Can exercise really help improve my sex life?

Here’s what experts say about how sex and exercise are linked, and whether the type, timing and intensity of movement matter

Here’s a reason to put your sneakers on: exercise can improve your sex life.

It’s not necessarily about changing how your body looks, or being strong enough to swing from the chandelier. Regular movement improves smaller, less visible bodily functions that increase your desire and capacity for sex – like the release of arousal-promoting hormones and enhanced circulation in the nether regions. Perhaps just as critically, it gets your mind in the right frame to do it.

Published: August 16, 2026, 9:00 am

Move over, Odysseus: time for the women of ancient Greece to have their moment in the sun | Natalie Haynes

The hottest ticket in theatreland will soon be Cate Blanchett in Electra/Persona. Caged female rage continues to capture audiences

It feels like a very Greek summer here in the UK. The ground is scorched, it last rained months ago, and the giant publicity machine for Christopher Nolan’s billion-dollar-grossing The Odyssey – from red-carpet frocks to professorial disapproval – is a Charybdis, swallowing all other cultural events in its gaping maw. Mere Mortals – San Francisco Ballet’s astonishing work inspired by the story of Pandora – runs in Edinburgh this month before going to Sadler’s Wells in September. And Greek tragedy continues to fill London’s theatres.

Last week, I went to see Simon Stone’s reworking of Aeschylus’s Oresteia at the Bridge theatre in south London, and it was packed. Even on a Thursday afternoon, there was a huge audience for the story of a family who turn on one another, wreaking intergenerational violence until their whole house lies in tatters and madness. Partly that is because of the excellent cast: David Morrissey and Mary-Louise Parker play Christopher and Montie – a modern Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, their marital squabbles fizzing back and forth until he cracks and she snaps. Their children are the ones who will have to try to reconcile the impossible: duty to their murdered father, respect to their murderous mother.

Published: August 16, 2026, 12:00 am

‘Awed by nature’: fans mourn California’s beloved Jackie the bald eagle, whose legacy soars on

Famous raptor helped livestream viewers in difficult moments, and inspired a conservation project at her lake home

The bald eagle Jackie made her home on the shore of southern California’s Big Bear Lake for most of her 14 years. But her death earlier this week drew international attention.

The Los Angeles Times described her as “arguably the world’s most famous bald eagle”. For years, millions of people tuned into a live stream of Jackie’s nest, watching her rear her eaglets, work out life with her mate, Shadow, and, perhaps most memorably, incubate her eggs while almost completely buried in snow.

Published: August 16, 2026, 7:00 am

Joy in Hollywood as historic Cinerama dome to reopen: ‘People still want to go to the movies’

Sony Pictures in July announced that the celebrated theater, built in 1963 and shuttered during Covid, will reopen in 2028

Drive down Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and you’ll see a movie theater straight out of The Jetsons.

Built in 1963, the Cinerama dome is instantly memorable: a white, geodesic construction that looks like a giant golf ball cut in half and plopped down in the middle of the city.

Published: August 16, 2026, 4:00 am

The first anti-AI protester to be jailed has a message for OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta: ‘Regain your humanity’

Wynd Kaufmyn, 69, chained and locked the front doors of OpenAI’s headquarters last year with members of StopAI

An activist who blocked the entrance to one of the world’s biggest AI companies is believed to have become the first person jailed for protesting against artificial intelligence as supporters dub her the “Rosa Parks of AI risk”.

Wynd Kaufmyn, 69, surrendered herself on Friday to authorities in San Francisco. She was found guilty by a jury for her role in an action last year that saw members of the group StopAI chain and lock the front doors of OpenAI’s headquarters in protest against the pursuit of artificial superintelligence.

Published: August 16, 2026, 1:00 am

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

The Guardian travelled 100 miles along the EU’s longest river, where some residents are struggling to secure drinking water

For centuries, the rock was seen as a warning. When it began to emerge from the Danube, beneath Gellért Hill in Budapest, it meant the river had fallen so low that floating mills could no longer operate, crops were probably failing, and hunger would almost certainly follow. That is why, in the Hungarian capital, where over time the boulder became little more than a legend, it was named Ínség-szikla – the Rock of Starvation.

Today, amid record-low water levels on the Danube, the rock has not only emerged from the water, but surfaced almost in its entirety, along with the sandy riverbed on which it rests, astonishing geologists and government scientists sent to examine it. And, much as the rock was said to warn, Hungary is now facing an unprecedented energy crisis that has forced the country to shut down all but one of its Danube-cooled nuclear reactors for the first time in 44 years.

Published: August 16, 2026, 3:37 am

Democrats demand answers from Trump on USS Abraham Lincoln conditions

Senator Ruben Gallego calls carrier’s months-long deployment a ‘deep problem’ as wellbeing concerns mount

Democrats on Sunday intensified their demands for answers from the Trump administration over conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as the aircraft carrier’s nearly nine-month deployment continued fueling concern over crew morale, mental health and living conditions.

Ruben Gallego, a Democratic senator from Arizona, said on Sunday that problems aboard the Lincoln had kept mounting – and he blamed the carrier’s prolonged deployment on the unresolved war that Donald Trump started in February with Iran as well as lackluster leadership in general from the Republican president’s administration.

Published: August 16, 2026, 10:08 am

Todd Blanche declines to pledge independence from White House

US attorney general says no one in his role ‘should ever’ make this vow amid concern over Trump steering DoJ

US attorney general Todd Blanche on Sunday declined to assure that the federal justice department he helms would always act independently of the White House and Donald Trump.

“No, I’m not going to pledge that,” he said when asked about the topic by NBC’s Meet the Press host, Kristen Welker. “And no attorney general should ever pledge that.”

Published: August 16, 2026, 9:33 am

Ukrainian drone attack on Russia kills at least six, says Moscow

Kyiv launches what may be its largest attack wave of war, with fire breaking out at warehouse near Russian capital

Ukraine has launched one of its largest drone attacks since the start of the war, causing a fire at a distribution warehouse near Moscow and killing at least six people overnight, according to Russian authorities.

The defence ministry in Moscow said it had shot down 1,478 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours – the highest ever total claimed – in an escalating air war in which seven Ukrainians were also killed as Russia bombed 13 locations inside the country.

