlash was supposed to put an end to the diversity, inclusion and equity (DEI) movement as companies were warned “go woke, go broke”. In January 2025, Donald Trump delivered a death knell, ending DEI within the federal government with executive orders and threatening to target companies that still supported it. Companies including Google, Goldman Sachs, McDonald’s and Walmart that had embraced DEI years earlier fell into line and announced an end to their policies...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 11:00:27 AM
sports

Arsenal open talks with Bayer Leverkusen over deal for Jarell Quansah

Bundesliga club want at least €50m for England defender Gunners remain interested in Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa Arsenal have opened talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a move for Jarell Quansah as they intensify efforts to bring in cover for William Saliba and Jurriën Timber. The England defender, who left Liverpool last summer for an initial £30m and was part of Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad, has been identified as an ideal replacement for the France and Netherlands defenders, who will miss the start of the new season due to injury. While Quansah’s preferred position is in central defence, he was also deployed at right-back by Tuchel at the World Cup and was sent off in the last-16 victory over Mexico...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 10:40:24 AM
world

In Nepal, residents learn how to live alongside wild animals

Over the past five decades, Nepal has established itself as a model for wildlife conservation. Nearly 20 percent of the country’s territory has been designated as protected areas. An effective anti-poaching policy has helped save iconic species such as the one-horned rhinoceros and the gharial crocodile, which were once on the brink of extinction. But this success also comes with tragic consequences.

France 24 • 8/14/2026, 10:29:10 AM
world

Israel sends troops to West Bank homes besied by settles

Israeli settlers are conducting a campaign of violence and intimidation against the Palestinian village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank. Families have had their electricity and water supplies cut off, in what residents say is an attempt to force them from their homes. The IDF has nominally intervened and condemned the violence, but has failed to deter the settlers, who Palestinians say have long benefited from soldiers turning a blind eye to such attacks. Meanwhile, Washington has sharply condemned the settlers’ actions. Antonia Kerrigan tells us more.

France 24 • 8/14/2026, 8:59:38 AM
health

Three firefighters and a child hospitalised in England as fires blaze in UK, Greece, France and Croatia – Europe live

Four people taken to hospital in Stourbridge, West Midlands with 500 people evacuated in southwest France Four taken to hospital and homes damaged in West Midlands fires UK prime minister Andy Burnham also responded to the wildfire in West Midlands, saying his thoughts are with everyone affected. “I’m in touch with local leaders like [West Midlands Mayor] Richard Parker and will be speaking to emergency services on the ground as they continue their response. Our firefighters are working in incredibly difficult conditions and putting themselves at risk to keep others safe. A huge thank you to them and everyone supporting the effort tonight.” “Please stay safe and follow their advice.”..

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 7:41:58 AM
sports

Oceania declares support for Infantino in boost for Fifa president but New Zealand breaks ranks

OFC’s 11 votes could prove crucial in Fifa election Stance shows continued backing from smaller nations The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has declared their support for Gianni Infantino following demands for the Fifa president to resign from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation in a development that further highlights world football’s civil war. After a meeting of its executive committee in Fiji on Wednesday, the OFC issued a statement on Friday praising “the progress achieved over the last decade” by Fifa in its first public comments since the abandoned World Cup sell-off plan emerged this month...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 7:13:59 AM
sports

Shreyas Royal, 17, is youngest ever British chess champion as new generation takes over

Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, is youngest ever British women’s champion while Supratit Banerjee, 12, becomes England’s youngest ever international master A new generation took over at the top of British chess on Sunday, when a trio of youthful talents demonstrated their skills on a national stage. Shreyas Royal, 17, of Dartford, Kent, became the youngest ever British champion, breaking Michael Adams’s 1989 record by two months and underlining his status as an emerging world-class talent. Bodhana Sivanandan, aged 11, and Supratit Banerjee, 12, also delivered memorable performances. First prize at the University of Warwick, Coventry, was £10,000...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 7:00:21 AM
sports

Precision comes before pace with Mohammad Abbas key to Pakistan’s attack in England

Tourists have prioritised winning at home with spin in recent times, leaving their attack leaning heavily on Abbas’s guile for England tour When Pakistan last arrived in England for a Test tour, in the Covid-bubble summer of 2020, they brought along the future. Shaheen Shah Afridi, 20, was the towering left-armer set for world domination. Naseem Shah, 17, was armed with a Test hat-trick and a velvety action, the right arm whipping the ball down at 90mph. They looked the part, carrying the grand traditions of Pakistani fast bowling, a reminder of the golden names that came before: Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis. Mohammad Abbas joined Shaheen and Naseem in that seam attack as the odd man out, 30 and medium-fast, a first-class specialist, the accountant in a movie-star lineup. But six years on Abbas is the great survivor, the only one of that triumvirate named in Pakistan’s squad for their three-Test series in England starting next week. Shaheen and Naseem have suffered for their art – the former has struggled with the red ball since a knee injury in 2022 – and fallen victim to the tragicomic mismanagement of the Pakistan Cricket Board...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 7:00:20 AM
power

Post your questions for Robert Carlyle

Bond villain, Begbie, male stripper … the Trainspotting and Full Monty star has played everyone from Sherlock Holmes to Rumpelstiltskin. As his latest directorial project premieres in Edinburgh, he is here to answer your questions You’ll know Robert Carlyle for many things – getting his kit off in The Full Monty, being skewered through the heart with a plutonium rod as Bond villain Renard in The World Is Not Enough, playing Sherlock Holmes in Watson, joining Line of Duty as a gruff specialist firearms officer, and appearing opposite David Tennant and Toby Jones in ITV’s The Hack. He also appeared as Adolf Hitler in Hitler: The Rise of Evil and (uncredited) as John Lennon in Yesterday; as a cannibalistic soldier in Ravenous; Rumplestiltskin in Once Upon a Time; and the British prime minister in Cobra. But it’s hard to ever fully dissociate him from the fantastic moustache he sports as violent, pint-swilling psychopath Francis Begbie in Trainspotting – a moustache that is now, unbelievably, 30 years old and heading back to cinemas in a new 4K restoration from 21 August...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 6:00:20 AM
culture

The Beverly Hills Housewife by James Cahill review – a trip inside Hockney’s world

