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Investment in climate-resilient irrigation enables this year’s haul to rise 6% on 2025’s already bigger-than-usual yield

British farmers have faced a sweltering summer tested by heatwaves, wildfires and water shortages – but a bumper berry harvest could prove a rare bright spot.

With two-thirds of the harvest now picked, this year’s haul is 6% up on last year’s already unusually large crop, according to British Berry Growers (BBG). Volumes of blackberries, blueberries and raspberries picked have been particularly strong, the trade body said.

Parliamentary committee welcomes fact most of 472 missing have been found but ‘extremely concerned’ for rest

Forty children who went missing from hotels housing asylum seekers in the UK have still not been found, according to a parliamentary report.

Ministers are facing calls from MPs and peers to explain what they are doing to locate the group, two of whom are believed to still be under 18. The figure emerged in a report on Thursday by the joint committee on human rights on how the social care system is failing young adults.

A sense of abandonment could make Saxony-Anhalt the first state government to be solely led by the AfD. But the party’s hollow promises will only make a dire situation worse

It was in the summer of 2004 that I stopped understanding my own people. I was standing on a sweltering market square in Aschersleben, the town where I was born, picturesquely situated on the northern edge of the Harz mountains. A large crowd of angry people had gathered in front of a stage to protest about the welfare reforms (or, as many saw them, welfare cuts) introduced by the Social Democratic-Green coalition government under chancellor Gerhard Schröder. They chanted “We are the people!”, waved handpainted placards and seemed utterly beside themselves.

I had gone to secondary school nearby, volunteered at the local hospital and interned at the local newspaper: I knew this place. And yet I found myself bewildered. What, exactly, did these deeply aggrieved people want – standing on a freshly renovated, almost idyllic market square? Weren’t things going reasonably well for them? Where did this burning resentment toward the west come from? Wasn’t the east-west divide supposed to be disappearing by now?

Marcus Böick is assistant professor in modern German history at the University of Cambridge

Our buildings are monuments to extraction and extreme emissions. But what if we turned from destructive concrete to timber?

• Last chance to buy the summer issue of The Long Read magazine, now with 15% off. Click here to order

I travelled to Oslo in the early autumn. It felt like arriving into the future. Or, at least, a fragment of a possible future. I drove north in the quiet digital bubble of my electric rental car. In 2024, Norway became the first country in the world where electric cars outnumbered petrol cars.

A smooth, pristine motorway unfolded between farmlands and low hillsides of dense green forest. Long tunnels carried the route up above the banks of Lake Mjøsa, Norway’s largest lake. After a little more than an hour, the road curved downward to run parallel to the lakeshore.

The 80-seat venue at Edinburgh fringe combines sauna rituals with theatre, music, storytelling … and sweat

Tucked away behind the Summerhall arts centre is the hottest new venue at the Edinburgh fringe … quite literally. The Sauna theatre has proved popular among theatregoers at the world’s largest performing arts festival, with shows inside its purpose-built, 80-seat sauna drawing sweaty, swimwear-clad crowds.

Visitors may be forgiven for thinking the sauna is a gimmick, especially at the fringe where absurd, experimental and ludicrous performances are not uncommon. This year they include a man drinking his own urine, someone singing the same song over and over, physical feats of exertion and several fully naked shows.

Hugo Weaving stars in this wonderful Australian series about old friends in their 60s. It is a feast of hilarity and heartbreak – and there needs to be more TV like it

With Dalliance, television continues its brave expeditions into unknown narrative lands. It was first forced to venture into women’s stories (using female writers, directors, stars and, oh my goodness, sometimes it was just wall-to-wall womanity, you know?) in the post-Weinstein years. Previously unassailable figures were toppling like ninepins and investors needed to take refuge in those unlikely to have problematic pasts who were likely to tank projects the moment any reporter turned a beady eye upon them.

That turned out quite well. Women were not as boring as we had been led to believe, and were often capable of anchoring quite interesting, intelligent or funny shows. Sometimes they were all three at the same time, even if they weren’t called Fleabag.

People with persistent predatory personalities cause an inordinate amount of pain. Recently, our shared understanding of them has grown – and it could help protect us

The classic checklist for psychopathy was developed in 1980 by Prof Robert Hare, who is still the recognised giant of the territory. The 20 traits, which ranged from pathological lying to a lack of empathy, were based entirely on prison populations. This worked because not only did Hare have the benefit of a large sample, with pronounced psychopathic behaviours, but he was able to compare interviews and self-reporting with data collected about the individuals – so inconsistencies could be identified.