Published: August 16, 2026, 9:10 am

Lala weakens to tropical storm as it lashes Hawaii with heavy wind and rain

Hurricane Lala downgraded after skirting Big Island as one person dies and over 130,000 households are without power

Hurricane Lala weakened to a tropical storm on Sunday after skirting Hawaii without making landfall, but it wasn’t done punishing the Big Island with hurricane-force gusts. Total rainfall of nearly 3ft (one meter) was expected on the higher windward slopes, turning rivers into raging torrents and threatening mudslides.

The Hawaii governor, Josh Green, said at least one person died in a car accident in the South Point area of the Big Island. More than 130,000 households were without power Sunday morning across Hawaii’s three largest islands, according to the utility tracker poweroutage.us. At least three hospitals were operating on generator power, and 19 roofs were lost, Green said.

Published: August 16, 2026, 8:18 am

Cambridge University defends its mental health support for Jason Arday

University says it continued to provide support after resignation of academic, who was found dead on Friday

The University of Cambridge has defended its mental health support for the academic Jason Arday.

The university said it had continued to provide Arday with extensive mental health support and security measures, including installing panic alarms and screening racist emails and post, after he resigned from his post as professor of sociology of education this month.

Published: August 16, 2026, 7:09 am

‘Outrageous’ handcuffing of New Orleans journalist sends ‘chilling message,’ says media group

Danny Monteverde had been protesting the closure of a courtroom during indictment of state attorney general

The “outrageous” handcuffing of a New Orleans journalist covering the indictment in July of Louisiana’s attorney general – a case that ultimately was dismissed – conveyed “a chilling message to members of the press and the public” for which there is no excuse, according to a prominent media rights advocacy organization.

An attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) made those assertions in a recent letter to the New Orleans criminal district courthouse where deputies temporarily detained WWL Louisiana investigative producer Danny Monteverde and outlet lawyer Elana Beiser in the course of their duties in early July.

Published: August 16, 2026, 4:00 am

Suspect in Virginia State University shooting found hiding in dorm closet

Suspect, 19, who is not enrolled at the university arrested in connection with shooting of five people, authorities say

A young man suspected in connection with the shooting of five people on Saturday on the campus of Virginia State University (VSU) hid in a dormitory closet for more than 14 hours being found and arrested, according to authorities.

The suspect – identified as 19-year-old Camron Harris – was found in Seward Hall on VSU’s campus at 4pm, local police Lt James Lamb said, according to the Virginia news outlet WTVR. The shooting occurred at about 1.30am on Saturday.

Published: August 16, 2026, 8:42 am

‘She is a hero’: 13-year-old survivor of Michigan shooting rampage called 911

Girl called police after she was shot four times in shooting spree that left six dead, including gunman

A 13-year-old girl in Michigan survived being shot four times in a shooting spree that left six people dead – including the suspected attacker – and called emergency help herself shortly before investigators identified the gunman, according to a state police official and her family.

Those actions made the teen a “hero”, said a relative of hers as well as two of the dead victims.

Published: August 16, 2026, 8:47 am

Europe’s tallest Virgin Mary statue unveiled in small Polish village

Hundreds watched the 56-metre monument’s consecration, including anti-communist leader Lech Wałęsa

An enormous statue of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be Europe’s tallest was inaugurated on Saturday in a small Polish village, in the presence of the anti-communist leader Lech Wałęsa.

Hundreds of people took part in the consecration of the monument, which towers 55.6 metres (182ft) over Konotopie in central Poland, a village of fewer than 150 people.

Published: August 16, 2026, 8:00 am

Why cancer, not cost of living, may be the biggest issue in Iowa’s midterm elections

A broad group of diseases in the agricultural powerhouse is top of mind for the midterm elections

In Iowa, one of the key battleground states in November’s midterm elections, just about every political candidate agrees on one thing: something must be done about the state’s rising rates of cancer.

The midwestern state has the second-highest rate of cancer nationwide and, together with Utah and West Virginia, is one of only three states where incidences of the disease are rising, according to cancer rate monitoring from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Published: August 16, 2026, 5:00 am

Trump’s midterm malaise: endless war and high prices could spell doom for Republicans in November

‘Complete unraveling’ of Trump and Republican project reflects attitude of not caring at all about governance

He was always one step ahead. Donald Trump won the US presidency as a wildly unlikely outsider in 2016 and staged an astonishing comeback to win it again in 2024. Even his foes grudgingly called him a political savant with an intuition for exploiting grievances that left so-called experts floundering.

But now they are asking if the dark genius has lost his touch. Trump is trapped in the quagmire of an unpopular war, obsessing over monuments in Washington and looking for a new spokesperson after his White House press secretary quit. If the 80-year-old was deliberately trying to sabotage his Republican party in November’s midterm elections, it is not clear what he would do differently.

Published: August 16, 2026, 3:00 am

Brazil’s Lula launches historic fourth term bid – but son of jailed Bolsonaro stands in his way

President, 80, vows to keep far-right from power as Flávio Bolsonaro tells supporters he will ‘fight this system’

Brazil’s leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has launched his campaign for a historic fourth term and vowed that as long as he lived he would not allow the “shameless” right to return to power.

Addressing a sea of supporters in São Bernardo do Campo, the industrial city where his political career began nearly half a century ago, the 80-year-old politician reminded voters of the chaos and violence that unfolded during the 2018-2022 presidency of his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, whose son, Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula will face in October’s presidential election.

Published: August 16, 2026, 11:44 am

California law would force companies to disclose toxic chemicals in disposable diapers

Legislation requiring disclosure of chemicals in diapers passed assembly and will go before state senate soon

New California legislation would require manufacturers to disclose the “mystery cocktail” of toxic chemicals used in disposable diapers.

Diapers often contain among the most toxic substances – phthalates, lead, Pfas, quats, arsenic, a range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and “fragrance”, which can include any number of 1,200 compounds thought to be hazardous to human health.

Published: August 16, 2026, 4:00 am

Teenager pleads guilty to attacking California sea lion in viral video

Tyler Muehl, 18, could face a year in prison for kicking marine animal four times on La Jolla coast

An 18-year-old California man has admitted he kicked a sea lion in a video that went viral recently – while referring to himself by the name of an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor – and has pleaded guilty to a federal crime.