Muse Betty Freeman sits at the centre of this sun-drenched book about art, eccentricity, and the spirit of Los Angeles David Hockney was 29 years old when he came to Betty Freeman’s house to photograph her swimming pool. Scouting locations for the pool paintings that would make him a household name, he took preparatory snaps of his partner, Peter Schlesinger, emerging naked from the water. And yet something about his aloof and quietly eccentric host, who dusted the hunting trophies while a handsome young man padded around her patio in the altogether, intrigued the artist. So he asked whether he might photograph her too, and she agreed. Completed a year later, Beverly Hills Housewife (1966/7) shows a beautiful woman standing outside a beautiful house. The scene is lit by an unbroken sun, her blond bob is undisturbed by any breeze, a lush fern sets off her popping pink dress. She is surrounded by the symbols of mid-century American prosperity: a chair by Le Corbusier, a tasteful modernist sculpture. We don’t need the title to know the place and time, because Hockney’s paintings have come to define them in our imagination: shimmering water and scattered light, bright colours and reflective surfaces, a clean and impassive contentment...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 6:00:19 AM
world

‘Unprecedented’ rain kills four in Japan as thousands stranded at airport

Evacuation orders issued for 400,000 as torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture as flooding risks remain high despite rainfall easing At least four people died in eastern Japan after “unprecedented” heavy rain that left nearly 7,000 stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport, and forced thousands to take refuge in government buildings. The torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Thursday night, triggering landslide warnings and power outages. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people in Chiba and other areas, and about 45,000 homes lost power, as 115mm of rain fell hourly, approximately the same amount usually recorded for the whole month of August...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 4:14:17 AM
culture

Dear Michelle Kwan review – fire and ice in a whirlwind figure-skating comedy

theSpace Triplex, Edinburgh Four skaters enter into feral competition in this darkly funny yet flimsily plotted play about female teenhood The title refers to the figure-skating legend and Olympian who, in the noughties, captivated the US with her performances on ice, winning a total of five world championships. Here, the four teen skaters trying to make it big worship her, quite literally, invoking her for strength on and off the ice. It is a great central idea with moments of frozen action as each girl sends a wish, a fear or prayer up to a godlike, absent Kwan in their most anxious or exhilarated moments. Christie Spessard’s play has verve, capturing the extremes of adolescent life and competitive sport. Energetically directed by Ryan Pangracs, it is full of humour with some zingers and movement that contains a true sense of gliding. At theSpace Triplex, Edinburgh, until 29 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews..

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 4:00:18 AM
world

Indonesia wildfires threaten orangutans rescued from animal traffickers

Blaze fuelled by hot, dry and windy conditions comes within metres of West Kalimantan rehabilitation centre Orangutans rescued from wildlife traffickers face a new threat from the record number of fires that have broken out in Indonesia in recent weeks. Flames have come within metres of an animal rehabilitation centre in West Kalimantan as hot, dry and windy conditions have been amplified by a powerful El Niño and the human-driven climate crisis...

The Guardian • 8/14/2026, 4:00:16 AM
sports

Jack Draper ‘in difficult place’ after defeat by Martín Landaluce at Cincinnati Open

Former world No 4 slumps to 6-3, 7-5 first-round loss Draper still recovering from long-term arm injury The minuscule amount of confidence and self-belief Jack Draper currently has to call upon in the most difficult period of his career was underscored in the first game of his opening match in Cincinnati. Draper began his service game by shanking a forehand into the back fence, which he followed up with two double faults. He immediately fell down a break and never recovered. A few fleeting positive moments followed, but this miserable start set the tone for another excruciating day for the former world No 4 as he could not escape the mental fatigue borne out of battling serious injury for 15 months and counting. Draper fell 6-3, 7-5 to Martín Landaluce, the world No 64...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 7:50:58 PM
culture

Come Back Home review – loss and love in Palestinian artist’s intriguing fringe hour

Summerhall, Edinburgh Fadi Murad’s unconventional drama is a collage structured with the free-form imagination of a poet Last year, a group of Scottish producers staged a four-day mini festival called Welcome to the Fringe, Palestine. One of the excerpts was a scratch performance by Fadi Murad, which now returns as a full-length show. It is not a conventional drama. Rather, Come Back Home is structured with the free-ranging imagination of a poet, an impressionistic collage that resists straightforward interpretation. Murad’s theme is one of loss and the pull of home, focusing in particular on the death of his mother in a car accident when he was nine. He speaks touchingly from a child’s perspective of what it meant to lose the nurturer in his life, the one he turned to in just such a moment of distress. And he shares video footage of his younger self singing Mad World by Tears for Fears at her memorial. It is as cute as it is sad. At Summerhall, Edinburgh, until 31 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews..

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 7:00:06 PM
climate

Fossils show huge carbon emissions harm forests, not ‘green the planet’

Study of 56m-year-old leaves counters claims from Trump administration members of ‘benefits’ of fossil fuel pollution Adding huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is set to cause the Earth’s forests to wither and die rather than flourish, according to a new study that counters erroneous claims that fossil fuel pollution will green the planet. An analysis of fossilized leaf cells from a period known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (or PETM), which occurred about 56 million years ago, has helped reconstruct how the world’s forests responded when planet-heating gases were previously being released at a rapid rate...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 6:00:04 PM
science

The Guardian view on solar eclipses: moments of wonder that bring us together | Editorial

Wednesday’s eerie spectacle united crowds beneath the sky, continuing a human fascination that stretches from ancient myth to modern physics “I’d describe it as a magical eeriness.” Lisa Redfern’s description to the Guardian conveys the combination of beauty and wrongness that accompanied Wednesday’s partial solar eclipse in Britain. Crowds across the country assembled as the sun’s power seemed to wane, twilight changed tone abruptly, the temperature fell and the familiar landscape took on an unnatural appearance. In a divided world, there is comfort in coming together in awe. Ms Redfern, speaking from Cornwall, was right that Britons “may not see another one. We have to make the most of these moments.” The country has to wait 55 years for another comparably deep partial eclipse. To experience the true marvel of the eclipse, one had to be in the path of totality – which this week crossed over Greenland, Iceland and Spain. There the sun was completely obscured. Britain saw a partial version, with the moon covering part of the sun, with only a thin yellow crescent showing. Totality is another world of wonder: for a few minutes a black disc appears where the sun should be, surrounded by a fiery corona in a purplish firmament. It is 64 years before a total eclipse of the sun will be seen over Britain. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please..

