The Guardian

‘Our rota crew have the best summer’: parents share how they get through the school holiday

As research suggests six weeks of childcare can cost £1,145, parents are relying on spreadsheets, savings and sharing the loadThe summer holidays are in full swing, bringing the annual challenge many parents face in balancing work and looking after school-age children. With children off school for about 13 weeks a year, but most employees entitled to far less annual leave, parents have told the Guardian that the sums simply do not add up.New research suggests arranging six weeks of holiday child

general  Aug 16, 2026

BBC World

BBC visits smouldering Kyiv market after Russian strikes

Six people were injured in the strike on the market selling second-hand records, posters, toys and tools.

general  Aug 16, 2026

The Guardian

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 futureWildlife 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 laid 13,770 nests, hundreds more than recorded

general  Aug 16, 2026

The Guardian

‘Why did it become personal?’: furore over plans to expand Kent oyster shack

James Green’s oyster company owns a chunk of Whitstable’s shoreline but success has not brought affection from residentsThe clink of glasses and the lapping of the tide was punctuated by giggling toddlers and the slurp of oysters at tables populated by people gently sizzling on a baking day on the Kent seaside.But James Green, of the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company, had the demeanour of a man who had found grit in his mollusc. “I don’t like to use the term but it is nimbyism,” he said. “Why di

general  Aug 16, 2026

The Guardian

Rare Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina stolen from Sicilian museum

Four works were taken during public holiday, the day after Italian police recovered paintings by Cézanne, Renoir and MatisseFour 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 pl

general  Aug 16, 2026

BBC World

Europe's tallest Virgin Mary statue unveiled in rural Poland

The 55.6-metre (182ft) concrete figure is head-and-shoulders above Rio de Jaineiro's Christ the Redeemer.

general  Aug 16, 2026

The Guardian

Man under threat of deportation to Jamaica wins right to rejoin his British family

Mark Nelson released from immigration detention on bail after lawyers challenge decision to remove himA Jamaican man who has lived more than half his life in the UK and was facing imminent deportation has been allowed to reunite with his British family after a legal challenge.Mark Nelson, 47, came to the UK in 2000 and later set up his own car-mechanic business. He has five British children and a British partner. He faced deportation in 2022 after serving a four-year prison sentence for possessi

general  Aug 16, 2026

The Guardian

Bus carrying Polish pilgrims crashes in Hungary, leaving 12 dead

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

general  Aug 16, 2026

The Guardian

‘Massive’ 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 capitalUkraine 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.Russia’s defence ministry said it had shot down 822 drones, while the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, reported that 600 drones were flying towards the capital’s region, of

general  Aug 16, 2026

The Guardian

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 2028Congress 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. Continue reading...

general  Aug 16, 2026

WSJ World News

Iran Says Pilots Missing After a Brazen Bombing Run Are Prisoners in Qatar

Qatar denies it is holding the three crew members, whose jets were downed early in the war.

general  Aug 16, 2026

WSJ World News

NATO Jets Down Suspected Russian Drone Over Romania

The incursion and a rare attribution to Moscow add to fears that the war in Ukraine will spill into Europe.

general  Aug 16, 2026

NY Times World

As Iran War Turns Into Economic Battle, a New U.S. Strategy Recalls Old Ones

The United States and Iran are poised to blow past a deadline they had set themselves to broker terms on peace and Iran’s nuclear program.

general  Aug 16, 2026

NY Times World

How a Ukrainian Bank Worker Came to Face Life in a Russian Prison

Artem Murdid, his mother and his girlfriend are accused of terrorism. They say they did nothing wrong.

general  Aug 16, 2026

The Guardian

Block export of ‘national treasure’ UK fossils, says MP

Sale of one of UK’s top collections overseas prompts call new rules to help keep items in countryOne of UK’s best fossil collections sold in ‘loss to the nation’An MP has called on ministers to change export controls so that significant fossils can be classed as national treasures after one of the UK’s best collections, unearthed on Dorset beaches, was sold overseas.Last week, a Guardian investigation revealed that an unparalleled collection of fossils from the UK’s Jurassic Coast, comprising h

general  Aug 16, 2026

The Guardian

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 illA 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 resu

general  Aug 16, 2026

The Guardian

King Charles and Prince William face £10m energy upgrade bill for estates

New rules could affect nine in 10 rental properties in duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster and at Sandringham King Charles and Prince William could be forced to spend up to £10m upgrading hundreds of rental properties on their private estates to meet planned energy-efficiency rules.The government has announced that landlords will need to ensure their properties have energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings of C or higher by 2030 – up from the current requirement of an E. Continue reading...

general  Aug 16, 2026

NY Times World

A Shooting at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto Exposes a Neighborhood’s Guns-for-Hire Network

A shooting at a U.S. Consulate has thrust a neighborhood with a troubled past into the center of an emerging criminal phenomenon: young guns for hire as gig workers in the underworld economy.

general  Aug 16, 2026

NY Times World

Trump’s Other Hold on the Americas: The Visa

As part of its expansionist approach to the Western Hemisphere, the Trump administration is trying to reassert its dominance, one U.S. visa at a time.

general  Aug 16, 2026

NY Times World

Cholera Outbreak Sickens More Than 90 in Myanmar’s Biggest City

Civil war and military rule have weakened Myanmar’s health care system, while heavy monsoon rains have increased the risk of waterborne disease.

general  Aug 16, 2026