Iran, Oman deal on Strait of Hormuz getting close, Tehran says

Iran and Oman are close to agreeing on new arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz, but not for a full reopening of the vital waterway, Iran's state news agency says.

Sherrill enters national political fray with first midterm endorsements

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is taking her first major step onto the national stage, endorsing 13 Democrats — as the moderate signals she may jump into the debate over her party's future.

‘It’s beautiful but fragile’: fears £150m redevelopment of Falmouth Docks threatens habitats and town itself

Plans involve dredging and expanding the docks to allow larger cruise ships to visit with up to 200,000 passengers annually

Janavi Kramer had just enjoyed a swim with friends and was sitting on a bench taking in a wonderful Cornish view – headlands plunging into deep water, bobbing boats, a bustling harbour town.

“We’re lucky to have this space,” said Kramer, who is an artist and scientific illustrator. “We use it for work, recreation and pleasure and it’s so scary to think that this could all be harmed. I worry about what we may be living with soon and what we’ll be leaving for future generations.”

Senate committee set to vote on holding Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress – US politics live

Hearing called after the former chief medical advisor invoked the fifth and refused to answer questions at a hearing on Covid-19

Katie Miller, an erstwhile Trump administration official and wife of Stephen Miller, once relied on Dr Anthony Fauci to get through Covid. Now, she’s calling for his imprisonment – a reversal that illuminates the politicization of Fauci and of public health writ large, a trend that could have major repercussions for America’s preparedness for future crises.

A US Senate committee will vote on Thursday morning over whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress after the physician and former public health official invoked his fifth amendment rights during a Senate hearing last week focused on Fauci’s actions during the Covid pandemic.

Renegade ramen: ​from Colchester to Cardiff, the cooks remixing Japanese flavours

Restaurant critic and award-winning author Jimi Famurewa meets broth obsessives in unlikely parts of Britain who fell in with the ancient ramen tradition - and found a hungry audience for their new noodle bowls.

The real meaning of Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan | Robert Reich

We’re seeing America wake up to the tyranny that’s engulfed us

With the victory of progressive Abdul El-Sayed over representative Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Democratic primary, prepare yourself to hear enormous quantities of bullshit about the Democratic party now being “taken over” by the “left” or by “democratic socialists”.

Or as the reliably establishment New York Times put it: “Can an insurgent candidate, with unabashedly liberal positions, win a general election in a moderate state?”

Ravyn Lenae: Blue Island review – from Suicide to Squarepusher, grunge to Janet, a pop one-off plots her unique path

(Atlantic)
Evoking an astonishing range of artists, the US singer follows up her huge hit Love Me Not with stylistic diversity – and lyrics that defy her doubters

It sometimes seems like no musical success in the 2020s is allowed to pass without some degree of online controversy. There are accusations that the artist in question is an “industry plant” – a phrase which, as far as can be discerned, can basically be applied to anyone with a manager or a label deal – or that there’s something deceptive about the way in which they’ve been promoted, or that they’re possessed of some other form of moral bankruptcy that reflects not merely on the performer but the people who like them. Which brings us to Love Me Not, an ostensibly harmless 2024 track by Chicago singer-songwriter Ravyn Lenae.

After enjoying a burst of online virality, it became a huge hit single, making the Top 5 on both sides of the Atlantic. Taken from Bird’s Eye, an album that also featured collaborations with Childish Gambino and Ty Dolla $ign, its blend of retro-soul styling, distorted guitar arpeggios and infernally catchy chorus was noticeably poppier than Lenae’s previous work: it came with a remix that featured British bedroom-pop star Rex Orange County. You could understand why fans of the glitchy, abstract R&B found on 2015’s EP Moon Shoes, or of her more neo soul-flavoured debut album, 2022’s Hypnos, might consider it a straightforward bid for mainstream acceptance. But you’d argue against it necessitating an online interrogation that, Lenae has suggested, involved not just “picking apart what kind of music I make” but “questioning my identity and Blackness”.

Coming up: six promoted teams to look out for in Europe this season

Former European heavyweights, investment projects and teams from tiny towns will liven up the top tiers

Absent from La Liga since 2018, Dépor were once part of a Spanish “big four” with Barcelona, Valencia and Real Madrid. The Galicians were title-race disruptors over a sustained period, finishing in the top three on nine occasions between 1993 and 2004 and winning the title in 1999. Had they not come up against José Mourinho’s Porto in the 2004 Champions League semi-finals, they might have been European champions too. Eventually, the established order prevailed and Deportivo slid into mid-table, then fell away completely – dropping into the regional third tier in 2020. It took four years to battle back to the second tier, but Dépor then leapt from 15th place in 2024-25 to earn automatic promotion last term. The golden era of Juan Carlos Valerón and Diego Tristan is long gone but the club are showing ambition, signing Mallorca keeper Leo Román and veteran striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as they bid to hold steady in La Liga. Deportivo are not the only long-term absentees returning this season: Segunda champions Racing Santander are back after 15 years, while Málaga also went down in 2018 and fell into the third tier for a single season in 2023-24.

‘Like a jet taking off’: the cicada that can top 120 decibels and nearly break the pain threshold

The palm-sized greengrocer is bright, loud and abundant, and has long been a collectible item for Australian children

• Revealed: the top 10 invertebrates of the year

Before marbles, stamps and trading cards, there were cicadas.

There are thousands of cicada species globally, but for Australian children the craze centres on one particularly collectible item: the greengrocer.

Diageo shares bounce back as new CEO Dave Lewis lifts spirits with $1bn savings plan

Ex-Tesco boss known as ‘Drastic Dave’ for his cost-cutting zeal pledges more of the same at flagging Guinness owner

Shares in Diageo have bounced after the Guinness owner’s chief executive, “Drastic Dave” Lewis, passed the first big test of his plan to revive the flagging fortunes of the UK-based drinks company.

