‘You’re at war when you get attacked’: Mark Carney shows combative nature in face-off with Trump

The Canadian PM is one of the few world leaders to stand up to the US president. Former colleagues say they are not surprised

Mark Carney stood before a walnut-veneered lectern, his face drawn tight, as he announced that talks with Canada’s biggest trading partner had collapsed. “Last spring, I warned that America is trying to break us so that they can own us,” he said. “And I promised: that will never, ever happen. We are keeping that promise.”

For years, the former central bank governor had worked hard to calm markets. Now, he was asking Canadians to accept uncertainty and confrontation.

Published: August 29, 2026, 10:00 pm

The moment I knew: I’d never had romantic feelings for a man – then he touched my hand and it felt electric

As a widower and a newly single father of three, Jim Rogers was struggling. Then on a poolside holiday, he sat next to Tyler – and his life changed

• Find more stories from the moment I knew series

In the mid 90s, I was in the prime of my life. I was in my early 30s, married to my soul mate, Lorna, with three kids under three. We’d emigrated from our small town in Worcestershire in the UK to Perth, and life was wonderful. Then Lorna was diagnosed with melanoma. We returned to England and less than a year later she was gone. It was completely unbelievable, as though someone had just come along and smashed my life into a million pieces.

The following months were a blur: I was a grief-stricken widower and newly single parent struggling to keep the kids’ life on track and my own head above water. As time went on, it was obvious I wasn’t doing well and my parents insisted on treating me to a holiday in the sun. I didn’t want to go.

Published: August 29, 2026, 1:00 pm

‘Inept, incompetent, craven’: Scott Bessent struggles to clean up the president’s mess

There’s little optimism about treasury secretary’s ability to handle Trump’s tariffs, Iran sanctions and colossal US debt

History remembers Gen Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the allied forces in Europe during the second world war, for his role in the D-day invasion of Normandy. Whether Scott Bessent will achieve similar posterity as the face of the “economic D-day” in Iran remains to be seen.

The US treasury secretary, already trying to manage a $40tn national debt pile, this week took charge of Donald Trump’s effort to reverse-engineer his war of choice. Whereas the US would typically take on an adversary with diplomacy, sanctions and military force, in that order, the US president started with a six-month bombing campaign and now hopes that economic isolation can finish the job.

Published: August 29, 2026, 5:00 am

AI vaginas, customisable personalities and fake bruises: the sex doll market is booming. Does it matter how the dolls are treated?

As the sex doll industry grows and AI changes the products available, what does it mean to engage in any kind of relationship with a woman-shaped thing?

Two weeks ago, two distressed citizens stumbled across what they assumed was the mangled corpse of a woman, stuffed into a suitcase in a small town about three hours south of Sydney. They called the local police, who in turn issued a statement that a body in a suitcase had been found. The wider public waited sombrely for Australia’s tally of dead women to tick up by one.

But instead, a day later, after forensic analysis, it was determined that the woman in question wasn’t a woman at all. The “body” was that of a sex doll, marked with fake bruises, left to rot on a lonely dirt road. In Australia, as in the UK and some other European countries, it is not illegal to own a sex doll unless it resembles a child. Given the doll’s seemingly mature presentation, police investigations were called off.

Published: August 29, 2026, 1:00 pm

‘I wanted to find the slowest fashion imaginable’: the woman growing her own dress

Looking for an alternative to fast fashion, Eve Ogden Schaub decided to create a garment from homegrown flax

From crop tops to shorts and brightly patterned dresses, many of today’s clothes are the result of fast fashion. But one woman is taking a radical approach to challenging this trend by growing her own dress.

Eve Ogden Schaub is in the midst of a project to create a linen garment made from flax she is growing at home, documenting the process in videos shared on her Instagram account.

Published: August 29, 2026, 4:00 am

Why spades has dominated Black gatherings for generations – it’s more than just a card game

Spades and its predecessor bid whist are ‘Black family heirlooms’ played by Obama and Thurgood Marshall alike

At family reunions and cookouts growing up, Rachel Young-Love was captivated by what she called the “special table”. It was the loudest, the most crowded. Everyone seated at it was either embroiled in smack talk, eyeing their partner to covertly check if they were on the same page or sweating to make sure they played their hands just right.

Her relatives were playing the card game spades, “one of the highlights of the event”, she said, and the stakes – bragging rights until the next gathering – were high. It wasn’t until she was an adult that Young-Love learned to play, and even still she had to bide her time before she was allowed a seat at the spades table.

Published: August 29, 2026, 4:00 am

Nepal-Tibet death toll rises amid new flood fears and race to free group trapped in tunnel

Combined toll of at least 750 dead and more than 3,000 people missing in Nepal and Tibet after devastating flood

• ‘Their whole village has disappeared’: frantic hunt for survivors in Kathmandu hospital

Thousands of people remain missing after the catastrophic flash flood that has killed more than 700 people in Nepal and Tibet as authorities warn search and rescue teams of rising waters.

The combined toll in Nepal and Tibet has climbed to 750 dead and more than 3,000 people missing. Chinese authorities on Sunday reported 16 deaths and 546 missing, of whom 261 were foreign nationals, while Nepali officials confirmed 734 dead and 2,498 people missing.

Published: August 29, 2026, 8:39 pm

‘Their whole village has disappeared’: frantic hunt for survivors in Kathmandu hospital

Family members pin photos of Nepal’s missing to hospital wall as people try not to give up hope on loved ones

• Nepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updates

Posters of missing people line the wall of the hospital, the glue still fresh beneath. A schoolgirl smiling in her uniform; a beaming, chubby-cheeked baby; a couple smiling on their wedding day; a young man, hands on hips, atop a mountain peak; a young girl with flowing hair, peaking out from behind a door.

These faces are just a fraction of the thousands who have not been seen since deadly flash floods coursed through the Himalayas and wiped away entire villages. By Saturday morning, the toll of the missing had risen to almost 3,000, in both Nepal and Tibet.

Published: August 29, 2026, 7:11 am

Fire in California’s Big Sur region doubles in size overnight, forcing evacuations

Plaskett fire has swept through more than 5,900 acres in Monterey county and remains un-contained, says Cal Fire

A fire in California’s Big Sur region doubled in size overnight, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents, in a coastal region where firefighters have battled another blaze for weeks.

The Plaskett fire, which sparked on Tuesday, had swept through more than 5,900 acres (2,400 hectares) in Monterey county as of Friday, and remained un-contained, according to Cal Fire. Its cause is under investigation.

Published: August 29, 2026, 4:51 pm

Palestinian woman and NBC News team reportedly attacked in West Bank

Matt Bradley and crew assaulted while interviewing woman who said settlers had driven family out of home

A Palestinian woman and an NBC News team are reported to have been attacked and injured by masked Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday, amid worsening confrontations in the area.

Benjamin Netanyahu said he condemned the violence committed “by a handful of rioters”.

Published: August 29, 2026, 2:55 pm

Trump’s DHS is using an obscure law to secretly snoop on journalists, non-profits and unions: ‘It’s outrageous’

Even after judges rejected the same ploy, the Trump administration is going directly to social media and telecommunications companies

The Trump administration has been deploying an obscure legal maneuver to try to obtain private information on journalists, non-profits and unions, raising alarm over a power the government has asserted without judicial oversight.

In one instance, the government obtained six months of telephone records for Georgia Fort, a Minneapolis journalist. Fort was not notified of the request for her information, nor was she given a chance to contest the government’s effort to obtain them, her lawyers said in court papers.

Published: August 29, 2026, 5:00 am

LAPD releases footage of death of man whom police handcuffed and beat

Jose Carlos Hoyoz-Munoz was arrested after a family altercation and restrained for ‘combative’ behavior

A cadre of Los Angeles police officers beat and restrained a handcuffed man in July, minutes before he was found dead in a jail cell, according to newly released body-cam footage.

On 15 July, Jose Carlos Hoyoz-Munoz, 58, was found unconscious in his cell at the Van Nuys regional jail. At the time, the LAPD said two use-of-force incidents had occurred, without specifying the nature. In the video released on Friday, the department said three use-of-force incidents occurred.

Published: August 29, 2026, 12:52 pm

Far-right media provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos deported by ICE from US to UK

Ex-Breitbart editor has vocally supported immediate deportations for anyone who can’t prove US residency

Far-right British media provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported from the US after being detained on Thursday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New Orleans in connection with what the agency said was expired authorization to be in the country and a deportation order.

Yiannopoulos’s deportation to the UK occurred on Friday, said a statement on Saturday from a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE.

