THE GUARDIAN

Israel’s far-right finance minister approves tenders for housing which international community says would split West Bank in half, reports Times of IsraelThe health ministry in Gaza has just issued a statement, saying four more people have died from famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours.This brings the total to 239 since the start of the war, including 106 children, according to the health ministry. Continue reading...

US and Russian presidents to meet at 11.30am local time in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday 15 AugustFor more on the visit, follow our UK blog:(I know, this No10 mug is really cool, but it doesn’t appear that it’s in open sales – a quick Google tells me it was commissioned ‘years ago’ and meant as a gift for foreign leaders visiting London. So if you want one, you need to get elected somewhere, I suppose.) Continue reading...

Beate Gangås says attack in April by Norway’s ‘dangerous neighbour’ aimed to cause fear and chaosEurope live – latest updatesRussian hackers took control of a Norwegian dam this year, opening a floodgate and allowing water to flow unnoticed for four hours, Norway’s intelligence service has said.The admission, by the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), marks the first time that Oslo has formally attributed the cyber-attack in April on Bremanger, western Norway, to Moscow. […]

Professional body says firefighters ‘pushed to brink’ by climate crisis-fuelled blazes, as wildfire in North Yorkshire continues to burnUK firefighters have warned that 2025 is on track to beat the national record for wildfires, with frontline staff “pushed to their limits”.On Wednesday, a major incident was declared in the North York Moors national park, with 20 fire engines deployed to tackle at least 5 sq km of moorland which has been burning since Monday. Continue reading...

Actor says reaching milestone made him want to not waste time and reveals his top regret is not doing Boogie NightsOften romantically linked to women much younger than himself, Leonardo DiCaprio may have hinted at why the age gap is of no significance to him as he reflects on turning 50.The Hollywood star of films including Titanic and The Wolf of Wall Street claims he feels as if he is only in his early 30s. Continue reading...

A heated bidding war for the future of the Bourne franchise is over, so whether we need him or not, the amnesiac assassin is set to returnWhat do you consider to be the end of Jason Bourne? For connoisseurs, Bourne’s story definitively ended in 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum, which masterfully wrapped up the story that began five years earlier with The Bourne Identity. For the less discerning viewer, it ended with 2016’s scraggy and inconsequential Jason Bourne. For the three people who […]

As a new Netflix documentary looks back at the hugely successful – and highly controversial – TV weight-loss competition, its longest-serving trainer tells allIn Netflix’s new documentary about The Biggest Loser, Joelle Gwynn, a contestant on the televised weight-loss competition, has a message for her former fitness trainer: ‘Fuck you, Bob Harper.’ Gwynn was a contestant on the US show in 2008, and she has just watched a clip of Harper screaming at her to “shut the fuck up” after […]

Exclusive: Michael Weston King, grandfather of Bebe King, warns government against ‘kowtowing to the likes of Farage’The family of Bebe King, one of the three girls killed in the Southport attack last year, have urged ministers to reconsider their support for disclosing the ethnicity of serious crime suspects, saying this information is “completely irrelevant” and that “the propensity to commit crime happens in any ethnicity, nationality or race”.Bebe was six when she was murdered […]

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe sometime Mr Swallow sidekick’s hour of interiors improv is a skilful, unshowy treat‘Shall we give ourselves a night off from being funny?” There are unassuming performance styles, then there’s David Elms. At a festival that teems with ingratiating theatrics, it’s quite the gearshift to watch Elms deliver this hour of improv with no mic, props, a set or anything else prepared. We have to lean in, which is useful for a show that relies on the […]

The rumble, the explosions and the deaths: they are so frequent that they seem normal. It’s a fight to protect our homes, our cities and the psycheDay 1,254 of the invasion; 31 July 2025, Kyiv, 4.30am. The air-raid alarm started again just a moment ago. I wake up from the roar and rumble of rockets. It’s a sound that makes you want to flee in primeval terror.Time slows down. I roll over on the bed, embrace my girlfriend Dasha, make another half-turn and we drop down softly to the floor. I […]

Of more than 1.1m entries, 28.2% gained A or A* and 9.4% gained A*, though regional variations remainA-Level results – live updatesStudents in England gained record levels of top grades in this year’s A-level exams, driven by young men producing their strongest performances outside the pandemic years.Ofqual, the exam regulator for England, shrugged off any suggestions of grade inflation, pointing to the lower proportion of 18-year-olds taking A-levels and saying that fewer low-achieving […]

Forward targeted on social media after missing penaltySpurs working to take ‘strongest possible action’ Tottenham have said they are “disgusted” after the forward Mathys Tel received racial abuse on social media after Wednesday’s Uefa Super Cup defeat by Paris St Germain. Tel missed in the penalty shootout, which Tottenham lost 4-3 after they had surrendered a late 2-0 lead to draw 2-2.The France Under-21 international, whose loan from Bayern Munich was made permanent in a £30m deal […]

