Donald Trump’s decision to extend a truce in the trade war with China has triggered a stock market rally across the globe.
On Monday night, the US president signed an executive order extending the deadline for higher tariffs on China until 10 November. Beijing said early on Tuesday it would suspend additional tariffs on US goods for a further 90 days.
At four million words he beats Pepys, but the daily jottings of a judgmental don fail to transcend his rather stuffy millieu
AC Benson is remembered today, if at all, for having edited three volumes of Queen Victoria’s letters and for writing Land of Hope and Glory to accompany Elgar’s first Pomp and Circumstance march – though, like Elgar, he came to dislike the vainglorious imperial sentiments that the words express – “vulgar stuff and not my manner at all”. Born in 1862, he began his working life as a school master at Eton, before moving on in 1904 to Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he was first a fellow and then master.
Notably, he left voluminous diaries – over four million words, filling 180 bound volumes – four times the length of the diaries of Samuel Pepys, who had been an undergraduate at Magdalene. Benson was well connected and knew most of the political and literary elite of late Victorian and Edwardian Britain, so one might have expected him to offer a similarly unrivalled portrait of the age. Many believe that he did: one review of these two edited volumes declares that because of them, he has entered “the diarists’ pantheon”.
Zsa Zsa Gabor once remarked that Britain was a country of boys and old boys: this is a book for the old boys
Arsenal have been ahead but want to make sales first
Spurs do not intend to meet Eze’s £68m release clause
Tottenham have opened talks over a move for Eberechi Eze and are pushing to beat Arsenal to the Crystal Palace attacker.
Eze, whose £68m release clause expires on Friday, is the subject of a tussle between the north London rivals. Arsenal have been leading the race for the England international but are yet to send an offer to Palace. They have indicated they need to make sales in attack before pressing ahead with their pursuit of Eze.
Pep Guardiola is the foremost football genius of his generation, revolutionising the game with imaginative tactics such as having the best players and the most money. But he has a particular expertise when it comes to wingers: consider Jack Grealish, now binned to Everton; Savinho, in the process of being binned to Spurs; Jérémy Doku, once fun, now ineffective; Julián Alvarez, binned to be brilliant at Atlético Madrid; Ferran Torres, binned after two seasons; Nolito, binned to Sevilla after a season; all acquired for a combined total of roughly £234.4m.
Consequently, one can only imagine Rodrygo’s excitement at the prospect of joining Manchester City from Real Madrid, who have decided that, though he offers goals, assists, energy, effort, experience, selflessness, variety, balance and big-game performances, he simply isn’t famous enough or attention-seeking enough to remain part of their squad. They value him at £87m – or, if he moves to the Etihad, £29.99 in two years’ time.
She feared Lauren James would face ‘astronomical’ abuse
James missed but was not alone and Lionesses won
Jess Carter has admitted she felt “relief” when three of her white England teammates joined Lauren James in missing penalties in the Euro 2025 quarter-final shootout against Sweden.
Carter, who was the target of online racism during the tournament, feared James would be on the receiving end of “astronomical” social media abuse if she had been the only England player to miss.
Millions of the tiny plastic pellets are being washed up on the coast of Kerala in India in the latest in a series of global spills, as plastic treaty talks continue in Geneva
When a Liberian-flagged container ship, the MSC Elsa 3, capsized and sank 13 miles off the coast of Kerala, in India, on 25 May, a state-wide disaster was quickly declared. A long oil slick from the 184-metre vessel, which was carrying hazardous cargo, was partially tackled by aircraft-borne dispersants, while a salvage operation sealed tanks to prevent leaks.
But almost three months later, a more insidious and persistent environmental catastrophe is continuing along the ecologically fragile coast of the Arabian Sea. Among the 643 containers onboard were 71,500 sacks of tiny plastic pellets known as nurdles. By July, only 7,920 were reportedly recovered.
More than two-thirds said they were willing to give 1% of their income to fight the climate crisis. Crucially, however, they thought only a minority of other people – 43% – would be willing to do the same.
Frenchman’s display of natural ability during spells in Denmark and Germany is a positive indicator for his move to Anfield
Hugo Ekitiké is a £79m striker who has swapped the Bundesliga for the Premier League champions and is preparing to test himself against the best defenders in England and Europe. Four years ago, he was struggling to make the breakthrough at his boyhood club Reims and was sent on loan to Denmark to learn about football and himself.
Ekitiké arrived as an 18‑year‑old in the city of Vejle in January 2021 to join a club primed for a relegation battle, a world away from what he can expect at Liverpool. Although a naturally confident person, he took time to settle into life away from home. But it was quickly apparent Ekitiké possessed natural ability and electrifying pace with which to torment teammates in training and excite his manager. First, though, he needed to get up to speed with the Danish league and began with a cameo off the bench in a goalless draw against Aarhus.
