Royal Navy spent three days tracking Russian vessels in UK waters 29. August 2026 (17:06) Three vessels and a helicopter deployed to monitor four ships travelling through the North Sea to the ChannelThe Royal Navy spent three days tracking Russian vessels as they passed through UK waters, it has emerged.The “intense” 72-hour operation took place last week, with radars used to monitor four ships that made their way from the North Sea through to the Channel. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
FBI no longer treating applicants’ experience with sex workers as automatic bar against hiring 29. August 2026 (16:17) Bureau will still dismiss those engaged with sex workers within past 10 years, three or more times overall, or while in public safety capacityThe FBI is dropping a categorical hiring ban on applicants who have had sexual encounters with sex workers and will instead consider in a more holistic manner at least some candidates who have engaged in the practice in the past, according to people familiar with the matter.The move away from an automatic disqualification falls along a continuum of evolving recruitment standards within federal law enforcement and at the buttoned-up bureau, which several years ago relaxed its approach to candidates’ past marijuana use and has drawn more recent concern among some current and former agents about a perceived loosening of recruitment requirements as it seeks to replenish its ranks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Their whole village has disappeared’: frantic hunt for survivors in Kathmandu hospital 29. August 2026 (16:11) Family members pin photos of Nepal’s missing to hospital wall as people try not to give up hope on loved onesNepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updatesPosters of missing people line the wall of the hospital, the glue still fresh beneath. A schoolgirl smiling in her uniform; a beaming, chubby-cheeked baby; a couple smiling on their wedding day; a young man, hands on hips, atop a mountain peak; a young girl with flowing hair, peaking out from behind a door.These faces are just a fraction of the thousands who have not been seen since deadly flash floods coursed through the Himalayas and wiped away entire villages. By Saturday morning, the toll of the missing had risen to almost 3,000, in both Nepal and Tibet. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ex-White House teleprompter operator fined $172,000 for Trump speech bets 29. August 2026 (15:33) Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Gabriel Perez wagered on Kalshi about words president used in speechesA White House teleprompter operator who left his post amid accusations that he used inside knowledge to make bets on Donald Trump’s speeches on an online prediction market has been fined $172,000, according to federal regulators.Gabriel Perez exploited “material, nonpublic information” that he gathered through his work for the president in order to place wagers on the Kalshi platform “for his personal benefit”, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) maintained in a news release on Friday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cells for arrested offenders may run out without early prison release, says Labour 29. August 2026 (15:25) Bridget Phillipson says government would not have to consider releasing prisoners early if Tories had created more capacityCells to hold newly arrested people could run out without the early prison release scheme, a minister has said.Bridget Phillipson defended the plan to address the prison capacity crisis in England and Wales by releasing thousands of prisoners early, which has been criticised by domestic abuse charities, bereaved families and probation officers among others. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Fourth time lucky as Chris Cantrill’s spoof whodunnit wins Edinburgh comedy award 2026 29. August 2026 (14:50) Nominated in three previous years, the rambunctious standup – one half of The Delightful Sausage – wins the prize for his show Rewilding while Marty Gleeson is named best newcomerThe annual Edinburgh comedy award has been won by the standup Chris Cantrill, two years after his comedy partner Amy Gledhill – in the raucous northern double act The Delightful Sausage – won the same prize.Cantrill, 42 and from Bradford, received the so-called “Oscar of live comedy” for a show, Rewilding, about his new life in rural Northumberland, where an act of vandalism shocks the local community – and a spoof whodunnit ensues. It builds on the foundations laid in 2024 by Easily Swayed, which documented his move to the countryside and secured what was then Cantrill’s third nomination (but first as a solo act) for the award. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sarah Ferguson to return to UK after relocating amid Epstein revelations 29. August 2026 (14:42) Former Duchess of York moved to Swiss chalet during fallout over her friendship with convicted child sex offenderSarah Ferguson is set to return to the UK after relocating to a Swiss chalet amid the fallout over her and ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s friendship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to reports.The scandal over the pair’s relationship with Epstein saw them both lose their royal titles earlier last year. According to the Sun, the former Duchess of York, 66, is renting a six-bedroom gated property in the home counties. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Russian strike on warehouse near Kyiv kills at least 37 29. August 2026 (14:01) Attack on business apparently storing ‘explosive objects’ sparks huge fire, damaging residential buildingsAt least 37 people have been killed after a Russian drone struck a warehouse near Kyiv’s western suburbs which appears to have been storing “explosive objects”.The attack damaged at least 50 residential buildings, including a care home for elderly and disabled people, and sparked a huge fire and explosions in the Bucha district of the Ukrainian capital. The regional governor, Tymur Tkachenko, said a further 42 people, including four children, had been injured after the Russian drone strike. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US officials urge swimmers to be cautious amid surge in drowning deaths 29. August 2026 (14:00) Recent deadly water-related incidents amid heatwave leads National Park Service to issue water-safety remindersAs a heatwave continues to bake the western and central US, officials are urging swimmers to be cautious when seeking respite from the summer heat, especially amid a score of recent deadly water-related incidents.Each year, from April to September, drowning deaths rise nationwide, according to 2018-24 data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Laurie Anderson’s next manuscript to be locked away for 88 years in Future Library 29. August 2026 (14:00) Grammy award-winning American artist selected as 13th person to submit written work to Oslo-based projectThe next manuscript by the American artist Laurie Anderson will remain unseen for 88 years, as she becomes the 13th figure to contribute to the Future Library project.Anderson joins Margaret Atwood, Han Kang, Ocean Vuong and other prominent authors who have written secret manuscripts, which have been locked away until 2114. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
