UK News
View All 9'It's not fair!' Traders demand free parking as roadworks chaos cripples high street
Traders in the West Yorkshire town of Brighouse are campaigning for the council to lift parking charges until regeneration roadworks are complete.It comes as shops have been forced to close due to a decline in trade, with many others struggling with the decline in footfall.Brighouse Independent Shop Keepers (BRISK) have put together a petition asking for a minimum of 30 minutes free parking in the town centre to encourage more people to visit and spend time and money in the centre. Parking charges in several parts of Brighouse were increased earlier this year, despite concerns from traders. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say These rises came less than a year after some premium parking spaces in the town centre saw a 400 per cent increase - from 40p to £2 for an hour.Work to revamp Brighouse town centre got underway in January and is scheduled to take 18 months, and should be complete by the end of summer 2027. While most traders believe the scheme will benefit the town once it is complete, some say help is needed in the meantime.Oliver Blackburn is the secretary of BRISK Secretary and Manager of Webster's Furniture, which has been run by his family since 1865.He told GB News: "The roadworks started in January this year, which has impacted the town massively in terms of footfall, which is significantly reduced in trade. There are a lot of traders in the area that are struggling."We've managed to secure some extra parking spaces with the help of the councillors at Brighouse, which is good for long term but short term, traders need support and help and I think customers need that as well."We've set up a petition to campaign for a minimum of 30 minutes free parking, as quite a lot of shops and businesses had to cut staff down, and we've also had businesses that have closed or announced the closing in the last week or two, and some are also struggling, as well with the impacts of it [roadworks]."So we just feel that we're trying to get a positive message, to get some free parking, to advertise and promote that to customers, to come into town and shop local and support the high street just to get us through these roadworks, because when it's all done, the town will look much better place."LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:One of Britain's last remaining D-Day veterans honoured with special party ahead of VJ DayLocals' lives 'made a misery' as town suffers ‘anti-social epidemic’ near emergency accommodationArmy of volunteers band together to restore civic pride in historic seaside townJust over the road from Webster's furniture, Direct Carpet Co, a family run carpet store in Brighouse, is also feeling the pinch due to the roadworks outside their shop and the increased parking charges.Wayne Smith, Owner Direct Carpet Co, said: "Trade has changed slightly since they've started doing the roadworks - there's not as much footfall but we're still trading. There has been an impact, especially with the parking charges going up."One minute it's 50p or 60p, the next minute it's £1.50, and that immediately changed when they started doing the roadworks. So I just feel like it has put a lot of people off coming into the town."Work on the 18-month £19.1million regeneration scheme in Brighouse began in January, while parking charges in the town more than doubled earlier this year.Some premium spaces in the town centre saw a 400 per cent increase - from 40p to £2 for an hour, and shoppers in Brighouse told GB News they welcome a price reduction.Roy Fisher said: "It's excessive, you know, £1.50 for an hour and you're never sure if that's enough, so you finish up putting £3 on. I think it's is expensive and shouldn't be happening while they've got the roadworks on."You have no choice but to pay it around here. They should put the parking for it to be free until all these roadworks are finished."Carl said: "The cost is too much at £2 an hour and if you go walk through the car parks, they're empty. Everybody just parks in the supermarket. It's a good thing that the council is now trying to sort this stupidity out."Sharon Phelan said: "People are not coming into Brighouse anymore because they don't want to pay that money. Which I don't blame them, really. I mean, it's not fair. People can't afford to pay it and come and do all the shopping down here."Putting parking tickets up, it's not right- everybody's complaining about it."Calderdale Council are mindful of the impact the works are having, but say the 18 month scheme will boost the high street.The multimillion-pound redevelopment work in the town centre, funded by the government's Towns Fund, has also seen traffic flow in some areas changed, with some on-street parking spaces suspended as well as road closures introduced.According to the Brighouse Town Deal Board, the aim of the project was to create "a more attractive, safer and cleaner town centre so those who shop, visit and enjoy spend longer, spend more and return often".The Reform UK took over the former Labour led council in May, and have been working with local businesses since then, including freeing up more parking spaces to help.Darren Commons, Cabinet Minister for Highways and Transport at Calderdale Council, told GB News: "It's a scheme that we inherited since we took over three months ago, and it will be a very good scheme when it's finished."However, there were some flaws in it, so we listened to the people and the shopkeepers business owners in Brighouse with pause phase two for a short while until we could review it, and we retained a lot of the car parking spaces that were going to be removed."It's a multi-million-pound investment, and it's going to be partially pedestrianised, the town centre. It's to reinvigorate the high street and draw more customers into Brighouse."It does serve a lot of the rural communities around here, but also enhance everything for the people who've already originally used it. It did start looking a bit tired, so this will help."We've inherited from the previous administration parking charges going up, and we've done a full review across the whole borough of Calderdale."We did take Brighouse out of it because of the works, but Brighouse reviews are going to happen over the next couple of weeks and there's hopefully some good news going forward."But we have been listening to traders and hence why we paused the scheme in the first place, and we're still listening and we'll see what we can do for them."Wheels are in motion to review the parking charges within the next few weeks, and thousands of people have signed the petition for free parking so far.To find out more, click HERE. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
Police make murder arrest after woman, 90, dies in house fire
Police have arrested a woman on suspicion of murder after a woman in her 90s died in a house fire.Gloucestershire Constabulary said it was called to Elmgrove Road West in Hardwicke just before 4am on Sunday after reports of a fire.A woman in her 90s was found unconscious within the property.Emergency services rushed to perform CPR, but the woman was later pronounced dead. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say A woman in her 60s, from Gloucester, has now been arrested in connection to the fire.She remains in police custody for questioning on suspicion of murder and arson with intent to endanger life.Both women knew each other and it is believed to be an isolated incident, police said.A spokeswoman for Gloucester Police said: "Officers attended the scene along with crews from the fire and ambulance services."The property was searched and a woman in her 90s was found unconscious inside."Emergency services performed CPR but despite their best efforts, the woman was sadly pronounced dead. Her next of kin has been informed."Police would like to reassure the public that those involved in the incident are known to each other and this appears to have been an isolated incident."A cordon remains in place whilst investigators continue their inquiries at the address."Anyone with information is urged to contact Gloucester Police quoting occurrence 53260070746. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
It is easy to mourn tragedy of Jason Arday after the event... it is much harder to recognise your own part in a pile-on
Former Cambridge academic resigned from his post as the professor of sociology of education last week after allegations of plagiarism were made against him. On Friday, he was found dead after emergency services were called to an address in Battersea, south London.