Published: August 29, 2026, 10:08 am

Messina mystery: theft of Renaissance art from Sicilian museum leaves investigators baffled

How did thieves pull off robbery of Antonello da Messina’s 15th-century masterpiece – and why did they leave part of it behind?

At about 8.47pm on the evening of 15 August, while tens of thousands of worshippers filled the streets of central Messina for a religious festival, at least two men cut through the fencing surrounding the regional museum, located a few miles to the north on the outskirts of the Sicilian harbour city.

Capitalising on the fact that the streets around the museum were unusually quiet, the men forced open a side door with a crowbar, gaining direct access to a display case containing the five surviving panels of the Renaissance master Antonello da Messina’s polyptych Polittico di San Gregorio, his most important work, and a small double-sided painting. Undisturbed, they removed the works from the building and fled.

Published: August 29, 2026, 9:00 pm

The president and the penthouse: how Madrid’s government spent €6.3m on a temporary ‘office’

Saga surrounding purchase for outspoken rightwing regional leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso refuses to go away

The outspoken rightwing leader of the Madrid region is under growing pressure to explain why her government spent €6.3m (£5.4m) on a residential penthouse purportedly to serve as a temporary workspace while her offices were being renovated.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, a prominent member of Spain’s opposition conservative People’s party (PP), has been the president of the Madrid region since 2019.

Published: August 29, 2026, 10:00 pm

Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers says he saw Bin Laden’s body with his ‘own eyes’. He did not

Ex-House intel committee chair, now running against Abdul El-Sayed, instead saw photo of Osama bin Laden’s body

In a recent fundraising email, the Republican candidate for Michigan’s open US Senate seat, former congressman Mike Rogers, appeared to mislead supporters about his past by suggesting that he had played an active role in the killing of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida who was shot and killed in an American military raid on his compound in Pakistan in 2011.

“When I served as a US army officer and an FBI special agent, I swore a sacred oath to defend the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” Rogers wrote, according to a screenshot of the email shared online by Azi Paybarah, a former Washington Post reporter now with Straight Arrow News. “I dedicated my life to keeping our families safe – working in the shadows, hunting down terrorists, and standing on the frontlines of our national security.”

Published: August 29, 2026, 8:07 am

FBI no longer banning all applicants who have had sexual encounters with sex workers

Bureau to still dismiss those with encounters within past 10 years, three or more times or while in public safety capacity

The FBI is dropping a categorical hiring ban on applicants who have had sexual encounters with sex workers and will instead consider in a more holistic manner at least some candidates who have engaged in the practice in the past, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move away from an automatic disqualification falls along a continuum of evolving recruitment standards within federal law enforcement and at the buttoned-up bureau, which several years ago relaxed its approach to candidates’ past marijuana use and has drawn more recent concern among some current and former agents about a perceived loosening of recruitment requirements as it seeks to replenish its ranks.

Published: August 29, 2026, 7:17 am

Ex-White House teleprompter operator fined $172,000 for Trump speech bets

Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Gabriel Perez wagered on Kalshi about words president used in speeches

A White House teleprompter operator who left his post amid accusations that he used inside knowledge to make bets on Donald Trump’s speeches on an online prediction market has been fined $172,000, according to federal regulators.

Gabriel Perez illicitly exploited “material, nonpublic information” that he gathered through his work for the president in order to place wagers on the Kalshi platform “for his personal benefit”, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) maintained in a news release on Friday.

Published: August 29, 2026, 6:33 am

Democrats ignored the uncommitted movement for Gaza in 2024. Now, it’s winning elections

By linking progressive politics with nominally Arab American issues, organizers are building winning coalitions

Abbas Alawieh initially thought the uncommitted movement of 2024 had failed.

The insurgent group, which he helped co-found, had gotten more than 700,000 Democrats to vote “uncommitted” on their 2024 presidential primary ballots to pressure the US government to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. But when the group pushed for the Democratic party to add an embargo on arms to Israel in its platform, it didn’t happen. And when they asked to have a Palestinian American speaker address the Democratic national convention, it was also a no-go.

Published: August 29, 2026, 4:00 am

Is Donald Trump’s bid to brand Democrats as ‘radical’ communists working?

In deep red South Carolina, the president helped stoke apprehension of a deeper red surge ahead of November’s US midterm elections

After casting his vote in South Carolina, a man who introduced himself as Chestnut was unwilling to give his full name. “You don’t have a need to know,” the air force veteran declared. He was, however, happy to share his views.

“I’m a true American. I believe in the USA,” said the man, outside Christ the Servant Lutheran church in Conway. “And I don’t believe in communism or socialism.”

Published: August 29, 2026, 6:00 am

Arms and the £5m man: Farage megadonor Christopher Harborne’s military empire

Reform UK denies donor and crypto-billionaire’s global interests in arms and military could present a conflict of interest over its defence spending policy

As he struggles with questions about the millions he has received from the billionaire Christopher Harborne, Nigel Farage has made no secret of his enthusiastic support for the industry that made part of his benefactor’s fortune – cryptocurrency. The Reform UK leader even urged the governor of the Bank of England to drop a crypto policy that may be costly for Harborne.

But another element of Harborne’s business interests could prove still more consequential if it shapes Farage’s positions. There appears to be no precedent for a major UK donor who is so entwined with the military.

Published: August 29, 2026, 10:00 pm

Keep off the grass: British tennis players complain of marijuana smell at US Open

• Aroma wafts over courts from nearby Corona Park

• Katie Boulter: ‘You smell it a lot. I’m not a huge fan’

Britain’s US Open hopefuls thought they had put the grass behind them when Wimbledon finished, but the smell of it is all around Flushing Meadows and they are not happy about it.

Marijuana is legal for adults in New York and while smoking is not allowed on site, the aroma of weed wafts over some outside courts from the nearby Corona Park.

Published: August 29, 2026, 2:57 am

US officials urge swimmers to be cautious amid surge in drowning deaths

Recent deadly water-related incidents amid heatwave leads National Park Service to issue water-safety reminders

As a heatwave continues to bake the western and central US, officials are urging swimmers to be cautious when seeking respite from the summer heat, especially amid a score of recent deadly water-related incidents.

Each year, from April to September, drowning deaths rise nationwide, according to 2018-24 data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Published: August 29, 2026, 5:00 am

Volunteers rescue man stuck on 10,000ft-high ledge in Sierra Nevada

Climber, stuck on 6in ridge, had veered off treacherous path and ‘any fall would almost certainly be fatal’

An ill-fated move left a man stranded on a 6in ledge over 10,000ft off the ground for hours in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, before a volunteer rescue team came to his aid.

The climber, who has not been publicly identified, had been scaling the Mendenhall couloir, a gully on the face of Laurel mountain, with a friend on Saturday.

Published: August 28, 2026, 2:30 pm

‘I was miserable for a lot of this century’: Stewart Lee on divorce, his adoption and the twisted children’s poem that explains his life

After a rocky few decades, the standup is nearing 60 – and finding contentment at last. But what does his grotesque retelling of The Owl and the Pussy-cat tell us about his inability to connect with people?

Stewart Lee is somewhat fretfully tidying his kitchen. Nothing is exactly where he left it two months ago to go on tour. Plus, he says, “I’ve come back with a load of records that need to be alphabetised, and that’s really stressing me out.” His house is miles from minimalist – posters everywhere, for spaghetti westerns, avant-garde Welsh harpists, the Fall (who he said in an interview in 2005 were the love of his life) – but if anything was an inch out of place, he’d notice. He puts things away with theatrical flourish, like a guy doing an impression of a guy who needs things just-so, for the comic effect of how absolutely impossible that guy would be, but at the same time, it’s funny because it’s true.

In the show he’s been away for, Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf, he – a 58-year-old lefty – enters into breakneck dialectic with toxic masculinity in werewolf form (age unknown). “Things have got worse in the 18 months I’ve been doing it,” he says. “I need to really amp the werewolf up. He would be much more explicitly racist and homophobic and transphobic now. But you don’t want people to be really upset in the room.” It feels quite a 2026 dilemma, being unable to even satirise the right without causing the distress it lives for.

Published: August 29, 2026, 10:00 pm

Make your bed – and be ruthless: 14 expert rules for a clean, healthy, happy home

Is your place crying out for some TLC? Housekeepers reveal how to keep it looking its best – and when it’s OK to let standards slip

Life is busy and there is only so much time to spend cleaning and tidying. What are the non-negotiables of a well-managed home? Here, housekeepers share their tips and hacks for making a chaotic house feel more orderly.

Published: August 29, 2026, 9:00 pm

Big tech goes to Hollywood: is Silicon Valley ready for a silver-screen reckoning?