Growth of 0.3% is a positive sign but the chancellor still has major difficulties to confrontUK economy posts 0.3% growth in three months to JuneBusiness live – latest updatesBritain’s economy has defied the doomsayers. After growing strongly in the first quarter this year, it expanded again in the three months to June – and not by the measly 0.1% forecast by City economists, but a respectable 0.3%.The latest data shows a 0.4% expansion in June alone as manufacturing recovered its mojo. […]

Summerhall, EdinburghA woman pieces together her memories of a family tragedy in Ellie Keel’s atmospheric two-hander set on SkyeIt starts with a shriek. A deliberate false alarm, this sets the spooky tone of Ellie Keel’s two-hander – a playwriting debut to add to a career that already includes novel writing, theatre producing and the co-founding of the Women’s prize for playwriting. If Skye: A Thriller has more narrative drive than dramatic purpose, it is no less a confident and […]

Forward has not yet been registered by financially troubled club in a summer when Real Madrid have spent €200mLa Liga begins again in Girona on Friday evening, a five-day weekend to start it off, and for the first time the division’s biggest clubs, every side competing for the title, share a vital weapon: they all have Englishmen in their team. Trent Alexander-Arnold, just Trent now on his No 12 shirt, has joined Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid. Nine players have left Atlético Madrid, but […]

The Better Call Saul star reprises his role as a kickass family man in a forgettable follow-up riddled with endless gonzo fight sequencesBob Odenkirk’s unlikely new career journey as a kickass tough guy continues in this pretty formulaic and forgettable sequel to the amusing original hit, which first showed us Hutch (Odenkirk), an apparent suburban nobody with wife-plus-kids who keeps forgetting to put the garbage out in time – then from nowhere busts out some serious fight moves.This […]

Red Roses prop on her creative endeavours and England expectations before the Rugby World Cup on home soil“I like capturing people’s laughs; I think being able to hear it through the picture is so cool,” Maud Muir says as she discusses her favourite photographs from hundreds she has taken behind the scenes in the England women’s camp over the past five years.Muir, the 24-year-old prop, and her teammates are preparing for a home Rugby World Cup, starting with the opener against USA in […]

The up-and-coming musical theatre star’s online audience of 1.2 million has been crucial in scoring her major roles. Her career is part of a shift in the industry towards performers with social media clout – but not everyone is happyIf you’re on TikTok, you’ll probably recognise Hannah Lowther. Known affectionately as the “Tesco TikToker”, she found viral fame during lockdown by filming herself singing and dancing in the aisles of the supermarket during her shifts there.“I got […]

As subscription costs rise and choice diminishes on legal sites, film and TV fans are turning to VPNs and illicit streamers, with Sweden – home of both Spotify and The Pirate Bay – leading the wayWith a trip to Florence booked, all I want is to rewatch Medici. The 2016 historical drama series tells of the rise of the powerful Florentine banking dynasty, and with it, the story of the Renaissance. Until recently, I could simply have gone to Netflix and found it there, alongside a wide array […]

Successive chancellors have steered clear of increasing taxes for motorists for 15 years, but this should be a no-brainer for cash-strapped Rachel ReevesNothing speaks so eloquently of the rundown state of Britain than potholes on the roads. Motorists rightly complain of the damage caused to their vehicles. Cyclists risk serious injury every time they mount their bikes. Increased road use from a rising population is one reason for the problem. Cuts to repair budgets are another. Fixing the […]

Mona likes her mood lighting and keeps at least two lamps on in every room; Monty feels it’s a waste of electricity. You decide whose argument is a turn-off?• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a jurorIt seems illogical to have so many lights on in a small room. She turns them on, then leavesI know it’s not energy-conscious to have all these lamps on, but I just love cosy mood lighting Continue reading...

Fatehi Bin Lazreq has used social media, newspapers and radio to expose corruption and everyday injustices since the country’s civil war started a decade agoWhen dozens of gas tankers near Yemen’s southern city of Aden were held up at a checkpoint by soldiers demanding heavy bribes, the frustrated drivers and traders turned to a man they trusted: Fatehi Bin Lazreq, a prominent Yemeni journalist.Known for using his media outlets and social media platforms to demand accountability, Bin Lazreq […]

Celebrities play it. Footballers play it. Gradually, insidiously, fantasy football has seeped into the way we consume the gamePerhaps you’re a template kind of guy. Perhaps, by contrast, you’re spurning the triple Liverpool consensus and stacking your team with handy differentials like Jarrod Bowen and Donyell Malen. Perhaps even Erling Haaland could be considered a differential given his historically low current ownership stats. Perhaps you’re feeling a cheeky BB GW1, followed by a FH […]

