Australia v Bangladesh: first men’s Test, day two – live

• Updates as the Test at Marrara Cricket Ground continues

• Any thoughts? Email Jonathan

28th over: Bangladesh 108-1 (Tanzid 37, Mominul 42) Cummins adjusts his approach to around the wicket to Mominul but is fortunate a half-volley is driven straight to the alert Labuschagne in the covers. The first attempted lifter of the day gets up high enough to clip the batter’s bottom hand., but it was slow and loopy bounce, consistent with what we’ve seen all Test so far.

There is little sideways movement on offer for Australia, and the tennis ball bounce means the window of a good length is very short. AKA: a Scott Boland pitch.

Nigel Farage says he won’t attend count in Clacton byelection against Count Binface - UK politics live

The Reform UK leader will not be present at vote count in byelection he has tried to frame as the ‘people versus the establishment’

• Nigel Farage set for decisive but arguably empty victory in Clacton

Nigel Farage earlier declared a “resounding victory” in the byelection although votes were still being counted and no official result had been declared.

“The verdict is in and it is a convincing and overwhelming win,” he claimed to supporters at the Reform UK event in Essex broadcast on social media.

‘Unprecedented’ rain kills four in Japan as thousands stranded at airport

Evacuation orders issued for 400,000 as torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture as flooding risks remain high despite rainfall easing

At least four people died in eastern Japan after “unprecedented” heavy rain that left nearly 7,000 stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport, and forced thousands to take refuge in government buildings.

The torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Thursday night, triggering landslide warnings and power outages. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people in Chiba and other areas, and about 45,000 homes lost power, as 115mm of rain fell hourly, approximately the same amount usually recorded for the whole month of August.

‘It was lonely being a young queer artist’: Sam Smith on finding health, happiness – and their hazel-eyed fiance

On their new album, Smith is subverting their singer-songwriter roots to tell a queer love story. They talk about their shifting fanbase, the nasty undercurrents of fame – and finding sanctuary in New York City

Sam Smith logs on to our video call with the username “Lily of the Valley”, the May-born singer’s birth flower. It sets a serene tone. They’re in Guadalajara, Mexico, for the latest stop of a residency tour, titled To Be Free, in support of their fifth studio album. Instead of Smith’s usual jet-lagged arena itinerary, this lower-key excursion stops at smaller venues in only six cities and sheds the ostentatious theatricality of their last outing.

On stage on their last tour, “I was flailing around on a massive gold bum and had, like, seven costume changes,” Smith says with a chuckle. It’s intimacy they’re after now, the ability to satisfy their “craving to look at people again”, which matches the romantic feeling of their fifth album, Hazel Eyes. But for Smith, whose genre-shifting stardom has been accompanied by harsh controversies, it’s also a chance to observe who’s still in their corner: “There’s some wonderful people that have stayed, but it’s a completely different room than it was with In the Lonely Hour,” their 2014 debut.

Experience: I found my long-lost twin aged 49

The joy, disbelief and shock of discovering I had a brother the same age as me came with a million questions. How were we separated and why?

In 1975, my parents saw an advert in their local Australian newspaper. With the Vietnam war coming to an end, thousands of orphaned children were being evacuated. As part of the American-led Operation Babylift, the Australian government was looking for families who would adopt them. My parents decided to do it.

I arrived in Adelaide in April in a shoebox. I was so tiny that my umbilical cord was still attached. My parents knew that the document they were given, with a January birthday and the name Le Thi Ha, couldn’t be mine. But with the chaos of the evacuation there was no way to find out more.

Indonesia wildfires threaten orangutans rescued from animal traffickers

Blaze fuelled by hot, dry and windy conditions comes within metres of West Kalimantan rehabilitation centre

Orangutans rescued from wildlife traffickers face a new threat from the record number of fires that have broken out in Indonesia in recent weeks.

Flames have come within metres of an animal rehabilitation centre in West Kalimantan as hot, dry and windy conditions have been amplified by a powerful El Niño and the human-driven climate crisis.

Luigi Mangione in discussions about possible guilty plea, sources say

Luigi Mangione, accused in the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is in discussions about a possible plea deal on federal charges, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

‘Tiktok wouldn’t open at all’: Taiwan simulates an internet blackout, with an eye on China threat

Taiwan practiced cutting off internet for the first time on Thursday, amid concerns about the safety of the undersea cables that form its ‘digital lifeline’

In Taipei, the streets swiftly empty as air raid sirens ring out and alerts ping on mobile phones. Police officers usher any stragglers into shelters, leaving the capital suddenly deserted.

In cities across Taiwan, these kinds of drills are a fact of life every year, amid the growing threat posed by China across the strait, but this time there is something different.

Tropical storm forms near Hawaii, hurricane warning issued for the Big Island

Tropical Storm Lala could bring rain, high winds and dangerous surf and rip currents to the Hawaiian Islands this weekend.

Feds probe 'mention markets' amid White House Kalshi controversy

Betting on what people say is becoming an increasingly popular category of prediction market sites. Now, federal officials have opened a probe examining whether those markets are a magnet for manipulators.