Its moguls are ripe subjects for drama, and there is huge anticipation for forthcoming features The Social Reckoning and Artificial. But other projects have failed as the film industry is increasingly colonised by IT empires

• Tom Cruise, Olivia Colman and the return of Rocky: the best films of autumn 2026
• See all of our unmissable autumn arts recommendations here

‘I know there are easier enemies to make,” tech reporter Jeremy Allen White tells his colleague in a recent trailer for The Social Reckoning. “The mafia would be an easier enemy to make,” comes the reply. They’re talking about Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, but they might as well be discussing big tech as a whole. As The Social Reckoning promises to underline, it’s become clear that these people are not on our side – “us” being the whole of humanity except billionaire tech overlords and their mates. But for an industry that loves a clear-cut baddie, Hollywood has barely landed a blow on the tech industry. Now it finds itself in mortal danger of being absorbed by it. Is it too late to fight back?

The Social Reckoning’s predecessor, The Social Network, showed how this kind of thing is done. It was pacy, buzzy and full of weirder-than-life characters – not least the young Zuckerberg, portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg as an obnoxiously smart mogul-in-the-making, whose mission to connect the world stood in stark contrast to his own social deficiencies. Directed by David Fincher and co-written by Aaron Sorkin, it was also a commercial and critical hit, winning three Oscars. But a big part of what made The Social Network work, and makes its sequel such a threat, is that it was about the actual, real-world Silicon Valley, which is where a lot of recent entertainment has gone wrong.

Published: August 29, 2026, 9:00 pm

‘It gives Shein’: how did polyester become the world’s most-hated material?

Due to its ubiquity in fast fashion, gen Z are pushing back against the synthetic material and using it as an insult

In 2015, Kate Moss called an easyJet pilot a “basic bitch” and a catchy new insult meaning obvious and uncool hit the mainstream. Had it happened in 2026, Moss might have used the word “polyester”, reportedly gen Z’s new favorite diss, levied at cheap-looking videos on TikTok, and sometimes at other users’ taste.

But its use as a figurative insult also echoes a literal backlash against polyester, now the most-produced synthetic fibre on the planet.

Published: August 29, 2026, 6:00 am

The rebranding of ‘Lake America’ is Trump’s desperate attempt to distract us | Arwa Mahdawi

Ignore Iran, the Epstein files, and your wallet – not to mention Trump’s plummeting approval ratings

Don’t mention the war! Or the economy, for that matter. Or the Epstein files. Or Natalie Harp. Or “affordability”, which, as Donald Trump recently said at a rally, is a word that was “never used” by the media before he took office. Best not to talk about anything that affects ordinary people or embarrasses the president, really. Instead, let’s all rejoice in Trump’s latest triumph: renaming Lake Ontario, which is shared by Canada and the US, as Lake America.

On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to America-fy the lake’s name on US maps and documents, which is an excellent use of time and resources. I suppose we can at least be thankful that the president, who is trying to slap his own name on everything from airports to the Kennedy Center, didn’t decree that the body of water be called Lake Trump.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

Published: August 29, 2026, 5:00 am

Sunsets, disasters, dinners: we now record them all with our phones. But what is that doing to our souls? | Phoebe Greenwood

As a war correspondent, I worked with photographers who said the camera was a buffer between them and reality. It is much the same now as we snap and scroll

I was sitting on a rooftop in Athens at sunset looking up at Filopappou hill. Athens in August is burning hot. Not so much hotter than London or Paris any more, but the sort of hot that makes it foolish to step out into sunlight before 6pm. Emerging from the air conditioning at dusk, I saw a dense line of silhouettes on the ridge above me. Almost every one of these shadows had its arm raised, holding a cameraphone towards the sunset.

Of all the pretty hills in the Greek capital, Filopappou arguably has the best view. The Acropolis stands directly to its north. To its south, where I sat, the city sprawls out towards the sea and a dark horizon of islands – Aegina, Salamina, Agistri.

Published: August 28, 2026, 10:00 pm

The hill I will die on: The barbecue is fundamentally unenjoyable. Please, put a lid on it | Max Liu

Dress up the barbie however you like – it’s toxic, tiresome and, more to the point, malnourishing

“If you’re invited to a barbecue, have your dinner before you go.” It is the wisest advice my dad has ever given me. Barbecues are one of life’s perennial disappointments. The romance of eating outside quickly degenerates into a recipe for mucky fingers, smelly clothes and more mess than you bargained for, with grills that you can never get clean, uncomfortable seating that makes your back ache or, dafter still, eating while standing up. Worst of all is the true barbecue legacy – the nagging hunger that follows bitty dining, leaving you with the aggrieved sense that you missed a mealtime you’re never getting back.

I grew up in Cornwall, where beach barbecues were a rite of passage. The flame under the sandy grill was blown out by the Atlantic wind, so these gatherings were impractical, unpredictable and interminable. One minute the sausages were raw and looked like they’d never be ready, the next they were hard and black and basically inedible. Rain frequently sent us scrambling to pack up and flee for shelter.

Max Liu is a freelance writer

Published: August 29, 2026, 2:00 am

There is clearly trouble ahead for Harry and Meghan on their return to the UK. Here are five ways to avert it | Stephen Bates

With a sceptical public and hostility from a lot of the press, the Sussexes face quite a challenge. Still, they really could help themselves

They’re back! Harry and Meghan’s quiet return to England this week, via Birmingham airport, was much anticipated but scarcely celebrated – no bunting or street parties.

So far there are many questions but very few answers: not just “why return now?” and “why so suddenly?”, but also questions of security: who pays if not themselves, given that they are not working royals? And where will the money come from to keep them in the style to which they are accustomed?

Steve Bates is a former Guardian royal correspondent

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.

Published: August 28, 2026, 11:00 pm

An $18bn settlement – and Zuckerberg barely blinked. The tech titans must be stripped of their power, and soon | Jonathan Freedland

Those who said Meta harms children struck a blow, but the ability of big tech to gouge profits and cause harm is barely diminished. That’s the battle to come

Follow the money. If you want to know how the tech giant Meta really feels about the $18bn it agreed to fork out to end a landmark lawsuit against it – an outcome widely hailed as a victory for campaigners – just look at its share price. It didn’t go down when word came on Wednesday that Meta had settled with the 29 US states that had argued that the company’s Facebook and Instagram platforms harmed children. On the contrary, Meta stock went up, initially surging by 5%, before levelling out at a gain of just over 1.25%. There could be no clearer proof that the money men reckon Meta dodged a bullet.

To be sure, there was plenty to hearten those who have long believed that social media damages teenagers especially, whether by exposing them to content they shouldn’t see or by sapping their self-esteem, offering them filters that show how much prettier they would look if they had cosmetic surgery or giving them a metric of their popularity – and unpopularity – in the form of a running tally of “likes” and views.

Jonathan Freedland 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.

Published: August 28, 2026, 9:10 am

With the kids back at school, I finally get a break – back at my desk: the Becky Barnicoat cartoon

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Published: August 28, 2026, 10:00 pm

Lavish spending fails to fix Tottenham’s big issue – the lack of soul and spine | Jonathan Liew

It might be too early to push the panic button but Roberto De Zerbi faces a huge task if he is to turn Spurs around

Time for Tottenham to start panicking? This is, of course, a subtle trick question. Tottenham is one of those clubs that never actually stops panicking. They panic when they concede and they panic when they score. They panic when they have the ball and they panic when someone else does. They have a coach in Roberto De Zerbi whose face evokes a state of permanent alarm, the expression of a man perpetually having a toilet door opened on him. One year they even managed to panic their way to the Europa League. For the ever-rattled Spurs fan, this club is less a treasured devotion and more a lifelong haunting, broken up by occasional panic substitutions.

You could intuit that sense of encrusted resignation pretty much from the moment Anthony Elanga’s improvised shot kissed the post and trickled over the line to give Newcastle the lead. Since beating Aston Villa 4-1 in late 2024, Tottenham have gone behind 44 times in all competitions and come back to win precisely zero of them. There is something innate and endemic here, a chronic case of Long Tottenham for which – despite the new coach, the new leadership structure and more than a third of a billion pounds in transfer fees – there remains no proven cure. Yoane Wissa’s clincher was of zero surprise to anyone.

Published: August 29, 2026, 1:33 pm

William Jewell running back MicahJo Barnett dies after medical emergency during game

• Junior taken to hospital after first-quarter emergency

• Division II season opener suspended and later canceled

• School plans vigil for Barnett and his family

William Jewell College running back MicahJo Barnett had a medical emergency on the sideline during ⁠the school’s season opener on Saturday. and the school later announced his death.

