A record of what was published, when, and how it changed.

Are Microsoft’s AI plans being held back by a shortage of chips?

By Aisha Down and Ed Zitron

Guardian investigation finds apparent discrepancy between what tech company has said about its AI capacity – and the number of advanced chips it has in operation The chips are quite small and some can be held in the palm of a hand. They are fundamental to the development of artificial intelligence models – and the world’s biggest technology companies need vast numbers of them to keep ahead. Microsoft is one of them.

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Asking prices for newly listed homes in UK’s richest borough fall by £100k in one month

By Rupert Jones

Fierce competition in some areas of London means landlord purchasers are making successful lowball offers The average price of a home coming up for sale in Britain’s richest borough has dropped by almost £100,000 in a month as fierce competition among sellers in many areas prompts some to slash their price expectations, data shows. The property website Rightmove said that for Britain as a whole, average newly listed

‘His ache is real’: Bob Dylan and more on the wild genius of honky-tonk hellraiser Gary Stewart

By Garth Cartwright

Worshipped by everyone from Willie Nelson to Joe Strummer, the country star with the amazing voice imploded in a blaze of guns, knives, drugs and infidelities. What’s behind his astonishing posthumous rediscovery? ‘He sings like a man arguing with destiny. It sounds like the ache is real, that the ruin is real,” Bob Dylan tells me. “There’s a cracked truth there. What’s unsettling about him is that he sounds like he’

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Coping with 54C heat: Delhi slum diaries detail living in extreme temperatures

By Suchitra in Delhi

With heatwaves now recognised as disasters, personal testimonies are key to a new project that looks to protect those living in the most cramped districts of India’s capital Every summer evening, Gulshan follows the same routine. She washes the floor of her one-room home several times so it cools a little for her four children to sleep on. Last summer, the family saved enough to buy a desert cooler, which uses evapor

Italy’s mythic ‘month off’ in August was hard won. It would be good for us all | Jamie Mackay

By Jamie Mackay

The villeggiatura, a month-long break, was popularised in the 1960s when trade unions were strong – and so was economic productivity On the Riviera di Ponente, sandwiched between the glitzy resort towns of the Ligurian coast, sits the Albenga plain. Dotted with campsites and bungalows, the area developed during Italy’s postwar boom as an affordable refuge for workers to escape the smog of nearby industrial cities lik

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Blackbox review – a legendary escape from slavery is told with magic tricks

By Mark Fisher

Underbelly, Edinburgh The story of Henry ‘Box’ Brown, who succeeded in mailing himself out of bondage, is recounted rather than fully dramatised Henry “Box” Brown is wrapped up in chains when he has an idea to claim his freedom. As inspiration hits him, actor Josiah Alpher flexes his muscles and, miraculously, the chains appear to pass through his neck. Magic! It is a neat visual metaphor for a true story that seems

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‘It’s been very tough’: hope of progress in gruelling battle against south Wales wildfire

By Bethan McKernan Wales correspondent

Efforts of emergency services and military in Blaenavon appear to be working but there are fears for the future More than three weeks after it began burning and two days after the military deployed to the area, there is hope that the huge wildfire on the hillside above the Eastern valley town of Blaenavon may finally be coming under control. Emergency workers and soldiers described a gruelling battle against the deep

Can exercise really help improve my sex life?

By Keren Landman

Here’s what experts say about how sex and exercise are linked, and whether the type, timing and intensity of movement matter Here’s a reason to put your sneakers on: exercise can improve your sex life. It’s not necessarily about changing how your body looks, or being strong enough to swing from the chandelier. Regular movement improves smaller, less visible bodily functions that increase your desire and capacity for

Kindness of strangers: The day of my mum’s funeral, the saleswoman at the stationery store made me feel less alone

By Helen as told to Katie Cunningham

Because I’d visited so often to print things, she made me feel that someone had witnessed the journey I was on, all the way through to its difficult conclusion Read more in the kindness of strangers series Mum’s disease progressed slowly at first, and then in a really big rush. After years of battling early onset Parkinson’s, in 2015 we were suddenly told she only had six months left. I was living in Brisbane, Austra

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‘Absolutely manic’: hot weather puts unprecedented pressure on Greater Manchester police

By Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent

Force has seen busiest month in its history, with heatwaves putting added strain on criminal justice system On England’s hottest day of the year so far, Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester was thronging with pedestrians, many clutching ice-creams or cold drinks as they passed through the town centre. Officers from Greater Manchester police were also out in force, some in plainclothes, some stationed by a facial-r

Readers reply: How is it physically possible to continue breaking sporting records?

Byline not supplied

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts This week’s question: Is it inevitable that consumerism will literally fill up the planet? Obviously, progressions in sports clothing technology must make a small difference to the abilities of an athlete – but how on earth is it physically possib

‘It was barbaric. I was crying my eyes out’: why are so many women left in agony by routine womb examinations?