Alliance has run out of people to blame and lashing out on social media won’t fix Northern Ireland
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World News
View All 10Hayden Panettiere dies at 36
Hayden Panettiere dies at 36 Panettiere is remembered for roles on "Heroes" and "Nashville," among others. ByABC NEWS August 17, 2026, AM Actress Hayden Panettiere has died, her representative confirmed to ABC News. She was 36 years old. "It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her -- and to the millions who watched her onscreen," her father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement. Her father asked for privacy "as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss." TODAY -- Pictured: Hayden Panettiere on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 -- (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC via ) Nbc/Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty I Further details surrounding Panettiere's death were not immediately available. Beginning as a child star, with a long career in both TV and film, Panettiere is remembered for her roles as Claire Bennet on the hit series "Heroes" and as Juliette Barnes on the musical drama "Nashville." She also starred in "Remember the Titans," "Raising Helen," "Ice Princess" and "Scream 4." Panettiere has been candid about her struggles from child stardom through adulthood. She released a memoir this May titled "This Is Me: A Reckoning." In the memoir, she shares "a rare and intimate glimpse into her life behind closed doors, opening up about postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse, and loss," according to a synopsis for her book. Hayden Panettiere during Spike TV's 2006 Video Game Awards - Arrivals at The Galen Center in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo /FilmMagic) Michael Tran Archive/FilmMagic She is the mother to one child, her daughter Kaya Klitschko, whom she had in 2014 with her ex-fiancé, heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. And I just needed a break." Related Hayden Panettiere says 'the pain isn't quantifiable' 2 years after her brother's death Panetierre went on to reprise her role as Kirby Reed in the "Scream" franchise, which was released in March 2023. Her brother, Jansen Panettiere, died suddenly in February 2023 from cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) coupled with aortic valve complications, his family said in a statement at the time. Hayden Panettiere spoke openly about her grief, saying in an interview with People two years after his death, "I will always be heartbroken about it." "I will never be able to get over it," she told the outlet. "No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss." Panettiere's death comes less than a week before she would have turned 37 years old on Friday.
How Ronald Reagan Used Diplomacy to End the Cold War
Analysis A new movie shows how the president conferred with State Department experts before each meeting. A pencil drawing of a man smiling and wearing glasses Julian E. Zelizer, a columnist at Foreign Policy and a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. Julian’s , The Long View, here. Two men in Western suits sit in wooden chairs with striped cushions on a stage. One leans in with one leg crossed over the other as they talk. President Ronald Reagan (right) talks to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during a summit in Geneva on Nov. 21, 1985. AFP via August 17, 2026, AM President Donald Trump has handled the war with Iran in an unconventional fashion, to say the least. Based on the reporting that has emerged thus far, the president’s long-standing hostility toward Iran, dating back to the 1979 hostage crisis, combined with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s determination to decapitate one of his country’s fiercest adversaries, helped drive the military operations that have now been underway for nearly six months at a cost of at least $37.5 billion. Since the war began, negotiations over a resolution have been chaotic. Americans have witnessed announcements of ceasefires, violations of those ceasefires, and statements from the administration that bear little resemblance to what is unfolding on their screens. Changing and often contradictory administration statements have suggested that the goals of the war include toppling the governing regime, ushering in democracy, destroying the country’s nuclear and military capabilities, and, most recently, keeping open the Strait of Hormuz—which had been open until the war began. The president has never sought authorization for this war from Congress. President Donald Trump has handled the war with Iran in an unconventional fashion, to say the least. Based on the reporting that has emerged thus far, the president’s long-standing hostility toward Iran, dating back to the 1979 hostage crisis, combined with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s determination to decapitate one of his country’s fiercest adversaries, helped drive the military operations that have now been underway for nearly six months at a cost of at least $37.5 billion. Since the war began, negotiations over a resolution have been chaotic. Americans have witnessed announcements of ceasefires, violations of those ceasefires, and statements from the administration that bear little resemblance to what is unfolding on their screens. Changing and often contradictory administration statements have suggested that the goals of the war include toppling the governing regime, ushering in democracy, destroying the country’s nuclear and military capabilities, and, most recently, keeping open the Strait of Hormuz—which had been open until the war began.
Why Australia’s Getting Tough on China Again
S. allies, Canberra is betting its entire strategic house on Pax Americana. , a professor of modern history at the University of Sydney and a foreign affairs columnist at the Australian Financial Review. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese listens to speeches at the opening of the Vuvale Skills hub in Suva, Fiji, on July 6. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese listens to speeches at the opening of the Vuvale Skills hub in Suva, Fiji, on July 6. Leon Lord/AFP via August 17, 2026, AM Since coming to office in 2022, the Australian Labor Party government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has championed the virtues of a “stabilized” relationship with President Xi Jinping’s China. The fruits of this approach—which dropped a mantra of “pushing back” against Beijing and instead deployed the careful rhetoric of “constructive” engagement—have been obvious. Under the previous, conservative government of Scott Morrison, China’s unreasonable economic coercion of Australia had resulted in punitive sanctions on Australian exports to China of wine, barley, lobster, and coal, among other products. In December 2024, this came to an end when China lifted its final Australian embargo, on lobsters. Yet through this period of high diplomatic tension, the two countries’ economic complementarity continued, especially in the resources sector. Australia’s iron ore trade with China has largely underwritten its national prosperity for the past three decades, and neither Beijing nor Canberra’s hawks dared use it as leverage. Since coming to office in 2022, the Australian Labor Party government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has championed the virtues of a “stabilized” relationship with President Xi Jinping’s China. The fruits of this approach—which dropped a mantra of “pushing back” against Beijing and instead deployed the careful rhetoric of “constructive” engagement—have been obvious. Under the previous, conservative government of Scott Morrison, China’s unreasonable economic coercion of Australia had resulted in punitive sanctions on Australian exports to China of wine, barley, lobster, and coal, among other products. In December 2024, this came to an end when China lifted its final Australian embargo, on lobsters. Yet through this period of high diplomatic tension, the two countries’ economic complementarity continued, especially in the resources sector. Australia’s iron ore trade with China has largely underwritten its national prosperity for the past three decades, and neither Beijing nor Canberra’s hawks dared use it as leverage. Indeed, despite the many targeted sanctions on Australia’s goods over that period, Canberra’s overall exports to China nearly doubled, from $116 billion in 2017 to $218 billion in 2023.