Lewis, a former Tesco boss known in the City for his cost-cutting zeal, promised to deliver $1bn of savings over two years through a “significant” restructuring aimed at making the company more agile.

AI models are behaving unexpectedly. Experts warn of a "bumpy road" ahead.

AI models are engaging in unauthorized actions — in the most recent case, creating fake identities and attempting to persuade real people to approve malicious code.

Iran says a deal with Oman to reopen the strait of Hormuz is close to being finalised – Middle East crisis live

Under the proposed agreement Tehran would control inbound traffic according to reports

• Understanding reached on coordinates for shipping route through Hormuz, Iran says

A third day of US-mediated talks between Lebanese and Israeli negotiators have begun in Rome, as Beirut seeks Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

The negotiations are taking place a day after Israeli strikes killed at least one person and injured 11 others in the southern Lebanese town of Tebnine, while two IDF soldiers died in an explosion in the village of Majdal Zoun.

Restaurant Brands International earnings beat as Burger King's U.S. business soars

Burger King's U.S. business reported same-store sales growth of 8.5%.

‘Mamma mia!’: Trump tariffs refund ignites 53% profit spike at Nintendo

Quarterly profit jump fuelled largely by unknown US refund amount as Japanese video game giant records overall sales drop

Nintendo has reported a jump in profits, as the Japanese game maker’s earnings were buoyed up by a long-awaited refund on Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The company said profits surged 53.5% to ¥147.4bn (£694m) over the three months to June, substantially beating expert forecasts for ¥77.8bn.

Is King Charles a ‘white Briton’? Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe won’t say

Lowe questioned on BBC about definition in report for hard-right party that both parents need to be born in UK

Rupert Lowe, the leader of Restore Britain, refused to say he believes King Charles can be classified as a “white Briton” in an extraordinary interview on the BBC’s Today programme.

Questioning Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth, over his claims that “white Britons will become a minority by 2063”, the presenter, Nick Robinson, noted that the forecast Lowe referred to defined a “white Briton” as someone whose parents were both born in the UK.

Clancy family nanny testifies that Lindsay was "a wonderful mom"

The last nanny who worked for the Clancy family testified at trial that Lindsay was a wonderful mom who loved her children.

All bodies of water in England polluted with toxic chemicals, official data shows

Environment Agency assessments find just 14.3% of country’s surface waters in good ecological status

Every single English water body is polluted with toxic chemicals, new government data shows, while just 14.3% of surface waters achieved good ecological status.

Each of the country’s rivers, lakes and estuaries was assessed by the Environment Agency as part of a six-yearly evaluation of England’s water quality. The EA checked for a range of toxic chemicals, from Pfas – or “forever chemicals” – to microplastics. Waters were also checked against a range of standards covering wildlife, water quality and physical habitat.

Virginia teens at golf tryouts rescue family from drowning and then make squad

Gavin Cain, Andrew Tuggle and Jackson Castro were at golf team tryouts when they heard screams from nearby lake

A trio of Virginia teenagers recently showed up to golf team tryouts, jumped into a nearby lake to rescue three people – including a preschooler who couldn’t swim – after their kayaks capsized, and then earned spots on the squad, according to officials who are hailing their actions as “heroic”.

In events that authorities say demonstrate the kind of leadership that young people are capable of, Andrew Tuggle, 15, and 17-year-olds Gavin Cain and Jackson Castro showed up to the Culpeper Country Club links on the afternoon of 27 July to compete for places on Eastern View high school’s golf team, the local police department said in a statement.

Top Democrats accuse Trump officials over Israeli settlers’ ‘unbridled violence’

Letter says lifting of sanctions sent ‘clear message’ settlers can use deadly force in West Bank without consequences

Senior Democrats have accused Donald Trump’s administration of giving a green light to violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, warning that its policies created “a climate of impunity and unbridled violence” that endangers both Palestinians and US citizens.

In a letter seen by the Guardian, a group of 19 Democratic senators and representatives call for the restoration of sanctions against extremist settlers and demand independent US investigations into the deaths of nine US citizens killed in the West Bank since 2022.

We need a wartime mindset to fight the threat of wildfires | Seth Klein

While many leaders compare the wildfire crisis to the second world war, governments fail to adopt the real lessons of pre-emptive wartime action

As France and Spain battle historic wildfires, comparisons to the second world war abound. “One of the continent’s biggest evacuation efforts since World War II,” reports the Associated Press. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called the wildfires his country’s “most difficult situation since the second world war”.

The images crossing all our screens certainly feel war-like – emergency aircraft and black smoke fill the skies, frantic civilians seeking shelter, historic towns lying in ruins, charred forests and burned-out vehicles, exhausted and sweat-soaked emergency responders.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople review – Sam Neill is warm and wise in Taika Waititi’s goofily tremendous film

Waititi’s eccentric drama sends the late actor into the New Zealand wilderness with his young charge, angry authorities in hot pursuit

The recent sad loss of Sam Neill is a great opportunity to revisit one of his greatest roles, in this tremendous family film from 2016, a goofy mix of Butch and Sundance and Chaplin’s The Kid. It’s arguably the masterpiece of its writer-director Taika Waititi, who adapted the 1986 bestseller Wild Pork and Watercress by New Zealand author Barry Crump, bringing his distinctive irony, comedy and quirk (Waititi has a droll cameo as a wacky vicar), but wisely lets the story and performances do the real work, so the movie continues to win the hearts of audiences.

