Ultra-processed food companies hindering health drives by suing countries, says WHO
Posted on Saturday August 01, 2026

Exclusive: Director general accuses corporations of obstructing efforts to tackle obesity crisis after investigation by Guardian and others

The world’s biggest ultra-processed food corporations are hindering global efforts to tackle the obesity crisis by suing governments that try to promote healthier diets, the head of the World Health Organization has said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general, accused global food companies of obstructing the adoption of vital public health measures and costing countries billions of dollars in healthcare and legal costs in the process.

Read more...

ECB official warns climate crisis poses growing threat to ‘core financial stability’
Posted on Saturday August 01, 2026

Exclusive: As wildfires rage, Frank Elderson says more work needed to assess risk from collapse of ecosystem services

A senior policymaker at the European Central Bank has said the climate emergency and the breakdown of nature poses a dramatically growing risk to the global economy.

Frank Elderson, a member of the ECB’s executive board, said the eurozone lender of last resort was stepping up its monitoring of the financial risks linked to the destruction of “ecosystem services”, which are nature-related processes or assets that support human activity.

Read more...

Gianni Infantino ‘has lost Uefa’s confidence’ after Fifa chief scraps World Cup sell-off plan
Posted on Saturday August 01, 2026

• Infantino ditched proposals after widespread backlash

• Uefa adds: ‘We cannot keep going on with secret schemes’

Uefa has warned Gianni Infantino that his style of leadership cannot continue in demanding a thorough and fundamental review of Fifa’s governance.

In a strongly worded statement that referred to “secret schemes”, “shabby backroom deals” and “faceless individuals”, the Uefa leadership made clear it wants change at the top of Fifa, despite the world governing body’s overnight U-turn in abandoning Infantino’s plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup and other competitions.

Read more...

‘Worst we’ve known’: UK turns to imports as drought and heat hit vegetable crops
Posted on Saturday August 01, 2026

Growers in dismay after scorching weather and lack of rain affect yields, sending wholesale prices rocketing

Pubs, restaurants and supermarkets are having to buy lettuce and broccoli from Spain at what should be the height of UK growing season, as drought and extreme heat hit crops.

The wholesale price of tomatoes is up by more than 60%, iceberg lettuce by 90% and potatoes by more than 40% as a number of farmers struggle to grow in consistently high temperatures. Even those with irrigation systems and reservoirs on their farms say water is running low.

Read more...

The great British switch-off: how floating retreats, mobile-free pubs and sauna book groups are freeing people from their smartphones
Posted on Saturday August 01, 2026

Sick of doomscrolling? From venues with smartphone swear jars to cabins with absolutely no signal, here are the fun and freeing ways to ditch your device

There’s a ritual at the start of every event hosted by the Offline Project. Run by Pelé Zachariah, the activities vary – it could be a group walk, a collage‑making class or a supper club – but each one begins in the same way, *with an invitation to hand over your phone. Devices go in a lockbox. Once they’re all in, Zachariah closes the door and turns the key. “I don’t place them in for people, because it’s nice for them to physically put it in the box themselves, walk away, and think: for the next two or three hours, I’m fully present.”

He has been running these screen-free events in London since August 2025. First-timers can be apprehensive about being separated from their phone. “You can sense the vibe when they’re putting it away,” says Zachariah. “People have said to me, ‘I felt really weird’ or ‘I felt super uncomfortable for the first few minutes not having my phone on me.’ Then they’ll say, ‘I didn’t know how much I needed that.’”

Read more...

China’s tech advances are causing chaos from Silicon Valley to the White House
Posted on Saturday August 01, 2026

New AI models, advanced robots and specialty computer chips are unsettling markets and the US tech industry

Over the past month, a series of advancements in China’s artificial intelligence, chip manufacturing and robotics technologies have rattled financial markets, caused divisions among US tech moguls and left the Trump administration scrambling to respond.

Silicon Valley has long pointed to China’s tech industry as a competitive threat and used its growth as rationale for why US firms should not face regulatory oversight that could slow them down. In recent weeks, however, China’s progress has pushed US tech CEOs past vague warnings and into open disagreement over how to address Chinese-made products upending their industry.

Read more...

There can be no letup. Humiliated Infantino must stand down at Fifa or be removed | Nick Ames
Posted on Saturday August 01, 2026

Uefa’s call for a boycott and declaration of no-confidence must be the opening salvos in push to dethrone game’s global leader

There is no time to dance around the subject. Gianni Infantino must stand down as Fifa president or otherwise be legally removed. No fresh chances can be made available for an official who has demolished trust in football’s integrity and governance, trashing all remaining credibility of the body that oversees the world’s most-cherished sport.

Infantino was forced into a humiliating climbdown on Saturday morning when he accepted the failure of his plan to sell off portions of the World Cup to private investment. He resolved to resume dialogue about football’s growth “in the spirit of shared interest in our game”. But such a naked attempt to save his own skin cannot hold. Every day Infantino remains in power is a fresh stain on an institution whose reputation is on the floor.

Read more...

Commonwealth Games 2026: Kerr on hunt for mile victory; England’s Hobbs wins cycling gold after pile-up – live
Posted on Saturday August 01, 2026

• Updates from Saturday’s live action around Glasgow

• Medal table | How ‘mop man’ Miller stole the show

Boxing The first hands will be thrown just after 11am in women’s 54kg final between Scarlett Savannah Delgado and Preeti Preeti. That’s the first of 14 finals day on the last day of boxing at this year’s Games.

Men’s 1500m T54 final Nathan Maguire powered to victory in the last lap, with Daniel Sidbury (England) taking silver and Sam Rizzo (Australia) the bronze.

I was so boxed. And then I felt like Moses – it just parted and I got through. I don’t know how it happened!

There was a little bit of panic. When I heard the bell (for the last lap) I thought, ‘Oh my god, I’m so stuck.’ I dropped them a lot more than I expected!

Read more...