Exclusive: More than 100 homes on King Charles and Prince William’s inherited estates have EPC ratings of F or G• ‘It’s archaic’: the struggle to heat poorly insulated homes let by royal estatesMore than 100 homes on the inherited royal estates of King Charles and Prince William fail to meet the legal minimum energy standards for landlords, the Guardian can reveal.An analysis of a large sample of domestic lets on the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall and the Sandringham estate found that one in five have Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings of F or G. Continue reading...

15 Aug 2026 16:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Seriousness of remark made in New York on Friday, and whether it signaled new policy ​position, not clearDonald Trump has threatened to declare the strait of Hormuz as “a territory of the United States” as his administration struggles to conclude the war with Iran.During a speech at a police academy on Long Island, New York, on Friday, the US president said he would “pretty soon” designate the waterway – a crucial chokepoint for global trade, through which about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supplies typically pass – a US territory. Continue reading...

14 Aug 2026 21:38 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Amid fears for jobs, some film-makers say AI could enable them bypass studio giants and take more creative risksNear the collonaded entrance to Sony Pictures’ historic Culver City film studio, a tech-powered rival has sprung up this summer. The artists at Promise, a new studio feeding off the potential of AI, can glimpse the lots where Singin’ in the Rain and Men in Black were shot, but no longer do they need to get beyond the studio’s high walls to make their visions come true.From far more modest premises, they are making movies with rapidly accelerating AI models that create backgrounds, special effects and even “synthetic performers” – using US models but also driven by market-leading Chinese AI. Continue reading...

16 Aug 2026 12:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Peter Ruis appeared ‘to be doing a good job in difficult circumstances’ at department store chain, says analyst“Going up?” After a tough week for department stores it feels as if that sales aspiration is as dated as the singsong phrase in the opening credits of Are You Being Served? Simpsons of Piccadilly, which inspired the fictional Grace Brothers department store in which the 1970s TV sitcom was set, is long gone, and several of its modern equivalents are now fighting oblivion.The boss of John Lewis, Peter Ruis, clearly decided it was time to exit the elevator this week, announcing his abrupt departure from the UK’s biggest department store chain in a surprise statement. Days later, Harvey Nichols, the luxury Knightsbridge store that was once a byword for 1990s chic, was bought out of administration for a knock-down price by the owner of Sports Direct, Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group. Continue reading...

15 Aug 2026 14:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

James Green’s oyster company owns a chunk of Whitstable’s shoreline but success has not brought affection from residentsThe clink of glasses and the lapping of the tide was punctuated by giggling toddlers and the slurp of oysters at tables populated by people gently sizzling on a baking day on the Kent seaside.But James Green, of the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company, had the demeanour of a man who had found grit in his mollusc. “I don’t like to use the term but it is nimbyism,” he said. “Why did it become personal? I don’t know really. Because we’re a family business, it’s a relatively small town?” Continue reading...

16 Aug 2026 12:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Hit by heatwaves and low rainfall, food producers are finding novel solutions to help crops and cattle survivePonds and collection tanks, drought-resistant crops and a certain rodent. As the climate crisis brings more extreme weather to Britain, farmers are experimenting with new tactics to tackle drought – and flooding.The string of heatwaves and drought conditions experienced across vast swathes of Britain this summer has brought a series of challenges for food producers, particularly those growing crops more suited to the UK’s traditional climate. Continue reading...

14 Aug 2026 06:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

There are parched fields, overheating sheep and potentially the worst cereal harvest since detailed records began – but it’s a good year for cider applesAs parts of the UK swelter through a fifth successive climate crisis-driven heatwave and nearly three-quarters of England remains in drought, how are six homegrown products faring? Continue reading...

14 Aug 2026 14:40 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN