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Our specialist panel on which books may help you put your phone away and get reading again. With Charlotte Northedge, David Shariatmadari and Rebecca Liu

Are you struggling to read a book? Maybe you are even holding one in front of you but feel your hands instead reach for your phone?

Nosheen Iqbal talks to a specialist books panel to find out how to kick the screen habit, and which titles – from the Greek classics to ‘romantasy’ – may help.

UK Foreign Office condemns use of national security law to convict activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung

Two Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils marking China’s deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 have been found guilty of “incitement to subversion” in one of the most high-profile cases in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed its national security law in 2020.

Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, “incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power”, a press summary handed out to reporters said. The defendants each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, with sentencing expected at a later date.

Further restrictions on shipping lane possible as Central America gripped by severe drought

The Panama canal will cut the number of ships passing through it starting next month because of drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon, the operator of the strategic waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific said Thursday.

From 3 September, the number of vessels allowed through each day will fall from 36 to 34 due to low water levels in two artificial lakes that feed the canal, the Panama Canal Authority said. From 15 September, the number of ships permitted will drop to 32.

В какой‑то момент я осознал, что у меня много источников данных, есть мощная машинка в виде MacBook Pro M4 Max со 128 гигами оперативки, и надо как‑то это объединить, чтобы эффективно использовать. Всё же такую покупку согласовывали под использование ИИ, а не просто так я решил потратить деньги.

И триггером стал момент, когда в клубе по ИИ начало появляться всё больше и больше классных отзывов про Гермес. Причём отзывов, похожих на магию — типа он сам продумал за меня весь отдых, делал планы, проверял меню ресторанов и развлечения на день и всё в таком духе. Про рабочие кейсы почему‑то никто не рассказывал, но в магию я влюбился.

В целом Гермес выглядел идеально — есть память, скиллы, которые он пишет сам (ну и ты, конечно, тоже можешь написать), простота установки и использования, крон‑задачи. В общем, полный комплект.

Потом я радовался, что всё работает, потом понял, что это была видимость работы, и разочаровался, потом пересмотрел подходы и переизобрёл то, о чём, естественно, писали не раз, но зато у меня всё стало работать.

В статье не буду рассказывать о том, как установить Гермес, подключить Codex и наслаждаться. Будут локальные модели, виртуалки, шишки и преодоление в истинно инженерном стиле.

David Elliott tells inquiry of branch stacking and death threats as Catholic Schools NSW sack boss after appearance

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A former New South Wales Liberal minister has told an inquiry he came to believe “a cult had taken over the party” after branch stacking by the religious right faction, while the chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW has been sacked following his appearance before the corruption watchdog.

Former Liberal minister and MP for the now-abolished seat of Baulkham Hills, David Elliott, told the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption that after he opposed developments by fugitive property developer Jean Nassif, he was followed by private investigators and received death threats.

Fawning, deferential, oleaginous – this was the Untruth and Reconciliation Commission as Trump called in to 77 WABC

“Our next guest is a ‘racist’, a ‘conman’ and a ‘cheat’ – someone who behaves more like a ‘mobster’ than a president. Please welcome Donald J Trump!”

That is how Michael Cohen could have introduced Trump on his New York radio show on Thursday. After all, Cohen used such terms to describe the US president in his testimony to Congress in 2019. But now Trump’s former personal lawyer and self-described fixer had different words: “boss” and “sir”. Just like old times.

Demonstrations in support of sacked defence minister reportedly die down as supporters and experts say he went too far. What we know on day 1,640

Fawning, deferential, oleaginous – this was the Untruth and Reconciliation Commission as Trump called in to 77 WABC

“Our next guest is a ‘racist’, a ‘conman’ and a ‘cheat’ – someone who behaves more like a ‘mobster’ than a president. Please welcome Donald J Trump!”

That is how Michael Cohen could have introduced Trump on his New York radio show on Thursday. After all, Cohen used such terms to describe the US president in his testimony to Congress in 2019. But now Trump’s former personal lawyer and self-described fixer had different words: “boss” and “sir”. Just like old times.

Court finds ‘defects’ in investigation of two senior constables charged over 2024 incident at Mareeba watch house in far north Queensland

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Two police officers charged with criminal offences over the use of capsicum spray, Tasers and restraints on a “cognitively and emotionally vulnerable” First Nations man in police custody have had the case against them permanently stayed, after a court found “defects” in the subsequent investigation.

Andrew David Couchman, 54, and Ulrich Weiss, 45, both senior constables, were both charged over the incident at the Mareeba watch house in far north Queensland in January 2024.

After eight days missing in the rugged NSW bush, word came through that the 18-year-old had been located. Her family were waiting with presents

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The rugged landscape of the New South Wales southern highlands loomed large on Thursday evening. This country had just revived, then killed hope. A young woman was found “alive”, but then it was confirmed she was dead: desperation, confusion, tragedy reigned.

Here, where the bitumen of Wombeyan Caves Road runs into unsealed dirt, rolling hills dotted with cattle give way to expansive mountains. The late-afternoon sun sends long, beaming rays past the edges of clouds, casting a warm glow on distant cliff faces.

The former gang leader was charged with planning the drive-by shooting that killed Tupac Shakur in 1996

Jurors on Thursday heard Duane “Keffe D” Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.

Davis, who said in the interview that he was also in the car with Anderson, is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar in Las Vegas. At the time of the interview, his nephew had been dead for a decade.

The former gang leader was charged with planning the drive-by shooting that killed Tupac Shakur in 1996

Jurors on Thursday heard Duane “Keffe D” Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.

Davis, who said in the interview that he was also in the car with Anderson, is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar in Las Vegas. At the time of the interview, his nephew had been dead for a decade.