50 m. ago Truck drivers, doctors and bakers: ordinary Yemenis turn to veteran journalist when justice fails

Fatehi Bin Lazreq has used social media, newspapers and radio to expose corruption and everyday injustices since the country’s civil war started a decade agoWhen dozens of gas tankers near Yemen’s southern city of Aden were held up at a checkpoint by soldiers demanding heavy bribes, the frustrated drivers and traders turned to a man they trusted: Fatehi Bin Lazreq, a prominent Yemeni journalist.Known for using his media outlets and social media platforms to demand accountability, Bin Lazreq posted about the drivers’ ordeal on Facebook. It quickly went viral, generating thousands of likes and comments. Within hours, the post prompted a phone call from the prime minister and another senior official, both pledging to resolve the issue. Soon, the tankers were able to move on. Continue reading...

Society

50 m. ago Typhoon Podul brings heavy rain to southern China after injuring scores in Taiwan

Typhoon forces nearly 8,000 people from homes in Taiwan before making another landfall in China

Sport

55 m. ago Bindi Irwin undergoes gruelling surgery after '13 years of fighting for answers'

Bindi Irwin missed her late dad Steve's annual gala in May after rupturing her appendix, and her brother Robert explained her absence at the time

Politics

1 hour ago Period drama 'as satisfying as a warm cup of tea' perfect for All Creatures Great and Small fans

The historical television drama was met with both critical acclaim and a passionate fan base, but was controversially cancelled after just two seasons

Events

1 hour ago Israeli airstrikes on Tehran killed inmates in ‘apparent war crime’ – report

Human Rights Watch also finds that Iran abused survivors of June attack, which killed 80 peopleIsraeli airstrikes on Tehran’s Evin prison in June killed scores of detainees, visitors and staff in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called an “apparent war crime”. Iranian authorities have since subjected survivors to abuse, enforced disappearances and inhumane detention conditions, the rights group said on Wednesday.HRW’s investigation, based on satellite imagery, videos and witness accounts, found the 23 June Israeli airstrikes destroyed visitation halls, prison wards, the central kitchen, the medical clinic and administrative offices. No evident military targets were identified in the facility, which held more than 1,500 prisoners at the time, many of whom had been jailed for peaceful activism. Continue reading...

Events

2 h. ago Wales breaking news plus weather and traffic updates (Thursday, August 14)

All of the latest news from across Wales and further afield

Politics

2 h. ago Rachel Roddy’s recipe for almond and cherry biscuits | A kitchen in Rome

If a fig roll married a bakewell tart, their offspring might well end up looking like these rustic, fruity and nutty Puglian biscuitsSimilar in principle to fig rolls, biscotti di ceglie consist of pastry wrapped around a filling of jam, so they have an irregular and extremely rustic cube form. Known locally as u’ piscquett’l, these biscuits are typical of the town and commune of Ceglie Messapica in the province of Brindisi in Puglia. Ceglie Messapica is also part of the southern reaches of the Murgia, a karst topographic plateau sometimes called the backbone of Puglia, with remarkable agricultural biodiversity, including 40 local varieties of almonds, including tondino cegliese. Like many visitors to the area, we bought a packet of biscotti di ceglie from a bakery in Ceglie Messapica, although this was years ago, when the band my partner plays with toured in Puglia every summer and when we consumed every regional treat in a claustrophobic Fiat van.Unlike the great fig roll, however...

Politics

2 h. ago 'We want a refund!': Fury erupts as residents paying £45 for bin collections left with overflowing rubbish

Fury of Trafford residents who've paid extra for green waste collections

Economics

3 h. ago Thunderstorm warnings issued as Met Office urges Brits to prepare emergency kits

The Met Office has issued a series of yellow thunder warnings for thunderstorms this week, with the agency saying Brits might want to prepare for potential flooding as extreme weather arrives in the UK

Events

3 h. ago Spanish people know deadly heatwaves are now an annual event. So why are our politicians in denial? | María Ramírez

We need everyday solutions like ‘cool banks’ and shaded areas, as well as serious policies on emissions. The government must step upGrowing up in Madrid, intense summer heat was nothing unusual. I quickly learned always to cross the street in search of shade, and never to be caught out in the sun at 3pm. But as a child in the early 1980s, I never felt dizzy after spending more than a few minutes outdoors, nor did I struggle to study or sleep at home because of the heat. Back then, air conditioning was a rarity, something only Americans had. But we were fine: the stuttering fan in my mother’s Ford Fiesta was enough to keep us comfortable on holiday escapes from the capital.What is happening in Spain now goes far beyond discomfort. More than 1,500 deaths have already been linked to heatwaves this summer alone. Public-sector workers are collapsing from heatstroke on our city streets. Entire communities in the Madrid suburbs have been devastated by wildfires. On Monday, 198 weather stat...

Politics

7 h. ago Gardeners told to place spoonful of 'sugar water' in garden this weekend

Bees and bumblebees can often end up exhausted and in dire need of a boost in hot weather, so gardeners are being urged to use a spoonful of sugar water in their gardens this weekend

Politics

8 h. ago Jimmy Lai trial: closing arguments in Hong Kong delayed by aftermath of Typhoon Podul

Lai has been detained since December 2020, with western nations and rights groups calling for his releaseThe closing arguments in the national security trial against jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai were postponed on Thursday after the Asian financial hub issued its highest-level “black” weather warning, stemming from ex-typhoon Podul.Queues had formed outside the court for the public gallery, but torrential rain saw the closing arguments in the trial, which began in late 2023, delayed. Proceedings are expected to resume on Friday. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Worried residents watch on as 'travellers take over local park'

The group appeared to revel in the hot weather as locals stayed clear of the beauty spot. Police and council staff have spoken to the travellers about the 'unauthorised' encampment.

Politics

10 h. ago Met Office tells Brits in 38 areas to prepare 'emergency' kit with three items

Met Office weather forecasters have said thunderstorms could create intense flooding over a two day period in some parts of the UK this week, and Brits ought to be prepared

Politics

11 h. ago Great British Bake Off future of hosts and judges confirmed as Prue Leith is missing from the new trailer

The much-loved baking competition has become an autumn TV tradition, drawing in millions each year for a mix of spectacular showstoppers and kitchen disasters.

Events

12 h. ago Talks stall on world’s first plastic pollution treaty one day before deadline

Almost 100 countries reject draft treaty as ‘unambitious’ and ‘inadequate’Talks on the world’s first legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution have stalled just one day before the negotiations are due to end.Some of the countries calling for an ambitious treaty to include targets to reduce plastic production, including Colombia, the EU and the UK, have rejected as “unacceptable” and “unambitious” a draft treaty text that does not include production caps, nor address chemicals used in plastic products. Continue reading...

Events

13 h. ago Weather warnings issued as fourth heatwave brings thunderstorms

Yellow and amber heat alerts are in place across much of the UK

Events

13 h. ago UK weather maps show when double heatwave will hit Wales but it's downhill from there

It was nice while it lasted

Society

14 h. ago Yellow heat health alert extended in London and across many regions of England as heatwave persists

Temperatures in the capital reached highs of 29C on Wednesday and will rise again to 30C on Friday, before settling at 25C at the end of the week

Society

15 h. ago Nicola Sturgeon's supportive lesbian circle as she says her sexuality isn't 'binary'... from TV presenter she shared warm embrace with to ally whose flat she used: GAVIN MADELEY

In her new memoir, Frankly, Nicola Sturgeon laughs off the baseless online rumours that she conducted some kind of lesbian affair with France 's ex-ambassador to the UK, Catherine Colonna.

Events