For years, the day in Kulak ended when the generator powered down. Like thousands of villages across Iraq, this small farming community in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region lived to the faltering rhythm of an erratic power supply: a few hours of electricity, then the water pumps stopped, refrigerators warmed and children put down their books.

Today, Kulak runs on the sun. Solar panels harness its energy, batteries store the excess and residents have power 24/7. The change is visible beyond the homes: water pumps keep running, and cold storage gives farmers more control over when they sell their harvest.

This is the part of the energy transition the global climate conversation too often overlooks. Solar hardware is cheap; the world has learned how to install it. What matters is what comes after the panels go up: building the local capacity to keep the systems running and using reliable power to support farms, livelihoods and communities.

The energy transition will not be won in conference halls. It will be won, or lost, in places like Kulak.

Iraq’s rural energy crisis

Iraq’s energy story is usually told as a paradox. It is one of the world’s great oil producers, yet rural communities still endure daily power cuts. Summers now regularly push past 50 degrees, and the United Nations ranks Iraq among the nations most vulnerable to climate change. Drought has emptied farmland. Heat has made whole regions harder to live in. Rural families face a quiet, grinding choice between staying on land that can no longer sustain them or joining the drift towards overcrowded cities.

These pressures do not respect provincial boundaries. They are shared across Iraq, from the marshes of the south to the mountains of the north. They demand responses that work for the whole country.

For remote communities, decentralised power should not simply be treated as a stopgap while they wait for the grid. It can be part of the long-term answer.

Beyond electrification

Kulak is one of five villages in the Kurdistan region electrified through a solar initiative that pairs new infrastructure with local training and agricultural development. Residents are trained to operate and maintain their own systems, while research is under way into how reliable power can support local production.

Energy is treated not as a gift to be received but as an asset to be managed. That means looking beyond electricity itself to what it can enable: cold storage that allows farmers to hold their harvest for better prices, irrigation that no longer depends on diesel and processing that adds value before crops ever leave the village.

That distinction matters, because the graveyard of development is full of well-intentioned infrastructure. Anyone who has worked in this field has seen the solar array gathering dust because no one was trained to fix an inverter, or the water project abandoned when the foreign NGO moved on.

Sustainability is not a slogan; it is a design choice. Building local capability into a project from day one is the difference between a photo opportunity and a future.

Building the transition from the ground up

There is a broader argument here for the climate movement.

The energy transition is overwhelmingly narrated from the top down: through COP plenaries, G7 communiques and the financing pledges of wealthy nations, many of them unmet. Yet for hundreds of millions of people in the Global South, the transition will arrive, if it arrives at all, through decentralised solutions built close to the ground.

Rural Iraq will not wait decades for grid expansion to reach every valley. It does not have to. Distributed solar suits these communities better than centralised generation ever did, while local institutions can move at a speed that multilateral programmes rarely match.

There is also a quieter point about who gets to act on climate.

The prevailing image of climate action in the Middle East is the megaproject: vast desert solar farms, futuristic cities and sovereign wealth funds. Those have their place. But electrifying farming villages one by one represents a different kind of ambition, one rooted in the belief that Iraqis themselves, in all their diversity, can build the country’s energy future rather than wait for it to be delivered.

Local involvement matters particularly in places where reliable electricity is tied not only to household comfort but to whether farms can irrigate crops, preserve produce and remain economically viable.

Iraq has thousands of rural communities, and scaling this model will require partners, patient financing and supportive policy at every level of government. The agricultural research is promising but young.

On my last visit to Kulak, I was struck less by the panels than by what surrounded them: the cold store, the working pumps, the sense of a community planning for next season rather than next month.

The lights staying on is the least of it. What has really been switched on is the future tense.

If Iraq’s energy transformation is built like this across the whole country, village by village and from the ground up, it will be more durable than anything imposed from above. That means investing not only in the systems themselves, but in the people who will maintain them and the farms, businesses and livelihoods that reliable power can support.

The world’s climate diplomats could do worse than pay attention.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Russian ballistic missile attacks have begun to cause record civilian deaths in Ukrainian cities without any Patriot interceptors to stop them, but Ukraine’s long-range strikes have destroyed Russian fuel supplies.

With the Russian economy struggling, a top expert warned that social unrest could unfold in a matter of time – and consequently lost his job.

On Tuesday, Russian missiles killed at least 10 people in Pechenihy, a town 40km (25 miles) east of Ukraine’s northern city of Kharkiv. On Thursday, they killed 15 people in Kyiv, three in the western city of Zhytomyr and injured 40 at a border crossing between Odesa and Moldova.

Russia said it was targeting weapons manufacturing sites in Kyiv, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces struck 30 residential buildings, a school and a children’s hospital.

The United Nations said Russia killed a record 437 people in July and injured 2,610, surpassing its previous record in June by 30 percent.

Civilian casualties have continued in August, because Ukraine has run out of Patriot interceptors and has been unable to stop incoming ballistic missile attacks since the beginning of the month.

As Zelenskyy pointed out, Ukraine’s interception rate of cruise missiles and drones is still in the 90-percent range. But Russia is doubling down on the use of ballistic missiles and has brought in an additional 50 North Korean weapons, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.

Ukraine strikes back

Since June 25, Ukraine has launched a campaign of mid-range strikes to disrupt Russian logistics and has harassed fuel and ammunition supplies so effectively that it has made 233sq km (90 square miles) of territorial gains this year.

By August 16, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces announced it had put 228 supply ships out of action in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, as well as destroying 243 power stations, electricity substations and gas distribution nodes in Crimea.

They have also been striking relay antennas used to guide Russian drones and radar stations that detect Ukrainian counterstrikes. On August 20, Ukraine struck drone launch sites in Donetsk City and Primorsko-Akhtarsk on the Sea of Azov, as well as a fuel terminal in the Kerch Strait used to supply Crimea.

Ukraine’s long-range strikes have served a different purpose – to undermine the Russian economy’s ability to fund its war.

On August 15, Ukraine managed to fly two of its Flamingo cruise missiles into the Progress Rocket and Space Centre, 800km (500 miles) east of Moscow, despite Russia’s use of four A-50 early warning aircraft and its reported downing of 822 Ukrainian drones that day.

Ukraine said it hit an engine assembly workshop for Soyuz rockets, causing a fire covering half a hectare.

Russia is using Soyuz to launch satellites for its Rassvet constellation to replace dependence on the US Starlink system, after Ukraine managed to cut Russian access to Starlink on February 1 . Russia needs satellites to increase the speed and precision of its counter-battery fire on Ukrainian positions. Its loss of that capacity has been partly responsible for Ukrainian gains this year.

“One Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle can put 20 satellites into orbit,” said Ukrainian electronics expert Serhiy Beskrestnov. “To create a basic satellite constellation in orbit, Russia needs to carry out 12-15 launches.”

The following day, Ukraine set ablaze a 25-hectare warehouse belonging to the Wildberries online retail chain, Russia’s equivalent of Amazon, and said it had destroyed seven out of Wildberries’ ten largest logistical hubs.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 28 that the Kremlin was monitoring the damage to Wildberries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin implied on Thursday that he might provide government funds for Wildberries to rebuild, saying “logistics and warehousing capacity certainly needs to be restored, including with government support”.

Ukraine has also succeeded in destroying Russian oil refineries and starving its economy of petrol

It has recently struck the Ust-Luga refinery, the Taneco refinery in Tatarstan and the Perm refinery, 1,500km (930 miles) from its borders.

Similar strikes this year have so reduced petrol supply in Russia. The Izvestia newspaper reported that only 28 percent of petrol stations across the country could supply fuel this week, citing mobile app GdeBENZ, which monitors real-time fuel availability.

Izvestia said only five petrol stations in Moscow were selling high-octane AI-98 fuel. Russians posted video of Rosgvardia police units sitting outside petrol stations to avert some of the fights involving motorists in recent months.

Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, said lower-grade fuel was being supplied to ease market tensions, and confirmed that Russia is now importing refined fuel for the domestic market.

“We expect a number of oil refineries to complete maintenance work soon and the situation to improve significantly,” Novak told Vesti journalist Pavel Zarubin, but that may be wishful thinking. Ukraine has struck Russia’s largest refineries not once but repeatedly. On Wednesday [August 19 ], it struck a refining unit at Ufa, which was undergoing repairs from a previous strike. It is 1,300km (810 miles) from Ukraine.

Ukraine also struck significant military targets during the week, including the Kamenyy Kombinat plant in Rostov, which makes solid rocket fuel for missiles, and the Savasleika airfield, from where MiG fighters armed with Kh-47M2 ballistic missiles take -off.

Russian economy in trouble

Some Russian economists have begun to warn of impending social and political upheaval as a result of the slowing economy.

Andrey Klepach, chief economist at Vnesheconombank, a state bank that finances the Kremlin’s national projects, warned on August 18 that, “Losses from Ukrainian military strikes … are already becoming a significant macroeconomic barrier to Russian economic growth.

“I believe Russia won’t collapse, but I’m almost certain we’ll reach a social crisis.”

He was removed from his post after making the comments during a discussion at the Moscow Exchange’s Nikitsky Club.

Russians are withdrawing savings in increasing amounts, reported The Washington Post. While businesses are increasing “voluntary” donations to the state defence budget, in addition to having to pay for their own air defences, putting further strain on the economy.

At a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects this week, Putin acknowledged that Ukraine’s strikes are “certainly” causing damage, adding that “overall economic performance is modest but positive”.

That damage took financial form in the $1.18bn Putin newly released to aid regional budgets, in addition to previous financial assistance. Some $52m of that was destined for Crimea.

Ukraine’s defence ministry estimated that every dollar spent on drone strikes caused five times that amount in costs to the Russian economy.