The Cost of Keeping China Out
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, May 2026 Kenny Holston / Reuters Peter Cowhey is Qualcomm Professor of Technology Policy Emeritus at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. Meg Rithmire is James E. Robison Professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. More & Download Print unlock this feature or Sign in. Save Sign in and save to read later Copy This is a subscriber-only feature. or Sign in. Chicago MLA APSA APA Chicago Cite not available at the moment MLA Cite not available at the moment APSA Cite not available at the moment APA Cite not available at the moment Request reprint permissions here. Instead, Americans must reckon honestly with the scale of China’s industrial and technological progress. The United States need not embrace Chinese imports and investment unconditionally, but it must recognize that its own long-term competitiveness depends on its companies and consumers being exposed to the cutting edge. President Donald Trump’s vague proposal for a joint “Board of Investment” with China, announced after his May summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, seemed to suggest Washington was moving in this direction. But nothing concrete has come from the board, and managing investment flows at the leader-to-leader level is certainly not efficient. A more mature strategy of selective openness is possible. The United States should permit carefully structured Chinese investment in areas in which the economic and technological benefits are substantial while imposing stringent safeguards to mitigate security risks. Building the political confidence to sustain a selectively open market for Chinese direct investments requires skilled, transparent, and thorough regulatory oversight. With such an approach, Washington can penalize some imports but still permit access to the U. S. market through investments in American production facilities. There is a clear precedent for this strategy. It is, in fact, exactly what China did to Western companies for decades. Since the 1990s, China has required global investors to operate under conditions that are designed to advance its national development goals. When foreign automakers or cellphone manufacturers wanted to take advantage of China’s cheap labor force, Beijing required that the firms use local supply chains, transfer technology, share management with Chinese firms, provide workforce training, and offer security protections (for example, localizing data and submitting to government oversight). The goal was always to ensure that foreign companies invested in ways that fostered a Chinese ecosystem.
Politics
View All 10Revisited: The Andy Burnham I know – Today in Focus podcast
Today in Focus host and former north of England editor Helen Pidd has watched Andy Burnham’s career for years, and here she talks to his friends, colleagues and mentors to find out more about his rise to power.
Navy considers major aircraft carrier revamp to better suit Trump’s aesthetic
The U.S. Navy is weighing a major revamp of the design of its new class of aircraft carriers to better suit the desires expressed by President Trump as the White House continues to wade into the designs of naval warships. The Navy is performing an internal review where it is weighing the possibility of moving…
Ossoff: ‘Something uniquely despicable about lying a nation into war’
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) on Sunday took a swing at President Trump over the Iran war, saying he lied “the nation into a war.” During a Sunday rally in Atlanta, the Georgia Democrat went after Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for their management of the war against Iran. Ossoff said that that Trump “promised…
Reform UK benefits ban for foreign nationals would include EU citizens
Robert Jenrick will make a speech on Reform's welfare plans on Monday Foreign nationals would be excluded from most benefits under a Reform UK government, the party has said. The ban, part of a proposed overhaul of Britain's benefits system, would include European Union (EU) nationals with settled status in the UK. It would require renegotiating the UK's Brexit deal with the EU, potentially meaning that British expatriates living in the EU could lose equivalent rights. Reform claims the policy would save £21bn a year , but Labour insists the "vast majority" of migrants have no access to benefits and the Conservatives have dismissed the plans as "cobbled together". Welfare cuts: What's been happening with Pip and universal credit? Reform says it has spent six months drawing up a 50-page plan that it claims will save a total of £50bn a year. On Saturday, the party said it would replace the disability payments system, Pip, if it entered Number 10 at the next election. The latest proposals would ban foreign nationals from almost all welfare payments including housing benefit, pension credit, jobseeker's allowance, child benefit, free childcare and disability benefits. Only a small number of exemptions would apply, including the war widows pension and Armed Forces compensation. The party had previously pledged to ban foreign nationals from claiming Universal Credit. The proposal could potentially spark a tit-for-tat move from Brussels Given those affected would include EU nationals with settled status, external who have an indefinite right to live, work and study in the UK - and have usually lived in the UK for a continuous five-year period - the Brexit deal secured under the last Tory government would need to be renegotiated. The party said it had accounted for a potential £500m cost of British expats returning from the EU to the UK to claim benefits if the EU retaliates. Labour said Reform's plans would be "plunging the UK back into years of Brexit renegotiations and stripping support from potentially millions of people who have lawfully lived, worked and paid taxes in Britain for years, and in many cases decades". Helen Whately, the Tories' shadow pensions secretary, said that rather than disputes about Brexit, "British people want welfare spending under control, abuse stamped out and dignity for people who are seriously disabled". The Lib Dems said fixing the NHS and social care was key to slashing Britain's benefits bill. And the Greens said it was "cowardly to take from the most defenceless when we should be taxing the super wealthy including those who are in the privileged position of accepting £5m donations".
Business
View All 10Maniatis: Oman Spill Cleanup May Cost USD 200-500M
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War and climate change drive surge in global shipping costs
Rates on routes including Panama Canal, Rhine, Red Sea and Black Sea jump, while Hormuz closure also hits seaborne trade
Air conditioning becomes ‘must-have’ for overheated London office workers
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U.S. stock futures little changed as investors ponder the Fed’s next move
U.S. stock-index futures were little changed on Sunday after a quiet week on Wall Street, as investors await hints from the Fed concerning the outlook for interest rates.
