gshc2020.com

The Brooks Falls bearcam at Katmai national park in the US was watched 7.3m times between 22 June and 4 August – up 70% from the same period last year and more than double the views it attracted in 2024.

The cameras, run by the wildlife network Explore.org, show brown bears gathering at Brooks Falls waterfall to catch sockeye salmon as they make their way upstream. More than a dozen bears at a time can be spotted prowling around the rocky waters and chomping on the fish.

Candice Rusch, Explore.org’s director of new media, said the surge in viewers appeared to be driven by the bears returning to the falls in large numbers after a less concentrated season last year.

“Last year was a really high salmon run, which meant there was salmon all over the river and the bears didn’t need to congregate at the falls the way they’re doing right now,” she said.

“This year we’ve just had very good views of large congregations of bears.

“It’s like the whole world discovered they could put bearcam on their TV at the same time,” she said. “Maybe people just have it on while they’re cooking dinner.”

The cameras were first installed in 2012 as part of an effort to bring remote wildlife into people’s homes. Rusch said the idea was that people were more likely to protect animals and landscapes they had come to know and care about.

Dr Jeffrey Skibins, an associate professor at East Carolina University, said: “Recent studies have shown that nature-based webcams are beneficial to both wildlife and people. They benefit wildlife by improving conservation attitudes, behaviours and awareness.

“This is not to suggest they are replacements for getting out in nature, but rather serve as viable additions,” he said.

The stream has developed a dedicated fanbase. Viewers can identify individual bears from features such as their ears, noses and body shape, and some keep detailed records of their feeding habits.

One dedicated fan reported watching a bear called Otis eat 42 salmon over several hours, which Rusch said could equate to more than 100,000 calories.

The bears’ gorging will take on added significance next month, when Katmai’s annual Fat Bear Week begins in the autumn. The public votes in a knockout-style competition to crown the park’s fattest bear, as the animals pile on winter weight in preparation for hibernation.

“The bears are great,” Rusch said. “This is an amazing place and it deserves all the love it’s getting.”

Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow the biodiversity reporters Rebecca Ratcliffe, Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield in the Guardian app for more nature coverage. %!s()

Five of those happened in a six-year spell from 2005 until 2010.

Manchester City, in 2019, were the last team to do so - and before that it was Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in 2011.

Only one of the past 15 winners of the Community Shield have gone on to become champions that season.

Since 1992 the teams who lose the Community Shield have won more league titles that season - 10 in total, including Manchester City for three years in a row between 2021 and 2023.

Last year Crystal Palace beat Liverpool and ended up finishing 15th, although they did go on to win the Conference League. The Reds also had a disappointing domestic campaign, finishing fifth.

Some 47% of the time (16/34) the upcoming season's Premier League winners had not been involved in the Community Shield - like Arsenal in 2025-26.

And 53% of the time (18/34) the Shield winners have finished above the losers in the league that season.

On 10 occasions the two teams have finished as the top two in the Premier League - with four of those times being the Shield winners top and the losers as runners-up.

This one is a bit of a mixed bag.

Crystal Palace's 2025 scorers Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr netted 37 goals between them last season.

Hugo Ekitike scored his first of 17 goals in his debut season for Liverpool - but Jeremie Frimpong did not enjoy a great first campaign after netting.

In 2023 Cole Palmer netted for Manchester City in their game against Arsenal (a match they would go on to lose on penalties after Leandro Trossard's injury-time equaliser).

He would go on to score 22 Premier League goals and be named young player of the season... for Chelsea, having joined them for £42.5m.

The previous season, Darwin Nunez scored on his Liverpool debut - and Erling Haaland failed to notch on his City bow.

That led to post-match discussion about Nunez looking the better player.

However, Haaland went on to 52 goals that season, with Nunez netting only 15.

Kelechi Iheanacho only scored four Premier League goals after his 2021 Community Shield winner.

But back in 2019 Raheem Sterling's Shield strike for City against former club Liverpool kick-started the most productive season of his career (31 goals).

A version of this article first appeared before the 2025 Community Shield %!s()

But prior to the Catalan's arrival in the Premier League, winning a title two or more season in a row was proving a tough task, with the trophy changing hands in each of the eight seasons before Guardiola's first title win.

Before Guardiola there were only two managers who had ever overseen successful title defences in the Premier League era - Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.

One of the reasons why it can be so difficult to defend a title is the psychological factor.

For a whole campaign a title-winning team's players have been working hard towards the goal of winning the league and the moment it is achieved will understandably feel like a huge success and relief.

But then, just a few months later, those same players have to build up to the idea of having to do it all again, only this time with a bigger target on their back as defending champions.

That can be overwhelming - as Leicester City found out after their fairytale Premier League win back in 2015-16, when they flirted with relegation in their title defence season.

In the summer after their title triumph, one Foxes player summed up the psychological impact it had on the players, telling the Guardian:, external "Winning the title was like climbing Mount Everest. Then you get back down, receive a pat on the back and you're told to climb up it all over again."

