Residents searching through the rubble of an Israeli strike in western Gaza City recovered the body of an unborn baby after the attack killed a pregnant woman, her husband and their five-year-old son.
Published On 2 Aug 20262 Aug 2026
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Seven Palestinians, including two children, have been detained by Israeli forces in overnight and predawn raids across the West Bank, according to Palestinian local sources.
Israeli settlers separately assaulted a Palestinian man and his wife on their own farmland on Saturday.
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The couple was attacked in the al-Zarqa area of Beitillu, northwest of Ramallah, when a group of settlers stormed the farm where they were working, leaving both with injuries and bruising that required hospital treatment.
The latest settler attacks and raids by Israeli forces are a single day’s snapshot of activity now unfolding “in every direction” across the occupied West Bank, said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah.
Odeh said Israeli military jeeps were roaming constantly through Ramallah on Saturday, as soldiers used tear gas inside a supermarket in the city. This level of everyday disruption, she said, has become difficult to separate from the settlement expansion driving it.
Settlers have erected another illegal outpost this week, Odeh added, the 12th such construction in the past seven days alone.
The military raids that produced Saturday’s detentions spanned three governorates at once. In Tubas, forces searched a family home in the town of Tammun and detained a 16-year-old; in Nablus, four Palestinians were picked up in predawn raids on the villages of Urif, Einabus and Burqa; and in Bethlehem, a second 16-year-old was detained in Wadi Fukin, with another man held at the Container Checkpoint.
In the nearby town of Asira ash Shamaliya, troops went further still, storming dozens of homes overnight and converting one house into a makeshift field interrogation centre, security sources told Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Further south, in Khashem al-Daraj near Hebron, Israeli forces chased down and detained 11 workers, beating them in the process, according to local activist Osama Makhamreh.
![Masked Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in the West Bank village of Assira al-Kibliya. [File: Nasser Ishtayeh/AP]](https://i0.wp.com/occasionaldigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AP120105015099-1733538178.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Israeli settlers, meanwhile, were active on parallel fronts.
In Surif, near Hebron, residents from the Bat Ayin outpost set fire to one car, damaged another, and sprayed racist graffiti on a house, the town’s mayor, Hazem Ghneimat, said.
Later on Saturday, three young Palestinian men were assaulted with pepper spray on the road between al-Mughayyir and Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, after settlers rammed their vehicle with an all-terrain vehicle – an attack that village council head Amin Abu Aliya said has become almost a daily occurrence along that stretch of road.
In Beit Jala, near Bethlehem, Israeli authorities forced three residents to demolish their own homes rather than face the fines and costs of a state-led demolition, which, Palestinians say, is a practice used routinely to sidestep Israel’s near-total refusal to grant them building permits.
Saturday’s events fit a pattern that rights monitors have been documenting for months. Palestinian sources recorded more than 11,000 attacks by Israeli forces and settlers across the West Bank in the first half of this year alone, with Hebron, Ramallah and Nablus the worst affected.
The figures echo recent United Nations warnings – including from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has said settler violence and forced displacement are accelerating alongside plans to expand and legalise outposts, all of which the UN maintains have no legal validity under international law.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham added his own criticism on Saturday, calling the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Palestine “unacceptable” and saying his government was weighing further measures on Israeli settlements, including possible restrictions on arms exports.
Seven people, including two children, have died during a Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine, according to local officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Wednesday that Russia had been preparing for a “massive attack”, urging people to heed air raid alerts.
In the early hours of Thursday, the Ukrainian military reported multiple missile and drone strikes around the country.
The attacks come after Zelensky met US President Donald Trump in Washington DC this week to urge the US to grant Ukraine a licence to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.
Two girls, aged 5 and 12, were among the six killed in a village near the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih when a ballistic missile hit a private house, a local official said.
Eight more people were injured, including two children, the official added, noting that the number of casualties could rise.
In Kyiv, one person died and fires broke out in three non-residential buildings overnight, the capital’s mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram.
Explosions were also heard in Lviv, its mayor Andriy Sadovyi said, reporting that residential buildings had been damaged.
LONDON — Booker Prize winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart are in the running again for the prestigious fiction award, alongside Dublin gangs, dystopian science fiction and the New England characters of Pulitzer Prize laureate Elizabeth Strout.