Technology
View All 10Stripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+
In Brief Posted: PM PDT · August 16, 2026 : SOPA Images/Contributor / Anthony Ha Stripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+ Stripe has finalized a deal to acquire OpenRouter, according to a new report in Bloomberg. OpenRouter helps customers to select different AI models to perform different tasks, depending on their specific needs and budget. The company announced in May that it had raised a $113 million Series B, at a reported $1.3 billion valuation. (Investors include Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Ventures, and Alphabet’s Capital G.) At the time, OpenRouter CEO Alex Atallah described the company as the equivalent of Stripe for AI, because it provides customers with a single access point for different systems and prevents lock-in. The startup also claimed to have 8 million global users and to provide access to more than 400 models. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Stripe and OpenRouter were in acquisition talks. Now, Bloomberg said those discussions have led to a deal price of more than $7 billion. A Stripe spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company does not comment on rumors or speculation. Topics AI, Startups Scale faster. Grow your portfolio. Gain practical expertise. No matter your goal, Disrupt can empower you. Save up to $300 today! REGISTER NOW the industry’s biggest tech news Related AI Why people aren’t buying Mark Zuckerberg’s AI future Anthony Ha 9 hours ago AI Anthropic CEO says AI backlash is ‘fundamentally a crisis of trust’ Anthony Ha 13 hours ago AI Anthropic shares more details about how Claude’s new watermarks will work Anthony Ha 1 day ago Latest in AI In Brief Stripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+ Anthony Ha 9 hours ago AI Why people aren’t buying Mark Zuckerberg’s AI future Anthony Ha 9 hours ago AI Anthropic CEO says AI backlash is ‘fundamentally a crisis of trust’ Anthony Ha 13 hours ago
Why people aren’t buying Mark Zuckerberg’s AI future
We have ragebaiting and advertisements, and not connection.” Keep reading for a preview of our conversation, edited for length and clarity. Rebecca Bellan: Cynically, I think that this is an attempt for Meta to win in a different way. They’re not winning in the frontier, closed-model space. They’re not necessarily even winning in the open space. But when it comes to personal empowerment, as Mark Zuckerberg talks about in his letter, “The Future Is for Everyone,” that’s where he’s trying to win. He’s trying to provide the models that people will use for their own personal AI on their own personal devices. I think last year, when he published a [similar] “Futures for Everyone” letter, [the promise] was that a lot of that AI would go onto the glasses, the wearables, but it’s not really clear what the final hardware form factor for this would be, and I guess he’s like leaving it up to the individual to choose. So his idea is that you’re using [Meta’s new AI model] Glimmer for managing your schedule, drafting messages, organizing files, it’s always on, it can operate anytime, anywhere, with or without an internet connection. But then there is still Muse Spark, so that maintains a way for them to have some level of control over, still, its most capable models, and provide a revenue outlet for people who want to scale their compute, and people who want to like do larger projects, or companies that might want to do larger projects. Anthony Ha: I imagine the part of the context here is also — Meta has made some very serious investments in AI, last year there [were] also all these stories about how much money they were trying to pay for AI scientists, but in terms of who we think of as the leading companies, the frontier labs, Meta doesn’t tend to come up in the conversation. Another way it doesn’t come up in the conversation is in, you know, what are the popular consumer AI chatbots? Certainly, people are interacting with Meta AI tools in Instagram, in Facebook, but it’s not a company that you think of when, “I’m going to go use my personal assistant.” Meta isn’t that yet, and so it feels, to a certain extent, this is an attempt to reposition them and try to claim space that they really haven’t been that successful at before.
The Pixel's new 'HiLight' reminds me of the golden days of Android phones
Tech 'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean? ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form. Close The Pixel's new 'HiLight' reminds me of the golden days of Android phones Written , Senior Contributing EditorSenior Contributing Editor Aug. 16, 2026 at a. m. PT Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Pixel 11 Pro models have a pulsing light indicator on the camera bump. HiLight pulses in response to incoming calls and Gemini interactions. Expanded functionality may be coming, but don't expect it at launch. I remember when life was much simpler, when I could just plop my phone down and know exactly when and how to respond to it depending on the color of its teensy-weensy LED indicator. Back in college, flashes of green meant someone on Facebook -- likely my studymates -- had sent a message to grab lunch or meet in the library. Blue meant that I had missed calls. And yellow meant that those same study mates were sending me Snapchats instead of studying. Pixel 9: Why I'm considering the upgrade this year Then, the power efficiency of OLED panels paved the way for always-on displays, and the need for more context on our screens meant that the LED indicators of the 2010s became insufficient -- and eventually extinct. (It didn't help that every phone manufacturer wanted to design their devices like supermodels: thin and stylish, leaving no room in the chassis for extra parts.) For a moment, I thought that I'd never feel the nostalgic minimalism of yesteryear, but the Google Pixel 11 Pro series has changed my mind.
Astronomers Discover the Existence of a Black Hole Star
CommentSave StorySave this story CommentSave StorySave this story When Soundgarden Wrote “Black Hole Sun,” they may have inadvertently been onto something. In a new paper in Nature, scientists have chronicled a “black hole star” that’s the size of our solar system and glows bright red in the depth of space. The findings are based on observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, which continues to change how astronomers think about the cosmos. Researchers focused on some of the most distant observable phenomena in the universe, which appear to be something like a star in disguise. Based on the light they emit, they appear to share some characteristics with giant stars, but astronomers suspect they are actually black holes shrouded in an extraordinarily dense and luminous gas. These hypothetical objects have been dubbed black hole stars, and the new research, published Wednesday, lays out the case for them. The signal that’s at the center of the study comes from a time when the universe was just 660 million years old. (It's now almost 14 billion years old.) In the JWST images, the object appears as one of the many bright, reddish spots that the telescope has found in the early universe. Examples of the famous and puzzling red spots in the early universe. Photograph: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Dale Kocevski (Colby College) From a distance of billions of light-years, this phenomenon appears to be a gigantic star. But the object, known as MoM-BH*-1, has a few curious properties. It emits about 100 billion times more energy than any star could produce through nuclear fusion, according to the team. Even for the era in which it formed—during the early universe—it is an extremely bright object. Furthermore, part of its light abruptly disappears. Stars can produce a similar signal when their atmospheres absorb certain wavelengths, but in MoM-BH*-1, the effect is too intense to be explained as normal star behavior. Researchers believe that an enormous amount of extremely dense gas is absorbing that light. These clues led scientists to the black hole star hypothesis. At the center of MoM-BH*-1, there would be a black hole devouring matter and releasing enormous amounts of energy. Surrounding it, a massive gas envelope. The energy would pass through that gas before escaping into space and, in the process, would acquire some of the characteristics we would normally expect to find in starlight. The hypothesis could help address another mystery uncovered .