My friend’s negative self-talk is straining our relationship. What can I do? | Leading questions

Self-doubt doesn’t respond to evidence, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Rather than disputing it, perhaps you could engage in a different way

• Read more Leading questions

A close friend of mine is suffering with crippling self-doubt and it’s starting to take a strain on our relationship. We’ve been friends for eight years. She is such a bright, bubbly and charismatic person who has an infectious ability to make people laugh and feel welcome; but she also has a really low opinion of herself and, as her friend, I am the one who always gets the brunt of her negative self-talk. After every social event she will message me to ask if I think she has annoyed someone, or that she spoke too much, or that she embarrassed herself. In private conversations she is constantly putting herself down, calling herself fat, apologising for nothing and generally claiming she’s not good enough.

I love her and constantly reassure her that her thoughts have no grounding but, after years of this, I am tired. I’m starting to enjoy our time together less and less, as I never know what mood she will be in or what she will say about herself. I would hate to hear anyone else speak about her in the way she does. I especially hate it when she says these things about herself.

Floodwaters submerge Midwest neighborhoods bracing for more severe storms

Muddy floodwaters seeped into the homes of Indiana and Ohio residents this week, as severe storms struck the Midwest. Now, some areas are bracing for even more rain.

Romania shuts its last nuclear reactor as drought-hit Danube river drops to record low

Cernavoda shutdown poses immediate problems for Moldova, which relies on Romanian power ​to cover its own electricity shortages

Romania has been forced to shut down the last working ⁠reactor at its only nuclear plant after drought caused the Danube river to fall to record lows – a rare move that will immediately affect power supplies in neighbouring Moldova.

Drought and record-low water levels have deepened fears of an energy crisis across Europe, which is facing a new summer heatwave.

3 executions carried out in a single day, first time since 2010

Tennessee and Oklahoma executed inmates within 30 minutes of each other on Thursday, followed by Alabama later in the day.

Evidence of bird strike after man nearly sucked out of plane window, NTSB says

A bird strike may have been the cause of an incident in which a passenger was nearly sucked out of a broken window aboard a Ryanair flight in Europe last month, the NTSB found.

Flock CEO responds to abuses of its surveillance technology

The CEO of Flock Safety apologized for alleged abuses of its service by law enforcement officers as the company rolled out new changes to how it operates.

‘So much more respect for myself’: NZ ultrarunner Sophie Woods on smashing a 2,000km alpine run record

Sophie Woods speaks about the challenges she overcame while completing the notorious Via Alpina across eight European countries

A couple of weeks into her record-breaking 2,000km run through Europe’s alps, Sophie Woods feared she might die. Woods and her photographer had just scaled a peak in Switzerland, when a severe thunderstorm engulfed them.

“The lightning was going off around us ... there was nowhere to shelter in place [and] all the rocks around us were conductive,” Woods tells the Guardian, from her home in Andorra, nearly two weeks after she became the fastest person ever to run the Via Alpina, a 2,000km network of alpine trails through eight countries.

Years ago, she received a liver from an organ donor, now she's engaged to the donor's brother

23 years ago, Noah Waters' older brother Michael died in an accident, but that tragedy is also what saved the life of Brooklyn Dotson. When she was 18 months old, she received a liver transplant, and the two families stayed connected. Now, Noah and Brooklyn are engaged. Tony Dokoupil has the story.

Some schools go back to the basics, limiting screens in the classroom

Amid a wider backlash against screen time, a growing number of states have moved to limit or at least reevaluate their reliance on in-school technology. Nicole Valdes has more on a Tennessee school trying to cut back on screen reliance.

Sailor went overboard USS Abraham Lincoln earlier this month raising mental health concerns

A sailor went overboard off the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier earlier this month, but was quickly rescued. Sources say the incident is under investigation as family members fear that its long deployment is worsening mental health issues. Charlie D'Agata reports.

Kennedy Center board votes to restore Trump's name on building

The Kennedy Center's board of trustees voted to add President Trump's name to the facade of the performing arts center, more than two months after a judge ordered its removal, according to a Democrat who sits on the center's board.

Mostly-Trump-appointed board votes to restore his name on the Kennedy Center

President Trump's name may once again appear on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It came down this summer after a federal judge said only Congress could order a name change, but the president's allies apparently have a new plan. Ed O'Keefe reports.

Lindsay Clancy's private texts, internet searches, notes read aloud in court

Lindsay Clancy appeared more composed in court on Thursday as the jury heard about her internet searches and private text messages. Shanelle Kaul has more details.

NTSB reveals why a Ryanair window may have smashed open mid-flight

Last month, a Ryanair window smashed open mid-flight, causing a passenger's head to be pulled through the opening before other passengers yanked him back in. Kris Van Cleave has new details about why this happened.

Luigi Mangione may be preparing to take plea deal, sources say

Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, may be preparing to accept a plea agreement, avoiding a federal trial and possibly life in prison, sources say. Tom Hanson reports.

Dozens need rescuing in Indiana as streets turn to rivers amid flooding emergency

Another round of dangerous storms brought heavy rain over part of the U.S., already beyond its limits. The Midwest was hit again with the worst of it, with the brunt falling on Indiana on Thursday. Ian Lee reports and Lonnie Quinn has the forecast.

CPS director apologises for failings in case of rapist-murderer Simon Levy

Stephen Parkinson says court should have been told that sex offender was being investigated for even more serious offences

The director of the Crown Prosecution Service has apologised and vowed to increase staff numbers after conceding that the court deciding whether to release Simon Levy on bail should have known the serial sex offender was being investigated for rape and murder.

