50 m. ago Labour needs to ‘pick things up’ after a ‘tough’ first year, says Sadiq Khan – UK politics live

London mayor says he has ‘confidence we will turn it round’ as he addresses audience at Edinburgh fringeThe former home secretary Jack Straw has urged Labour not to panic about the threat of Reform, who are riding high in the polls as Nigel Farage capitalises on the “small boats” and asylum backlog issue. Here is an extract from the write up of the interview he gave to the Guardian’s deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot:In an interview with the Guardian, he praised Starmer’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state after an ultimatum to Israel – but defended the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, saying he would also have proscribed the direct action group Palestine Action.The British political veteran said he believed Starmer and his cabinet were “head and shoulders” above opposition politicians and would reap the rewards of a gradual improvement in the economy and public services, which would not come immediately. Continue reading...

Politics

59 m. ago Scotland international gets glowing verdict from legendary sportsman after putting ex

The Scotland international was on the scoresheet at the weekend.

Politics

61 m. ago China's Communist Party is 'behind spate of takeovers' of British private schools

A senior government source said China is 'playing the long game' by targeting private schools, adding that the country is 'doing all the things we used to do as an empire'.

Politics

70 m. ago Gordon Reid: Wheelchair tennis must keep proving value to close prize

The total pot for all wheelchair players at the US Open is 1.69 million dollars (£1.25m).

Politics

70 m. ago Dongji Rescue review – epic tale of British PoWs saved by Chinese fishers gets blockbuster treatment

With Imax cameras and an $80m budget, this second world war epic about the rescue of 384 British prisoners boasts stunning scenes but a simplistic scriptThe sinking of the Lisbon Maru, an extraordinary second world war story in which 384 British PoWs were saved from a bombed Japanese cargo liner by Chinese fishers, has recently been excavated in an exhaustive, emotional documentary. In Dongji Rescue, co-directed by Zhenxiang Fei and Guan Hu, this staggering tale gets a blockbuster makeover that involves Imax cameras and an $80m budget. The film opens with the stunning vista of the eponymous island, then under Japanese control. The seeds of discontent are there, as the local Chinese population are forbidden from fishing. Still, they endure the occupation with grim acceptance.Standing apart from the pack are a pair of brothers, Abi (Zhu Yilong) and Adang (Wu Lei), orphans said to descend from pirates. Their physical prowess acquires a near superhuman dimension as they are shot scaling...

Events

2 h. ago Dad, 38, dies after being 'bitten by venomous spider' he bought on the internet

Mark Anthony Kirby died after feeling unwell on Saturday, August 2

Events

2 h. ago Rugby legend Gareth Thomas says we're still 's***' at tackling homophobia and HIV stigma

Thomas captained both Wales and the British and Irish Lions during his illustrious playing career, becoming the Welshman to be captained 100 times by his national team.

Politics

2 h. ago Today's rugby news as Wales international reveals 'massive change' at region and Welsh club favourite dies

The latest headlines from Wales and around the world

Events

3 h. ago Pilot's terrifying final words on deadly flight to Tenerife from UK

A British Airways flight from Heathrow was the second plane involved in the Tenerife airport disaster, but it never reached the island.

Events

3 h. ago Britons Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu to face each other in US Open doubles

The revamped tournament is set for this week.

Events

4 h. ago Festivals diary: Why everything is broken and one comedian's famous heckler

Eva Victor told the Edinburgh International Film Festival is was not her first time in Edinburgh in August

Culture

4 h. ago Donald Trump breaks internet with 'bela' post as conspiracy theories run wild

The former president's strange Sunday morning post - "bela" - led to a host of theories from his fans and critics, with some claiming the word had apocalyptic implications

Politics

5 h. ago I used to run the Foreign Office. This is my advice for today’s extraordinary White House meeting

With so much at stake for Europe, the most important thing is to choose a lead speaker. I’d go with Starmer or RutteSimon McDonald was permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, 2015-2020, and is now a crossbench peerLast week’s extraordinary summit meeting in Alaska is being followed today by an even more extraordinary international conference in Washington. None of the participants knew they were going to take part two days ago. In recent decades, diplomacy has been increasingly conducted in ad hoc contact groups – but the group of seven countries (the US, Ukraine, the UK, Germany, Finland, Italy and France) and two international organisations (Nato and the EU) has never met in this way before.Officials will be preparing in the usual way, assembling briefing packs and writing talking points, aiming to please their bosses and, hopefully, allowing them to make the most effective intervention. Continue reading...

Society

6 h. ago Skibidi', 'tradwife' and 'delulu' are among 6,000 new Cambridge Dictionary words

Slang terms popular on the internet, such as 'skibidi', 'tradwife' and 'delulu', are among more than 6,000 words added to the Cambridge Dictionary this year.

Politics

6 h. ago White pupils are the least likely group to get into a top university

Official data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows only 11.7 per cent of white pupils are attending the highest-ranking third of universities by age 19.

Events

7 h. ago For Putin, an outbreak of peace means certain death. Like any gangster, he has only one hope of survival, writes WILLIAM BROWDER

For Vladimir Putin, an outbreak of peace means certain death - by assassination, overthrow and execution, or in an international prison cell as a war criminal.

Events

7 h. ago Terence Stamp remembered by Priscilla director Stephan Elliott: ‘Those eyes turned everybody to jelly’

The Australian director reflects on his 32-year friendship with Stamp, who was initially ‘absolutely terrified’ to play a trans woman – and their work on the Priscilla sequelTerence Stamp, face of 60s British cinema, dies at 87Stamp was the mesmerising dark prince of British cinemaTerence Stamp: a life in picturesI first saw Terence in The Collector (1965) when I was a kid. It struck in my head as the ultimate horror film – it terrified the daylights out of me. Terence’s greatest beauties were his eyes – in some of the early films you don’t see it, but in person, when they were shining, he could hold a room. He’d sit there and say, “Watch this, I’m going to stop a restaurant.” And he could do it. I saw him do it! It was extraordinary. He once told me that he used to have real fun on Superman when he was bored, stuck on top of the ice castle. “I’d just stare down until everyone went quiet,” he said.We tried many actors when casting Bernadette in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of ...

Politics

10 h. ago ‘Skibidi’, ‘delulu’ and ‘tradwife’ among words added to Cambridge Dictionary

Lexicographers give nod to TikTok generation’s enduring influence on English language with latest additions“Skibidi”, “tradwife” and “delulu” are among the new words to have made this year’s Cambridge Dictionary in a selection that confirms the increasing influence of the TikTok generation on the English language.For those hoping such that such neologisms would be a passing internet craze, the compilers of the dictionary say they are here to stay. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago British manufacturers lagging behind international competitors on automation

The report by Make UK and Sage said nearly half of manufacturers identify a lack of technical skills as the biggest hurdle.

Politics

10 h. ago Social media terms skibidi, tradwife and delulu added to Cambridge Dictionary

Slang terms popularised by social media are among the thousands of words added to the Cambridge Dictionary this year.

Politics