Ex-Premier League winger Andros Townsend believes the Gunners will find it hard to replicate their 2025-26 achievement because of the competitive nature of the Premier League.

"The last two times Liverpool have won the title the next season they have not been able to replicate it. They have had relatively poor seasons," Townsend told BBC Radio 5 Live, with the Reds finishing third and fifth after lifting the Premier League trophy.

"When you get over the line, that huge relief. Do you go into the summer with the same sort of aggression and mentality?"

There have been plenty of changes for Arsenal's title rivals this season.

Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea are going into the campaign with new managers, while Roberto de Zerbi and Michael Carrick will oversee their first full seasons at Tottenham and Manchester United respectively after they were appointed during last season.

That means they will all have a degree of uncertainty in the dugout, while Arsenal have the benefit of continuity as Mikel Arteta remains in charge.

Arsenal have not made too many major changes in the playing squad either, with their significant signings being the arrival of Greece forward Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge for £34m, and midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United for £75m.

Arteta believes the signing of Guimaraes in particular will significantly boost Arsenal's chances of defending their title.

"I think he describes himself as a warrior," Arteta said. "I think he's a warrior with a tremendous quality as well and intuition and leadership and charisma that is going to help us, that is going to really ignite something different in the team.

"We want to go to the next level and are very, very much convinced that we're going to need players with such a personality, desire and character to push everybody inside the organisation to go even higher."

However, Arsenal have been dealt a blow with an injury to defender William Saliba, who is set to miss an "extended period" after suffering a back injury at the World Cup.

His partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes last season gave the Gunners' consistent defensive excellence and, even in light of their attempts to sign Ezri Konsa, how long the France international is out for could have a significant impact.

While managerial changes provide unfamiliarity for some of Arsenal's rivals, it is hard to argue that some of those have every chance of boosting their title chances.

Chelsea, for example, have one of the most sought-after young managers in the game in Xabi Alonso, and also look to have bought well in the transfer market.

Former Liverpool midfielder Alonso, who famously led Bayer Leverkusen to a historic, unbeaten domestic double in the 2023-24 season, appears to have strengthened well, with a mixture of exciting young talent and experienced older heads.

England forward Morgan Rogers, 24, has arrived from Aston Villa for a club record £117m, while France defender Maxence Lacroix, 26, has joined from Crystal Palace for £52m.

Chelsea's new £47m full-back Marco Palestra, 21, has been one of the strongest performers in pre-season, while Premier League winners and veteran figures Jordan Henderson, 36, and Danny Welbeck, 35, have also been brought in to bring a youthful dressing room together and set standards.

Manchester City, now managed by Enzo Maresca following the departure of Guardiola at the end of last season, signed Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson from Manchester City for £116m and but appear set to lose Spain midfielder Rodri, who was player of the tournament at this summer's World Cup. However, Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez could be set to replace him.

Manchester United strengthened their midfield while weakening a rival by signing Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans for £35m and also brought in fellow midfielder Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £48m, with the Brazilian having impressed in pre-season.

It is just three months since Villa lifted the Europa League, but much has changed since then with Rogers, Tielemans and Lucas Digne - who all started in the final - having all departed. Key incomings are Johan Manzambi from Freiburg (£59.5m) and Joao Gomes from Wolves for £38m, while Alejandro Garnacho has also arrived on loan from Chelsea.

There have been changes behind the scenes too at Villa, with three coaches having left including set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, who moved to Chelsea.

Liverpool, champions two seasons ago, are now managed by Andoni Iraola and his side should be strengthened by the arrival of centre-back Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes for £60m, while versatile defender Ronald Araujo has joined on loan from Barcelona. The Reds have also brought in 22-year-old forward Victor Munoz, but results in pre-season have been mixed.

Tottenham will expect to be challenging towards the top end of the table after a difficult couple of seasons, and De Zerbi has been working hard to improve his squad, spending well over £200m to bring in Sandro Tonali from Newcastle (£100m), Mateus Fernandes from West Ham (£85m) and Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton (£52m). %!s()

The magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck at 5:58am local time on Saturday (21:58 GMT, Friday), with its epicentre about 68km (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende, on Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara province, according to the US Geological Survey, which put the depth at 10km (6.2 miles).

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 2On the ground in Indonesia following 7.7 magnitude earthquake
• list 2 of 2Aftermath of deadly Indonesia earthquake

The earthquake, followed by some 341 aftershocks, is one of Indonesia’s deadliest in years.

A total of 36 people were seriously injured and 77 more suffered minor injuries, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus told a televised meeting on Sunday.

More than 3,300 people in Sikka regency, one of the hard-hit areas, either fled their homes or were left stranded, taking shelter in a sports arena, according to Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, BNPB.

“The quake was massive, the shock was so strong, we were resting at home with family,” Nona, a 51-year-old resident of Talibura village, told the Reuters news agency. “There were 13 of us inside the house, and we all ran to save ourselves.”

