Moderna, Merck cancer vaccine shows promise in late-stage trial; Moderna stock soars 50%

The combination regimen significantly extended the time patients lived without their melanoma returning, compared with Keytruda alone.

Weekly mortgage demand stalls along with interest rates, but rates are now moving higher again.

Mortgage rates were unchanged last week, as was mortgage demand, and total volume remains lower than year-ago levels.

Harvard to pay $53 million after morgue manager sold body parts

Harvard University has agreed to pay $53 million to resolve lawsuits by families alleging it mishandled the bodies of loved ones donated to its medical school.

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

Updates from Headingley; play starts 11am BST
Ali Martin on ‘El Dysfunctiono’ | The Spin

Warm applause as Joe Root leads England out at the start of his second spell as permanent captain. Are there any precedents for this, an experienced former captain returning to the job on a permanent basis years later? Bob Simpson is the name sitting at the top of my head. I guess Mike Brearley qualifies, though his situation was unique.

Last Friday was a glorious anniversary for Pakistani cricket, 10 years on from a 10-wicket win against England at the Oval. Younis Khan, their greatest run-scorer, hit a double hundred. Yasir Shah, a magical leggie and Lionel Messi lookalike, took a five-fer. Misbah-ul-Haq, their 42-year-old captain, led his men on a victory lap in south London and would have the ultimate reward a few days later. His side, unable to play at home since 2009 because of an attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus, moved up to No 1 in the Test rankings for the first time.

Zelenskyy sacks deputy head of his office amid reported corruption investigation – Europe live

Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies said they uncovered group responsible for money laundering $3.35m but did not name individuals involved

Meanwhile, for all the noise and controversy around it, the Ukrainian parliament has just approved Zelenskyy’s nominations for foreign and defence ministers.

Andrii Sybiha and Yevhen Khmara were both approved by the lawmakers just minutes ago.

“I am grateful to the MPs for supporting Andrii Sybiha for the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Yevhenii Khmara for the position of Minister of Defence of Ukraine.

The tasks for both ministers are absolutely clear: Ukraine needs more strength. And it will have it. Glory to Ukraine!”

Ihsane review – Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui leads us from brutal tragedy to euphoric harmony

Festival theatre, Edinburgh
The choreographer combines a homophobic killing from 2012 with a remembrance for his father in an often rapturous show about healing

In 2019 at the Edinburgh international festival, the Swiss director Milo Rau staged an intense theatrical investigation, La Reprise: Histoire(s) du Theatre (I), recreating a homophobic killing in Belgium. The murder of Ihsane Jarfi, seven years earlier, had made headlines and the news disturbed choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui who was just a little older, also gay and had a Belgian mother and Moroccan father like Jarfi.

Cherkaoui now arrives at the same festival with his own act of remembrance, every bit as engrossing as Rau’s, yet more expansive. It pays tribute, too, to the choreographer’s father who died 30 years ago and whose past is interwoven with Jarfi’s death. If that raises any qualms, Cherkaoui’s larger point is about the interconnectedness of all lives and his characters morph into each other. He takes his cue from the victim’s first name, which essentially means “benevolence”, and counters the production’s disturbing flashes of violence with a floating lightness, whether in breakdance or traditional forms, and by presenting ideals of harmonious joy and kindness.

Over/Under review – beautiful coming of age story of female best friends set across five summers

There’s an astonishing naturalism about the two leads, navigating the ups and downs of adolescence, bodily changes and learning to use tampons

Practically any woman who had a best female friend in early adolescence will be able to relate to this fragile, thoughtful drama about two American children, Violet (Emajean Bullock) and Stella (Anastasia Veronica Lee), living through the ages of nine to 13, a time as packed with incident as it is simultaneously uneventful and reassuringly dull. Unlike Richard Linklater’s justly acclaimed Boyhood, which had the resources to film for over a decade and thus observe its central character grow up, this was clearly made over a more compact schedule. Violet and Stella age much more subtly here, gradually growing breasts and getting a little bit taller, but those tiny incremental changes mean so much to them. Just as in real life with girls this age, a little bit of makeup, different clothes and some flat-ironing on the hair can alter a kid’s whole presentation.

As the film starts, the two are nine-year-old besties, spending their summers together in New England where they go to camp, frolic in the surf (the title refers to a game they play with waves) and try to sleep over at each other’s houses. Unfortunately, Stella can’t yet cope with sleeping through the night at someone else’s place, and every time they try she must be collected by her parents after waking up frightened in the night. But it’s still something the girls yearn for. They even wish for it when they trap morning moths in jars, hoping fairies will grant them their hearts’ desires.

How India's blocking of a film exposing real-life police abuses backfired

When Indian authorities scrubbed the biopic of activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, local villagers and activists turned its censorship into a grassroots movement.

At 43, I was fit and happy. Then I developed a nasty – and very expensive - case of shingles | Arwa Mahdawi

Healthy women under 50 are now more at risk of the condition. What I didn’t know is that intense exercise could be to blame and the condition could cost me hundreds of dollars

If you’re in your 40s, I have a great trick for getting people to spontaneously tell you how young you are: develop shingles. Friends, acquaintances and medical professionals will rapidly inform you that the painful rash is an older person’s disease and, “You’re a bit young to get that, aren’t you?”

