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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.

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

In some non-Ukraine news, Dutch broadcaster Avrotros announced Monday that it is boycotting the Eurovision Song Contest for a second year over Israel’s participation. Broadcasters in the Netherlands, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain had refused to take part in this year’s contest for this reason. “The Eurovision Song Contest was originally created to bring people and countries together,” Avrotros director-general Taco Zimmerman said in a statement. “It is undeniable that international conflicts are increasingly affecting the contest, undermining its neutral character. The Eurovision Song Contest has therefore become a platform for division.” In 2022, the European Broadcasting Union made the decision to ban Russia from competing in the song contest over the invasion of Ukraine.

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 is 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. 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.

Wild beaver kits born in Norfolk for first time in more than 500 years

Wild beaver kits have been born in Norfolk for the first time in more than 500 years. The pair of newborns are the offspring of two free-living beavers who mysteriously arrived in Pensthorpe nature reserve near Fakenham in December. This couple, who have built a lodge on the River Wensum, were the first wild beavers recorded in Norfolk since the native species was hunted to extinction in England at the beginning of the 16th century. How they got to the Wensum remains a mystery. Although beavers have re-established themselves in the English countryside since 2015, the nearest population of wild beavers is thought to be more than 130 miles away, on the River Stour in Kent. Some suspect the breeding pair were illegally released by conservation activists, a practice known as beaver bombing which Pensthorpe does not support, said the reserve’s manager, Richard Spowage. However, he welcomed the arrival of the “very playful” kits, which are thought to be about three months old. “It’s amazing,” he said. Viewing camera trap footage and discovering the kits had been born were moments of intense joy, he added. “We initially saw a single young one with a parent, just pottering around, doing little beaver things, chewing on little bits of branch and leaf. And then, in a later piece of footage, it went off … and suddenly it came running back, and a second kit was running after it.” The kits appear to enjoy feeding on willow and water mint, but not everything on the menu in Norfolk has proved a hit. “One got stung by a nettle, we think, because it reacted really suddenly, jumped back and started shaking its face.” They are already becoming very independent, and have been learning how to dive into the river and tailslap its surface to make a big bang when they want to scare off a predator. “We’ve got footage of an adult tailslapping against an otter … and one of the little ones is able to do that now, too.” Although the beavers live in a secret, inaccessible location in the nature reserve, they may expand their territory and become more visible to visitors in the future, he said. The birth of the kits presents a conundrum, because they will have no mates to breed with in the future except their parents and siblings. “You can’t have just one family in the river system,” said Spowage. “You need a wider genetic pool.” The reserve is now crowdfunding so that it can apply to the government advisory body, Natural England, for permission to legally introduce more wild beavers into the Wensum, which feeds into the Norfolk Broads. It will be an expensive project, involving studies of the river system, staff training and discussions with multiple stakeholders, but Spowage is hoping all hurdles can be overcome so Norfolk’s first family of wild beavers can thrive: “If we can introduce other beavers, then they will interbreed and the population will expand properly.” Farmers have traditionally opposed beaver reintroduction in the UK over fears their dams could flood fields and damage crops. But during the heatwave, one farmer told the Guardian that his best asset has been a family of beavers who have built a reservoir on his land that contains 3m litres of water. “What’s happening now is there are landowners suddenly realising that when they do have beavers, the beavers are holding back and managing water, which is valuable for farmland in our current climate,” said Spowage. Introducing more beavers into the Wensum would be a way for the government to lead on species recovery, he added, and would help to alleviate the frustration many conservationists feel about the speed and scale of legal beaver releases in the UK. So far, the impact of the beavers on the reserve has been minimal: “They haven’t made any dams or built anything on the river. The only things they’ve been doing is clearing trees a bit and digging tiny little channels off to the sides of the river.” By thinning some of the nearby woodland, the beavers have opened up the reserve’s rich fen habitat, allowing more light to reach the forest floor and encouraging plant growth. “That means more food – not just for them, but for all wildlife … they’re doing things we were doing as humans in our management plan, but we were doing it quite poorly, and they are doing it really well.” Blue tits, great tits, blackcaps, water rails, jays, mallards, ducklings, foxes, otters and roe deer have all been recorded using or drinking from the shallow 30cm-wide river channels created by the beavers. Natural England spokesperson Matt Heard said: “We are working with Pensthorpe nature reserve, the Beaver Trust and other stakeholders to ensure the welfare of the animals, and to develop a plan of action. “Reintroducing beavers to our landscapes makes a huge difference to nature’s recovery and where releases are managed carefully, they can secure long-term environmental benefits.”