Judges read 163 novels to come up with the 13 semifinalists announced Tuesday for the $66,000 Booker Prize, a list described by historian Mary Beard, head of the judging panel, as literary “dynamite.”
The list includes James’ “The Disappearers,” about a group of gay men in a hostile 1980s Jamaica; Stuart’s “ John of John,” a story of father-son secrets on a remote Scottish island; and Strout’s heartfelt small-town tale “The Things We Never Say.”
Marlon James is semifinalist for the 2026 Booker Prize for fiction. In 2015, he became the first Jamaican writer to win the prestigious literary award.
(Neil Hall / Associated Press)
James won the Booker in 2015 for “A Brief History of Seven Killings,” and Stuart won in 2020 for “Shuggie Bain.” Strout’s “Oh William!” was a finalist in 2022. She won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009 for “Olive Kitteridge.”
They sit alongside lesser-known names on a Booker longlist that includes authors with roots in Britain, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, Turkey and the United States.
Three of those on the list are debut authors: Turkish American writer Kenan Orhan for the family history saga “The Renovation,” British author Rebecca Perry for the Medieval-to-modern tale “May We Feed the King” and Ireland’s Djamel White for “All Them Dogs,” a thriller set in the Dublin underworld.
White, at 28, is the youngest author in the running. The oldest is 81-year-old M. John Harrison, whose postapocalyptic tale “The End of Everything” is a rare science fiction novel to make the Booker list.
The other contenders are “The Shadow of the Object” by Chloe Aridjis, “Black Bag” by Luke Kennard, “The Vivisectors” by Missouri Williams, “Switzy” by Emma Cline, “Helen of Nowhere” by Makenna Goodman and Gwendoline Riley’s “The Palm House.”
Beard said the five jurors, who include Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker and American novelist Patricia Lockwood, tried to look beyond the idea of a typical Booker winner — “slightly serious, about to be classic.” Instead, they chose novels that are “trying to expand the boundaries of how we can think about ourselves in completely different ways,”
“Sometimes they’re using humor, sometimes it’s pathos, sometimes there’s shock value,” Beard said. “They’re risk-takers. They are dynamite. They say, ‘Come on, try seeing it a different way.’ ”
Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout is a semifinalist for the Booker Prize for fiction for her novel, “The Things We Never Say.”
(Leonardo Cendamo)
Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers and is open to novels from any country published in the U.K. and Ireland. Last year’s winner was “Flesh” by Hungarian-British writer David Szalay.
The judges will announce six finalists on Sept. 22, and the winner will be revealed Nov. 9 at a ceremony in London.
Lawless writes for the Associated Press.
Two Chus among candidates for congressional seat
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Italian singer Pausini told the BBC’s Carl Nasman that she’s “very excited” and “proud” to be performing alongside Williams and Scherzinger at the closing ceremony.
“When Robbie [Williams] invited me to sing with him, I felt goosebumps everywhere because Robbie’s one of my favorite singer, songwriter, and performer,” Pausini told the BBC.
The celebrity line-up will continue at half-time with performances by Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and BTS.
Madonna, the best-selling female music artist of all time, is set to perform after the launch of her new album, Confessions II, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart in July.
Bieber also returned to the spotlight earlier this year, with his biggest live performance in four years at the Coachella music festival after cancelling his Justice world tour because of health issues.
Abandoned as a baby with severely underdeveloped limbs and brought up by nuns in Baghdad, Kelly will be performing at the World Cup final alongside some of the biggest global stars.
Among the headline performers at the first-ever FIFA World Cup half-time show alongside Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber and Madonna is a man with a remarkable life story – Iraqi-born singer Emmanuel Kelly.
Kelly says he was found abandoned in a box as a baby, and was brought up by nuns at Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Baghdad. Some of his limbs were severely underdeveloped, and at the orphanage he became friends with another boy called Ahmed, who had a similar condition.
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In 1998, when Emmanuel was around four years old, the Australian Catholic humanitarian worker Moira Kelly visited the orphanage and witnessed the plight of Emmanuel and Ahmed.
She was determined to bring the boys to Australia for medical treatment, and after two years, she succeeded.
Emmanuel and Ahmed arrived in Australia in 2000, and both underwent multiple surgeries to enable them to wear prosthetic limbs. They were adopted by Moira the same year, and in 2009 they officially became Australian citizens.
In an interview published on the FIFA website in 2025, Emmanuel said the surgery and prostheses enabled him and his brother to be self-reliant for the first time.
