The Indian photographer captured a quiet moment at the popular Maha Kumbh Mela religious festival in Prayagraj

Divyanshu Verma regards the north Indian city of Prayagraj as deeply special: not only is it home, it is also where he began his journey into street photography. This image was taken in the Sangam area during the huge Hindu purification festival Maha Kumbh Mela – maha meaning great because this was the 12th in a row of the ritual that takes place once every 12 years.

“It’s a massive spiritual gathering and the energy is entirely unique,” Verma says. “The place was incredibly crowded with people who had travelled from far and wide, all drawn by faith, but there was a strange sense of calm within the chaos. I wandered through the crowds with my phone, observing rituals and soaking up the powerful atmosphere.”

Organised criminals face few repercussions for dumping toxic rubbish as Environment Agency struggles to keep up

In a once scenic ancient woodland outside Ashford, an enormous biohazard cleanup operation is under way to remove the toxic aftermath of the criminal dumping of 35,000 tonnes of rubbish.

Tankers come and go along a new road, built for the purpose. Behind metal gates away from public view, specialists in hazmat suits dig through the mountain of waste dumped on an industrial scale in a woodland that is a protected site of special scientific interest.

Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland: The hide was very busy but lucky for me someone let me look through their telescope – this bird isn’t really found in Scotland

A gargantuan flock of birds had gathered in the mouth of the River Esk. We were heading towards the Musselburgh Lagoons nature reserve , where there is a marshy wetland area made from reclaimed land. As I cycled along the track, I could hear the geese honking and chattering on the sand. It was mid-autumn and I wondered whether they were resting midway through their migration to warmer countries. I could see an oystercatcher pecking hungrily at the mud and using its blood-red legs to energetically kick at the sand. There was a curlew scouring through pebbles with its curved beak.

I cycled into the forest. The sunlight was bouncing off the leaves. When we got to the bird hide it was silent, even though there were lots of people inside. Their telescopes and cameras were all trained on a small, speckled, brown bird in the distance. It had long, pale yellow legs and was wading next to the muddy bank: a marsh sandpiper! It was so exciting that it was hard to be quiet.

Politician reportedly taken from his villa into custody at a federal police base about 7 miles from presidential palace

Brazil’s former far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been arrested at his villa in the capital, Brasília.

In a brief statement, federal police confirmed officers had executed a preventive arrest warrant at the request of the supreme court. Brazilian media reports said the politician had been taken to a federal police base, seven miles from the presidential palace Bolsonaro occupied from 2019 until 2022, when he lost the election and tried to launch a military coup.

‘No deal is perfect, but it must be done sooner rather than later,’ says US army secretary in sombre meeting

US officials have told Nato allies they expect to push president Volodymyr Zelenskyy into agreeing to a peace deal in the coming days , under the threat that if Kyiv does not sign, it will face a much worse deal in future.

The US army secretary Dan Driscoll briefed ambassadors from Nato nations at a meeting in Kyiv late on Friday, after talks with Zelenskyy and taking a phone call from the White House. “No deal is perfect, but it must be done sooner rather than later,” he told them, according to one person who was present.

This team refuse on a point of principle to rein themselves in but latest batting collapse lays bare glaring weaknesses

It is the UK that is living through a cold snap, but in balmy Perth they were playing in a snow globe. The scenery was static, solid, but everything else was constantly getting shaken up , bits flying in unpredictable directions. The crowd roared, commentators gibbered, the glitter never settled.

Unlike the first day England were not batting at the start, though they were not long delayed. At which point a pattern quickly emerged, one that almost perfectly repeated that established on the previous day, while also being completely different. The bowler who was useless was good, the marginal, unconvincing snickometer-based review that was not out was now given. Some things were both precisely the same (Australia’s tactics against England’s tail, how the tail reacted to Australia’s tactics) and also, at the same time, completely the opposite (the outcome).

• 1st Test, D2: Australia, 132 & 205-2, bt England, 172 & 164

• Opener’s devastating 123 seals eight-wicket victory

The news from Perth is that the catalogue of great English calamities in Australia has a brand new entry . For the first time in 104 years an Ashes Test match has been wrapped up inside just two days and England, on the receiving end of an eight-wicket thumping, may already be broken.

Ben Stokes will doubtless push back at that notion, such is his refusal to ever throw in the towel. But as Travis Head cut and carved his way to a breathtaking 69-ball century, vaporising a target of 205 in just 28.2 overs, the psychological blow landed by the hosts felt greater than their 1-0 lead.

The haircut of the moment is ‘The Claudia’, but not everyone has the luscious locks of la Winkleman. Not a problem. Fake fringes are everywhere – and I tried one out

The 70s had “the Fawcett.” In the 90s it was all about “the Rachel.” But now there’s a new era-defining hair cut. “The Claudia.” Yes, the glossy inky-black block fringe that mostly shrouds the face of its owner, the presenter Claudia Winkleman, has become a seminal moment on and off TV screens.

It is a fringe that has spawned memes, online forums dedicated to debating its length and a fan account on X. “Thoughts and opinions from the highest paid fringe on the BBC” reads the bio. Alan Carr has described it, not Winkleman, as a national treasure.

Trend is adding to ‘waste crisis’ owing to individual packaging and potential for unwanted items, campaigners say

The trend for Advent calendars aimed at adults is “superfluous consumerism” that adds to excessive and wasteful consumption, according to environmental groups.

While once children excitedly opened a door each day to see what festive picture lay behind it, adults can now count down the days to Christmas with calendars containing everything from luxury beauty products to instant mashed potato.