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French Sunday and the Italian month off | Brief letters

As I write this, I’m enjoying my French Sunday (Polly Hudson, 23 August) with a croissant from the local bakery – open, of course – and a coffee. I’ll meet friends for lunch in a local riverside restaurant, then travel a few miles to a wonderful cafe, for even more coffee and their homemade cakes. Relaxing? Of course it is. It’s a much-needed antidote to a French Monday, particularly in rural France, where 80% of businesses, restaurants and public bodies remain closed all day in order to recover from the excesses of a “do nothing” Sunday. Roslyn Lockhart Montmorillon, France • I enjoyed James Mackay’s article on villeggiatura, the Italian tradition of taking August off, which is shown to help rather than hinder economic output (17 August). As he says, though, the point is “reclaiming life from the totalising logic of the market”. For an expansion of this idea, I recommend the work of Amintore Fanfani, Luigino Bruni and Stefano Zamagni, who deserve to be better known in Britain. Like Pope Leo, they put human dignity and flourishing at the centre of economics. Catherine McLoughlin London • Many problems have an easy solution that is wrong, but I suspect that including food standards in Ofsted results would fix this one very fast (Most English secondary schools are breaking healthy food rules, finds report, 24 August). Brian Fish Leeds • In Elgin in the 1960s, if you were caught snogging in the Two Red Shoes dance hall, a spotlight would be shone on you to kill the moment (Letters, 20 August). Mary McMurran Lancaster • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

‘Fix that little spot’: Danish PM hits back at unsolicited beauty tip from cosmetic surgeon

Sick of getting unsolicited beauty tips on social media, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, rebuffed a male cosmetic surgeon’s offer to “fix” her and advised women in similar situations to embrace self-acceptance. Frederiksen, a Social Democrat and Denmark’s second female prime minister, posted on Instagram that she had just returned from a trip to Ukraine, where she was subjected to air raid sirens, when she found a message proposing some help with her appearance. She included a screenshot of the exchange in which the doctor, who was not identified, said he could “fix that little spot on your nose”. Her retort was swift and pointed: “Oh no. I’m happy with my body – I really don’t need a male plastic surgeon to have an opinion about it!” Frederiksen, who has led the EU and Nato member country since 2019 and is one Europe’s longest-serving heads of government, said being a woman in the public eye meant regular exposure to such unwanted and superficial scrutiny. “I’ve lost count of how many messages I’ve received over the years about my appearance,” the 48-year-old wrote. “Especially that I have ugly teeth and thin hair. That I have an ugly ‘wart’ on my nose and well-meaning advice to get some Botox.” Frederiksen’s global profile has grown this year as she stood up to US president’s repeated claims on Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. She is also a staunch supporter of Ukraine against the Russian onslaught. In a moment of striking candour, Frederiksen admitted annoyance with pushy beauty advice while offering her own guidance how to deal with it. She said she did not volunteer opinions about other people’s looks and said that “I’m perfectly fine with my body – as it is when you’re a woman approaching 50.” Frederiksen said she was fine to stay in conversation with the public on a range of topics but encouraged Danes to set the bar higher with their chosen subject matter. “If you’re going to write to me (and you’re more than welcome to), I hope you’ll use your time to talk about something more meaningful,” she said. “Not my nose.” Although the mean-spirited suggestions made her feel “indignant”, she said, “today, I’m sending an extra loving thought to all of you who have to put up with the ‘perfect imperfections’ we all walk around with every day.” The Associated Press contributed to this report

Burnham says UK with Ukraine ‘all the way’ despite ‘outrageous threats’ from Russia – Europe live