Science
View All 10How to watch 'Lanterns' — HBO's gritty new Green Lantern show
DC Comics' Green Lantern Corps. spans the infinite boundaries of the cosmos with its legion of 7,204 intergalactic space cops representing all races, genders, and biological entities patrolling thousands of Guardian sectors of the universe. The fabled interstellar law enforcement society based on the planet Oa, armed with the coolest oath ever recited, is getting its own gritty, grounded "Lanterns" TV series and fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their intrepid emerald ring-wearing heroes capable of manifesting an incredible arsenal of colorful mental constructs. Latest Videos FromSpace View more Watch full video here: Specific plot elements remain secretive and we're unsure which side of morality we’ll ultimately find Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and his upstart John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) . Power up and let's parade into all the details of how to watch HBO's "Lanterns!" When Is The "Lanterns' Release Date? We'll all be bathed in green when "Lanterns" lights up HBO and HBO Max. (/HBO Max)"Lanterns" streaks into our galactic sector for its 8-episode debut on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026 at 9 p. m. Subsequent green-tinted chapters will manifest themselves each Sunday night until its season finale arrives on Oct. 4, 2026. How To Watch "Lanterns" "Lanterns" will be available to view exclusively for HBO cable TV subscribers and will also stream simultaneously on HBO Max for its customers. If you want to check out "Lanterns" or any of the other great shows on HBO and HBO Max while you're abroad, you can also use a VPN to access your subscription from anywhere in the world. Sorry, but it doesn’t work so well if you just happen to find yourself anywhere outside Space Sector 2814. What is the plot of "Lanterns?" "Lanterns" will definitely be headed to space in its debut season on HBO and HBO Max. (/HBO Max)This edgy, modern day Green Lantern makeover is infused with hardboiled detective overtones that finds veteran galactic peacekeeper Hal Jordan teaming up with a fresh new protégé, John Stewart, as they investigate a series of strange homicides in America’s midwestern heartland. There’s a fun mentor/mentee relationship at the forefront that reveals the truth of Hal not really training a new recruit, but grooming a replacement. Don’t think "Lanterns" is purely Earthbound though, as there’s plenty of alien invasion action with eerie shape-shifting Manhunters marauding in Nebraska and some spooky space action on a remote prison planet where the devilish Sinestro is incarcerated.
Belgian wildfire doubles in size on third day tearing through nature reserve
This video can not be played Watch: Firefighters rush to contain wildfire in Belgian nature reserve A wildfire described as the largest in Belgium's recent history has more than doubled in size in 24 hours, local officials said on Sunday. Hundreds of firefighters are spending a third day beating back flames tearing through Hautes Fagnes - the country's largest nature reserve - prompting the evacuation of two nearby villages. Local farmers hauled water tankers towards the park near Belgium's eastern border with Germany, backed by water-bombing aircraft and helicopters sent from Sweden and the Netherlands. The blaze is one of several wildfires reported across Europe this weekend, with at least two killed in forest fires on a Greek island off the coast of Athens on Sunday. Belgian officials have warned that high heat and the park's terrain - which consists of bog-like territory, moorland and forests - have hampered efforts to extinguish the fire. It spread from 80 hectares (200 acres) on Friday to 850 hectares on Saturday morning - before consuming 3,000 hectares , AFP news agency reported citing local officials. Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said two of its fronts - heading towards Jalhay and Monschau - had been brought under control. But the blaze continued to advance on Sunday, with its active front reported to be a kilometre long. Authorities earlier said the conditions remained challenging and that they were relying heavily on aerial assistance to tame the flames, though no homes have been affected. Local farmers joined fighters from both sides of the border to tackle the blaze on Sunday Two water-bombing aircraft arrived from Sweden on Sunday afternoon to back up four helicopters - two Belgian and two Dutch - already on site. Nicolas Yernaux, spokesman for the regional authorities in Wallonia, had said on Saturday that the fire was the country's "largest in recent history". Firefighters had "allowed parts of the heathland to burn because the area is very difficult to access", he added. Rescue teams have been unable to access the area where fire broke out, meaning its cause remains unknown. The aftermath of the fire in a scorched area of the nature park, pictured on Saturday Forest fires have also been reported in Croatia, Spain and Serbia since Friday, after a summer of extreme heat that has seen swathes of land across Europe either going up in flames or being scorched brown. Local officials in Landes, south-western France said a wildfire had triggered the evacuation of 650 residents on Saturday.
NASA funds spherical 'Aerobots' that could explore the caves of Saturn's moon Titan
Titan is covered in rivers, lakes and seas of hydrocarbons, like methane and ethane, as well as a strange "karst" terrain including underground sinkholes and caves. No rover could easily traverse this surface, but flying vehicles may have more success. So a new grant, under the early-stage NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, aims to create small, flying vehicles that could explore those caves. It's unclear if the aerobots — called SPARK, or Solid-state Propulsion for Autonomous Reconnaissance of Karst — would be ready in time for NASA's Dragonfly mission to Titan, project lead Daniel Drew, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, told Space. com. That's because SPARK is beginning a nine-month Phase 1 grant and would need to at least get through the up-to-two-year Phase 2 before things look "more realistic" for a liftoff, he noted. Dragonfly, meanwhile, is targeted for a 2028 launch but if the mission is delayed, that provides more possibilities for late-mission additions. "Where does that line up with the current Titan mission timeline, assuming we've missed the window for Dragonfly? I don't know," Drew said of SPARK. But whenever the mission lifts off, Drew said SPARK has a good chance of doing well on Titan with its novel ion (electric) thrusters. Drew said his design could "provide persistence, maneuverability, robustness to the challenging near-cryogenic [icy] conditions, and minimize downwash disturbance of scientifically-important hydrocarbon layering." He hopes that SPARK, he added, could be a cave-exploration forerunner at Titan similar to the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars that made 72 flights — more than tenfold what the Red Planet demo mission was supposed to do. Drew has been working on a particular type of ion thrusters, called electrohydrodynamic (EHD) propulsion, since he did graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. Thanks in part to a National Science Foundation (NSF) fellowship, Drew explored several designs for flying and became interested in creating robots that flap their wings in a way similar to real-life creatures. While exploring, he stumbled on the hobbyist "lifter" community "pretty much by chance," he said. "These [prototypes] are triangular balsa wood, magnet wire, and aluminum foil prototypes. You connect them to 40,000 volts from a flyback transformer that you rip out of a microwave or CRT monitor or whatever, and they can float above the table. There are plenty of examples of people making these on YouTube," he said. More plumbing the archives revealed early experiments and studies at NASA and the Air Force similar to what the hobbyists were using.