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 5:46:44 PM
health

DRC’s fast-growing Ebola outbreak spreads to sixth province

Man dies in Bas-Uele after travelling from Haut-Uele, as head of WHO says outbreak on track to be deadliest ever The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to a sixth province, officials have said, a day after the head of the World Health Organization said the outbreak was on track to surpass the deadliest in history, which killed at least 11,000 people more than a decade ago. The current outbreak has killed more than 2,100 people out of more than 4,500 cases, according to the latest government figures released on Tuesday. At the same point in the 2014-16 outbreak in west Africa, the previous most deadly outbreak, 755 cases had been recorded, according to WHO data...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 3:17:13 PM
sports

The Lakers have become a poker chip for some of the most powerful men in America

One of the most famous teams in the world is about to change hands for the second time in less than a year for more than $12bn. Will anyone push back? One of the most brutal lessons we must learn as fans is that the team we shed blood, sweat and tears for is seen by those who own it as just one of many assets. That gap has never felt as wide as it does this week. On Wednesday, ESPN reported that the Los Angeles Lakers are set to change hands, for the second time in 10 months, for $12.5bn, a sum that would be a record for any North American sports team. (The deal must be approved by the NBA’s board of governors before it can go through.) The buyers aren’t diehards who saved up every penny like the good Dr Jerry Buss in the 1970s. Those days are gone. If and when the deal is approved, the new owners will be venture capitalist Josh Kushner and his business partner, Bob Iger. Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, the titleless Wormtongue to Donald Trump’s Saruman. Iger used to run Disney. These men have connections across the political world and influence in every corner of the American empire. A franchise woven into a city’s identity should never become an asset vastly wealthy people move around like a chip around a poker table. But that is exactly what the Lakers are about to become. The way the deal came together should terrify anyone who still thinks sports belong to the fans. Mark Walter took control of the team from the Buss family last October at a valuation of roughly $10bn. Now he is set to cash out around $2bn richer. That’s not how this is supposed to work. The old guard, like Buss, used to guard their NBA teams like heirlooms and pass them down. Walter is set to flip the team after less than a year...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 3:12:26 PM
world

French ambassador to CAR faces investigation over alleged misconduct

Inquiry follows security concerns over reported visits of dozens of women to Bruno Foucher’s official residence France has opened disciplinary proceedings against its ambassador to Central African Republic over allegations of misconduct, after claims that he brought dozens of women into his official residence, raising potential security concerns. The investigation comes as Paris seeks to rebuild relations with CAR, after their sharp deterioration in recent years amid Russia’s expanding influence in the former French colony...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 2:21:52 PM
culture

Ham review – vegan take on Hamlet delivers meaty rebuke to carnivores

Summerhall, Edinburgh Vengeance for a slaughtered pig is the starting point for a riotous parody that suggests the meat industry poses an existential threat to human survival That’s my next hotdog ruined. Shakespeare’s “too solid flesh” is squeezed into a sausage-shaped form in Mary Higgins and Ell Potter’s inventively guilt-trippy new show. Leaping wildly from Hamlet, this outrageous, confrontational performance-activism layers hooting comedy with world-ending dread as Mary (a vegan) attempts to persuade Potter (nicknamed “the sausage queen” by their dad) to change their meat-eating ways. Transposing Hamlet’s existential questions to the future survival of humanity via the meat industry’s impact on the planet, Higgins takes on the role of our stubborn, sauntering prince, seeking vengeance for the ghost of a poor, slaughtered, strangely seductive pig. Suave and silly, Potter is both ghost and Gertrude, the latter reading madness into the truth only her son is brave enough to face. At Summerhall, Edinburgh, until 30 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews..

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 2:08:39 PM
world

1 dead, 6 wounded in Rotterdam port explosion

A blast at a ⁠storage facility for petroleum products at the Netherlands’ Rotterdam port killed one person and wounded six others on Thursday, officials said, as police investigated the cause of the explosion. A spokesperson for major energy commodities trading company Gunvor said an “incident” occurred during maintenance work on a storage tank. A police spokesperson said that there was no immediate ⁠sign of sabotage and that all possible scenarios were under ‌investigation. Rotterdam is...

South China Morning Post • 8/13/2026, 1:57:38 PM
technology

Mark Zuckerberg says the future of AI is for everyone. But who owns it?

It’s a nice sentiment, but all AI users should ask three questions about their preferred choice of AI platform On Monday, Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,500-word essay, The Future Is for Everyone. The essay came with something even rarer: a new Meta open-weight model. An open-weight AI model is the kind of AI with which you download the entire thing, and it works on your own computer (with or without the internet) and nobody can switch it off except for you. Almost every mainstream AI tool you use, whether it be Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude, is one you rent access to. Meta’s is one that you can download and actually own. I downloaded it before I finished the essay. So can you. This major move by the world’s largest tech heavyweight comes amid a summer heavy with AI news, full of nations at war. Washington against Beijing; tech founder against tech founder. But beneath those conflicts is a deeper contest between two kinds of power: a government that can order technology offline in an instant, and a company that can simply close your account. Neither is necessarily villainous. But the rest of us are not merely the audience in this fight; we are the prize. And the terms are already being written: intelligence on lease, a future we pay for but never quite own...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 12:00:00 PM
business

UK economy shows surprising resilience – but that might not last | Richard Partington

Weaker growth, rising energy costs and persistent inflation mean Britain could face tougher times in the autumn UK economic growth slows down Business live – latest updates In the spring the International Monetary Fund warned Britain faced the heaviest economic blow from the Iran war among the world’s most advanced nations. Almost six months into the conflict, on the surface, the UK appears to be proving the forecasters wrong. The latest official figures show the UK maintained its pole position as the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of 2026. Despite the gloomy international backdrop and yet more domestic political uncertainty, consumers have largely continued spending and business investment has boomed...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 10:26:46 AM
world

South Korean airport becomes busiest in world for global traffic amid Iran war

Incheon airport had 38.39m international passengers in first half of 2026, as traffic diverted from Middle East hubs South Korea’s Incheon airport has become the world’s busiest airport for international passengers, in part due to disruption in the Middle East caused by the Iran war. The airport, South Korea’s main gateway about 30 miles (48km) west of Seoul, handled 38.39 million international passengers in the first half of 2026, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Airports Council International (ACI), the global trade body for airports...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 9:45:56 AM
world

US ambassador to Israel slams settler siege against West Bank Palestinians as ‘terror’

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Thursday denounced a siege by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank village of Qusra as a "horrific act of terror". Huckabee, an evangelical Christian pastor who in the past has embraced Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, said the Israeli army intervened on Wednesday after a US request, but the soldiers failed to remove the settlers.