“We learned all the basic things I think that humans take for granted sometimes, like walking and feeding themselves and things like that,” he said. “Eventually I decided I wanted to pursue entertainment and music.”
In 2011, at the age of 17, Emmanuel was a contestant in the Australian version of television talent show The X Factor. His rendition of John Lennon’s song Imagine captivated the live audience and was viewed millions of times online. Although he was eliminated relatively early in the series after forgetting the words to a song he was performing, this was the start of his musical career.
His brother Ahmed, meanwhile, became a competitive swimmer, representing Australia multiple times and winning the silver medal in the men’s 150-metre individual medley at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
In 2016, as the band Coldplay were preparing for concerts in Australia, lead singer Chris Martin saw a video of Emmanuel Kelly performing and resolved to meet him. Kelly was invited onto the stage at the Coldplay concert in Melbourne and sang Imagine in a duet with Martin.
The two became friends, and in 2024 Kelly was invited to be the headline opening act for Coldplay for their four concerts in Australia during their Music of the Spheres tour.
“Chris has been my brother, Chris Martin, for eight years or so, and he said to me, ‘Hey, come on tour with me and join me on a stadium tour.’ I did that, and that was pretty epic,” Kelly said in his FIFA interview.
Last year, Martin was asked by FIFA to curate the half-time show at the Club World Cup final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Kelly was one of the singers Martin asked to take part in the performance. He was described by organisers as “the first differently abled artist to headline a FIFA half-time show”.
Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina is taking place in the same stadium. Once again, Martin is curating the musical performance, and Kelly will be one of those on stage for what FIFA hopes will be the most viewed half-time show in history.
“What an exciting opportunity to get to represent true full-scale global unity,” Kelly said in a video on Instagram ahead of the show. “No matter how different you are, you will still be seen.”
It is difficult to find words to express my disgust for the coming White House visit. Like the man they are going to see, the Dodgers are without honor.
Rico Gardiner
San Diego
Sports do not transcend or evade association with politics, especially in the current period of America’s decline under President Trump. It’s disgraceful that the Dodgers would again honor a rank authoritarian, a brazenly corrupt kleptocrat, criminal, malignant narcissist and wrecker of our democracy and rule of law.
Trump is not honoring the Dodgers; he’s using their presence to honor him and give him a bit more gaslight glory. The organization has smeared itself with the dishonor, serving the PR agenda of our vainglorious tyrant. If they cared about the optics, their civic duty and the good of the country, they would decline.
T.R. Jahns
Hemet
Dodgers, you are out. Out of our house. In normal times, a White House visit is a grand honor for a championship club. I get that. These are NOT normal times. For you to pretend they are and honor this man with your presence is unforgivable. Spineless. A statement that makes the wrong statement. We will not be watching or rooting for you this season. You are out at home. Our home.
William Lewis
Burbank
Ever since the Dodgers accepted their World Series visit to the White House, they’ve been error-prone on the field, and losing most games. In the All-Star Game, the players were hitless and the pitcher served up the only home run. To add more insult, their former player received the MVP award! Most importantly, is the disappointment and loss of respect from the fans. Karma has a way to haunt.
Robert Torres
Torrance
Your letters to the editor section regarding the Dodgers’ planned visit to the White House continues the left bias of the L.A. Times. Four letters were published praising the article and one was published critical of the article. I doubt that the 4-to-1 ratio reflects the opinions of the L.A. population, but it may reflect the opinions of readers that your left-leaning paper attracts. I read the paper only to see what the lefties are up to.
Larry Hart
Tarzana
It covers a beautiful 13-mile route(Image: Getty)
New research has revealed one of the world’s most breathtaking hikes can be found right here on our doorstep in the UK, rewarding walkers with unrivalled coastal views.
An eye-tracking study has identified the most stunning hiking trails across the globe, with running shoe retailer SportsShoes.com employing cutting-edge technology to monitor the eye movements of participants as they were shown some of the most iconic routes from around the world.
The findings assigned each location an ‘eye-catching’ score, establishing which trails were the most visually striking. As a result, the UK’s very own Seven Sisters Cliff Walk, nestled along the English coastline in East Sussex, made it into the top rankings.
It will come as little surprise to those who live nearby or have tackled the trail that it would be regarded as a top 10 hike, with its tranquil sands and azure waters framed by the most stunningly white cliff tops imaginable.
