General news

• England v Pakistan: first men’s cricket Test, day one – live

  19-08-2026 12:45 via theguardian.com
  Updates from Headingley; play starts 11am BST
  Ali Martin on ‘El Dysfunctiono’ | The Spin Warm applause as Joe Root leads England out at the start of his second spell as permanent captain. Are there any precedents for this, an experienced former captain returning to the job on a permanent basis years later? Bob Simpson is the name sitting at the top of my head. I guess Mike Brearley qualifies, though his situation was unique.Last Friday was a glorious anniversary for Pakistani cricke
  
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• Zelenskyy sacks deputy head of his office amid reported corruption investigation – Europe live

  19-08-2026 12:39 via theguardian.com
  Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies said they uncovered group responsible for money laundering $3.35m but did not name individuals involved Meanwhile, for all the noise and controversy around it, the Ukrainian parliament has just approved Zelenskyy’s nominations for foreign and defence ministers.Andrii Sybiha and Yevhen Khmara were both approved by the lawmakers just minutes ago.“I am grateful to the MPs for supporting Andrii Sybiha for the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of U
  
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• Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and Red Driving School investigated over hidden fees

  19-08-2026 12:34 via theguardian.com
  UK competition watchdog investigation is part of broader clampdown on illegal ‘drip pricing’ Business live – latest updatesThe UK’s competition watchdog has launched investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and Red Driving School over concerns that all three companies displayed misleadingly low prices to their customers.The Competition and Markets Authority’s investigations are part of a broader clampdown on “drip pricing”, an illegal practice that
  
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• Ihsane review – Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui leads us from brutal tragedy to euphoric harmony

  19-08-2026 12:28 via theguardian.com
  Festival theatre, Edinburgh
  The choreographer combines a homophobic killing from 2012 with a remembrance for his father in an often rapturous show about healingIn 2019 at the Edinburgh international festival, the Swiss director Milo Rau staged an intense theatrical investigation, La Reprise: Histoire(s) du Theatre (I), recreating a homophobic killing in Belgium. The murder of Ihsane Jarfi, seven years earlier, had made headlines and the news disturbed choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui who was j
  
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• Over/Under review – beautiful coming of age story of female best friends set across five summers

  19-08-2026 12:12 via theguardian.com
  There’s an astonishing naturalism about the two leads, navigating the ups and downs of adolescence, bodily changes and learning to use tamponsPractically any woman who had a best female friend in early adolescence will be able to relate to this fragile, thoughtful drama about two American children, Violet (Emajean Bullock) and Stella (Anastasia Veronica Lee), living through the ages of nine to 13, a time as packed with incident as it is simultaneously uneventful and reassuringly dull. Unli
  
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• Why are progressives winning across the United States? It’s not complicated | Bernie Sanders

  19-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Poll after poll shows the same thing. The American people know that the current economic system is riggedThe media pundits have written article after article desperately trying to understand why progressive candidates, despite being heavily outspent, keep defeating establishment Democrats in primaries around the country. Well, the answer is not complicated.Whether it is a corrupt campaign finance system, unprecedented income and wealth inequality, a broken and wildly expensive healthcare system,
  
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• The men I see in therapy did everything right. So why do they feel so empty?

  19-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Many of my clients expected to find fulfillment from their career, marriage and home. Instead, they feel grief“I have the career I wanted, but at this point I just don’t care.”“I don’t know why I’m so angry.” Continue reading...
  
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• Is Turkey home to savvy signings or a new retirement league? We’ll soon find out

  19-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Mohamed Salah’s arrival made a splash, but the Turkish Super Lig will probably become the latest league to end up as a bailout fund for Europe’s powerhousesMohamed Salah plays in Turkey now. So do Romelu Lukaku and Leandro Trossard and Leroy Sané and Nathan Aké. Mason Greenwood and N’Golo Kanté and Dusan Vlahovic, too.Bruno Fernandes and Gabriel Martinelli may yet follow them there, depending on negotiations and moods and whatever else compels a footballer
  