Tyler Muehl, of San Diego’s La Jolla neighborhood, faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine after acknowledging in court on Thursday that he violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act’s prohibition on harassment of wildlife, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

Published: August 15, 2026, 6:54 am

Blankets, baskets and a flask that holds a bottle of wine: nine great picks for an elevated picnic

Retire your plastic cups and paper plates in favor of some sturdy (and chic) upgrades to store and chill food and drinks

• The five best portable coolers in the US – tested

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

Picnics are a spectacular way to enjoy fresh air and sunshine, but packing and lugging food, keeping it chilled, and trying to find a comfortable place to sit might seem like more trouble than it’s worth. If you want to take advantage of the summer weather, whether it’s a barbecue in the park or an al fresco lunch at the beach, all you really need are your favorite foods, a few drinks and a big blanket.

But if the logistics of it all – such as finding the right cooler, plates or containers – are cramping your style, it’s possible to elevate your outdoor dining experience with a few upgrades.

Published: August 16, 2026, 10:15 am

This is how we do it: ‘Sex was our glue – now if we fight, we can’t just screw and come out glowing’

Pam and Mike couldn’t keep their hands off each other when they met. But as aging and biology have taken their toll, their sex life has suffered

• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

We haven’t had sex in two years. Mike says it’s because his dick is dead

Published: August 16, 2026, 3:00 am

‘The kids were right’: 30 years of Pokémon, from school-wide bans to multimillion-dollar trading cards

Pokémon outlived the moral panic of its early days in Australia and its staying power has proved that simple joy can cross borders

There’s a generation of Australians for whom Cheez TV was a religion. Every morning before school, I’d sit in my little white plastic chair about three feet from our big wooden television and watch 90 minutes of cartoons “curated” by the show’s teenage hosts, Jade and Ryan.

Premiering in 1995, Cheez TV dominated the children’s breakfast market by 1998, stealing the crown from Channel Seven’s bogan-muppet icon Agro. A daily dose of Cheez TV was such an important ritual to me that I remember feeling active resentment towards Princess Diana’s death because the news coverage bumped Earthworm Jim.

Published: August 16, 2026, 8:00 am

Kindness of strangers: The day of my mum’s funeral, the saleswoman at the stationery store made me feel less alone

Because I’d visited so often to print things, she made me feel that someone had witnessed the journey I was on, all the way through to its difficult conclusion

• Read more in the kindness of strangers series

Mum’s disease progressed slowly at first, and then in a really big rush. After years of battling early onset Parkinson’s, in 2015 we were suddenly told she only had six months left.

I was living in Brisbane, Australia and Mum was in a care home 600km away in Taree, so I began flying down every second weekend to visit. At the time, it was still common to print out your boarding pass – or at least, it was for me; I was a bit late to the tech game.

Published: August 16, 2026, 8:00 am

10 delicious and safe summer salad recipes during cyclospora outbreak

Many people in the US are avoiding lettuce in the wake of the cyclospora outbreak. Here are 10 crispy and crunchy salad options from Ottolenghi’s signature spices to Nik Sharma’s fruity grains, from our huge recipe collection

A fresh, crunchy salad by Yotam Ottolenghi. Cucumber is a hard-working salad component at the best of times but, here, with the combination of curried, crunchy nuts and a sweet-sour tamarind dressing, it will work overtime on your meal-prep menu.

Published: August 15, 2026, 5:00 am

Marco Rubio has unique power to promote peace, but he hasn’t. He is almost as bad for the world as Trump | Simon Tisdall

As chief US diplomat, Rubio could do great good. His pandering and neglect are a disgrace we shouldn’t ignore

Viewed from the state department in Washington DC, the world is on fire – but record heatwaves are not to blame. The unresolved Iran war has badly burned Donald Trump. His military campaign conclusively failed, energy and food prices are still rising, and a Republican rout in November’s midterm elections looms. Humiliatingly, Israel this week flatly rejected his latest Gaza peace proposals, days after Trump congratulated himself on a “historic breakthrough”. In Europe, Russia’s attacks on Nato allies grow increasingly brazen, threatening a wider escalation. The Ukraine war, which Trump vowed to end, is now well into its fifth year, with civilians on both sides caught in the killing fields. And these are just the bigger firestorms. There are plenty more.

Rarely has the need for effective, professional diplomacy been more pressing. So step forward Marco Rubio, US secretary of state and chief American diplomat. These are challenges that, if successfully tackled, could propel the 55-year-old son of Cuban immigrants and the former US senator for Florida into pole position in the 2028 Republican presidential nomination race. Here is a chance for Rubio to defy critics who dismiss him as a lickspittle and Trump dogsbody, and transform himself into respected global statesman. His boss mocked him as “little Marco” and a “loser” when they were election rivals in 2016. (Rubio called him a conman.) Now is Rubio’s opportunity to go big, be brave and prove he’s a winner.

Published: August 15, 2026, 10:00 pm

My lovely French husband has made the ultimate sacrifice for me – he’s now officially British | Emma Beddington

In Leeds Civic Hall, I watched 20 new citizens pledge their allegiance to King Charles and his heirs. But it wasn’t patriotism that brought tears to my eyes

I haven’t felt great about asking my husband to become British. There was the idiotic Life in the UK test that every applicant has to pass; the cost; the faff; and the uncertainty, which still hasn’t ended. I found out his application had been accepted when he came into the kitchen in June with a face like thunder. “But that’s brilliant! You’ll never need to know how many Scottish ski resorts there are again!” I said, puzzled. He explained that, because we’re going on holiday before he can get a British passport to go with his French one, he’ll be in an immigration grey area that could mean he gets refused re-entry. He should, theoretically, be OK, but it’s confusing.

Why would he even want to come back to this place with its threadbare services, toxic waterways, obsession with “picky bits” and ridiculous politics? His Home Office email arrived just after the Makerfield byelection and that night the news showed the returning officer’s poker-faced declaration again: our future prime minister flanked by a politely clapping Binface and an oversized, blank-eyed fox. I started laughing, hysterically, guiltily. What have I done to him? “Will the world go a different colour when I’m British?” he asked on the train to the ceremony. “Yeah, reverse Wizard of Oz – everything goes grey.”

Published: August 16, 2026, 6:00 am

Sure, ‘Woke 1’ had its issues – but we have far bigger problems on our hands | Arwa Mahdawi

AOC’s remarks about past excesses have been ripped out of context. Progressives shouldn’t get roped into this sideshow

There is probably no word that has been more used and abused in the last decade than “woke”. It has been rendered completely meaningless, but it refuses to die. Indeed, it has now taken on new life: in the past week, there’s been a flurry of headlines about “Woke 1.0” or “Woke One”. If you haven’t seen the phrase pop up in your newsfeed yet, it will soon.