British prime minister Andy Burnham said that the UK will help Ukraine make its own long-range missiles by sharing classified technical information for British components. Burnham, who was in Kyiv alongside other international leaders for Ukraine’s Independence Day, said defence firm MBDA will release details on UK-made parts for the SCALP missile to Ukraine to help the country assemble the weapons. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said ⁠there ⁠will be a “diplomatic track” with Russia discussing ⁠Moscow’s stepped-up attacks in the ⁠Black Sea that have ‌curbed ‌Ukraine’s export capabilities. Ukraine ‌will also strengthen its air defences in the region, he told ‌reporters. Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s allies to ⁠deliver an ⁠air defence package ahead of ⁠the winter, with Russia expected to renew ⁠its strikes on his country’s ‌energy ‌infrastructure, Reuters reported. Addressing a Coalition ‌of the Willing meeting in Kyiv, Zelenskyy also asked Ukraine’s partners to help ‌cover a funding gap of 27 billion euros for its defence sector needs in ⁠2026. Britain’s Andy Burnham has urged Ukraine’s allies to provide more Patriot interceptor missiles to Kyiv, saying the country “needs more help to protect its people right now,” PA agency reported. Speaking in Kyiv as he chaired his first meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, the prime minister said the coalition was “doing everything we can all do and working with our allies outside of this coalition to dig into our own stocks and help others dig into their stocks”. The Coalition of the Willing met online today, co-chaired by Britain’s Andy Burnham from Kyiv. Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski posted a snap from the meeting, saying France’s Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni also spoke during the call. As European leaders gathered in Kyiv to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day, less than 100 miles (150 kilometres) north, the city of Chernihiv was attacked by Russian forces. Across three waves of attacks, a Russian drone struck an apartment building, injuring 18, the Chernihiv city council posted on Telegram. Two of the injured were children. Ukraine’s southern Odesa region came under a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack on Monday, with food storage facilities and energy infrastructure among the targets, regional authorities reported. Eighteen people, including two children, were injured in a Russian drone strike on Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service. Ukraine’s southern Odesa region came under a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack on Monday, with food storage facilities and energy infrastructure among the targets, regional authorities reported. Eighteen people, including two children, were injured in a Russian drone strike on Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service.

Are you a Canadian boycotting US products? We’d like to hear from you

The US has imposed 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods after trade talks between the two countries collapsed, with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney vowing to respond “dollar for dollar”. As part of the proposed deal, Carney had asked provinces to lift their boycotts of US alcohol, which were introduced in response to earlier tariffs. The boycott has been part of a wider shift in Canadian shopping habits: an Angus Reid survey last month found 40% of grocery shoppers were actively checking where products came from, with most of those avoiding US products where possible. We’d like to hear from Canadians who are avoiding US goods. Which products or brands have you stopped buying and what are you buying instead? How easy has it been to make the switch? Have you found Canadian replacements or had to buy products from elsewhere?

Australia has just 12,000 sea lions left – and ‘carnage’ may await them as bird flu takes hold, scientists warn