Neill plays Hector, a grouchy old buzzard who works on a farm on New Zealand’s North Island just below the vast forested wilderness of the breathtakingly beautiful Te Urewera. The property is owned by his big-hearted wife Bella (Rima Te Wiata) who works as a foster parent, regularly taking in troubled kids, and Hector is under no illusions that she married him in the same charitable spirit. But glum, taciturn Hector is not best pleased when Bella takes in the toughest and most recalcitrant teen the state authorities have ever dealt with. This is Ricky, played by Maori actor Julian Dennison, and Rachel House gives an amusing performance as Paula, the child welfare worker who is on Ricky’s case.

How deep-rooted medical bias creates deadly consequences for addiction patients

Addiction treatments are safe, effective — and rarely offered to patients. That's because many doctors and nurses still view people with alcohol or drug addiction with suspicion and hostility.

‘Morocco feels emboldened’: Trump’s influence in spotlight after Ceuta disaster

Washington-Rabat ties under scrutiny as questions swirl over what led to deadly influx into tiny Spanish territory

The cosy relationship between Washington and Rabat has long been flaunted by both sides, from Morocco’s announcement this year that it would be the first African state to join Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to the congratulatory message recently sent by Trump to mark King Mohammed VI’s 27 years in power.

The latest example landed this week. As Spain grappled with the aftermath of the sudden influx – and swift return – of more than 70,000 people into Ceuta, Morocco’s monarch confirmed he had named a $1bn highway flanking the disputed territory of Western Sahara after Trump.

The Shards review – murder, 80s mayhem and the Ryan Murphy comeback we’ve been waiting for

Murphy is back on form with this gorgeously curated, shot and scored adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel – about a serial killer stalking privileged LA teenagers

The world can finally begin to hope again. It looks as though Ryan Murphy has pulled out of his dive and is beginning to find his glorious groove again. The uber-showrunner reached a nadir last year with All’s Fair, a legal drama that was so bad it was existentially awful, garnering a number of rare, zero-star reviews (including mine) and which has duly been commissioned for a second series.

But after All’s Fair came The Beauty. Which was chaotic and underdeveloped but fun. And then there was Love Story, about the short lives and love of JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette, which was pitch-perfect, properly good trash. And now there is The Shards, Murphy’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s 80s-set metafictional/autobiographical novel of the same name. I have not read the book. An enfant terrible’s reminiscences are too often simply terrible and I was exhausted by the very idea. But a TV version? Run through the Murphytron? That sounds like a very good idea – and so it has proved. Theirs is a marriage made in pop-culture heaven.

The Shards is on Disney+

Khanna to introduce 'Data Center Bill of Rights' as fight over AI power plants heats up

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who won a competitive primary Tuesday, has endorsed state and local moratoriums on data centers.

England begin post-Stokes era by recalling Lawrence, Cox and Pope for Pakistan series

• Jordan Cox handed No 3 position due to Bethell injury

• Root’s first assignment back as captain is at Headingley

Life after Ben Stokes begins with a reshuffle of England’s Test squad. Ollie Pope, Dan Lawrence and Sam Cook have all earned recalls for the start of the three-match series against Pakistan, while Jordan Cox also returns and will bat at No 3 after Jacob Bethell was ruled out of the series through injury.

Joe Root’s first assignment back as permanent Test captain gets underway at Headingley on 19 August and a 16-strong squad means plenty of options at his disposal. Without a genuine all-rounder post-Stokes, the big question will be whittling this number down to give Root a balanced XI.

‘Like if John Sayles directed Forrest Gump’: the incredible life of historian Howard Zinn

The life of the hugely influential ‘people’s historian’ is explored in a wide-ranging new book that brings in everything from wars to civil rights to Matt Damon

Matt Damon may play a great hero in The Odyssey, but one of the star’s own heroes is also set for his time in the spotlight. In Massachusetts in the 1970s and 80s, Damon grew up close to Howard Zinn, now the subject of The People’s Historian, a biography by Dave Zirin.

“Frankly,” Zirin said, “the fact that he’s Matt Damon and oh by the way is now in the biggest movie perhaps since Titanic, it makes it a nice little bauble for the book that I got to interview him.

‘It just means more’: Black college gymnasts competing in a divided South

Nyla Aquino’s rise at Georgia reveals the tensions facing Black athletes as the SEC thrives while DEI programs and voting rights come under attack

It’s a February Friday night at the University of Georgia, but Stegeman Coliseum is alive.

Situated in the center of the sprawling southern campus, the towering arena has hosted Georgia Bulldogs basketball, volleyball and gymnastics teams for over six decades. On 22 February 1964, Stegeman Coliseum hosted its first athletic event and, concurrently, its first win.

Restaurants, pubs and theatres ban Meta’s ‘spy glasses’ over privacy fears

Meta says safeguards are in place to prevent surreptitious filming, but some UK venues now prohibit them from being worn at all

When Meta used superstar Kylie Jenner to promote its sleek new line of “spy glasses”, the social media company hoped the devices would reach the same broad acceptance that tablets and smartwatches have found before them.

But those plans have hit a snag in the UK, where venues from elite restaurants to popular pub chains have banned the £359 glasses in order to preserve the privacy of customers and staff.

I knew Rod Liddle and hated what he became. He would have wanted me to say so | Zoe Williams

A man who prized blunt speaking has been selectively eulogised. There’s a balance between decency and honesty: I’m sad he caused such harm

As tributes poured in for Rod Liddle, the Sunday Times and Sun columnist who has died at the age of 66, they were markedly coy and sanitised. Paradoxically, those were the exact deficiencies obituaries praised Liddle for avoiding – they said he shot from the hip and ruffled feathers, remorselessly attacked the liberal establishment and was ebullient. Michael Gove called him “special and brave”. But brave in the face of what? Attacked the liberal establishment how?