So what is this cursed phrase? There’s no official definition, but the term is largely being used to refer to the period between 2018 and 2021 when social justice language was at its peak in mainstream culture. Certain progressives, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have started to use “Woke 1” disparagingly, as a way to distance themselves from that period and signal that they stand for a new form of left-leaning politics that is more palatable to centrist Democrats. “Woke 2”, I suppose.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

Published: August 15, 2026, 5:00 am

The Fauci hearing was painful to watch. But we need answers on Covid-19’s origin| David Relman

Despite the recent hearings in Congress, we seem to be even further from the goal of understanding Covid-19’s origin’s than we have ever been

As a microbiologist and infectious disease clinician, it has been tough to watch the recent devolution of public discourse on Covid-19 origins. It has been especially difficult for me to read the comments of Anthony Fauci about the origins debate in his now-public diary. And it has been painful to watch the televised spectacle hosted by the US senator Rand Paul on 29 July involving a hostile interrogation of Fauci.

Despite many early pleas, including my own, for a dispassionate, objective assessment of what we know, don’t know and need to know about Covid-19 origins, we seem to be even further from this goal now than we have ever been – plagued by politicization, polarization and illogical thinking.

David Relman is a professor of medicine and microbiology at Stanford University. He was an inaugural member of the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America

Published: August 15, 2026, 3:00 am

Ali came to me seeking help for disordered eating. The real issue was a relationship built on control | Ahona Guha

She second-guessed herself and was eager to please. She ‘felt frozen’ when she believed she displeased someone

• The modern mind is a column where experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their work

Ali* initially came to therapy for disordered eating. She was a young and diffident woman. She described recurrent cycles of restricted eating followed by attempts to exercise it away. We used cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders to unpick her “food rules” – the underlying beliefs which can drive eating disorders, such as “the less I eat the better” or “carbs are bad”.

As we worked on understanding and shifting her beliefs and behaviours around food, we noticed that most of her assumptions around eating, shape and weight coincided with the start of her relationship with her ex-partner. She told me he was a “gym junkie” and spent hours working out and encouraged her to do the same. “He got angry if I ate carbs,” she said, “and created a couples meal plan for us so I could shred and look hot when we were out together.”

Published: August 16, 2026, 8:00 am

Calafiori’s fast start inspires Arsenal to big Community Shield win over Manchester City

For Enzo Maresca, a miserable first meaningful game in charge of Manchester City that began with Arsenal seizing the lead after 24 seconds ended with Mikel Arteta’s side ­lifting the Community Shield. Arsenal eviscerated City, Riccardo Calafiori’s smart early opener after Myles Lewis-­Skelly’s brilliant pass ­seemingly leaving their opponents with irrecoverable damage. Kai Havertz doubled Arsenal’s lead on 28 ­minutes and Martin Ødegaard in effect sealed the win three minutes into the ­second half, taking great ­pleasure in ­fooling ­Gianluigi ­Donnarumma in the City goal before finishing. On this evidence, the post-Pep ­Guardiola era could be trickier than widely envisaged.

Christos Tzolis shone on the left, playing the whole game in Cardiff. He was involved in all three goals, assisting two. No Arsenal player played more passes into the final third. It was Tzolis’s cross to switch play to Noni Madueke, one of 10 passes before Calafiori rippled the City net. Between Lewis-Skelly rolling the ball to Martin Ødegaard at kick-off and Calafiori peeling off Abdukodir Khusanov to finish, City had a single touch of the ball; Elliot Anderson intercepted Calafiori’s pass aimed at Ødegaard in the City 18-yard box. But then Madueke cushioned a header for Ben White, who tucked into midfield, and Lewis-Skelly rolled Phil Foden before releasing Calafiori goal-side of Rúben Dias with a sumptuous reverse ball.

Published: August 16, 2026, 9:06 am

Tommy John, pitcher whose surgery changed baseball, dies at age of 83

• John was first player to undergo pioneering operation

• New York Yankees pay tribute to four-time All-Star

Tommy John, the namesake of a ligament-replacement surgery that paved a path to recovery for injured baseball players, has died. He was 83.

TMZ.com reported that the pitcher died at his home in Florida, surrounded by his family, including his wife, Cheryl. John ⁠had recently been in hospice ⁠care.

Published: August 16, 2026, 11:19 am

Australia’s Lani Pallister topples 800m freestyle queen Katie Ledecky at Pan Pacs

• Pallister sets new championship record with time of 8:06.10

• Result ends Ledecky’s streak of 13 international 800m gold medals

Australia’s Lani Pallister dealt US great Katie Ledecky her first 800m freestyle defeat in a major international meet, beating her one-time idol at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California.

Pallister led wire-to-wire on the way to victory in 8min 06.10sec and for the first time ever in the event Ledecky’s late charge wasn’t enough and she finished second in 8:07.26.

Published: August 15, 2026, 10:01 pm

Cyclists criticise ‘catastrophic’ safety measures after Finlay Tarling’s death

• Rider’s union expresses fury about Volta a Portugal

• Tarling died after collision with non-race vehicle

The professional cycling community has reacted with fury to the death of the teenage Welsh rider, Finlay Tarling, in the Volta a Portugal, with a leading former professional describing the race’s safety measures as “catastrophic”.

Tarling, the younger brother of the Netcompany Ineos professional Josh Tarling, was in collision with a non-race vehicle driving towards the peloton while he competed in the Portuguese race’s eighth stage. The 19-year-old’s death on Friday has led to a surge of anger, with the rider’s union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), describing itself as “furious”.

Published: August 16, 2026, 10:40 am

Claressa Shields eyes Britain’s Price after stopping Kaye Scott to reclaim titles

• American stops Sydneysider at 1:38 of sixth round

• Shields claims WBA and WBC belts after 38lb cut

• Lauren Price identified as preferred next opponent

Claressa Shields completed a remarkable journey from heavyweight to middleweight on Sunday, stopping Australia’s Kaye Scott in the sixth round to capture the WBA and WBC titles.

The five-division world champion and double Olympic gold medalist dominated her outclassed opponent from the opening bell at State Farm Arena in Atlanta before dropping Scott in the sixth and overwhelming her against the ropes after the action resumed. With Scott unable to defend herself from another sustained barrage, the 42-year-old champion’s corner threw in the towel.