Monday briefing: Thousands of sex offenders could be offered libido-suppressing drugs – will they work?

Good morning. I know sex offender treatment might not sound like an obvious August topic, but trust me, this is worth your attention. It’s a contradiction we seem unable to resolve: as a society, we abhor the crimes these offenders commit against mainly women and children, but put little thought into their management beyond (mostly temporarily) locking them away. This may be about to change. Over the weekend, our home affairs editor, Rajeev Syal, revealed that thousands of male prisoners in England and Wales could soon be offered sex drive-suppressing drugs in a radical scheme aiming to reduce reoffending – and ease the prison overcrowding crisis. But what are the practical and ethical considerations at play in medicating this growing sector of the prison population? I spoke to Rajeev to find out. But first, a roundup of this weekend’s other biggest stories. Weekend roundup UK | Cleveland police have published photographs of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough who died when a car travelling the wrong way on the A66 crashed head-on into their police vehicle. US-Canada trade | Donald Trump has lashed out at Canada after trade talks collapsed, with the US imposing 50% tariffs on $20bn (£15bn) of Canadian goods and Mark Carney vowing to retaliate “dollar for dollar”. Russia | A 32-year-old Russian woman has been accused of assassinating a Russian naval commander with a bomb in occupied Crimea, allegedly on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence. Labour | Andy Burnham is facing pressure from Labour groups to recognise Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and impose a full arms embargo, setting up a potential showdown at next month’s party conference. Ukraine | Britain will boost Ukraine’s capacity to make its own long-range missiles, Andy Burnham will announce today, as he travels to Kyiv for the country’s independence day on his first foreign visit as prime minister. In depth: ‘There are people who are obsessed with sex, but don’t want to be’ The number of sex offenders in prison in England and Wales has risen sharply in recent years to 15,000. This growth is driven by mounting prosecutions for historic crimes and a huge increase in online offending, with more than 850 men arrested on suspicion of online child sexual abuse every month. The ongoing row over early release has exposed how prisons are struggling to maintain even basic levels of safety and human dignity, never mind having the capacity to work on rehabilitation. Once inside prison, these offenders – in particular those who target children – live with the constant threat of violence, and get minimal support with their offending behaviour. Sex-offender treatment programmes – which offered group-based psychological therapy – were quietly abandoned in the late 2010s amid controversy about whether they increased reoffending risks. Sex offenders already have comparatively low reoffending rates compared with other groups – 11.7% for those released in early 2023, compared with 21.7% for other violent offences, or 19.6% for robbery. Now, Rajeev tells me, the main thrust of government plans to reduce this further is the use of sex drive-suppressing medication. This autumn, an initial pilot will be scaled up to include 20 prisons, and officials could be ready to launch the drugs in prisons and probation services across England and Wales by the end of 2028 if early results prove favourable. Government sources have told the Guardian that ministers are keen to expand the voluntary use of sex drive-suppressing drugs as they reach desperately for solutions to the prison overcrowding crisis. After an outcry from victims that proved an early test for his leadership, Andy Burnham announced earlier this month that prisoners convicted of rape, grooming and serious child sexual offences would be excluded from the early release scheme due to begin in October, but other sex offenders serving sentences of less than four years will still be eligible. ***** How does it work in practice? Prisoners on the trial are typically offered a combination of pills: a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), such as sertraline, which limits invasive sexual thoughts, and anti-androgens, which reduce the production of testosterone and limit libido. One in four sex offenders – equating to 3,750 current prisoners – would be considered for the treatment. “It’s meant to target sex offenders who experience intrusive, persistent and intense sexual thoughts, as well as persistent arousal and unhealthy sexual urges and sexual behaviours,” Rajeev says. “There are people who are obsessed with sex, but don’t want to be.” These offenders differ significantly from others who seek power or sadistic enjoyment through abuse and don’t recognise the impact of their offending. Prof Belinda Winder (pictured, below) is a leading forensic psychologist who has evaluated the use of these drugs. She insists that the scheme does not amount to “chemical castration” – a phrase that’s also inaccurate because, bluntly, it requires the continued ingestion of medication, not surgical intervention. The proposal for “mandatory chemical castration” made by then justice secretary Shabana Mahmood last year has since “hit the rocks”, says Rajeev. “There is wide agreement that this scheme has to be voluntary,” he says, “working with people who really want to stop their offending, with their knowledge and consent.” **** What are the considerations? Medicating offenders raises complex questions. Concerns have surfaced about the limited data available on the long-term effects of these medications. For example, we know that testosterone suppression can cause osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Serious side effects could also affect how likely offenders are to continue with their medication once they leave prison, Rajeev says. Their use could even result in legal action being taken against the government, particularly if an individual claims they felt pressured into the scheme. Assessing who is suitable for medication takes lengthy observation and analysis. Intensive oversight would also be