Barnett, a junior, ⁠reportedly experienced seizure-like ⁠symptoms during ​the first quarter of the Division II contest against Fort Lewis College. The game was played ⁠on William Jewell’s campus in Liberty, Missouri, about 20 miles northeast of Kansas City.

Published: August 29, 2026, 4:43 pm

Filip Hrgovic stuns Britain’s Moses Itauma to claim IBF world heavyweight title

• 21-year-old Itauma stopped after ninth-round rally

• 34-year-old Hrgovic is first Croat to win such a title

• Cameron outpoints Mayer to unify 154lb titles

Moses Itauma’s hopes of becoming the second-youngest world heavyweight champion in history lay in ruins after the extraordinarily tough and resilient Filip Hrgovic stopped him in the ninth round of their IBF title fight. Yet, until the latter stages of round eight, the sheer speed and dextrous power of the Briton had dominated the contest, with the Croat being dropped in the second and caught again and again by jolting combinations.

The fight changed course when Itauma’s stamina suddenly dipped and he began to weave in woozy fatigue as Hrgovic fought back with granite-like determination. Itauma could not withstand the dark storm rolling over him in the ninth and he sank back against the ropes as Hrgovic opened up with renewed conviction. Just as the referee stepped in to stop the fight, Ben Davison, Itauma’s trainer, also sent a white towel sailing sadly over the listing ropes to save his man from a knockout.

Published: August 29, 2026, 4:40 pm

Novak Djokovic feels ‘as best as I can be’ before tilt at 25th grand slam title in New York

• Serb hopes to take advantage of wide-open men’s draw

• Elena Rybakina has eyes on No 1 world ranking

Novak Djokovic said he was as prepared as he could be for the US Open as he attempts to take advantage of the wide-open men’s draw and battle for a potential 25th grand slam title.

Djokovic arrived in New York having competed only once after his semi-final run at Wimbledon, losing in his opening match of the Cincinnati Open to Thiago Agustín Tirante while struggling with the humidity. However, he now sees the silver lining in that defeat, which he believes gave him the time to make sure he was in optimal shape for the US Open. “I don’t like early losses anywhere, to be honest, but it gave me time to be prepared for US Open in a most adequate way,” he said. “I had almost a few weeks, actually two weeks, to really train and get my body and mind into the right state, prepared for what’s coming up.

Published: August 29, 2026, 3:58 pm

North Carolina upset Texas Christian as college football kicks off season in Dublin – in pictures

Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels upset the TCU Horned Frogs in a low-scoring affair at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday in the first major college football game of the 2026 season

• College football is booming, chaotic and more confusing than ever

Published: August 29, 2026, 10:34 am

‘Utterly baffled’: the 17-year-old girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig

In a 1931 exhibition, Jackie Mitchell silenced the greats back-to-back. It sparked still-ongoing debates over legitimacy and opportunities for women in baseball

The Sultan of Swat sounded exasperated. “I don’t know what things are coming to,” Babe Ruth sighed during spring training in 1931.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen if they begin to let women in baseball,” he elaborated to reporters. “Of course, they will never make good. Why? Because they are too delicate. It would kill them to play ball everyday.”

Published: August 29, 2026, 3:00 am

Lando Norris agrees new deal until at least 2030 with ‘second family’ McLaren

• Norris: ‘I want my whole career to be with McLaren’

• F1 title holder says other teams have approached him

Lando Norris has said he would like to see out his career with McLaren, as the defending Formula One world champion announced he has agreed a multi-year deal until at least 2030 with the team he described as like “a second family”.

The 26-year-old, who won his first F1 title last season, joined McLaren to make his debut in the sport in 2019. He has been with them ever since and his current contract was due to run until the end of this year. Norris emphasised that he had not countenanced leaving McLaren and had made no approaches toward other teams – although some had made advances towards him.

Published: August 29, 2026, 2:26 am

Man posed as 49ers player to scam women out of $1.3m, FBI says

• Authorities say 26 women targeted across four states

• Suspect allegedly used dating apps, fake investments

• FBI believes there may be ‘many more victims’

Federal authorities claim a man posed as a San Francisco 49ers player and scammed more than ⁠two dozen women out of about $1.3m.

The FBI arrested Daejon Love, 35, and his alleged accomplice ⁠Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, on ⁠24 August in Boise, Idaho. They were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, according ⁠to the US attorney’s office in the District of Oregon. The men remain in federal custody in Boise.

Published: August 28, 2026, 7:28 pm

Judge grants hearing over bid to recant Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse allegations

• Man claims he was coached extensively by authorities

• Pennsylvania says recantation is ‘highly suspect’

• Sandusky serving sentence after 2012 conviction

A judge has granted a hearing to explore claims that a man wants to recant allegations of sexual abuse years ago by Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

Sandusky, 82, has been serving a decades-long prison sentence since he was convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse in 2012. Eight young men testified about what happened to them as boys. He has repeatedly lost efforts to get a new trial, but Sandusky’s lawyers are trying again.

Published: August 28, 2026, 12:39 pm

Russian drone strike on Kyiv warehouse storing weapons kills at least 37

Ukrainian prosecutors open investigation into why munitions were stored so close to residential buildings

At least 37 people have been killed after a Russian drone struck a warehouse near Kyiv’s western suburbs that was storing “explosive objects”.

The attack damaged at least 50 residential buildings, including a care home for elderly and disabled people, and sparked a huge fire and explosions in the Bucha district of the Kyiv region. The regional governor, Tymur Tkachenko, said a further 42 people, including four children, had been injured in the strike.

Published: August 29, 2026, 6:34 am

‘I don’t want to be a backseat driver’: Gordon Brown on Burnham, billionaires – and his vision for a better Britain

The former UK prime minister is still shaping politics (even if he doesn’t want to interfere). He talks about keeping his temper, staying fit – and why he won’t pay £90 for a Scotland football shirt

It’s a Monday in August and as England burns in dystopian heat, Gordon Brown and I are in his office at the top of his house in North Queensferry, overlooking the moody waters of the Firth of Forth. It’s hard to recall the top of my own sauna-like house in London as we stand here in the cool, wearing wool suits and necessary socks, my coat slung over the back of a chair. “I was watching Raith Rovers – the local football team – on Saturday,” Brown says, “and it was really cold. There was a wind blowing in from the sea.” He asks if I’ve heard the famous joke – “Scotland’s only got two seasons: July and winter”– then chuckles. It’s one of his favourites. (I’ll hear him tell it three times today.)

That’s not to say Fife has been untouched by the multiple heatwaves. They had a few sunny days. One hit 24C – “a shock”, Brown says, July temperatures typically being 15-17C. He stood in his kitchen and considered the modest patch of grass at the back of the house. “I never imagined being out in the garden in the summer. I never imagined it because it’s either raining or too cold.” Once out, he found himself battling a “very dangerous” nest of wasps. One family member was stung, then there was the rigmarole of specialists in thick gloves and protective suits undertaking its removal. By the time that was done, the sun had gone in.

Published: August 28, 2026, 10:00 pm

‘If it’s made in the US, I don’t buy it’: Canadians on boycotting Trump’s America

Avoiding US goods and services – from tech to whisky to air travel – has forced many to find a new way of living

For William McDonald, 38, a diesel mechanic from Thunder Bay, Ontario, “Canadian is always the first choice,” even if it means his weekly bills are higher.

“As soon as Trump started putting those tariffs on in February [last year], I started boycotting US goods,” he said. “Avoiding American products has driven my costs up, and I’m still happy to do it.

Published: August 29, 2026, 5:02 am

Was it a mistake for 99 Colombian guerrillas to lay down their arms?

Fighters in legal limbo after accepting ‘total peace’ plan of Petro government just days before hardliner Abelardo De la Espriella took over

In mid-June, 99 guerrilla fighters were flown by helicopter to a small settlement in a rural area of southern Colombia where they lined up and, one by one, handed their weapons to government officials: rifles, pistols, machine guns and grenade launchers.

They also stripped off their heavy tactical vests, field packs and camouflage uniforms, which were each piled into a bonfire to mark the beginning of a new life away from an armed conflict that has claimed nearly half a million lives in the last six decades.

Published: August 29, 2026, 3:00 am

Artemis II astronauts receive nation's highest space honor for their successful moonshot

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen receive Congressional Space Medal of Honor

The Artemis II astronauts who flew around the moon in April received the US’s highest space honor on Friday.

Donald Trump presented the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the three Americans and one Canadian whose lunar flyby for the US space agency Nasa set a new distance record for humanity.

