Droughts that were once a century now happen every year, and the impact on wildlife, industrial output and culture itself is catastrophic

Last week, 186 passengers had to be evacuated from the cruise ship Viking Ullur, after it ran aground on a sandbank in the Danube. Others have been left stranded, unable to move between Vienna and Budapest. Passengers stood on deck, the Habsburg splendour around them out of reach as the river fell to 41cm in Budapest, within 8cm of its 2018 all-time low. Elsewhere on the Hungarian stretch of the river, new record lows were recorded.

Farther east in Romania, the Danube recorded its lowest water levels since 1996. A river’s flow is measured in cubic metres per second, and at Baziaș, where the river enters the country, it stood at 1,700m³/s, against a July average of 4,700m³/s. Ferry services were suspended, as were grain barges.

Yiannis Baboulias is a Greek writer based in London. His work focuses on European politics, the environment and the far right

Whether you’re nursing a joint, have an existing condition or just don’t feel like running, these exercises help get your cardio in

The runner’s high might be contagious. In 2024, the fitness tracking app Strava recorded a 59% increase in users attending social running events and run clubs globally. Applications for London’s marathon have increased 40% since 2024, while New York City’s received about 20% more applicants this year. Overall, an estimated 56 million Americans regularly run on a treadmill and 51 million jog, according to a report from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.

But running has a reputation for being rough on our joints. There is some good news for those chasing the high: one 2023 study found little relationship between recreational running and arthritis of the hip or knee, and another suggests that the impact of running causes cartilage to adapt, fortify and thicken over time.

As climate disaster stares us in the face, the radical right says ‘Embrace the Mediterranean life’. Embrace death, more like it

Can’t you leftists understand? Mass death is good for you. Reject the woke love of life! Welcome civilisational collapse! Watch it all burn, then dance in the ashes! This, roughly speaking, is how the dismissal of climate action is now being justified: the argument has shifted from science denial to outright nihilism.

The new incendiary spirit is exemplified by that serial arsonist Allister Heath, editor of the Sunday Telegraph. In a column in the Daily Telegraph last week, originally titled “Britain can’t stop climate change. Scrap net zero and embrace Mediterranean life”, he argued that “climate change is real” but “the war against global warming has been lost”.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

This evening service from London to Crewe is hot, sweaty and heaving with people, many having to stand or sit in the gangways

The 5.46pm train from London Euston to Crewe is the low point of Nikhil Patel’s week. “I’ve never gotten a seat. I always stand up even when I get here early,” says the 22-year-old, struggling to keep his balance while the gangway underneath sways from side to side.

Painfully for Patel, who is commuting back and forth to the capital for a computer science internship, it’s the first leg of a three-hour journey home to Walsall. He grabs the back of a chair to remain steady but says he’s just thankful that the train has left on time – and that it’s even on the move at all.

Gianni Infantino’s reign as Fifa president is in severe peril after the collapse of his plans to sell off parts of the World Cup to private investment. Many Concacaf countries are considering following Europe’s lead by formally removing their support for the Fifa president, and there are widespread calls to remove him from his post. Lucy Hough speaks to columnist Jonathan Liew

Humans are the only animals whose faces redden with embarrassment. Should we see that as an affliction, or as a blessing?

‘Blushing is the most peculiar and most human of all expressions,” Charles Darwin once wrote, and he wasn’t wrong. Though certain species of bird pinken up as a means of communication, and uakari monkeys have red faces when in good health, we seem to be the only animal that flushes as a sign of embarrassment.

“It’s a very truthful signal,” says Prof Sophie Scott, the director of the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. “It’s not fakeable, and there aren’t many things that humans do that fall into that category. You can’t blush on command.”

Exclusive: New health secretary promises root-and-branch reform after damning maternity scandals

Women should not feel pressurised into experiencing an “ideal birth”, the new health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said, promising a root-and-branch reform of standards after several damning maternity scandals.

Cooper, who returns to the department 27 years after she was the minister for public health under Tony Blair, said maternity and child health would be a major focus in the role, where she will also be expected to implement significant reforms to social care.

Probation inspector for England and Wales says ‘clunky’ system needs huge increase in staff

The electronic tagging system that will be relied upon to monitor thousands of offenders released early from prison is failing to alert the authorities of potential breaches of conditions, a watchdog has warned.

Martin Jones, HM inspector of probation in England and Wales, said the system relied on hard-pressed police and probation officers looking up individual cases and then deciding whether potential breaches needed to be investigated further.

Software group benefits from global systems and accounting practices ‘that enable tax to be shirked’, says union boss

The software group Palantir paid just £2m in corporation tax in the UK in 2024, despite holding public sector contracts worth hundreds of millions, thanks to tax breaks that are likely to reduce its contributions to governments around the world for years to come.

The US-headquartered company, which has harnessed AI to secure lucrative work for the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, is growing exponentially.

Official action by regulator for England and Wales comes after formal complaint made by Labour MP about the funds

An official investigation has been launched into charities in England and Wales donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.

The Charity Commission will aim to establish the amount of charitable funds going to illegal settlements, whether the spending was in furtherance of their purposes and any regulatory action that may be necessary.