However, Hare knew this approach was limited. In 1976, he said that he simply didn’t know to what extent his results could be generalised to non-incarcerated psychopaths, including female ones. “Research into the socially successful psychopath is badly needed,” he concluded. Even decades later in the early 2000s, when Hare wanted to look into psychopaths in politics, he still needed to go to prison to find them (Pinochet’s henchmen in Chilean jails). Research into the higher-functioning psychopath – who doesn’t get caught, or maybe doesn’t even resort to crime – has proved elusive, not least because self-reporting questionnaires don’t work. Psychopaths lie; arguably, that’s their main thing.

Poll to take place in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, where Bauhaus blossomed a century ago – and where AfD is promising ‘patriotic culture policy’ if it wins

The city of Dessau, where the Bauhaus design school flourished a century ago, catapulted Germany into the modern era and revolutionised global design.

It is also where the Nazis drove the avant garde movement out of town and attempted to crush its utopian principles. A hundred years later, another high-stakes culture war over its legacy is looming.

Bears killed 13 people in Japan last year, as a lack of forest foods increased conflicts. Yet some say the country’s controversial cull could threaten the endangered species

Every summer, millions of people escape the heat and humidity of Tokyo by heading to the tranquil resort town of Karuizawa in Japan’s Nagano prefecture – just an hour by bullet train from the capital. Here, at the foot of Mount Asama, visitors stroll bamboo-lined pathways, cycle in verdant highlands, and practise the wellness ritual of shinrin-yoku, bathing among the cool hinoki forests. It would be the ideal nature retreat – if it wasn’t for the bears.

From June to August, bears often move close to Karuizawa, feeding on the mulberries, ants, leaves and cherry blossoms that grow near the town. Unlike nuts, these foods are low in calories, spurring the bears to seek out further sustenance. “They’re more likely to get close to residential spaces to see what they can find,” says Amelia Hiorns, a British zoologist who previously worked with Picchio Wildlife Research Centre in the town. “This combines with the busiest season for tourists.”

Comté, beaufort and abondance makers can temporarily supplement cows’ diets as there is ‘no grass left to eat’

Strict production rules will be loosened for some of France’s most famous cheeses after drought and repeated heatwaves dried out grazing pastures, threatening the livelihoods of traditional dairy workers.

Comté, a hard cheese made from raw cows’ milk in the Jura mountains, is France’s top-selling traditional cheese, with more than 62,000 tonnes produced last year. The government announced on Wednesday that its producers would be granted a temporary change to strict rules on grazing after farmers said extreme heat had scorched their pastures, putting production at risk.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner on Tuesday cited Dolly Parton in his decision to strike down Senate Bill 12, a 2023 law that sought to restrict drag shows in Texas.

The 80-seat venue at Edinburgh fringe combines sauna rituals with theatre, music, storytelling … and sweat

Tucked away behind the Summerhall arts centre is the hottest new venue at the Edinburgh fringe … quite literally. The Sauna theatre has proved popular among theatregoers at the world’s largest performing arts festival, with shows inside its purpose-built, 80-seat sauna drawing sweaty, swimwear-clad crowds.

Visitors may be forgiven for thinking the sauna is a gimmick, especially at the fringe where absurd, experimental and ludicrous performances are not uncommon. This year they include a man drinking his own urine, someone singing the same song over and over, physical feats of exertion and several fully naked shows.

Parliamentary committee welcomes fact most of 472 missing have been found but ‘extremely concerned’ for rest

Forty children who went missing from hotels housing asylum seekers in the UK have still not been found, according to a parliamentary report.

Ministers are facing calls from MPs and peers to explain what they are doing to locate the group, two of whom are believed to still be under 18. The figure emerged in a report on Thursday by the joint committee on human rights on how the social care system is failing young adults.

Entire villages swept away after glacial collapse triggers flood in mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrims

• Nepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updates

• Have you been affected by the flash floods?

Rescuers are searching for nearly 1,400 people, most of them tourists, who are missing after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet, thundering down valleys, obliterating entire villages and killing at least 356 people.