I say this because at the tender age of 43, I have come down with a horrible case of ocular shingles. When I first went to urgent care about a weird red spot on my nose, a swollen eye and a terrible headache, the nurse looked dubious when he told me it might be shingles. “You’re a bit young,” he said. When I then went to the ER as instructed – shingles near the eye is a medical emergency that can blind you – the ophthalmologist said the same thing. According to conventional medical wisdom, shingles is a disease you get if you’re elderly or immunocompromised.

The men I see in therapy did everything right. So why do they feel so empty?

Many of my clients expected to find fulfillment from their career, marriage and home. Instead, they feel grief

“I have the career I wanted, but at this point I just don’t care.”

“I don’t know why I’m so angry.”

Why are progressives winning across the United States? It’s not complicated | Bernie Sanders

Poll after poll shows the same thing. The American people know that the current economic system is rigged

The media pundits have written article after article desperately trying to understand why progressive candidates, despite being heavily outspent, keep defeating establishment Democrats in primaries around the country. Well, the answer is not complicated.

Whether it is a corrupt campaign finance system, unprecedented income and wealth inequality, a broken and wildly expensive healthcare system, the enormous threats posed by AI or an immoral and destructive foreign policy, progressives are talking about the real issues facing working families. And they are providing real solutions. Establishment Democrats are not.

Amazon to expand drone service to nearly 500 cities after targeting 1 million deliveries this year

Amazon has quietly expanded its drone service to more metro areas in recent months after receiving a key regulatory greenlight enabling longer-range deliveries.

Striking hospital employees sound alarm over workplace violence

In addition to pay, striking hospital workers say patient violence is an issue. Hospital workers are seven times more likely to be injured at work due to violent acts than the general working population.

Five Sydney Swans players suspended for rest of AFL season say they are ‘deeply sorry’

• Bice, Blakey, Heeney, Jordon and Warner hit by suspensions

• None of the five players have been arrested or charged

Five Sydney Swans players have said they are “deeply sorry” after they were suspended for the rest of the AFL season.

The club stood down players Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner on Wednesday morning. None of the men have been arrested or charged, but police are investigating an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne.

Zelenskyy faces challenge to his wartime rule as former defense chief calls for election

Former Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for wartime elections, saying Kyiv must restore its democratic process despite the ongoing war.

Congo's Ebola outbreak reaches 5,000 cases as it outpaces response efforts

Government data showed the outbreak had so far recorded 5,021 cases, including 2,378 deaths. The outbreak has infected and killed more people at a greater speed than any other outbreak in history.

Labour ‘could lose up to 50 seats’ to Greens if new drilling in North Sea approved

Greens say analysis shows government failure to take bold climate action could lead to big gains for party at election

• UK politics live – latest updates

Labour could lose dozens of seats to the Green party if the government allows new drilling in the North Sea, according to internal research shared with the Guardian.

Green party analysis suggests up to 50 Labour MPs, including Andy Burnham’s key ally Louise Haigh, could lose their seats at the next election if the government fails to make urgent climate action a priority or allows new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.

The Guardian’s climate forum 2026: On Tuesday 20 October, join Damian Carrington and our panel of experts, including Prof Andy Haines, Katie White, Asad Rehman, Shruti Suresh, Gareth Thomas and Amy Fairman, for a hopeful and solutions-focused evening. Book tickets here or at guardian.live

The Spin | Heatwaves leave groundstaff high and dry in search of playable wickets

A summer of five heatwaves and barely a drop of rain have left groundstaff wrung out as they work all hours to keep packed schedule going

On Thursday, the County Championship resumes for its final six-week run, charging towards 27 September with barely a pause for breath. It’s tight at the top of Division One, with only 11 points between first placed Nottinghamshire and sixth placed Essex, while Kent and Northants prepare to elbow it out for the second Division Two promotion place alongside almost-inked-in Durham.

The players, on the treadmill since 3 April, and switching between competitions, are run ragged. But no one is as wrung out as the groundstaff, dealing with a summer of fiery extremes, five heatwaves, excruciating temperatures and barely a drop of rain across most of England. In the words of the Met Office scientist Mike Kendon, “the climate of the 20th century has now gone” but the cricket season is expecting to roll on by as if nothing is happening. The Spin asked three head groundsmen how they are coping.

This is an extract from the Guardian’s weekly cricket email, The Spin. To subscribe, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

Nick Kyrgios suspended from tennis after testing positive for cocaine

• Australian reveals ‘huge mistake’ in Instagram post

• Kyrgios tested positive at ATP 250 event in June

The former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has been suspended from tennis after testing positive for cocaine.

The 31-year-old Australian revealed on an Instagram post on Wednesday that he had “made a huge mistake” before his suspension was confirmed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) shortly afterwards.

Feeling restless? Level up your life by starting a side quest

Feeling restless in life? Level up your main quest with an activity that has no other purpose than to add whimsy to your life. Play experts share tips on how to find the perfect side quest.

Who is Natalie Harp? Trump’s closest and most devoted aide is in the spotlight

Speculation about US president’s executive assistant sparks furious backlash from White House

Wearing shoulder-length blonde hair, gold earrings and a red dress, cancer survivor Natalie Harp introduced herself to the 2020 Republican national convention as “a formerly forgotten American from California” and compared Donald Trump with George Bailey, the everyman hero played by James Stewart in the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life.