Dispute between governing body and commercial partner has forced top-flight clubs to suspend player salariesCrystal Palace may be disappointed the court of arbitration for sport ruled against them on Monday but at least they now know their fate. Imagine if all Premier League clubs were waiting for a court decision that would, in effect, determine whether the season would go ahead at all. That is the situation the 14 Indian Super League (ISL) teams find themselves in. The whole of football there […]

GDP figure slower than previous quarter but beats expectations thanks to 0.4% expansion in JuneBusiness live – latest updatesBounceback may be under way but Reeves cannot relaxThe UK economy grew at a faster rate than expected in the second quarter, official figures show, despite a slowdown from a strong start to the year amid pressure from tax increases and Donald Trump’s global trade war.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed growth in gross domestic product slowed […]

In an open letter, writers denounced abrupt scrapping of a Harvard Educational Review issue dedicated to PalestineMore than 115 education scholars have condemned the cancellation of an entire issue of an academic journal dedicated to Palestine by a Harvard University publisher as “censorship”.In an open letter published on Thursday, the scholars denounced the abrupt scrapping of a special issue of the Harvard Educational Review – which was first revealed by the Guardian in July – as an […]

The bestselling author’s sixth novel is far from perfect, but this journey into the underworld is delivered with heretical gleeThe more academia has broken your heart, the more you’ll love RF Kuang’s new novel. Katabasis knows the slow grind of postgrad precarity: the endless grant grubbing and essay marking; the thesis chapters drafted, redrafted and quietly ignored by a supervisor who can’t be bothered to read – let alone reply to – an email. Living semester to semester, pay […]

A four-minute train ride from Amsterdam Centraal is an easygoing world of floating homes, art galleries and inexpensive waterside barsThe evening sun glints across the quiet marina, and the wooden gable ends of the houses lean gently into a street whose silence is broken only by the trundle of an occasional bicycle. I’m having a glass of inexpensive, decent wine in a waterside bar: and even on this picture-perfect night it’s quiet, with every customer around me speaking Dutch.This can’t […]

Ten years ago, 1 million people fled into Europe, escaping conflict and poverty. Many had travelled for years in search of peace, prosperity or stability, and found it in countries such as Italy, Germany and Belgium. But the journey to truly belong continues.A decade on, after finding work and learning a new language, four asylum seekers feel torn. They recall the woodlands of northern Nigeria, a river that flows through a Syrian town – or the nightmare of child abuse in Afghanistan. They are […]

Storm Eunice causes havoc on the south coast. Plus: Ben Fogle meets a model who moved to the Botswana desert. Here’s what to watch this evening8pm, BBC TwoStorm Eunice is about to hit the south coast – not the best day for a windsurfer to be caught out there, especially as he needs diabetes medication. But the Portsmouth rescue team aren’t even sure whether they can get to him. Will they make it there in time? More tense scenes in this heart-racing series that highlights the great work of […]

If you don’t have a spare two hours to listen to Swift talking about The Life of a Showgirl on her boyfriend’s podcast, we did it for youGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailTwo years ago, American footballer Travis Kelce famously used the New Heights podcast – which he hosts with his brother Jason – to announce that he wanted to date Taylor Swift. This was after he failed to get her attention at her Eras tour show at Arrowhead Stadium, home to his team, the Kansas City Chiefs. […]

Many of her admirers gloss over her desire to break up the UK as Scotland’s first minister. But in her open and touching memoir, it plays a starring roleNicola Sturgeon was – and still is – important, talented, personable and, to many, inspirational. She was also extremely lucky and often wrong, sometimes seriously so. There are examples of all these qualities in her newly published memoir, Frankly. Sturgeosceptics should concede at once that it contains much that is fascinating, […]

If a fig roll married a bakewell tart, their offspring might well end up looking like these rustic, fruity and nutty Puglian biscuitsSimilar in principle to fig rolls, biscotti di ceglie consist of pastry wrapped around a filling of jam, so they have an irregular and extremely rustic cube form. Known locally as u’ piscquett’l, these biscuits are typical of the town and commune of Ceglie Messapica in the province of Brindisi in Puglia. Ceglie Messapica is also part of the southern reaches of […]

Residents torn between excitement over high-profile visit and trepidation over what US-Russian leaders might agreeIt is set to be one of the last good summer weekends in Anchorage, Alaska – the peak of the salmon run and the middle of berry season – and residents hope that Friday’s summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin isn’t going to ruin it for them.“I’m looking forward to taking my boat out on the water at Prince William Sound – that’s my plan,” said Andy Moderow, […]

The Sex and the City spinoff – which ends this week – is so bizarre it has barely made sense as a television show. Unless you think of it as an attempt to redefine the whole genre …Sex and the City’s divisive spin-off And Just Like That is set to end after three bizarre seasons and a deluge of critical contempt, with bemused fans losing it on Reddit, and articles about how the programme became a hate watch. There has been little heartache in the discourse after the announcement of the […]