The Guardian

Heavy rain forecast will not reverse widespread drought conditions in UK

Forecasters say intense showers might cause flooding as rain falls on dry, hard groundFloods and drought could hit the UK at the same time this week, with heavy rain forecast to fall on hard, parched soil.While some parts of the UK will have the “first meaningful rain for a long time” in the coming days, it will not reverse widespread drought conditions that have put pressure on wildlife, farmers, firefighters and water resources. Continue reading...

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

UK risks running out of gas by 2030s, ministers told

Government assessment warns of supply shock that could leave homes and businesses without gas within a decadeGreat Britain risks running out of gas in the 2030s despite its growing clean energy sources, unless ministers take “unprecedented” action to guard against a future gas supply shock, according to an official assessment of the country’s gas security.The government is considering plans to provide direct financial support to safeguard the country’s ageing gas infrastructure after a consultat

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

Labour urges Gambling Commission to investigate firms linked to Reform UK donors

Bridget Phillipson writes to watchdog asking it to look into claims Tether.bet and Fispay operated without a licenceThe Gambling Commission has been urged to investigate claims that companies linked to Reform UK donors and allies of Nigel Farage have been operating without a licence.The Labour party’s chair, Bridget Phillipson, has written to the watchdog asking it to look into Tether.bet, a Montenegro-based gambling company, and Fispay, a UK company owned by Reform’s data protection officer, Mo

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

Philippine school shooter kills fellow student and himself in livestreamed attack

Country’s second fatal school shooting in two months took place in southern city of ⁠Zamboanga A student livestreamed himself shooting and killing another pupil in a classroom in the southern Philippines before taking his own ⁠life, ​the second school attack in the country in less than two months.The shooting took ⁠place at a school attached to Ateneo de Zamboanga University in the southern city of ⁠Zamboanga, a Catholic private institution in western Mindanao. Zamboanga city’s mayor, Khymer Ad

general  Aug 18, 2026

BBC World

Brazil's President Lula hails oil discovery near Amazon river

Environmentalists have heavily criticised the exploratory drilling in the sea off the mouth of the Amazon.

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

One person dead and more than 200 ill in UK salmonella outbreak

UKHSA rules out British produce as source of infections and says evidence points to consumption of imported eggsOne person has died and more than 200 others have fallen ill during a UK-wide outbreak of salmonella that health officials have linked to the consumption of imported eggs.The 207 people affected range in age from under one year to 90 years old, according to the UK Health Security Agency, which is leading an investigation into the outbreak. Continue reading...

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

ABC sues Trump’s media regulator over ‘politically motivated’ license renewals

Network alleges FCC demand for early license renewal is retaliation for content the administration disapproves ofAfter being forced to apply early to renew its license to broadcast on the eight local television stations it owns, ABC has sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), arguing that it is being retaliated against for content-based reasons.The network filed the lawsuit on Tuesday while it waits to hear whether the Brendan Carr-led FCC approves its renewal requests, or, more likely

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

Revealed: Toby Young free speech group crowdfunded over £60,000 for legal case fought by pro-bono lawyer

Staff members said Free Speech Union would “need to explain” how it spent money donated by its supportersStaff at a campaign group that claims to defend free speech in Britain said it would “need to explain” how it spent roughly £60,000 that was crowdfunded for a legal case that was ultimately fought by a pro bono lawyer.The Free Speech Union (FSU), an activist group founded by Conservative life peer Toby Young, last year took up the case of Julian Foulkes, a 71-year-old retired police officer w

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

Scientists who turned to OnlyFans to fund marmot research receive crypto boost

Funding boost worth $100,000 has recently materialized in form of new marmot-themed cryptocurrencyScientists who turned to OnlyFans to help save long-running research into marmots have raised more than $100,000 after harnessing the support of another, very modern, funding avenue – cryptocurrency.The 60-year project of continuous study of marmots – stout, ground-dwelling rodents that are the largest members of the squirrel family – across the US west was facing termination following science fundi

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

Phyllida Law, prolific performer across stage and screen, dies aged 94

As adept at comedy and musicals as she was drama, Law acted alongside daughters Emma and Sophie in a career spanning eight decadesPhyllida Law, whose prolific acting career encompassed a wide range of stage, TV and film roles – a number of which were alongside her daughters Emma and Sophie Thompson – has died aged 94. Her personal manager Jacky Leggo said in a statement that she “died supremely peacefully at home, surrounded by all of her family”.Born in Glasgow in 1932, Law was accepted at the

