Drug-dealing, makeshift weapons and a ‘culture of fear’ at Villawood detention centre, report warns 20. August 2026 (11:23) Prolonged detention of children, insufficient staffing and hazardous damage to buildings are among the ombudsman’s concernsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDrugs are being openly dealt inside Villawood detention centre; makeshift weapons are being manufactured amid intimidation, standover tactics and a “culture of fear”; people are sleeping outside under CCTV cameras for their own safety; and children are being kept from going to school, a scathing report from the independent monitor has found.The commonwealth’s National Preventive Mechanism issued the report based on a three-day visit in March this year. A total of 428 people were held in Villawood at the time, including children. Some 78 beds were offline because of damage still not repaired from a fire three years ago. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sales of trainers dive as cost of living pressures hit JD Sports performance 20. August 2026 (11:03) Inflation deterring shoppers from spending, especially in the US, says sportswear fashion chain Sports fashion retailer JD has slashed its profit forecasts as cost-of-living pressures, fuelled by the US war on Iran, weighed on sales of trainers.JD Sports, which sells a range of sports brands including Nike and Adidas, said widespread inflation had hit shoppers’ wallets, resulting in falling sales across important markets such as the US, where it struggled to quickly shift trainers and other footwear. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Without action wildfires in Europe will increase 39% even in best-case climate scenario, study finds 20. August 2026 (11:01) Improvements in fire management however could mitigate increases by more than 70%, study showsWildfires are projected to burn 39% more of Europe by the end of the century even in the best-case scenario for stopping the planet from heating, a study has found, unless action is taken to manage them better.The increase in hot, dry and windy weather that leads to small fires turning into raging infernos is to engulf more of Europe as carbon pollution pushes temperatures higher. In the worst-case scenario the researchers modelled, which would see global heating reach 3.6C above preindustrial levels, the burnt area would almost triple. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
GCSE results: almost one in four boys in England get top grades in maths 20. August 2026 (10:30) Overall results slightly better than last year, with share receiving grades 7, 8 and 9 rising by 0.1 of a percentage point to 23.1%GCSE results – latest updatesAlmost one in four boys in England received top grades in maths while results in English improved across the board, helping to propel improved GCSE results for this year’s cohort of 16-year-olds.The stronger performances in maths helped pupils taking GCSEs in year 11 reach a record level for higher grades in England outside the Covid pandemic years, when exams were replaced by teacher assessments. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
GCSE results: hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland await grades – latest updates 20. August 2026 (08:47) Students will begin receiving this years exam results online and in person from 8am (GMT) this morningCompulsory GCSE resits in England harm teenagers’ mental wellbeing, study findsThe app allowing students to access their GCSE results digitally is being rolled out nationally this year, after a successful trial last year.In 2025, nearly 100,000 year 11 pupils in the Greater Manchester and the West Midlands combined authority areas received their GCSE results via an app called Education Record, which automatically collates their key information and exam results. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Erin Patterson’s mushroom murders sentence too lenient and she should die behind bars, prosecutors argue 20. August 2026 (08:44) Crown prosecutor tells Victorian court that all seven of Patterson’s grounds for appeal should fail while arguing for tougher sentenceGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTriple murderer Erin Patterson should have been given no possibility of ever being released from prison, or a non-parole period so lengthy that she was likely to die behind bars, Victoria’s highest court has heard.Patterson, 51, is appealing against her convictions in the court of appeal, with the Director of Public Prosecutions is also appealing against the sentence handed down to her, arguing it is “manifestly inadequate”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
More than 1,000 birds found dead in three mass mortality events amid ‘significant’ H5 escalation in Australia 20. August 2026 (08:16) South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas says there have still been no detections in poultry or livestock and no mass deaths involving mammalsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, has declared a “significant escalation” in H5 bird flu in the state after the detection of three mass mortality events involving more than 1,000 greater crested terns.Malinauskas said the cause of the deaths was presumed to be H5 bird flu. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Farage using Christianity ‘to stir anti-Muslim feeling’, says Rowan Williams 20. August 2026 (08:00) Former archbishop of Canterbury also has ‘awkward questions’ for activist Tommy Robinson on his claimed faithA former archbishop of Canterbury has accused Nigel Farage of misusing the UK’s Christianity “to channel anti-Muslim feeling” and said he also had “some awkward questions” for the far-right activist Tommy Robinson.Dr Rowan Williams, who was the archbishop of Canterbury for 10 years until 2012, said there was an “inevitable scepticism these days about some claims to religious conviction”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Monstera magic: Barbican hands out cuttings as ‘green lung of the city’ closes 20. August 2026 (07:00) Five hundred people turn up to adopt plants from conservatory that will reopen in 2030 after renovation projectAbove the waxy monstera leaves and bright pink hibiscus flowers in the Barbican conservatory hangs a giant net to catch the panes of glass that are at risk of falling from the ceiling on the unwitting plant lovers below.This precarious situation has caused the estate to shutter its greenhouse on the third and fourth floors for three years so a full refurbishment can take place. But the hiatus has a silver lining for many of those who visited on Wednesday to give the plants from the conservatory a new home. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Oxfam ‘can’t guarantee future’ of charity shops as it also reviews warehouse business 20. August 2026 (07:00) Dwindling donations and stiff competition from secondhand sellers online prompt review but ‘no plans for closures yet’Oxfam is reviewing the operations of its three warehouses in Batley, Bicester and Milton Keynes and says it “cannot give guarantees” on the future of its high street shops in a “difficult economic climate”.The charity said it had no plans to close warehouses or shops but insiders fear that Batley, which houses Oxfam’s main textile recycling centre, will shut as part of a cost-cutting drive because the West Yorkshire site’s lease is up for renewal. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