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• At 43, I was fit and happy. Then I developed a nasty – and very expensive - case of shingles | Arwa Mahdawi

  19-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Healthy women under 50 are now more at risk of the condition. What I didn’t know is that intense exercise could be to blame and the condition could cost me hundreds of dollarsIf you’re in your 40s, I have a great trick for getting people to spontaneously tell you how young you are: develop shingles. Friends, acquaintances and medical professionals will rapidly inform you that the painful rash is an older person’s disease and, “You’re a bit young to get that, aren&rs
  
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• Five Sydney Swans players suspended for rest of AFL season say they are ‘deeply sorry’

  19-08-2026 11:37 via theguardian.com
  Bice, Blakey, Heeney, Jordon and Warner hit by suspensionsNone of the five players have been arrested or chargedFive Sydney Swans players have said they are “deeply sorry” after they were suspended for the rest of the AFL season.The club stood down players Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner on Wednesday morning. None of the men have been arrested or charged, but police are investigating an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne. Cont
  
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• Labour ‘could lose up to 50 seats’ to Greens if new drilling in North Sea approved

  19-08-2026 11:28 via theguardian.com
  Greens say analysis shows government failure to take bold climate action could lead to big gains for party at electionUK politics live – latest updatesLabour could lose dozens of seats to the Green party if the government allows new drilling in the North Sea, according to internal research shared with the Guardian.Green party analysis suggests up to 50 Labour MPs, including Andy Burnham’s key ally Louise Haigh, could lose their seats at the next election if the government fails to ma
  
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• The Spin | Heatwaves leave groundstaff high and dry in search of playable wickets

  19-08-2026 11:27 via theguardian.com
  A summer of five heatwaves and barely a drop of rain have left groundstaff wrung out as they work all hours to keep packed schedule goingOn Thursday, the County Championship resumes for its final six-week run, charging towards 27 September with barely a pause for breath. It’s tight at the top of Division One, with only 11 points between first placed Nottinghamshire and sixth placed Essex, while Kent and Northants prepare to elbow it out for the second Division Two promotion place alongside
  
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• Nick Kyrgios suspended from tennis after testing positive for cocaine

  19-08-2026 11:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Australian reveals ‘huge mistake’ in Instagram postKyrgios tested positive at ATP 250 event in JuneThe former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has been suspended from tennis after testing positive for cocaine.The 31-year-old Australian revealed on an Instagram post on Wednesday that he had “made a huge mistake” before his suspension was confirmed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) shortly afterwards. Continue reading...
  
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• Who is Natalie Harp? Trump’s closest and most devoted aide is in the spotlight

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Speculation about US president’s executive assistant sparks furious backlash from White HouseWearing shoulder-length blonde hair, gold earrings and a red dress, cancer survivor Natalie Harp introduced herself to the 2020 Republican national convention as “a formerly forgotten American from California” and compared Donald Trump with George Bailey, the everyman hero played by James Stewart in the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life.“George Bailey’s father was rig
  
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• ‘We now live without this violence’: the Colombian farmers giving up coca for palm oil

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Subsidies and a crackdown on armed groups are helping smallholders rebuild their lives, leaving behind decades of conflict and fearSurrounded by towering oil palm trees on his farm in the small village of Caño Barbú, near San Pablo in northern Colombia, Yoger Payares uses a malayo – a pole-mounted iron tool with a hook – to hack at the fronds of one, freeing a bunch of its vibrant reddish-orange fruit so it falls to the ground.Today, Payares proudly works in the oil pal
  
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• The Blood of Dawnwalker – save your family while becoming what you hate

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Human by day, vampire by night, Coen has difficult choices to make – beginning here in the 1300s, his adventure could span centuries in upcoming sequelsThe Blood of Dawnwalker could be the start of an epic saga. Created by some of the talent behind The Witcher 3, this dark fantasy role-playing game takes place in the 14th century in the fictional land of Vale Sangora, a Carpathian valley of wetlands, mountains and forests cut off from the rest of the world and under the rule of a vicious v
  
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• Sali Hughes on beauty: will social media bans for teens mean the return of grownup skincare?