“George Bailey’s father was right,” smiled Harp, her voice echoing in the Andrew W Mellon auditorium in pandemic-hit Washington. “All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away. Mr President, that makes you the richest man in the world.”

Sali Hughes on beauty: will social media bans for teens mean the return of grownup skincare?

Soon it will be harder for the beauty industry to aggressively market at children, hopefully spelling the end of gimmicky, ineffective kiddie makeup

This summer’s announcement that under-16s will soon be banned from some social media platforms and, more recently, that 16- and 17-year-olds will face a digital curfew, strikes me as a good and sensible decision. It also has unignorable benefits for beauty consumers who are old enough to vote, as opposed to those receiving pocket money – with whom brands are inexplicably obsessed.

A social media ban makes it harder – though not impossible – for the beauty industry to market aggressively and cynically at children, which might mean gimmicky, ineffectual kiddie makeup and skincare will stop occupying a disproportionate share of marketing spend and retail space. Will it be the end for “lip oils” in 36 shades of pink?

After 25 years, I’m breaking up with The Sims. Here’s why you should, too | Jordan Erica Webber

Now that Jared Kushner and the Saudi Investment Fund have bought The Sims’ publisher, EA, it’s unlikely to remain a game celebrating diversity and inclusivity

Sometimes it feels as though horrific world events and the malicious entities behind them are reaching into every aspect of our lives, from heatwaves that keep me shut away indoors, to generative AI that makes it increasingly difficult to trust what I read online. I can no longer even retreat into my favourite video game without funding human rights abuses across the world.

I’ve been playing The Sims series of life-simulation games since its first release at the turn of the millennium, when I sat with my sister in the corner of the sitting room using money cheats to build mansions for our digital dolls. Over the years, these games have helped me make friends: from the schoolmate who taught me to play more efficiently with hot keys, to the local fan who watched me stream The Sims 4 online and now meets me for lunch every week. In the last quarter of a century I’ve sunk thousands of hours into these games.

Jordan Erica Webber is a freelance writer and presenter specialising in video games and digital culture

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.

15 states have laws that allow corporal punishment in schools. Here's where, and why

There is broad consensus among psychologists that corporal punishment can be harmful to children, but the U.S. has no federal laws banning it in public schools.

Elbridge who? How the name of a forgotten founder lives on in the word 'gerrymander'

Elbridge Gerry was an important early figure in the American Revolution, but his decision to approve a "gerrymandered" state legislative map inadvertently won him lasting infamy.

The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore review – an ominous warning of tech takeover

A historian charts the emergence of a democracy-crushing dystopia that is – in some ways – already with us

Pulitzer prize-winning US historian Jill Lepore’s new book addresses the threat posed to liberal democracy by artificial intelligence. According to Lepore, the extraordinary power of private tech companies led by men whose priorities may not align with the wellbeing of the Earth or its inhabitants is set to destroy civilisation as we know it.

Lepore’s concept of the Artificial State is capacious. It includes both a fantasy desired by a select few and a reality that is already with us. The fantasy is of an atomised society in which an elite can transcend biological and planetary restrictions, “abandoning constitutional democracy, the liberal nation-state, and even humanity itself for rule by automation, government by machine, and replacement by artificial intelligence”. The reality is that of public discourse having shifted to privately owned platforms on which monetised attention is valued above all else.

David Shrigley London exhibition will find the funny side of old masters

Dulwich Picture Gallery show to feature British artist’s work hung next to paintings by Dutch and Flemish greats

The contemporary UK artist David Shrigley will apply his trademark arch humour and distinctive artistic practice “in dialogue” with old masters of Dutch and Flemish painting in a major new solo exhibition in London.

The celebrated visual artist will explore the 17th-century paintings with his own new works “responding to” and hung alongside original masterpieces by artists including Jan Steen, Adriaen Brouwer, David Teniers the Younger, Adriaen van Ostade, Pieter Brueghel the Younger and Rembrandt van Rijn.

Israel strikes an air base in Syria to prevent Turkish troops from deploying

Israel struck an air base in northwest Syria early Tuesday, saying it aimed to prevent Turkish troops from deploying there. Turkey, which has close ties with the Syrian government and has been providing assistance to Syria's military.

Shares in humanoid robot firm Unitree surge 600% on Chinese stock market debut

Company’s robots have gained global fame via videos of them performing martial arts and as dancers for pop stars

Unitree, the world’s biggest humanoid robot maker, has made a spectacular entry on to China’s stock market, with its shares surging by more than 600%.

The Chinese company’s robots have gained global fame via viral videos of them performing martial arts, running at Olympic speeds and serving as backup dancers for pop stars.

Liberia agrees to take 1,200 third-country deportees from the U.S.

The 1,200 deportees will include Africans as well as nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean, with the first batch of 20 expected on Thursday.

Goldman studied where AI is squeezing labor markets. Here's what it found

Goldman Sachs found that AI is starting to weigh on employment across developed economies.

Erin Patterson argues mushroom murder convictions should be quashed due to ‘catastrophic’ failure of justice

Allowing jurors to stay in same hotel as police and prosecution denied Patterson a fair trial, lawyers tell Victorian court of appeal

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Lawyers for Erin Patterson have argued that allowing jurors to stay in the same hotel as police and the prosecution while they deliberated over their verdicts in the triple-murder trial represented a “catastrophic” failure of the justice system.