Published: August 15, 2026, 10:49 pm

Cristiano Ronaldo says this year is ‘probably’ his last as a footballer

• Al-Nassr and Portugal forward expects to retire soon

• Ronaldo has more than 950 goals for club and country

Cristiano Ronaldo believes this year is “probably” his last as a professional footballer, the 41-year-old Portugal captain said in an interview with Vogue magazine published on Sunday.

Ronaldo, who has established his place among football’s all-time greats with more than 950 goals for club and country, had previously spoken of retiring “soon” or within “one or two years”.

Published: August 16, 2026, 9:46 am

Novak Djokovic suffers in Cincinnati heat as Thiago Agustín Tirante inflicts shock defeat

• Argentinian powers to 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory

• Heat and humidity take toll on Djokovic

• Britain’s Fery holds off Duckworth 6-4, 2-6, 7-6

The scoreboard did not yet indicate that anything was awry, but even as Novak Djokovic led by a set in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open, he was already struggling badly.

From the second set onwards, he spent much of his time between points squatting and bending over as he desperately tried to catch his breath in the notorious Ohioan humidity. He was eventually dispatched 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Thiago Agustín Tirante of Argentina, who took this golden opportunity to register the biggest win of his career.

Published: August 15, 2026, 3:35 pm

The Fair Hill Five: horse racing’s bizarre transatlantic betting coup – explained

Four horses with little record of success suddenly won in the US. A seemingly coordinated betting operation across London did too – and now racing authorities want answers

To understand why horse racing on both sides of the pond has been gripped by the Fair Hill Five over the past week, start with a basic principle of betting: when two unlikely horses win in back-to-back races, a wager correctly picking both should pay off handsomely. Last Sunday at New Jersey’s Monmouth Park, it did not.

The sequence began with The Great Amira, a 17-1 longshot who went from finishing last in her previous two starts to winning wire to wire by nine and a half lengths. Her little-known trainer then won the very next race with Tepeyac, who went off at about 4-1, and the meager Daily Double payout for picking both outsiders suggested the exact combination had been unusually well backed. Later that afternoon, two more longshot winners emerged at Saratoga. They were among five runners with recent workouts at Maryland’s Fair Hill Training Center, the common link behind the name Fair Hill Five.

Published: August 16, 2026, 12:00 am

Cardinals rookie Joshua Báez makes MLB history with three homers in first three at-bats

• 23-year-old hits home run on first pitch in majors

• Báez drives in five during 8-4 victory over Cubs

• Rookie was called up from Triple-A earlier in day

Joshua Báez became the first player to hit three home runs in his first three at-bats in the major leagues, leading the St Louis Cardinals to an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

The 23-year-old left fielder, called up from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the day, hit the first pitch he saw into the Wrigley Field bleachers, then homered in his next two at-bats. He also drove in five runs.

Published: August 15, 2026, 2:24 pm

Greek wildfire kills two people as aircraft deployed to blaze at Belgian nature reserve

Couple die in Salamis and Belgium battling its biggest fire in more than a century near German border

An elderly couple died in fires on the Greek island of Salamis on Sunday and a fire ravaged Belgium’s largest nature reserve, in the latest wave of European wildfires.

The couple died outside their home in the Peristeria beach area of Salamis, Greece’s coastguard said. More than 500 people were ordered to evacuate.

Published: August 16, 2026, 11:23 am

US law to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks has been delayed for 15 years

Law was set to go into effect in January, months before cyclosporiasis outbreak, but now is set for 2028

Congress passed a law to help federal agencies investigate outbreaks of foodborne illness – a regulation experts said could have stopped the US’s largest cyclosporiasis outbreak much sooner.

The only problem? The rule has been delayed – for 15 years, including most recently amid lobbying in 2025.

Published: August 16, 2026, 4:00 am

Florida sets record for sea turtle nests but Trump move could stall recovery

Loggerhead turtles abound this season but rollback of Endangered Species Act protections could threaten future

Wildlife groups in Florida are celebrating record numbers of sea turtle nests this season, but experts warn Donald Trump’s recent gutting of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could reverse decades of their recovery from the edge of extinction.

With more than two months of the summer nesting season still to run, loggerhead turtles have already made 13,770 nests, hundreds more than recorded in any previous year, along an 8.5-mile stretch of shoreline monitored by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, on Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Published: August 16, 2026, 5:00 am

Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina stolen from Sicilian museum

Theft of four works on national holiday described as wound to historical memory and cultural identity of city of Messina

Four of the most important works of art by the 15th-century Renaissance master Antonello da Messina were stolen during a national holiday from a museum in the Sicilian port city of Messina.

Thieves gained access to the Regional Museum of Messina, or MuMe, on Saturday evening, possibly capitalising on attention being focused on La Vara, a huge religious festival that takes place in the city on 15 August, when Italy marks the Ferragosto national holiday.

Published: August 16, 2026, 6:44 am

‘If only people knew’: the fascinating lives of flies

Most people associate the insects with filth, but they are vital to the food cycle and sometimes even pretty

• Vote for your favourite invertebrate

Every spring, billions of flies commute thousands of miles in a huge web around the world. They may begin life in Iran and then spend the rest of it in the UK. They may hatch in India but undertake seasonal migrations to the fertile regions of Mongolia, China and Siberia.

Most of us assume that bees carry out pollination. But look closely at the creatures flitting around our gardens and parks, and you will see that many of those “bees” aren’t bees at all. They fly differently, sound different and, indeed, on closer inspection, look a bit different.

Published: August 16, 2026, 4:00 am

University spinout to launch water quality app for UK and US waters

Molendotech will collate data from daily tests that detect E coli and other bacteria amid reports of swimmers falling ill

A UK university spinout behind a rapid bacterial water testing kit is planning to launch live water quality maps, as scores of beachgoers report falling ill after swimming.

Molendotech, a spinout from the University of Plymouth, sells a portable test that detects E coli and other bacteria in water and delivers results on the spot, without waiting for days to get laboratory results.

Published: August 16, 2026, 2:00 am

From tourism to power generation and productivity, Europe feels economic cost of heatwaves

Low river levels have stalled German freight traffic and forced closure of nuclear plants in France

Across Europe this scorching summer, workers have struggled in the heat as wildfires raged and critical infrastructure was shut down.