Levy, 40, was this week given a rare whole-life sentence for the murders of Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Wilkins, and the rape of another woman.

Reddit stock jumps on inclusion in S&P 500

Reddit shares jumped on the company's inclusion in the S&P 500.

Premier League 2026-27 preview No 9: Everton

Modest but sensible-looking recruitment befits the club’s new air of stability but a continuation of their spring slump could test David Moyes’s appetite for the fight

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 10th (NB: this is not necessarily Andy Hunter’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 13th

Tupac Shakur: jury selected in trial of ex-gang boss accused of ordering killing

Duane Davis was charged with murder, and described as the ‘shot caller’ who orchestrated rapper’s killing in 1996

A jury of six men and 10 women was selected Thursday to hear the case against an ex-gang leader accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur’s killing nearly 30 years ago in one of hip-hop’s most pivotal moments.

Opening statements at the murder trial in Las Vegas are expected to begin on Monday.

8/13: CBS Evening News

Over 36 million under threat of severe storms; Possible plea deal in Luigi Mangione trial.

The Schoolgirl Terrorist? review – by the end of this documentary you feel like you have sat through a nightmare

A vulnerable girl took her life at 16 having faced terror charges and online grooming by neo-fascists. The catalogue of failures by British authorities is utterly enraging

The Schoolgirl Terrorist? contains its answer within its very question. Titles are designed to catch your attention. Normally they contain the baldest, most extreme possible summary suggestion of what you are about to see that the makers think they can get away with. A question mark introduces the idea of interrogation, of nuance, of doubt from the off – all things commissioners believe will put people off.

The exception is when the subject is so clearly an abominable, Kafkaesque tale of mismanagement and incompetence visited upon ordinary people. To pretend otherwise even for a titular moment would be to undermine your programme’s integrity from the start.

AI is driving up consumer prices. That won't stop anytime soon.

Surging AI investment is pushing up the cost of smartphones and other gadgets, according to analysts. Here's why.

Jury selected for Tupac Shakur murder trial, opening statements expected Monday

A jury of six men and 10 women was selected to hear the case against an ex-gang leader accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur's killing​ nearly 30 years ago.

Hit hard by the earthquake in western Colombia, the mayor of Cali gets to work

Search efforts continue though hopes are fading as teams dig for survivors from the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 250 people.

Massachusetts teen accused of killing mother and brother used ChatGPT

District attorney says Arjun Aravind, 17, used internet and AI to search for fantasy stories regarding killing of his family

A Massachusetts teenager accused of killing his mother and younger brother is being held without bail as authorities investigate a double-murder case that prosecutors say is connected to his use of ChatGPT.

Arjun Aravind, 17, appeared Thursday morning for his arraignment in Concord district court, where a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf to murder and several additional charges.

Mamdani's NYC pied-à-terre tax can continue rollout during court appeal

The tax championed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump, who said it must be stopped and vowed to explore federal options.

Rangers crash out of Europa League as Derek McInnes’s winless start goes on

• Rangers 1-1 Jagiellonia Bialystok (2-3 agg)

• Spirited Hearts hold Benfica but also out of competition

Derek McInnes’s fledgling tenure as Rangers manager is in disarray after his side exited the Europa League qualifiers with a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok after drawing 1-1 at Ibrox.

Rangers had lost 2-1 in the first leg in Poland last week but there was optimism when the captain, Lawrence Shankland, levelled the tie on aggregate with a penalty on 19 minutes.

Apple's Tim Cook joined by Howard Lutnick in opening Houston manufacturing plant

As Tim Cook gets set to step down as Apple CEO, he's offering a glimpse into what he may be doing as chairman.

Quicksilver Amy Hunt flies to glorious golden double with 200m triumph

• Hunt had won 100m already; Asher-Smith wins bronze

• Mark English wins 800m for Ireland’s first men’s gold

Amid the adrenalised delirium of her second European title in three days, Amy Hunt walked to the nearest TV camera, held up her hands and, in homage to Russell Crowe’s character in Gladiator screamed: “Are you not entertained?”

It quickly transpired that the 24-year-old Cambridge graduate had been quite the warrior off the track too. Because, as she revealed after collecting a 200m gold medal to go alongside Monday’s 100m title, she has been nearly fainting this year when running over the longer distance.

UConn women's coach Geno Auriemma says WNBA should shift focus away from transgender debate

Geno Auriemma said the WNBA should steer attention away from the transgender athlete debate and focus more on basketball.

This week on "Sunday Morning" (Aug. 16)

A look at the features for this week's broadcast of the Emmy-winning program, hosted by Jane Pauley.

Kennedy Center board votes to put Trump name on facade despite court order

President Donald Trump's name was removed from the Washington, D.C., performing arts center in June as the result of a lawsuit by an Ohio congresswoman.

8/13: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Concerns rise about conditions on USS Lincoln; U.S. and Iran both claim control of Strait of Hormuz.

Cisco shares slide 8% despite earnings beat and stronger-than-expected guidance

Cisco is showing booming demand for AI infrastructure, but its results weren't good enough to satisfy investors.