France 24 • 8/13/2026, 9:14:41 AM
sports

Empty seats and faded aura show how Springboks outgrew the All Blacks | Daniel Gallan

Back-to-back world champions can use Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry to establish themselves as one of the greatest teams of all time South Africans are supposed to care about the All Blacks more than this. On Tuesday night 14,759 people dotted the 52,000-seat Kings Park Stadium to watch New Zealand dismantle the Sharks 54-0. Durban was cold and soaked, with snow falling elsewhere in KwaZulu-Natal, but even allowing for the weather it made for an awkward for a grand new project. Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry – the eight-match tour by New Zealand, culminating in four Tests, including one in the US – is an attempt to turn more than a century of history into a modern commercial property. The unions have formed a 50-50 venture, sharing commercial income, while taking the final Test to Baltimore is expected to generate $4m-$6m more than another game in South Africa. Both unions need the money and professional sport is supposed to generate revenue. But a rivalry cannot live on branding alone...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 7:00:52 AM
business

Trump turns to economic pain as US bombings fail to sway Iran

The US military campaign against Iran has so far failed to force Tehran to capitulate. The Trump administration is betting once again that suffocating economic pressure will do the job. Facing a shortfall of necessary munitions and wary of continuing an unpopular war, Trump and his top officials are returning to a familiar playbook with Iran: relying on a steady increase in economic sanctions and a naval blockade to stifle oil exports. The renewed emphasis on economic pain – it was dubbed...

South China Morning Post • 8/13/2026, 6:28:04 AM
sports

UK economy grows by 0.4% in second quarter as some businesses helped by World Cup and hot weather – business live

Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as GDP rises in June despite Iran war after stagnating in May Good morning, and welcome to our live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets. The UK economy grew by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2026, in line with economists’ expectations, but with faster growth than expected in June as the football World Cup and warmer weather helped retailers and leisure sectors. The FIFA Football World Cup, which started on 11 June 2026, was cited as a reason for an increase in turnover in June 2026 by businesses in industries such as the manufacture of alcohol, wholesale, food and beverage serving activities, publishing activities, television production and advertising. Some positive impacts were cited by some businesses across a range of manufacturing industries, retail, accommodation, and amusement and recreation activities. On the reverse, the warm weather was also cited as having a negative impact in terms of construction activities and also in education where schools were closed because of the heatwave. 10am BST: Eurozone industrial production (June; previous: -0.2%; consensus: -0.1%) 1:30pm BST: US producer price index inflation (July; prev.: -0.3%; cons.: 0.2%)..

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 6:26:42 AM
world

Zambia elections haunted by ghost of incumbent president’s arch-rival

Hakainde Hichilema is bidding for second term, but feud between him and family of Edgar Lungu, who died in 2025, continues As Zambians go to the polls, the ghost of the current president’s predecessor hangs over the elections. Hakainde Hichilema, 64, is bidding for a second term leading the southern African country after defeating his arch-rival Edgar Lungu by a landslide in 2021...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 4:00:49 AM
business

India fuels worldwide jump in planned coal production

Rise in new mine proposals, mainly in states of Odisha and Jharkhand, comes despite plateau in global demand Enough new coalmining projects were proposed last year to increase global supplies by 2.5bn tonnes a year, an increase of 11% from the year before, even as demand for coal plateaus, according to a new report. Global Energy Monitor, an NGO, found that India ignited a rise in new coalmine proposals in 2025 despite a global slowdown in the number of mine openings because of falling demand for the fossil fuel...

The Guardian • 8/13/2026, 4:00:48 AM
climate

Potatoes ‘boil’ in the ground as record heatwave sweeps across swathes of Asia

South Korean farmers are suffering in record heat, as Hong Kong reports its highest ever temperature and Japan swelters through newly designated ‘cruelly hot’ days In a potato field in Yanggu county, 80 miles (130km) north-east of Seoul, Lee Sang-hyuk dug into the soil and found nothing worth saving. A week earlier the crop, located in Gangwon province, had looked fine. Now the potatoes came up soft and collapsing, “like boiled potatoes”, spoiled by heat that had turned the ground into something closer to an oven...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 11:34:13 PM
technology

San Francisco-area estate sells for $70m in sign of AI-fueled wealth explosion

New owner is said to be involved in AI industry, as new class of multimillionaires is entering the real estate race A luxury Lake Como-inspired estate in the San Francisco Bay Area has sold to a buyer “in the AI world” for a record $70m, in the latest sign of a new tech wealth boom that’s pushing home prices to extraordinary heights in the region The property south of San Francisco not only becomes the most expensive sale in its affluent town of Hillsborough, doubling a previous record, but is also the most expensive sale in northern California this year, according to listing agent Jennifer Gilson of Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 11:22:48 PM
climate

Europe solar eclipse: millions watch rare spectacle across Spain, UK and Iceland – as it happened

Eclipse witnessed by tens of millions across western Europe as enthusiasts gather along path of totality Solar eclipse 2026 across Europe: in pictures Cruise ships, quiet towns and an all-day festival: millions flock to eclipse viewing spots across Europe in Land’s End, Cornwall The roads and car parks of west and north Cornwall are clogged as people gather to watch the solar eclipse...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 9:00:02 PM
world

Former Mexican governor charged in case of 43 students who vanished in 2014

Ángel Aguirre indicted in case that rocked Mexico and became symbol of its brutal cartel violence The former governor of Guerrero state in Mexico has been formally charged over his alleged involvement in the disappearance of 43 students in 2014, a case that has become a symbol of the country’s brutal cartel violence and government impunity. Ángel Aguirre, who was arrested last week, is accused of forced disappearance and obstruction of justice for ordering the destruction of surveillance tapes that may have shed light on what happened to the students from the Ayotzinapa teacher training college on the night of 26 September 2014...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 6:46:30 PM
business

Greenland forces Trump-linked US oil firm to delay drilling

US envoy had claimed Americans could be extracting crude by as early as next year Greenland authorities have forced a US oil company connected to Donald Trump to postpone drilling wells in the Arctic territory, defying claims by the US president’s envoy that Americans could be extracting crude by next year. Amid Trump’s imperialist threats, tensions have been rising on Greenland’s eastern coast after the oil company brought drilling equipment ashore in July without permission, drawing a “strong warning” from the government...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 6:00:41 PM
business