This delicacy was particularly noticeable in a segment on Radio 4’s Today programme, of which Liddle was editor in the 90s, between Justin Webb and Amol Rajan. “If there was a golden thread that connected the person you saw back then with the person of a few weeks ago,” Webb said, “it was a distrust of authority.” But Liddle’s targets as a columnist were not the authorities. Often they were Muslims and immigrants, transgender people and chronic illness sufferers, African-Caribbean men from Harlesden. He did not attack the establishment, he attacked the marginalised, constantly.

Celebrity culture is one thing. For TMZ, Congress is the new 'reality show'

TMZ is trading Hollywood gossip for Capitol Hill scoops with a new D.C. bureau, launched in April. The online tabloid's two-man crew has brought an unconventional reporting style to the Congress beat.

Gianni Infantino gets internal support at crisis meeting to remain as FIFA president

FIFA said Wednesday it had apologized for errors made over Gianni Infantino's failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and that senior staff in attendance at a crisis meeting in Morocco "reaffirmed their full support" for his presidency.

Morning news brief

Iran says it's close to a deal with Oman over navigation on the Strait of Hormuz, a look at the challenges both candidates for Michigan's U.S. Senate seat will face, Trump touts U.S. economy in Vegas.

Football transfer rumours: Arsenal back for £60m Konsa? Asencio to Liverpool?

Today’s rumours are prising open their war chest

Aston Villa struggling to hold on to their World Cup stars has become something of a theme of this transfer window and off we go again with Arsenal stepping up their interest in Ezri Konsa. The Daily Mail reports that the Premier League champions, having had a bid for the England defender rebuffed last month, are coming back with a bigger offer for Konsa, who Villa value at £60m minimum. Meanwhile, Villa are trying to nail down a £14m deal for Atlético Madrid’s Italian left-back Matteo Ruggeri.

Liverpool are looking for defensive reinforcements and could swoop for the Real Madrid centre-back Raúl Asencio. The 23-year-0ld has been told he can leave the Bernabéu and various Mr 15%s have approached Liverpool about a move, reports Teamtalk. Also on Andoni Iraola’s radar is the teenage Paris Saint-Germain winger Ibrahim Mbaye. The 18-year-old, who scored a stunning goal for Senegal against France at the World Cup, is believed to be keen on a move to Anfield.

High-profile Indian investigative journalist convicted of raping colleague

Tarun Tejpal, ex-editor of Tehelka magazine, was initially acquitted in 2021 in case that drew nationwide attention

An Indian court has convicted a high-profile former editor of an investigative news magazine of raping a junior colleague, overturning his acquittal in a case that drew nationwide attention.

Tarun Tejpal, 63, the founder and former editor of Tehelka magazine, was accused of raping a journalist in the lift of a five-star hotel in the western coastal state of Goa during an event in November 2013. He was arrested and spent seven months in jail until the supreme court granted him bail.

Nadja review – Dracula’s daughter is divine in dreamy lo-fi modern vampire tale of predatory sexuality

Michael Almereyda’s 1994 horror romance is an indie gem – with a cameo from executive producer David Lynch as a morgue attendant

Here is an amazing midnight-movie adventure, in the shape of the 1994 Dracula’s daughter horror romance from indie film-maker Michael Almereyda. It’s a lo-fi indie gem shot partly in indistinct monochrome, featuring dreamlike transitions and looming closeups, like something from early cinema. It was bankrolled and executive-produced by David Lynch, who appears in a cameo role as the morgue attendant where the deceased count’s remains are temporarily residing.

The story is that Dracula has recently died (“He was like Elvis at the end, going through the motions ...”), and his unquiet spirit lives on in the form of his impossibly glamorous and aristocratic daughter, played with much hauteur and predatory sexuality by Romanian actor Elina Löwensohn. According to her, incidentally, the full family name is “Ceausescu-Dracula” (the script elsewhere alludes to the revolution of 1989) and I repeat here my plea that Romanian director Radu Jude makes a biopic of the late Romanian dictator. However, her ailing brother Edgar (Jared Harris) thinks it is “Ionescu-Dracula”. Did we mishear?

‘I want the world to know my sister’s name’: friends and families of 17 aid workers killed in 2006 Muttur massacre demand justice

Twenty years on, no one has been held accountable for the brutal killings of young Tamils working for a French NGO in Sri Lanka

By the time their colleagues were able to reach them, their bodies had been lying in the dirt for around two days and were starting to decompose in the heat. On 6 August 2006, 17 Sri Lankan workers for the international NGO Action Against Hunger were found dead in the organisation’s compound in Muttur, Sri Lanka. They had been lined up and shot.

Many were recent graduates, brought on board to help with the NGO’s increased workload in the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. All but one were Tamil. Four were women. Two were father and daughter.

Starbucks Korea raided by police after ‘Tank Day’ campaign sparks public outrage

Coffee chain has faced backlash over marketing promotion tied to anniversary of Gwangju massacre

South Korean police have raided the headquarters of Starbucks Korea as part of an investigation into a marketing campaign accused of trivialising the country’s 1980s pro-democracy movement.

Investigators searched the building in southern Seoul on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday. No further details were released, although South Korean media reported that officers also searched the homes of the Starbucks Korea executives.

Senate committee set to vote on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress

Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee want to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress after he refused to answer their questions about the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Metroid at 40: happy birthday to Samus Aran, gaming’s greatest badass and my personal heroine

Being a woman who loves video games has often felt lonely, like being on a hostile planet – but Metroid’s female space hunter has been with me all the way

It’s 1986, and you’re playing a brand-new game. (You’re in Japan in this scenario, by the way; the game in question, Metroid, won’t come to North America and Europe until later.) Anyway, this new game has you in its grip. You are a lone astronaut exploring a hostile alien planet full of ancient, mysterious structures. This astronaut looks human enough – but this distinctly alien place is full of objects that power up their spacesuit’s capabilities. Each new ability allows you to explore a new area, and as you do, you realise that the entirety of the planetary base you’re exploring is one, massive, interconnected maze. Whoa.

