Pete Hegseth dismisses reports of deteriorating conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln

• The UN Security Council held an open debate on Thursday to address escalating military clashes and deadly attacks in Yemen. • Recent Houthi missile strikes targeting Saudi Arabia and commercial shipping vessels have intensified regional tensions linked to the US-Iran conflict.

• Prof. Michel Chossudovsky and Drago Bosnic allege in a report dated August 13, 2026, that President Trump and the Pentagon are routinely targeting civilians worldwide. • The authors claim this military practice is a continuation of a pattern dating back to World War II and constitutes a crime against humanity.

• A top adviser to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed in a rare interview that the U.S. military is weaker than previously perceived. • The adviser stated this assessment follows observations of U.S. and Israeli military actions since attacks began in February of this year.

• South Africa has been confirmed as the host country for the 2025 G20 Summit. • This event marks a historic milestone as it will be the first time the summit is held on the African continent.

• A Washington Post report reveals that the CIA questioned the validity of Israeli intelligence regarding a threat to Donald Trump prior to a plane switch in Turkey. • While the report indicates the threat was actually real, CIA officials reportedly deemed the intelligence "not compelling enough" to warrant a different response.

Study of 56m-year-old leaves counters claims from Trump administration members of ‘benefits’ of fossil fuel pollutionAdding huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is set to cause the Earth’s forests to wither and die rather than flourish, according to a new study that counters erroneous claims that fossil fuel pollution will green the planet.An analysis of fossilized leaf cells from a period known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (or PETM), which occurred about 56 million years ago, has helped reconstruct how the world’s forests responded when planet-heating gases were previously being released at a rapid rate. Continue reading...

State department says it has reached administrative settlement with company’s US arm to resolve breachesThe UK defence company BAE Systems is to pay a $36m (£26.7m) civil penalty after breaching US arms exports regulations more than 100 times.The US Department of State announced on Thursday that it had reached an administrative settlement with the US arm of BAE to resolve 104 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Continue reading...

Greater use of private rental properties would form part of PM’s plan to spread accommodation more evenly across UKMinisters are considering paying higher prices for housing asylum seekers in private rental properties as part of Andy Burnham’s plan to spread accommodation more evenly across the country.The shift towards more private rental accommodation, known as “dispersal”, and the use of former military barracks, are cheaper than expensive hotels for asylum seekers. Continue reading...

Kyiv said to have suggested agreement in apparent attempt to reopen crucial grain corridor, according to ReutersUkraine has proposed a deal with Russia that would see both sides halt their attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea, Reuters has reported, in an apparent attempt to reopen a crucial grain corridor.Kyiv is said to have made the offer via a third party. Moscow has yet to respond, the news agency added. The busy waterway is a key export route for both Russia and Ukraine, used to transport grain and other vital foodstuffs worldwide. Continue reading...

Figures emerge in critical letter to Home Office from organisation appointed to scrutinise detention facilitiesNearly 100 children have been wrongly identified and detained as adults under Shabana Mahmood’s “one in, one out” deal with France, the Guardian can disclose.Home Office staff said that of 304 age-disputed cases arising from the scheme over nine months, 94 – or 31% – were ultimately found to be minors. Children are supposed to be excluded from the scheme, while government policy limits immigration detention of unaccompanied children to 24 hours.had been awaiting deportation for more than six months, despite being supposed be held for up to 28 days only “in exceptional cases”.were being readied for removal to France despite having TB or requiring hospital treatment.faced removal after being separated from family members with whom they had travelled, which she said had a “particularly damaging impact”. Continue reading...

This year’s festival is superpowered by a strong year for Scottish cinema, showing it can thrive under the ‘four dimensional perpetual catch-22’ of global ambitions• Borges, ballet and BDSM: Peter Bradshaw’s 10 must-see movies at Edinburgh international film festivalNow that its disastrous collapse and speedy rebirth is a trauma slowly receding in the rear-view mirror, the Edinburgh international film festival can set its sights on bigger things. Apart from its traditional role providing a showcase for the best of current world cinema, the festival has an ace up its sleeve for 2026: the undeniable confidence and conspicuous achievement of its home film industry in Scotland. Just as Cannes likes to give a decent amount of houseroom to favoured French directors, and Sundance sees at least part of its job to talk up US independent cinema, Edinburgh acts as a vector for Scottish film-makers to gain valuable exposure and get their work in front of significant festival audiences. Inevitably, some years are harder than others, but Edinburgh’s 2026 edition feels stronger than it has been for years.The festival’s opening gala slot, traditionally a local film, has been given to The Incomer, a surreal comedy starring Domhnall Gleeson and set Scotland’s far north, and which picked up a major award at the Sundance festival earlier this year. Among a clutch of strong films are Borges and Me, based on Jay Parini’s memoir of escorting author Jorge Luis Borges on a trip around the Highlands; Sunny Dancer, a “chemo camp” comedy filmed in Loch Lomond, starring Bella Ramsay as a teenager dealing with the aftermath of cancer; and The Education of Jane Cumming, the extraordinary true life story of the 19th-century Edinburgh schoolkeeper who inspired The Children’s Hour. Scottish artist Douglas Gordon is the focus of a new documentary, Douglas Gordon by Douglas Gordon, while Scottish Ballet perform in These Violent Delights, a film rendering their dance version of Romeo and Juliet. Past glories are due to live again with a 30th anniversary screening of junkie classic Trainspotting (with the added bonus of a live club night featuring a DJ set from Irvine Welsh). Continue reading...