Here we look at the impact of the heatwaves on several major economies across mainland Europe – with the help of analysis from economists at the Dutch bank Triodos, who estimate a total of €180bn could be wiped off EU GDP by the heatwaves. In the UK, the green thinktank Verdant said this week that the heat had already cost the economy £4.4bn by the end of July.

Published: August 16, 2026, 1:00 am

Gorging on bearcam: the livestream of big beasts eating that draws millions

Ahead of Fat Bear Week, avid fans are glued to the spectacle of brown bears devouring salmon at Brooks Falls in Alaska

One of this summer’s biggest onscreen hits has had big beasts, great escapes and choppy waters, but it’s not Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey – it’s a livestream of Alaskan brown bears catching salmon.

The Brooks Falls bearcam at Katmai national park in the US was watched 7.3m times between 22 June and 4 August – up 70% from the same period last year and more than double the views it attracted in 2024.

Published: August 15, 2026, 11:00 pm

At least five people dead in Indiana amid worst flooding in over 30 years, officials say

National Weather Service reports that more than 11in of rain fell over a two-day period in some areas

At least five people are dead after devastating floods that swept through Indiana this week, officials said, as storms continued to batter the state on Saturday and first responders used boats to rescue more people from rising waters in neighborhoods along the White River in Indianapolis.

The mayor of Indianapolis, Joe Hogsett, and other state officials implored residents in areas at risk of flooding to heed any evacuation warnings at a news conference.

Published: August 15, 2026, 4:56 pm

Trump shows off article on lower drug prices that says Biden deserves credit, not him

US president credits himself with lowest drug prices in 60 years, when article says drop is more likely due to Biden

The White House flooded social media on Saturday with an image of Donald Trump showing off the recent Washington Post headline “Prescription drug prices record sharpest drop in more than 60 years”, but failed to mention that experts cited in the article actually attributed the price drop to Joe Biden, not Trump.

On its official accounts, the White House triumphantly captioned the photograph of Trump: “POV: you bring the receipts.” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, also shared it.

Published: August 15, 2026, 3:02 pm

Ex-officer accused of plotting New Orleans attack is released after jury declines to indict

Former law enforcement officer was accused of planning to kill Black people in a mass shooting at a jazz festival

A white former law enforcement officer accused of planning to kill Black people in a mass shooting at a New Orleans festival was quietly released from custody over the summer after a grand jury found there was not enough evidence to charge him with a crime.

A Louisiana grand jury in June declined to indict Christopher Gillum on a state terrorism charge that could have carried up to a 15-year sentence, court records show.

Published: August 15, 2026, 9:40 am

Massive egg recall in US south and south-west due to salmonella outbreak

About 1.6m dozen eggs from Texas recalled amid one of the largest recorded foodborne illness outbreaks in US history

A massive egg recall affecting nearly 1.6m dozen eggs has been elevated to the US Food and Drug Administration’s highest-risk warning as officials investigate a salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 100 people.

The FDA on 12 August reclassified the recall of nearly 1.6m dozen white and brown cage-free eggs over concerns they may be contaminated with salmonella.

Published: August 15, 2026, 9:01 am

Taliban threaten former Afghan police worker after MoD leak reveals identity

UK has refused resettlement application despite ‘years of loyal service’ that have resulted in ‘constant fear’ of reprisals

A man has received threats from the Taliban after his work for the Afghan police was revealed by a Ministry of Defence leak and the UK refused his application for resettlement.

Hamid* worked for the Afghan national police special unit and received certificates for his work signed by senior British figures praising his “dedication, unparalleled service and leadership”. His details were also included in an accidental 2022 leak by an MoD official that identified 18,700 Afghans who had worked with or for the British government.

Published: August 16, 2026, 6:00 am

Torrential rain and flood kill nine in Japan amid wettest month in decades

Downpours in Japan’s east have snarled roads, caused power outages and destroyed homes in Chiba prefecture

Heavy rain that battered eastern Japan has left nine people dead, the public broadcaster NHK said on Sunday, after an “unprecedented” deluge that flooded more than a thousand homes and snarled up roads and rail services.

Torrential downpours that started late on Thursday have triggered landslide warnings and power outages, with forecasters issuing the highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region for the first time.

Published: August 15, 2026, 10:08 pm

Rescue teams search for survivors in Indonesia after powerful earthquake

Searchers dig through collapsed buildings and debris after 7.7 magnitude quake killed at least 53 people

Rescue crews dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris in eastern Indonesia on Sunday as they searched for bodies and possible survivors a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 53 people, injured more than 100 and displaced thousands.

At least 24 people died in Manggarai regency and 17 in neighbouring East Manggarai, with additional fatalities reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies, the national disaster management agency said. Rescuers were still searching for people feared buried beneath landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

Published: August 15, 2026, 8:57 pm

Bus carrying Polish pilgrims crashes in Hungary, leaving 12 dead

Another 10 people in serious condition after bus veers off motorway and overturns

Twelve people have died after a bus carrying a group of Polish tourists overturned on the M3 motorway in Hungary on the way back from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Local police said the bus crashed near the town of Mezőkeresztes after it “went off the straight road into a ditch and overturned” at 1am local time. Early reports suggested the driver had probably fallen asleep. He survived the crash and was taken into custody.

Published: August 16, 2026, 4:07 am

Ariana Grande Eternal Sunshine tour review: pop illusion at its most effective – for good and bad

The O2, London
On her last live dates before she steps back from the public eye, Grande holds her own – but it’s also impossible to avoid feeling concerned for her wellbeing

There’s a thrum of excitement in the air as an eight-minute countdown starts and Ariana Grande’s unmistakable silhouette appears on a giant backlit curtain on the stage of the O2. Is it actually her? Posing there for eight minutes before the show starts? It can’t be. But is it? It’s the first time we question what is and isn’t real at this Eternal Sunshine tour stop, a 10-night residency and a robust arena show that ultimately wants us to see one thing and experience another.

Collectively, we’ve been scolded for talking about it – the “endless, ongoing public scrutiny” of Ariana Grande’s body has pushed her to “[take] a step back from visibility” when this tour ends. It can’t be nice or fun to have your body examined and discussed for any reason but it is impossible to witness the 33-year-old’s frame on stage and not be gripped by genuine concern for her. Two songs in, a lump forms in my throat, which is not the intended effect of Positions, the zippy title track of her 2020 album. As the set around her is engulfed in digital flames, Grande sings about her infinite flexibility vis a vis relationship boundaries and sexual olympics and all I can think is: she looks like a little kid.