Mel Brooks has been watching movies for about as long as anyone alive. The comedy icon, who turned 100 in June, was born in the silent era and grew up in Brooklyn devouring double bills at his neighborhood theater in the 1930s. That movie-mad kid would go on to become one of the giants of filmmaking, directing classics like “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein” and giving us a song-and-dance Frankenstein’s monster, cowboys farting around a campfire and the mystical power of the Schwartz.

So when the American Cinematheque recently invited Brooks to program a series of his favorite films — something he had never done before — there was no telling where his tastes might lead.

Beginning Sept. 3, the Cinematheque will bring Brooks’ 20 selections to the big screen in “Programmed by Mel Brooks: 100 Years at the Movies,” running through Nov. 12 at the Aero, Egyptian and Los Feliz 3 theaters. The lineup spans nearly nine decades of Brooks’ own lifetime: The oldest film he chose was released when he was 4; the newest came out when he was 93.

What made the cut? Some choices make perfect sense for Brooks: comedy classics like Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” (1931) and the Marx Brothers’ “A Night at the Opera” (1935). Others are more surprising, from Kevin Costner communing with the Sioux in “Dances With Wolves” (1990) to Eddie Murphy resurrecting a blaxploitation legend in “Dolemite Is My Name” (2019). The list is overwhelmingly American with just one foreign-language film, Federico Fellini’s bittersweet 1953 comedy “I Vitelloni.”

For Brooks, the exercise offered a chance to reconnect with what drew him to movies in the first place.

“It was wonderful compiling a list of all these marvelous movies for American Cinematheque,” Brooks said in a statement to The Times. “It reminded me about why I first fell in love with the art of film.”

Earlier this year, with Brooks’ centennial approaching, the Cinematheque began thinking about how to mark the milestone. The organization has screened his films regularly for decades and Brooks has appeared at its theaters a dozen or so times to discuss his work and collaborators. Simply putting “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein” back on the marquee wasn’t going to cut it.

“The question was: How do we do something different and interesting?” says Chris LeMaire, the Cinematheque’s director of programming, in a phone interview. “Then it became: What if we reached out to Mel and asked if he wanted to put his programmer hat on and take over our calendar and see what he would come up with?”

The Cinematheque already invites filmmakers and other guests to choose individual films for its weekly Sunday Print Edition series, but handing someone an entire series to program was another matter.

“We didn’t even say how many films it could be,” LeMaire recalls. “We kind of said, ‘How many do you want to show?’ ”

Brooks conveyed his selections through his assistant, who would speak with him by phone and relay the titles to the Cinematheque by email. Rather than arriving all at once, the list grew over several days as Brooks kept thinking of movies he wanted to add.

“It was really neat to see it unfold because he sent an initial list and we were like, ‘Wow, this is great,’ ” LeMaire says. “Then a few hours later, he thought, ‘Well, we can’t forget John Ford. We’ve got to throw in ‘The Grapes of Wrath.’ Fast-forward a few more of these cycles where he was thinking about it and that’s how it got up to 20.”

Brooks is letting the selections speak for themselves, offering up the movies he loved without feeling the need to make a case for them.

“He didn’t provide much explanation, didn’t say why he was picking all these films,” LeMaire says. “I think that’s really beautiful in that sense.”

To LeMaire, the breadth of the list reflects both Brooks’ long view of movie history and the eclecticism of his own work.

“He was born before the sound era, so you get the sense that he’s put this list together based on actual experience, watching firsthand as cinema evolved over the decades,” LeMaire says. “There’s such a mix of genres on this list, and that mirrors how his films work — the love of cinema history and the lovingly satirizing ways of dealing with genre.”

Some connections to Brooks’ own career are particularly direct. He produced David Lynch’s 1980 drama “The Elephant Man,” while Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror classic “Psycho” inevitably calls to mind Brooks’ 1977 Hitchcock spoof “High Anxiety.” Brooks also included one of his own films, “The Twelve Chairs,” his 1970 comedy based on the Russian novel.

Hardly one of his best-known films, “The Twelve Chairs” has proved one of the trickier titles for the Cinematheque to screen. LeMaire says it and Paul Mazursky’s 1986 comedy “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” another Brooks selection, lack readily available digital restorations, making suitable screening materials harder to track down.

Brooks left the screening order up to the Cinematheque. LeMaire chose “City Lights” to kick off the series. “When Mel Brooks says he wants to show a Charlie Chaplin film, it just seemed like: Well, that’s the way we’ve got to open,” LeMaire says.

Brooks is not currently expected to appear at any of the screenings. Could he nevertheless turn up as a surprise? LeMaire isn’t making any promises.

“I wouldn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up,” he says. “I’ll be there with everybody else, wishing and hoping.”

Asked to name his own favorite Brooks film, LeMaire doesn’t hesitate: “Young Frankenstein.”

“I might have seen that more than any other film ever, honestly,” he says. “So it really is such a dream come true that he responded with enthusiasm and put this together for us. It’s a dream come true for me personally.”

Here is the complete lineup for “Programmed by Mel Brooks: 100 Years at the Movies”:

Sept. 3 — “City Lights” (1931), Aero Theatre
Sept. 4 — “When Harry Met Sally…” (1989), Aero Theatre
Sept. 5 — “I Vitelloni” (1953), Aero Theatre
Sept. 6 — “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940), Aero Theatre
Sept. 9 — “The Elephant Man” (1980), Aero Theatre
Sept. 19 — “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984), Los Feliz 3
Sept. 20 — “Shane” (1953), Los Feliz 3
Sept. 23 — “The Miracle Worker” (1962), Los Feliz 3
Oct. 6 — “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” (1986), Los Feliz 3
Oct. 10 — “Top Hat” (1935), Aero Theatre
Oct. 11 — “Dances With Wolves” (1990), Egyptian Theatre
Oct. 16 — “Jojo Rabbit” (2019), Los Feliz 3
Oct. 17 — “Double Indemnity” (1944), Egyptian Theatre
Oct. 18 — “Schindler’s List” (1993), Egyptian Theatre
Oct. 20 — “A Night at the Opera” (1935), Los Feliz 3
Oct. 22 — “Dolemite Is My Name” (2019), Los Feliz 3
Oct. 24 — “Broadway Melody of 1940” (1940), Los Feliz 3
Oct. 25 — “Ed Wood” (1994), Egyptian Theatre
Oct. 31 — “Psycho” (1960), Egyptian Theatre
Nov. 12 — “The Twelve Chairs” (1970), Egyptian Theatre

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. There are only 34 games left in the regular season for the Dodgers. How is that possible?

Well, nothing cures a team’s woes more than playing Colorado. But was it a cure or a placebo?

At which positions are the Dodgers excelling or struggling compared with the rest of MLB this season? One way we can tell is by looking at Wins Above Average at each position. WAA measures how many wins a player gives their team compared with an average major league player. A score of zero means the player is average, a positive score means they are better than average, and a negative score means they are below average.

Let’s look at the top five teams at each position, where the Dodgers rank if not in the top five, and at the last-place team. The number includes all players who played at that position this season.

Catcher
1. Detroit, 1.9
2. Arizona, 1.5
3. Minnesota, 1.2
4. Miami, 1.1
5. Athletics, 1.0
14. Dodgers, -0.1
30. Chicago White Sox, -2.5

As you can see, the loss of Will Smith has been huge. He is a steadying influence in the lineup and behind the plate.

First base
1. Boston, 2.6
2. Atlanta, 2.5
3. Chicago White Sox, 1.7
3. Athletics, 1.7
5. Dodgers, 1.6
30. Arizona, -1.8

Speaking of steadying influences: Freddie Freeman.

Second base
1. Milwaukee, 3.5
2. St. Louis, 2.6
3. Seattle, 2.1
4. Pittsburgh, 1.7
5. San Francisco, 1.6
11. Dodgers, 0.5
30. NY Mets, -2.1

Third base
1. Tampa Bay, 2.7
2. Dodgers, 2.2
2. Boston, 2.2
4. Chicago Cubs, 2.0
5. Chicago White Sox, 1.6
30. Philadelphia, -2.0

Shortstop
1. Kansas City, 4.2
2. Miami, 3.3
3. Washington, 2.8
4. Houston, 2.3
5. Arizona, 2.2
13. Dodgers, 0.8
30. Colorado, -2.3

Left field
1. Seattle, 1.9
2. NY Yankees, 0.9
3. Pittsburgh, 0.8
4. Miami, 0.7
5. Milwaukee, 0.6
20. Dodgers, -0.7
30. Arizona, -1.7

This is mostly Teoscar Hernández, with contributions from Alex Call, Tommy Edman and Ryan Ward.

Center field
1. Chicago Cubs, 5.9
2. Dodgers, 3.8
3. Boston, 3.7
4. Atlanta, 2.1
5. Angels, 1.4
30. Detroit, -1.8

If someone had told you after his miserable 2025 postseason that Andy Pages would be the second-best center fielder in baseball this year, would you have believed them? And the Angels make their only appearance here thanks to Mike Trout.

Right field
1. Boston, 3.6
2. Arizona, 2.7
3. St. Louis, 1.7
3. Chicago Cubs, 1.7
5. Washington, 1.3
22. Dodgers, -1.5
30. Cincinnati, -3.1

The corner outfielders are killing the Dodgers.

DH
1. Houston, 3.1
2. Dodgers, 2.2
3. Tampa Bay, 1.2
4. Philadelphia, 1.1
5. Chicago Cubs, 0.6
30. NY Mets, -1.9

Houston’s (no relation) designated hitter is Yordan Alvarez, traded by the Dodgers as a prospect in 2016 for reliever Josh Fields in probably the worst trade of the Andrew Friedman era.