Winger with millions of followers explains how the ‘female-first mentality’ at the Serie A minnows was a big draw
It is not difficult to understand why any Italian club would want to sign Alisha Lehmann: last season she helped Juventus win a league and cup double, she is an international winger who accumulated 19 goals and 10 assists in England’s Women’s Super League and, yes, there is the small matter of her 16.7m Instagram followers and 12m TikTok followers, an online presence that commands a commercial power vast for any athlete and pretty unique in women’s football.
What is perhaps not so immediately obvious is why, aged 26 and with her peak football years probably ahead, she would opt to join a club that finished in the bottom half of Serie A last season and cannot yet offer European football. However, the Switzerland forward’s reasons for signing a three-year deal with FC Como Women, she says, have a deeper meaning.
Under the mantra ‘celebrate death as we celebrate life’, funerals in Ghana can be colourful affairs filled with dancers and personalised coffins – as Regula Tschumi’s stunning photos attest
This gallery contains a photo of an embalmed body that some readers may find distressing
Known as the ‘Garden of Europe’, this easy-living Spanish region is heaven for foodies and wine lovers
‘My grandmother, a widow, sold her livestock in the 1940s and bought this land to start a vineyard. That’s where she made the wine,” says Pepa Fernández proudly, pointing towards a weathered building no bigger than a garden shed. We’re standing between two fields on a chalky road skirted by poppies, daisies and thistles. One field is lined with neat rows of lush vines, the other with small bush vines soon to bear monastrell grapes (the most dominant variety in these parts). In the distance, a sandy-coloured mountain range peppered with pine trees sits beneath a cloudless blue sky.
Pocket-sized Pepa is the face of Bodega Balcona, a family-run organic winery in Spain’s south-eastern province of Murcia. The vineyard lies in the picturesque Aceniche valley, in Bullas – one of Murcia’s three wine DOPs (denominaciónes de origen protegida), alongside Yecla and Jumilla. Each has its own wine route, scattered with museums and vineyards.
For many of us, slathering on sunscreen to protect our skin in the summer months is a no-brainer. But recently social media has been awash with influencers airing their concerns about the potential dangers of this seemingly innocuous product. So is there anything to the claims that sunscreen is toxic? To find out, Madeleine Finlay is joined by the Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample. He explains where the science stands on the safety of sunscreen and what we can do to protect our skin all year round
‘I served and returned really well in certain moments’
Emma Raducanu says she is proud of the improvements she displayed on Monday afternoon as she pushed Aryna Sabalenka to the limit in their punishing tussle.
Five weeks on from their memorable third-round match at Wimbledon, Raducanu showed her continued progress by making life even more difficult for the world No 1 in Cincinnati and coming close to pulling off the best individual victory of her career. After three hours and nine minutes on court, Raducanu lost 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5).
All but one of the European heads of state and government have said that Ukrainians must have the freedom to decide their future, ahead of a high-stakes summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
“Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,” the leaders said, adding that “we share the conviction that a diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests.”
The narrative that they are a threat to women and girls has no basis in fact, but bad actors peddle it, and ministers encourage them
As anti-migrant demonstrations continued in Canary Wharf in London at the weekend, one group stood out: women dressed in Barbie pink. Holding cardboard signs drawn in bright felt-tip pen (“save our kids”), the “pink protest” marched under the banner of protecting women and girls.
The crowd may have looked a novel sight, but it points to a rationale that is increasingly gaining ground this summer: asylum seekers are a danger to British women and girls.
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The sweltering conditions inside Leaside Lock, a new-build development in east London, are hardly a secret. Last June, a warning written in big, capital letters was stuck to the window of one flat. “DO NOT BUY THESE FLATS. TOO HOT,” it read.
It was hard to miss for those walking past the looming high-rises and, after being snapped and posted on social media, the placard has garnered more than 500,000 views. More than a year on, during a summer when the UK recorded its second warmest June and fifth hottest July since 1884, residents say heat is still an issue.
Griddled, tiger-striped peaches with thyme and chilli on top of oozy gorgonzola and rocket? You’ll never think of ‘cheese on toast’ in the same way again …
Essentially a fancy name for “things on toast”, a tartine is a topless sandwich that can be piled high with delicious things with no threat of being squished together. I love the simplicity and elegance of this recipe: it is the perfect balance of sweet and sour, spicy and salty, and it feels special at the same time. Griddle and marinate the peaches ahead of time, if you like, and feel free to switch them for nectarines, apricots or whatever you have to hand that looks good for griddling.
Singer announced her 12th album at 12.12am on 12 August after a countdown, mysterious posts and teasing an appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast
Taylor Swift has announced her next album, The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is known for dropping hints and clues for her fans ahead of announcements and this one was no different. On Monday night, a countdown to 12.12am eastern time on 12 August appeared on her website, transformed to a glittering orange.