But the prosecution say it was far from a catastrophe, and showed the system worked as it should.

SpaceX Starship the talk of remote Australian island as Elon Musk’s engineers sent to retrieve it

Christmas Island locals who woke to see the spacecraft floating off the coast hope global attention will encourage tourists

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Engineers from Elon Musk’s SpaceX are on their way to a remote Australian island to retrieve part of a Starship that dived into the Indian Ocean.

The spacecraft – now floating off the coast of Christmas Island – was launched in Texas on 24 July, in the 13th test of the technology. After reaching orbit and releasing 20 non-functioning satellites, the upper stage of the rocket re-entered the atmosphere, landing in the ocean.

David review – biblical Goliath-slayer animation offers upbeat boybandish worship musical

Christian kids’ movie is entertaining during the big battle, but the older bouffant hero’s lack of depth is distracting and the worship songs a weak link

U2’s Bono once described King David as “the Elvis of the Bible” – but in this musical kids’ adaptation, David is more boyband than rock’n’roll, with voluminous bouffant hair and a soundtrack of upbeat worship songs. The singing is actually a weak link in what is otherwise an unexpectedly entertaining film, with better than average animation and plenty of PG-approved sword-and-sandal battles. That said, David is unquestionably Christian cinema and frequently takes a preachy tone (often in song form); how much you enjoy it will probably depend on your tolerance for a bit of God.

The Bible’s inconvenient plotting means that David’s takedown of the fearsome giant Goliath (voiced by Kamran Nikhad) comes relatively early in the film. We hear Goliath before we see him, ground trembling, as shepherd boy David (voiced by Brandon Engman) steps on to the battlefield armed with an only slingshot and stone. He has already been anointed by the prophet Samuel (Brian Stivale) as the future king of Israel. David has said he doesn’t want the job, which as Samuel sagely points out, makes him an ideal candidate. After his surprise victory against Goliath, David is brought by current ruler Saul to live at the royal palace.

‘I came to the Highlands to give something back to the hills’: a volunteering trip in Scotland

I found two days of hard graft – repairing hiking paths with a conservation trust in stunningly remote Wester Ross – a surprisingly rewarding experience

I hadn’t planned to enjoy any of this. As summer light fell on Stac Pollaidh – the summit’s teeth bared, the views stretching across the surreal emptiness of Assynt – I found myself ankle-deep in blanket bog next to a hiking path, back bent, hacking at the tough terrain with a heavy-duty mattock. Farther up the hillside, another hunched figure was cutting a deep brown scar into the moor grass and, while he worked, I stood back to look at my efforts. At my feet was a cross drain that I’d unblocked and repacked with new stonework to prevent storm damage and aid runoff from the path. A burble began to trickle, slow yet clear across the sparkling bedrock. It felt a little like appreciating a masterwork in a museum.

I’d come to Wester Ross with a bucket and spade, not for a beach break at particularly gorgeous Achmelvich or Clachtoll nearby, but with the notion of giving something back to the hills. The Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (Oats) is a steward of many of the Highlands’ most famous mountains – developing, building and repairing paths and habitats – and I’d joined a group of volunteers for a two-day stint on the north-west Highlands’ most visited peak. Factoring in a free stay at Ullapool youth hostel and the promise of a home-cooked communal meal in return, plus an acceptable midge-free forecast, I’d driven north from Edinburgh the night before in a buoyant mood.

Where Are the Kings by Donal Ryan review – a timeless tale of family sorrows and joys

A teenage boy navigates adolescence and the traumatic loss of his mother in this poignant coming-of-age novel set in rural Ireland

Something is happening to literary time. In the last fortnight I’ve read new or forthcoming novels about a mirror universe where history runs backwards (The Understory, Chloe Benjamin), an agency that offers appointments with the past (Time Travel for Beginners, Jaclyn Moriarty), and a young woman who’s genetically untethered from linear life (Audrey Niffenegger’s long-awaited sequel to The Time Traveller’s Wife, out in October). And these are just the latest books to meddle with the fourth dimension. There are dozens: from Solvej Balle’s On the Calculation of Volume series and Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold, to Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of Time. Time is losing the plot – or perhaps it’s the other way around.

I have an armchair theory about all this counterfactual longing: the lure of the do-over. The present feels like a corrupted timeline. If only we could find the glitch.

A moment that changed me: my husband died – and birds began behaving strangely towards me

I was living on my own for the first time in 35 years, walking every day. Nature reminded me how much there still is to be found in emptiness

After my husband died, the birds started behaving strangely towards me. This was not my imagination; it really happened. On my daily walks, I was startled by how close they came to me – approaching, hopping alongside me and chirping. If there were a lot of them – and if there was no one else around – it felt as if they were accompanying me, maybe trying to convey something.

I had walked on the heath near our home with my husband for years. But his illness meant that, during his final months, he could not walk with me any more. When he died – in January 2023 – I had been walking on my own for six months and the birds, I am sure of this, had paid no attention to me.

In cutting joint drills, Trump has given South Korea’s president what he wants. So why is Seoul so uneasy?

Lee Jae Myung has long pushed for stronger homegrown defences, yet Donald Trump’s move has sparked alarm in some quarters

At their first summit, in August last year, the South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, told Donald Trump: “If you, Mr President, become the peacemaker, then I will assist you as the pacemaker.”