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

‘The truth about Diana’: Charles Spencer to publish book about late sister

Earl says he wanted to ‘write down my own thoughts and memories’ with 30th anniversary of Diana’s death ‘on the skyline’Charles Spencer is to publish about a book about his sister Diana in September.In the book – titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – Spencer recounts the story of Diana’s life and the week of her death. It marks “the first time that Earl Spencer has spoken openly and at length about his sister”, according to the book’s publisher, the Penguin imprint Michael Joseph. The book will b

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

Georgia man deported from Fiji to face $165m crypto Ponzi scheme charges

Edward Zimbardi, 59, who had fled US, will appear in court in Los Angeles on wire fraud and money-laundering chargesA man from Flowery Branch, Georgia, has been deported from Fiji to face charges in his home state accusing him of defrauding more than 6,000 investors and causing more than $165m of losses in ⁠a cryptocurrency Ponzi ⁠scheme, the ​US attorney in Atlanta said on Monday.Edward Zimbardi, 59, was indicted on 12 counts of ⁠wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering and one count of money-

general  Aug 18, 2026

BBC World

Kariba ferry death toll rises to 93, making it Zimbabwe's deadliest transport disaster

Recovery efforts to recover bodies continue in what is the country's deadliest transport disaster.

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

UK retailers too slow to pass on fuel price falls, watchdog says

Competition and Markets Authority raises concerns about ‘passive pricing strategies’ used by some petrol stationsBusiness live – latest updatesSome petrol stations are still not passing on changes in wholesale prices quickly enough and more than 1,000 warning letters have been sent to retailers failing to give prices to the Fuel Finder service, the UK competition watchdog has said.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised concerns in its latest quarterly update on the fuel market over

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

‘Our task is to laugh at these enemies’: the Ukrainian unit posting drone videos of Russian soldiers’ last moments

Creators of chase compilations reject any moral qualms and say they show ‘death is waiting’ for those who join warTo many observers they will appear dehumanising and offensive. To many Ukrainians, however, they are a brutal reminder of the fate that awaits Russian soldiers who take part in Vladimir Putin’s invasion, as well as a potent propaganda weapon.Over the past year and a half, videos of kamikaze drones chasing Russian service personnel to their deaths have become a distinctive genre on so

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

First Thing: Meta’s treatment of children on social media in spotlight as landmark trial set to begin

Several US states have accused Instagram and Facebook’s parent company of deliberately causing young people harm with its products. Plus: the Italian nuns fighting to keep control of their spot in the sunGood morning. More than half of the states in the US have joined together in an unprecedented lawsuit against Meta that goes to trial on Tuesday, accusing the parent company of Instagram and Facebook of deliberately designing addictive products that lured in young people and caused them harm.The

general  Aug 18, 2026

WSJ World News

The Morning Risk Report: L3Harris Ousts CEO After Investigation Into Conduct

Plus: Companies may stick with quarterly earnings statements; Florida workers disappearing

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

England’s ancient oak trees dying in extreme hot and dry weather

Woodland Trust says trees struggling in drought stress, with older ‘survivors’ disproportionately affectedEngland’s ancient oak trees are dying in the summer’s extreme heat and dry weather, according to the Woodland Trust, with trees and ecosystems unable to adapt fast enough to the changing climate.The heatwaves across much of Europe this summer have had a notable impact on crop growth and plant health. To cope with the extreme conditions, many trees are undergoing “early autumn”, wilting and l

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

‘Migration has been weaponised’: Italy’s security law criticised after death of Moroccan man in police restraint

Case of Abderrahim Fakir is first in which legal shield giving police greater protection from prosecution has been invokedIf, before 19 July, few people in Italy beyond his family and friends knew who Abderrahim Fakir was, by the late afternoon of that day the final moments of his life were being watched across the country.Video footage widely shared online showed him being handcuffed and forcibly restrained by police on a street in Pilastro, a neighbourhood in the north-east of Bologna. Continu

general  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian

Governments’ borrowing costs hit further multi-decade highs as US-Iran peace hopes fade

Bond yields in US, UK, Germany France and Japan rise after ceasefire ends and Trump threatens to bomb OmanBusiness live – latest updatesGovernment borrowing costs continued to rise to levels not seen in decades on Tuesday, as hopes of an end to the US-Iran war faded.Concerns about the inflation outlook worsened after the ceasefire between Washington DC and Tehran ended on Monday night without an agreement, with no progress on the reopening of the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

general  Aug 18, 2026