Efforts to locate those missing – including hundreds of people from India, the US, UK, Australia and Canada – have been complicated by the destruction of dozens of bridges and almost 25 miles (40km) of roads in the mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrims.

Comté, beaufort and abondance makers can temporarily supplement cows’ diets as there is ‘no grass left to eat’

Strict production rules will be loosened for some of France’s most famous cheeses after drought and repeated heatwaves dried out grazing pastures, threatening the livelihoods of traditional dairy workers.

Comté, a hard cheese made from raw cows’ milk in the Jura mountains, is France’s top-selling traditional cheese, with more than 62,000 tonnes produced last year. The government announced on Wednesday that its producers would be granted a temporary change to strict rules on grazing after farmers said extreme heat had scorched their pastures, putting production at risk.

The Japanese artist has died at age 97. Kusama's polka dotted pumpkins, "Infinity Rooms," and other repetitive and dreamlike artworks have been shown in museums and galleries worldwide.

(Image credit: Andrew Toth)

Школьный класс принято считать моделью общества. На деле это случайный набор людей одного года рождения, живущих в одном микрорайоне, и больше их не объединяет ничего — во взрослой жизни вы никогда не окажетесь в такой группе. Плюс из класса нельзя выйти. Разбираю главный аргумент против семейного обучения по 578 комментариям к первой статье: что такое социализация по определению, чего боятся спорящие и что об этом говорят исследования.

From the 1950s to the 2020s, Kusama produced vivid paintings, sculptures and vast installations that often drew on her experience of hallucinations

• Kusama – a life in pictures

• Was Kusama the world’s favourite artist?

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese outsider artist who reached superstar status after decades living in a psychiatric hospital, has died aged 97.

Kusama died in a Tokyo hospital on 14 August, her company Yayoi Kusama Inc announced in a statement on Thursday.

From the 1950s to the 2020s, Kusama produced vivid paintings, sculptures and vast installations that often drew on her experience of hallucinations

• Kusama – a life in pictures

• Was Kusama the world’s favourite artist?

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese outsider artist who reached superstar status after decades living in a psychiatric hospital, has died aged 97.

Kusama died in a Tokyo hospital on 14 August, her company Yayoi Kusama Inc announced in a statement on Thursday.

Two modern commanders appointed on Donetsk front after dismissal of ‘Soviet-era’ Oleksandr Syrskyi as head of military. What we know on day 1,645

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed two of Ukraine’s most prominent commanders to oversee and strengthen defences of the “fortress belt” of industrialised cities in the Donetsk region. Visiting the frontline, Zelenskyy said Third Army Corps leader Andrii Biletskyi and Denys Prokopenko, commander of the First Corps ⁠Azov, would head new groupings. Both units are known for embracing Nato-style doctrine and new technology.

Russian forces are putting pressure on the cities of Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk – all critical strongholds for Ukraine. According to open-source mapping group Deep State, Moscow’s ‌troops have been infiltrating deeper into Kostiantynivka, with the Ukrainians weeding them out from houses, basements and ruins. Russia was also stepping up its air and artillery ​attacks on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk to prepare for a targeted offensive on those cities, Deep State said.

Ukrainian military analyst Mykola Bielieskov told Reuters the appointments were “the right move” in giving Ukraine’s new commander in chief, Mykhailo Drapatyi, greater scope for strategic planning. His predecessor, the “Soviet-era” general Oleksandr Syrskyi, was criticised for micromanagement. Ukrainian drone forces commander Robert Brovdi, a leader of Kyiv’s mid and long-range strike campaigns, praised the appointments as an important step towards “network-centric warfare … This is exactly what ‘Smart War’ is,” he posted.

Ukraine hit ⁠16 sites in Russia ⁠over ⁠the past day ​including oil facilities and ⁠logistics, Zelenskyy said ⁠on Wednesday. The ‌targets also included ‌airfields, a missile unit, a military enterprise and infrastructure that ‌Moscow uses to launch attacks against ​Ukraine. Ukraine’s military general staff said its forces struck a Lukoil refinery overnight in Kstovo, in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, setting it on fire. The refinery can process 125m barrels annually. Long-range Ukrainian drones burned a Wildberries warehouse to the ground in the Tambov region south-east of Moscow, Russian authorities said on Wednesday.