The remark at the Oval Office captured the thrust of Lee’s approach to North Korea: dial down the military posturing and make repeated peace overtures to revive dialogue, even if they have been consistently rejected by Pyongyang largely over Seoul’s insistence on denuclearisation.

UK relies on heat-stressed countries for fruit and veg it could grow itself – report

Food Foundation sounds alarm over supply risks and price shocks as about 40% of Britain’s food is imported

The UK is vulnerable to food price shocks because of its dependence on imports of fruit and vegetable from countries even more exposed to the climate crisis, researchers say.

Much of Britain has sweltered under a record five heatwaves this year and endured drought and wildfires, with the hot, dry conditions damaging crops and reducing yields of domestic produce.

A rightwing witch-hunt focused on Jason Arday – but so did legitimate journalism | Hugh Muir

Amid the grief and rage at a tragic loss, it’s right to differentiate between those who fought a culture war and others who just sought the truth

Even now it is very difficult to process the scale of tragedy that engulfed Jason Arday and those who loved him. The unbearable sadness at his death; the wretched knowledge that the very public onslaught against him began with the malign machinations of a self-defined “race realist” – who believes that, in an ideal world, black people would “disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment”. The horror that a rightwing and far-right campaign seeking a victim to fuel its nativist prejudices can now crow that it found one.

There is wide and profound grief and of course there is rage, focused and unfocused. Both were on display as thousands joined a protest vigil in Trafalgar Square on Monday evening.

Hugh Muir is executive editor, Opinion

In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978

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Barking mad? How people in England’s ‘least friendly’ borough feel about the ranking

Does the description from a study ranking all of England’s 296 boroughs for friendliness ring true for people in the east London town?

Alice Fokuo is so friendly with her neighbour that they have exchanged keys to each other’s homes. The level of intimacy is such that “I call her mum, because she cooks for me”.

So the market trader was surprised to learn that her borough, Barking and Dagenham, ranked the least friendly in England in a new study drawing on government data from the community life survey. It measures how often people chat to neighbours, feelings of loneliness and belonging, local pride, and levels of participation in civic life in England’s 296 local authority areas.

Trump says U.S. and Canada reached deal to delay 50% U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports

President Trump said he was delaying the 50% U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports after the two countries reached a last-minute deal less than two hours before the sanctions were to go into effect.

John Irvin, British film-maker who directed Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, dies aged 86

The director’s BBC hit opened the door to Hollywood action films including Hamburger Hill, The Dogs of War and Raw Deal

John Irvin, the British film-maker who directed the Bafta-winning BBC miniseries Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, as well as films including Hamburger Hill, The Dogs of War and Raw Deal, has died aged 86.

Irvin died “peacefully at home” on 11 August, surrounded by his family, his producer Claire Evans confirmed to the Guardian.

Camilla found it ‘difficult’ keeping king’s cancer diagnosis private before announcement

In video celebrating Maggie’s cancer charity, queen recalls ‘longing to let it out’ on visit to centre in 2024

The queen has spoken for the first time of how difficult she found it to keep King Charles’s cancer a secret before it was announced publicly.

Camilla found herself “longing to let it out” during an official visit to a Maggie’s cancer support centre in 2024, after Charles had received his diagnosis but before the news was released.

Tourists on pastry quest overrun scenic spot in Italian mountains

Alpine communities hit out after influencer videos draw huge queues to Friedrich August refuge in Dolomites

Hundreds of people overwhelmed a mountain hut in the Italian Dolomites, not for the panoramic views but in search of a creamy pastry, reigniting the debate about social-media-driven tourism.

The visitors ventured en masse to the Friedrich August refuge – perched at 2,300 metres (7,500ft) above sea level, between Col Rodella and Passo Sella in Val di Fassa – some reportedly waking up at dawn or camping overnight, just to ensure they could buy a freshly baked krapfen, a traditional German pastry similar to a doughnut, before they ran out.

‘Why do you never buy a round?!’ 20 mortifying money conversations with friends – and how to handle them

Whether it’s paying for dinner, going on holiday or sharing a taxi, friendships can be fraught with financial frustrations, which are very rarely aired. Here’s how to break the taboo

Summer is the season of socialising, from alfresco drinks to weddings to group holidays. It can get expensive – and suddenly you start noticing those friends who don’t pay their way. Or the ones who splash the cash and make you feel cheap. In fact, there are a host of annoying money-related habits that can cause tension among friends. Here are 20 common sources of financial frustration – and how to resolve them.

Trump hits pause on Canada tariffs threat, and hints at revival of Keystone XL oil pipeline project

US president delays 50% tariffs by three days, and says contentious oil project ‘may be awoken from the grave’

Canada has temporarily avoided a bruising 50% US tariff, reaching a Tuesday-evening agreement with Trump administration officials hours before a hike that would have affected $20bn worth of goods was set to take effect.

Donald Trump posted late on Tuesday on social media that he had paused the tariffs for three days “based on the fact that Canada and the USA, subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!”

Byron Donalds, David Jolly to face off in Florida governor's race

Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican primary for governor and former Rep. David Jolly won the Democratic primary, The Associated Press projects.

Florida Senate race set between Ashley Moody and Angie Nixon

GOP Sen. Ashley Moody and Democratic State Rep. Angie Nixon will face off in November after winning their primaries for U.S. Senate on Tuesday night, the Associated Press projects.

