Think Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and the mass prisoner swap in 2024. Or how basketball star Britney Griner was traded for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in 2022. But this time it was different. One-way traffic. After more than four years behind bars, former US marine Robert Gilman was freed by Russia, and no one went the other way. That's very unusual. Moscow seldom gives anything up for free. So why has Vladimir Putin agreed to it? Gilman's release follows reports last week that he was close to death. According to an unnamed US official quoted by Reuters, the Russian president granted the former marine's release as a "goodwill gesture". Has Putin suddenly gone soft? Is hostage diplomacy now a thing of the past? I very much doubt it. Instead, this feels like a not-so-subtle attempt by the Kremlin to curry favour with the White House in the hope it'll bring diplomatic dividends. (No prizes for guessing where Moscow will want to cash those in.) Gilman's release comes at a time when Russia's war against Ukraine is causing problems back home. Ukraine war: Latest updates Drone attacks deep inside Russia are becoming more frequent. Repeated strikes on oil refineries are hurting the economy and drawing unwelcome attention to Moscow's military shortcomings. But after four and a half years, there's still no end in sight to the conflict. US-brokered peace talks are a distant memory, having stalled after Donald Trump launched a war of his own against Iran. To make matters worse for Moscow, the American president appears to have grown closer to Putin's adversary, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in that time. The pair met in Washington DC at the end of July, amid speculation the White House is warming to Kyiv's cause. Read more from Sky News:Thousands without water in UK droughtHospital 'overwhelmed' after Colombia quake It's a long way from the atmosphere this time last year, when Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin in Alaska and appeared poised to cut a peace deal that caved to the Kremlin's demands. Gilman's release is an attempt by Moscow to rekindle the relationship and get things back on Russia's track. It's designed to present Putin as a reasonable partner whom Trump can do business with. For now it's a gift, but Russia will undoubtedly be hoping for something in return.

The company said that from mid-September, "AI Persona" badges will start to appear on some artist profiles to signal that their identity does not represent a real person. Spotify said the move was to make the platform more "transparent" and was in response to users expressing concerns about seeing artists that seem human but are in fact AI-generated. In a statement announcing the development, the company said: "True artist-fan connection can only be built on a foundation of trust and authenticity. "In music, that means listeners need to be able to trust that the artist behind the music is who they say they are. That's more essential than ever in the age of generative AI." Spotify insisted the badge "is about the artist's public identity, not about how the music was made". It added that, by default, AI personas would not be included in any editorial or algorithmic recommendations unless users followed those artists. The badges will be displayed in the banner and "About" section of an artist's profile page, as well as in "Search" and on track rows across playlists. Listeners will be able to tap the badge to check if an artist has disclosed that their profile represents an AI persona or if the decision was made by Spotify following a review. Starting on Tuesday, artists will be able to share that their profile represents an AI persona through Spotify for Artists, while, in instances where Spotify has applied the badge, artists will be notified and given the opportunity to self-disclose or appeal. The company added that listeners will soon be able to report artist profiles they believe represent AI personas to its review team, but it did not disclose when that feature would be available. Read more from Sky News:British driver who broke sound barrier sets new recordThe 1999 solar eclipse in pictures AI music "flooding" streaming platforms AI-generated music appearing on streaming sites is becoming an increasingly pertinent issue. Deezer – a French streaming site for music – estimates that 60,000 fully AI songs are being uploaded to its site every day, over a third of all production. The platform said it is set to receive more than 20 million AI tracks a year, with Romain Hennequin, head of research at Deezer, telling Sky's Roland Manthorpe earlier this year that "it's a way to totally flood the music streaming services". Last year, Spotify removed 75 million spam tracks, many of which were AI-generated. The platform's entire catalogue currently stands at 100 million. While the tracks themselves are not fraudulent, the behaviour around them often is, with an automated system – a bot – being used to repeatedly listen to a song in order to make royalties from it. Thibault Roucou, Deezer's head of royalties, said that "the vast majority of the listeners of this content are in fact what we call 'stream manipulation' or 'fraud'." "It's an ongoing battle," he added.