Starting pitchers
1. Philadelphia, 9.9
2. Detroit, 7.4
3. NY Yankees, 6.9
4. Milwaukee, 5.6
5. Dodgers, 5.1
30. Chicago Cubs, -4.7

Relief pitchers
1. San Diego, 3.9
2. NY Yankees, 2.6
3. Philadelphia, 1.9
4. Chicago White Sox, 1.6
5. Atlanta, 1.0
5. Toronto, 1.0
23. Dodgers, -2.5
30. Kansas City, -7.9

So, relief pitching and the corner outfielders are the gaping hole in the equation. But keep in mind, because I fall prey to this also: Every team has problems. We tend to focus on the Dodgers and don’t think about it this way. Every team has holes they are trying to solve before the postseason (or next season) begins. Some teams, like the Angels and Rockies, have holes almost everywhere. But even the best team isn’t perfect. And, yes, I will repeat it again, anything can happen in the postseason.

Remember last season? The Dodgers were 29th in relief pitching at -6.4. They were 29th in left field at -2.4. But they pulled it together and won. No reason they can’t do it again this year. And there’s no reason they can’t get swept in the first round.

Dodgers’ record at this point the last three seasons:

2026
77-51, first place by nine games

2025
73-55, first place by one game

2024
76-52, first place by four games

Dave Roberts on Kyle Tucker

Here is Roberts’ viewpoint on Tucker, after Tuesday’s win over Colorado:

“When you start to struggle and you internalize … you find yourself going dark, and that’s a lonely place,” Roberts said Tuesday, before the Dodgers’ 7-6 win against the Rockies. “So I think that for me, trying to proactively pull conversations out of him, talk about life, talk about baseball, it just kind of opens things up, and I think that it’s freeing.

“He’s a cerebral guy by nature, internalizes a lot. But still, for me, he’s with a new ballclub, he’s scuffling, so I want to get that out of him.”

Tucker dropped a relatively easy fly ball during that game, and Roberts said:

“There’s indecision, and catching a baseball at your ankles kind of speaks to where his head is at right now. It’s not from lack of effort, or care. It’s just right now, I think he’s kind of fighting. So we’ve got to keep supporting him.”

Forgotten Dodger: Zack Wheat

Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson, first baseman Jack Fournier and outfielder Zack Wheat in the dugout in 1921.

(Associated Press)

One of the things the Dodgers don’t do very well is celebrate their rich and diverse history, especially if something happened before 1947. With that in mind, this is the first in an occasional series of items looking at Dodgers that often get overlooked.

Zack Wheat played for the Dodgers from 1909 to 1926 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1959. He is still the all-time Dodgers leader in games played (2,322), hits (2,804), doubles (464), triples (171) and total bases (4,003).

He has yet to make the Dodgers Dugout Dodgers Hall of Fame. Of course, there aren’t a lot of people alive who saw Wheat play, probably hurting him in the voting. Many voters tell me that they can’t judge someone they never saw, but I don’t need to have seen Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tris Speaker or Al Simmons to know they were all-time greats.

Wheat’s best season might have been 1918, when he led the league with a .335 batting average. Or it might have been 1916, when he hit 32 doubles and 13 triples and led the league in slugging. Or it might have been 1922, when he hit .335 with 29 doubles, 12 triples, 16 homers and 112 RBIs. Or it might have been any number of other seasons. He finished with a .317 career batting average.

And don’t think he was only a hitting machine. He was a great defensive outfielder.

Baseball Magazine in 1918: “What Napoloen Lajoie was to infielders, Zack Wheat is to outfielders, the finest mechanical craftsman of them all. He is the easiest, most graceful of outfielders with no close rivals.”

Wheat got married during the 1912 season and his new wife, Daisy, became his agent. In the same Baseball Magazine story, she said, “I made him hold out each year for seven years and each time he got a raise.”

Other things of note about Wheat:

—He has an OPS+ of 130. Among Dodgers with 5,000 plate appearances (Wheat had almost 10,000), that is third all time, behind Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson.

—He is fourth in career WAR among batters, behind Snider, Robinson and Pee Wee Reese.

—To make money during the offseason, Wheat raised mules and sold them to the Army, which used them as pack animals during World War I. It was because of the money he made doing this that he was able to hold out for a better contract each offseason. The most money he earned in one season as a player was $16,000.

—Wheat recommended the Dodgers sign his longtime friend, Casey Stengel. It’s unlikely any other team would have signed him, so Wheat is basically responsible for Stengel’s career.

—Wheat and manager Wilbert Robinson never got along. Longtime Dodgers owner and team president Charles Ebbets died in 1925 and was replaced as team president by Ed McKeever, who named Wheat the manager of the team, making Robinson a front-office executive. McKeever died two weeks later, and, with no team president, the Dodgers’ board of directors named Robinson manager again.

—No longer needing Wheat and thinking he was getting too old, the Dodgers released him before the 1927 season so he could negotiate with any club he wanted to, instead of trading him to a team he didn’t wish to play for. Wheat signed with the Philadelphia A’s and hit .324 in 88 games.

—Wheat was listed as 5-10, 170 pounds, but many thought he was smaller than that. He wore a size 5 shoe and suffered from ankle problems throughout his career. A bruised heel brought an end to his career.

—Wheat didn’t stay in baseball when he retired. When asked why years later, he said, “Nobody asked me to.”

—Wheat was 10th all-time in hits when he retired, with 2,884.

—Wheat became a farmer after retiring, then became a police officer in Kansas City after the Depression caused him to sell his farm.

—While on a police call in 1936, Wheat crashed his car and suffered a fractured skull, broken wrist and 15 broken ribs. He spent five months in the hospital and retired as a police officer. He moved with his family to a lakeside house in Sunrise Beach, Mo., and opened a 46-acre hunting and fishing resort.

—Wheat was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1957. Unfortunately, he wasn’t eligible to be voted in by the Veterans Committee because he hadn’t been retired long enough. So they elected him again in 1959.

—When told he was finally elected for real, Wheat, 70, said, “That makes me feel mighty proud. I feel a little younger, too.”

—In 1971, Wheat was asked if he had any advice for boys who wanted to become major leaguers. “Yes,” he said. “Tell them to learn to chew tobacco.”

—Wheat was once asked his secret for playing so well for so long. He said: “I smoke as much as I want and chew tobacco a good deal of the time. I don’t pay any attention to the rules for keeping in physical condition. I think they are a lot of bunk. The less you worry about the effect of tea and coffee on the lining of your stomach, the longer you will live and the happier you will be.”

—Wheat died of a heart attack in Missouri on March 11, 1972. He was 83 years old.

You can see Wheat’s career stats here.

You can read much more about Wheat in this excellent bio by Eric Enders as part of the SABR bio project.

Up next

Friday: Pittsburgh (Bubba Chandler, 6-8, 4.23 ERA) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 12-7, 2.60 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Saturday: Pittsburgh (Jared Jones, 2-5, 4.78 ERA) at Dodgers (*Tarik Skubal, 7-7, 2.85 ERA [0-2, 3.18 ERA with Dodgers]), 4:15 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Pittsburgh (TBD) at Dodgers (*Blake Snell, 1-1, 3.60 ERA), 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

The Dodgers are Mark Walter’s crown jewel. Can he hold on to it amid federal probe?

Cox customers can finally watch the Dodgers on SportsNet LA

Dodgers Debate: Never a dull moment with the Dodgers

Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz heads back to injured list because of neck inflammation

And finally

Michael Kay interviews Vin Scully in 2013. Watch and listen here.

Until next time …

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Aug. 21 (UPI) — The Panama government blamed low rainfall caused by El Niño for a decision to cut the number of vessels permitted to transit the 51-mile-long Panama Canal by more than 11%, despite being in the middle of the wet season.

Shipping lines were notified by the Panama Canal Authority on Thursday that as of Sept. 15, it was slashing the number of daily ship movements through the canal from 36 to 32 to ensure there was no disruption to traffic and to conserve water for human consumption.

The authority said the step was necessary “to support the long-term sustainability of transit operations,” even though it had already implemented other water-saving measures and the rainy season had finally arrived.

With the sea-warning El Niño weather cycle expected to be one of the most intense on record, Britain’s Met Office said Central America, along with tropical South America and countries in the western Pacific, was at significant risk of low rainfall in this year’s wet season.

With vessels already lining up to transit the canal, in some cases for weeks, fears were growing of a knock on impact from the delays and extra costs on goods prices, including fuel and medicine.

One container ship reportedly paid $4 million to jump to the front of the line.

San Francisco-based freight-forwarding firm Flexport, which had 30 containers on the ship, told CNN that the delays at the Pacific end were the longest in three months, when there was significant backlog due to a surge in demand from maritime traffic displaced by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“The ripple effects are significant through supply chains and all the way to consumer prices at stores,” said Benjamin Gedan, senior fellow and director of the Latin American program at the Stimson Center in Washington.

The canal relies on fresh water from Lake Gatun to feed 12 sets of locks that use water compartments to move vessels up or down as they navigate the topography of the Panama Isthmus.

Extreme drought during El Niños in 2023 and 2024, forced Panama to impose deep cuts in the number of ships transiting daily — 24 compared with 36 in normal times — after water levels in Lake Gatun retreated to historic lows.

China’s new medium-sized tactical airlifter is emerging from the shadows, as much clearer imagery becomes available. Previously widely referred to as the “Y-30,” the four-turboprop transport now appears to be designated the Y-15, a change reflected by the prototype’s apparent “15001” serial number and increasingly supported by open-source reporting.

New imagery provides a much better appreciation of the aircraft’s configuration. Developed by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation (SAC), the Y-15 is intended to provide a modern replacement for older Y-8-series transports and, eventually, the Y-9, while giving China a more capable turboprop airlifter suited to operations from relatively austere airfields. While the Y-9 is a modernized Y-8, the older design is a direct copy of the Soviet Antonov An-12, first flown in 1957.