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Soon it will be harder for the beauty industry to aggressively market at children, hopefully spelling the end of gimmicky, ineffective kiddie makeupThis summer’s announcement that under-16s will soon be banned from some social media platforms and, more recently, that 16- and 17-year-olds will face a digital curfew, strikes me as a good and sensible decision. It also has unignorable benefits for beauty consumers who are old enough to vote, as opposed to those receiving pocket money –
  
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• Ninja Luxe Cafe review: a do-it-all espresso machine at a bargain price – but far from perfect

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Ninja’s assisted machine will make every coffee you crave at hundreds of pounds cheaper than some of its rivals, although you’ll have to put up with a few quirks• The best espresso machines, testedIf you’re not a morning person, decision-making is best avoided before 8am. Or, at the very least, until you’ve had a cup of coffee. That is why assisted espresso machines, such as the Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier ES601UK, are so welcome in my kitchen. They require more effort t
  
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• ‘Jim Crow must go’: the artists and everyday heroes who fought injustice – in pictures

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Turn the Volume Up! at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University highlights the activism of everyday people who have confronted injustice. New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, quoting the Bronx rapper KRS-One’s song Turn the Volume Up during his election-day victory speech inspired the name of the exhibit. Featuring work by artists such as Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems and the Guerrilla Girls, the show examines how protests and collective action can create and inspire social change. T
  
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• After 25 years, I’m breaking up with The Sims. Here’s why you should, too | Jordan Erica Webber

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Now that Jared Kushner and the Saudi Investment Fund have bought The Sims’ publisher, EA, it’s unlikely to remain a game celebrating diversity and inclusivitySometimes it feels as though horrific world events and the malicious entities behind them are reaching into every aspect of our lives, from heatwaves that keep me shut away indoors, to generative AI that makes it increasingly difficult to trust what I read online. I can no longer even retreat into my favourite video game without
  
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• Activist forced out of US after criticising Trump-aligned Colombian politician

  19-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Beto Coral held up banners in Florida warning fellow Colombians to not vote for Abelardo de la EspriellaIn 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 depo
  
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• Rising inflation underlines scale of Andy Burnham’s cost of living challenge

  19-08-2026 10:40 via theguardian.com
  PM’s plan to shield households from more pressure risks being overwhelmed by wider price risesUK inflation rises to 2.9%Business live – latest updatesJuly’s increase in inflation, to 2.9%, is likely to be the first of several, underlining the challenge facing Andy Burnham in shielding consumers from a fresh cost of living squeeze this autumn.Rising energy bills, as an increase in Ofgem’s quarterly price cap came into force, were the main driver of the jump in inflation, f
  
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• Shapes and ladders: Edinburgh fringe’s dance shows reach for the sky

  19-08-2026 10:19 via theguardian.com
  With brute strength and beauty, party tricks and personal revelations, this year’s dance and circus programme has ambition and a spirit of togethernessIf you want to be wowed by technical prowess, I recommend taking a trip to see a couple of New York pole dancers, Donna Carnow and Gina Alm, in their Edinburgh fringe show Dusk/Night/Dawn. The pair are wildly impressive performers with just one piece of apparatus, a hanging pole suspended above the stage, on which they climb and spin and bal
  
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• The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore review – an ominous warning of tech takeover

  19-08-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  A historian charts the emergence of a democracy-crushing dystopia that is – in some ways – already with usPulitzer prize-winning US historian Jill Lepore’s new book addresses the threat posed to liberal democracy by artificial intelligence. According to Lepore, the extraordinary power of private tech companies led by men whose priorities may not align with the wellbeing of the Earth or its inhabitants is set to destroy civilisation as we know it.Lepore’s concept of t
  
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• David Shrigley London exhibition will find the funny side of old masters

  19-08-2026 10:00 via theguardian.com
  Dulwich Picture Gallery show to feature British artist’s work hung next to paintings by Dutch and Flemish greatsThe contemporary UK artist David Shrigley will apply his trademark arch humour and distinctive artistic practice “in dialogue” with old masters of Dutch and Flemish painting in a major new solo exhibition in London.The celebrated visual artist will explore the 17th-century paintings with his own new works “responding to” and hung alongside original masterp
  
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• Premier League season preview: Arsenal to Fulham | Football Weekly video

  19-08-2026 09:58 via theguardian.com
  Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson, Philippe Auclair for the first of our Premier League preview podcasts. Continue reading...
  