The Seven Sisters are so magnificent they have featured in some of Britain’s most beloved blockbuster films, including Atonement and Harry Potter. The iconic cliffs form a demanding route that can take anywhere between four to seven hours to complete, yet tourists appear to agree it is worth every single step.
Most walkers opt to begin the challenging trek in Seaford and finish in Eastbourne, allowing them to soak up the celebrated views of the Seven Sisters as they reach the summit. Across the 12-mile route, hikers can expect to conquer seven hills, some considerably steeper than others.
The ideal vantage point for capturing all seven cliffs in a single shot is at Hope Gap, though for the finest views from the clifftop, you’ll want to hold on until you reach the iconic Belle Tout and Beachy Head lighthouses.
Fortunately for walkers, there’s a charming little pit stop along the way where you can take a breather and enjoy a range of food and drinks at the Bearling Gap Cafe. Here you’ll also find a handy centre complete with toilet facilities, so you needn’t worry about being caught short during the journey.
Having tackled the walk themselves, one visitor wrote on Tripadvisor : “The cliffs are breathtaking from a distance, and the view from the edge, facing the open sea, is unforgettable. Heading down to the pebble beach gives you a completely different, striking perspective.”
According to the full findings, topping the list as the ultimate hike boasting the most jaw-dropping scenery is France’s Calanques de Marseille. Tucked within the Calanques National Park, nestled between Marseille and Cassis, the route is truly spectacular, featuring a stunning backdrop of white limestone cliffs plunging into turquoise coves, with a variety of trails to suit different timeframes and fitness levels.
With the 2026-27 season premiere of “60 Minutes” just two months away, CBS News leadership is getting closer to deciding who will fill the recent departures of longtime correspondents Scott Pelley, Sharon Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Anderson Cooper.
Seth Doane, a longtime correspondent based in Italy who is often seen on “CBS Sunday Morning,” is under consideration, along with chief investigative correspondent Jim Axelrod, who currently has a lead role in the “Eye On America” series featured on the “CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil.”
Trevor Phillips, a British journalist and former politician who recently joined CBS News as senior global affairs correspondent, is expected to have a role on the program, according to people briefed on the plan. Phillips had a long career in the U.K., producing and writing documentaries and most recently hosted the Sky News program “Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.”
Phillips received a knighthood in 2022 for his service to equality and human rights for the U.K. But he also generated controversy over his career for comments about the British Muslim community, which led to a yearlong suspension from the Labor Party in 2020.
A CBS News representative declined comment beyond saying the division is looking at a number of internal and external candidates.
Dokoupil is expected to deliver four “60 Minutes” pieces a season. Major Garrett, the network’s chief Washington correspondent, will also have a contributor role.
Matt Gutman, hired from ABC News last year as national correspondent, is under strong consideration. He is being put in front of test audiences, according to several people at the network.
Holly Williams, a foreign correspondent working out of Istanbul for CBS News since 2012, and Mariana van Zeller, a journalist for National Geographic Channel, are both said to remain in contention.
The newcomers will join Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl, Jon Wertheim and Norah O’Donnell, who are all returning as correspondents. O’Donnell will also continue in her role as senior correspondent for the network, occasionally anchoring specials.
The rebuild of the talent lineup comes after the upheaval at the program that has occurred since Bari Weiss joined CBS News as editor in chief in October.
Pelley was fired last month after confronting management about the May 28 dismissal of his colleagues Alfonsi and Vega along with the program’s executive producer Tanya Simon and her second-in-command Draggan Mihailovich.
In February, Cooper decided not to sign a new deal as a “60 Minutes” contributor, as the CNN anchor cited a desire to spend more time with his family. But Cooper has reportedly told colleagues that he does not want to work for Weiss.
The internal disruption at “60 Minutes” followed a highly successful season. In its 57th season, “60 Minutes” was the most watched news program on television with an average of 9.1 million viewers a week, according to Nielsen data. The program bucked the overall decline in traditional TV viewing by growing 9% over the previous season.
After the dismissal of his “60 Minutes” colleagues, Pelley accused Weiss of trying to “murder” the program and claimed she was putting “her thumb on the scale” for more favorable coverage of the Trump administration. He was fired with cause after confronting management at a June 1 meeting.
Weiss came to CBS when parent company Paramount acquired her digital website The Free Press, known for its criticism of progressive policies and its strong support of Israel.