Pete Hegseth dismisses reports of deteriorating conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln

Defense secretary said conditions on aircraft carrier deployed in support of Iran war have been ‘completely misrepresented’

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, insisted a wave of reports describing deteriorating conditions and mental health struggles onboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln “completely misrepresented” the situation, pushing back against growing congressional pressure over the ship’s record-breaking, nearly nine-month deployment.

“We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” Hegseth told reporters during a visit to Panama, adding that “some deployments are longer than others” and praising sailors enduring “high seas” and “austere conditions with less port calls”.

Trade court upholds Trump's closure of 'de minimis' loophole

President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post celebrated the continued closure of the deminimis exemption as a "BIG WIN."

Jack Draper ‘in difficult place’ after defeat by Martín Landaluce at Cincinnati Open

• Former world No 4 slumps to 6-3, 7-5 first-round loss

• Draper still recovering from long-term arm injury

The minuscule amount of confidence and self-belief Jack Draper currently has to call upon in the most difficult period of his career was underscored in the first game of his opening match in Cincinnati. Draper began his service game by shanking a forehand into the back fence, which he followed up with two double faults. He immediately fell down a break and never recovered.

A few fleeting positive moments followed, but this miserable start set the tone for another excruciating day for the former world No 4 as he could not escape the mental fatigue borne out of battling serious injury for 15 months and counting. Draper fell 6-3, 7-5 to Martín Landaluce, the world No 64.

Russian plot to kill Ukrainian American thwarted in Warsaw, says Polish PM

Donald Tusk says it is first time ‘someone on the order of Russia’ has sought to attack US citizen in Nato country

A Russian plan to kill a Ukrainian American citizen in Warsaw was thwarted by Poland before it could be carried out, the Polish prime minister has said.

Donald Tusk said it was the first time that “someone on the order of Russia” had sought to attack a US citizen on the territory of another Nato country.

Record-breaking heat takes mounting toll on the U.S. economy

Heat waves are dealing a financial blow to businesses and creating hazardous conditions for workers, according to climate experts.

Donald Trump empowers US private companies to conduct cyber-attacks

President signed memorandum giving private sector a role in fighting ‘transnational criminal organizations’

Donald Trump signed a memo on Wednesday that aims to give private companies the power to carry out offensive cyber-attacks against foreign criminal entities.

The president ⁠signed a ​national security presidential memorandum directing his administration to “leverage the capability and innovation of the private sector to help conduct these ⁠cyber operations under the direction, control and authority of the US government”, the White House said.

Baby in surrogate dispute now in custody of parents, lawyer says

The baby at the center of a surrogacy dispute was born in Texas Wednesday and has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare heart defect.

Kennedy Center Board votes again to shut main building down — and add Trump's name back

The board voted to close the Washington, D.C., arts complex's main campus for a $250 million renovation — three months after a federal judge temporarily blocked a similar closure.

Israeli troops force families from homes amid settler terror campaign in West Bank

Former PM of Israel calls events ‘concerted and meticulous attempt at ethnic cleansing’ against Palestinians

Israeli troops have forced two Palestinian families to leave their besieged West Bank homes, the day after a top Israeli commander personally promised he would end a violent settler campaign to drive them out.

Israeli soldiers also took over eight other homes in Qusra early on Thursday, telling the village’s mayor, Abdul Azim Wadi, that the buildings were needed for a days-long operation to remove the settlers. They later relinquished six. Settlers still roam the village.

Top Forbes editor reportedly fired after receiving $6m from business associate

Randall Lane left his job last month after accepting money from founder of firm that does business with magazine

The top editor of Forbes left his job last month and was reportedly dismissed for accepting $6m from the founder of a firm that does business with the magazine.

The New York Times reported this week that Randall Lane was paid by RJ Shook, whose company, Shook Research, worked with Forbes since 2016 to publish rankings of wealth advisers. The payment was made after Shook sold a majority stake in the company to a private equity firm a year ago.

What is the MMR vaccine and how does Trump’s executive order affect parents and children?

President’s order calls for several changes to childhood vaccinations – and experts say it’ll lead to confusion

On Monday, Donald Trump signed an executive order pushing for revisions to how children in the US are vaccinated.

The executive order calls for several changes. These include fewer vaccinations overall and a recommendation that the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine be replaced with separate shots for each disease administered during separate medical visits. The latter direction is currently impossible to implement because no stand-alone shots for these diseases are licensed in the US.

Can taking weight-loss drugs help you get hired? Yes, if you're a woman.

Going on GLP-1 drugs significantly boosted unemployed women's chances of finding a job, according to a Harvard economist.

Surrogate gives birth to baby at center of multistate legal battle

Surrogate McKenna West declined to get an abortion requested by the intended parents after the baby she was carrying was diagnosed with a severe but treatable heart defect.

The Guardian view on solar eclipses: moments of wonder that bring us together | Editorial

Wednesday’s eerie spectacle united crowds beneath the sky, continuing a human fascination that stretches from ancient myth to modern physics

“I’d describe it as a magical eeriness.” Lisa Redfern’s description to the Guardian conveys the combination of beauty and wrongness that accompanied Wednesday’s partial solar eclipse in Britain. Crowds across the country assembled as the sun’s power seemed to wane, twilight changed tone abruptly, the temperature fell and the familiar landscape took on an unnatural appearance. In a divided world, there is comfort in coming together in awe. Ms Redfern, speaking from Cornwall, was right that Britons “may not see another one. We have to make the most of these moments.” The country has to wait 55 years for another comparably deep partial eclipse.