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• Shares in humanoid robot firm Unitree surge 600% on Chinese stock market debut

  19-08-2026 09:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Company’s robots have gained global fame via videos of them performing martial arts and as dancers for pop starsUnitree, the world’s biggest humanoid robot maker, has made a spectacular entry on to China’s stock market, with its shares surging by more than 600%.The Chinese company’s robots have gained global fame via viral videos of them performing martial arts, running at Olympic speeds and serving as backup dancers for pop stars. Continue reading...
  
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• UK inflation rises to 2.9% as Iran war drives up energy bills

  19-08-2026 09:25 via theguardian.com
  Accelerating price increases in July add to pressure on households, with chancellor saying ‘there is more to do to restore hope’Analysis: Rising inflation underlines scale of Burnham’s cost of living challengeBusiness live – latest updatesUK inflation rose to 2.9% in July as the impact of the Iran war on energy prices triggered a renewed cost of living squeeze for British households.The Office for National Statistics said inflation rose from a 15-month low of 2.6% in June
  
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• WSL’s ‘big two’: Arsenal and Chelsea record more revenue than rest of league combined | Tom Garry

  19-08-2026 09:15 via theguardian.com
  Two clubs are far ahead in wages and turnover, but London City Lionesses could be new force after big transfer movesAfter reviewing eight seasons’ worth of Women’s Super League clubs’ financial accounts, it seems appropriate to start by offering a sincere apology to any reader who has become accustomed to seeing the phrase “the big four” in Women’s Super League coverage in reference to Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. Financially speaki
  
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• March, May and more: footballers scoring in months that match their names | The Knowledge

  19-08-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Plus: goalkeepers sent off far from their penalty area, and the fastest spot-kicks ever awardedMail us with your all of your questions and answers“Birmingham’s August Priske scored the only goal at Swansea in the League Cup on 8 August. Can you think of any other examples of players scoring in their namesake months?” wonders Paul Tiffen.Our wonderful readers have managed to cover the entire year, pretty much, so let’s get going. The list below includes just some of the ma
  
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• Erin Patterson argues mushroom murder convictions should be quashed due to ‘catastrophic’ failure of justice

  19-08-2026 08:52 via theguardian.com
  Allowing jurors to stay in same hotel as police and prosecution denied Patterson a fair trial, lawyers tell Victorian court of appealFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLawyers for Erin Patterson have argued that allowing jurors to stay in the same hotel as police and the prosecution while they deliberated over their verdicts in the triple-murder trial represented a “catastrophic” failure of the justice syst
  
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• SpaceX Starship the talk of remote Australian island as Elon Musk’s engineers sent to retrieve it

  19-08-2026 08:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Christmas Island locals who woke to see the spacecraft floating off the coast hope global attention will encourage touristsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEngineers from Elon Musk’s SpaceX are on their way to a remote Australian island to retrieve part of a Starship that dived into the Indian Ocean.The spacecraft – now floating off the coast of Christmas Island – was launched in Texas on 24 July, in the 13th test of the technology. After reaching orbi
  
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• Where Are the Kings by Donal Ryan review – a timeless tale of family sorrows and joys

  19-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A teenage boy navigates adolescence and the traumatic loss of his mother in this poignant coming-of-age novel set in rural IrelandSomething is happening to literary time. In the last fortnight I’ve read new or forthcoming novels about a mirror universe where history runs backwards (The Understory, Chloe Benjamin), an agency that offers appointments with the past (Time Travel for Beginners, Jaclyn Moriarty), and a young woman who’s genetically untethered from linear life (Audrey Niffe
  
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• The digital child: how tech is changing play – in pictures

  19-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  From the early days of computers and the internet, Wendy McMurdo has let tech infuse her photography. Now, in her largest exhibition yet, she looks at its impact on the future generation Continue reading...
  