Physicists discover a hidden gluon structure inside protons that could rewrite textbooks
Date: August 16, 2026 Source: Brookhaven National Laboratory Summary: Physicists may have uncovered a hidden feature inside protons that helps preserve one of matter’s most fundamental properties. RHIC collision data suggest baryon number is carried not simply , but by a Y-shaped junction of the gluons connecting them. The finding challenges a decades-old textbook picture and could deepen our understanding of why protons—and ultimately matter itself—remain stable. Share: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email FULL STORY This image shows how, upon impact in a collision (left), a proton's three valence quarks (u, u, d) will continue to fly down the beampipe while the baryon junction, the Y-shaped configuration of gluons, is more easily stopped (right). The baryon junction will pull three new quarks out of the vacuum to become a new baryon, thus retaining the baryon number, while the "freed" quarks will each pair up with a new partner to form mesons. Lentz/Brookhaven National Laboratory New findings from the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) are challenging a familiar picture of what gives protons one of their defining quantum properties. The results suggest that gluons, the particles that act as the glue holding quarks together, may play a key role in carrying and conserving baryon number. The evidence comes from high-energy particle collisions at RHIC, a U. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility for nuclear physics research that operated at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory from 2000 to early 2026. According to the new study, published in Science, baryon number may be associated with a Y-shaped "junction" of gluons connecting the proton's three main quarks. If confirmed, that would challenge the long-standing assumption that baryon number belongs exclusively to those quarks. "Traditionally, scientists have assumed that each of the three main 'valence' quarks inside a proton or neutron carries one-third of the baryon number," said Zhangbu Xu, a professor at Kent State University with a joint appointment at Brookhaven Lab. A Decades-Old Idea About Gluons Physicists first proposed the baryon junction, also called a gluon junction, in the 1970s as a way to describe how gluons connect the valence quarks inside a proton. In 1996, four years before RHIC began operating, Dmitri Kharzeev, a theoretical physicist at Stony Brook University and Brookhaven Lab, proposed that this junction might do something even more fundamental. Rather than the valence quarks carrying baryon number, the junction itself could be responsible. The STAR collaboration has now developed a way to test that possibility using several types of collisions produced at RHIC. "Using data collected from different types of particle collisions at RHIC, our results suggest that the baryon number is not simply carried ," Xu added. "Our findings strongly support the idea that baryon number is more favorably carried and transported by gluons, the particles that hold quarks together, when arranged in this special configuration." Why Baryon Number Matters Determining what actually carries baryon number matters far beyond the internal structure of a proton.
Environment
View All 10Spotlight on UN desertification summit as it mulls how to spend $12bn war chest
A farmer attempts to cultivate in a drought-stricken maize field in northern Ghana, West Africa. Photograph: Jake Lyell/Alamy View image in fullscreen A farmer attempts to cultivate in a drought-stricken maize field in northern Ghana, West Africa. Photograph: Jake Lyell/Alamy Spotlight on UN desertification summit as it mulls how to spend $12bn war chest Extreme weather has raised the significance of Cop17 talks starting this week on tackling drought and land degradation As swathes of the northern hemisphere bake in what could be the hottest year on record, with wildfires blazing across North America and Europe and heatwaves afflicting millions across Asia, the UN’s bi-annual talks on desertification have assumed much greater importance – and have started attracting more money. Work will begin this week on allocating more than $12bn (£8.9bn) to vulnerable countries to help them deal with drought and land degradation, when scores of countries gather in Mongolia for Cop17. Yasmine Fouad, executive secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), whose 17th “conference of the parties” begins in Ulaanbaatar on 17 August, said the negotiations would “send a positive signal of multilateralism”. The key aim is to put pledges of billions of dollars made two years ago into action through projects in the developing world. Countries around the world are bracing for food price rises as a result of damage to harvests from record heat and lack of water, and the World Food Programme predicts that 50 million more people could be pushed into hunger by the “super El Niño” weather system currently developing. Initiatives to restore land and prevent drought have up to now been poorly funded and badly managed. According to Fouad, that situation was changing rapidly as nations began to recognise the risk. “At the heart of our discussion is the topic of food security,” she said. “The more you work on restoring land, the more you have productive soil to ensure food security. That kind of narrative should be part of our finance [initiatives].” The UNCCD was signed in 1992, one of a trio of environmental treaties launched at the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro, alongside the better known UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is parent treaty to the Paris agreement of 2015; and the Convention on Biological Diversity, which includes targets on protecting species. Over the last three decades, the desertification treaty has been the “poor relation”, garnering the least attention of the three and producing scant progress.
Coping with 54C heat: Delhi slum diaries detail living in extreme temperatures
Climate activists and residents of Sunder Nagri create a mural on the effects of extreme heat. Satellite data shows large discrepancies between temperatures in rich and poor areas. Photograph: Sipa US/Alamy View image in fullscreen Climate activists and residents of Sunder Nagri create a mural on the effects of extreme heat. Satellite data shows large discrepancies between temperatures in rich and poor areas. Photograph: Sipa US/Alamy Coping with 54C heat: Delhi slum diaries detail living in extreme temperatures With heatwaves now recognised as disasters, personal testimonies are key to a new project that looks to protect those living in the most cramped districts of India’s capital Every summer evening, Gulshan follows the same routine. She washes the floor of her one-room home several times so it cools a little for her four children to sleep on. Last summer, the family saved enough to buy a desert cooler, which uses evaporation as a cheaper alternative to air conditioning. The family uses the appliance cautiously to save on energy costs. But even when it is on, Gulshan, who does not use a surname, has to dampeneveryone’s clothes before sleeping. The 39-year-old and her children now have rashes and one has a skin infection from the wet cloth against their skin. View image in fullscreen Gulshan writes in her heat diary. Photograph: SuchitraThis summer, Gulshan started jotting down these coping strategies in a garmi khata, or heat registry. “I feel relieved that at least somebody might read my family’s experiences,” she says. They are one of 40 households in Sunder Nagri, a slum in north-east Delhi, documenting their experiences of surviving the city’s increasingly longer and more frequent heatwaves. Over the last few years, cities across India have begun drawing up heat action plans – agreements formulated by a municipality or district administration on how to prepare for and respond to extreme heat. While some incorporate data such as satellite-derived land surface temperatures to identify heat hotspots, there are still significant gaps in information on people, making it difficult to understand how heat is experienced differently across communities. Aravind Unni, an urban planner and researcher in Delhi, says: “Experiences of heat are vastly different depending on geography, income, occupation, gender, caste, class. “While we have some meteorological data on heat, what’s absolutely missing is people, community – what they feel, what they experience.” View image in fullscreen A thermal image of Sunder Nagri’s main market area, showing a ground temperature of 54.1C (129.4F).