Canadian airline WestJet agrees to settle flight attendants’ sexual harassment class action

Female staff alleged company failed to maintain safe workplace, after allegations of sexual assault against pilot The Canadian airline WestJet has agreed to pay C$4.5m (£2.4m) to settle a decade-long sexual harassment class action lawsuit levelled by its female flight attendants, who alleged the company failed to maintain a safe workplace. The suit followed allegations by Mandalena Lewis, a former flight attendant, that a pilot had sexually assaulted her and a colleague, but that WestJet kept the pilot flying, thereby putting other employees at risk...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 2:40:36 PM
technology

Live facial recognition cameras to be used on UK’s busiest shopping street

Sadiq Khan has indicated the technology will be deployed on London’s Oxford Street despite human rights concerns The Metropolitan police are understood to be planning to use live facial recognition (LFR) technology on Britain’s busiest shopping street. In June the Met said it would introduce the technology in London’s West End by Christmas and into a further six areas next year. Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, has indicated that the newly pedestrianised Oxford Street will be included...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 12:22:31 PM
science

Number of children injured in e-scooter crashes in England surges

Calls for speed limiters or mandated helmet use after research into injuries at three paediatric trauma centres The number of children involved in crashes on e-scooters has soared in recent years, with some as young as nine involved in collisions, research has found. Researchers carried out a review of injuries among the under-16s at three specialist paediatric trauma centres – Alder Hey in Liverpool, and Sheffield and Royal Manchester children’s hospitals – between January 2019 and December 2024...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 10:36:25 AM
world

Key US primary races take shape

Tuesday was primary election day in six US states, with both major parties holding runoffs in several races. In Minnesota, the progressive Lieutenant Governor defeated Representative Angie Craig in the Democratic Senate primary, while Wisconsin’s Republican gubernatorial primary remains too close to call. Also in Minnesota, eccentric Donald Trump-endorsed businessman Mike Lindell lost the Republican governor’s primary to House Speaker Lisa Demuth. And in South Carolina, Darlene Graham advanced to the Republican Senate runoff to succeed her late brother, Lindsay Graham, who died suddenly last month. France 24 International Affairs Editor Kethevane Gorjestani shares further insights.

France 24 • 8/12/2026, 9:07:39 AM
world

Wisconsin Democrats choose moderate Crowley for governor's race in US battleground state

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley on Wednesday eked out a stunningly narrow win against democratic socialist Francesca Hong in the Democratic party primary for the Wisconsin governor's race. Crowley's win by less than a percentage point comes as the party faces a divide between establishment candidates and an insurgent progressive movement ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections.

France 24 • 8/12/2026, 8:56:42 AM
business

Oil prices climb as Iran talks hit new impasse; Tui hit by high fuel costs – business live

Brent crude prices hover near $90 per barrel, as fallout from Iran war hits travel firm Tui’s profits Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Oil prices are still on the rise, as fresh attacks on ships raise concerns about disruptions to Middle Eastern fuel supplies, adding to doubts over the prospects of a US-Iran peace deal. Yesterday, the rally in US crude paused for a minute after Pakistan’s Defence Minister said that they were getting “close to some sort of arrangement”, but the relief remained short-lived after Iran added that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the conditions it demands from the US are met. And the conditions that both parties demand from each other suggest that the problems won’t be solved by tomorrow. 1.30pm BST: US inflation data for July..

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 6:59:37 AM
power

British man with dementia told to leave Sweden after losing migration case

Exclusive: Horace Mason, 74, who has lived in Sweden for 25 years, faces being deported after court ruling A 74-year-old British man who has been living in Sweden for 25 years who needs round-the-clock care for dementia has been given 10 days to leave the country after he lost a post-Brexit migration court case. The deportation order comes after a Swedish court ruling in July that the government’s drive to reduce immigration trumped the needs of a man in full-time care...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 4:00:19 AM
world

Passenger jet billed as China’s answer to Boeing and Airbus prepares to make first international flight

The Comac C919 will fly from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, although experts say it could take generations for it to challenge the west’s dominance of the industry China hopes to break into the world of commercial aviation with the first international flight of a Chinese-made passenger jet scheduled for Wednesday. The Comac C919 will take off from Beijing capital international airport at 3pm, landing in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, just over two hours later...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 2:02:04 AM
world

Thailand suspends gun licences as teen shooter and grandparents he killed are cremated

Prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul calls for tighter gun controls and ‘decisive penalties’ after nine dead in school shooting Thailand has suspended firearms licences after last week’s deadly school shooting, as the bodies of the teenage attacker and the grandparents he killed were cremated. The prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said he had ordered the interior ministry and police to stop issuing licenses to possess, purchase and carry firearms, and called for “tighter controls and decisive penalties”...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 1:20:22 AM
power

Cook Islands election: PM Mark Brown speaks on the diplomatic crises that defined his year

The prime minister tells the Guardian that last year’s diplomatic rift with ally New Zealand could be on voters’ minds as they head to the polls As voters in the Cook Islands prepare to head to the polls in a high-stakes general election, they will have much to reflect on. Over recent years, politics in this small island nation has been defined by fierce debates about deep-sea mining, diplomatic rifts with ally New Zealand and a major reshaping of the country’s foreign partnerships. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, days before Wednesday’s poll, Cook Islands prime minister Mark Brown defended his four-year term and the decisions he made that have seen this South Pacific nation of 17,000 people pushed into the international limelight, turning it into a battleground for influence between Beijing and western powers...

The Guardian • 8/12/2026, 12:24:55 AM
sports

Infantino’s opponents developing new framework for running world football

Uefa, Concacaf and AFC working together on system Fifa has ignored calls for an independent review Gianni Infantino’s opponents are working together to produce a new framework for running world football to replace what they regard as a system of patronage that Fifa has adopted since he replaced Sepp Blatter as president 10 years ago. Repeated calls from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation for an independent review of Fifa’s governance have been ignored by Infantino since his plan to sell off 21% of the World Cup was made public a fortnight ago, and the rebels are now understood to have taken matters into their own hands...