Ms Phillips was speaking to Conservative peer Ruth Davidson on an Insider edition of Electoral Dysfunction. The pair were discussing the recent news about two of PC Andrew Harper's killers being eligible for early release, which has sparked criticism from the officer's family. On Tuesday, Andy Burnham said he was "confident more can be done" to address public concern over the prison early release scheme. Ms Phillips said: "There has to be a system where the people who are released, it is based on their risk. "And to assess that you are going to have to speak to the police, you're going to have to speak to the victims in their cases. "There needs to be some system where - whether it's the home secretary or somebody - goes, 'No, veto that one'." You can listen to the full conversation on the Sky News Insider edition of Electoral Dysfunction. Subscribers to Sky News Insider will be able to enjoy ad-free access, bonus episodes and early releases. (Requires paid subscription. UK only. 18+). Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were in the car that dragged PC Harper to his death in 2019. The pair were convicted of manslaughter in 2020 and given 13-year terms. But it is expected they could be freed early, after they have served half their sentences, under the Sentencing Act 2026. They previously would have been considered for release after two-thirds of their term. Driver Henry Long received a 16-year sentence for manslaughter and will not be eligible for early release. Downing Street has said it cannot exempt just Cole and Bowers from early release without also exempting everyone else convicted of manslaughter. Speaking about the Harper case specifically, Ms Phillips added: "There's got to be something in the system that says, not this guy. "And actually, it should be based on risk, not feelings or press. "It should be based on risk, and governors, probation, police, children's services, and victim services should be involved in that." Ms Phillips served as a minister under Sir Keir Starmer but resigned and has since said she would not go back into government. She told Baroness Davidson she thinks the Andy Burnham government "will listen" to her calls to treat domestic abuse offenders like terrorists, when it comes to monitoring perpetrators and protecting victims. Systems that let victims warn authorities if offenders are still threatening them need to be built, Ms Phillips added, as they currently don't exist. The early release system should go ahead, Ms Phillips confirmed, as prisons are overcrowded to the point of breaking. "But there is a way that you've got to do it with that, with making it safe for the public," she said, "and I think there's quite a lot of work to be done".

The deal is an initial loan for the 27-year-old, who signed a new contract with Barca until 2031 last year, and also includes an option to buy for around £47.14m (€55m). ⁠Liverpool are not paying Barcelona a loan fee and will cover the entirety of Araujo's salary for the duration of the season-long loan. It is understood Araujo has taken a pay cut to facilitate the move. Transfer Centre LIVE! | Liverpool news & transfers🔴Why Liverpool are ready to put their faith in the 'real deal' Jeremy JacquetGot Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream PL games with no contract📺 Araujo, who is expected to train with his new team-mates this week, said: "I can't wait to get started. I'm very happy. "I'm excited to be here at this massive club with lots of history. I'm excited to meet my team-mates, excited to get started playing, and I'm very motivated and really up for getting going. "It was the ideal move for me at this stage in my career. It was a move that was necessary for me to take. As soon as I heard that interest from Liverpool, everything went into action really quickly. "As I say, I'm super-happy to be here and excited to get started. I'm glad about the interest and it was the right move at the right time." He was named as one of the club captains following the departure of Marc-Andre ter Stegen in January, but started only 11 LaLiga matches for the Catalan giants last season after an extended break from football in November 2025 to recover from what he later revealed was depression. Why the Araujo deal works for Liverpool Liverpool had not been actively seeking out defensive reinforcements, their priority firmly on adding a wide forward, but this was a market opportunity that made sense for a number of reasons. Ronald Araujo can play at centre-back or right-back, and, crucially, he was available on loan. This offered an appropriate solution to injury concerns that are deemed to be more short-term. Liverpool have already committed £60m to signing Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes, with a view to him partnering Virgil Van Dijk at centre-back. However, it remains to be seen if he will be fit for the start of the season, as Liverpool take a cautious approach to his reintegration to competitive action following a shoulder injury that has kept him out since February. A muscle problem for Joe Gomez, which will keep him out for the Premier League opener against Newcastle, has worsened the problem for new head coach Andoni Iraola, who by his own admission is slim on options at the back. Teenage centre-back Giovanni Leoni is still recovering from an ACL injury, while Ibrahima Konate departed for Real Madrid. Araujo arriving on a temporary move alleviates that injury headache and adds a layer of experience to Liverpool's backline that is sorely missing. He has played more than 200 games for Barcelona after all. There are understandable concerns around whether Araujo can turn around his struggles with form and fitness. Liverpool are not short on defenders with patchy injury records. Liverpool are taking on a deal with an element of risk in that regard. But there is also a potentially big reward if Araujo does rediscover his best form thanks to the option to buy inserted in the deal worth around £47m. At the peak of his powers, Araujo was being valued at around double that figure. Liverpool will hope to see his best in the Premier League, a division that seems suited to his strengths. How Liverpool were able to get Araujo This is a deal that suits all parties. Liverpool require defensive cover amid injury worries around a number of players, while Araujo is not part of Hansi Flick's plans at Barcelona and needs a fresh start. Araujo signed a new contract with Barcelona in January last year that reportedly put him among the club's highest earners. Six months earlier, he had been named Barcelona's vice-captain. However, the Uruguay defender has since been unable to reach the heights that earned him such high status at Barcelona amid struggles with injury and his mental health. Araujo wore the captain's armband as Barcelona celebrated becoming champions of Spain in May, but he had only played 24 times throughout the season. Flick admitted when confirming the deal that Araujo was not suited to the way he wants to play and said the defender was excited about having the chance to move to a new environment. Barcelona can now bring in a defender that Flick wants to work with, and Araujo has the opportunity to rebuild his career in the Premier League. If he performs, they will either earn a decent fee from Liverpool or his value will increase.