Scientists have warned deadly H5 bird flu could cause “carnage” for Australia’s seal and sea lion populations after detection of the virus in long-nosed fur seals in South Australia. SA confirmed Australia’s first case in a mammal on Saturday after a dead long-nosed fur seal found at Beachport on the Limestone Coast tested positive for H5N1. The state government announced a second suspected case on Monday in a dead long-nosed fur seal found on the Pages Islands, off Kangaroo Island, with results from CSIRO testing pending. Leading mammal scientist John Woinarski, of Charles Darwin University, said he feared the virus would quickly start affecting more seals and sea lions. “The carnage may be substantial and represent a serious conservation impact,” he said. “I fear for Australian sea lions in particular because of their small population size. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email “It’s likely in the next few weeks it will spread more quickly into the sea lion population in South Australia generally because of the proximity of the sea lion colonies to breeding seabird colonies or affected seabirds.” H5 bird flu has already affected pinnipeds in South America and sub-Antarctica, where it has caused catastrophic losses in populations of some species, particularly among pups. In 2023, H5N1 killed more than 17,000 southern elephant seal pups in Argentina and drone surveys detected more than 13,000 dead southern elephant seal pups on Australia’s Heard Island in 2025 and 2026. “In South America, we’ve seen huge infection rates in sea lions and fur seals,” said Jane Younger, an Antarctic disease ecologist at the University of Tasmania. “Then across the Southern Ocean we’ve seen really big mortality rates in southern elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals. “In some places, the numbers are just astronomical.” Three types of pinnipeds breed in Australian waters – the long-nosed fur seal, the Australian fur seal and the endangered Australian sea lion. The Australian government has rated all at very high risk from H5 bird flu. Experts say about 12,000 Australian sea lions remain – though one recent estimate put the figure at less than 10,000 – with about three-quarters of the population found in South Australia and the remainder in Western Australia. The long-nosed fur seal suspected of having bird flu was found on the Pages Islands where, the SA government reported last week, there had been mass deaths among greater crested terns. The islands are home to one of Australia’s largest breeding colonies of Australian sea lions, with long-nosed fur seals known to visit the area. Younger said while there was some uncertainty about how Australia’s seals and sea lions would fare, the mortality rates seen in South America and the Southern Ocean “make me very worried”. “There’s only 12,000 Australian sea lions in existence,” she said. “For some of these other species like elephant seals, we’ve seen many more than that killed by this virus. “Hopefully it doesn’t wipe out the species, but that’s a possibility.” Younger, said seals and sea lions were vulnerable to H5N1 because they gathered in large colonies that overlapped with seabirds infected with the virus. The environment itself, including the water and beaches, could also be contaminated with the virus. H5N1 can be transmitted from birds to seals or between seals. “At the moment there’s mass mortalities in birds and that infection will cause contamination of the environment,” said Rachael Gray, a pinniped specialist at the University of Sydney’s School of Veterinary Science. “Once you get mammals infected, it’s likely you will see mammal-to-mammal transmission, which is obviously of concern because that facilitates more rapid spread between a species.” While there are no registered vaccines for treating H5 bird flu in mammals, the United States has undertaken experimental trials on a small number of seals. The SA government said last week it was investigating potential opportunities to vaccinate high-priority at-risk mammals, such as Australian sea lions at Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island. The Australian Marine Conservation Society said the arrival of bird flu in SA followed significant environmental harm caused by the algal bloom. Campaigns director Alexia Wellbelove said some species, such as sea lions, were in poorer condition because their food sources had been affected, “meaning they are likely more vulnerable”. Wellbelove said the organisation had been calling for increased funding to target other threats to the species, such as fishing. “With reported mass mortality of terns and now the death of a long-nosed fur seal on the Pages it is now highly likely that this vital population of Australian sea lions has also been exposed to the virus,” she said.

French police accused of rising use of violence to stop Channel crossings

People trying to cross the Channel to the UK have reported an increase in French police use of violence on beaches to prevent them from getting into dinghies, according to a French NGO. Utopia 56, which works on beaches from where migrants attempt Channel crossings, says so far this year 2,720 people have reported being victims of French police violence, compared with 1,954 over the same period last year, when crossings overall were much higher. The organisation says that due to increased enforcement activity on French beaches, for which the UK provides funding, crossings have become more dangerous and disorganised, putting more lives at risk. So far this year at least 21 people have died trying to cross the Channel to reach the UK. The NGO’s report alleges that the UK and French governments are “the architects of this chaos”. It calls for an overhaul of the European asylum system and the opening of safe routes, which it says would stop the boats and neutralise the smugglers. Under a £660m deal agreed earlier this year between the UK and France, the latter has deployed a riot squad to try to stop the boats. Reports of violence include beatings and use of teargas. According to Utopia 56, teargas canisters were deployed during the recent heatwave in sand dunes, posing a fire risk. The NGO has documented at least 10 families becoming separated on French beaches as a result of enforcement action. In one case documented on 27 July, a woman’s leg was run over by a French gendarmerie buggy racing across a beach to try to stop a group of migrants. The briefing, titled “Behind the figures: violent practices, the human cost of repression on the French coast”, has been produced in response to a Home Office announcement widely reported on Friday about the success of increased enforcement to stop the boats. Crossings have decreased by more than 40% so far this year compared with the same period last year and the numbers crossing in July were the lowest recorded for the month since 2020. The Home Office stated that between 27 April and 2 August, French officers prevented 185 boats and more than 4,300 people from crossing the Channel. It is not known how many of these people subsequently succeeded in making the crossing. The Utopia 56 report says: “People do not simply vanish after being intercepted, contrary to what one might believe upon reading the British government statement.” The Home Office said a large amount of equipment had been seized including boats, engines and lifejackets. According to Utopia 56, the seizure of lifejackets does not deter the smugglers but increases the chances that people will drown. “This is a policy driven by statistics, implemented with a single goal, stopping the boats, without any regard for the suffering it causes,” the report says. “These figures may appear to prove that the crackdown is working, but they fail to account for the consequences: women, men and children abandoned on beaches – and, above all, many falling victim to the excesses of the security operation and, consequently, to police violence.” A Home Office spokesperson said: “This government is bearing down on dangerous small boat crossings and restoring control at our border. Joint efforts have seen over 48,000 crossing attempts prevented and 1,100 boats and engines seized since the election. “We are making progress, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020. But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.” France’s interior ministry was approached for comment.