Published: August 29, 2026, 9:03 am

Royal Navy spent three days tracking Russian vessels in UK waters

Three vessels and a helicopter deployed to monitor four ships travelling through the North Sea to the Channel

The Royal Navy spent three days tracking Russian vessels as they passed through UK waters, it has emerged.

The “intense” 72-hour operation took place last week, with radars used to monitor four ships that made their way from the North Sea through to the Channel.

Published: August 29, 2026, 8:06 am

Statins can safely cut risk of heart attacks or strokes in healthy people aged over 70, world-first clinical trial shows

Australian-led trial finds low risk of side effects from common cholesterol-lowering medication for otherwise healthy older people

Taking a common cholesterol-lowering medication can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke for people aged over 70, with a low risk of serious side effects, a world-first clinical trial led by Australian researchers has found.

Statins are already commonly prescribed to people under the age of 75 who meet certain risk criteria, such as having diabetes and high cholesterol, to prevent them from having a major heart event such as a heart attack, stroke, or from requiring heart surgery.

Published: August 28, 2026, 11:25 pm

Sharp rise in incidents of AI escaping users’ control, research finds

Exclusive: Number of times AI lies, ignores instructions and pursues goals in harmful ways almost doubles in July

Incidents of AIs escaping users’ control to lie, ignore instructions and pursue goals in harmful ways have hit a new high, according to research that also suggests the severity of deception and misalignment is worsening.

Analysis of real-world loss of control incidents involving AI models flagged by businesses and individuals almost doubled in July compared with June, with more than 300 cases in the month, according to the Loss of Control Observatory, which monitors reports made by AI users on the social media platform X.

Published: August 28, 2026, 11:00 pm

‘It’s all you can hear’: New Jersey lawsuit takes on datacenter’s noise pollution

Lawsuit alleges sound is nuisance for up to one mile around datacenter as residents experience noises from DataOne

It’s a sound Steve Brown, a 63-year-old Vineland, New Jersey resident, literally hears in his sleep: BGRRRRRRRRRRR.

It drones, oscillates, growls – these are machines at industrial scale. Are they generators? Pumps? Fans? Brown does not know what equipment causes the sound or why. He only knows two things: he’s tired of it, and it’s coming from DataOne – a 350MW datacenter under construction a little more than a mile from his home of 25 years.

This article was amended on 28 August 2026. A previous version referred to the Michigan law firm Liddle Sheets PC as Liddle Sheets Coulson.

Published: August 28, 2026, 4:00 am

The Guardian climate pledge 2026

Each year, the Guardian reaffirms its commitment to the environment – both in our reporting and how we operate as a business. From critical tipping points to war in Iran, this is how the last 12 months have looked

• Support the Guardian’s environment coverage

• The Guardian climate forum 2026

Today marks the end of the Guardian’s annual climate support campaign. Each year, during the campaign, we remind our audience about the Guardian’s role in covering the threats to our planet and the importance of independent journalism in telling that story. Our climate pledge is a reminder of the environmental values we place at the heart of our reporting and our organisation.

Since our 2025 climate pledge, the world has experienced extreme levels of heat as well as extreme forms of denial and abdication in the face of the climate crisis. But, across the world, there have also been inspiring efforts to tackle it.

We will be publishing our annual company emissions data in the autumn, explaining what drives our emissions and where they have risen and fallen.

We have started the process of estimating our emissions from generative AI usage. We hope to report on this next year.

We have undertaken our B Corp recertification in line with the new standards introduced by B Lab in 2026. We will find out our result later this year.

We have participated in advertising industry working groups that published a methodological framework that aims to capture the emissions impact of digital and print advertising.

We open ourselves up to scrutiny by independent third parties, such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and B Corp, so they can assess the robustness of our targets and our internal policies.

Published: August 28, 2026, 10:00 am

Is the environmental impact of datacentres finally cutting through?

In this week’s newsletter: Anti-datacentre sentiment is growing across the political spectrum in the US – and the public is only just finding out about the potential effects on their energy bills

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Anti-datacentre sentiment is growing from across the political spectrum in the US.

More than a dozen states have considered moratoria on datacentres. New York became the first US state to enact a temporary ban last month. Progressive stalwarts Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have proposed a national moratorium. And even Greg Abbott, the far-right governor of Texas, called for a ban on datacentre development in rural swaths of his state.

‘Our new normal’: how marine heatwaves affect life in British seas

Iraq’s ghost villages: Islamic State drove people away – now a new enemy is preventing their return

Destroyed crops, riverbed cyclists and a ‘Rock of Starvation’: how drought has devastated the Danube

Published: August 28, 2026, 9:20 am

Trump rollback of US forest protections could accelerate extinction of 400 endangered species

Decision to rescind ‘roadless rule’ opens more than 45m acres of national forests to roads, drilling and logging

More than 400 endangered animal and plant species could face accelerated extinction after the Donald Trump administration’s decision to rescind a rule that has protected old-growth forests for more than two decades.

According to a new report from the Center for Biological Diversity, the rollback of the Bill Clinton-era “roadless rule” could put 7.4m acres (3m hectares) of endangered-species habitat and nearly 1,800 miles (2,900km) of protected rivers and streams at risk, while opening more than 45m acres of national forests to roads, drilling and logging.

Published: August 28, 2026, 5:00 am

Los Angeles fire survivors face record wait for federal disaster aid under Trump

Nearly 600 days after the devastating 2025 fires, thousands of Los Angeles residents are still waiting for more than $15bn in federal funds to rebuild their communities

As thousands of residents in Spokane, Washington, begin to grapple with a long recovery after a destructive set of blazes that consumed hundreds of homes in the state’s second most populated city this month, victims of the Los Angeles firestorm broke a grim record – they have faced the longest delay in modern history for federal aid.

Nearly 600 days since a historic firestorm roared into communities across Los Angeles, reducing more than 16,000 structures to ash and toxic debris, the Trump administration has failed to appropriate more than $15bn in long-term recovery funds that are crucial to rebuilding. The delay in supplying the badly needed funds is months longer than the last record set when victims of the Maui fires had to wait 500 days to receive the support, LAist noted this week.

Published: August 28, 2026, 3:39 pm

Trump arch will alter sightlines of many Washington DC landmarks, report says

National Park Service, which backs the 250ft arch, says it is likely to disrupt historical significance of dozens of sites

A new National Park Service report backs Donald Trump’s proposed arch, despite what it says are adverse effects to the sightlines of a host of landmarks in Washington, including the Washington Monument and the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.

The report released on Friday says the 250ft-tall (76-meter) memorial arch is likely to disrupt the historical significance of dozens of sites near its planned location adjacent to the Arlington Memorial Bridge.

Published: August 28, 2026, 2:36 pm

A conservative strategist called for ‘getting rid of Trump’ three years ago. Could he be his next press secretary?

Scott Jennings has pivoted from his early critiques and caught the White House’s eye with pro-Trump commentary on CNN

In 2016, a month before the presidential election that Donald Trump would win, the longtime Republican strategist Scott Jennings described him as “a vulgar, crude, braggadocious, desperate-to-impress playboy who tends to view most everything through a sexual lens”.

After Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, Jennings excoriated Trump’s conduct during the January 6 Capitol insurrection, saying he “clearly violated his oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the constitution to the best of [his] ability”.

Published: August 28, 2026, 3:00 am

Fed chair says delivering ‘stable prices’ is central bank’s job as inflation persists

However, Kevin Warsh didn’t say if interest rates would change in coming months, as inflation remains stubborn

The US Federal Reserve is not done fighting high inflation, its chair, Kevin Warsh, said in his first major speech in the role on Friday, emphasizing that it was “the Fed’s job to deliver stable prices”.

Warsh did not indicate where the Fed will take interest rates in the coming months, despite US inflation remaining stubbornly above the central bank’s 2% target amid the war in Iran. But his speech was taken by markets as a signal that rates may rise in the coming months, a move that may put him at odds with Donald Trump, who has aggressively called for rates to be cut.

Published: August 28, 2026, 8:48 am

Sarah Ferguson to return to UK after relocating amid Epstein revelations

Former Duchess of York moved to Swiss chalet during fallout over her friendship with convicted child sex offender

Sarah Ferguson will return to the UK after relocating to a Swiss chalet amid the fallout over the friendship between her and her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to reports.

The pair were stripped of their royal titles in October over the scandal of their relationship with Epstein. According to the Sun, the former Duchess of York, 66, is renting a six-bedroom gated property in the home counties.