The Guardian • 8/11/2026, 5:32:58 PM
sports

Football Daily | Liverpool, Jeff Bezos and mission creep off the field at Anfield

Far be it for Football Daily to make cheap gags [wait, what? – Football Daily Ed] relating to the involvement of Amazon founder and master of the universe Jeff Bezos in a consortium buying around 30% of Liverpool FC. Will new signings arrive via prompt delivery but end up next door at Everton? How will fans rate the packaging? Etc, etc. There’s also the involvement of Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder poking his head in. Though long ago unfriended by Mark Zuckerberg, Saverin still ranked No 56 on Forbes’s billionaires list. These are seriously rich men, and among the planet’s chino class, to quote Vladimir Putin, “soccer is popular”. The Geopolitics World Cup posh seats were full of those eyeing up deals on a frontier hardly new to investors from the USA USA USA, but where there may be much more gold to strike. See Gianni Infantino’s misreading of the art of the deal as an, ahem, prime example. Having also boycotted the GWC and also being very concerned about the season to come, I sympathise with Ken Muir (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). But at least Hearts know who their manager is. Due to the absurd, months-long FA ‘investigation’ into the manager who’s clearly admitted culpability for the undisputed facts of Spygate, my club, Southampton, is in a horrid limbo. Surely it could have been done and dusted in a couple of weeks and Saints could have planned accordingly. But perhaps the FA blazers were too busy writing their letter of support to Gianni Infantino to worry about destabilising my football club” – Bob Cushion. ‘It’s 15 years of frustration here at this club,’ says Rangers boss Derek McInnes (yesterday’s Quote of the Day.) Steven Gerrard and the sole object in his managerial trophy cabinet would like a word, Derek” – David Maddock. Given the surfeit of the recent GWC machinations, the blatherings and canvassing for Gianni to do one (or not) and the less-than-sportsmanlike attitude from members of the Argentina team, can we please have a reprise of the Football Daily’s erstwhile, eventually abortive, attempt to ‘STOP FOOTBALL’? It has to be worth a thought, before VAR, PGMOL and Arsenal’s Dark Arts Department™ get to work on the 2026-27 Premier League shenanigans, surely?” – Budgie Wright. This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions...

The Guardian • 8/11/2026, 2:50:02 PM
world

Canadian airline cancels flight after child refuses to wear seatbelt

Flight from Victoria to Toronto forced to return to terminal after repeated attempts to secure child in seat failed A Canadian airline cancelled a flight from Victoria to Toronto after a child refused to wear a seatbelt. The child was standing in their chair as the 6 August Porter Airlines flight taxied towards the runway, the airline said. Repeated attempts by an accompanying parent and crew to secure the child in their seat failed, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the two passengers disembark as “the aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition”, it added...

The Guardian • 8/11/2026, 2:03:28 PM
technology

Spotify to distinguish AI artists from real people and block them from some playlists

Music streaming platform creates ‘AI persona’ label that will appear on profiles and track listings in crackdown on fake performers Spotify is to label AI artists and exclude them from algorithm recommendations as part of a crackdown on fake performers. The world’s largest music streaming platform is creating a label for AI-generated artist identities called “AI personas” that will appear on the artist profile and on track listings on playlists...

The Guardian • 8/11/2026, 1:40:14 PM
power

Oil prices rise and gold hits two-month high after Trump makes new deal demands on Iran – business live

US president demands compensation for damage incurred by US, complicating standoff with Tehran Consumer confidence hit its highest level in almost two years in July, according to research that indicated the closing stages of the men’s football World Cup and more people holidaying in the UK lifted summer spending. A truce in the Middle East conflict in June and the arrival of a new prime minister in No 10 also gave a lift to consumers after a long period of heightened uncertainty...

The Guardian • 8/11/2026, 6:59:36 AM
sports

Consumer confidence at near two-year high as World Cup and UK holidaying lift summer spending

Barclays says survey shows people feel more secure in jobs and have more leeway to spend on non-essentials Business live – latest updates Consumer confidence hit its highest level in almost two years in July, according to research that indicated the closing stages of the men’s football World Cup and more people holidaying in the UK lifted summer spending. A truce in the Middle East conflict in June and the arrival of a new prime minister in No 10 also gave a lift to consumers after a long period of heightened uncertainty...

The Guardian • 8/11/2026, 6:00:06 AM
power

Trump extends Jones Act waiver for 90 days, narrows scope

US President Donald Trump has extended for 90 days a waiver allowing foreign-flagged ships to transport oil and other commodities between US ports but imposed new limits after shipbuilders and their allies in ‌Congress argued the policy was undermining the domestic maritime industry, the White House said. The extension, finalised on Monday, comes as the war with Iran disrupts global crude flows and pushes up fuel costs, increasing pressure on the administration to find ways to ease transport...

South China Morning Post • 8/10/2026, 10:06:50 PM
culture

Dogs can distinguish between fearful and angry or sad human faces, brain scans suggest

Researchers analysed activity in regions of brain when dogs were shown images of different facial expressions While dogs are known to turn the puppy eyes on their owners, it seems our pets are keeping a close eye on us too: research has revealed dog brains can distinguish different types of unhappy human faces. Dr Laura Cuaya, a co-author of the study from the University of Vienna, said previous behavioural studies had shown dogs could tell apart some human facial expressions, but such studies tended to only test two at a time, one positive and one negative. As a result, it was not clear if dogs could distinguish different types of happy or unhappy faces...

The Guardian • 8/10/2026, 3:00:47 PM
world

7.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Colombia, causing serious damage – latest news

More than a dozen buildings collapsed in aftermath of earthquake, which has also prompted evacuations A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia today, shaking the South American nation and neighbouring Ecuador and causing people to evacuate homes and buildings. At least 20 ⁠buildings ⁠collapsed in ​an earthquake on ⁠Monday in the ⁠Colombian ​city ‌of ‌Cali, with people ‌trapped inside, mayor Alejandro Eder said. The city ‌has requested teams ​from Bogota and ⁠Medellin to ​aid in rescue ​efforts, ​he added...

The Guardian • 8/10/2026, 2:28:54 PM
world

Powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake strikes western Colombia

Reports of collapsed and severely damaged buildings in several major cities, including Cali and Pereira Colombia earthquake live – latest updates A powerful earthquake has struck western Colombia, with reports of collapsed and severely damaged buildings in major cities including Cali and Pereira. The US and Colombian geological surveys reported that a 7.4 magnitude earthquake had struck at 7.34 am local time (13.34 BST) on Monday, with its epicentre in the western department of Chocó. It was also felt in neighbouring Venezuela...