By Anna Moore

There are more than 70,000 hysteroscopies every year in England alone. The NHS calls them ‘low complexity’ – yet a shocking number of patients complain of inadequate pain relief and medical staff who refuse to take them seriously In February this year, Beth Harris sat in the day surgery waiting room of her local hospital and tried to steady her nerves. She was there for a hysteroscopy, in this case to remove a fibroi

How to make quesadillas – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

By Felicity Cloake

A cook-your-own adventure meal, with all manner of fillings and servings to explore The Mexican equivalent of a cheese toastie, but even quicker to make, these are the perfect summer holiday or weekend lunch, because everyone can choose their own fillings and help cook. Plus, this recipe is just a jumping-off point – once you’ve mastered the method, you can fill them with anything you like … grated chocolate and mash

‘Why did it become personal?’: furore over plans to expand Kent oyster shack

By Daniel Boffey in Whitstable

James Green’s oyster company owns a chunk of Whitstable’s shoreline but success has not brought affection from residents The 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 i

Dining across the divide: ‘At one point she said, “I don’t want to offend you, but you seem quite privileged”’

By Erica Buist

A trainee accountant and a company director had differing views on opportunities for young people, but could they find common ground on the new prime minister? • Want to meet someone from across the divide? Click here to find out how Margaret, 22, London Occupation Trainee accountant and part-time arts producer Continue reading...

‘It is not only a future certainty – the disaster is already here’: why we need climate fiction

By Tara Menon

As wildfires rage across Europe and Britain swelters through its hottest summer on record, literary fiction has a vital role to play in capturing the severe consequences of climate crisis Earlier this summer, I travelled through Europe on a book tour. Everywhere I went, the heat broke records. In Italy, Germany and Spain, I sought refuge from the afternoon sun in air-conditioned hotels. In normally temperate Zurich,

‘I don’t always go full banana!’ From the yellow man to a playful shrink, stylish people on what they wear every day – and why

By Ellie Violet Bramley

How does a rabbi choose her shoes? Why does a psychoanalyst like slogan tees? And why does a doctor avoid wearing scrubs at work? Seven striking dressers share their surprising style stories Andrew Geldart, 65, retired engineer, Cornwall Continue reading...

Which plants will survive and can I use grey water? Gardening as UK summers get drier

By Lisa O’Carroll Senior correspondent

As parts of Beth Chatto’s visionary drought-tolerant gardens in Essex turn brown, the head gardener offers advice Her debut book, in 1978, was titled The Dry Garden. Since then, the late Beth Chatto created a rich legacy with her expertise as a plantswoman and by setting up one of the oldest unwatered public gardens in England. Once a car park but transformed in 1992 into an experiment to test what plants were drough

This is how we do it: ‘Sex was our glue – now if we fight, we can’t just screw and come out glowing’

By As told to Olivia Ladanyi

Pam and Mike couldn’t keep their hands off each other when they met. But as aging and biology have taken their toll, their sex life has suffered • How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously We haven’t had sex in two years. Mike says it’s because his dick is dead Continue reading...

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‘I thought – if I die, I’ve had a good innings’: producer James Ford on life, death and making an album from his hospital bed

By Nosheen Iqbal

The Arctic Monkeys, Pet Shop Boys and Pulp collaborator was at the height of his powers as Britain’s most in-demand music producer when leukaemia struck. ‘I realised life is exceptionally fragile,’ he says There was a moment outside the door of a recording studio in rural France, staring at a half-eaten apple that he believed possessed psychedelic properties, when James Ford knew things had really got out of hand. He

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The Last Drop review – everything is rotten in this dark domestic comedy

By Chris Wiegand

Zoo Playground, Edinburgh Dante Passarelli’s play, part of the São Paulo Showcase, is an atmospheric hour borrowing themes from Hamlet This year’s fringe variously puts Hamlet in the Big Brother house with Lady Macbeth, makes him “ Prince of Sweden ” in an Italian two-hander and grinds the play into what Polonius might call a “tragical-comical” swipe at the meat industry. Dante Passarelli’s The Last Drop, part of the

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‘We detected unusual activity’: the scam that uses AI to exploit your holiday photos

By Shane Hickey

Fraudsters use pictures posted on Instagram or Facebook to create emails seeking bank account details You are on a short break in Porto and post some pictures of your family on Instagram or Facebook. With a small section of the Douro river in the background, you think it could have been taken anywhere. A few days later, you get a text saying that your card was compromised. “We detected unusual activity while you were

The weekend is 100 years old – but have ‘skiveday Fridays’ and hybrid working ruined it for everyone?

By Jess Cartner-Morley

In 1926, Henry Ford gave his employees both Saturdays and Sundays off – and the two-day chunk of time to party, pray or simply do nothing was born. Now it’s changed beyond recognition For 11 years, from 1929 to 1940, the Soviet Union did not have weekends. Instead, to increase productivity citizens were allocated a day off in every seven at random. With 80% of the population at work on any given day, factories never

Kinz, London W11: ‘No bells, no whistles, just Lebanese food cooked with immense pride’ – restaurant review

By Grace Dent

Home cooking, but in the most complimentary sense Some developers would rip the soul out of a 1930s banking hall, but Kinz, a new all-day Lebanese brasserie housed in a former Lloyds Bank in Notting Hill, instead makes a feature of its chunky vault door. Where W11 residents once kept their cash, diners can now take a seat and sip Lebanese wine from the Bekaa valley. After all, what visit to the bank wouldn’t be impro

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I haven’t dated for years and want to try again. How do I prepare for the storm | Ask Annalisa Barbieri

By Annalisa Barbieri

Do you really want to date, or do you just feel you should? Be kind to yourself, and maybe try real-world dating and avoid the apps for now I haven’t been on a date in eight years and want to start next year. How can I prepare for the storm? I want to love and care for someone. I long for a supportive, funny life partner. Should I say that to a man? And is that too much in a dating profile? Continue reading...