Published: August 29, 2026, 7:32 am

‘In walked this big bundle of energy’: the day Dolly Parton came to Rotherham

Country star came to South Yorkshire town in 2007 for UK launch of the Imagination Library, her book donation scheme

Shane Jarman was up a ladder decorating a Christmas tree at the school where he was deputy headteacher when he got a call asking him to come to Rotherham hospital ASAP. It was December 2007 and Jarman’s wife, Claire, had given birth the previous day to their first child, a girl called Emma, so of course he rushed to the phone. All was well, he was told, but that “everything would become clear” when he got to the hospital.

Once there, his wife told him – somewhat unexpectedly – that they were going to meet Dolly Parton. “And literally within what felt like five minutes,” he recalled, “there were great camera flashes, lots of noise, lots of clicking and in walked this real big bundle of energy.”

Published: August 29, 2026, 12:00 am

‘Winter panic’: EU gas stores at their lowest level in 13 years

As one of Europe’s biggest consumers of gas the UK may be particularly exposed to heightened price volatility

Europe is on course to enter the cooler months with gas stores at their lowest level in 13 years, which has triggered “winter panic” among energy traders, experts have warned.

The EU’s gas stocks were 63% full in the last week of August, well below the 80% average for late August over recent years and among the lowest levels ever recorded for this time of year.

Published: August 28, 2026, 10:00 pm

In South Korea, it is illegal to travel to dangerous countries. Journalists say it’s making their work impossible

Penalties for travel to blacklisted countries have recently risen, while aid workers and activists say they have also been caught up in the law

Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, freelance photographer Jang Jinyoung crossed from Poland into Lviv and travelled on to Kyiv, where he spent a fortnight documenting the war.

South Korea’s foreign ministry had designated Ukraine off-limits days earlier, making unauthorised visits a criminal offence. He knew he was breaking the law but went anyway, as no Korean journalist had yet reported from inside the country.

Published: August 28, 2026, 5:00 pm

Tom Cruise, Olivia Colman and the return of Rocky: the best films of autumn 2026

Old favourites Shaun the Sheep, Dune, Jane Austen and Godzilla join Charles de Gaulle, the Peasants’ Revolt and queer identity in Spain

• See all of our unmissable autumn arts recommendations here
• Big tech goes to Hollywood: is Silicon Valley ready for a silver-screen reckoning?

All release dates are UK and subject to change

Willem Dafoe is typically grizzled and poetic for this study of a near-retirement postal worker who, it turns out, was a beatnik rhymester of cachet – but no lasting renown – back in the day, and who has now been rediscovered by a new generation of literary hipsters. Director Kent Jones, adapting a novella by Arthur “La Ronde” Schnitzler, was the longtime head of the New York film festival; he might be in for a spot of late fame himself. AP
• 4 September

Published: August 29, 2026, 9:00 pm

Laurie Anderson’s next manuscript to be locked away for 88 years in Future Library

Grammy award-winning American artist selected as 13th person to submit written work to Oslo-based project

The next manuscript by the American artist Laurie Anderson will remain unseen for 88 years, as she becomes the 13th figure to contribute to the Future Library project.

Anderson joins Margaret Atwood, Han Kang, Ocean Vuong and other prominent authors who have written secret manuscripts, which have been locked away until 2114.

Published: August 29, 2026, 5:00 am

I avoided restaurants after a disastrous job as a waitress. Then I watched The Bear …

Working in a high-end restaurant was stressful and scarring. It took an accidental encounter with the TV show to help me heal – and change my attitude towards work

Eight years ago, I was working as a waitress in a fine dining restaurant in the Cotswolds. The expertly crafted atmosphere had dim mood lighting, ambient music and a farm-to-table menu. I hated it.

The other waiters could charm guests into purchasing expensive bottles, but I just gaped gormlessly when I struggled to recall the wine pairings. My brown leather brogues gave me blisters as I’d hobble to the kitchen to admit I’d forgotten an order in the middle of a busy dinner service. The chefs would shout and shake the ticket in my face.

Published: August 29, 2026, 4:00 am

Chris Cantrill: Rewilding review – a rural whodunnit told with midlife mirth

Monkey Barrel Comedy, Edinburgh
Cantrill shares his struggles descending into middle age and his awkward interactions with fellow villagers in a fun show

Now a four-time nominee for the Edinburgh comedy award, Chris Cantrill is bearing down on James Acaster’s always-the-bridesmaid record – unless 2026 proves to be his year. Would it be merited? Well, there are few comedians in whose company it is more reliably fun to spend time. And that’s resoundingly the case with Rewilding, the follow-up to 2024’s Easily Swayed, in which Cantrill gave an uproarious account of turning 40, moving to the countryside and having (the male, northern, emotionally stunted equivalent of) a breakdown.

The sequel is scarcely less entertaining, but it’s not as well constructed, and its story is less resonant. It begins with this ebullient Bradford native explaining how bad he is at introducing himself, with reference to “drinks and nibs” his wife has coerced him to attend in their Northumbrian village. Cantrill is chronic at small talk, he tells us, yet adept at code-switching – as demonstrated in the company of the “gen Z girls and gays” who love him, rural workers whose opinions he meekly opposes in the pub, and the private-school boys who (as per one gloriously indiscreet section) call the shots where Cantrill works, on Saturday Night Live UK.

At Monkey Barrel Comedy, Edinburgh, until 30 August

All our Edinburgh festival reviews

Published: August 28, 2026, 9:00 pm

Memo to Ridley Scott: no one needs more Alien: Covenant movies – get the franchise back to stalk’n’slash

News that Scott is working on a follow-up to his maligned 2017 film leaves me worried the franchise has run out of shocks

If any science-fiction saga looked beyond recovery, it was the Alien franchise. For the 38 years that followed James Cameron’s Aliens, film-makers contrived to find every imaginable way of not making a good Alien film. They tried killing everyone the audience cared about before the opening credits, marooning Sigourney Weaver on a planet populated entirely by bald British character actors, cloning Ripley, pitting xenomorphs against Predators, and sending scientists across the universe to ask an enormous, hairless space bodybuilder why he made them. They even ponied up the thick end of $100m for a film in which Michael Fassbender teaches himself to play the flute.

And then in 2024, we got Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus, in which actual xenomorphs chase actual human beings down actual corridors for the clearly defined purposes of either killing them or putting smaller xenomorphs inside them. Better still, a year later we got Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth, which reminded us that giant, murderous space insects are in fact less awful than tech trillionaires.

Published: August 28, 2026, 4:44 am

‘I don’t care if I look good’: French heartthrob Louis Garrel on fashion, fatherhood and his radically dorky new role

The star has long been French cinema’s favourite tousle-haired Adonis, which makes his latest performance – as a schlubby, stay-at-home dad – all the more surprising. ‘I appreciate people laughing at me,’ he says

‘Even though I’ve been working in film for over 20 years, I still have this desire to look beautiful on screen,” says Louis Garrel, on a video call from his bed inside a boat off the coast of Corsica. The French film star is lying on his stomach, occasionally kicking up his bare legs, ruffling his curls and running the nail of his thumb over his moustache. I think the person he sees on the laptop screen in front of him is me, but I am pretty certain he is flirting with his own reflection.

The attraction between the Paris-born 43-year-old and the camera tends to be reciprocal. Long of limb, tousled of hair and chiselled of nose, Garrel has spent a career on screen as French cinema’s favourite Adonis – the man film-makers turn to when they need an erotic wrecking ball to smash up bourgeois twosomes and turn them into quivering menages a trois.

Published: August 28, 2026, 5:00 am

‘It’s easier when nobody’s watching’: inside the secretive and sublime freak-folk of @

Their un-Googlable, very online name is the antithesis of this earthy duo’s sublime art-folk. Like their emotionally ambiguous music, the pair don’t give up their mysteries easily
• The best music of autumn 2026: Johnny Marr, Phoebe Bridgers, Rachel Chinouriri and more
• See all of our unmissable autumn arts recommendations here

Victoria Rose arrives at Philadelphia’s 30th St Station and apologises for the sticky streaks covering her car’s interior. She’s a beekeeper, and it’s just propolis, a resinous sealant for gaps in the hive. Her bandmate, Stone Filipczak, is riding shotgun, and her protective gear occupies the rear passenger seat. We’re heading to one of their favourite spots, an Ethiopian restaurant that doubles as a venue. The dining room quickly gets boisterous – a challenge for our interview given that Filipczak and Rose are relatively soft speakers, and not wildly keen to divulge specifics about the music they make as @. Like Rose’s bees, they’re a secretive and self-sustaining pair.