The new Chinese aircraft first became publicly associated with the Y-30 designation after a model appeared at the 2014 Zhuhai Airshow. That designation subsequently became widely used in reporting about the program.

The program then went quiet, before unofficial reports in 2023 that work had resumed at SAC. The first flight-test imagery of the prototype appeared in December 2025, as we reported at the time.

The Y-15 has four turboprop engines driving six-blade high-efficiency propellers. Its overall configuration is notably different from China’s larger, jet-powered Y-20 and instead puts it in the same broad operational category as aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin C-130J.

The configuration also has some obvious visual similarities to the Airbus A400M. The Chinese aircraft has a relatively broad fuselage, a rear loading ramp, heavy-duty landing gear, a high-mounted wing, and a T-tail.

Unlike the swept wing of the A400M, the Chinese transport has a comparatively straight high-lift wing, with substantial winglets (lacking on the European design) at the tips. The arrangement should help the aircraft combine useful cruise efficiency with the low-speed performance needed for tactical transport operations.

A400M, the airlifter of the 21st Century

Despite its A400M-like appearance, the Y-15 appears to be a smaller aircraft in a different weight and performance class. The A400M’s four TP400-D6 engines each produce around 11,000 horsepower, while the Chinese aircraft’s WJ-10 turboprops are understood to produce substantially less — around 6,800 horsepower.

That suggests the Y-15 is a more natural counterpart to the C-130J and China’s own Y-9 than to the A400M.

Unconfirmed estimates have suggested a payload of around 30 metric tons, although that figure should be treated cautiously while the aircraft remains in testing. For comparison, the Y-9 is generally credited with a payload of roughly 25 tons, while the C-130J-30 is in the roughly 21-ton range. At the same time, the Y-15 is assessed to have a larger internal cargo space than the Y-9, with a greater height and width to accomodate bulkier payloads.

One of the most obvious features of the flight-test aircraft is the long air-data boom projecting from the nose. Such booms are standard equipment on developmental aircraft, allowing engineers to collect precise measurements of air pressure, temperature, airflow, and other parameters during testing. Previous reports have erroneously identified this feature as an inflight refueling probe.

There is currently no refueling probe fitted to the prototype. That does not necessarily mean the capability will never be incorporated, however, especially as China continues to build its aerial tanker fleet.

Chinese Y-8 and Y-9 derivatives have demonstrated how a common transport airframe can become the basis for substantially different configurations, including aircraft equipped for specialized missions. The same is likely for the Y-15, once it enters People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) service.

For the PLAAF, the aircraft’s rear loading ramp and heavy-duty landing gear will likely be particularly important. The aircraft appears designed not simply to move cargo between major airbases, but to operate closer to the battlefield and from runways that may be shorter, rougher, or otherwise less developed.

The PLAAF still operates substantial numbers of older Y-8-family transports, while the Y-9 has become the more modern turboprop workhorse. At the heavier end, the Y-20 is rapidly replacing remaining PLAAF Il-76 transports and provides the long-range strategic airlift capacity that the older fleet could not match.

Speaking to TWZ, Andreas Rupprecht, an expert on Chinese aviation and contributor to this website, said he expected the Y-15 to replace the Y-9, a type that the PLAAF does not consider adequate for the tactical transport role, on account of its small cargo hold and underpowered engines.

Its turboprop propulsion and apparent emphasis on short-field performance should make it particularly useful for moving troops, vehicles, supplies, and other equipment into locations where operating a large Y-20 would be impractical.

That could include dispersed bases and remote Chinese facilities, as well as the country’s island outposts. The rapid reinforcement of units in remote regions such as Tibet would also be an obvious wartime mission. The aircraft could also provide a useful platform for airborne assault and airdrop missions, capabilities that have become increasingly important as the PLA has expanded the scope and sophistication of its joint operations.

An export drive is also highly likely, especially as the Y-15 will be immune to the tight export restrictions that typically apply to comparable Western designs. In the meantime, the Y-9 continues to win foreign orders, most recently being bought by Kazakhstan, which already operates the A400M — another signal of these two types’ very different capabilities.

Well, that’s an interesting start into the day: Two mayor Y-9 news!!

First, as the Y-9E’s second customer (after Namibia), the Kazakhstan AF has introduced this type. pic.twitter.com/saHqbEF3oN

— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) August 14, 2026

With flight testing now apparently ramping up, the next major questions will be how closely its eventual performance matches the estimates surrounding it, and how quickly China moves from a single prototype to a production fleet.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

They were two killings that rocked the rap world.

In 1996, Tupac Shakur was gunned down off the Las Vegas Strip. Then, less than a year later, Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls or the Notorious B.I.G., was killed in a drive-by shooting in front of the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard.

The two killings have long been tied together in popular culture.

Now, a detective says the investigation into Wallace’s death helped lead police to the suspect on trial in Las Vegas in Shakur’s slaying.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a onetime Compton gang member, is accused of orchestrating the Sept. 7, 1996, killing of Shakur. Prosecutors say the killing was rooted in a war between Southside Crips-Burris Street, led by Davis, and Mob Piru, a gang long associated with Death Row Records. Shakur was closely affiliated with the record company.

Authorities say Davis was in the car with his nephew, who grabbed the murder weapon and fired the fatal bullet.

On Wednesday, former LAPD Homicide Det. Daryn Dupree said Davis set out his role in Shakur’s killing in detail in 2008 to a joint LAPD federal task force that was formed to investigate Wallace’s murder.

To force Davis’ cooperation, Dupree said investigators gathered evidence that Davis, now 63, had sold a large quantity of PCP through his home, exposing him to a potential life sentence and leaving his family open to charges.

The task force questioned Davis about a car he owned that was similar to the one used in Wallace’s L.A. killing. Davis was given a proffer agreement, according to Dupree, meaning he agreed to provide information in exchange for possible benefit.

Davis said he knew about the Smalls shooting and then indicated, “we did the other one,” Dupree testified. That statement, he said, shifted investigators’ focus to the Shakur killing.

“We were talking about Christopher Wallace,” Dupree said. “We didn’t ask him any questions about Tupac. He offered that on his own.”

In a second interview, Dupree testified Davis stated that his nephew Orlando Anderson had been jumped, spurring Davis and cohorts on a hunt for revenge against Shakur.

The attack on Anderson occurred at a Mike Tyson fight earlier on the night of Sept. 7 in Las Vegas, according to Clark County prosecutors. Earlier in the trial, video was shown of Shakur’s entourage attacking Anderson, allegedly in retaliation over a chain that Anderson had previously stolen.

“They went looking for Tupac, Suge and anybody who was involved basically in the beatdown of Mr. Anderson,” Dupree said. Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight was in the car with Shakur the night he was killed.

When they found Shakur, the former detective testified, Davis “had the gun at first, but they came up on the passenger side,” where Knight was seated, “so he could not shoot across the driver. So he handed a gun to Dre in the back seat.” Deandre “Big Dre” Smith was among those in the white Cadillac in addition to Davis and Anderson.

“Davis said Deandre Smith was afraid to shoot,” Dupree testified, so “Anderson grabbed the gun and shot across Mr. Smith into Mr. Knight’s car.”

Davis told the task force they used a .40-caliber handgun, according to testimony.

Prosecutors said they would begin playing all five hours of the interviews to jurors on Thursday.

Dupree said Davis was signed up as a confidential informant in March 2009. He said Las Vegas police were not aware of the secret conversations at the time.

Dupree testified that Davis told investigators that former rapper and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs had been involved in targeting Shakur and Knight through East Coast drug dealer Eric “Von Zip” Martin.

He testified that Davis pledged to rekindle his relationship with Martin to gather evidence. But Martin had cancer, and that was not possible, Dupree said. Martin died in 2012.

Combs was never connected to the Shakur case and has denied ever being involved. Others have questioned Davis’ credibility on this and other points.

The Times in 2008 published a story suggesting a Combs link to Shakur’s killing. But it later retracted the story, saying it was based on documents that appeared to have been forged.

Prosecutors in Davis’ trial say the motive was straight revenge for the beating of Anderson, and that Martin allegedly gave Davis a gun. But they have made no allegations against Combs, who has long denied any role or connection to Shakur’s killing.

Michael Sanft, Davis’ defense attorney, told jurors in opening statements there would be no evidence linking his client to the shooting. Sanft noted that previous investigations did not take his client’s statements seriously because they were not credible. The defense attorney, in an unusual move, repeatedly undermined his own client’s credibility, saying Davis’ memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” where he talks about the Shakur killing, was a work of fiction for money and his client wasn’t in Las Vegas.

Under cross-examination, Dupree said Davis faced a life sentence in the PCP case and that his wife and family were in jeopardy because of it, so he needed to help authorities.

He said that LAPD Det. Greg Kading, the task force leader, left the department after investigating the Shakur and Smalls cases and published a book in 2011 that revealed Davis’ interview.

Dupree said the task force was trying to determine if money was really offered to kill Shakur. He said they were trying to build a racketeering case. “This is trying to solidify that Death Row Records was built on narcotics and Bad Boy Records.”

Dupree said he personally did not doubt Davis when he talked about Anderson killing Shakur.

“I knew he loved his nephew.”

For all the notoriety of the rapper killings, neither has yet led to convictions.

Wallace was leaving a music industry party at the Petersen Automotive Museum on March 9, 1997, sitting in the front passenger seat of a Chevrolet Suburban, when his killer pulled up alongside in a dark Chevy Impala.

As the SUV idled at a stoplight, the gunman opened fire, hitting the 24-year-old four times. He was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 1 a.m.

From the beginning, police said they struggled to get leads and cooperation.

