Has Farage’s brain been hacked? Has he started talking in his sleep? There’s no shortage of explanations for this scandal

We’ve all been there. It’s a lovely summer’s day and you just want a bit of me time. A quiet lunch of champagne and oysters. As you do. Anything to get away from having to pretend you are interested in the people of Clacton. Hell, it’s bad enough being expected to actually visit Clacton – who in their right mind would want to do that? – let alone having to talk to the little people who live there.

So, you’re just minding your own business when who should turn up but two of your closest mates in politics – or contractors who you’ve barely heard of, as you prefer to call them – saying they have been having meetings with an American donor and his son who have already given you more than £30,000 for an opinion poll you have commissioned and now want to bung you another £500,000. And these guys would like to meet you.

In his new book, The Brain Cliff, Dr Norman Swan outlines the science of brain ageing and strategies for staving off cognitive decline

You write that “changing the way you think about the brain cliff can literally change the way you think and remember”. How?

Dr Norman Swan: There are three things you need to know which are not widely known.

Police received information nearly immediately after the killing. It took Las Vegas police 27 years to make an arrest

For years, US law enforcement officials blamed their failure to solve hip-hop star Tupac Shakur’s murder on the lack of cooperation from key witnesses, and on gang members’ “snitches get stitches” culture.

But testimony in a much-delayed murder trial, which concluded this week, almost 30 years after Shakur’s death, highlighted just how much law enforcement officials knew about the shooting, and how early.

We all know tiredness can lead to hunger, and vice versa. But there are so many other ways our habits in these areas are linked. Here are some easy tweaks to help us feel properly refreshed

A study published in the journal Nature Health last month found that food choices and meal timings have “immediate and measurable effects” on sleep. It was just the latest in a growing body of research into the link between diet and rest. Here is the latest science on what to eat for better sleep – and how sleep deprivation can affect your dinner the next day.

More than 400 competitors battle windy conditions on Easdale, a year after tampered-with stones made headlines

“Want to touch it?” Jonny Jennings asked, clutching the World Stone Skimming Championship trophy in his arms as he waited for the ferry. The mind games from the 2025 men’s champion had started hours before this year’s competition had even begun. The 38-year-old had travelled from Kentucky to Easdale island just off the west coast of Scotland to defend his title. He was not giving it up without a fight.

On Saturday, more than 400 of the world’s best stone skimmers descended on the tiny island in the Inner Hebrides, normally home to just 60 residents. From Argentina to India, Hong Kong to Jamaica, more than 30 countries were represented, ferried over in groups of 10 from the mainland.

Betsy and Felix have sex once a week when they are alone in the house – it frees up their minds just to be together

• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

I used to kick guys out of bed after any sexual encounters. But with Felix it was totally different from the start

Schools and councils express financial concerns as EHCP applications surge before potential change in provision

• ‘Powerful example’: minister looks to Essex school for blueprint to transform Send provision

Schools and councils across England are expecting the proportion of children with special needs plans to double to one in 10, with families rushing to secure support before ministers bring in changes.

Headteachers have reported an “unreal” surge in applications for education, health and care plans (EHCPs) mandating support for needs or disabilities such as speech and learning difficulties, autism or ADHD. In 2025, just one in 20 school-age children had EHCPs.

Exit poll shows Alternative für Deutschland on 44.4% of vote in Saxony-Anhalt after huge turnout, with votes still being counted

The populist far-right, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland has emerged as the winner in a crucial state election in Germany, exit polls have projected, securing a historic result and more than doubling its support, and appearing to be on the brink of becoming the first far-right party to gain power at state level since the second world war.

Initial exit polls showed the party to have secured 44.4% of the vote, ahead of predictions and decisively ahead of the Christian Democrats (CDU) of the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, in a contest that was being followed across the world. However, it still remains unclear as to how and whether it will be able to form a government, having ruled out entering a coalition, and being refused any form of cooperation by the mainstream parties.

Arrival marks first visit to Ukraine and comes day after ‘substantive plans’ on ending war discussed in Moscow

The US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have arrived in Kyiv for a second day of talks on how to end the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met the pair in Sophia Square, in front of Kyiv’s historic Saint Sophia Cathedral. Zelenskyy greeted Witkoff with a hug, saying: “It’s good to see you, Steve.”

Leon Panetta tells Guardian US is risking ‘forever war’ and says Pentagon ‘turmoil’ sending message of weakness

Donald Trump’s war with Iran is likely to drag on for another six months, Leon Panetta, the former US defense secretary, has warned, as the US president struggles to find his way out of the controversial conflict.

Panetta declared in an interview that the war with Iran – launched by Trump over six months ago – risks becoming another “forever war in the Middle East”, with no clear end in sight.