Wiki News Live
Today:
‘I didn’t miss a thing’: How Nick Haymes photographed his sons’ entire lives from verrucas to homemade hamster coffin
NEWS | 24 August 2026
We are given a ringside seat as arms get broken, beloved pets die and hairs start sprouting from armpits. I suspect most teenagers would not be cool with this, but Haymes insists he had their approval. Then there is the pet hamster, who we see being held, adored and then grieved for as it rests in its cardboard coffin. “There are things that don’t need to be known,” says Haymes of the story his book tells. “I’m not sure if Lina’s father is enjoying that right now, but that’s what happened,” says Haymes with a smile.

Top Stories:
Iran vows to retaliate against countries that cooperate with fresh US sanctions
NEWS | 24 August 2026
The US has said it will impose sanctions on any country or entity trading with Iran – what is known as secondary sanctions. China has for decades been the main importer of Iranian oil. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, dismissed the expected sanctions as a sign of US desperation, arguing that the measures would fail to defeat Tehran. Reza Nasri, an international lawyer with links to the Iranian foreign ministry, said: “The announcement is not a measure against Iran. Since these sanctions failed to achieve the goals the US and Israel wanted, both sides turned to military action.

World:
Iran’s rial falls to record low as Scott Bessent warns of ‘economic D-day’ – business live
NEWS | 24 August 2026
double quotation mark Bessent’s decision to go meddling in the US Treasury market has revived the spectre of dollar ‘debasement’. A cosy stitch-up that has nothing to do with the interests of the 16 million people who depend on Thames Water. Burnham has said there should be “greater public control” of Thames Water and previously told the Guardian this could mean nationalisation. Mike McTighe, the former chair of Openreach who is already advising Thames Water, would also join the board. It will take time to fix Thames Water, but we are committed to rebuilding trust with the customers and public Thames Water serves.

Current Events:
Burnham says UK with Ukraine ‘all the way’ despite ‘outrageous threats’ from Russia – Europe live
NEWS | 24 August 2026
Share17m ago 08.43 EDT The attacks on Chernihiv on Monday are just the latest in Russia’s recent barrage of ballistic attacks. And despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country, we will continue our support for Ukraine’s defence.” Share2h ago 07.21 EDT Burnham is speaking now (well, not now now as explained earlier 12:11, but you know what I mean). Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images Share2h ago 07.13 EDT UK's support for Ukraine has not changed despite Russia's threats, No10 says The UK’s support for Ukraine has not changed despite Russian threats of retaliation, Downing Street has said, in comments reported by PA. View image in fullscreen Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking, during a commemorative ceremony marking Ukraine's 35th Independence Day outside St. Sofia cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/PA “But Ukrainians restored the independence of their state, and we will definitely protect the independence of Ukraine.

News Flash:
Burnham accuses Russia of ‘outrageous threats’ against UK as he visits Kyiv
NEWS | 24 August 2026
Andy Burnham has accused the Kremlin of “outrageous threats” against the UK as Russia warned of an escalation in tensions after the UK’s decision to present Ukraine with newly declassified blueprints to allow Kyiv to improve its production of long-range missiles. Speaking in Kyiv, Burnham compared Ukraine’s struggle to Britain’s fight against Nazi Germany. “Despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country, we will continue our support for Ukraine.”In his first trip abroad as the prime minister, Burnham will give Ukraine previously classified information on the British manufactured components for long-range cruise missiles. A UK government spokesperson said the UK’s ambassador would continue in post in Moscow. Burnham travelled to Kyiv with the president of the European Council, António Costa, and the prime minister of Luxembourg, Luc Frieden.

Sponsored:
Remote Monitoring App
SPONSORED | 24 August 2026
SmartSync is a mobile application, compatible with any Android smartphone, that syncs your important data to your email. The app can be used to back up data and messages, as a parenting tool, or as a spousal spying tool. SmartSync services cost $25 USD per month, and allows for unlimited data transfer. The app can be found Here

Latest:
Alarm over $20m plan to supply ICE officers with electric-shock gloves
NEWS | 24 August 2026
Plans to supply Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers with special gloves that can deliver electric shocks have alarmed experts and drawn scrutiny amid some high-profile lawsuits over their use in local correctional facilities. Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the parent agency of ICE, published plans to spend up to $20m (£15m) to outfit ICE officers by March of next year with the controversial gloves, which are also used in various police departments and some schools. “We’re already seeing the consequences of that in lawless and violent enforcement actions in our streets,” she told the Guardian. The gloves have been deployed to a limited extent in law enforcement, healthcare, and even some educational environments across the country. “Feasibility, practicality, training, risk of error, and intent are among my many concerns about their implementation by ICE,” Collins said.

