General news

• Gerbrandt Grobler: ‘If Eddie Jones came calling, I wouldn’t turn it down’

  17-08-2018 23:00 via theguardian.com
  The lock remains optimistic about his future and hopes his move to Gloucester will finally turn a page on his doping pastIf Gerbrandt Grobler needed a reminder that he can never fully escape his doping past, it came within days of his arrival at Gloucester. It may have been coincidence but he was the first player drug-tested in pre-season following his summer move from Munster, brought about by the storm that brewed in Ireland over his two-year doping suspension for taking a banned steroid.Grobl
  
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• Artist defends Ronnie O’Sullivan mural in Sheffield saying it isn’t finished

  28-08-2026 17:34 via theguardian.com
  Critics say painting looks more like a zombie but artist Chris Ashmore says ‘touch-ups’ are still to happenA 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. Continue reading...
  
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• Russ Abbot: a class act, on stage and off | Letters

  28-08-2026 17:33 via theguardian.com
  Readers respond to Simon Hattenstone’s interview with the retired actor and comedian Simon Hattenstone’s wonderful interview with Russ Abbot (‘In 1984, I worked 363 days’: how Russ Abbot soared to success – then walked away, 24 August) brought back a treasured story that leaves my family eternally grateful to him.During the summer of 2010, we travelled from Scotland on holiday, staying in Windsor, and attended Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. When the show
  
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• England v Pakistan: second men’s cricket Test, day two – live

  28-08-2026 17:33 via theguardian.com
  Updates from day two at Lord’s; play starts 11am
  Day one report | Sign up for the Spin | Mail Rob62nd over: England 266-9 (Atkinson 38, Tongue 14) Scrap that: Atkinson takes a leg-bye off the second ball of this over. As Tongue prepares to face Abbas, the keeper, Mohammad Rizwan, calls for a helmet and goes up to the stumps – so Josh Tongue is now being treated like Joe Root. The ploy could backfire by making Tongue’s nicks harder for the slips to pick up. And it doesn’t
  
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• Protect fossils from hammer-wielding tourists | Letter

  28-08-2026 17:31 via theguardian.com
  Jill White responds to an editorial calling for fossils to be given legally protected national-treasure statusI write this while sitting on Charmouth beach in Dorset with my required reading of the Saturday Guardian, as I do regularly. Your editorial (The Guardian view on the export of fossils: they deserve national treasure status, 21 August) produced a hollow laugh as – this being the centre of fossil hunting on the Jurassic Coast – I am surrounded by armies of hammer-wielding tour
  
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• Families of 33 missing Britons rush to Nepal as fears grow of more floods

  28-08-2026 17:31 via theguardian.com
  Desperate relatives trying to reach loved ones last seen in area where entire villages have been swept awayNepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updatesVisual guide: how the deadly flooding unfoldedTell 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
  
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• There can be huge comfort in end-of-life preparation | Letter

  28-08-2026 17:30 via theguardian.com
  Gill Empson says her husband wanted to make sure that the family would not have a mess to sort out after his death from a terminal illnessSarah Phillips’ article struck such a chord (What end-of-life experts know about living well: love your wrinkles, celebrate birthdays and don’t obsess over work, 13 August). My husband, Dick, died last month with pulmonary fibrosis. His last few months were physically very difficult, but he gained an enormous amount of comfort from sorting out his
  
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• Emery and Watkins ‘shed tears’ saying goodbye; transfer latest; Celtic and Rangers punished: football – live

  28-08-2026 17:30 via theguardian.com
  Transfer news and buildup to this weekend’s fixturesPremier League things to look out for | Email MichaelBrighton women’s manager Dario Vidosic said of his time at the club:I have loved my time at the Albion and am proud of what we have achieved together. Leaving has been a difficult decision, but I believe it is the right time for me and my family to begin a new chapter.I would like to thank the players, staff and supporters for their support throughout my time at the club and wish
  
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• Focus on Paul McCartney’s feet down below his knee | Brief letters

  28-08-2026 17:29 via theguardian.com
  Abbey Road | Putin is no Marxist | Nort a homophone | 35mm film canistersJonathan Jones writes that, on the Abbey Road LP cover shot, the Beatles were “in perfect step” (Four blokes and a zebra crossing: the banality and beauty of the Beatles’ Abbey Road cover, 22 August). As was much commented on at the time, three of them were as described, all leading with their left leg, but Paul McCartney was not only barefoot (as indeed Jones noted), but was actually leading with his righ
  
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• US Federal Reserve’s Kevin Warsh warns there will be ‘work to do’ unless high inflation eases – business live

  28-08-2026 17:25 via theguardian.com
  Rolling coverage of the latest events in global financial markets, the economy and major corporate movesIn the metals market, supply fears have pushed the zinc price up to a four-year high.Zinc, which is used to galvanise steel, hit $3,955 a metric tonne this morning, its highest since May 2022.LME [zinc] inventories have been drawn sharply lower, mine and smelter disruptions have restricted refined availability, and supply outside China has become notably tight.With consumers facing a thinner p
  