As The Times reported back in 1997, “although more than 1,000 people were said to be at the party, police said they had few eyewitnesses and even fewer solid leads … Detectives said they are investigating whether Wallace’s death is linked to bicoastal tensions within the rap world, but had nothing solid to go on.”

Despite many theories and a long LAPD investigation, the case remains unsolved.

There have been numerous books, documentaries and civil litigation that make allegations, but police said they could never build a case.

In 2017, an LAPD detective told The Times: “The shooter is most likely dead. You cannot ask him who paid him.”

FRANCE has long been the world’s most visited country, but Spain is rapidly closing in.

Spain is projected to welcome 110million annual visitors by 2040.

A joint study between Deloitte and Google revealed France‘s predicted figure is slightly lower, at 105million annual visitors by 2040.

With Spain becoming more popular, knowing the lesser-visited spots and hidden gems is a must – so here’s our top recommendations when visiting the country:

Barcelona

Hitting headlines for being overwhelmed with tourists, Barcelona gets a bad rep.

The city is popular, there is no doubt about it, but it is for good reason – but the good news is that you can be clever about when you go.

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Travel outside of the peak season and the city will seem as busy as any other city.

Head to Las Ramblas first thing in the morning to avoid the crowds, and you’ll also get to see the magic of the street performers setting up.

While others are heading to the Sagrada Familia (which is stunning and a must visit, but do expect it to be busy) head around 30 minutes on the bus from the city centre, where you will find Parc Guell.

Also designed by Antoni Gaudi, the sprawling park features fairytale-like houses covered in mosaics, a grand hall with hundreds of pillars, and breathtaking views of the city.

For somewhere with a cheap drink, head to Nevermind Bar just off Las Ramblas.

This grunge dive bar is insanely cool with a skateboarding half- pipe inside and has €1 (86p) beers from 5pm to around 10pm. Cyann Fielding, Travel Reporter.

Ibiza

While partygoers flock to the southern coastlines of Ibiza where mega- clubs boom until the early hours and lively bars spill onto the sands, the north remains untouched and void of tourists.

That’s what makes it so special.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for cocktails on a cabana at a bohemian beach resort, but I like to blend it with unadulterated relaxation – and that’s what this island does best.

Head north and you’ll find ultra exclusive hotels like the Six Senses and Hacienda Na Xamena.

But don’t stay there; instead, book a more-affordable boutique hotel near the charming cobbled streets of the Old Town and explore the other side of Ibiza by boat.

Trips can be booked from the Old Town harbour, Playa d’En Bossa or San Antonio (with companies like samboat.co.uk and leboat.com).

You’ll get to sail past quiet, rugged coves with the brightest of blue waters – on one visit, my friend and I had an entire patch of sand to ourselves, that is until a couple of locals pottered over to play a mid- afternoon game of chess, perched on the rocks.

The petite village of  Sant Joan de Labritja hosts a hippy market every Sunday, selling gorgeous handmade jewellery, clothing and dream catchers. Sophie Swietochowski, Assistant Travel Editor

Tenerife

Tenerife might be one of the most popular Spanish islands to visit, but there is a hidden beach that you have to know about to find.

Tucked behind the towering pink Moorish resort Ritz-Carlton is Cueva de la Abama.

Private beaches are banned in Spain, but what makes this so hidden is that it is tucked down a winding road that weaves behind the resort.

The golden sands are overlooked by palm trees and a banana plantation, with a beach bar to keep you well hydrated all day.

If you want to arrive in style, stay at the resort – it offers a quaint green land train down to the beach that is exclusive to guests, as well as a funicular.

(It’s also one of the best hotels on the island, making it perfect for a treat-yourself holiday). Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

Seville

Seville has been named everything from the happiest Spanish city to one of the best places to visit in the world – but it is also insanely affordable if you know where to look.

There’s Taberna Perejil, where you can find wine for €1.20 (£1) or Spanish cheap chain 100 Montaditos, which is scattered throughout the city with small beers from €1 (86p).

You can even visit some of the top attractions for free, if you’re quick.

The Royal Alcázar of Seville has free tickets on Mondays between 4pm and 7pm (although they go fast) while Seville Cathedral has free Sunday visits between 2:30pm and 6pm. Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

Majorca

You can’t go wrong with a holiday to Majorca.

It’s got everything you want from an island, beautiful beaches, a pretty Old Town and plenty of activities to do.

The capital, Palma, is the perfect blend of city and beach with a busy Old Town full of winding streets with classic high street names and plenty of designer shops found on the ‘Golden Mile’.

It’s lined with brands like Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari and Hugo Boss but there are also little trinket shops selling shell-adorned jewellery and souvenirs too.

Majorca is hot in the summer, it’s why so many of us Brits flock there, and when it’s time to cool off with an ice cream, Giovanni L. Gelato Deluxe is the place to go.

It’s Palma’s oldest ice cream parlour with around 80 flavours to choose from.

Although I would recommend pistachio, which has twice been awarded the title for the “World’s Best Pistachio Ice Cream”.

One of my favourite spots that was actually very quiet was Levita Café.

It’s a 30-minute drive from the capital, but a two-minute walk from my hotel.

I stopped by for a refreshing rosé sangria which set me back €6.50 (£5). Alice Penwill, Travel Reporter

Valencia

The sun-soaked city of Valencia is a tourist magnet with its stunning Old Town, gorgeous parks and attractions and vast swathe of golden sands.

But many visitors can miss out on one of the hidden, natural wonders of the region and the place where Valencia’s most famous culinary treat is grown.

The Albufera Natural Park is home to lagoons and rice paddies where the main ingredient for paella is grown and taking a boat trip along the lagoon in a traditional boat – called an albuferenc – offers a very different view of this buzzing coastal city.

Drifting peacefully along rivers fringed with reeds and bursting with varied bird life is a real treat – and at the end of the journey, you get to sample a traditional paella at a local restaurant like Nou Raco with its elevated terrace offering views across the lagoon. Lisa Minot, Head of Travel

Cadiz

If you’re tired of overcrowded tourist traps and want a slice of authentic Andalusian culture, check out Cadiz.

Sunny Cadiz in the south of Spain is where the locals like to holiday – where Vespas hum through sun-bleached alleys which spill out into busy market squares.

Cadiz’s old town is anchored by these bustling plazas, where you can pick up everything from nourishing acai bowls to tasty cones of jamon Iberico.

Plaza de la Catedral is overlooked by the massive 18th-century Catedral de Santa Cruz and its gold-tiled dome – this spot is the centrepiece of the Old Town.

In the evenings, a traditional merry-go-round and street musicians liven up the square, making it the perfect spot to sit with a local sherry and watch the world go by.

The cathedral itself is well worth a visit, with a £7 ticket granting you access inside, as well as the top of the tower, the crypts and exhibitions.

There are plenty of gorgeous beaches here, too.

Playa la Caleta is a small stretch of sand that sits between two castles (and makes an appearance in Bond film Die Another Day) whilst Playa Victoria has white sand and a lengthy promenade. Jenna Stevens, Travel Reporter.

Alcudia

For beaches with powder-soft sands and waters so calm they feel like a giant paddling pool, take a trip to Alcudia in Majorca.

Growing up, we returned here year after year on family holidays – and now I understand why my parents picked this spot.

Alcudia is the ultimate Majorcan destination for families, with plenty of affordable hotels lining its beachfront with attractions like HidroPark Alcudia nearby (the only waterpark in the north of Majorca).

For history buffs, the Old Town is home to Roman ruins including an amphitheatre, plus you can walk along the top of the ring-shaped medieval fortification walls.

There’s some seriously affordable stays here, too.

We loved staying at TUI‘s Hotel BQ Delfin Azul, which offers week-long package holidays for under £500pp. Jenna Stevens, Travel Reporter

Teguise, Lanzarote

While millions flock to Lanzarote’s stunning beaches and coastline every year, there’s delights to discover in the historic inland capital, Teguise.

Every Sunday morning, the cobblestone streets with their Lanzarote signature whitewashed low-rise houses are filled with more than 400 stalls for the island’s largest open-air market.

Running from 9am to 2pm, there’s a host of treasures to admire and buy including artisanal volcanic rock jewellery, handmade ceramics and 100 per cent organic cotton clothing.

Foodies can get their fill with artisan goat cheeses, cactus jams, and local Mojo sauces – get there early for the best pick of the local produce and fewer crowds and don’t just focus on the stalls.

Teguise’s own boutiques, art galleries, and courtyards inside historic 15th- century buildings open up on market day and often hold some hidden gems.

With traditional Canarian folk dancers and musicians often performing in front of the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Guadalupe, savvy travellers grab local wine and tapas as the stalls are being taken down at spots like Palacio Ico or El Patio Creperie. Lisa Minot, Head of Travel

Former England bowler Kate Cross has announced she will retire from cricket at the end of the summer.

The 34-year-old, who played 102 times for England between 2013 and 2025, has been playing in domestic cricket since losing her England contract last year.

“It is incredibly hard to imagine ever saying goodbye to playing the sport that has been such a huge part of my life and shaped me into the person I am today but the final chapter is in sight,” Cross said.

“I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to play the game I love professionally and get to do it at the highest level.”

Dame Sarah Storey, the chair of Lancashire where Cross made her debut aged 14 and became the first woman on the county’s academy, described Cross as a “true Lancashire legend”, adding she “made an incredible contribution to both Lancashire and England Women”.

Cross, who played in The Hundred final for Sunrisers Leeds last weekend, is due to play the reminder of the season for Lancashire, including against The Blaze on Sunday in Nottingham.

Cross made her England debut aged 22 in a T20 in West Indies and featured in England’s 2013-14 Ashes win – their most recent victory in the Women’s Ashes – that winter.

The seamer fell out of favour after a run across formats, meaning she watched England’s iconic 2017 World Cup win at Lord’s from a hospitality box.

