The Guardian — page 78

Coverage, page 78

page 78 of 123

Artist delights in beautiful ‘mess’ and dead trees of England’s rewilding sites

Rebecca Howard spent two years visiting projects and painting landscapes that feature in West Sussex exhibition Rewilding areas do not usually conform to traditional notions of beauty in England’s green and pleasant land. Detractors may bewail the beaver-felled trees, untidy scrub, deadwood, weeds, mud and “mess”. But a new exhibition highlights the aesthetic delights that can be discovered on rewilding sites where fungi grows on dying trees, water buffalo gather in new wetlands and brown-watered beaver pools flood once-desiccated fields. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Patrick Barkham12 Sept

Artist delights in beautiful ‘mess’ and dead trees of England’s rewilding sites

The Guardian•Patrick Barkham12 Sept

Death toll from Philippines ferry fire rises to 35, as officials warn toll will grow

The deadly fire had begun in the ferry’s cargo hold, then tore through the ship within seconds The bodies of passengers killed in a ferry fire off the Philippines arrived at a port near the resort town of Coron, Palawan, on Saturday morning, as the country’s coast guard warned the death toll of 35 would grow. Tents were being set up to receive 30 bodies brought from the M/V June Aster, which ran aground near the tourist hotspot after a fire erupted on Wednesday evening and tore through the vessel “in seconds”. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Agence France-Presse12 Sept

Alleged drone operator charged with murder after mistaken identity shooting in Sydney

NSW police say 18-year-old was operating drone when arrested and likely ‘conducting surveillance on someone or some premises’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A Sydney teenager has been charged with murder after police accused him of operating a drone as part of a suspected botched gang hit in the city’s west. Joshua Macdonald, 40, was shot dead at a Merrylands West home on 2 September in what police believe may have been a case of mistaken identity. He was not known to police and had no links to organised crime. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Henry Belot12 Sept

Country diary: Straw bales, tweed and a vintage Massey Ferguson – this is how farmers get married | Andrea Meanwell

Ravenstonedale, Cumbria: The wedding day of my son and his now wife – both farmers – was full of both emotion and tradition It felt as if autumn had arrived in the Howgills earlier this week, so it was a great relief that the wedding day dawned dry. I was up early checking the stock before helping the six groomsmen get their cufflinks and bow ties on in the farmhouse kitchen. Our middle son, Hector, was marrying Georgia from a farm in the nearby village of Ravenstonedale. The wedding was taking place in the village church, and the reception on her family’s farm. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Andrea Meanwell12 Sept

Nearly 50,000 Yemeni civilians flee as Houthis advance along Red Sea coast

Global struggle for control of Bab al-Mandab strait threatens to turn Yemen’s on-off conflict into a forever war Violence erupts in Yemen again: why it matters globally and how it is linked to the US-Iran war Nearly 50,000 people have fled a sudden advance by Houthi forces in western Yemen , with entire villages emptied and families trapped near frontline fighting with depleting food supplies, according to aid workers. Civilians in the Middle East’s poorest country have found themselves victims of a global struggle for control over one of the most important shipping routes in the world, which threatens to turn Yemen’s on-off conflict into a forever war. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Oliver Holmes12 Sept

Firewall compromised: has Friedrich Merz blown ‘democracy’s last shot’?

Many fear chancellor is wrong man for the job at a time when Germany’s defences against far right are crumbling A cataclysm. A 9.0 earthquake. A five-alarm fire. A bitter rejection of Germany ’s joyous reunification three decades ago, and a threat to the democratic postwar order. Sizing up the repercussions of last weekend’s win for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party in the former communist state of Saxony-Anhalt, German commentators expressed a sense of doom, panic and helplessness in the political establishment. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Deborah Cole in Berlin12 Sept

Court case brought by Zionist federation against journalist Mary Kostakidis ended ‘by consent’

Former SBS newsreader had been accused by Zionist Federation of Australia of breaching Racial Discrimination Act when sharing X posts Federal court proceedings brought by the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) against journalist Mary Kostakidis have been discontinued “by consent ” with “no order as to costs”. The former SBS newsreader had been accused by the federation of breaching the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) by sharing two X posts about a speech by the late Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah in January 2024. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Lisa Cox12 Sept

US rapper Lil Durk found not guilty of murder-for-hire scheme

Prosecutors accused musician, born Durk Banks, of putting bounty on fellow rapper in retaliation for friend’s killing Chicago rapper Lil Durk has been acquitted of all charges in a murder-for-hire scheme, in which a man was fatally gunned down in 2022. Prosecutors had accused Lil Durk , born Durk Banks, of putting a bounty on Atlanta rapper Tayquian Bowman’s life in retaliation for the 2020 shooting death of Banks’s friend, fellow Chicago rap star King Von. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Uwa Ede-Osifo12 Sept

NSW police seize 36 illegal ebikes on northern beaches that are now destined for the crusher

Officers found one 14-year-old’s ebike was capable of hitting 90km/h. Owners have two weeks to appeal the seizure before the bikes will be crushed Dozens of high-powered and illegal ebikes have been seized by police on Sydney’s northern beaches just weeks after the force was granted new powers to destroy dangerous bikes. The operation was part of a coordinated push with the NSW government to ensure people only ride legal ebikes that have not been modified to reach high speeds. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Henry Belot12 Sept

AI agents being tested by OpenAI involved in cyber-attack on another service, say researchers