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• Tom Towelling Teaches You to Knit review – quirky yarns and a pop quiz in maths

  28-08-2026 17:15 via theguardian.com
  Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghHopping from a PowerPoint on hairlines to songs about favourite motorways, Towelling’s set is fun but drops a stitch or twoThe route from the classroom to the comedy stage is well travelled, and ex-maths teacher Tom Towelling makes it the thread of his show here, conducting his audience like so many recalcitrant pupils under his charge. In case that sounds triggering, never fear: this debut show is unlike any other schoolroom you’ve been in. Towelling is
  
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• UK urged to ban imports of Brazilian meat over health concerns

  28-08-2026 17:13 via theguardian.com
  Brazil failed to prove compliance with EU rules on use of antibiotics in cattle and poultry farmingThe UK’s leading farming organisations and animal health experts have called for an urgent ban on imports of Brazilian meat, in light of concerns over the safety of imports.The National Farmers’ Union in England and its sister organisations in the devolved administrations wrote to the government on Friday warning that public health was at risk. Continue reading...
  
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• Labour rejects Zack Polanski’s call to ‘slam brakes’ on building AI datacentres

  28-08-2026 17:11 via theguardian.com
  Government says Green leader’s proposed moratorium on ‘energy-guzzling’ AI projects would be disaster for economyLabour has rejected calls to pause construction of major AI infrastructure in Britain after the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, said it was time to “slam the brakes on these energy-guzzling, water-guzzling datacentres”.The government hit back at the opposition party’s proposal of a “moratorium other than [for] local-scale datacentres for th
  
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• Choking is sold to teens as a safe sexual practice. The research says it never is

  28-08-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  More and more young people are engaging in sexual strangulation. But experts say there’s no safe pressure – and we have to start talking to teenagers about itWhen touching someone’s throat, it can only take the pressure of a handshake to cause serious injury, unconsciousness or death. These injuries, which include brain damage and stroke, are often internal and invisible, showing up days or even months after the initial incident occurred. Experts say many who participate in sex
  
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• Egyptian queen’s 673-diamond necklace stolen in Vienna smash-and-grab raid

  28-08-2026 16:46 via theguardian.com
  Police hunt two suspects after historic 200-carat piece is snatched from Austrian museum during opening hoursAustrian police are hunting two men alleged to have stolen a 200-carat platinum necklace encrusted with 673 diamonds that was on loan to a museum in Vienna and once belonged to Egyptian royalty.Authorities in the capital released pictures of the suspects captured by security cameras during the heist at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), amid a rash of spectacular smash-and-grab thefts from
  
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• From sustainable sponges to seriously comfy walking boots: the best August bank holiday deals on the products we love

  28-08-2026 16:42 via theguardian.com
  We’ve rounded up genuinely good offers on Filter-recommended and tested products across home, beauty, travel and more• Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereAugust bank holiday is summer’s Boxing Day: the fun’s over, you’ve got no money left, and it’s probably raining. (As someone whose birthday falls at the fuzzy end of August, I can confirm that it always, always rains.) And, just as on Boxing Day, the shops erupt in discount fever.R
  
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• Nepal-Tibet flash flood: death toll rises above 540 as rescue operations resume – latest updates - The Guardian

  28-08-2026 16:31 via news.google.com
  Nepal-Tibet flash flood: death toll rises above 540 as rescue operations resume – latest updates  The GuardianFamilies of 33 missing Britons rush to Nepal as fears grow of more floods  The GuardianChina suspends Himalaya flood rescue efforts as lake overflows  Financial TimesMount Kailash, Sacred to 4 Faiths, Drew Pilgrims Lost in Himalayan Floods  The New York TimesNepal declines foreign rescue help, South Korea says it is 'negotiating'  R
  
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• Four men admit destroying Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green - The Guardian

  28-08-2026 16:31 via news.google.com
  Four men admit destroying Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green  The GuardianFour plead guilty to arson attack on Jewish ambulances  BBCFour plead guilty to arson attack on Jewish community ambulances  BBCFour men plead guilty to Golders Green ambulance arson attack  Sky NewsFour men admit Golders Green ambulance arson attack  The Telegraph
  
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• Four men admit destroying Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green

  28-08-2026 16:30 via theguardian.com
  Prosecutors allege men were deliberately targeting Jewish community when four vehicles were set ablaze in MarchFour men have pleaded guilty to destroying four Jewish community ambulances in an arson attack causing about £1m of damage.Hamza ⁠Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, and Judex Atshatshi and Saif Ali, both 18, admitted to a charge of destroying or damaging property being reckless whether life would be endangered. Continue reading...
  