But Cross regained her place and was a regular in the Test and 50-over England side until being left out by new coach Charlotte Edwards last summer.

Her last international was an ODI against India last July.

She finishes her career with 25 Test wickets, 101 in one-day internationals and 14 in T20s.

Met Office predicts ‘unprecedented’ sea surface temperature rise of 3C (5.4F) plus will heighten extreme weather risks.

The impact of this year’s El Nino event is expected to be the most intense in more than a century, United Kingdom forecasters have warned.

The effect of the event will drive the risk of drought, high temperatures, intense rainfall and other extreme weather effects, the Met Office said in a statement issued on Friday.

Typically, El Nino leads sea surface temperatures to rise between 1-2 degrees Celsius (1.8-3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). However, forecasts for the 2026 version predict record values of more than 3C (5.4F) in the coming months, the forecasters said.

“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” said Adam Scaife, head of the office’s long-range forecasting. “I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”

If the spike plays out as anticipated, “then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Nino and its worldwide climate influences”, he added.

The chief forecaster separately told the BBC that the three-degree rise was “unheard-of in modern climate records”.

El Nino is triggered by unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, influencing global weather patterns.

Governments around the world are already grappling with historic climate events so far this year.

Wildfires have burned through more than 200,000 hectares (494,200 acres) in Indonesia and rampaged across southwestern Europe, forcing the displacement of at least 325,000 people in Spain and France. Other countries are dealing with severe droughts.

The Met Office said El Nino will spawn wetter, stormier conditions in northwestern Europe, including the UK, as autumn and winter arrive in the Northern Hemisphere.

Particularly strong effects are expected throughout the Tropics, Scaife said, “where we expect really severe droughts in places like South America, and the West Pacific”.

In mid-August, the UK recorded its hottest day of the year as the temperature in west London climbed to 38.1C (100.5F), beating the previous high of 38C (100.4F) in June.

Combined with the effects of human-induced climate change, the Met Office warned that the event is “very likely” to make 2027 the hottest year on record globally.

Prince Harry and a group of six other high-profile figures have been ordered to make an initial payment of £9.54m to the Daily Mail’s publisher after they lost their High Court privacy case.

The seven claimants, also including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, must pay the initial figure by 28 August – and could potentially pay up to £25m more after that in a victory for Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).

The group had sued ANL over allegations of unlawful information-gathering, which the publisher had strenuously denied.

On 7 July, Judge Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed the claims and said the public figures had failed to prove the allegations.

It comes just days after the Duke and Duchess announced their plan to return to the UK, with their children Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, enrolled to start school in September.

The seven claimants who have been ordered to pay an initial £9.5m in the coming week are Prince Harry, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

During the trial, dozens of people gave evidence including Prince Harry and the other claimants. The Duke of Sussex flew in from the US to attend court in person.

Many current and former Associated Newspapers journalists and executives gave evidence denying illegal activity.

In a joint statement following the judge’s ruling last month, Prince Harry and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, another claimant and peer whose son Stephen was murdered in 1993, said: “We came to Court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither.”

“It is a complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected”, the pair added.

ANL had asked for more than £9.9 million as an interim payment ahead of future hearings to decide its legal costs in depth.

However, lawyers for the claimants said the interim payment should be just over £7.9 million.

Mr Justice Nicklin previously said the claimants would need to pay the interim payment on August 28.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X, external to get the latest alerts.

ABBEY Clancy and her husband Peter Crouch got boozy during a wine tasting and it was all caught on camera.

The TV personality admitted she was “trollied” and “absolutely p***ed” as she made a dirty joke.

The famous couple filmed a special episode of their The Therapy Crouch podcast and were joined by Abbey’s friend Liberty who instructed them on all things wine.

But as they were learning more about wine, Abbey admitted to feeling “trollied,” when Liberty informed her she was meant to spit out the wine they were tasting to prevent from getting drunk.

“This wine tasting has taken a turn,” Peter joked.

Then Liberty tried to educated them with a special trick on how to discern if a wine was good quality or not.

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She explained how the indent at the bottom of the bottle indicated quality, and the deeper the curve, the better the wine.

“The deeper the dip in the wine the more expensive,” Liberty explained and then tasked Abbey with feeling the indent of the bottle she was holding. 

Abbey then threw in her dirty quip: “Well the deeper the dip… so are you meant to thumb it in…?”

The joke left Peter and Abbey in hysterics and Liberty struggled to get them back on track to finish the wine tasting.

The couple’s popular podcast has become a place for them to share many secrets of their marriage, including when Abbey went through Peter’s phone.

She admitted earlier this month that she had sneaky peek at the ex-footballer’s messages behind his back, but didn’t like what she saw.

“I went through your phone,” to which an unimpressed Peter replied: “Which you shouldn’t do.”

Abbey tried to justify it, saying: “Everyone does that, every girl does that.”

Abbey went on: “But I find out things from you by doing that

“I found out you had this crush on Jet from the Gladiators, which I didn’t speak to him [Peter] for two days after and he was like ‘Abbey, she’s like 60’ and I was like ‘I don’t care, it made me physically ill’, I was so upset.”

Peter said: “But I’m allowed to fancy someone from 25 years ago…”

Abbey interjected: “I know, but still knowing my husband fancies someone else.”

Jet, real name Diane Youdale, was a main cast member on the original UK television series Gladiators from 1992 until 1996.

In the last few years, lithium has emerged as one of the most crucial metals for the global electric transition.

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This is mainly due to its widespread usage in electric vehicles (EVs), through lithium-ion batteries. These provide high energy density, a lightweight structure and fast-charging capacity, along with a long cycle life, which supports modern driving range and performance.

As such, it has become key to achieving widespread, practical advancements in automotive electrification.

However, lithium continues to face vital long-term structural supply challenges, which has led to more EV producers considering other alternatives like manganese and magnesium.

Why magnesium?

Magnesium, another critical metal for electric vehicles and energy storage batteries, could potentially be a key alternative to lithium in EVs.

This is because it is cheaper, abundantly found across the world and also stores more energy. It is also considered to be safer than lithium, as it does not form the sharp spikes known as dendrites that cause lithium batteries to sometimes short or catch fire.

A magnesium battery can also hold more energy in a smaller space, which could have significant size and efficiency benefits for EV makers who want to make more compact vehicles.

It is also one of the most common elements found both in seawater and in the ground, which could help makers bypass potential supply constraints with lithium down the line.

Magnesium ions also carry double the charge of lithium ions, at a +2 charge, which can help support a higher volumetric capacity, enabling more compact, energy-dense power storage for both EVs and other devices.

China produces the overwhelming majority of the world’s magnesium, accounting for around 87% to 95% of the world’s primary magnesium in 2025, coming up to anywhere between 830,000 and 950,000 metric tons, according to Visual Capitalist’s Elements.

This is mainly from extensive dolomite reserves, with the largest magnesium reserves being in the Liaoning province.

The second top producer of magnesium is Israel, which extracts the metal mainly from the Dead Sea. Russia and Brazil are other major producers, with some key magnesium reserves being located in Satka and Brumado.

Manganese is also emerging as a support to lithium batteries, rather than fully replacing them. This is due to manganese batteries having a much lower energy density and not being easily rechargeable hundreds of times. They also provide lower voltage.

As such, they work well to support lithium systems in hybrid setups but fail under heavy power demands.

Why lithium supplies are fickle

One of the biggest challenges facing lithium supply is slow project timelines. This is because opening a new lithium mine takes an average of 16 to 18 years, from initial discovery to first production. This is mainly due to complex permitting rules, exploration rights and financing issues in many regions of the world.

Hard rock mining also produces significant waste and brine extraction consumes vast amounts of water in the arid regions lithium is usually found in. This leads to more scrutiny from local communities and environmental groups as well.

Similarly, due to lithium prices having crashed recently, following previous oversupply, mining investment and exploration budgets have now reduced somewhat. This significantly threatens the pipeline for future production and the global green transition.

The majority of lithium is also concentrated in Australia and South America’s “Lithium Triangle,” whereas China controls a significant portion of the refining capacity required to make battery-grade material.

Magnesium batteries?

Currently, most magnesium batteries still in the testing phase by entities like the University of Waterloo.

However, some major automakers are increasingly developing and experimenting with magnesium-rich or manganese-doped alternatives like Lithium Manganese-Rich or LMFP cells or long-term magnesium chemistry.

MG (SAIC Motor) has recently deployed new Lithium-Manganese-Oxide (LMO) semi-solid-state SolidCore battery tech in models like the MG4 EV Urban, which is scheduled to hit UK and European markets by the end of 2026.

General Motors and LG Energy Solution are currently aiming for a 2028 commerical launch for advanced lithium manganese-rich (LMR) battery cells. These use high manganese content to decrease costs and raise energy density for future electric trucks and SUVs.

Similarly, Toyota has also funded long-term dedicated research into replacing standard lithium chemistry with high-capacity magnesium alternatives. However, it is still unclear when commercial vehicles could be using this technology, as researchers are still awaiting further electrolyte stabilisation.

Great Wall Motor also uses semi-solid magnesium casting technology to reduce component weight, while Tesla integrated selective magnesium alloy components inot the Model 3 and Model Y.

Why magnesium batteries are not as widespread yet

While magnesium batteries are seeing more interest as potential alternatives to lithium now, significant challenges remain before they can be mass-adopted yet.

One of the biggest drawbacks of magnesium is slow ion movement, which means that magnesium particles move more slowly inside the battery materials.

This causes very slow charging times and weak power during fast acceleration, along with poor cold-weather performance. These factors could make it much harder for magnesium batteries to match fast-charging and high-power lithium EV batteries.

Finding a liquid, solid or electrolyte that lets magnesium move easily without breaking down is hard too, currently, as electrolytes that successfully move magnesium ions efficiently end up corroding the internal battery components.