Hours later, you finally defeat Mother Brain and set off a timed self-destruct sequence. Upon your escape, you’re treated to an endgame screen: the little astronaut faces you as text on screen implores you to “pray for peace in space”.

‘We were ahead of our time!’: Charly Clive and Ellen Robertson AKA sketch duo Britney on their new TV fame and word-of-mouth hits

With TV shows Rooster and Vladimir under their belts, the sketch stars and best friends since school have withstood tumours, nerdy perfectionism and US success. So why are they so eager to get back to the fringe?

• Explore the rest of our Edinburgh festival 2026 coverage

There has always been a lot of overlap in the lives of Charly Clive and Ellen Robertson. After bonding on a school trip 20 years ago, the pair have spent the past decade performing sketch comedy together and were flatmates for almost as long.

Recently, though, the similarities have bordered on the spooky. In December 2024, Clive was told she had been cast as Steve Carell’s professor daughter in the HBO campus comedy Rooster. Soon after, Robertson found out she was also getting a new superstar parent: she’d be playing Rachel Weisz’s lawyer daughter in Netflix’s Vladimir, another smart, funny show set at a US university. Both series debuted in March to enthusiastic reviews and viewing figures in the millions.

Man carrying ammunition arrested near Trump National Golf Club before president's visit

Federal authorities arrested a man who appeared to be monitoring security-planning activities at Trump National Golf Club in LA County ahead of the president's Southern California visit.

Summer on the Baltic: a laidback coastal adventure in Lithuania

With great beaches, culture and nature, the resort town of Palanga and the wild Curonian Spit offer an affordable – and cooler – alternative to the Med

The water off Palanga’s sandy white beach is tinged pale green – the colour of the feathery clouds of Furcellaria lumbricalis that occasionally brush against my calves. Underfoot, the Baltic seabed is ridged, the sea so clear and shallow that every ripple is visible. The water deepens very gradually – making it ideal for families. I’m quite far from the coast, but still only thigh deep, the sea still cool as I duck beneath the surface.

Elsewhere in Europe, another heatwave has prompted health warnings and school closures. But here in Lithuania, children scamper on the sand and splash in the shallows as temperatures remain, if not cool, bearable. I’ve come to explore some of the Baltic beaches – here and on the Curonian Spit – which are fast gaining popularity as the Med heats up and prices in southern Europe remain stubbornly high.

How to Feed a Dictator review – what was on the menu for some of the world’s most evil men

Andrew Neel’s documentary contrasts the lavish dishes eaten by heads of repressive states – served by largely unrepentant staff – with the starvation faced by their citizens

There are moments in this sly documentary that evoke regular food porn, with crisply lit footage of vegetables being chopped and simmered, meat getting grilled, fat bubbling and browning – all the culinary sizzle is on display. Then there are climactic money shots, obligatory overhead views of the finished product, elegantly garnished, accompanied by text identifying the dish as, say, a Chilean country stew, or a whole roast goat, made precisely to suit the taste of a very specific client. It’s just that the clients these chefs served were despots, including Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, Augusto Pinochet and Kim Jong-il. Charles Otonde Odera once prepared a human heart “perfectly” for Amin, though at the time he thought better than to ask where the raw offal came from.

Director Andrew Neel and editor Brad Turner skilfully weave together interviews with the chefs, each one in denial to varying degrees about their culpability in the repressive state apparatuses for which they worked. Odera in some ways is the most clear-eyed and honest, with Cambodian Keo Samoun coming in a very distant second, claiming she was just a kid (still in her teens) when she was recruited to cook for Pol Pot. Mind you, Samoun still brings a tasty spread of foodstuffs to her former employer’s grave to nourish his spirit. Meanwhile, Chilean cook Coco Pacheco is completely unrepentant, proud to have done his bit to tickle the palate of the man responsible for the torture and murder of thousands of his fellow countryman. Ermanno Furlanis, on the other hand, still just looks a bit baffled how he ended up making pizza for Kim Jong-il while millions of North Koreans starved.

Samba queens to sound systems: the riotous streets of Notting Hill carnival – in pictures

Wayne Campbell and Wayne Crichlow have been photographing carnival for 15 years, capturing a blur of dancers, style icons and singalongs on the tube home

Drone with explosives found at German airport, official sees 'new quality' of threat

Regional police and prosecutors said an airport employee discovered a drone near the airport's south runway with "an unknown explosive device," and the object was examined by police

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for pasta with red peppers and anchovies or goat’s cheese

The skins may be pesky to peel away, but the result is this velvety and vibrant, flavourful pasta dish

There’s no two ways about it: charring and then peeling red, yellow or orange peppers is a messy business. Just out of the oven (if they haven’t burst while baking), roasted and blackened peppers are not unlike mini balloons; the hot juices, which have collected in the cavity, gushing out as the collapsed pepper is manoeuvred from the baking tray to the bowl. Once they have steamed under a plate, and cooled a little, the peppers might be easier to handle, but the thin scales of charred skin are still pesky to peel away, and however hard you try to flick them into the bin, they will stick to forearms and foreheads, as do the slippery white seeds. Having peeled peppers, it is not unusual to find a seed stuck to the back of my upper arm six hours later. Messy and annoying, but also worthwhile, because a strip of peeled pepper freed from its cellophane skin is a wonderful thing: fleshy with velvet texture and a deep, sweet, smoky flavour.

I was taught to char peppers on the stovetop by a friend’s Greek mum, balancing them on the gas ring directly over the naked flame and turning regularly. It is sometimes hard to get them to balance and they often wobble off, but if you use a barbecue regularly, that is another option, as is the oven, and apparently the air fryer, too. Whichever method you use, the aim is flesh that is almost completely or well-patched black, and cracked like bark – a bit shocking the first time, but rest assured that the more charred they are, the redder the flesh underneath.