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• Andy Burnham to abstain on assisted dying bill to avoid influencing debate

  28-08-2026 16:30 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: PM also warns his ministers against trying to influence vote when bill returns to Commons next monthAndy Burnham has told Labour MPs that he will not cast a vote when the assisted dying bill returns to the Commons next month to avoid influencing the debate.While the move was welcomed by supporters of the measure, No 10 officials said the prime minister had no wish to affect the process in either direction, and was just doing what he thought was best to allow MPs to reach their own col
  
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• On the ground in Nepal after deadly flash floods – video

  28-08-2026 16:28 via theguardian.com
  South Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis‑Petersen is on the ground in Bidur, one of the most devastated towns in Nepal, after the deadly flash floods that struck on Wednesday morning. Most homes were completely washed away when a tide of mud, rocks and debris flooded the river valley. Those who survived describe clinging on to buildings and trees as the water rushed over them Continue reading...
  
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• White House construction played part in Trump helicopter incident, safety officials say

  28-08-2026 16:02 via theguardian.com
  Helipad relocation led in part to incident where Marine One, carrying the president, had close call with passenger jetSafety officials say the relocation of a helipad amid Donald Trump’s multi-project White House reconstruction led in part to an incident earlier this month in which a military helicopter carrying the president came too close to a passenger jet.A preliminary report published Thursday by the National Transportation ⁠Safety Board (NTSB) blamed “communication issues
  
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• Who was given the toughest fixtures in the Champions League draw?

  28-08-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  The draw was kind to Liverpool and Arsenal, but Manchester City and Aston Villa do not have it so goodBy Opta AnalystThe 36 clubs in the Champions League know who they will play in the league phase, but which team has the kindest draw and who has the toughest assignment? Each side knows their eight opponents but, given that no two teams face the same set of opponents, this is not a level playing field. We have used the Opta power rankings – which rank 16,000 teams from across the world on
  
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• Reading and Leeds have dropped BBC Introducing for a new ‘nepo baby stage’. Where does it leave DIY artists?

  28-08-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  As R&L replace the BBC’s unsigned artists stage with one filled with rock scions and a Simon Cowell boyband, many are decrying disappearing opportunities for grassroots actsThis year’s Reading and Leeds festival lineups are a testament to the catholic tastes of a generation who have little regard for musical tribalism or the concept of genre: brash pop stars rub up against drum’n’bass acts, underground rappers, meat-and-potatoes indie bands and much more.What at least
  
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• Li Jin Hao: Falling from a Moon review – comedy’s Mr Nostalgia is now the man of the moment

  28-08-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  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 s
  
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• Oslo mayor cancels own wedding after death of Norway's king - BBC

  28-08-2026 15:50 via news.google.com
  
  Oslo mayor cancels own wedding after death of Norway's king  BBCKing Haakon VIII takes the throne in Norway following death of Harald V  BBCKing Harald V of Norway obituary  The Guardian‘A whole nation is in mourning’  Regjeringen.noKing of Norway dies aged 89  The Telegraph
  
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• A gallery glow up, spooky sculpture and a magical modern – the week in art

  28-08-2026 15:47 via theguardian.com
  A grand survey of light art illuminates Durham, St Ives gets macabre and London goes big on land art – all in your weekly dispatchVictory Over the Sun
  A Russian futurist spectacle from 1913 gives this grand survey of light art its title. Luminous works by Olafur Eliasson, Ceal Floyer and many more mark the opening of Durham’s new art gallery.• The Light, Durham, until 17 January Continue reading...
  
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• England vs Pakistan live: scoreboard and updates from second Test day 2 - The Times

  28-08-2026 15:33 via news.google.com
  England vs Pakistan live: scoreboard and updates from second Test day 2  The TimesEngland vs Pakistan LIVE: Second Test, day two, Lord's - cricket score, radio & video highlights  BBCBall by Ball Commentary & Live Score - ENG vs PAK, 2nd Test  CricinfoJamie Smith and Jordan Cox lead England’s resistance as Pakistan finally arrive  The IndependentEngland v Pakistan: second men’s cricket Test, day two – live  The Guardian
  
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• Rob Reiner’s son Jake gives first interview after parents’ deaths: ‘I will never understand why this happened’

  28-08-2026 15:20 via theguardian.com
  Jake says his parents ‘never stopped helping’ his brother Nick, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering both of them at their Los Angeles homeJake Reiner has given his first interview since the killing of his parents, the film-maker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, saying: “I will never understand why this happened.”Reiner, who directed films including The Princess Bride, This Is Spinal Tap and Stand By Me, was found dead alongside Singer Reiner from appare
  
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• Dolly Parton’s sister reveals singer offered to test experimental cancer drugs before she died - The Guardian

  28-08-2026 15:20 via news.google.com
  Dolly Parton’s sister reveals singer offered to test experimental cancer drugs before she died  The GuardianDolly Parton offered to try experimental drugs before her death, sister says  ITVXLike a rhinestone cowgirl – Dolly Parton’s most glorious, joyful and meta looks  The GuardianDolly Parton’s sister shares insight into country icon’s final months  The IndependentDolly Parton’s Charity Knew No Bounds  Rollin
  
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