Iran vows to retaliate against countries that cooperate with fresh US sanctions

Tehran has vowed to retaliate against any country that cooperates with the US attempt to impose fresh sanctions against Iran in what the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has billed as “the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary”. In advance of the US announcement, the United Arab Emirates, Iran’s single biggest trading partner in the Middle East, announced it was ending all trade with Iran, a move Tehran believes was coordinated between Washington and the UAE. The US has said it will impose sanctions on any country or entity trading with Iran – what are known as secondary sanctions. The test of the US rhetoric is likely to rest on whether countries such as India, China and Russia believe continued trade with Iran would lead to credible US reprisals against their economies. China has for decades been the main importer of Iranian oil. In May, the US threatened sanctions against Chinese refiners and the banks funding them, but the Chinese commerce department directed Chinese firms to ignore US warnings over Iranian oil imports, saying the threats were illegitimate and deploying for the first time a government statute designed to render US sanctions ineffective in Chinese jurisdictions. The US had imposed sanctions on Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co in April but Washington largely backed off as Donald Trump realised he was risking a wider trade and tariff war with China that the US was likely to lose. This time the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, again said China opposed unilateral sanctions that lacked basis in international law and China believed that military means, sanctions and pressure tactics were not the solution. However, unlike in May, Iran’s oil shipments to Asia have already all but ended due to the effectiveness of a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, driving the cost of those cargoes to the highest levels in years. Last week, Iran’s central bank governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, admitted his country’s crude exports had “virtually stopped” due to the US blockade. The White House believes the Iranian economy is as a result once again on the brink of collapse due to hyperinflation and lack of foreign exchange income caused by the US blockade of oil exports. The rial was trading at 1.992 million per dollar on the unregulated market on Monday, down 4.5% since the US president announced a “crushing economic operation” against Tehran last week. “Iran is completely collapsing!!!” Trump posted on social media in capital letters on Monday. But Iran has been under some kind of US economic maximum pressure campaign for more than 20 years and so far survived. Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said Tehran would respond with an “earthquake-like” retaliation if Washington proceeded with the proposed measures. He also warned Iran’s Gulf neighbours against joining the US sanctions campaign. “If the countries surrounding Iran join the Americans in their economic war, not a drop of oil will leave the Persian Gulf and the strait of Hormuz,” Rezaei said, adding that Iran would also target other oil export routes from the Gulf. Shipping through the strait remained severely disrupted over the weekend, putting further pressure on global energy markets. 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. He said the US had shifted from military operations to what he described as “the same old plans”. Reza Nasri, an international lawyer with links to the Iranian foreign ministry, said: “The announcement is not a measure against Iran. It is a claim of jurisdiction over the world, and every sovereign state on Earth is its real addressee. Iran is merely the occasion. The demand that no country allow its own banks, businesses, airports or ship registries to engage in lawful trade with another country is aimed at everyone else. Sovereignty itself is the target.” Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, said: “Repeating methods that have previously proven to fail will not produce any different results, except that it shows the extent to which America is hostile and spiteful towards each and every Iranian, because it knows very well that the effects of these sanctions will affect ordinary Iranian citizens.” He added: “Obliging or intimidating other countries to stop or limit their trade relations with another country means violating the most important foundation of international relations and the most fundamental pillar of the United Nations charter, which is respect for the national sovereignty of countries.” Hassan Ahmadian, a professor of west Asian studies at the University of Tehran, said: “There isn’t a single new sanction. Everything in Iran has been under primary and secondary sanctions since 2018. Since these sanctions failed to achieve the goals the US and Israel wanted, both sides turned to military action. The big fanfare about an ‘economic war’ is really just a public admission of a major step backward. After failing militarily, Washington is clearly stepping back to square one – the economy.” He said Iran had been signalling in recent weeks that US economic warfare was no longer an acceptable option for Tehran and it would prefer going to war rather than standing idly by in the face of the US implementing the blockade. He said this involved “Iranian calculations related to military capabilities, the American domestic situation, and the Iranian domestic situation”. Last Thursday Bessent claimed in an interview with CNBC that “the US will lead the Islamic Republic of Iran to collapse with the toughest sanctions in history”. The Treasury secretary claimed “the US government is asking its allies and the rest of the world to stop trading with Iran”. He added that the US “will use all its power against anyone who does not comply with this demand”. “Either the countries are with us or against us,” Bessent said. “It is time for our allies and the rest of the world to decide, and we will destroy the economy of this regime.” Writing in the Financial Times on Sunday, he said: “Total financial isolation can obviate the need for American force while enlarging the sphere of freedom for our allies. Those who sever Iran’s remaining financial and commercial connectivity will reinvigorate their own. They will deepen their access to global capital, reinforce confidence in their markets and attain the standing they seek in the world economy.” But China and Russia have so far shown no interest in succumbing to US pressure. By coincidence, Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, flew to Tehran on Monday where he will explore the opportunity to revive talks on the stalled memorandum of understanding signed in June, but not implemented either by Iran or the US largely due to a dispute about whether the memorandum granted Iran interim control over shipping in the strait of Hormuz.