In the port town of Maumere, some residents camped outside collapsed homes under tarpaulin tents, while others received treatment in a makeshift tent outside a local hospital.

“Almost all of Sikka’s residents didn’t dare stay indoors, so they slept on a porch or a tent outside,” Simon Sabandi, the region’s deputy chief, told news channel KompasTV.

Lieutenant General Suharyanto, the BNPB head, said the earthquake destroyed at least 157 houses and damaged nearly 200 more, forcing about 2,000 villagers in Nagekeo regency, the area closest to the epicentre, into temporary shelters.

He said three helicopters and a rescue vessel had been deployed to support the emergency response in a region where the scattered geography of small islands makes access difficult.

East Nusa Tenggara police chief Rudi Darmoko said the disaster had caused severe damage and building collapses across the province.

Rescue teams have yet to fully reach Nagekeo, where landslides have blocked roads and disrupted communications, said Fathur Rahman, head of the local search and rescue agency in Maumere, adding that a team was attempting to reach the area by ferry.

More than 3,500 military and police personnel have been deployed overall, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said. More than 1,300 homes have been damaged, and 20 petrol stations remain shut due to power outages, according to state energy firm Pertamina.

Officials are considering declaring a state of emergency for East Nusa Tenggara, which would unlock further resources and funding.

A tsunami warning issued immediately after the earthquake has since been lifted.

Reporting from Jakarta, Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington said aftershocks could continue for “several days”, with authorities in the island’s northern areas ordering further evacuations as the true scale of the damage is still “emerging”.

She said several affected areas remain inaccessible to first responders and that local authorities have urged residents to stay away from shorelines and damaged buildings.

The same stretch of coastline was struck by a similarly powerful earthquake in December 1992, when the quake and the tsunami it triggered killed more than 2,500 people on Flores, Indonesia’s geophysics agency said.

Indonesia, a nation of some 290 million people spread across roughly 17,000 islands, sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, making it one of the world’s most seismically active countries. %!s()

As the Iran war continues to send shock waves through global energy markets, economists predict the surge in UK gas and electricity bills last month will push Britain’s headline inflation rate to 2.9%.

In a fresh squeeze on household budgets, the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) due on Wednesday are forecast to show a jump from a rate of 2.6% in June.

It comes as the Bank of England considers raising interest rates from as early as September in response to fears over stubbornly high inflation becoming entrenched in the economy.

The latest snapshot will also highlight the challenge facing Andy Burnham’s government to ease the financial pressure on households and businesses before a difficult autumn budget.

Economists said a rise in inflation as measured by the consumer prices index was likely after Ofgem, the energy regulator, lifted its cap on household gas and electricity bills by 13% in July.

Thomas Pugh, chief economist at the accountancy firm RSM UK, said the increase would add about 0.44 percentage points to headline inflation. This would be partly offset by a fall in petrol and diesel prices.

“The cost of living squeeze is set to return to the headlines,” he said. “[Higher inflation is] adding fresh pressure to household budgets and complicating the outlook for interest rates.”

As the stop-start Middle East war fuels volatility in the global oil price, countries around the world are facing renewed inflationary pressures and heightened uncertainty over the scale of the economic hit.

Britain’s economy has shown more resilience than initially feared, with official figures last week showing that it continued to grow in the first half of 2026 at the fastest pace in the G7. Inflation also fell by more than expected in June, to 2.6% – down from a peak of 3.8% last year.

Inflation had been on track to fall to close to 2% before the outbreak of the Iran war.

However, economists warn the impact from the conflict is likely to weigh more heavily in the second half of the year after the increase in the Ofgem energy price cap.

Separate figures on the UK jobs market due to be released on Tuesday are also expected to show a continued slowdown in wage growth.

With households under pressure from the renewed rise in energy costs, the Bank of England predicts UK inflation will reach 3.2% before the end of the year, despite government measures to limit the impact.

Burnham used his first week as prime minister to announce a raft of “breathing space” measures to ease the cost of living, including cutting VAT to reduce consumer electricity bills by an average of £45 a year from October.

The Bank said it expected the policy, alongside a £2 cap on bus fares in England, to lower the headline inflation rate by 0.1 percentage point.

However, Threadneedle Street kept borrowing costs unchanged last month as it warned that a worst-case scenario – involving further escalation in the Middle East war – could drive inflation to a peak of 4.5% by the middle of 2027.

City investors anticipate two quarter-point interest rate rises from the Bank before the end of next year, with financial markets giving an almost one-in-four chance of the first increase in the base rate, now 3.75%, coming at its next policy meeting in September.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at the financial platform Interactive Investor, said: “Inflation is expected to continue to rise, peaking above 3% later this year, as the UK economy continues to grapple with the backdrop of elevated energy prices and the effective gridlock in the strait of Hormuz.

“The Bank is likely to carry out roughly one 25 basis point hike by the end of the year as it looks to temper the risk of overheating and help push the inflation rate back in the direction of [its] 2% target.” %!s()