Published: August 16, 2026, 7:20 am

‘I see the incredible promise’: on set of an AI film shoot as new studios embrace controversial tech

Amid fears for jobs, some film-makers say AI could enable them bypass studio giants and take more creative risks

Near the collonaded entrance to Sony Pictures’ historic Culver City film studio, a tech-powered rival has sprung up this summer. The artists at Promise, a new studio feeding off the potential of AI, can glimpse the lots where Singin’ in the Rain and Men in Black were shot, but no longer do they need to get beyond the studio’s high walls to make their visions come true.

From far more modest premises, they are making movies with rapidly accelerating AI models that create backgrounds, special effects and even “synthetic performers” – using US models but also driven by market-leading Chinese AI.

Published: August 16, 2026, 5:00 am

‘Have I tried having sex to my own music? God, no!’: Natalie Imbruglia’s honest playlist

The singer was wooed with some knocked-off Joni Mitchell and might even be persuaded to sing Torn at karaoke. But what fan comment winds her up the most?

The first song I fell in love with
My dad gave me California Dreamin’ by the Mamas & the Papas on vinyl for my fifth birthday. I said: “Oh thanks, Dad,” but really, I thought: “Who is this weird bunch of people?” Obviously, the present was really for him.

The first single I bought
I remember begging my mum to buy me Beat It by Michael Jackson at a record shop in the ’burbs of Sydney. I mean – he’s Michael Jackson.

Published: August 16, 2026, 1:00 am

‘It is not only a future certainty – the disaster is already here’: why we need climate fiction

As wildfires rage across Europe and Britain swelters through its hottest summer on record, literary fiction has a vital role to play in capturing the severe consequences of climate crisis

Earlier this summer, I travelled through Europe on a book tour. Everywhere I went, the heat broke records. In Italy, Germany and Spain, I sought refuge from the afternoon sun in air-conditioned hotels. In normally temperate Zurich, it averaged 37 degrees. I jumped into the Limmat for relief. On my final day in Warsaw, Poland had never been hotter – one of 14 countries to hit a historic high. In June, when I left to return to the US, Europe was scorching. At the end of July, as I write this, it is burning.

Since the heatwaves began, there have been more than 10,000 excess deaths. Yet for many, myself included, the high temperatures brought nothing more than inconvenience – uncomfortable commutes, heat rash, less time outdoors. This seems to be a defining feature of today’s climate crisis; deadly for some, banal for others. Even when the world is on fire, it somehow doesn’t feel like an emergency for everyone.

Published: August 16, 2026, 4:00 am

Art Spiegelman: ‘The US needs a counter-revolution’

More than four decades after his Holocaust story Maus transformed the graphic novel genre, Art Spiegelman discusses Trump, the shadow of 9/11 and the rise of fascism in America

When the cartoonist Art Spiegelman began dating his future wife, Françoise Mouly, in the mid 70s, she would tell him not to worry about walking her home, because even the New York muggers didn’t bother venturing to where she lived in Soho. He moved in with her quite suddenly not long after, when his apartment in Greenwich Village burned down. His landlord, who lived on the ground floor, was a hoarder – once, when he came to collect Spiegelman’s rent, a cockroach crawled up from under his shirt collar – and eventually his accumulated junk caught alight.

This feels like a quintessential New York story, but then much of Spiegelman’s life does, or at least fits with the kind of stories we like to tell ourselves about the city. The Soho apartment Spiegelman and Mouly have lived in for five decades is worth millions now and is surrounded by high-end designers; his studio, down the road, is above a branch of Tiffany’s. “It’s just kind of an embarrassment, I mean Tiffany’s is not my class,” says Spiegelman, who refers to these flash new arrivals, dismissively, as “very fancy airport mall stores”.

Published: August 15, 2026, 1:00 am

‘I thought – if I die, I’ve had a good innings’: producer James Ford on life, death and making an album from his hospital bed

The Arctic Monkeys, Pet Shop Boys and Pulp collaborator was at the height of his powers as Britain’s most in-demand music producer when leukaemia struck. ‘I realised life is exceptionally fragile,’ he says

There was a moment outside the door of a recording studio in rural France, staring at a half-eaten apple that he believed possessed psychedelic properties, when James Ford knew things had really got out of hand. He was stood with Klaxons; all of the band members were hypnotised by this rotting fruit which throbbed on the floor with kaleidoscopic intensity. They were convinced that its blooming mould was in fact their spiritual guru.

The band had been riding the wave of their huge, scene-defining debut album, 2007’s Myths of the Near Future – which was produced by Ford – and were now trying to record the interminably difficult follow-up, aided by daily doses of a concoction they’d taken to calling “the five-star general”.

Published: August 16, 2026, 2:00 am

Atsuko Okatsuka: ‘Fans have cut their hair to look like mine, which is a huge commitment’

The comedian and actor on her love for White Chicks, getting a bad Yelp review as a dog walker and doing stand-up during an earthquake

You went to film school, what movie do you rewatch or return to most?

This would not be an answer that my film school would respect, or expect: White Chicks by the Wayans brothers. It’s about two brothers who are pretending to be rich white girls from the Hamptons. I love when something’s super stupid and silly, and there’s a scene where this group of [white] girls is in the car singing, and the two brothers have to pretend to know Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles, and I was like, “Oh my god, I’ve been there!”

Published: August 15, 2026, 1:00 pm

Thousands of Bonnie Tyler fans gather to pay respects as coffin brought home

Fans line streets, singing Total Eclipse of the Heart ahead of Welsh singer’s Swansea funeral

Thousands of Bonnie Tyler fans lined the streets of her home town in south Wales to pay respects to the singer as her coffin was brought back to her former home.

The singer, whose real name was Gaynor Sullivan, died unexpectedly on 8 July in Portugal at the age of 75.

Published: August 15, 2026, 11:44 am

‘My electric toaster is more than 100 years old’: readers on their ancient appliances

After news that a couple from Gloucestershire are still using an Electrolux fridge from the 1930s, we asked readers about their experiences. From a 50-year-old TV to a 75-year-old vacuum cleaner, here are the old faithfuls

I have a 1974 Janex Batman and Robin wind-up talking alarm clock. Amazingly, it still works even though it’s more than 50 years old. It plays audio of Batman and Robin having a discussion on why should really get up and out of bed. I love it. Every time I see it, I smile. Jason Connolly, 57, district nurse, Macandrew Bay, New Zealand

Published: August 15, 2026, 9:00 pm

The weekend is 100 years old – but have ‘skiveday Fridays’ and hybrid working ruined it for everyone?