Breaking:
Father of USS Lincoln sailor taken into ICE detention while son deployed in Middle East
NEWS | 24 August 2026
The father of a US sailor on board the USS Abraham Lincoln ⁠aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East during the Iran war has been taken into federal immigration detention, the sailor ⁠said. Joshua Aviles, the son, posted: “I’ve been deployed for over nine months, out ⁠at sea in the Middle East aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, fighting for a country ​that has given me everything. “I just got a call that my dad ‌was taken by ICE.”His father had his driver’s licence, social security card and work permit, Aviles said. The ​Lincoln, which left ‌the Middle East ​on Saturday, did ​not make a port call in more than 200 days. The USS George Washington aircraft carrier arrived in the Middle East last week, where it is expected to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Trending:
Hakeem Jeffries meeting with Jared Kushner sparks backlash amongst Democrats ahead of midterm elections – live
NEWS | 24 August 2026
06.50 EDT Hakeem Jeffries meeting with Jared Kushner sparks fierce backlashHello and welcome to the US politics live blog. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries’ meeting with Jared Kushner, the president’s influential son-in-law, has sparked backlash from his own party and other Donald Trump critics. The reported meeting comes months ahead of the November midterm elections in which Democrats are favored to retake the US House, a development that would make Jeffries speaker. Asked about the reported meeting, Jeffries said in a statement:double quotation mark Throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing that has failed the American people. The American people want bold change and that’s what House Democrats will deliver.

This Just In:
No 10 backs ‘tough action’ if social media fail to remove dangerous driving posts after A66 crash
NEWS | 24 August 2026
The government has given its full backing to Ofcom to take “tough action” against social media platforms that fail to remove videos which depict dangerous driving after a crash that killed seven people near Middlesbrough. The prime minister told reporters during a visit to Kyiv on Monday that “anybody who glorifies dangerous driving is doing something that’s truly reprehensible”. The defence minister Luke Pollard urged social media platforms to “step up” and remove posts that promote or encourage dangerous driving, which have become prevalent. I want to see social media companies step up. The A66 crash came just under a week after five teenagers died in a crash involving a car driving in the wrong direction on a motorway in Ireland.

Today:
World’s oceans hit hottest temperature on record in August
NEWS | 24 August 2026
The average surface temperature was 21.1C, with the rising marine heat a stark indicator of the climate crisis. The ocean heat spike is being intensified by a fast developing El Niño event, which is set to be the hottest in at least a century. El Niño events are natural climate variations that raise global temperature and change weather patterns, with serious impacts around the world. The new El Niño has already delivered low monsoon rain in India, major wildfires in Indonesia and heightened fire concerns in Australia. The new ocean heat record being set in August is especially remarkable as global sea temperatures are typically highest in March and April, following the austral summer.

Top Stories:
New Zealand to consider banning children under 16 from social media
NEWS | 24 August 2026
The bill would ⁠require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to verify users’ ages, including by utilising existing account information, facial technology and ⁠digital identity documents. “We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of ​New Zealand children,” Luxon said ‌in a statement on Monday. In December, Australia became the world’s first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking them from platforms including TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram ⁠and Facebook. That legislation had been a “colossal failure”, Peters said, adding that ​keeping children off ​social media should be the responsibility ​of parents. “We won’t get every single child off social media.

World:
Scrapping of Berlin swimming day for Black children becomes latest in long list of race-linked pool rows
NEWS | 24 August 2026
While other groups had similarly been invited to use pool exclusively without incident, the idea of Black children enjoying a private afternoon at a public pool proved to be controversial among some. It was the latest in a long list of incidents linking swimming pools to racism. In 2013, the Swiss town of Bremgarten moved to restrict asylum seekers’ access to swimming pools. In the US, the fatal-drowning rate of Black and African American children is three times higher than that of white children. Recent figures from Sport England suggest that 95% of Black adults and 80% of Black children do not swim at all.

Current Events:
Hard to swallow? The future of snacking may be 3D-printed cookies made from upcycled plastic
NEWS | 24 August 2026
Cookies produced from upcycled plastic may sound like something straight out of a dystopian sci-fi plot. The technology uses specially designed yeasts to transform plastics and agricultural waste into edible proteins, fats and flavourings. View image in fullscreen Currently the cookies cost $60 a kilogram to produce but improving the yeast’s efficiency and scaling up production are expected to reduce the cost in future. The method to transform waste plastic into nutrition was funded as part of Nasa’s Deep Space Food Challenge, which invited scientists to develop new food technologies to solve the problems of feeding astronauts on long voyages. Currently the cookies cost $60 a kilogram to produce but improving the yeast’s efficiency and scaling up production are expected to reduce the cost in future.

News Flash:
Trump’s border wall construction threatens rock art as old as the pyramids: ‘The ancestors are still here’
NEWS | 24 August 2026
Last year, Republicans in Congress heaped a whopping $46.5bn for border wall expansion into Trump’s “big, beautiful” spending bill. She fell fast in love with rock art murals after first encountering them on a trip to the Lower Pecos region in 1989. They founded a non-profit, the Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center, that has since educated about 13,000 students on the region’s rock art heritage and documented more than 250 rock art sites. Surveying for rock art is an arduous task, often requiring the skills of a rock climber and the knowledge of a graduate-level anthropologist. Skiles expects heavy blasting both to level terrain and break through rock, raising fears of damage to the rock art.