Trump pauses 50% scheduled tariffs on Canada for three days, announces 'deal' with Ottawa

Trump has already imposed a variety of tariffs on Canada and its specific exports, including metals, lumber and auto parts.

US-led drills to end six days early, South Korea says, amid Trump push for Kim Jong-un talks

South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise would end on 21 August at the request of the US

• Analysis: In cutting joint drills, Trump has given South Korea’s president what he wants. So why does Seoul look so uneasy?

South Korea’s military has confirmed that joint military drills with the US will be cut short, days after Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back the exercises.

In a statement on Wednesday, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said at the request of the US side, the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise – which began on Monday would end on Friday, six days earlier than originally planned.

Ukraine war briefing: Would-be parcel bomber convicted in German court

Russian-led plot was exposed when participants sent trial packages carrying GPS trackers through Ukrainian and German post. What we know on day 1,638

California AG Bonta says case against Meta is about 'restitution and distortion,' not damages

Following opening arguments in the case against Meta, California Attorney General Bonta said the trial is not about extracting a massive payout.

Meta's federal trial begins over child social media addiction claims

The lawsuit accuses the social media giant of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms.

Tupac Shakur trial: lawyers share full account of killing as witnesses still refuse to testify

Murder trial of Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis, 63, former South Side Compton Crips gang leader, opens in Las Vegas

For nearly 30 years, the unsolved murder of 25-year-old rapper Tupac Shakur has sparked lawsuits, theories and conspiracies.

Now, decades after his death in a September 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, local prosecutors are finally offering a detailed official account of Shakur’s killing, accusing Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a 63-year-old former South Side Compton Crips gang leader, of being the “on-the-ground, on-site commander of the effort to kill Tupac”.

Southern U.S. under extreme weather advisory as "heat dome," humidity build

70 million people in southern U.S. states from Texas to the Carolinas are scorching in the sun amid a major heat wave. Rob Marciano has the story and the forecast.

Democratic socialist Angie Nixon clinches surprise primary win in Florida US Senate race

Nixon bested Alexander Vindman to win Democratic nomination and now faces Republican Ashley Moody in November

• Trump-backed Byron Donalds wins Republican primary in race to succeed Florida governor DeSantis

In an upset for the Democratic establishment, progressive Angie Nixon won the party’s US Senate primary in Florida, beating former army intelligence officer Alexander Vindman.

Nixon, a state representative and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, had significantly less funding going into the primary – with $975,000 to Vindman’s $16.3m at the end of July, according to Florida Politics.

Meet the aquatic dog helping anxious students learn how to surf

Astro is a second-generation dog surf instructor working on the island of South Padre, Texas.

Trial starts in Microsoft exec's murder allegedly hatched by ex-wife

Jared Bridegan was repeatedly shot outside his vehicle while his 2-year-old child was strapped in a car seat.

Tupac Shakur autopsy photos shown at murder trial after some family members leave

Tupac Shakur's cousin said the autopsy photos made him feel "very angry, to say the least."

Panettiere was with on-and-off boyfriend when she died, police report says

Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach, made the 911 call that brought first responders to the apartment where Hayden Panettiere was found unresponsive.

Boyfriend of Hayden Panettiere was at apartment when actor died

Police report shows Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, were at Greenville, South Carolina, residence

Hayden Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, were at the South Carolina apartment where the actor died over the weekend, according to a police report released on Tuesday.

A Greenville police officer who responded to the residence on Sunday afternoon was met by the brothers and then observed paramedics performing CPR on an unresponsive woman, the report states.

Premier League 2026-27 preview No 15: Manchester City

With the departures of Pep Guardiola and Rodri it looks like the end of an era at City. Will Enzo Maresca be able to sustain their position as a domestic and continental superpower?

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 2nd (NB: this is not necessarily Jamie Jackson’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 2nd

NASA images show 60-foot-wide crater on moon after SpaceX rocket booster crash

A NASA spacecraft circling the moon is providing the sharpest views yet of the crater carved by a crashing SpaceX rocket.

8/18: CBS Evening News

New details in Hayden Panettiere's death; Recycling plant explosions kill 2 in Ohio.

From 1981: Yankees pitcher Tommy John

Pitcher Tommy John, who in the 1970s underwent an innovative procedure on his injured pitching arm that would become famous as "Tommy John surgery," died on Aug. 15, 2026 at age 83. In this "Sunday Morning" story that aired Aug. 16, 1981, John talked with correspondent Heywood Hale Broun about his comeback after surgery, and about baseball's other comeback – returning to the field following the major league players' nearly two-month-long strike. [Also appearing are Yankee outfielder Lou Pinella and trainer Gene Monahan.]

Justice Department to send a record 1,000 monitors to midterm polling places

The Justice Department is planning to deploy a record 1,000 federal monitors to polling places throughout the U.S. for the midterm elections.

Frank Beard, ZZ Top drummer, dies at age 77

"Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas," ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons said in a statement.

Beagles bred for research get new life amid questions over federal oversight

The USDA's own inspector general has repeatedly raised concerns about federal oversight of dog breeders.

Lakers governor Jeanie Buss says siblings cannot sell family’s stake to Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner

Jeanie Buss's lawyer says she has not agreed to sell the team and that any vote suggesting the Buss family is selling "would be and is void."

8/18: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Florida, Wyoming and Alaska hold primaries; mixed messaging from White House on Iran talks.

U.S. government debt yields are surging at a bad time. Here's what's behind the move

Fixed income market watchers ascribe a run that began in June to a number of variables.

OpenAI announces slowing pace of development after hack by rogue agent

Amid race with Anthropic, firm plans to overhaul research and training and require more safety parameters after hack

OpenAI on ⁠Tuesday said it had slowed down the ⁠pace of ⁠its ​AI development while it overhauled its ⁠research and training systems.

The company’s researchers were ⁠caught unaware last month ​when an ‌AI agent ‌under testing hacked another AI ‌firm, Hugging Face.

US states accuse Meta of covering up research on teen social media addiction in pivotal trial

State attorneys general claim tech company intentionally designed addictive products that harm young people

Lawyers representing 29 US states have accused Meta of covering up internal research showing Instagram was addictive for teenagers. In a packed courtroom Tuesday, on the opening day of a landmark legal challenge, they said the company knew its products harmed children but hid that information from the public.

“I heard from many of you at jury selection that the health and wellbeing of kids is a shared responsibility,” said Megan O’Neill, a deputy attorney general for California, in her opening statements. “Meta didn’t do its share.”

Who is Natalie Harp? Trump's loyal assistant suddenly in the spotlight

The 35-year-old executive assistant to the president is a quiet but loyal force at President Trump's side.

Former NIAID adviser pleads guilty in COVID-19 records scheme

David Morens, 78, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit offenses and to defraud the United States.

Barcelona steal Rodri away from Real Madrid and plan to make him new Busquets

Spain’s World Cup-winning captain has completed his move to Camp Nou where he is a natural successor to club legend

By the time Flight PTN27B started its descent into El Prat a bit before 8pm on Monday evening, a small crowd had gathered by the terminal doors, waiting for it to land. A few people stood and watched the sky, cameras out to capture its arrival. A lot more watched on their phones. In the two hours it had taken to get there from Manchester, taking off at 5.11pm, 101 minutes behind schedule, the Pilatus PC-24 had become the most tracked plane on the planet. Everyone knew that Rodrigo Hernández was on board. Unless, of course, he had been sneaked away in a catering cart.

Five days earlier, Rodri had been seen, and recorded, at Barajas airport waiting to get on a flight back to Manchester from Madrid. He wheeled a small RFEF (Spanish football federation) case with his name on, stood alone in the queue, the World Cup-winning captain just a bloke in shorts and T-shirt, and his stay in the UK was supposed to be brief, just long enough to say goodbye. The plane he was boarding was a Ryanair one: that was the detail everyone homed in on, something extraordinary in the ordinariness. This time, though, he came on a private jet, one way. His family travelled with him. He came to sign for FC Barcelona.

Former DOJ lawyer alleges government improperly targeted Ivy League schools

The Trump admin. pressured attorneys to investigate allegations of antisemitism at elite universities even though there was no factual or legal basis to do so, former DOJ lawyer says.

Inflation is outpacing wages again. Many workers were already behind.

When inflation rises faster than workers' wages, it feels like they're getting a pay cut. Companies, meanwhile, benefit.

State Farm is sending refund checks to customers. Here's who qualifies.

More than 7.2 million checks have been mailed so far, with millions more expected to go out this week, according to State Farm.

Swedish MP intervenes in ‘damaging’ Brexit row over elderly Britons ordered to leave

Migration minister asked how he intends to stop deportations of people ‘who had lived in Sweden for decades’

The deportation and removal of British citizens from Sweden over Brexit residency rights is damaging relations with the UK amid efforts to improve links with London, a Swedish MP has said.

Håkan Svenneling, representative for Värmland, where a 78-year-old British widow, Joyce Thomas, has been given four weeks to leave Sweden after 21 years of residency, has written to the migration minister, Johan Forssell, asking what he “intends to do to stop the deportations”.

U.S. deporting Mexican migrants to Guatemala and Honduras, angering Mexico

The Trump administration has been quietly deporting migrants from Mexico to Central America, despite the Mexican government's willingness to accept the return of all its citizens.

Israel withdraws support for embattled Fifa president Gianni Infantino

• IFA points to ‘unprecedented crisis of confidence’

• Premier League chief says Infantino ‘hit self-destruct’

Gianni Infantino’s decision to sack his chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, after the Frenchman’s criticism of the World Cup sell-off plan has hardened some opposition to the Fifa president, with the efforts to force him out expected to intensify over the next few days.

On Tuesday Israel became the latest Fifa member to officially withdraw their support for Infantino’s re-election in a letter sent by the head of the Israel Football Association (IFA), Moshe Zuares.

The Guardian view on global inequality: extreme wealth threatens democracy | Editorial

New York mayor Zohran Mamdani shows Britain’s Andy Burnham that confronting billionaires need not mean the end of cooperation with Donald Trump

In November, Californians will vote on a one-off 5% levy on residents worth more than $1bn. The union-backed plan could raise $100bn, more than enough to replace federal healthcare funding stripped away by Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. About 200 very rich people would pay. But the referendum is becoming a test of whether extreme wealth can buy the political power to defeat a popular redistributive policy. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has already spent $100m backing opposition to the tax – a fraction of the $13bn bill he could face. Other billionaires are joining him. Whether voters can impose costs on the super-rich once their fortunes are big enough to shape the political process is now an open question. That alone should trouble any democracy.

It’s a long way from Mr Brin’s west coast lair of Mountain View to Andy Burnham’s Makerfield constituency. But the prime minister should heed the call from prominent progressive academics – led by the Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz – urging Britain to join a new global push to tackle inequality. Prof Stiglitz wants help creating a new UN International Panel on Inequality (IPI). This stems from the G20’s first-ever inequality report, which warned that the yawning gap between rich and poor was a human-made crisis corroding democracy and social cohesion while blocking efforts to tackle the climate emergency.

DEI policies brought no financial penalty to firms, study finds

Companies that stood by their diversity efforts faced no detectable impact from investors or shoppers, researchers found.

Apple overhauls Europe app store fees to resolve payments clash

The iPhone maker said the changes "resolve" disagreements with regulators stemming from the implementation of Europe's Digital Markets Act.

Analysis: Bond market pressure is squeezing Main Street as Wall Street waits on Warsh

A sell-off in long-term Treasurys is raising borrowing costs, exposing how debt, AI spending and energy are turning the bond market into a political problem.

Disney and ABC sue FCC over early license review, alleging retaliation

The lawsuit comes after the FCC ordered ABC to seek renewals between two and five years before its TV stations' licenses were set to expire.

Madonna leads 2026 MTV VMAs with 11 nominations

Madonna leads all artists with 11 nominations at this year's MTV VMAs, and a full sweep would tie her with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift for the most VMA wins in history.

Appeals court upholds block on immigration arrests at certain houses of worship

A federal appeals court sided with houses of worship from the Quaker, Sikh, and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship religious traditions.

Nvidia's AI moat is shifting from chips to capital

Nvidia still has dominant market share in AI chips, but with competition picking up steam, the company is taking greater advantage of another key asset.

The ‘big-ass bag’ – do you really need a tote you can carry a small human in?

Lululemon’s absurdly capacious 80-litre bag will set you back a small fortune – and it’s one of the cheapest giant holdalls on the market

Name: Big-Ass Bags.

Age: The titular “Big-Ass Bag” launched this month (but large carrying receptacles have been available for centuries).

Human remains found in Lake Mead as water levels reach record low

The skeletal remains were found on Sunday, two years after similar drought conditions exposed bodies in the lake.

I’m 50 years old. Why do I still struggle with the need to be liked?

An over-investment in people-pleasing can be emotionally costly. Here’s how I’m training myself to be OK with letting people down

A few months ago, my 10-year-old daughter and I went to our neighborhood cafe. At the counter, the owner greeted us with her typical effusion of warmth and welcome. Instead of greeting her in kind, my daughter looked on with a stony expression and ungiving eyes.

My face flushed. I was embarrassed and incensed by what I perceived as blatant rudeness. You could at least smile, I thought.

Data centers, crypto, and tax revisions take center stage in Tuesday primaries

Incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska is facing a serious challenge from former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola.

IRS proposal would force nonprofits to disclose leaders' terrorism convictions

The disclosure requirement would be added to the Form 990, the annual return that nonprofit groups file with the IRS.

Why is Sweden deporting Britons faster than any other EU country post-Brexit? | David Milstead

The official talk is of the government acting with understanding and flexibility. But devastated lives tell another story

There is anger about the case of Joyce Thomas, a 78-year-old retired nurse who has lived in Sweden for 21 years. Her husband died there; her son, grandchildren and home are there. Yet she has been told to leave because her post-Brexit residence application was late. Her case is appalling and predictable – but far from isolated.

The Guardian has also reported on the plight of Horace Mason, 74, who faces being deported after a court ruling, despite having lived in Sweden for 25 years. This is sad but not surprising.

‘Even its loos are on the outside’: hi-tech, inside-out marvel the Lloyd’s building is partying with the public

It has been likened to a monster, an oil rig – and the Parthenon. Now, for its 40th birthday, the astonishing London landmark has joined the Open House festival, to grant admirers a rare look around the inside

In his 2012 book A New Kind of Bleak, the critic Owen Hatherley called it “monstrous, compelling” and utterly messed-up. Back in the 1980s, a then Prince Charles suggested it had been inspired by a North Sea oil rig. But none of this stopped it from becoming, in 2011, the youngest ever building to be given Grade I-listed status in the UK.

And now, as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, the Lloyd’s building will open to the public for the first time since 2014 for one day only during London’s Open House festival. The iconic building in the heart of the financial district was designed by architect Richard Rogers to house the global insurance marketplace. Its futuristic facade has been a celebrated part of the City of London skyline since it opened in 1986, but the interior is rarely seen by the public. Visitor galleries with a view of the trading floor have long been shut for security reasons.

Hims & Hers CEO says FTC lawsuit misunderstands how the company works

Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum spoke to CNBC about the FTC's lawsuit against the company, compounded GLP-1 drugs and AI.

Ikea to take on eBay and Vinted with UK online secondhand site

Platform set to launch later this year will enable loyalty card members to sell preloved Billy bookcases and Poäng chairs

• Business live – latest updates

Ikea is taking on eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Vinted with its own secondhand selling site in the UK.

The new platform, which will enable shoppers signed up to the Swedish company’s membership scheme to connect directly to one another to buy and sell pre-owned Ikea items locally, is due to launch in the next few months.