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• ‘I came to the Highlands to give something back to the hills’: a volunteering trip in Scotland

  19-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I found two days of hard graft – repairing hiking paths with a conservation trust in stunningly remote Wester Ross – a surprisingly rewarding experienceI hadn’t planned to enjoy any of this. As summer light fell on Stac Pollaidh – the summit’s teeth bared, the views stretching across the surreal emptiness of Assynt – I found myself ankle-deep in blanket bog next to a hiking path, back bent, hacking at the tough terrain with a heavy-duty mattock. Farther up the
  
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• David review – biblical Goliath-slayer animation offers upbeat boybandish worship musical

  19-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Christian kids’ movie is entertaining during the big battle, but the older bouffant hero’s lack of depth is distracting and the worship songs a weak linkU2’s Bono once described King David as “the Elvis of the Bible” – but in this musical kids’ adaptation, David is more boyband than rock’n’roll, with voluminous bouffant hair and a soundtrack of upbeat worship songs. The singing is actually a weak link in what is otherwise an unexpectedly ente
  
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• A moment that changed me: my husband died – and birds began behaving strangely towards me

  19-08-2026 07:45 via theguardian.com
  
  I was living on my own for the first time in 35 years, walking every day. Nature reminded me how much there still is to be found in emptinessAfter my husband died, the birds started behaving strangely towards me. This was not my imagination; it really happened. On my daily walks, I was startled by how close they came to me – approaching, hopping alongside me and chirping. If there were a lot of them – and if there was no one else around – it felt as if they were accompanying me
  
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• TV tonight: the jawdropping story of the mother who faked her son’s illness

  19-08-2026 07:15 via theguardian.com
  A shocking documentary about a woman who pretended her child was terminally ill. Plus: isolation and horror in Australia’s desolate outback. Here’s what to watch this evening9pm, Channel 4
  “He seemed to be allergic to the 21st century,” said journalist Paul Levie of Matthew Hayden-Johnson, a child from Torbay who, his mother, Lisa, claimed, was unable to walk, eat or breathe without medical assistance. However, as this jawdropping documentary series shows, Matthew’s
  
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• Jammy tomato risotto and amaretto roast peaches: Toklas chef Chris Shaw’s simple summer recipes

  19-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Make the most of the season’s freshest produce with a light but richly flavoured tomato-dosed dinner and a booze-laced, New York-inspired dessertAt Toklas, ingredients such as datterini tomatoes and ripe peaches are taking centre stage. These recipes celebrate the simplicity of summer cooking, allowing produce to shine with minimal intervention. From a risotto layered with sweet tomatoes, pecorino and mint to roast peaches finished with amaretto and mascarpone, they capture the character o
  
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• Barking mad? How people in England’s ‘least friendly’ borough feel about the ranking

  19-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Does the description from a study ranking all of England’s 296 boroughs for friendliness ring true for people in the east London town?Alice Fokuo is so friendly with her neighbour that they have exchanged keys to each other’s homes. The level of intimacy is such that “I call her mum, because she cooks for me”.So the market trader was surprised to learn that her borough, Barking and Dagenham, ranked the least friendly in England in a new study drawing on government data fr
  
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• A rightwing witch-hunt focused on Jason Arday – but so did legitimate journalism | Hugh Muir

  19-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Amid the grief and rage at a tragic loss, it’s right to differentiate between those who fought a culture war and others who just sought the truthEven now it is very difficult to process the scale of tragedy that engulfed Jason Arday and those who loved him. The unbearable sadness at his death; the wretched knowledge that the very public onslaught against him began with the malign machinations of a self-defined “race realist” – who believes that, in an ideal world, black p
  
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• John Irvin, British film-maker who directed Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, dies aged 86