Distracted Italian pedestrians who cross road while on phone could be fined under new code

Italy’s updated highway code will target pedestrians who stare at their mobile phones while crossing the road, as the country’s transport ministry strives to improve road safety by cracking down on perilous distractions. The offence, contained in a draft version of the highway code which is expected to be approved by mid-October, carries fines of €75 or more. The aim is to reduce occasions when a driver does not have enough time to react to a pedestrian distracted by their phone, a scenario that can transform into a serious accident. The measure follows several rulings by Italian courts which have assigned blame for accidents to careless pedestrians. Other electronic devices such as laptops, tablets and digital cameras are included in the ban. However, pedestrians will still be able to have hands-free conversations while crossing the road, and can use their phone in an emergency. Wearing earphones is permitted too, provided pedestrians can hear adequately in both ears, according to snippets of the updated highway code published in the Italian press. The measure does not apply to pedestrians walking along a pavement. The draft also stipulates that before crossing a road, pedestrians must ensure that the driver of an approaching vehicle has seen them and intends to stop. Furthermore, pedestrians must not dither in their pursuit to get to the other side. Italy is not the first country to target distracted walking. In 2018, Lithuania imposed fines on pedestrians using mobile phones or engaging in any other activities that could distract them while crossing the road. In 2017, Honolulu was thought to have become the first city in the world to enforce similar rules while Japan’s Yamato City followed suit in 2020. Italy’s updated highway code is expected to include tougher penalties for those who drive while using a mobile phone, with fines of up to €2,588 for repeat offenders along with having their licence suspendedfor one to three months. The road regulations had also been expected to include restrictions on drivers aged 85 and above, including only being able to drive within 100km of their home and a total ban on motorways. After a public outcry, the transport ministry said on Sunday that the measure had been removed from the draft some time ago at the request of the transport minister, Matteo Salvini.