As you might guess, @ is pronounced “at”. It’s a tough Google. The name, Filipczak explains, came from “a vision of an @ sign on a kick drum head”. Not that they have any need for one: @’s art-folk is rooted in acoustic guitar, woodwinds and vocal harmonies that furrow and frolic. Their fantastic second album, Autosmile, is their first with the venerated indie label 4AD. (The name is a reference to a meme showing a dopey sunflower: “When you and gang faded and auto smile gets turn on …”)

Published: August 28, 2026, 9:00 pm

The best music of autumn 2026: Johnny Marr, Phoebe Bridgers, Rachel Chinouriri and more

Irish noisemongers Gilla Band, shadowy producers Two Shell and lovable band the Big Moon have new records, and there are tours from Bob Dylan and Kelela – plus the best of jazz, global and classical

• ‘It’s easier when nobody’s watching’: inside the secretive and sublime freak-folk of @
• See all of our unmissable autumn arts recommendations here

Published: August 28, 2026, 9:00 pm

Charli xcx, Reading Festival review – Pretentious? Just a bit. But Nietzsche would have loved it

Reading Festival

There’s not much time to dig into her deep catalogue of future-facing pop, but she satisfies the hardcore

“Time itself is a circle,” as the rock’n’roll philosopher Nietzsche once said, accurately foreshadowing Charli xcx’s only UK festival appearance this summer. Like her performance on Glastonbury’s Other Stage last year – a pyrotechnic farewell to the puke-green reign of Brat – Charli’s Reading and Leeds appearance is a not-quite-headline slot that also follows a rowdy set from grime don Skepta.

Yet in the past 14 months, everything else in Charli’s pop factory has undergone a hard reset. She’s released two albums – a grandiose, gothic soundtrack to Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights, and last month’s high-concept Music, Fashion, Film, an album of raw, glitching micro-rock, with guitars shredded into Tetris-like pieces, and fitted with lacerating lyrics about shopping, egotism and mortality. She’s also launched an acting career, thrown a big fat celebrity wedding and, somewhere along the way, found time to rehearse her biggest, most vertiginous show to date.

Published: August 29, 2026, 1:23 am

How to make a bestseller: insiders reveal the tricks of the book trade

From cover design to shelf placement and influencer partnerships … how publishers will persuade you to buy their books this autumn

Think about the last book you bought. How did you choose it? Was it from a recommendation, a review, a TikTok video? Did the cover grab you, were you swayed by the quotes on the front, or did you just happen to spot it on an appealing table as you walked into the shop? Did you think about all the nudges that led you to that decision – by the publisher, the bookseller or that person you follow on Insta?

The reality is that our reading choices are directed and massaged at every turn. “It’s all about the art of persuasion,” says Philip Gwyn Jones, who was a publisher for more than 30 years and is now a literary agent. And who are the persuaders? They’re the booksellers, the supermarket stock buyers, the publishing houses and their ranks of marketers and publicists. And, more recently, persuasion often comes from BookTokers and online influencers, social media videos, podcasts and Instagram posts. How is all this changing publishing?

Published: August 29, 2026, 1:00 am

The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past – Geralt of Rivia returns after a decade in the sun

Before The Witcher 4 arrives in 2028, CD Projekt Red is returning us to the world of The Witcher 3 for one last foray. Looks like wind’s still howlin’

The game that graced us with Bathtub Geralt, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, arrived more than a decade ago. So it was a touch surprising this summer when developers CD Projekt Red announced a new expansion to the venerable adventure, titled Songs of the Past, for next year. It will release alongside a full remaster of the original game, which will be free for anyone who bought it back in 2015. (The studio is also working on a sequel, The Witcher 4, but that’s not due until 2028.)

As it turns out, this is all possible thanks to a partnership with Fool’s Theory, a studio founded by CD Projekt Red veterans, which took on the brunt of the development work. “We’ve had this story in a drawer for many years,” explains Marcin Blacha, VP story director at CD Projekt Red. “Of course, we moved on to Cyberpunk 2077 and now The Witcher 4, as well as our other projects. But because we knew The Witcher 4 would take time, we saw a gap in our release calendar where Songs of the Past could go. Thankfully, we were able to find the right partner to help execute it.”

Published: August 28, 2026, 6:00 am

‘The angle of the dog, the hat and the tattoo on her foot all come together’: Trace Meek’s best phone picture

A family day in a Florida back yard was the setting for a summertime memory it would be impossible to recreate

Trace Meek is abundantly proud of his Florida back yard. For the last 10 years, he and his wife, Lauren, have worked diligently on it. “It’s our happy place,” he says. “We live in Belleair Bluffs, and I’ve watched my son and daughter grow up playing in the dirt under our giant oak trees, swinging on the tree swing, riding their bikes and scooters on the circular path, and swimming in our pool. It’s big, with a really deep end and three water fountains that shoot over the top. We like to have a last jump into the pool before bed and, best of all, there are no iPads or TVs.”

The family had friends visiting for 4 July celebrations when Meek took this photo on his phone. There were six adults, six children and two dogs present. Harvey, a braque français, is pictured here on Lauren’s lap.

Published: August 29, 2026, 3:00 am

From Dalliance to Billy Strings: the week in rave reviews

Hugo Weaving leads a delightful drama about the trials and tribulations of a bunch of friends of a certain age, and the bluegrass wunderkind returns with a remarkable new album

Published: August 28, 2026, 10:00 pm

Rob Reiner’s son Jake gives first interview after parents’ deaths: ‘I will never understand why this happened’

Jake says his parents ‘never stopped helping’ his brother Nick, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering both of them at their Los Angeles home

Jake Reiner has given his first interview since the killing of his parents, the film-maker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, saying: “I will never understand why this happened.”

Reiner, who directed films including The Princess Bride, This Is Spinal Tap and Stand By Me, was found dead alongside Singer Reiner from apparent stab wounds in their home in Los Angeles in December.

Published: August 28, 2026, 6:20 am

Tuscany’s treasured islands: five to explore

Want to avoid the crowds in Florence and Siena? Escape to these islands, from lively Elba to tiny, car-free Giannutri

Scattered between the Tuscan coast and Corsica, the seven islands of the Tuscan archipelago offer a striking contrast to mainland Tuscany. All are part of a protected national park, but each has its own character – some are lively, others tiny and sparsely inhabited. Montecristo and Gorgona are only accessible via strictly limited guided tours, but here’s a brief guide to the highlights of the other five.

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Published: August 29, 2026, 11:00 pm

Flipping marvellous: Yotam Ottolenghi on the joy of simple breakfasts – plus six exclusive recipes

Weekend mornings are for family – and whoever happens to be over. Forget fussing and focus on just one big lovely thing for the middle of the table. Here’s how

Family life has had a bigger impact on how I cook at home than almost anything else. There’s a lot of pasta on the menu these days, and potato wedges with different sauces. A lot of meatballs. And a great many pancakes – more than I would have ever predicted before I had kids.

My weekend pancakes – which made their way into my book Simple Too – are supposed to be a batch-cooking exercise: lots made on Sunday, then reheated through the week, in the toaster or a dry pan on the stove, so breakfast is more or less solved until Friday. That’s the theory. In practice, all 22 pancakes the recipe makes are gone by Sunday lunch – eaten by the boys, their friends, or whoever happens to be over for breakfast.

Published: August 29, 2026, 12:00 am

‘There is no break-in period’: running experts offer five tips to finding the perfect shoe

If you want to minimize foot pain and keep all your toenails, let this guidance carry you to the finish line

• I tested 15 pairs of women’s running shoes. These are the best in the US for roads and trails

• This story was originally published in the Filter US newsletter on buying fewer, better things. Sign up here to get early access to it

Each week the Filter newsletter cuts through the noise to bring you smart, practical recommendations on how to live better – from what is worth buying to the tools, habits and ideas that actually last.

Choosing a pair of running trainers is a commitment-phobe’s worst nightmare.

Published: August 29, 2026, 10:00 am

We tried 15 lotions over three weeks. Here’s which our testers loved – and which left them high and dry

From Jergens and Naturium to CeraVe and Eucerin, there’s a potion on this list that will keep every body soft and moisturized

• The best facial cleansers in the US for every skin type, recommended by dermatologists

• Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things

Your skin is the largest organ on the body. Taking care of it can feel like a full-time job, especially if you struggle with anything from dryness and sun damage to psoriasis, not to mention allergies and hormone fluctuations over time. Picking the right lotion for your skin is crucial – and it’s much more of a health decision than many people realize.

Packaging, brand loyalty, fragrance or recommendations from your favorite influencers might factor into your decision. But when considering a lotion for long-term use, the best options are those that will actually benefit the skin.