  19-08-2026 06:31 via theguardian.com
  The director’s BBC hit opened the door to Hollywood action films including Hamburger Hill, The Dogs of War and Raw DealJohn Irvin, the British film-maker who directed the Bafta-winning BBC miniseries Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, as well as films including Hamburger Hill, The Dogs of War and Raw Deal, has died aged 86.Irvin died “peacefully at home” on 11 August, surrounded by his family, his producer Claire Evans confirmed to the Guardian. Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: It’s hard being a vicar in a long, hot summer | Simon Lockett

  19-08-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Madley, Herefordshire: The cool of our churches has been welcome to many, but my polyester robes are not made for the heatEvery summer, while roasting in my robes, I say to myself: “I must get a lighter set.” If I had a cotton cassock instead of a polyester cassock and alb, swaying to the singing of hymns might not raise my core temperature as much. In that regard, this year hasn’t been without its challenges.Even so, our churches have become “cool spaces”. In Madle
  
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• Camilla found it ‘difficult’ keeping king’s cancer diagnosis private before announcement

  19-08-2026 06:01 via theguardian.com
  In video celebrating Maggie’s cancer charity, queen recalls ‘longing to let it out’ on visit to centre in 2024The queen has spoken for the first time of how difficult she found it to keep King Charles’s cancer a secret before it was announced publicly.Camilla found herself “longing to let it out” during an official visit to a Maggie’s cancer support centre in 2024, after Charles had received his diagnosis but before the news was released. Continue readin
  
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• ‘Why do you never buy a round?!’ 20 mortifying money conversations with friends – and how to handle them

  19-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Whether it’s paying for dinner, going on holiday or sharing a taxi, friendships can be fraught with financial frustrations, which are very rarely aired. Here’s how to break the tabooSummer is the season of socialising, from alfresco drinks to weddings to group holidays. It can get expensive – and suddenly you start noticing those friends who don’t pay their way. Or the ones who splash the cash and make you feel cheap. In fact, there are a host of annoying money-related ha
  
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• Tourists on pastry quest overrun scenic spot in Italian mountains

  19-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Alpine communities hit out after influencer videos draw huge queues to Friedrich August refuge in DolomitesHundreds 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
  
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• The flag culture wars have come to an unlikely place: progressive Iceland | Alexander Hurst

  19-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Ahead of the Nordic nation’s EU referendum, the Icelandic flag has been co-opted by the far rightTo enter Reykjavik’s Grafarvogur Lutheran church, worshippers and visitors are invited to make their way down 16 steps painted in the rainbow stripes and the white, pink, blue, brown and black chevrons of the Progress Pride flag. The artwork, which can even be seen on satellite pictures, was originally a project of former head pastor Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir, now the bis
  
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• Trump hits pause on Canada tariffs threat, and hints at revival of Keystone XL oil pipeline project

  19-08-2026 05:47 via theguardian.com
  US president delays 50% tariffs by three days, and says contentious oil project ‘may be awoken from the grave’Canada has temporarily avoided a bruising 50% US tariff, reaching a Tuesday-evening agreement with Trump administration officials hours before a hike that would have affected $20bn worth of goods was set to take effect.Donald Trump posted late on Tuesday on social media that he had paused the tariffs for three days “based on the fact that Canada and the USA, subject to
  
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• US-led drills to end six days early, South Korea says, amid Trump push for Kim Jong-un talks

  19-08-2026 04:18 via theguardian.com
  South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise would end on 21 August at the request of the USAnalysis: In cutting joint drills, Trump has given South Korea’s president what he wants. So why does Seoul look so uneasy?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 staf
  
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• Tupac Shakur trial: lawyers share full account of killing as witnesses still refuse to testify

  19-08-2026 02:46 via theguardian.com
  Murder trial of Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis, 63, former South Side Compton Crips gang leader, opens in Las VegasFor nearly 30 years, the unsolved murder of 25-year-old rapper Tupac Shakur has sparked lawsuits, theories and conspiracies.Now, decades after his death in a September 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, local prosecutors are finally offering a detailed official account of Shakur’s killing, accusing Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a 63-year-old former South Side Compton
  
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