The Guardian • 8/10/2026, 2:28:36 PM
climate

‘It’s very challenging’: how the Duke of Westminster’s farm is taking on the climate crisis

Amid world pressure from heatwaves and fertiliser shortages, billionaire’s business has invested in circular farming and biomethane There is a distinctive smell of cow manure in the air at the Duke of Westminster’s dairy farm near Chester. It is a world away from the collection of grand West End properties controlled by the duke that form the backbone of his near £10bn fortune, a decade on from becoming Britain’s youngest billionaire. As part of his 349-year-old Grosvenor empire, Lea Manor Farm on the duke’s Eaton Estate in north-west England has fared better than most dairy farms in recent years...

The Guardian • 8/10/2026, 2:00:46 PM
health

DR Congo: Could a vaccine soon be available to the public?

The Ervebo vaccine has proved safe and effective against the more common Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, and World Health Organization experts say early data, notably from animal trials, suggest it may also offer some protection against the rarer Bundibugyo strain, which is spreading in the DR Congo. We discuss this with our guest, Dr. Paulin Mutombo Beya, deputy director at the Kinshasa School of Public Health.

France 24 • 8/10/2026, 1:57:47 PM
world

Suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan lands in Dublin after extradition from Dubai

The alleged leader of an Irish organized crime gang was extradited to Ireland from Dubai on Sunday to face allegations that he ran an international drug smuggling and money laundering empire with tentacles that stretched to Britain, Spain and the US. Kinahan, who was arrested in Dubai in April, was ⁠named by the United States in 2022 as one of three leaders of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group. US authorities offered a $5 million reward for their ‌arrests.

France 24 • 8/10/2026, 10:07:54 AM
sports

Uefa, Concacaf and AFC push for Infantino to quit and discuss rival competitions

Confederations write open letter damning Fifa president Concacaf president Montagliani seen as top contender Uefa, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf will push for Gianni Infantino to resign after writing an open letter calling for “leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it”. In a dramatic escalation of the war that has threatened to tear football apart since details emerged of the Fifa president’s failed Football Forward Enterprise scheme, the three governing bodies accused Infantino of “trust broken through deception” and condemned his failure to acknowledge that the proposal should not have been unilaterally launched...

The Guardian • 8/10/2026, 10:02:37 AM
world

‘Shoved the tube so hard it tore my nose’: Kurdish film-maker recounts ‘inhumane’ ICE force-feeding

Gabar Choli tells of how, for months, he was shackled, pinned and forcibly fed – and the physical and emotional scars the ordeal has left In June 2025, a sluggish and thin Gabar Choli, with sunken temples and bones visible under his skin, braced himself for the immigration detention center guards to charge into his cell once again. Choli was in a solitary confinement medical cell inside the Port Isabel service processing center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in south Texas where immigrants arrested in Donald Trump’s anti-immigration crackdown are detained...

The Guardian • 8/10/2026, 10:00:43 AM
climate

Labour says Farage has ‘no serious answers’ to prisons crisis – UK politics live

Reform says it will free up space in jails in England and Wales by rapidly deporting all foreign offenders With parts of Britain set to experience their fifth heatwave of the summer this week, Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, has accused the government of not recognising the severity of the crisis. In a statement, he said: We are now facing the fifth heatwave in months following the recent deaths of 3,000 people in our country from extreme weather conditions. This is the greatest crisis this country has faced since the second world war and to complacently dismiss the demands for immediate action by saying everything is under control is gross negligence, blatantly untrue and misses the severity of the crisis...

The Guardian • 8/10/2026, 9:08:49 AM
business

UK employment market shows ‘rays of light’ for jobseekers with upturn in pay, study shows - business live

Temporary vacancies rise for first time in two years, permanent job placements stabilise and temporary billings rise further Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. There are signs of improvement in the UK jobs market, with an upturn in pay and the first rise in temporary vacancies in two years as employers sought more flexibility. Despite ongoing uncertainty it’s encouraging that businesses are starting to press ahead with investment, which means across the board we are starting to see the data moving in the right direction. This is most pronounced in the continued rise of temporary work, where employers have been looking at flexible approaches and hiring has been growing for several months, and permanent hiring is starting to turn a corner. Rays of light are beginning to break through for the job market as employers revive hiring plans. Temporary vacancies are up for the first time in two years, while recruiters’ revenue from supplying temporary workers has risen for a fourth consecutive month. Remarkably, this is the first month without a decline in permanent placements since Liz Truss resigned as prime minister in 2022, underlining just how prolonged the downturn in permanent hiring has been. That makes it all the more important that the government takes decisions now that build business confidence and momentum in hiring...

The Guardian • 8/10/2026, 6:40:58 AM
climate

Typhoon Dolphin: more than a million people evacuated in China as record rainfall dumped on Shanghai

Authorities warn that days of intense rain could trigger widespread flooding and landslides as storm moves north and further inland More than a million people were moved to safety across eastern China by Sunday evening as powerful Typhoon Dolphin made landfall amid fears torrential rain would cause flooding and landslides. Wenzhou, a coastal city in Zhejiang province, said it relocated more than 900,000 people and opened more than 1,500 emergency shelters. In neighbouring Fujian, 98,900 people were moved from high-risk areas...

The Guardian • 8/10/2026, 3:46:36 AM
climate

Canadian province to get federal help as wildfire forces evacuations

The Canadian federal government said on ⁠Sunday it would ⁠help British Columbia ⁠as raging wildfires forced thousands of people to evacuate by providing shelter and accommodation for residents displaced in regions around Summerland and Peachland. The Bald Range wildfire, which prompted British ‌Columbia to declare a provincial state of emergency and evacuate about 18,000 people, had spread to more than 10,300 hectares by at the weekend as firefighters continued to battle the blaze. “Last night,...

South China Morning Post • 8/9/2026, 10:22:44 PM
power

Canadian government steps in as ‘out of control’ wildfires force thousands to flee

British Columbia battling 102 fires day and night across province, as breakneck speed hampers firefighters’ efforts Canada’s federal government has announced it will provide urgent assistance to British Columbia after an onslaught of unprecedented fast-moving wildfires forced about 22,000 people to flee their homes in frantic evacuations. A total of 102 wildfires were raging across the province on Sunday, of which nearly half were categorised as “out of control”, according to the BC Wildfire Service. Of those fires, 78 ignited during the past week...

The Guardian • 8/9/2026, 6:20:25 PM
climate

Typhoon Dolphin makes landfall in China as its strongest storm this year

Tropical cyclone brings torrential rain and high winds to east coast after hitting Japan’s southern Okinawa province Typhoon Dolphin, the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit China this year, has made landfall on the country’s east coast, bringing torrential rain and strong ⁠winds and triggering warnings ​of flooding and landslides. The storm has already swept through Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings...