To experience the true marvel of the eclipse, one had to be in the path of totality – which this week crossed over Greenland, Iceland and Spain. There the sun was completely obscured. Britain saw a partial version, with the moon covering part of the sun, with only a thin yellow crescent showing. Totality is another world of wonder: for a few minutes a black disc appears where the sun should be, surrounded by a fiery corona in a purplish firmament. It is 64 years before a total eclipse of the sun will be seen over Britain.

BAE Systems to pay $36m penalty after 104 violations of US arms export rules

State department says it has reached administrative settlement with company’s US arm to resolve breaches

The UK defence company BAE Systems is to pay a $36m (£26.7m) civil penalty after breaching US arms exports regulations more than 100 times.

The US Department of State announced on Thursday that it had reached an administrative settlement with the US arm of BAE to resolve 104 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

Mangione could plead guilty in federal case ahead of N.Y. murder trial

A surprise hearing this Friday in federal court has added to speculation that Luigi Mangione could enter a plea, which could derail a state murder trial.

Cerebras stock plunges 14% after second earnings report following IPO

Cerebras Systems reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue and raised its full-year guidance.

Democrats demand Trump reveal stock managers, explain suspicious trades

Warren and Garcia said they sought answers from Trump to inform their work on potential legislation to ban presidents from owning individual stocks.

Fake sex worker and accomplice jailed for fatally spiking men’s drinks

Adina Mihai and Madalin Dumitru from Essex jailed for 17 years for drugging four men to steal from them, two of whom died

A woman who posed as a sex worker and administered a deadly amount of sedative to two men has been jailed for 17 years, along with her accomplice.

Adina Mihai, 31, and her partner Madalin Dumitru, 30, who arranged for her to meet men at their homes, drugged their victims to steal from them.

Nicola Jennings on Nigel Farage, Count Binface and the Clacton byelection – cartoon

Continue reading...

Luigi Mangione expected to plead guilty in federal stalking case related to health insurance CEO killing: Report

Luigi Mangione is separately charged in New York state court with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.

Vladimir Putin's first visit to disputed Pacific islands draws Tokyo protest

The four southernmost islands of the chain also are claimed by Japan, which calls them the Northern Territories.

The Jason Arday affair must not spell the end for diversity. Here’s how – and why – we should defend it | Joseph Harker

The scandal has given succour to the same old rightwing attacks on D&I, but companies that do it properly raise standards rather than lowering them

This has not been a good fortnight for the concept of diversity and inclusion. The fallout from the Jason Arday affair has been an all-out attack, by the rightwing media and political classes, on institutional efforts to reduce inequality.

Arday was the Black academic who, in a fanfare of publicity, had been appointed a professor at Cambridge University in 2023. At the time, British institutions were still struggling to address the widespread issues of systemic racism thrown up by the murder of George Floyd three years earlier.

Joseph Harker is the Guardian’s senior editor, diversity and development

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Tesla paid Elon Musk 2.5m times more as CEO than its average worker in 2025

Tech billionaire’s $158.3bn deal an outlier in report showing widening gap of CEO to worker pay at top companies

Elon Musk received over 2.5m times as much compensation at Tesla as the company’s average worker, according to a new report on the growing gap between top corporate executives and their workers.

Musk’s $158.3bn pay deal was an outlier but came as the gap between CEO and worker pay continued to grow. Excluding Musk, last year the average ratio of CEO to worker pay for the top S&P 500 companies was 312 to 1, up from a 285:1 ratio in 2024. With Musk, the average pay ratio was 5,387:1, according to the executive pay watch report released this week by the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the US.

DOJ leaves in place ruling that deregulates silencers, shotguns

A Texas judge earlier this month issued a ruling that deregulated silencers, shotguns and certain rifles.

Trump-linked oil venture delays Greenland drilling plans after government warning

Greenland Energy Co. and joint venture partner 80 Mile have delayed planned oil drilling in Greenland until winter 2027.

Ukrainian cathedrals, Gaza’s archives, Iranian squares – modern war is systematically erasing human history | Simon Jenkins

It is not enough now for war to kill, it must eradicate a people’s cherished and precious heritage too

Wars may not take summer holidays, but they do sometimes see exhaustion. As drones race back and forth across Ukraine and the strait of Hormuz, a grim stalemate seems to have invaded the earth beneath. Aerial bombardment knows limited resistance and even less victory or defeat. Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Iran and their allies seem able to defy diplomacy and drop bombs on each other for ever.

At which point the outside world can merely count some of the costs. Vladimir Putin’s known desire to eliminate Ukraine’s historical identity has led to its cultural devastation. Two weeks ago Unesco reported the destruction or dereliction of 545 of its historic buildings, including 156 religious sites and 43 museums. The attempted eradication of what Putin himself claims to be an intrinsic part of Russia’s own history is sickening.

Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Carrick rules out £100m signing for Manchester United as Rashford rejoins squad

• United unable to financially compete with rivals

• Rashford back after Barcelona loan but could leave

Michael Carrick has stated that Manchester United will not make a £100m signing this summer due to their finances, with the manager also insisting that Marcus Rashford “is our player” despite the forward and club preferring him to depart.