necessary once a prisoner was released from custody, to ensure they continued to take their medication. “That’s one big problem with seeing this as a way of bringing down prison overcrowding,” says Rajeev. “How do you monitor it outside, given how over-stretched the probation service already is?” And then there are the ethical considerations that arise, even when medicating an offender with their explicit consent. In other jurisdictions, including Australia and the US, modern mandatory schemes have been subject to fierce debate about whether they are, in principle, inhumane, a populist exploitation of public disgust for sex offenders, or a brave and creative approach to rehabilitation. While those running the pilot emphasise its voluntary nature, critics are already warning that this could become blurred if an offender’s willingness to take medication is considered when making parole decisions, or if it’s used as a criterion for eligibility in future early release programmes. **** What else is available when sex offenders leave prison? For some prisoners treated by Prof Winder, this medication has been transformative. One man who experienced problematic sexual arousal – intense sexual urges throughout the day – described finally being able to follow the plot of a film without being plagued by compulsive thoughts. “Without the drugs, these images were going around his head all the time,” said Winder. “He did not want them any more.” The fact that the government is prepared to focus on such a radical solution – which it accepts is not appropriate for the majority of sex offenders – underlines how very little support is available for this group. And if you don’t like the idea of giving sex offenders support, then consider it victim protection: a means of breaking the isolation and shame that often leads people to reoffend. There are alternatives. Over the years, I’ve reported on a handful of programmes that work with sex offenders once they leave prison, and interviewed men whose thinking has been substantially changed not by medication but by human intervention. The best known of these is the Circles programme, which provides a local network of volunteers to support and hold accountable their “core member”, a child sexual offender who wants to reintegrate into the community. Although evaluations consistently show its significant impact on reoffending, when I interviewed its founder, Rev Harry Nigh, a couple of years ago, he spoke of being worried that a rightward shift in politics was making it tougher for decision-makers to justify funding these interventions. In this context, dare I say that any effort to look beyond an offender’s past and consider their future is brave. And there’s a definite upside for our new PM in making the scheme work, Rajeev reminds me. “If the government can ensure that a quarter of the sex offender population will take a pill and not feel compelled to commit another crime, relieving some of the huge pressure on the criminal justice system, it’s a huge win.” The week to come Wednesday | Ofgem will announce its quarterly energy price cap affecting bills for the last quarter of 2026. Thursday | Quarterly immigration and Neet statistics will be released, two policy areas Andy Burnham is keen to focus on. Thursday | The 17-year-old who pleaded guilty to arson over the attack at Kenton United synagogue in April is due to be sentenced. What else we’ve been enjoying I’ll never tire of watching, reading and listening to Miriam Margolyes (pictured), and her essay on how to save the nation doesn’t disappoint. (She only mentions sex once.) Michael Author Meg Mason’s thoughtful meditation on the intense parasocial bonds between readers and writers has had me re-evaluating my close friendships with John Steinbeck, Liane Moriarty and Katherine Rundell. Libby I found Hannah Richell’s thoughtful reflection on grief, after her husband died in a surfing accident ten years ago, particularly moving. Michael Sport Fifa | The Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, has described Gianni Infantino’s doomed attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup as “even worse than the Super League plan” and warned his embattled Fifa counterpart that he will face an opponent if he runs for re-election next March. Formula One | Britain’s Lewis Hamilton said talks were needed at Ferrari as to why they delayed bringing teammate Charles Leclerc into the pits at the Dutch Grand Prix. Cricket | Brydon Carse has become the latest England cricketer involved in a late-night incident after footage emerged of the fast bowler in police handcuffs outside a bar in Derby. The front pages “Britain will help Ukraine make its own long-range missiles, says PM”, is the Guardian’s front page today, while the Times says “Burnham to gift Ukraine blueprints for missiles”. The i Paper has “Burnham open to cutting uni fees for EU students as bargaining chip for better Brexit deal”, and the Express writes “‘Let’s talk about assisted dying Mr Burnham … while I still can’”. The FT leads on “Warsh seeks to calm investor jitters as signs of economic strain increase”, and the Telegraph splashes “Graduates face worst job market on record”. The Mail says “Children are ‘not safe’ on the internet”, and Metro has “‘Joyride’ five & cops killed in 4am crash”. The Mirror, reporting on football fan behaviour, writes “The Prem suspects” while the Sun, on the royals, has “We’re all grin it together”. Today in Focus The connectionists Guardian journalist Michael Safi looks into the world of artificial intelligence, exploring the dangers and promises it holds for society. Cartoon of the day | Tom Gauld The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad Seventeen medieval manuscript fragments discovered in Guernsey are shedding new light on the island’s previously unknown literary life, reports Dalya Alberge. Dating from the 12th to 15th centuries, the texts range from the Bible and Ovid to a rare French play, revealing surprisingly broad reading tastes. The fragments survived after being recycled as bindings for administrative records – and researchers believe many more may still be hiding in the island’s archives. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply

Country diary: South Wales’s summer of fires will linger long in the memory | Eben Muse

My friend John and I are climbing Tylorstown Tip – a summit also known as Old Smokey, named after the hot ash it was partly made with. We want to see how much of south Wales has burned. The tip towers over the surrounding hills, a perfect crow’s nest from which to witness the blackening of the region. From the summit, with its sitka spruce and flowering heather, the expanse of St Gwynno’s forest spreads out before us, all 6,533 acres of it. Browned, dead plantation forestry gives way to grassland burned to cinder. A veil of smoke lies above the forest for miles. Sticking our heads up like a couple of lanky prairie dogs, we try to tot up the summer’s burns – many we can see, many more we’ve heard tell of, just out of sight. There’s Treherbert, Wattsville, Cwm, Maerdy, Ynyshir, Ferndale, Llwyn Onn, Blaenavon, Dowlais, on and on. Coal areas, for ever shaped by fire and ash. The fires in south-east Wales this summer have been so numerous and devastating, their impact has weighed heavy on people’s psyche. With such little rain from late June to August, sparks that would normally fizzle and die without consequence have raged over large areas in a flash. Here in the valleys, where forestry, absentee landownership, industrial waste and dense terraced housing all sit close, the wildfires have felt like they’re right in your face. You could be forgiven for thinking it was all of Wales aflame, living in the smoke for weeks, tasting the smog on your lips. Meanwhile, up north, desperate residents of the blazing Rhinogydd had to wait days for helicopter support, as it was busy in England and Scotland. In some places a kind of madness has taken hold, with children photographed and put through trial by social media for loitering in woodlands during summer holidays. At long last, recent days have seen rain – real rain. Many burns still smoulder in deep peat, but soon it’ll be time to worry about floods instead, as denuded slopes flush ever more water into catchments that cannot contain it. Whatever happens next, it’s a summer that will linger in the memory. • Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian’s Country Diary, 2018-2024, is available now at guardianbookshop.com