Thursday news quiz: Feral paws, language laws and a public Ariana pause

Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare?

No Andy Burnham questions this week because – Shock! Horror! – a man with a family has taken a summer holiday with his family. But the Thursday quiz has done no such thing. Fifteen new questions await you on topical news, general knowledge and popular culture. There are no prizes, but you can boast about your score in the comments. Please do! Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 259

American witchhunt: how the McCarthy blacklist annihilated the Hollywood left

A retrospective at the Locarno film festival looks back at the era of Huac’s domination of US culture, uncovering some sobering lessons for now

In September 2025, Disney and ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel and his late-night talkshow would be taken off the air indefinitely, after a conservative backlash against the host’s comments about the murder of far-right influencer Charlie Kirk. President Donald Trump personally championed the decision, calling it “great news for America”. He further called for other programmes critical of his administration to be removed. Though Kimmel’s suspension was reversed within a week, many commentators viewed this concerning development not as a sudden escalation of crisis, but a continuation of Hollywood’s habitual acquiescence to authoritarian pressure.

In a guest essay for the New York Times, journalist and Trump biopic] The Apprentice screenwriter Gabriel Sherman explicitly linked Kimmel’s cancellation to the Hollywood blacklist of the 1940s and 1950s, during which hundreds of film workers were accused of communist sympathies and unpatriotic subversion, barred from practising their craft, some forced into exile. “Each time, studios claimed they had no choice,” writes Sherman. “Each time, they did – and they made it.”

‘Spectral lines’ and a giant plume: what science saw when the SpaceX rocket hit the moon

Sodium and lithium gas was detected in a plume thought to span tens of kilometres, created when part of a SpaceX rocket crashed into the lunar surface

A telescope in Chile has captured evidence of the impact caused by part of a SpaceX rocket slamming into the moon while travelling at 8,690km/h (5,400mph).

The European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope observed “spectral lines” – a colourful illustration of the sodium and lithium gas – in the plume of lunar dust stirred up by the impact.

‘I’m not spying’: how Meta’s smartglasses have divided opinion

While some users say the wearables have changed their lives, critics voice fears over safety and privacy

With more than 7m pairs reportedly sold in 2025, Meta’s Ray-Ban smartglasses are fast becoming one of the world’s most popular gadgets.

While supporters say they are transforming photography and accessibility, critics have raised concerns about nonconsensual filming, privacy and data collection.

‘They slammed their M16s against his skull’: inside the film about Amy Goodman’s fearless reporting

As Steal This Story, Please! charts her astonishing reports on everything from climate summits to earthquakes to massacres, Goodman talks about dissent, censorship – and her ‘magic moments’

‘I consider an exclusive a failure,” Amy Goodman says. It is not a typical observation for a journalist to make, but it is the approach at the heart of a documentary about her career, Steal This Story, Please! If an article, item, narrative or interview is significant enough “it should be shared around the world,” she insists.

This time, however, her goal is not to share a particular news story, but rather an entire professional philosophy. To do so, Goodman had to let “two Oscar-nominated stalkers into my life” in an effort to “spread the word about this critical form of independent journalism” that she has practised over four decades.

Meta says its AI model breached a third-party company during testing

Tech giant Meta revealed Wednesday that one of its artificial intelligence models hacked another organization during testing, the third time in recent weeks that an AI model has improperly accessed a third-party company.

Perez Hilton hospitalized after livestreaming acts of self-harm, officials say

In the livestream, which has since been taken down, Hilton appears to be bloodied and in a distressed mental state.

FDA approves Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine after initial pushback

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new seasonal flu vaccine from Moderna that uses mRNA technology, the drugmaker announced.

Nato to ‘urgently’ get air defences for Ukraine, as Zelenskyy warns of surge in Russian missile production

After Ukraine failed to shoot down a single ballistic missile fired by Russia on Wednesday, the president urged allies to increase supplies of Patriot interceptors

Nato is working to get Ukraine the air defences it “urgently needs”, its secretary general has said, after Kyiv failed to shoot down a single Russian missile in an attack on Wednesday, and as Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Moscow was seeking to significantly boost missile ⁠production ahead of winter.

Speaking at a National Security and Defense Council meeting on winter resilience, the Ukrainian president did not rule out the idea that stalling missile supplies from western allies were “aimed at making Ukraine, so to speak, more willing to compromise” in peace talks with Russia.

Most detailed images taken of sun's surface revealed

Researchers were able to peek at the sun's scorching surface with the help of the National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope​, located on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

Plushies, Labubu dolls and Pokémon collectibles: claw machine craze sweeps Hong Kong

Claw machine shops have proliferated in the territory in recent years, filling vacant spaces left behind by businesses that closed during the pandemic

In Hong Kong’s neon-lit arcades, a maze of claw machines illuminates the prizes of the day: plushies, Labubu dolls and an array of Pokémon collectibles.

Across the city, claw machine shops have proliferated in recent years, now surpassing more than 2,500, many filling vacant spaces left by businesses that closed during the pandemic.

Qdoba removes jalapeños as salmonella outbreak spreads to 27 states

At least 345 people — the majority in Colorado and Minnesota — have been sickened by a salmonella outbreak, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More rescued beluga whales arrive in Texas as relocation effort continues

SeaWorld San Antonio welcomed seven more beluga whales on Tuesday, the latest development in the international effort to relocate dozens of the mammals from shuttered Canadian theme park Marineland.

Cyclospora outbreak tied to lettuce now linked to 15 states, CDC says

Cyclospora cases have been reported in at least 47 states total this year, and investigators have continued to probe how many could be linked to a common contaminated source.

