From cows and cats to squirrels and birds, all have their own methods but may need more help as heatwaves intensify

With the UK bracing for its third heatwave of the summer, 2025 is on course to be a record-breaking year for temperature. As people retreat into paddling pools and beneath the breeze of pedestal fans, a quieter and less visible struggle is playing out across the country’s fields, forests and hedgerows. So how are Britain’s animals weathering the heat?

From cows and cats to herons, horses and even earthworms, each species has evolved its own tactics for staying cool – some more effective than others. But as extreme heat events become more frequent and intense, scientists are beginning to question the longer-term resilience of UK wildlife, and what we can do to help.

Across the US, without soundbites or stunts, the president is building a police state and eroding democracy

In the global attention economy, one titan looms over all others. Donald Trump can command the gaze of the world at a click of those famously short fingers. When he stages a spectacular made-for-TV moment – say, that Oval Office showdown with Volodymyr Zelenskyy – the entire planet sits up and takes notice.

But that dominance has a curious side-effect. When Trump does something awful and eye-catching, nations tremble and markets move. But when he does something awful but unflashy, it scarcely registers. So long as there’s no jaw-dropping video, no expletive-ridden soundbite, no gimmick or stunt, it can slip by as if it hadn’t happened. Especially now that our senses are dulled through over-stimulation. These days it requires ever more shocking behaviour by the US president to prompt a reaction; we are becoming inured to him. Yet the danger he poses is as sharp as ever.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

It’s been a quarter of a century since the UK fell in love with Big Brother. To celebrate, we remembers its best bits – from hot tub pregnancies to Andrew Tate getting his just desserts

Big Brother house, this is the Guardian. You are live to the nation. Please do not swear. Yes, it’s the show that changed the face of British TV. On 18 July, it’s exactly 25 years since the OG reality franchise took our screens by storm – which will be marked this autumn by an extended 25th anniversary series. So we are celebrating by fast-forwarding through a quarter-century of romances, rows and all-round ridiculousness to pick the greatest hits of Big Brother – not the celebrity spin-off, otherwise George Galloway being a cat and “David’s dead!” would definitely feature. Instead we’re talking about the original and best civilian edition, whose pioneering 00s pomp came on Channel 4, before the less loved Channel 5 era – which was axed in 2018 until ITV rebooted it two years ago. These are the Endemol classic’s best bits. How many do you remember? Big Brother will get back to you.

This recipe tastes punchier and is cheaper than the chain version – but is it worth the prep time?

This week Pret a Manger sparked uproar when it launched a range of new supersized salads. It came as a response to what Pret said was a “shift in what customers want from lunch”, though possibly not from their wallet, with the premium salads priced £10-£13.

But how good are they? And is it right that they cost that much? I set off to recreate the miso salmon super plate at home. It’s fun copying the ingredients off the back of a packet to come up with a recipe. With the miso salmon plate, I’m impressed by the original: the plate looks very pretty, and the lightly smoked salmon fillet has an excellent texture. The tenderstem broccoli is just-blanched, and pleasingly crunchy.

After taking converging paths following teenage breakthroughs, the two stars realign in SW19 showpiece

On a quiet outside clay court at the Hungarian national tennis centre in Budapest nine years ago a pair of outstanding 15-year-olds tussled in front of a few dozen spectators. Although the duel offered glimpses into the potential from both sides of the net, Iga Swiatek defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-2 en route to Poland’s triumph over the US in the Junior Fed Cup. Even though Anisimova endured a difficult afternoon, memories of those days immediately drew a smile to her face. “I used to enjoy those Fed Cup trips a lot,” she says. “We had a lot of fun.

“She was playing very well. She was a great junior – I remember a lot of coaches were saying that she’s going to be a big deal one day. They were right.”

Country’s navy announced seizure of uncrewed narco sub, first capture of such a vessel in Colombian waters

The bust was unusual – a narco submarine capable of carrying more than 1.5 tons of cocaine. There were no drugs onboard this time, but most notably, there were no traffickers.

Last week, the Colombian navy announced that it had seized an “autonomous semisubmersible”, the first seizure of such a vessel in the country’s waters.

Deputy PM targeted for role in Birmingham bin strikes but sources say she resigned her membership months ago

Angela Rayner has said she will not be “pushed around” by the Unite trade union after it voted to suspend her membership and rethink its ties with the party.

The deputy prime minister was censured by the union over her role in the Birmingham bin strike, although party sources said Rayner resigned her membership of Unite some months ago.

President hints at ‘major announcement’ on Monday after halting arms shipments due to dwindling stockpiles

• US politics live – latest updates

Donald Trump appears poised to deliver weapons to Ukraine by selling them first to Nato allies in a major policy shift for his administration amid frustrations with Vladimir Putin over stalling negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

During an interview with NBC News, Trump said he will probably have a “major announcement” on Russia on Monday and confirmed he had struck a deal with Nato leaders to supply weapons to Ukraine.

• Number will no longer be used across all club’s teams

• 28-year-old died alongside his brother in car crash

Liverpool have permanently retired their No 20 shirt in honour of Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash alongside his brother, André Silva, last week. The club have announced that the No 20 will no longer be used across all levels of the club, including the men’s team, the women’s team and through academy levels.

The tribute, the first in Liverpool’s history, is a reflection of how valued the Portugal international was as a player and a person at the club. Liverpool fans have called for the retirement of the No 20 shirt since the 28-year-old and his brother died in north-western Spain. Liverpool deliberately timed the announcement at 20:20 BST on Friday.

UN human rights office says 615 of the deaths were in vicinity of sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

At least 798 people have been killed while seeking food at distribution points operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and other humanitarian convoys since the end of May, the UN human rights office said on Friday.

The GHF, proposed by Israel as an alternative to the UN aid system in Gaza, has been almost universally condemned by rights groups for its violation of principles of humanitarian impartiality and what they have said could be complicity in war crimes.