US kindergarten vaccination rates dip as exemptions hit record high

• Iran's president declared victory on Friday, claiming the world has approved the country's success following a conflict launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28. • Official Shahram stated that Iran increased weapons production and relocated key military assets and facilities to protect them during the hostilities.

• On August 21, 2026, Iran and Oman held discussions regarding the strategic security of the Strait of Hormuz. • Tehran officially dismissed threats made by Donald Trump amidst an ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran.

• 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.

Separate criminal convictions come as domestic violence charities warn of tech-facilitated abuse and coercionTwo men have been convicted this week in separate criminal cases that revealed they had posted explicit content on OnlyFans without the full consent of the women whose images were uploaded.In the first case, Alexander Tang, 37, took and uploaded 47 intimate images and four videos of a woman to OnlyFans, without her consent, and was paid money for the material he posted to the website. Continue reading...

The A66 is closed after number of people die at scene of collision near Middlesbrough in early hours of SaturdayMultiple people have died in a collision involving a police vehicle near Middlesbrough, police said.A number of people died at the scene of the crash in the early hours of Saturday morning on the A66 in South Bank, North Yorkshire, according to local authorities. Continue reading...

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...

In letter to Macron and Burnham, more than 100 senior figures accuse Israel of ethnic cleansing and call for measures including trade banMore than 100 French and British former diplomats have said Palestine is being erased in front of the world’s eyes and called for urgent action including trade and arms sales bans to press Israel to accept a Palestinian state.An unprecedented joint letter dispenses with diplomatic language by accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and warning that the world no longer sees Israel as a genuine democracy.Uphold the decisions of the international court of justice and the international criminal court.Suspend the EU-Israel association agreement and the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement for breach of human rights provisions.Suspend arms transfers to and from Israel and all bilateral military cooperation.Insist on unrestricted aid access to Gaza, led by the UN Relief and Works Agency, other UN agencies and international NGOs, with consequences for non-compliance, and access too for journalists, diplomats and parliamentarians.Ban all trade with settlements, including goods, investment, insurance and other financial services.Warn potential bidders for the “red line” E1 settlement or other settlement financing/construction that their interests in and with the UK and France will suffer.Make it an offence for British and French citizens to buy property on stolen Palestinian land and remove charitable status from “charities” funding settlements. 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...