Trump administration pulls support for annual Arctic environmental report
This story was originally published . The Trump administration has pulled its support for an annual report on the environmental changes across the Arctic, a region that is already heating up four times faster than the global average due to the climate crisis. On Tuesday, Kim Doster, the communications director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the federal agency was withdrawing its support for the Arctic Report Card, which has provided environmental updates on the region to scientists and the public since 2006. Without explaining why the government stopped its support, Doster told The New York Times: “Coordination of the 2026 Arctic Report Card will not be facilitated through NOAA. … All data historically contributed .” Doster told the outlet that other NOAA programs would continue to support research in the region that contributes to “national security, weather prediction, safety of navigation and the economic vitality of coastal communities.” Grist thanks its sponsors. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How The Guardian has approached NOAA for additional comment. Over the last 20 years, the peer-reviewed report has tracked crucial changes across the Arctic’s atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere and tundra. The climate crisis has made the Arctic the world’s fastest-warming region. In recent years, the region has experienced severe sea ice decline, carbon sink reversals and ecosystem upheavals. In the 2025 Arctic Report Card, scientists found that surface temperatures across the Arctic from October 2024 through September 2025 were the warmest recorded since 1900. It also found that in March 2025, Arctic winter sea ice reached the lowest annual maximum extent in the 47-year satellite record. Meanwhile, on land, the report noted that ongoing glacier loss contributes to steadily rising global sea levels, threatening Arctic communities’ water supplies, driving destructive floods, and increasing landslide and tsunami hazards. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How It also found that in more than 200 Arctic Alaska watersheds — large land areas where rain and melted snow drain northward into the Arctic Ocean — iron and other elements released 10 years. The “rusting rivers” have in turn increased acidity while elevated levels of toxic metals have degraded water quality, in turn affecting aquatic habits, rural drinking water supplies and subsistence fishing. Rick Thoman, the lead editor for this year’s report, said: “We are scrambling to pull the pieces together. I am optimistic that we can find a path forward for 2027 and beyond.
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 waterFor 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. Continue reading...
Weather
View All 6Today: Drizzle, Minimum Temperature: 15°C (59°F) Maximum Temperature: 21°C (69°F)
Search for a location Search Manchester - Weather warnings issued 14-day forecast Red Met Office Weather WarningsAmber Met Office Weather WarningsYellow Met Office Weather Warnings Forecast - Manchester Day Today , Drizzle and light winds Drizzle Drizzle , High21° 69° Low15° 59° , Wind speed5 mph8 km/h W5 mph8 km/hwesterly Drizzle and light winds Tuesday 18th AugustTue 18th , Light rain and a gentle breeze Light Rain Light Rain , High19° 67° Low12° 54° , Wind speed11 mph18 km/h W11 mph18 km/hwesterly Light rain and a gentle breeze Wednesday 19th AugustWed 19th , Thundery showers and a gentle breeze Thundery Showers Thundery Showers , High19° 66° Low12° 53° , Wind speed9 mph14 km/h W9 mph14 km/hwesterly Thundery showers and a gentle breeze Thursday 20th AugustThu 20th , Light rain showers and light winds Light Rain Showers Light Rain Showers , High18° 65° Low9° 49° , Wind speed5 mph8 km/h N5 mph8 km/hnortherly Light rain showers and light winds Friday 21st AugustFri 21st , Drizzle and light winds Drizzle Drizzle , High19° 65° Low8° 46° , Wind speed5 mph9 km/h N5 mph9 km/hnortherly Drizzle and light winds Saturday 22nd AugustSat 22nd , Sunny intervals and light winds Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals , High19° 66° Low8° 46° , Wind speed6 mph10 km/h NW6 mph10 km/hnorth-westerly Sunny intervals and light winds Sunday 23rd AugustSun 23rd , Sunny and light winds Sunny Sunny , High19° 67° Low8° 47° , Wind speed6 mph10 km/h NW6 mph10 km/hnorth-westerly Sunny and light winds Monday 24th AugustMon 24th , Sunny intervals and light winds Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals , High21° 69° Low11° 51° , Wind speed6 mph10 km/h E6 mph10 km/heasterly Sunny intervals and light winds Tuesday 25th AugustTue 25th , Light rain and light winds Light Rain Light Rain , High21° 69° Low12° 54° , Wind speed7 mph11 km/h SW7 mph11 km/hsouth-westerly Light rain and light winds Wednesday 26th AugustWed 26th , Light rain and light winds Light Rain Light Rain , High20° 68° Low12° 53° , Wind speed7 mph12 km/h W7 mph12 km/hwesterly Light rain and light winds Thursday 27th AugustThu 27th , Light rain and a gentle breeze Light Rain Light Rain , High20° 68° Low11° 51° , Wind speed8 mph13 km/h W8 mph13 km/hwesterly Light rain and a gentle breeze Friday 28th AugustFri 28th , Light rain and light winds Light Rain Light Rain , High20° 67° Low11° 53° , Wind speed7 mph12 km/h SW7 mph12 km/hsouth-westerly Light rain and light winds Saturday 29th AugustSat 29th , Light rain showers and a gentle breeze Light Rain Showers Light Rain Showers , High20° 68° Low11° 52° , Wind speed8 mph13 km/h
Tuesday: Light Rain, Minimum Temperature: 12°C (54°F) Maximum Temperature: 19°C (67°F)
Search for a location Search Manchester - Weather warnings issued 14-day forecast Red Met Office Weather WarningsAmber Met Office Weather WarningsYellow Met Office Weather Warnings Forecast - Manchester Day Today , Drizzle and light winds Drizzle Drizzle , High21° 69° Low15° 59° , Wind speed5 mph8 km/h W5 mph8 km/hwesterly Drizzle and light winds Tuesday 18th AugustTue 18th , Light rain and a gentle breeze Light Rain Light Rain , High19° 67° Low12° 54° , Wind speed11 mph18 km/h W11 mph18 km/hwesterly Light rain and a gentle breeze Wednesday 19th AugustWed 19th , Thundery showers and a gentle breeze Thundery Showers Thundery Showers , High19° 66° Low12° 53° , Wind speed9 mph14 km/h W9 mph14 km/hwesterly Thundery showers and a gentle breeze Thursday 20th AugustThu 20th , Light rain showers and light winds Light Rain Showers Light Rain Showers , High18° 65° Low9° 49° , Wind speed5 mph8 km/h N5 mph8 km/hnortherly Light rain showers and light winds Friday 21st AugustFri 21st , Drizzle and light winds Drizzle Drizzle , High19° 65° Low8° 46° , Wind speed5 mph9 km/h N5 mph9 km/hnortherly Drizzle and light winds Saturday 22nd AugustSat 22nd , Sunny intervals and light winds Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals , High19° 66° Low8° 46° , Wind speed6 mph10 km/h NW6 mph10 km/hnorth-westerly Sunny intervals and light