‘I’ll probably feel emotional’: Kindertransport centenarian prepares to revisit site of family separation

Gabriele Keenaghan still remembers the day in April 1939 when she said goodbye to her grandmother at a Vienna railway station for a Kindertransport to Britain – tears were strictly forbidden. “I was apprehensive and I was worried because Nazis in black uniforms were on the platform,” she said. “I was only 12 years old so I think they were frightening … terrifying. “People had been told that there were to be no emotional scenes, they didn’t want any emotion shown by anyone. I tried not to cry. It was very difficult. My grandmother … she smiled.” This week Keenaghan will mark her 100th year by returning to Vienna’s Westbahnhof, a place which changed, if not saved, her life, and there might be tears. “I haven’t thought about how I’ll feel – I probably will feel emotional.” Keenaghan, a retired head teacher, is speaking at her home in North Shields before what will be an epic trip to Vienna with several generations of her family. The plan, hatched for her centenary, was nearly scuppered because Lufthansa cancelled routes from Newcastle. Fortunately, a good samaritan came to the rescue offering the use of a private jet, and the family admit they have been bowled over by the generosity. Keenaghan is 99 but you would never guess. She was awarded the British Empire medal for her services to Holocaust education, recounting what is a remarkable life story in the hope it might bring “kindness, tolerance and acceptance of diversity” in others. Keenaghan, an only child, said she did not even know she was Jewish until after the Nazis invaded Austria. Her mother, Hildegard, was a Catholic who died suddenly in 1935. Her father, Josef, was Jewish and manufactured heating stoves. The young Gabriele was a boarder at a Catholic convent school run by nuns when the Nazis came and told pupils they would all be moving. “The authorities came into the convent to tell us which schools we had to go to. We were all standing in the hall and names were called for this school, that school. At the end, I was the only one left standing. And I thought: ‘What’s happening to me?’” She was told she would have to go to a Jewish school and a yellow star of David was sewn on to her coat. “I hadn’t realised that my father was a Jew. I didn’t know. I don’t think I even knew what being a Jew meant.” It was bewildering and people treated her horribly, she said. “They called me a ‘dirty little Jew’ and I was a sensitive girl. It was upsetting.” Keenaghan never saw her father again. He was deported to Łódź in Poland and was almost certainly murdered in an extermination camp. Her grandmother, also called Gabriele, made arrangements for her granddaughter to be taken out of Austria on a Kindertransport, the scheme which brought about 10,000 Jewish children to Britain as refugees. Alone and scared but also probably excited, she remembers, she left with 150 other children, taking the train to the Netherlands and then a boat to Harwich. Keenaghan was a good student and quickly picked up the language. One of her first jobs was as a nanny to an affluent family in Woldingham, Surrey. She has vivid memories of VE Day as all the village’s nannies – there were many – were given the day off and went to London to be part of the celebrations. “It was really euphoric,” she said. “I’ve never experienced such excitement and joy. People were dancing in the street. They were climbing trees. “We were in front of Buckingham Palace and out came the king and queen and the two princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret. Princess Elizabeth was the same age as me … she would also be 100 this year had she lived.” Keenaghan went on to train as a teacher in the north-east and met her husband, Ken, and raised a family in Wallsend. She became a middle-school head teacher and clearly has fond memories of her career and the children and teachers who were part of it. She has returned to Austria annually to see relatives, especially her grandmother, who died in 1974. The one place she and her family have not been to is the station. Keenaghan’s actual official birthday is in November, when Vienna would be far too cold. “I’m going to be like Queen Elizabeth. I’m going to have two birthdays,” she said. There will be family members on the plane, including Keenaghan’s two daughters, Pat and Christine. Others will travel separately. Both daughters have vague memories of their great-grandmother, although they were very young. “The story goes that I used to call her Noddy Grandmother because I didn’t realise she couldn’t speak English,” said Christine. “I would speak to her all of the time and she nodded a lot.” Keenaghan has spoken many times to children about her experiences. “I hope they have learned something from it,” she said. “But do we ever learn? Look at the world, look at the state it is in now.”