Similarly, finding a cathode material that can withstand insertion and removal of magnesium ions without breaking down remains incredibly complex.

Castleford Tigers head coach Ryan Carr has left the club for “personal reasons”.

The Australian was stood down two weeks ago and last week the director of rugby Chris Chester said the club were “following a process”.

Carr, 38, was appointed Tigers head coach on a three-year deal last August after a spell as assistant at NRL side St George Illawarra Dragons.

“The club would like to thank Ryan for his efforts and wish both him and his family all the best for the future,” the club said in a statement., external

Carr won seven of his 21 Super League matches in charge and leaves with the Tigers ninth in the 14-team table.

Chester, who has led the team in the past two matches, said last week that they were not “actively looking” for a new head coach.

Owner Martin Jepson said he was “sorry” that Carr had left the club.

“We have had a difficult set of circumstances to deal with and unfortunately not been in a position to provide more information to the fans. However, our actions have been, and always will be, in the best interests of the club,” he said.

Jepson confirmed that Jason Netherton would assist Chester and Luke Robinson for the remaining four games of the campaign.

The Tigers visit St Helens on Saturday, looking to build on last week’s win at Hull FC.

More to follow.

Aug. 21 (UPI) — Two Hong Kong activists who organized vigils to commemorate those killed in a crackdown by the Chinese military on the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests were facing up to 10 years in prison after being convicted Friday of inciting subversion.

Chow Hang-tung, 41, and Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, who had been in custody since 2021, “incited other persons to organize, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting state power.”

The two leaders of the now-dissolved Hong Kong Alliance organized the vigils, which had been held annually on June 4 since 1990, after they were banned in 2020 after a tough new National Security Law was imposed from Beijing, following huge street protests that rocked the territory the previous year.

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho, 74, who was charged alongside Chow and Lee, pleaded guilty at the start of the trial in January.

Amnesty International expressed dismay at the verdicts saying it demonstrated how the national security law was being used to go after people for peacefully marking the anniversary of one of the most sinister events in the history of China, in the only place in the country where it was permitted.

It said the decision marked another “grim milestone in the government’s deliberate campaign to erase that legacy and silence those who seek truth, justice and accountability.”

Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said Chow and Lee’s “crime” was not one that would be recognized anywhere else.

“The Hong Kong authorities should quash these convictions and end the ongoing persecution of people seeking to keep the memory of Tiananmen alive. Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan are prisoners of conscience who should never have been prosecuted in the first place. They must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

The Foreign Office in London issued a statement criticizing the case saying it was not in line with the “one-country-two systems” treaty Britain signed with Beijing for the return of its former colony which guarantees the rights and way of life of Hong Kong people for 50 years after the handover in 1997.

“This verdict is a further demonstration that even peaceful acts of remembrance in Hong Kong are now treated by the authorities as threats to national security. The extensive use of Beijing’s national security law to punish and restrict peaceful expression undermines the commitments China made to Hong Kong under the 1984 Sino-British joint declaration,” said Indo-Pacific minister Rosie Winterton.

“We reiterate our call for the national security law to be repealed, and for rights and freedoms to be respected in the Hong Kong special administrative region,” she added.

Taiz, Yemen – Mohammed Al-Homaidi, a labourer in his 30s, has been working at the al-Makha (Mocha) port in western Yemen since its reopening in 2021.

Even though he was reliant on a daily wage, his earnings provided a decent standard of living for his family.

But things changed on August 9, when the Red Sea port was targeted by Houthi attacks that killed at least seven people.

With the conflict between the Yemeni government and Houthi forces escalating after a long-standing truce collapsed last month, finding daily work was no longer his priority, but his safety.

“It was around 12:30pm when the explosions [were heard] at the seaport, which was full of workers at the time. I couldn’t understand what was happening, and we couldn’t flee because the explosions were continuous,” Al-Homaidi told Al Jazeera. “After about an hour and a half, I ran outside the port and didn’t stop until I reached home.”

Thirty more people were injured in the barrage of Houthi drone and missile strikes that targeted the port and surrounding areas.

Houthi forces have continued to target the port and surrounding areas on a near-daily basis, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries.

On August 11, the Houthis targeted a vessel at al-Makha port, killing three Pakistani crew members and injuring eight other seamen.

Three days later, the Houthis targeted two cargo ships at the Red Sea port, damaging the facility’s remaining infrastructure.

Due to the repeated Houthi attacks, operations were suspended last Friday to avoid putting the port’s 1,500 workers’ lives in danger.

For Al-Homaidi and other workers whose salaries were dependent on their daily labour, the port’s closure means a new struggle to put bread on the table.

“I am happy that we are safe at home today, but we are jobless now because we rely on daily wages,” Al-Homaidi said. “I don’t have any savings, and our food at home is running out. How can I provide basic needs for my family?”

Life beyond the seaport

Al-Homaidi also has experience working in al-Makha’s other major industry: fishing. But dangerous attacks around the Red Sea mean this is not an option for him and his colleagues at the port either.

Local fishermen have been ordered by local authorities not to go out to sea until further notice – but with money running low, a group of fishermen still ventured out on August 11. Their families are continuing to desperately search for them after they failed to return home.

With near-daily Houthi attacks on al-Makha, public beaches, parks, the coastal walkway and other areas have also been closed.

Families avoid going outside due to the threats of Houthi drones and missiles, and a strict nightly curfew for motorcycles is in place from 11pm to 6am.

Compounding the community’s suffering is a complete blackout of landline and mobile communications. Residents who can afford it use Starlink satellite internet. But for most Yemenis in al-Makha, there is no way to reach the outside world.

Back to square one

Abdulmalik Al-Sharabi, director of al-Makha port, confirmed to Al Jazeera that repeated Houthi attacks have forced the port to halt operations. At least six merchant vessels carrying commercial cargo have been struck since the most recent bout of violence, resulting in casualties among civilians and seamen.

“More than 1,500 port workers lost their jobs, while 16 were killed and 22 injured as a result of the Houthi attacks,” Al-Sharabi told Al Jazeera English.

Missile strikes have specifically targeted civilian infrastructure at the port and in surrounding areas, he said.

“The attacks targeted commercial and service areas, workshops, equipment, and the port pier, destroying it to the point that it ceased operations,” Al-Sharabi noted.

Operations across 30 shipping and customs clearance agencies have ground to a halt, affecting workers.

The port, which was closed between 2015 and 2021, serves as an economic lifeline for Taiz governorate as well as other Yemeni economic hubs such as Lahj, Hodeidah and Ibb. With it now closed, traders there will be forced to route imports via the port of Aden, driving up logistics costs.

“We were happy to have a seaport with such operational capacity, but today we are back to square one,” Al-Sharabi said.

No money, no food

Abdulraoof Abdullah, a fisherman in his 50s from al-Makha, has no source of income for his eight family members other than the fish he caught in the Red Sea. Due to the instability off al-Makha’s coast, he has not been out to sea since August 11.

“We are out of work now, and our homes are almost empty of food. We try to secure meals each day either by going into debt or asking friends for help,” he told Al Jazeera English.

With the port closed and food imports reduced, Abdullah said he expects prices to rise in the market, and he has no choice “but to pray to Allah.”

“We don’t have money to buy food for today, so how could we possibly have money to stockpile food?” he added.

“Most residents in Makha are fishermen, and we are currently out of work,” Abdullah said. “When we have jobs, we can buy food; otherwise, we will have to displace to another area where we can find work to support our families.”

Trading woes

Rashad, a local trader in al-Makha who preferred to be identified only by his first name, was importing goods through shipping agencies at the port since 2021. Given that his warehouses are just a few kilometres from the port, this was by far the cheapest option.

“Our goods are currently held up in Djibouti, and shipping costs have surged due to ongoing tension in the Red Sea,” Rashad told Al Jazeera. “Furthermore, we were just informed that our cargo will now be redirected to Aden, meaning we will have to pay significantly more for overland transport from Aden to al-Makha.”

With the warehouses still stocked with food from earlier orders, prices have not yet risen. But if the port remains closed, traders will be forced to increase prices on future shipments arriving via Aden.

“I am a resident of al-Makha before I am a trader. Any price increase directly impacts my family and neighbours – something I desperately want to avoid. But unless al-Makha seaport reopens soon, price hikes will be inevitable,” he added.

Although Rashad didn’t have any cargo on the ships that were recently hit in Houthi attacks, he said he feels empathy for other traders who suffered financial losses.

“Some people assume traders are financially comfortable, but we are in a state of constant worry. We track our shipments for months until they safely reach our warehouses,” he said.

“No one can imagine the devastation felt by traders who lost everything at al-Makha port. The harsh reality of this war has impacted every single Yemeni, and we are no exception.”

The show’s co-creator says it turned out to be one of his ‘great joys’ in life

The beloved show’s creator shared there are two main reasons behind the decisions.

Fans of Parks and Recreation are still discovering some behind the scenes secrets. This includes the reason behind some of the names used for both key characters on the show, as well as some who only appear briefly in an episode.

For those unaware, the series follows the parks department in the fictional Indiana town of Pawnee. They are lead by the overly enthusiastic Leslie Knope, who rallies her colleagues and friends to do the best for their community, including their attempts at creating a new park.

Co-created by former writers of The Office, Mikes Schur and Dan Goor it is described by some fans as one of the best comedy series ever made. Despite it being more than 10 years since it finished airing, its dedicated fan base are still learning secrets of the show.

Schur appeared on Amy Poehler’s podcast Good Hang where he revealed some of his own. At one point during their conversation, Amy notes that Schur enjoyed coming up with character and names. He even had a long list of alternate choices for her role of Leslie Knope.