In the current window United have invested a total of £85m on Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos but have never spent £100m on a single transfer.

UK records hottest day of year as fifth summer heatwave reaches peak

Kew Gardens in London hits 38.1C and 40C-plus recorded in parts of Europe with continent trapped under heat dome

• Europe heatwave – latest updates

The UK has recorded its hottest day of the year so far with a provisional temperature of 38.1C in southern England as Europe sweltered under a major heat dome.

As temperatures on the continent surpassed 40C at the peak of the summer’s fifth heatwave, the thermometer at Kew Gardens in west London on Thursday surpassed the previous high of 38C on 28 June, the Met Office said.

The mindblowing invertebrates you have never heard of – video

Each year the Guardian runs a competition to find the invertebrate of the year. To find out more about the 2026 nominees, science editor Ian Sample hears from climate reporter Petra Stock, environment reporter Oliver Milman and Science Weekly co-host Madeleine Finlay. They each nominate an incredible invertebrate that you might never have heard of, and argue why their choice should come top. Vote for your favourite now and the winner will be unveiled on 17 August

By sky and sea, Ukraine's drone strikes challenge Russia's grip on Crimea

Russia maintained an iron grip on Crimea since seizing it from Ukraine in 2014. Many Russian civilians go there to enjoy the beaches. But now Ukraine is hitting Crimea hard, upending daily life.

DRC’s fast-growing Ebola outbreak spreads to sixth province

Man dies in Bas-Uele after travelling from Haut-Uele, as head of WHO says outbreak on track to be deadliest ever

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to a sixth province, officials have said, a day after the head of the World Health Organization said the outbreak was on track to surpass the deadliest in history, which killed at least 11,000 people more than a decade ago.

The current outbreak has killed more than 2,100 people out of more than 4,500 cases, according to the latest government figures released on Tuesday. At the same point in the 2014-16 outbreak in west Africa, the previous most deadly outbreak, 755 cases had been recorded, according to WHO data.

The Lakers have become a poker chip for some of the most powerful men in America

One of the most famous teams in the world is about to change hands for the second time in less than a year for more than $12bn. Will anyone push back?

One of the most brutal lessons we must learn as fans is that the team we shed blood, sweat and tears for is seen by those who own it as just one of many assets. That gap has never felt as wide as it does this week. On Wednesday, ESPN reported that the Los Angeles Lakers are set to change hands, for the second time in 10 months, for $12.5bn, a sum that would be a record for any North American sports team. (The deal must be approved by the NBA’s board of governors before it can go through.) The buyers aren’t diehards who saved up every penny like the good Dr Jerry Buss in the 1970s. Those days are gone. If and when the deal is approved, the new owners will be venture capitalist Josh Kushner and his business partner, Bob Iger. Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, the titleless Wormtongue to Donald Trump’s Saruman. Iger used to run Disney. These men have connections across the political world and influence in every corner of the American empire. A franchise woven into a city’s identity should never become an asset vastly wealthy people move around like a chip around a poker table. But that is exactly what the Lakers are about to become. The way the deal came together should terrify anyone who still thinks sports belong to the fans.

Mark Walter took control of the team from the Buss family last October at a valuation of roughly $10bn. Now he is set to cash out around $2bn richer. That’s not how this is supposed to work. The old guard, like Buss, used to guard their NBA teams like heirlooms and pass them down. Walter is set to flip the team after less than a year.

‘It was fun to get pushed around’: Andrew Rannells on ‘razzle dazzle’, kissing co-stars and being a better friend to Lena Dunham

The star of Girls and The Book of Mormon talks about coming out, turning a showmance into a romance, and going toe to toe with the West Wing’s Allison Janney in new film Miss You Love You

Imagine a cute, young, gay Jim Carrey with a withering line in put-downs: that is Andrew Rannells. Or rather, it was, back when he starred in Lena Dunham’s HBO series Girls as Elijah, the formerly closeted ex of her character, Hannah. Dunham had seen Rannells playing Elder Price, the zealous missionary spreading the good word in the original 2011 Broadway production of the bad-taste musical The Book of Mormon, for which he received a Tony nomination. Girls, in turn, spread the good word about him. To this day, fans still shout “Your dad is gay!” at him in the street, a call-back to the moment when Elijah tartly advises Hannah that she might want to fine-tune her gaydar.

It is an older, gentler, salt-and-pepper-bearded Rannells who stars in the comedy-drama Miss You, Love You. He plays Jamie, a personal assistant arriving in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to shepherd the spiky and recently widowed Diane (Allison Janney) through the initial weeks after her husband’s death from Parkinson’s. As it dawns on them that Diane’s son – Jamie’s employer – may not make it to his stepfather’s funeral, these strangers navigate their way through the grey area of their flung-together friendship.

Reese's Halloween pumpkins hit shelves unchanged after lawsuit victory

Hershey said the Halloween-shaped candy, which had sparked a lawsuit over the product's lack of detail, will return in its familiar oval shape.

French ambassador to CAR investigated over claims he hosted dozens of women

Disciplinary proceedings under way after security concerns raised over reported visits to official residence

France has opened disciplinary proceedings against its ambassador to Central African Republic over allegations of misconduct, after claims he brought dozens of women into his official residence, raising potential security concerns.