Weiss was hired by Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison with a mandate to move the news division to the political center. The pronouncement has created the perception that CBS News is looking to placate the Trump administration as Paramount sought regulatory approval for its $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which will also give the company ownership of CNN.
The noise surrounding Weiss has hurt CBS News despite strong reporting that is often far from being pro-MAGA. This past weekend’s “CBS Sunday Morning” featured a segment from national security correspondent David Martin about the Department of Defense interfering with the editorial independence of Stars & Stripes, the military newspaper.
Trump complained vehemently about his last interview with O’Donnell on “60 Minutes,” — conducted the day after a gunman tried to enter the White House Correspondents Assn. dinner in Washington on April 25.
Norrie had played just one match on grass before this year’s Wimbledon after retiring injured in the French Open first round with a rib injury.
And the former world number eight looked rusty as he broke Zheng, ranked 144th, just once in the entire match.
Zheng hit 21 aces to Norrie’s four, while the 22-year-old committed just four double faults to Norrie’s 10.
Harriet Dart came close to completing a gritty comeback win but ultimately fell 6-3 3-6 6-4 to former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
The pair were scheduled to play on Court 17 on Monday, but Raducanu’s withdrawal saw their match moved to Court One.
Wildcard Dart made sure fans with tickets for the show court were not disappointed as she forced a deciding set against the world number 31 in an entertaining two-and-a-half hour display.
Ostapenko will face either Antonia Ruzic of Croatia or compatriot Darja Semenistaja – the lucky loser who replaced Raducanu in the draw.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic lost 6-2 6-1 to 2021 Olympic champion and 11th seed Belinda Bencic.
Felix Gill and Max Basing were beaten on their Grand Slam main-draw debuts, losing to 23rd seed Rafael Jodar and qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki respectively.
Alicia Dudeney, who was also making her main-draw major bow, lost 6-3 6-3 to American Alycia Parks.
Mimi Xu and Hannah Klugman, both navigating the step up to senior tennis, lost to Daria Kasatkina and 2024 Wimbledon singles champion Barbora Krejcikova respectively, while Oliver Tarvet was beaten by 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech in four sets.
There are 19 home players across the two singles draws – although 17 are playing opponents ranked inside the world’s top 55.
Australian sixth seed Alex de Minaur was involved in the protests at last month’s French Open but decided he did not want to take part at Wimbledon.
“I think the sense that we had at Roland Garros was everyone was on board, even though we didn’t, as a collective, achieve the numbers that we were looking for,” he said.
“I thought that Wimbledon made a big step in the right direction, and something that should be noted. So this is for me to acknowledge their big step.”
Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who claimed his first major win in Paris earlier this month, also decided to step back.
“I still want to be part of the players’ movement, but also I realised the media can’t really do anything about it, or can’t really change it,” said Zverev, who represented the players in talks with the Grand Slams at Wimbledon last year.
“It’s not good to take it [out] on someone that doesn’t have the power of control, so I’m doing half an hour [of media]. But I still hope for some change in tennis, for sure.”
This year’s Wimbledon singles champions will each take home £3.6m, up from £3m last year, while first-round losers will earn £80,000.
An airline loved by Brits has been rated one of the worst for punctuality (stock)(Image: Maria Korneeva via Getty Images)
A popular airline amongst British holidaymakers has been ranked among the worst for punctuality — and it isn’t easyJet, Ryanair, BA or Jet2. Budget carriers easyJet and Ryanair occasionally face criticism from passengers for a whole host of reasons, yet timekeeping doesn’t appear to be one of their shortcomings.
An airline that also offers package holidays widely favoured by Brits has apparently earned a reputation for poor punctuality.
TUI Airways has landed fifth on a list of the five worst airlines for UK flight delays, with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data revealing an average delay of 20 minutes and 24 seconds last year.
One particular route was singled out as the least punctual of all — Birmingham to the Greek party island of Zante — with an average hold-up of 46 minutes. Operating out of more than 20 UK airports, the carrier is owned by TUI Group.
Aage Dunhaupt, from TUI Group, told the Mail that “minimising delays remains a top priority”, noting that TUI Airways runs flights “wherever possible, even if they are delayed, rather than cancelling them”.
He said: “If we were to follow broader industry practices of cancelling flights more readily, our punctuality ranking would improve significantly. However, this would come at the expense of our customers.”