Published: August 29, 2026, 7:15 am

I tested 18 tools for removing cat hair. These are the 9 best to keep your home fur-free

I put a bevy of hair removal solutions to the test and found the best options for keeping your home fur-free

• ‘Can’t imagine a cat not having this toy’: Your indoor cat is bored. Here’s how to fix it

• Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things

When I first adopted my three cats Frankie, Joy and Olive, I was prepared for playtime, cuddles and upgrading my phone storage to have room for all of the photos I’d take of them. I was not as prepared for the sheer amount of fur three cats produced simply by existing. Since my cats have both light and dark hair, it’s not easy to hide their fur.

At times, it would be easier to leave my condo coated in a layer of cat fur at all times – but with the right tools, tidying up becomes much easier. It turns out, depending on the fabric makeup of your furniture and clothing, you’ll need a variety of tools to keep your home spotless. To find the very best hair removal tools, I looked into what was on the market and tried a variety of methods to see which ones worked the most efficiently. I also consulted a cleaning expert and cat behavioralist to find out just what works most purrfectly for our homes with furry friends.

Published: August 28, 2026, 12:15 pm

Blind date: ‘She’s one of the easiest people to talk to that I’ve ever met’

Mike, 37, a scientific editor, meets Caterina, 35, a teacher

What were you hoping for?
Good company, nice food and an interesting evening with someone new. I got everything I hoped for.

Published: August 28, 2026, 10:00 pm

Sweetener used in chewing gum and jam linked to strokes and heart attacks

High blood levels of xylitol associated with higher risk of major cardiovascular events, in largest study of its kind

A common sweetener used in products such as chewing gum, toothpaste, jam, yoghurts and ice-cream has been linked to an increased risk of strokes, heart attacks and death.

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol present in some natural foods in very low amounts. It is also added – often in amounts 1,000 times higher – to artificially sweeten foods, beverages and oral care products.

Published: August 28, 2026, 6:05 am

Infallible style: Pope Leo appears in Vanity Fair’s ranks of most fashionable

Pontiff, who has caught the eye in trainers and a baseball cap, praised for taking dress to ‘heavenly heights’

For the first time in a decade, Vanity Fair has released a best-dressed list. Featuring 70 names, the list ranks the most fashionable people in the world in 2026. The lineup includes the usual suspects spanning Hollywood actors and global pop stars but nestled among the Hollywood stars is an unexpected entrant. Pope Leo XIV.

The 70-year-old head of the Catholic church has been praised by the magazine for taking papal style “to heavenly heights”. His most memorable look? A simple white cassock styled with a pair of Nike trainers.

Published: August 28, 2026, 9:44 am

A slow travel success story in Slovenia’s secret valley

Tourism is only just taking hold in Vipava, but the locals are determined to do it right, by putting community first and preserving what makes it special

The drive to Pedrovo is vertiginous, and each hairpin bend has me sending a silent prayer that we won’t meet a tractor coming the other way. When we near it, we abandon the car and continue on foot to the hamlet, a scattering of red-roofed, whitewashed houses high on the steep karst hillside. The air is warm and dry, scented with wild sage.

We follow a hand-painted sign to Čilčevi Farmstead. Descending stone steps to a lush garden, we find a shaded table set with fresh cheeses produced at the farm’s own dairy. Below, the valley stretches in both directions, a wide flat plain hemmed in by steep mountain slopes, with the Vipava River winding lazily through fields and vineyards.

Published: August 28, 2026, 11:00 pm

Adele Parks: ‘If I could ​edit my pas​t, I’d be fitter younger – I​ would have been hotter’

The author on the habit she can’t control, the writer she’s never read, and the true love of her life (it’s not her husband)

Born in North Yorkshire, Adele Parks, 57, studied English at the University of Leicester then worked in advertising. In 2000, she published her debut novel, Playing Away, and has since written a book every year. Her latest is Eyes on You. Her work has been translated into 31 languages and in 2022 she was awarded the MBE for services to literature. She is an ambassador for charities promoting literacy including the National Literacy Trust, which is collaborating with the Department for Education on the National Year of Reading 2026. Parks is married with a son, and lives in Surrey.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Speaking negatively to myself.

Published: August 29, 2026, 2:00 am

What links Corinne Bailey Rae and Keir Starmer? The Saturday quiz

From ‘rocks, but gently’ to Ainu in Asia and Zuni in the US, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz

1 Which design illustrates the tragic love story of Koong-Se and Chang?
2 Which British woman was nominated for all four Egot awards, but didn’t win any?
3 The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is in which country?
4 Which Shakespeare play opens in Africa?
5 Which football stadium is officially the Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho?
6 The sun’s nuclear fusion is primarily fuelled by which element?
7 Which naval dockyard closed in 1984 after more than 400 years?
8 Who “rocks, but gently” in a 1967 album title?
What links:
9 Jari Hill, Tanggula mountains; Chongqing; Wuhan; Nanjing; Shanghai?
10 F&F; George; Nutmeg; Tu?
11 Eva Boyd, Victoria Hesketh; Richard Penniman; Steven Van Zandt?
12 New York; Pennsylvania; Hawaii; Connecticut; Arkansas?
13 Alveolar process; mental protuberance; mental spines; oblique line?
14 Brownlee brothers; Mark Knopfler; Corinne Bailey Rae; Keir Starmer; Jack Straw?
15 Ainu in Asia; Basque in Europe; Sandawe in Africa; Zuni in the US?

Published: August 28, 2026, 11:00 pm

Tim Dowling: my TV contract has run out – and so has my patience

I need to buy a smart television big enough to read ransom notes – and I’m taking no prisoners

Fourteen years ago, I received a text from my eldest son claiming he’d just found the TV face down on the sitting room floor, destroyed. I didn’t entirely buy his theory about the dogs being responsible – I discovered a football lying suspiciously near the crime scene – but it was a problem I needed to solve before my wife returned from a business trip.

That was the last time I bought a new television. It still works, but it’s small by today’s standards, to the extent that it’s impossible to read the contents of a ransom note held by a detective in a drama. As TVs have expanded, the ransom notes have got smaller; I often have to pause the programme, get up and put my nose to the screen.

Published: August 28, 2026, 10:00 pm

Love under anti-drone nets: Ukrainian couple wed in Kramatorsk combat zone

‘At a time when Russia is trying to spread gloom and darkness … it is important to create something beautiful,’ says combat medic Tetiana as she weds army captain Oleksandr

In the bright early afternoon sun of Kramatorsk’s central and now ironically named Peace Square, Tetiana, in her bridal dress, and Oleksandr, in his military uniform, are holding up their phones at the ready. It is a public holiday, 35 years since Ukraine’s declaration of independence, and a popular day for a wedding, though the open-air location is not obviously ideal.

Three days earlier, Kramatorsk, perhaps Vladimir Putin’s principal target, was formally designated part of the combat zone, the front inching towards the city as Russia closes in on the parts of the Donetsk region it does not control. It is quiet at 2pm though; the ceremony brief. There are no guests other than the Guardian team.

Tetiana and Oleksandr pose for a wedding photo on Mount Karachun, near Sloviansk, the scene of fierce fighting in 2014.

Published: August 28, 2026, 11:00 pm

Faster, higher, funnier: what we learned from China’s robot games

Five-day showcase reveals leaps Beijing has made in humanoid tech, but also its limitations as US rivals come up from the rear

With exploding pelvises, enough comic pratfalls for a Buster Keaton show reel and the odd moment of ruthless violence, the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing gripped the world this week with an unsettling mixture of hilarity, trepidation and relief.

The five-day showcase staked out China’s claim to undisputed leadership in humanoid robotics as android martial artists landed knockout roundhouse kicks and robot teams marched into the arena heralded by flag-waving captains astride giant robotic dogs. The games’ blue-riband event, the 100m, did not disappoint when the robot-sprinters ran quicker than Usain Bolt before slamming mindlessly into a padded wall in a blaze of sparks, flames and flying mechanical limbs.

Published: August 28, 2026, 10:00 pm

Tell us about the TV shows that that have turned sour for you

We would like to hear about the TV shows that you simply can’t stomach anymore and why

From Euphoria to The Great British Bake Off Guardian writers have compiled the TV shows that are now part of their viewing history they feel tainted by. Now we want to hear from you.

Which TV shows that once thrilled have now turned sour for you?

Published: August 28, 2026, 9:34 am

Stetsons and waterproofs at a very English country music festival

Country music fans use the Long Road festival in Leicestershire to mark the passing of Dolly Parton

Published: August 29, 2026, 11:34 am