winds Sunday 23rd AugustSun 23rd , Sunny and light winds Sunny Sunny , High19° 67° Low8° 47° , Wind speed6 mph10 km/h NW6 mph10 km/hnorth-westerly Sunny and light winds Monday 24th AugustMon 24th , Sunny intervals and light winds Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals , High21° 69° Low11° 51° , Wind speed6 mph10 km/h E6 mph10 km/heasterly Sunny intervals and light winds Tuesday 25th AugustTue 25th , Light rain and light winds Light Rain Light Rain , High21° 69° Low12° 54° , Wind speed7 mph11 km/h SW7 mph11 km/hsouth-westerly Light rain and light winds Wednesday 26th AugustWed 26th , Light rain and light winds Light Rain Light Rain , High20° 68° Low12° 53° , Wind speed7 mph12 km/h W7 mph12 km/hwesterly Light rain and light winds Thursday 27th AugustThu 27th , Light rain and a gentle breeze Light Rain Light Rain , High20° 68° Low11° 51° , Wind speed8 mph13 km/h W8 mph13 km/hwesterly Light rain and a gentle breeze Friday 28th AugustFri 28th , Light rain and light winds Light Rain Light Rain , High20° 67° Low11° 53° , Wind speed7 mph12 km/h SW7 mph12 km/hsouth-westerly Light rain and light winds Saturday 29th AugustSat 29th , Light rain showers and a gentle breeze Light Rain Showers Light Rain Showers , High20° 68° Low11° 52° , Wind speed8 mph13 km/h
‘It’s been very tough’: hope of progress in gruelling battle against south Wales wildfire
Military personnel cut fire breaks to minimise the spread of the flames. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Military personnel cut fire breaks to minimise the spread of the flames. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian ‘It’s been very tough’: hope of progress in gruelling battle against south Wales wildfire Efforts of emergency services and military in Blaenavon appear to be working but there are fears for the future More than three weeks after it began burning and two days after the military deployed to the area, there is hope that the huge wildfire on the hillside above the Ebbw valley village of Blaenavon may finally be coming under control. Emergency workers and soldiers described a gruelling battle against the deep-seated peat fire that has spread over 4,000 hectares (9,800 acres), putting lives, farmland and property at risk. At least 13 other fires have blazed across the valleys this weekend, prompting South Wales fire and rescue service to ask for military support – the first UK military deployment to deal with wildfires since 2018. Nationally, approximately 36 fires are still burning, 11 of which have been declared major incidents. Extreme heat and a lack of rain, supercharged , have made this summer the busiest on record for wildfires in the UK, placing significant pressure on crews and resources. Wildfire breaks out in Ebbw valley, south Wales Jamie Windsor, a group commander at Ebbw Vale station, said underground layers of peat beneath the orange and purple heather on the Blaenavon hillside had made the fire harder to put out. “It burns very deep, the peat, and because it’s been so hot, it’s not cooling down at night. You think you’ve got a handle on it but it’s burning underground and it just pops up again somewhere else,” he said. “We’re got a lot of wildfire experience here in south Wales but I’ve never seen anything like it in 30 years.” During the Guardian’s visit to the scene on Sunday, soldiers from the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment tirelessly dug firebreaks and turned over smoking soil to minimise the spread of fire. Small flames licked around the base of blackened trees a few metres away as they worked, while in another part of the woods several trees lit up quickly with no warning. View image in fullscreen A helicopter drops water over the land. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The GuardianOn the ridge of the hill, a civilian-contracted helicopter picked up water from a huge plastic pool fed by a local dam and circled again and again to dowse reigniting pockets of the smouldering hillside.
‘Absolutely manic’: hot weather puts unprecedented pressure on Greater Manchester police
Officers patrol in the town centre of Ashton-under-Lyne on a ‘day of action’ enforcing an alcohol-free zone. Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Officers patrol in the town centre of Ashton-under-Lyne on a ‘day of action’ enforcing an alcohol-free zone. Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian ‘Absolutely manic’: hot weather puts unprecedented pressure on Greater Manchester police Force has seen busiest month in its history, with heatwaves putting added strain on criminal justice system On England’s hottest day of the year so far, Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester was thronging with pedestrians, many clutching ice-creams or cold drinks as they passed through the town centre. Officers from Greater Manchester police were also out in force, some in plainclothes, some stationed by a facial-recognition van, apprehending wanted suspects and stopping persons of interest. In total, officers made 54 arrests across the borough of Tameside as part of Operation Avro, GMP’s blitz on local crime which runs in a different district each month. For the past two months, the demand on officers here has been greater than ever, and GMP received a record-breaking 152,000 contacts from the public in July – the highest number ever recorded a single month. View image in fullscreen ‘Every day is a busy period,’ said the Tameside neighbourhood sergeant Rob Froggatt, here posing for a selfie in Ashton market. Photograph: Joel Goodman/The GuardianThe World Cup is likely to have played a part, but the main driver, officers said, was the continued hot weather, which is putting an added strain not just on health services but also on the criminal justice system. And GMP is not alone – according to data from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, which includes all the Home Office’s forces, British Transport Police and Police Scotland, emergency call volumes increased by about 11.5% year on year during July. Digital contact with the public also increased. Online reports submitted through Single Online Home, the platform used , increased by about 10% year on year. The Met Office has confirmed that July was the hottest and the driest month on record, while heatwaves have continued into August. “These factors bring people outside, there’s an increase in alcohol consumption, an increase in people going into reservoirs, into water,” said Tameside’s neighbourhood chief inspector, James Grundy. “So that does increase the demand for police.” Grundy said there had been an increase in calls on everything from off-road bike use to antisocial behaviour and people taking disposable barbecues to locations prone to wildfires.
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Two dead and hundreds evacuated after twin fires break out on Greek islandAs expected
Two dead and hundreds evacuated after twin fires break out on Greek island