The Guardian • 8/9/2026, 6:13:57 PM
culture

Prophets review – a mysterious tale of faith at the end of the world

Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh A researcher encounters an isolated community in thrall to a mysterious religious leader in Jack MacGregor’s atmospheric but elusive drama What impresses about Jack MacGregor as a playwright is their willingness to take us into the wider world. Nightlands was set in a deserted Russian research base in Svalbard; Everything Under the Sun concerned militias in Mali; and Our Brother played out in the Cambodia of Pol Pot. So it is with Prophets, which begins with the arrival of Kerris, a Scottish researcher, on the sparsely populated island of Saint John, a fictional British Overseas Territory in the South Pacific. Played by Rebecca Wilkie, she is as curious about the religious activities of the islanders as she is the archaeological record of plant life she is supposedly there to study. Welcomed by Joe, a former merchant seaman played by a multitasking Xander Cowan, she senses something is amiss in the nightly church services led by an elusive man they call the prophet. Her job is about the dawn of time, but the locals are readying themselves for the end of days...

The Guardian • 8/9/2026, 6:00:21 PM
climate

Over 200 firefighters battle blaze in southern France

A fast-moving wildfire was raging in southern France on Sunday, forcing evacuations as more than 200 firefighters raced to contain the blaze. The fire broke out at around 12.45pm in the Lozere region, about 140km (85 miles) northwest of Montpellier. Officials said it might have been sparked by a car catching fire on a local road. By late afternoon, the fire had burned some 90 hectares (220 acres) and continued to spread. Around 220 firefighters from Lozere and neighbouring departments were...

South China Morning Post • 8/9/2026, 5:13:45 PM
sports

‘I’m not ready to compete’: Jannik Sinner pulls out of Cincinnati Open

World No 1 out of tournament with knee injury Italian trying to stay fit for US Open which starts 30 August World No 1 Jannik Sinner has pulled out of the Cincinnati Open due to a right knee injury, the Italian announced on Sunday. “After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati,” he said in a statement posted on the ATP website. “My right knee has been bothering me and even though we have been working hard with my medical team, I have to accept that I’m not ready to compete yet.”..

The Guardian • 8/9/2026, 5:04:54 PM
world

Cologne marches for queer community after Berlin Pride attack

Around 10,000 people gathered in Cologne on Sunday for a demonstration in support of the queer community following the Islamist attack at Berlin Pride. The organisers of Cologne’s own Pride celebrations called for the rally two weeks after the shocking attack in the German capital. Participants gathered in the Deutz district on the eastern side of the Rhine River and marched across to the city centre, with turnout significantly higher than the 2,000 registered with police in advance. A dpa...

South China Morning Post • 8/9/2026, 4:57:34 PM
climate

The Guardian view on India’s green growth gamble: it will need more than private finance | Editorial

The world’s most populous country needs state-generated demand to industrialise, decarbonise and avoid China’s overcapacity trap India is attempting to do something the world has never seen before. So claimed Niti Aayog, the government of India’s policy thinktank, earlier this year. It said that no major economy has tried to expand GDP nearly eightfold within a generation while simultaneously redirecting its energy and industrial systems to reach net zero within two generations. Hence its detailed report’s claim that there is “no historical precedent”. There is something to this. China industrialised at vast scale, but not on a sustainable net zero path. Korea, Japan and Europe became wealthy by industrialising before decarbonising. Today, rich nations have already satisfied the basic demands of their people and created the infrastructure and high per-capita energy use that India is still trying to build. The world’s most populous country has to do this while also reducing emissions...

The Guardian • 8/9/2026, 4:25:19 PM
world

Woman and baby die after boat capsizes in New York harbour

The operator of a boat that capsized in New York Harbor, killing a mother and her infant daughter, is facing criminal charges and authorities are investigating whether the vessel was an illegal charter, the US Coast Guard said on Sunday. The 22-foot Bayliner speedboat overturned at 10.25pm on Saturday near Liberty Island, home to the Statue of Liberty, the US Coast Guard said. Twelve people were rescued from the water before police arrived and police divers later located the 27-year-old woman...

South China Morning Post • 8/9/2026, 4:00:55 PM
world

China waits in wings as Mecca pact signals Gulf shift away from US security umbrella

The grand security bargain between the United States and Gulf countries is widely perceived to be fraying, creating what analysts see as an opening for Beijing to expand its presence in the region. For decades, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states relied on Washington’s defensive shield, while it in turn relied on them for access, energy and influence. Riyadh’s decision to sign a mutual defence agreement with Turkey and Pakistan is the clearest sign yet of that shift. Signed this week in Mecca,...

South China Morning Post • 8/9/2026, 4:00:09 PM
world

Calls for system review after lowest alert in force during record-breaking heat

Hong Kong authorities are under pressure to review the warning system for heat stress at work after the lowest-level alert remained in force on Sunday, despite the city sweltering through its hottest day on record. Labour unionists, joined by a leading meteorologist, also proposed relaxing the law to recognise heatstroke as a work-related injury, thus entitling workers to compensation. A scorching 36.9 degrees Celsius (98.4 Fahrenheit) was recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui...

South China Morning Post • 8/9/2026, 3:42:54 PM
world

Blast wounds two as de la Espriella cracks down on prisons

A day after being sworn in as president, Abelardo de la Espriella is facing two bombing attacks in Colombia. He campaigned on a hard-line approach to the country’s ongoing violence and vowed on social media that there would be no leniency. The army says FARC dissidents used explosives to destroy a highway tollbooth near Cali, while a police officer was killed in a separate attack around 1,000 kilometres away in the northern department of Cesar. Antonia Kerrigan has more.

France 24 • 8/9/2026, 11:36:54 AM
world

Hiker dies on Hong Kong trail as city swelters in record-breaking heat

A hiker died on a country trail in Tai Po on Sunday afternoon as Hong Kong endured its hottest temperatures since records began 142 years ago. Police said they received a report at 2.17pm that a man, 64, had been discovered unconscious on the Plover Cove Reservoir Country Trail by other hikers. Firefighters and rescue teams assembled at the reservoir dam before heading up the mountain, with the Government Flying Service also dispatched. The Filipino man, a Hong Kong identity card holder, was...

South China Morning Post • 8/9/2026, 10:49:16 AM