Company's safety record raises questions after massive L.A. warehouse fire

The massive food warehouse fire in Los Angeles in June followed a long run of fires at properties tied to one of the world's largest cold storage companies, a CBS News investigation has found.

At least 12 states report cyberattacks on water systems possibly linked to Iran

Cyberattacks on U.S. water systems that officials suspect may be linked to Iran-backed hackers have been reported in at least a dozen states, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

Etsy laying off 12% of staff in bid to streamline business, position for growth

Etsy announced the layoffs along with second-quarter earnings.

SpaceX rocket booster slams into moon, creating crater that could be 16 feet deep

The impact wasn't visible to the naked eye, but photos are expected to come from a lunar satellite at a later time.

As Warsh and the Fed contemplate fewer meetings, markets brace for potential volatility ahead

Since taking office in May, Warsh has implemented several measures that reverse decades of Fed culture.

Fifa insists Gianni Infantino will remain president after Rabat crisis meeting

• Statement reveals Infantino wrote apologies to members

• Infantino sorry for failing to consult on World Cup sell-off

Fifa on Wednesday night confirmed that Gianni Infantino will remain as president after a meeting of its senior executives in Rabat.

In a statement which also revealed that Infantino has sent written apologies to the Fifa council and the 211 member associations for failing to consult them over the World Cup sell-off, the world governing body said that he retains the full support of his leadership team.

As FDA approves marketing for nicotine pouches, some doctors sound alarms

One health advocate called nicotine pouches a "profound risk" for young people.

FAA probing Marine One safety incident around National Airport

When the helicopter that transports President Trump crosses the Potomac, Reagan Washington National Airport is required to impose a ground stop on air traffic.

SpaceX ramps up Tesla Megapack purchases in Q2 to power its AI data centers

SpaceX is using Tesla's big Megapack backup batteries to help power its Colossus AI data centers in Greater Memphis.

Top Democrats set aside qualms and embrace progressive Abdul El-Sayed

Democrats ‘united by a common purpose: putting a check on Trump’, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand say

• Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate primary

• What we learned from midterm primary elections

Leading Democrats quickly papered over whatever qualms they had about progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed after his win in the Michigan Senate primary was confirmed on Wednesday, instead welcoming the former public health official as their champion against the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers.

The state is now key to Democrats’s hopes of retaking control of the chamber in November’s midterm elections. Winning in Michigan would put them on the path to snarling Donald Trump’s legislative agenda and blocking his judicial nominees for the final two years of his presidency, while defeat could undermine their prospects of gaining a majority in the chamber for years to come. Rogers lost a Senate race in Michigan two years ago by a slim margin to Democrat Elissa Slotkin.

Meta debuts first AI coding agent to take on Anthropic and OpenAI

Meta released its first coding agent called Muse Code as the company ramps up its investments in AI models and services to try and take on Anthropic and OpenAI.

8/5: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Abdul El-Sayed wins primary in Michigan; Trump again teases deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz.

Marc Benioff gets a new operating chief, as Salesforce promotes Miguel Milano

Salesforce promoted revenue head and former Oracle executive Miguel Milano to role of operating chief.

Ousted Bangladeshi leader vows to return from exile despite facing a death sentence

Hasina's speech marked the second anniversary of her ouster. She fled Bangladesh by helicopter following nearly two months of protests in 2024 that left nearly 1,400 people dead, according to the United Nations.

Fed Governor Cook says she's 'prepared to act' on rate hike to address inflation

Cook was part of a 9-3 majority that voted last week to keep the central bank's benchmark borrowing rate in a range between 3.5%-3.75%.

Small Texas law firm set to receive $150M to represent unaccompanied migrant children

The firm, Houston-based Burke Law Group has only two attorneys who specialize in immigration and asylum cases. Two of its founders have ties to the Trump administration.

Uber stock sinks 5% after weak guidance despite revenue growth

Uber's earnings were in line with estimates, but the company's guidance for the third quarter trailed expectations.

Lucid begins 'operational reset' as CEO says EV maker will delay midsize vehicle

The company didn't provide updated guidance. New CEO Silvio Napoli earlier this year suspended production expectations.

‘Disturbing’: TikTok faces criticism after Perez Hilton livestreams self-harm

Many online questioned how long the blogger’s broadcast remained up on the app and shared mental health resources

Social media users have criticized TikTok after the celebrity blogger Perez Hilton livestreamed himself self-harming on the platform, prompting many to question how long the broadcast remained live and others to share mental health resources and encourage those in need to seek help.

On Tuesday night, Hilton, 48, livestreamed himself engaging in self-harm as viewers pleaded for him to stop. Shortly after, local authorities responded to his home in Miami, Florida, where he was transported to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

Some Gen Zers swap smartphones for "dumb" phones in a bid to unplug

"It really opens up your mind," said one 23-year-old who ditched smartphones to wean herself off social media.

Study finds three midlife health factors that could delay dementia for 13 years

Research suggests addressing risk factors for poor cardiovascular health between the ages of 45 and 65 could help reduce risk of cognitive decline

Scientists claim to have identified three health measures in middle age that can ward off dementia for more than a decade.

Having normal blood pressure, no type 2 diabetes, and not smoking between the ages of 45 and 65 were associated with almost 13 additional years, on average, of dementia-free life, a study shows.

Dr. Erica Schwartz confirmed as CDC director, filling a leadership vacuum

Schwartz takes command of a public health agency that has lost thousands of employees, amid layoffs, resignations and leadership turmoil.

Senate confirms Dr. Erica Schwartz as CDC director

The Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz in a 51 to 44 vote.

Trump admin refunds $100 billion in 'liberation day' tariffs

The Trump administration has taken steps to effectively re-create the IEEPA tariff regime using other legal authorities. They already face court challenges.