Two months before hacking Hugging Face, malicious packages authored by internal OpenAI agents were uploaded to RubyGems Agents being tested by OpenAI uploaded hundreds of malicious packages in a cyberattack on software service RubyGems in May, two ⁠months before they hacked open-source platform Hugging Face, the company confirmed Friday. It’s the latest revelation of cyberattacks linked to major artificial intelligence developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic. The hacks or attempts to access external systems have spooked the public and heightened concerns over the increasing abilities of AI models – and whether developers can contain them. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Guardian staff and agency12 Sept

California woman charged with murder after allegedly killing husband with flagpole

SF Gate reports bond for Vicky Kyung Mi Kim, 65, set at $10m after man found dead at couple’s Palm Desert home A 65-year-old California woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly fatally wounding her husband with a flagpole, according to SF Gate. On 4 September, Palm Desert sheriff’s deputies responded to an “unknown trouble call” in The Enclave, a luxury condominium community. Upon arrival, officers located an individual with “traumatic injuries” that appeared to be from a physical assault and pronounced them dead. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Uwa Ede-Osifo12 Sept

Man arrested over death of Mississippi woman found hanging from a tree

Police have arrested Jacques Ratliff and ruled the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black woman, as a homocide Police in Jackson, Mississippi, have arrested a man in the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black woman found hanging from a tree behind a vacant house last month. The state medical examiner on Thursday ruled Fortune’s death a homicide. Jackson police chief RaShall Brackney-Wheelock said at a news conference Friday that police had secured search and arrest warrants for Jacques Ratliff and arrested him when they encountered him walking on the street. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Roque Planas and agencies12 Sept

‘This is my moment’: Taylor Townsend’s road comes full circle with US Open triumph

The 30-year-old once denied USTA funding returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium to complete her career doubles grand slam alongside Kateřina Siniaková The cheers swelled from Arthur Ashe Stadium as Taylor Townsend approached the microphone on court. “Y’all know this is my moment,” she started, “and I’m about to take it.” A day after being denied an American rooting interest in the women’s singles final and rushing for the exits in response, the Ashe crowd had reason to stick around and drink in the moment: the Chicago native and her partner, Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic, had just defeated the all-American team of Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 in Friday’s women’s doubles final. With the victory, Siniaková became a two-time career doubles slam champion while Townsend joined the club for the first time. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Andrew Lawrence at Flushing Meadows12 Sept

Hide and chic: are clothes and apparel made from alternative leathers better for the environment?

Vegan leathers are complicated by questions of commercial viability and sustainability. How do they compare to traditional leather? Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com In sustainable fashion, breathless promises about vegan leather have arrived thick and fast for over a decade. Innovations promise mushroom and cactus alternatives that look and feel like real leather – minus the negative associations with methane, deforestation, chemical pollution and animal welfare . While these next-gen materials have absorbed billions of dollars in capital under an environmental banner, experts are concerned they remain a shiny distraction while the fashion industry’s emissions and reliance on fossil fuel-derived materials grows. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Lucianne Tonti12 Sept

As China rises, Australia is increasingly enmeshed in the US war machine. Is the alliance still worth the risk?

Australia is being exploited by an ally that could draw it, however unwillingly, into war with China, experts warn Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast “Physical security matters,” said Kevin Rudd, at his axiomatic best before the National Press Club this week. “Our first responsibility is to secure our people’s future in this most contested region of the world.” Continue reading...

The Guardian•Ben Doherty12 Sept

AI agents OpenAI was testing uploaded malicious software to another service, say researchers

Two months before hacking Hugging Face, malicious packages authored by internal OpenAI agents were uploaded to RubyGems AI agents being ⁠tested by OpenAI uploaded hundreds of malicious packages to software service RubyGems ⁠in May, two ⁠months before they hacked open-source platform Hugging Face, a group of AI ⁠researchers said on Friday. “On May 11th, 2026, hundreds of malicious packages were uploaded ⁠to RubyGems by AI agents. We believe these were authored by ‌internal OpenAI agents,” ‌the researchers said. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Reuters11 Sept

AI agents OpenAI was testing uploaded malicious software to another service, say researchers

The Guardian•Reuters11 Sept

Republican senator fires aide who used Nazi soldiers as Facebook profile picture

Washington Post report also reveals Jon Husted staffer Stephen Woytek created pro-Rhodesia playlist on Spotify The Republican senator for Ohio, Jon Husted, has fired an aide who was discovered to have used a photo of Nazi SS soldiers as his Facebook profile photo. Stephen Woytek was appointed as Husted’s political director last month in the senator’s knife-edge re-election contest against former Democrat senator Sherrod Brown. According to the Washington Post , Husted had decided to “part ways” with Woytek, 25, after learning that his Facebook profile showed he followed a military re-enactment group called LAH Living History Unit, which portrays the 1st SS Panzer division. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Robert Tait in Washington11 Sept

Man to Man review – Tilda Swinton’s perfect pacing makes this multi-character monologue compelling

Royal Court theatre, London Starting in Germany in the 1930s, there is a stinging topicality to Manfred Karge’s play addressing the renaissance of Nazi ideology Early autumn London theatre has already featured two Oscar winners: Cate Blanchett in Electra / Persona and Mark Rylance in Tartuffe (Remixed). Now Tilda Swinton makes a trio. This shows the commendable dedication of some screen talent to theatre but also the box office need, in recessions, for famous faces. Unusually, there was a first night red carpet outside the Royal Court, leading a writer long associated with the venue to express “shock” to ushers at such Hollywood vulgarity. Swinton is reprising Manfred Karge’s Man to Man, which she first performed 39 years ago, in a production heading to Edinburgh, Berlin and New York. The piece is a multicharacter monologue starting in Germany in the 1930s. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Mark Lawson11 Sept