Air India was ranked the worst performer for the second year running, with average delays exceeding 36 minutes, while Scandinavian Airlines topped the table as the most punctual, averaging a mere eight minutes.
Taking second spot for the poorest performance was Blue Islands, which ceased trading at the end of last year, followed by TAP Air Portugal and Saudia.
On a more positive note, average delays have fallen from 18 minutes, 18 seconds in 2024 to 14 minutes, 48 seconds.
A spokesperson for trade body Airlines UK told ITV: “The vast majority of UK airline flights depart on time and CAA data shows customer satisfaction levels are at an all-time high.
“Most delays are the result of issues that are entirely outside airline control, such as adverse weather, forced reductions in the number of planes that are able to land and take off each hour, and industrial action.”
They added: “When these delays do occur, airlines work hard to support customers and get them where they need to be as quickly as possible.”
This follows a flight attendant revealing her top five “basic” habits she “absolutely loves” to see passengers doing. Taking to TikTok, she started by saying: “When you take your headphones out as I walk up to your row.
“Instant respect. You see me. I see you. We’re already besties.”
Her other habits were paying attention during announcements, offering a smile and a sincere thank you, keeping shoes on, and not treating the plane like your living room.
She added: “It’s really that simple. Kindness + awareness + basic hygiene = elite passenger status.”
Several senior executives sold shares in American Express, Dell, Lowe’s, Take-Two Interactive, and Broadcom, while directors and executives at Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, SoFi Technologies, Abbott Laboratories, and MercadoLibre made purchases, potentially signaling varied insider sentiment across these companies.
The market town has been named one of the best places to visit in the UK in 2026 (stock image)(Image: Brian Scantlebury via Getty Images)
The best place to visit in the Cotswolds has been revealed – and it’s not the usual suspects like Chipping Campden, Bibury or Bourton-on-the-Water.
There’s an abundance of stunning beauty spots scattered across the UK, with rugged landscapes, peaceful golden beaches, vibrant and quirky towns, craggy rocks and cliffs, vast woodlands, rolling green hills, and plenty more besides.
For a relatively small country, there’s a rich variety of diverse destinations to pick from – whether you fancy exploring the peaceful glacial lakes and fells of the Lake District, or the seemingly endless dramatic coastlines of Scotland, the history and intrigue of sites like the Mourne Wall in Northern Ireland, or the impressive peaks of Eryri/Snowdonia in Wales; there’s no shortage of choices.
This is equally true when it comes to the varied towns scattered throughout the UK, from sleepy fishing villages and bustling market towns, to picturesque places that offer a glimpse into the past, and much more.
If you’re keen to embark on a “staycation” in the UK and feel overwhelmed at the prospect of deciding where to go, you’re in luck.
Time Out has issued a round-up of “the best places to go in the UK in 2026” – and a Gloucestershire town has made the cut. Widely celebrated as the “Capital of the Cotswolds”, the historic market town of Cirencester has claimed fifth place on a national list.
Time Out said: “When it comes to ‘where to travel in the UK’, you might think the Cotswolds has been done to death. Actually, it hasn’t. In fact, only teeny tiny portions of the region tend to get all the love.”
The publication described Cirencester as “often-overlooked” and championed the town – the largest in the region – for being “much better equipped for tourism” than overcrowded destinations such as Bibury.
Cirencester boasts a seamless fusion of Roman heritage with a vibrant independent shopping scene – particularly within the historic Corn Hall and Arcade – alongside stunning green spaces, including Cirencester Park. Home to the 9th Earl and Countess Bathurst, the park is a haven for deer and horses alike.
History enthusiasts will be in their element at the award-winning Corinium Museum, which houses an impressive Roman collection; “one of the largest collections of Romano-British antiquities extensively from Corinium”.
Featuring mosaics, sculptures, coins and much more, the fully accessible venue also includes a gift shop, café, and the Cirencester Visitor Information Centre.
The town is equally well-stocked with stunning historic buildings and characterful pubs that are well worth exploring.
Of summer visits, Time Out noted: “Heading here in summer? Go for a dip in the Cirencester Open Air Swimming Pool, a beautiful old spot for a swim surrounded by old buildings.
“It’s a slice of history all by itself – around since 1869, making it one of the oldest in the country.”
Diversity in last year’s streaming films followed the same downward trend as theatrical releases, a new study found, with the percentage of people of color directing, writing and leading films diminishing.