A ⁠Russian guided aerial ⁠bomb ⁠attack seriously ​damaged a combined ⁠heat and power plant ⁠in ​Ukraine’s southern ‌city ‌of Kherson, ‌the plant’s owner, Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, said ‌on Wednesday. The extent of ​the damage would be ⁠assessed as ​soon as ​the security ​situation allowed, ​Naftogaz ‌said.

There were explosions ​in ⁠the ⁠Ukrainian capital ​of ‌Kyiv ‌early ‌on Thursday, ‌a ​Reuters ⁠witness ​said. Around the same time, Russia ⁠attacked an industrial facility ⁠in ⁠the central ​Ukrainian city of ⁠Kryvyi Rih with ballistic missiles, ⁠injuring two ​people, ‌said Oleksandr ‌Vilkul, the head of ‌the city’s defence council. It came after Bloomberg reported that Russia was considering ⁠stepping up its ballistic missile strikes ⁠on ⁠Kyiv, including ​targets in the city centre, ⁠and on critical infrastructure elsewhere in ⁠Ukraine after concluding that ​efforts ‌to negotiate ‌a peace deal ‌had reached a dead end. While Ukraine has repeatedly offered ceasefires and negotiations, the Kremlin has not altered its demands – chief among which is total control of Ukraine’s Donbas region.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded Ukraine’s Order of Freedom to Elon Musk, whose SpaceX has provided Starlink satellite internet to Ukraine’s military. Musk has restricted its use over Russian territory – a policy Zelenskyy hopes to change so that Ukrainian weapons can use Starlink to navigate to their targets.

Ukraine freed 10 Russian prisoners of war, Russia’s human rights commissioner said on Wednesday. On Monday, Russia released 10 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were previously thought to be missing.

A pro-Russian hacker group on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a cyber-attack on Digdir, the Norwegian government’s digital services agency. The denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks tried to overwhelm the agency’s computers to block services, including one that enables citizens to use one login across multiple public services. A Digdir spokesperson said the agency still managed to keep the services running “practically all the time”. The pro-Russian hacker group Server Killers said it attacked because Norway renewed its security cooperation with Ukraine on 23 August.

Giant burrowing cockroaches with added cameras and medical injectors are being tested as potential ‘first responders’ in earthquakes

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For people trapped under rubble in an earthquake or similar disaster, the arrival of a fleet of cockroaches could one day be the difference between life and death.

Biorobotics engineers have been working on the design of six-legged cyborg insects with cameras and miniature medical injectors for search and rescue missions.

Jes Staley told US House committee he also was at one point named a trustee of convicted sex offender’s estate

Former JPMorgan Chase executive Jes Staley told US lawmakers he repeatedly shared confidential and market-sensitive bank ⁠information with Jeffrey Epstein and ⁠was at one ​point named as a trustee of his estate, according to a transcript released by the House oversight committee on Wednesday.

These admissions come as lawmakers investigate the late convicted ⁠sex offender’s ties with political and business elites. Staley appeared before the committee in July as part of its investigation into Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Transcripts ⁠from the meeting were released on Wednesday.

Nepali tour operator fears 15 Australians who had been on a trek near the border with China have died after devastating flood

• Nepal flash flood live updates

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A New South Wales couple on a spiritual pilgrimage are among the first of 39 Australians identified as missing after flash flooding ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border.

New South Wales couple Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and his wife, Chitra Venkatraman, 46, were among 15 Australians travelling to Mount Kailash in Tibet on a spiritual trip, according to their son.

Paramedics called to northern beaches home on Sunday evening before 16-year-old dies in hospital on Tuesday night after sexual strangulation act

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New South Wales police are investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl after a suspected sexual strangulation act.

Police said emergency services were called to a home in Elanora Heights in Sydney’s northern beaches on Sunday evening in response to a welfare concern report.

Premier confirms levy, which was intended to help pay for the multibillion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop and other Big Build projects, will be abolished

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The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, has announced he will abolish a levy secretly slapped on public transport users 18 months ago to help pay for the Suburban Rail Loop, as experts warn it is too late for the state to back out of the costly project.

The existence of the levy was revealed in an auditor general’s report tabled in parliament on Wednesday, which also cast doubt on whether the first stage of the multibillion-dollar project – a 26km stretch of twin tunnels from Cheltenham to Box Hill dubbed SRL East – can be delivered on time or within budget.