The late Kenyan novelist and activist believed erasing language was the most lasting weapon of oppression. Here, Aminatta Forna recalls the man and introduces his essay on decolonisation
In the 1930s, it was common for British missionaries to change the names of African school pupils to biblical names. The change wasn’t “just for school” – it was intended to be for ever. So Ngũgĩ became James and my father, Mohamed, became Moses. While many students retained their new names throughout their lives, Ngũgĩ and my father changed theirs back, though you can still find early editions of Ngũgĩ’s first book, Weep Not, Child, under the name of “James Ngugi”. With the novel, Ngũgĩ established himself as a writer and later, by reclaiming his Kikuyu identity as an activist, began a process of decolonisation that he would explore in one of his most famous nonfiction works, Decolonising the Mind (1986), which challenged the dominance of European languages in African education and literature. Ngũgĩ worked throughout his life to promote the decolonisation of language, writing and publishing his books in Kikuyu and only later translating them himself into English.
Ngũgĩ was a campaigner against the legacy of colonialism, but first and foremost a Marxist. Studying at the University of Leeds in the 1960s, he witnessed first-hand the brutality of the police towards striking white miners and realised that economic exploitation was a class issue and not a purely racial one. He endured exile, imprisonment, physical assault and harassment by the postcolonial Kenyan authorities and yet never stopped writing and publishing, even penning one of his works, Devil on the Cross (originally titled Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ), on prison toilet paper. Detained for his involvement with community theatre groups, Ngũgĩ noted that as long as he wrote in English, the authorities ignored him. Only when he began to write politically critical plays in Kikuyu, and ordinary working people could understand them, was he arrested.
Ngũgĩ was one of the grandfathers of African literature, and his courage made him beloved of a generation of writers. At the 2015 Pen World Voices festival, Ngũgĩ opted to stay in the same hotel as the other African writers, while others of his stature chose loftier accommodation. Here, the likes of Lola Shoneyin, Alain Mabanckou, the late Binyavanga Wainaina, Taiye Selasi, Ngũgĩ’s son Mukoma wa Ngũgĩ and me fetched the cups of tea he drank all day long, found a pen he needed or hailed a taxi on his behalf. One evening I helped organise an after-dinner party in a local bar. Ngũgĩ went to bed early, set an alarm, rose and joined us in the bar. He wanted tea, but the bar didn’t serve it. So someone ran out and fetched him one. In May this year, Ngũgĩ was apparently dancing with some of his students at the University of California, Irvine, to mark the end of the semester on the Friday before his death, at the age of 87. Aminatta Forna
Seven children reach shore as dozens of people intercepted on risky route, which authorities say is now used more often
About 100 people, including several children, risked their lives by trying to swim from Morocco into Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta early on Saturday morning, as the territory’s authorities warned that its overwhelmed reception system was close to collapse.
Recent weeks have seen a rise in the number of people trying to reach Ceuta, with more than 50 children swimming across from Morocco on 26 July alone.
At a festival so often dominated by bold young talent, it’s veteran performers stealing the spotlight this year. We meet them – from household names to octogenarian newcomers
Miriam Margolyes is ensconced in the garden room of a fancy Edinburgh hotel, framed by tasteful greenery and smiling for a fan who wants a selfie. Apple-cheeked and foul-mouthed, she is gracious with the passing stranger, though she warns me later: “If somebody pisses me off, I’ll say: ‘Now listen to me, I’m 84!’” She pauses. “But I don’t see why they should!” she adds with a laugh.
Margolyes is returning to Edinburgh for the second year running with an upgraded version of her acclaimed showcase based on the characters of Charles Dickens, her favourite author. “Same old cunt, even older,” reads the flyer. “It could be the last time, but don’t bank on it!”
Jumilla’s ban on gatherings in public sports centres breaches right to religious freedom, says Madrid
Spain’s central government has ordered officials in a Spanish town to scrap a ban on religious gatherings in public sports centres, describing it as a “discriminatory” measure that breaches the right to religious freedom as it will mainly impact Muslims.
“There can be no half-measures when it comes to intolerance,” Ángel Víctor Torres, the minister for territorial policy, wrote on social media on Monday. Rightwing opposition parties, he added, “cannot decide who has freedom of worship and who does not”.
Campaigners say placing staff from Shell and BAE Systems in ministries creates potential for improper influence
David Lammy is facing possible legal action over a plan to invite staff from the oil firm Shell and the defence firm BAE Systems to work inside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
A pre-action letter seen by the Guardian warns the foreign secretary that the scheme leaves the government open to allegations of a conflict of interest and creates the potential for “improper influence”.
An alleged lack of transparency as to how the proposed scheme will operate.
The potential for improper influence by representatives of Shell and BAE Systems on UK government practices, including in relation to foreign policy.
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