In past years, streaming was considered a more accessible outlet for early-career female or BIPOC filmmakers, which was reflected in data about gender and racial representation. According to Part 2 of UCLA’s 2026 Hollywood Diversity Report, which was released Wednesday and analyzed all of the original English-language films distributed on major streaming platforms in 2025, that trend reversed across every category studied.
The share of streaming films directed by women declined to just over 23%, the lowest it’s been since 2022, when the annual study began analyzing streaming and theatrical films separately. Among those female directors, an overwhelming majority (81%) were allotted budgets below $20 million, while more than a quarter of the films directed by white men exceeded $50 million.
Only about 31% of streaming films last year had BIPOC directors, down 10% since 2024, when the proportion more closely reflected U.S. demographics.
“This is an industry in flux — and in reverse, especially when it comes to diversification,” Darnell Hunt, UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost and the report’s co-founder, said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with theatrical films, we’re now seeing the impact of this current political climate in very meaningful and concrete ways,” he continued. “As budgets tighten, opportunities for filmmakers of underrepresented backgrounds are always the first to be squeezed out.”
Despite losing ground behind the scenes and in front of the camera, women and people of color continued to drive streaming viewership in 2025, the report found.
The year’s biggest streaming hit, “KPop Demon Hunters,” was also the most-watched original Netflix film of all time, and according to Neilsen ratings, it was most streamed by women in Latinx households, followed by women in Asian and Black households. The report acknowledged the film as a “bright spot” in a disappointing year for diversity.
Michael Tran, a sociologist who co-authored the report, noted that the film’s impact and earnings potential could have been even greater with a theatrical release.
“It was a missed opportunity for theaters,” Tran said. “We’ve tracked how diverse films tend to succeed at the box office, here and abroad. For ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ we could have been talking about record-breaking box office receipts in addition to topping the ratings.”
When “KPop Demon Hunters” did briefly screen in theaters — for two days last August, with over 1,750 locations domestically and more than 1,150 sold-out screenings — it was the No. 1 movie that weekend, earning about $18 million in ticket sales (though Netflix does not report exact box office figures).
Data from the report also indicated that streaming films with at least somewhat diverse casts tended to outperform in terms of audience and social media engagement.
However, overall cast diversity in streaming films declined in 2025. For the first time since 2022, films with a majority-BIPOC cast did not represent the plurality of streaming titles. Most notably, the percentage of lead actors of color dropped from a high of 51% in 2024 to 36% in 2025.
Report authors called it an “industry-wide chilling effect” reminiscent of a similar decline in diversity among theatrical films in 2024. That said, streaming films continued to star BIPOC leads more often than their theatrical counterparts, the study found.
The overall number of streaming films also declined. While the annual UCLA report typically examines the top 100 original, English-language movies across streaming platforms, this time, there were only 89 for researchers to analyze.
In addition to studying race and gender demographics in the film industry, the report also examined on-camera representations of disability. According to the study, while adults with a disability make up at least 26% of the U.S. population, actors with a known disability represented 6.5% of total streaming movie actors, which is in line with the previous year.
According to the study’s authors, streamers hoping to compete in a fast-paced, globalized market should increase their diversity efforts in light of these results.
“Kids under 18 are already majority BIPOC. There’s no going back if a studio wants to be profitable and relevant to Gen Z and Gen Alpha,” said report co-founder and co-author Ana-Christina Ramón. “Severing all brand loyalty now will only make it more difficult to regain long-term subscribers in the future.”
Thousands of Bosnia fans turned Toronto blue as they marched to the chants of ‘Free Palestine’ in Toronto.
Toronto, Canada — Nadia, a Bosnia and Herzegovina supporter who did not share her surname, stood out in her deep blue shirt as a sea of red-adorned Canada fans swarmed around her outside the Toronto Stadium an hour before kickoff to their FIFA World Cup 2026 opening game.
With the blue and yellow Bosnian flag draped around her, she found herself among the minority of “away” fans on Canadian soil on Thursday, less than two weeks after her team was given a warm welcome to the World Cup cohost nation.
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It reminded Nadia, an immigrant, of her arrival in Canada in the mid-1990s when her family fled the Bosnian genocide that killed about 100,000 people and displaced more than two million.
“I wish I had space for two hearts so I could properly support both my countries,” Nadia told Al Jazeera when asked about her allegiance as loud roars of the crowd spilled out of the stadium behind her.