The investigation comes as Paris seeks to rebuild relations with CAR after their sharp deterioration in recent years amid Russia’s expanding influence in the former French colony.

Universality by Natasha Brown audiobook review – a sparkling multi-voiced satire

A magazine article about stolen gold sparks a culture war between a cast of politically polarised characters

A stinging dissection of wealth, class and the media, Natasha Brown’s satire begins with a man named Jake gazing at a gold bar he has found at a farm in West Yorkshire. Outside, an illegal rave is taking place which will end in three hospitalisations and property damage. Pondering what to do with the ingot that he has just used to bludgeon a stranger, Jake decides to do a runner.

The story of the stolen gold is told by a journalist, Hannah, in a magazine article named A Fool’s Gold, replicated in full here, which she claims exposes “the fraying fabric of British society, worn thin by late capitalism’s relentless abrasion”. Her piece, which goes viral, features Richard Spencer, an arrogant, philandering banker and the owner of the farm, whose reputation is left in tatters; a contrarian rightwing newspaper columnist named Miriam Leonard, known as Lenny; and a group of radical anarchist squatters who call themselves The Universalists.

Imelda Staunton: ‘Umbridge’s giggle needed to be short and sharp. So I just did a boom, boom’

The actor answers your questions on working with her dog, becoming a dame, Harry Potter, and making televisual history in The Singing Detective

You and Bill Nighy were comrades in Pride, but play estranged spouses in & Sons. Was it more fun marching alongside him or giving him a piece of your mind? MrSOBaldrick
It’s fun doing anything with Bill Nighy!

I once saw you at RHS Garden Wisley. Are you a keen gardener? What’s your favourite plant? HeyJudithB
Yes, I am a gardener. We love doing the garden. My favourite plant – this week – is the rose Munstead Wood, which has an incredible scent, and a deep, dark raspberry colour. It’s a rose we might be in danger of losing because of climate change. Roses need water, so I think we’re going to have to change our planting.

Robert Gilman was on "death's door" before Russia freed him, advocate says

Robert Gilman, a U.S. Marine veteran, was imprisoned in Russia for over four years and now faces a long road to recovery, says a hostage crisis expert who advocated for Gilman's release.

Behind the rise of teen takeovers and how some cities are cracking down

A growing number of U.S. cities are trying to crack down on so-called teen takeovers, when large groups of young people gather in a public place, often in response to online invites. Some of the events have ended with violence and arrests. Mark Strassmann shows how some cities are responding.

Taiwan briefly slows its mobile internet to text-only speed as part of defense drill

The drills come amid rising tensions with China, which frequently sends military planes and ships towards Taiwan.

Wholesale prices were flat in July, below expectations for 0.2% increase

The producer price index was expected to increase by 0.2% in July, according to the Dow Jones consensus.

‘At any moment I might fade out’: archives reveal fearless era of land speed record breakers

Unseen material gives insight into how death-defying attempts by drivers made impact on public imagination

With the Bonneville salt flats in Utah echoing to the sound of a new land speed record achieved by a British team, the timing could not be more apposite. The historical legacy of the challenge of pushing the envelope of pace is being dusted down and made public in the form of an extraordinary archive from more than a century of record-breaking machines and their singularly driven pilots.

On Tuesday, JCB’s Hydromax car took the hydrogen-powered International Automobile Federation (FIA) land speed record, reaching 406.320mph at Bonneville.

Agent 64: Spies Never Die review – licence to kill time like the 90s never ended

PC; Replicant D6
This GoldenEye 007-styled retro shooter is an agreeable set of straightahead shooting missions that hark back to a simpler time, with simpler controls

With 007 First Light, 2026 has already given us the best James Bond game in more than three decades, since the release of Rare’s N64 classic GoldenEye 007. But what about those players whose loyalties lie not with the super-spy himself but the particulars of that 90s interpretation of his adventures?

Enter Agent 64: Spies Never Die. Made almost entirely by a single developer (who goes by the very cloak-and-dagger alias Replicant D6), its production values couldn’t be much further from the blockbuster First Light. There’s no voice acting, with all dialogue instead delivered via subtitles, while each location on your globe-trotting adventure is depicted by a repeating texture wallpapered over scenery so blocky you can count the individual polygons.

‘Absolutely unacceptable’: Japan condemns visit by Vladimir Putin to disputed Kuril Islands

Japanese PM says islands seized by Soviets late in second world war are part of her country under international law

The Japanese government has reacted angrily to Vladimir Putin’s first visit to the disputed Kuril Islands, which are claimed by both Tokyo and Moscow.

Japan’s foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, summoned the Russian ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev, while the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, called Putin’s actions “absolutely unacceptable”.

Single winning ticket sold for $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot

A single ticket sold in Illinois won the biggest Powerball jackpot of the year, $1.04 billion, in Wednesday night's drawing, the game says.

Wisconsin, Michigan primaries expose limits of polls and prediction markets

It's the second time in just over a week that polls and prediction markets' odds were off, following a miss in the Democratic U.S. senate primary in Michigan.

60 cats rescued from abandoned boat anchored off Washington state

Police in Tacoma, Washington, say they have rescued 60 cats and kittens from an abandoned sailboat that was found anchored off a city beach last week.