‘Fifa Super League’: Infantino discussed having governing body’s name on European breakaway

• Document shows Fifa staff were involved in project

• Fifa was prepared to sideline member associations

Gianni Infantino held talks about rebranding the ill-fated European breakaway competition the “Fifa Super League”, with negotiations going as far as the term sheet for an agreement that would have changed the face of European football.

The term sheet, whose full contents can be revealed for the first time, is dated October 2020 and proposes renaming any new competition under Fifa’s branding. It outlines the extent to which Infantino’s administration were implicated in a scheme that caused widespread revulsion among fans and excluded clubs in April 2021. It also reveals that Fifa was prepared to sideline its member associations in pushing plans to cut back the number of international windows and outlines how global football’s governing body would have been given special governance and political rights with a “golden share”.

Real Madrid agree club-record £115m deal for Yan Diomande and want to keep Vinícius

• Forward becomes most expensive African player

• Club are in positive talks with Vinícius Júnior

Real Madrid have agreed a club-record fee of €135m (£115.7m) with RB Leipzig for Yan Diomande and are confident of warding off Arsenal’s interest in Vinícius Júnior after offering an improved contract to the Brazil forward.

After several weeks of negotiations that saw Paris Saint-Germain pull out of the race, the deal for Diomande – the 19-year-old who joined the German side from Leganés last summer and starred for Côte d’Ivoire at the World Cup – was finally struck on Wednesday afternoon. It is understood that Madrid will pay an initial €125m plus another €10m in add-ons, a total that would eclipse the fee the Spanish side paid Borussia Dortmund to sign Jude Bellingham in 2023, believed to have been worth up to €134m including add-ons.

8/4: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Five states held primary elections Tuesday, including a key Democratic Senate race between Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens.

Google's AI reshuffle: Chief scientist Jeff Dean exits and Demis Hassabis steps down as DeepMind CEO

Google's AI divisions are getting reshuffled, the search giant announced on Wednesday.

Microsoft AI exec tells developers to default to OpenAI's top model as part of efficiency push

Microsoft is taking advantage of its intellectual property rights with OpenAI, encouraging employees to use the company's top model.

Kids Online Safety Act social media safety bill advances in Senate

The Kids Online Safety Act, a measure aimed at protecting children on social media, advanced to the Senate floor after it stalled in the last Congress.

Mohamed Salah’s story of success and sacrifice: ‘Chasing a dream I had to reach’

In this exclusive book extract, Melissa Reddy documents the Egyptian King’s sacrifice and dedication to make his vision a reality

The entrance to Al Mokawloon Al Arab’s youth sector feels imposing. At first it is confusing to pinpoint the reason. Is it the facade; a mesh of thick concrete slabs, a marble-like trim that alters in colour depending on the light, and the no-nonsense black steel gate? Perhaps it is the stately signage of white block letters in Arabic juxtaposed against the dark background, with satellite pieces of information and announcements signifying importance. But to stop and pay attention to buildings around Nasr City in eastern Cairo is to notice that the blend of functional and decorative elements of the entrance, down to even the font and array of notices, is not unique.

The building’s aura can be explained by the main image above its gates, and the knowledge that to walk through them is to follow the footsteps a history-maker took from the age of 14. Mohamed Salah’s face has pride of place above the gates; it is a reminder of where he’s been, but more pertinently, of why it is important to marry talent with discipline and determination. The truth is he has achieved the impossible.

Trump's deportation agenda raised prices, contracted local economies, immigration group says

A report released Wednesday by the immigration advocacy group America's Voice argues President Trump's immigration policies are hurting the economy.

How Trump made an estimated $2.2 billion during the first year of his second term

New York Times reporter Eric Lipton discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning investigations into Trump's conflicts of interest and whether he's exploiting the power of the presidency for self-enrichment.

The Guardian view on French cinema’s De Gaulle moment: present anxieties inform a new focus on the past | Editorial

A wave of films dealing with the second world war is captivating a nation facing major contemporary challenges

For weeks now, anglophone cinephiles have been focusing their attention on the virtues and vices of Christopher Nolan’s $250m adaptation of The Odyssey. Across the Channel, however, Homer’s epic tale of a flawed Greek hero has been facing stiff domestic competition. A two-part biopic of General Charles de Gaulle, concentrating on his struggles to liberate France during the second world war, has been the word-of-mouth box office hit of the French summer.

It may be that five hours’ worth of De Gaulle attracted some punters seeking air-conditioned sanctuary from the heatwaves. But there have been rave reviews both from critics and audiences, and a notable upsurge of interest among the young. The success of the films has already had a cultural knock-on effect, boosting the number of visitors, for example, to the Museum of the Liberation of Paris.

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Suspect in Washington state wildfire was questioned about blazes last year

Aaron Farinacci is accused of starting the Old Trails fire that has destroyed homes and forced thousands to flee

The Washington state man accused of starting a wildfire that has destroyed homes and forced thousands to flee around Spokane was previously questioned in connection with two fire investigations last year, according to court documents.

Authorities allege that Aaron Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, started Old Trails fire, one of three major wildfires burning in Spokane county in north-eastern Washington. He was arrested on Monday and booked on suspicion of first-degree arson.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

Salad and Go files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after cyclospora fears worsened its challenges

The upstart salad chain aimed to take on Sweetgreen and expanded rapidly under the ownership of Volt Investment.

Why SpaceX stock is falling despite strong revenue growth

Investors are focused on whether SpaceX will be able to deliver on its ambitious artificial intelligence agenda.

Amazon's Zoox to launch paid robotaxi service in Las Vegas on Aug. 10

It's the company's first commercial market after Zoox started offering free rides to the public in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco less than a year ago.

Nicola Jennings on Donald Trump’s complaints about oil companies – cartoon

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