Nadia admitted her heart was ultimately with Bosnia, but the Canada cap she sported was a nod to the country that became home when she had to flee hers.
Earlier in the day, thousands of Bosnia supporters turned Toronto into a sea of blue as they marched towards the match venue in the city’s downtown while chanting “Free Palestine” to thunderous claps.
“They [Palestinians] should be free, enough with the wars and genocide,” Nadia said as her eyes welled up with tears. She took a deep breath before adding: “There is so much suffering, especially for the children.”
Dan, a Bosnia supporter in his 40s, was the same age as his primary school-aged son when he fled the genocide in his country.
The father-and-son duo enjoyed the game and soaked in the atmosphere among the 45,000-plus fans at the stadium before heading back slightly upset with the draw.
The day Canada opened its first World Cup became an amalgamation of immigrant Bosnian fans’ identities as they shared high fives and traded jerseys with their opposing numbers.
Every shade of skin colour and a multitude of mother tongues made the stadium and a nearby fan festival a microcosm of Toronto’s reputation as a multicultural hotspot.
The fan festival boasted the full spectrum of football enthusiasts — the hardcore supporters with expert analyses, laced with expletives at missed chances, and those in attendance purely for the vibes.
Football aside, several Canadian fans abhorred the immigration policies of their neighbour to the south. They were proud to be known for their hospitality at the 48-nation tournament across North America.
Admir, a travelling Bosnian fan, was full of praise for Canadian hospitality when he arrived from New Jersey.
“Everyone from ordinary people to stadium support staff to restaurant owners have been so accommodating since we got here,” he told Al Jazeera ahead of kickoff.
Compared with the barrage of immigration nightmare stories of World Cup supporters trying to enter the US, his journey to Canada was seamless.
Despite his home state hosting eight World Cup matches, Admir chose to pay an exorbitant price for tickets to see Bosnia, who returned to the World Cup after 12 years following a fairytale qualification.
The sun had drained most fans of their energy after the match, but not Tanya, who drove seven hours from New York to Toronto on Thursday morning.
“The atmosphere at the fan festival was amazing; Toronto has been great.”
“I think our boys played pretty well,” she said of the match. “We didn’t win, but it wasn’t a loss either.”
As someone who has been covering high school baseball championship games in Southern California for six decades, the pitching performance seen on Friday night by Julian Garcia of St. John Bosco moves into the top five, if not a share for No. 1.
Garcia struck out 14, walked none and surrendered only a first-inning double to Codey Brown in a 2-0 victory over Norco in the Southern Section Division 1 final at Cal State Fullerton. His fastball was reaching 95 mph. He was blowing fastballs past top hitters all night.
Probably the No. 1 pitching performance continues to be Bret Saberhagen of Cleveland in the 1981 City Section championship game at Dodger Stadium when he threw a no-hitter against Palisades.
Others that come to mind:
No pitcher has been as overpowering as Garcia was under the lights. And he needed to be near perfect to beat Norco pitcher Jordan Ayala, who also was outstanding.
What a memory to add to Southern California’s great pitching moments in championship games.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 871 Palestinians since the so-called ceasefire began last year.
Published On 17 May 202617 May 2026
Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip have killed at least five Palestinians, including three in Deir el-Balah, and others in Khan Younis and Beit Lahiya.
Sunday’s attack on the central city of Deir el-Balah targeted a community kitchen and all three victims were charity workers, according to Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City.
“This shows that Israel is not only targeting people, but also organisations serving the community across Gaza,” Khoudary added.
Reacting to the same attack, Hamas said it was “a deliberate war crime and a renewed scene of the ongoing genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip”.
“This occurs amid an unjustified international silence and inaction that emboldens the occupation to continue its massacres, in blatant disregard for all international values, norms, and laws,” said the armed group’s statement.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry’s statistics published on Sunday, Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 72,760 Palestinians since October 7, 2023, including at least 871 since the so-called ceasefire started last October.
Israel’s military occupies about 60 percent of Gaza’s territory, demarcated by a so-called “yellow line” buffer zone.
In that zone on Sunday, the Israeli army said its forces killed a person saying, without providing evidence, that the victim was armed and posed an imminent threat to soldiers.
The army statement also said a Hamas commander was killed, identifying the man as Bahaa Baroud. There was no immediate confirmation from the group.