Asked why he put so much thought into names of every character, he explained it was for two reasons. One was that he was heavily inspired by Monthy Python, who would often utilise silly names in their sketches.

He decided that the fictional town of Pawnee would also be a place that contains almost limitless people who happen to have ridiculous sounding names.

However, he also explained another meaningful reason. He said: “The actual thing that’s going on here is different. I would go to actors’ IMDb pages to see what they had been in when we were casting them in the early days of the show and you would see like woman number two or like man in crowd or guy with sandwich and it really bummed me out.

“Because I love actors. I love them so much. I think that they have the hardest job when it comes to making a show. It is so hard. Anyone who doesn’t believe this should try it, by the way. Try acting.”

Schur continued: “That person auditioned for this and booked this gig and drove all the way cross town and like put on fake clothes and put on makeup and whatever and had to stand in a certain place, follow a million instructions, say a line or two, and then they yelled cut and that person went home and they got paid like $600 for like a week’s worth of work.

“They should be something better than man number two or man and crowd. So I decided early in season one of Parks that every character who appeared on the show was going to have a first and last name. So instead of man in crowd, you’re like, ‘Oh, well that it doesn’t really count as an acting gig’. But if you see Marv Vavma, which is a name I gave a character once, you’re like, who the hell is Marv Vavma? What was Marvma up to?'”

The writer described the decision as one of ‘great joys’ in his life to give every actor a character name. He added that there is also a legal issue, with names used on the show needing to be cleared in case they used the name of a real person. As a result he would opt for the ‘weirdest names’ as there would be a chance that no one else has that name.

Some of Schur’s favourite names they created for the show include Mona-Lisa Saperstein, who was played by Jenny Slate and Trodd Frankensteip who was a reporter who only appeared briefly.

There was also a Tyrion Fonzarelli, which was a combination of Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones and Arthur ‘Fonzie’ Fonzarelli from Happy Days. Coincidentally, Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie, also starred in Parks as Dr. Lu Saperstein.

One fan discovering for the first time commented: “I never knew about this and I love it!” Another added: “These names are just incredible.”

Parks and Recreation is streaming on Paramount+, Channel 4 and U.

Published on
21/08/2026 – 12:42 GMT+2

The world’s largest cryptocurrency touched an intraday high of $79,500 on Friday, its best level in months, before easing to around $77,700 at the time of writing, leaving it up more than 25% since Monday.

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The rally caps one of Bitcoin’s most dramatic weeks in years, following a stretch in which the token had lagged well behind its 2025 highs for much of 2026.

For six straight weeks, Bitcoin had been stuck grinding between $62,000 and $66,000, having fallen over 50% from the all-time high of around $126,000 it reached last year in October, to the low of roughly $57,600 it hit early in July of this year.

That prolonged malaise had encouraged traders to build up bearish positions over the course of the year, betting the token’s underperformance would continue. When the price broke higher this week, those bets unwound violently leading to an episode of forced short covering.

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, and other digital assets have also surged on the same wave of positioning and momentum was reinforced by signals of extra liquidity from Washington.

The US Treasury doubled the size of its bond buybacks earlier in the week to calm a jittery bond market, and when yields climbed back regardless, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed on Thursday to increase the buybacks even further.

Easier financial conditions and a softer dollar tend to favour riskier assets such as Bitcoin.

Regulatory developments also added further fuel. On Tuesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a proposal called “Regulation Crypto Assets”, offering crypto issuers lighter registration requirements.

A day later, US President Donald Trump hosted Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse, Gemini’s Winklevoss twins and other industry leaders at the White House, pushing Congress to pass the long-delayed Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act.

The bill, which would split oversight of digital assets between the SEC and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, cleared the House last year but remains stalled in the Senate, needing 60 votes to clear a procedural hurdle on 15 September that it is not yet assured of overcoming.

Trump’s Hyperliquid remarks send HYPE surging

Among the most striking moments of Wednesday’s summit came when US President Donald Trump said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was working to bring Hyperliquid, a decentralised derivatives exchange, onshore “in a fully compliant legal fashion”, though the regulator has yet to publish any timeline for doing so.

The comment sent HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token, surging 25% within 24 hours.

As it stands, HYPE is trading at around $74, up more than 30% since Trump’s remarks.

The decentralized exchange, popular with perpetual futures traders, has become something of a proxy for how far Washington’s warmer stance on crypto could extend.

Aston Villa have completed the signing of West Ham defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka on a season-long loan deal.

The deal for the DR Congo right-back includes a “conditional obligation to buy”.

The exact terms are not known, with the Hammers having previously asked interested clubs to pay a £25m fee.

The 28-year-old missed Championship club West Ham’s first two matches of the season during negotiations for a return to the Premier League.

Wan-Bissaka joined West Ham United on a seven‑year contract from Manchester United in 2024. He has made 65 appearances across his two seasons at the club, including 25 last season when the Hammers were relegated to the Championship.

He previously played 190 times for Manchester United, winning the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.

More recently, Wan‑Bissaka started all four of DR Congo’s matches at the 2026 World Cup, helping them progress to the round of 32.

The new signing may feature in Villa’s first game of the Premier League at Brighton on Sunday (14:00 BST) and will also compete in the Champions League after the Villans finished fourth and won the Europa League under Unai Emery last season.

Aug. 21 (UPI) — Five people were missing feared dead and eight others were injured early Friday after a major fire razed a restaurant with residential apartments above in the Swiss alpine town of Thusis.

Cantonal police in the eastern Graubünden region said in a news release that nearly 100 firefighters from four area fire departments were scrambled to the scene after the blaze broke out on the second floor just after midnight local time.

The release was duplicate-filed under the secondary category of a missing persons appeal.

They said firefighters’ access to the fire was cut off after the stairwell collapsed, forcing them to use a crane to cut open the roof.

Two of the fourteen people who managed to get out of the four story building were seriously injured. Two others sustained moderate injuries and four were slightly hurt.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Chur, Thusis, Ilanz and far away as Zurich.

Images from the scene show flames pouring from the windows of the upper floors, engulfing the top of the building.

Police said they were working with the public prosecutor’s office to investigate the cause of the fire and that they had secured the scene.

After the fire was brought under control emergency responders were seen removing roof layers to enable investigators to search for evidence and possible human remains.

Taiwan Warns Chinese Vessel to Leave Sensitive Waters

Taiwan’s coast guard said on Friday it had warned off and shadowed a Chinese research vessel operating in sensitive waters west of the island, marking the third time the ship has appeared near Taiwan since May.

The vessel, the Tongji, was spotted late Thursday about 24.9 nautical miles northwest of Taiwan’s Penghu islands, which sit in the Taiwan Strait and host important Taiwanese military facilities.

Taiwan views the repeated presence of Chinese vessels near the island as part of a broader campaign of maritime pressure by Beijing.

Coast Guard Monitors Tongji as It Moves South

Taiwan said the Tongji was not seen deploying or towing scientific equipment during its latest appearance.

The coast guard dispatched a patrol vessel to sail alongside the Chinese ship and issued what it described as strong warnings for it to leave the area.

By Friday morning, the Tongji had moved to around 28 nautical miles west-southwest of Liuqiu island in southern Taiwan, continuing southeast through the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan’s coast guard said it would continue proactively deploying vessels to respond to Chinese ships and protect the country’s waters.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office had not immediately responded to a Reuters request for comment.

Why Is the Research Ship Significant?

The Tongji was commissioned only last year and has appeared near Taiwan several times since May.

Taiwan previously reported seeing the vessel lowering ropes into the water, raising concerns that it could have been conducting scientific or survey operations without authorisation.

Chinese state media describes the ship as capable of operating in all weather conditions and carrying remotely operated vehicles, laboratories and unmanned systems.

The latest incident is therefore significant because the vessel’s presence comes amid wider concerns in Taipei over Chinese maritime activity around the island.

Taiwan Sees a Broader Grey-Zone Strategy

Taiwan has increasingly described the activities of Chinese coast guard and other vessels around the island as grey-zone pressure.

Rather than directly launching military action, such operations can create persistent pressure through patrols, maritime activity and the repeated presence of Chinese state vessels in disputed or sensitive areas.

Taiwan argues that these activities can gradually create an impression of Chinese jurisdiction while testing Taipei’s ability to monitor and respond to incursions.

The research vessel’s repeated appearances add another dimension to that pressure because scientific and survey activity can have potential strategic value even when a vessel is not openly conducting military operations.

Chinese Military Activity Continues Around Taiwan

The latest maritime encounter comes against the backdrop of China’s almost daily military activity around Taiwan.

Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and rejects the Taiwanese government’s claims to sovereignty. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and maintains control over the island.

This has produced an increasingly competitive environment in which military aircraft, naval vessels, coast guard ships and other Chinese platforms regularly operate around Taiwan.

Analysis: Why the Tongji Matters Beyond Scientific Research

The immediate incident does not appear to represent a direct military confrontation. Taiwan said the Tongji was not observed deploying equipment, and the coast guard’s response consisted primarily of monitoring and warnings.

But the repeated appearance of the same vessel is strategically significant.

Research ships can perform legitimate scientific functions, but their ability to operate sophisticated equipment and collect information in strategically important waters means their activities can also have implications for maritime surveillance and future military operations.

For Taiwan, the challenge is therefore to distinguish between legitimate research and activity that could contribute to China’s broader strategic objectives without unnecessarily escalating tensions.

The incident also illustrates the evolving nature of cross-Strait competition. China does not need to launch a military attack to increase pressure on Taiwan; persistent maritime activity can gradually test Taiwan’s responses, expand China’s presence and challenge Taipei’s control over the surrounding waters.

As Chinese vessels continue appearing near Taiwan, incidents involving research ships, coast guard vessels and military platforms are likely to become an increasingly important part of the island’s security challenge.

With information from Reuters.