Wildfires, a giant Castro and a wave of 500,000 dahlias: photos of the day – Thursday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Trump has amassed staggering wealth in ‘most openly corrupt’ presidency

Ethics experts and Democrats express alarm as Trump uses office to grow his personal fortune to ‘unprecedented’ level

Donald Trump’s use of his second presidency to grow his personal fortune has alarmed legal and ethics experts and congressional Democrats as he has reaped an “unprecedented” $2.2bn in 2025 revenues by amassing big cryptocurrency holdings, benefiting from wealthy foreign interests, expanding his Truth Social business and more, while federal oversight of his actions has waned.

Trump last year raked in at least $1.4bn from his crypto ventures according to financial disclosure forms he filed in June. Simultaneously, about one million investors in a Trump crypto scheme suffered almost $3.8bn in losses as their volatile crypto holdings tanked in value.

Berries with a hint of tarmac – what do we mean when we call a wine ‘fruity’?

Bananas, peaches, strawberries – anything but ‘grapes’. What do all those volatile organic compounds really mean for your summer sipping?

“Strawberries, cherries and an angel’s kiss in spring,” sang Nancy Sinatra. “My summer wine is really made from all these things …” Overlook the angel’s kiss and, if you’re a wine drinker, you might recognise some of those fruity tasting notes – strawberries and cherries, indeed, but also citrus, orchard, other stone fruits and the whole berry family. In fact, it’s common to liken a wine to almost any fruit – except grapes.

A wine can have notes of almost anything – pencil shavings, tennis balls, cat pee – but fruit is the most obvious (clearly, wine is made from fruit) and universally recognised. If I told you I was getting, say, green apple and lime zest from a riesling, you would probably have a good sense of what that meant, and what you might be able to expect on tasting it yourself. If I described a petroleum aroma, that might sound a bit cryptic and much less appealing, unless you were familiar with this tasting note commonly found in riesling. In other words, a wine’s fruit profile is often leveraged as a marketing tool. What better example of this than the “strawberries and cream” of Provence rosé? It’s a tasting note that underpins our collective sense that rosé is a summer drop, perfect for sun-drenched days filled with watching tennis, ocean views and seasonal produce.

Billion-streamers, Beyoncé and heart-bruising beauty: Frank Ocean’s 20 best songs – ranked!

It’s a decade since the Los Angeles musician released the seminal album Blonde. To lessen the pain of his hiatus, we count down the best of an artist who redefined R&B

Frank Ocean’s pre-fame demos are hard to find – there’s a fan-made, 64-track compilation called The Lonny Breaux Collection floating around – but worth checking out, as evinced by this brief but potent piano ballad. Sweet but heartsore, it packs an emotional punch; it would have been a highlight of the mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra, had it made the cut.

Mark Zuckerberg says the future of AI is for everyone. But who owns it? | Raffi Krikorian

It’s a nice sentiment, but all AI users should ask three questions about their preferred choice of AI platform

On Monday, Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,500-word essay, The Future Is for Everyone. The essay came with something even rarer: a new Meta open-weight model. An open-weight AI model is the kind of AI with which you download the entire thing, and it works on your own computer (with or without the internet) and nobody can switch it off except for you. Almost every mainstream AI tool you use, whether it be Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude, is one you rent access to. Meta’s is one that you can download and actually own. I downloaded it before I finished the essay. So can you.

This major move by the world’s largest tech heavyweight comes amid a summer heavy with AI news, full of nations at war. Washington against Beijing; tech founder against tech founder. But beneath those conflicts is a deeper contest between two kinds of power: a government that can order technology offline in an instant, and a company that can simply close your account. Neither is necessarily villainous. But the rest of us are not merely the audience in this fight; we are the prize. And the terms are already being written: intelligence on lease, a future we pay for but never quite own.

Escaping the ​heat​ and rediscovering the ​joy of ​cooking

Parts of the UK are roasting but some of us are glad to turn the oven on. Bring on the​ ​curries and pasta pies

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I don’t wish to boast, but I’m typing this with a jumper on. Not because my flat has air-conditioning, but because it doesn’t – and the relentless heat of south-east England was having a seriously detrimental effect on my productivity and the health of my elderly dog (NB: the two are not mutually exclusive). So, with a second novel to write, I decided to rent a studio as far north, and as far west, as I could reasonably drive in a day. And, so far, I have no regrets. Driving through North Yorkshire, I had to put on a sweatshirt – the weather in the Pennines gave my car the first good wash it’s had in months – and now, in Scotland, the dog and I feast on hot porridge in the mornings. I’d genuinely forgotten what it’s like to be cold – and what it’s like to cook for pleasure.

This newsletter isn’t just for those parts of the country enjoying, rather than suffering, the sunshine; yesterday it was raining and tonight the temperatures will drop to almost single digits. It’s also for anyone, wherever you are, who’s eaten enough cool, crunchy salads and chilled soups to last a lifetime, or at least until next summer. (You’re not alone: last month, Waitrose reported a spike in sales of cottage pie and robust South African red wine.)

Inflation eased slightly in July. And, ICE plans to give officers electric shock gloves

Inflation cooled a bit last month, according to a new report from the Labor Department. And, ICE plans to equip its officers with electric shock gloves.