In 1926, Henry Ford gave his employees both Saturdays and Sundays off – and the two-day chunk of time to party, pray or simply do nothing was born. Now it’s changed beyond recognition

For 11 years, from 1929 to 1940, the Soviet Union did not have weekends. Instead, to increase productivity citizens were allocated a day off in every seven at random. With 80% of the population at work on any given day, factories never had to power down.

A letter from a disgruntled worker to Pravda newspaper, published soon after the implementation of this new working calendar, outlined the problems: “What is there for us to do at home if our wives are in the factory, our children at school, and nobody can visit us?” the letter-writer asked. “It is no holiday if you have to have it alone.” Parents found themselves at home while their children were at school, or with kids unsupervised while they were on shift. With no shared day off, extended family gatherings became impossible. The workforce became demoralised and listless, the projected spike in productivity never materialised, and the policy was first modified, then abandoned altogether.

Published: August 15, 2026, 10:00 pm

I haven’t dated for years and want to try again. How do I prepare for the storm | Ask Annalisa Barbieri

Do you really want to date, or do you just feel you should? Be kind to yourself, and maybe try real-world dating and avoid the apps for now

I haven’t been on a date in eight years and want to start next year. How can I prepare for the storm?

I want to love and care for someone. I long for a supportive, funny life partner. Should I say that to a man? And is that too much in a dating profile?

Published: August 15, 2026, 10:00 pm

‘It was barbaric. I was crying my eyes out’: why are so many women left in agony by routine womb examinations?

There are more than 70,000 hysteroscopies every year in England alone. The NHS calls them ‘low complexity’ – yet a shocking number of patients complain of inadequate pain relief and medical staff who refuse to take them seriously

In February this year, Beth Harris sat in the day surgery waiting room of her local hospital and tried to steady her nerves.

She was there for a hysteroscopy, in this case to remove a fibroid. A thin surgical instrument with a lens, a light, a blade and an irrigation system for pumping saline solution would be inserted through her vagina and cervix, into her womb. The saline solution would widen the womb and the fibroid would be shaved away. Her hospital had advised taking paracetamol or ibuprofen an hour before the appointment, which Harris had done. However, the appointment was for 1pm, and by 4pm, she was still waiting in her hospital gown, surrounded by other patients.

Published: August 16, 2026, 6:00 am

‘I don’t always go full banana!’ From the yellow man to a playful shrink, stylish people on what they wear every day – and why

How does a rabbi choose her shoes? Why does a psychoanalyst like slogan tees? And why does a doctor avoid wearing scrubs at work? Seven striking dressers share their surprising style stories

Andrew Geldart, 65, retired engineer, Cornwall

Published: August 16, 2026, 4:00 am

Are you tweaking on your partner? From secret boob jobs to Botox on the sly, people explain why they keep their cosmetic procedures hidden

Daniel’s boyfriend thinks his youthful complexion is down to fancy skincare, and Jessica’s nearest and dearest still don’t know she’s had a breast enhancement …

Jessica was at a spa with her friends of more than 20 years when she noticed one stare at her bikini, lock eyes with her and laugh, before asking: “Wait, have you …?” The game was up – eight months after she’d had a secret breast enhancement, she’d been rumbled. Fearing judgment from even her closest circle, she had only spoken to two people who’d had the procedure, for advice, and told a neighbour in case she was unwell after the surgery. “My family still don’t know – most people don’t,” the 42-year-old from London says, including her two children who live between her and her ex-husband. “I’m not alone; I’ve since learned winter is the most popular time for people to get things done, then they can just hide under jumpers while everything settles in, so no one notices.”

For years, celebrities have endured public speculation about their tweakments and surgeries – but as procedures become more commonplace, “civilian” patients are facing the same questions from family and friends. And many of them are choosing to go incognito; some surgeons estimate up to 70% of their clients aren’t telling others about their aesthetic procedures. But what are the practicalities of disguising everything from breast augmentation to filler to hair transplants from your closest circle? And why are so many people spending thousands of pounds to alter their appearance – only to hope that no one notices?

Published: August 15, 2026, 3:59 am

World’s Ugliest Dog contest 2026 – in pictures

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder at the World’s Ugliest Dog contest, which marked its 50th year at the Sonoma County Fair in California. The competition, which promotes dog adoptions and ‘the imperfections that make all dogs special’, was won this year by Jinny Lu, a pug from South Korea

Published: August 15, 2026, 11:26 pm

Readers reply: How is it physically possible to continue breaking sporting records?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

• This week’s question: Is it inevitable that consumerism will literally fill up the planet?

Obviously, progressions in sports clothing technology must make a small difference to the abilities of an athlete – but how on earth is it physically possible that we continue to break world records, year on year? Are humans really faster or stronger than they were decades ago? Jennifer Michaelson, Newlyn

Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com.

Published: August 16, 2026, 6:00 am

Rock stars Ash look back: ‘Mark broke his feet jumping off a balcony – for the rest of the tour he self-medicated with gin and buckets of ice’

The Northern Irish band on jamming together at school, booze and breakdowns, and being a weirdly functional family

Tim Wheeler, Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray are the founding members of Ash. School friends from Downpatrick, County Down, they started out as a covers band called Vietnam in 1989. As Ash, their debut full-length album, 1977, went to No 1 in 1996. Shining Light, from 2001’s Free All Angels, won them an Ivor Novello award. The group have released nine albums, three of which feature guitarist Charlotte Hatherley. They are releasing a 30th anniversary edition of 1977 on 16 October and are on a world tour, including the UK and Ireland, until December.

Published: August 16, 2026, 6:00 am

Dining across the divide: ‘At one point she said, “I don’t want to offend you, but you seem quite privileged”’

A trainee accountant and a company director had differing views on opportunities for young people, but could they find common ground on the new prime minister?

• Want to meet someone from across the divide? Click here to find out how

Margaret, 22, London

Occupation Trainee accountant and part-time arts producer

Published: August 16, 2026, 4:00 am

A Madonna installation and wildfires in Europe: photos of the weekend

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

Published: August 16, 2026, 6:29 am