Former British and French diplomats urge action over Israel’s ‘erasure’ of Palestine

• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has made comments highlighting an internal regime debate regarding the level of economic pressure Iran can sustain. • The discussions center on the country's ability to endure ongoing sanctions and financial instability while maintaining political control.

English translation of Élisabeth, the New Wave director’s 1946 book about young lovers in prewar Paris, receives rave reviews as precursor to auteur’s cinematic workIn the dog days of the second world war, 24-year-old Maurice Schérer wrote a tale of young lovers in prewar small-town France. He described lazy August swims in the Marne River east of Paris. He wrote about age-gap affairs and semi-incestuous flirtations. Schérer gallantly used a nom de plume, Gilbert Cordier, to shield his Catholic family from scandal, but he needn’t have bothered as his concerns were unfounded. The finished novel, Élisabeth, barely made a ripple and quickly slipped out of print. Undeterred, Scherer adopted a second pseudonym – Éric Rohmer – and decided to try his luck as a film-maker instead.Now – eight decades on from its first publication, 16 years on from its author’s death – Élisabeth belatedly returns from the cold. Republished in an English-language translation by Aaron Kerner, Rohmer’s book has been greeted with glowing reviews, hailed as a lost modernist classic and a crucial origin story for the award-winning director of Claire’s Knee, The Green Ray and My Night at Maud’s. “It would be a rewarding, exciting read even if the identity of its author were unfamiliar,” wrote Richard Brody in the New Yorker. The fact that it’s by Rohmer? That’s the icing on the cake. Continue reading...

Compact discs are back, with searches for players up 96% at John Lewis and popular models sold out onlineWith more than 800 million people subscribing to a music streaming service, wireless speakers have become a familiar sight in homes. But expect to get reacquainted with a different object to play music soon: the CD player, once consigned to obsolescence, is back.John Lewis report that searches for CD players are up 96% since July, possibly owing to students heading to university and buying the systems for their rooms. The £79 Crosley Voyager, and the £129 Pure Classic C-D6 are both sold out online, with the Voyager scheduled to return in October. Portable CD players are also popular. Continue reading...

Leaders claim scaremongering from business figures may cause key legislation to become ‘meaningless’Trades unions are warning Andy Burnham that Labour’s policy on cutting zero-hours contracts risks failing to live up to the party’s manifesto.Union leaders are seeking reassurances from the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, amid what the TUC has condemned as “scaremongering” from business groups. Continue reading...

The 18-year-old remembered as a talented athlete with an infectious smile and ‘one of those people who everyone simply liked’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTributes have flowed for 18-year-old Lily Hooper, remembered as an adventurous, multitalented athlete with an infectious smile, after her body was found on Thursday afternoon, eight days after she disappeared while hiking in the New South Wales southern highlands.The teenager was a fixture across local sporting and community groups in the Wollondilly region, training in martial arts, alongside her job as a Sydney BridgeClimb guide. Continue reading...

Couple considering suing for wrongful death after coroner found disciplinary process materially contributed to suicideWhen a coroner ruled this month that the Treasury “materially contributed” to Chloe Moffat’s death, her parents breathed out in bittersweet relief. For a year, David and Anne Moffat had been forced to become detectives in the worst case any parent could have to solve: why their daughter took her own life.Chloe, 26, went to her job as a personal assistant at the Treasury on a Monday last May “happy as Larry” after a weekend she’d told her friends was a “10 out of 10”. She was planning a holiday with her sister, Alice, and arranging for friends to come for a dinner party the next weekend. She was, according to her father, living “the best life”. Continue reading...

Experts say fires caused by wrongly discarded lithium batteries, such as those in vapes, are putting lives at riskFires at recycling centres caused by wrongly discarded lithium batteries such as those found in vapes are occurring at the rate of more than 10 a week, according to new figures.Experts say the sheer volume of battery fires now occurring at waste facilities has reached a crisis that is putting lives at risk, costing £1bn a year and frustrating fire chiefs. Continue reading...

Supermarket’s website and app go offline as customers save more than $100 on some 24-packs The Coles website and app have gone offline hours after a viral Reddit post highlighted a nearly 80% discount on 24-packs of premixed alcoholic drinks.For several hours on Saturday, both the Coles website and app displayed a message advising “we’re currently offline – but not for long”. The website and app came back online before the website went down again on Saturday afternoon. It was back up at around 4pm AEST on Saturday. Continue reading...

Savings bank estimates there will be 308,000 more prizes available in September draw than the month beforePremium bond holders will have more chances of winning prizes after changes announced this week.From September there will be more prizes up for grabs for the 22 million people who hold the government-backed savings bonds. Continue reading...

The Sussexes are returning to the UK with significantly reduced media deals in an industry where fame alone can no longer guarantee successHaving settled in California in the aftermath of their dramatic decoupling from the royal family in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced a partnership that appeared to set a clear destination for their new lives outside the House of Windsor.With every global media stable clamouring for their signature, the couple revealed a deal with Netflix reportedly worth $100m. The ambitions were lofty and broad, including scripted and unscripted projects, shows for all ages and documentaries. Continue reading...

Mark Carney accuses Washington of ‘unfair’ last-minute changes to deal, as US and Canada fail to reach agreement after three-day extension of talksCanadian prime minister Mark Carney has promised to match US tariffs “dollar for dollar”, after the two sides failed to agree a trade deal by the midnight deadline.“Last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal,” Carney said in a statement. Continue reading...