The operators have lined up back-up generation and grid-balancing measures to offset an expected dip in solar power across the continent on Wednesday. The rare celestial event will see the moon pass directly between the Earth and the sun, briefly plunging people in parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, Spain and a small corner of Portugal into darkness, according to NASA. Britain's biggest energy supplier, Octopus Energy, has urged customers to use less electricity during the eclipse. UK weather latest: follow live The company says when the moon covers the sun "a huge chunk of Britain's solar power will be knocked out - just as millions of people are getting home and electricity demand spikes". "To help take the strain off the grid, we're asking Octopus customers to use less electricity during the eclipse, and instead, head outside to enjoy this one-off celestial spectacle," it adds. The eclipse ​is expected to lower solar power generation by up to 9.7 ​gigawatts across Europe, of which around 5GW will impact Spain and ⁠Portugal, data from the European network of electricity transmission system operators (ENTSO-E) and ​Spanish grid operator Red Electrica (REDFN.UL) showed. Read more:Europe's first total eclipse in almost 30 years: What you need to knowThe weather will be crucial for solar eclipse viewers - what to expect Grid operators in affected countries - including Germany, France, ​Ireland and Northern Ireland - have prepared measures to maintain electricity supply, ENTSO-E told Reuters. They include temporarily ramping up gas and coal power plants, and making changes to the "automatic Frequency Restoration ​Reserve" - a system that quickly adjusts power output to ensure there is a stable electricity ​frequency across the network. Some European grid operators have been gearing up towards the eclipse for more than a year, ​by modelling the impact of shadow and light on power ​generation. The impact on Europe's grid operators is ​"not expected to ​be huge", because it falls later in the day, EU spokesperson Anna-Kaisa ​Itkonen said on Thursday. Solar energy produces around 13% of the EU's total electricity output, and ‌plays ⁠an increasingly important role in meeting energy demand over the summer months, when power demand for air conditioning is at its highest, particularly across southern Europe. Europe's power system comes under strain in summer from other factors - in recent days, heatwaves and low river ​levels, forcing nuclear power ​plants to close in Romania and Hungary. Operators in France, Spain and Britain said they are expecting no disruption, in part because the eclipse will occur in the evening, when solar power is lower. The eclipse is expected to temporarily knock ​out up to 1.8GW of French solar power - just 6% of the nation's 30GW total solar capacity.

Davis, 53, who played receptionst Dawn Tinsley in the hit sitcom, said on Tuesday she was diagnosed a year and a half ago and the cancer had "metastasized" to her bones, including her "spine, right hip and ribs," adding "it is too late for chemotherapy". In a post on Instagram, the actress, who is the daughter of comedian Jasper Carrott, said: "As of now, I'm trying to live out whatever might be left of my life in as fun a way as I possibly can. "I always like to find the teachable moments in anything negative that happens. And cancer has not disappointed in that regard; there's a lot I have learned from it, and I'm grateful for that." The actress shared a video of her ringing a bell and reading out a rhyme common in many cancer treatment centres to celebrate the end of treatment. Reading out the poem, she said: "Ring this bell three times well. It's a toll to clearly say my treatments are done, the course is run, and I am on my way." Recalling the first signs of the disease, she said the initial lump she felt "wasn't a 'lump' as such; rather a kind of hard spot. Really tiny. I almost didn't bother getting it checked. So I guess I'm saying 'don't ignore anything - get everything checked out'". 'I'm at peace with it' Davis said one of the most important things that has helped her through the cancer is humour, asking her friends and family to make fun of her "as much as possible" and above all to not treat her like a "sick person". "I'm not scared of whatever comes next. I'm at peace with it," she added. 'Harder' for family and friends Referring to her dog, who died in 2024, she said she'll "see my Gracie sooner than expected, and for me, leaving my physical body just means going home". "Any and all grieving is for my family," she said. "It's far harder for them than for me." Davis said she will continue working for animal rights, adding that she would also like to keep working as an actress - a job which is one of the "biggest joys" of her life. She ended by telling others battling the illness: "I do wish you well", and signing off by adding "much love to you all". Tributes to 'wise and funny' star Reacting to her announcement, Piers Morgan called it "horrendous" and "devastating", praising her "courage in talking about this so honestly". Gavin & Stacey and Casualty star Laura Aikman called her "wise and funny" and said: "Hope you're receiving all of this love coming your way". Danielle Hambridge, who starred in Squid Game, wrote that she had lived with stage four breast cancer for "nearly eight years". Sally Kum, of the charity Breast Cancer Now, praised her openness, saying it "will undoubtedly resonate with the many thousands of people living with metastatic breast cancer across the UK". Davis' story was a powerful reminder that "we must keep pushing for game-changing discoveries and access to life-extending drugs like Enhertu so that people living with metastatic breast cancer can have more time to live". Read more:Ex-gangster on trial for Tupac murderOasis at Knebworth - 30 years on Davis rose to fame through her role in The Office, which also helped launch the careers of co-creator Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman and McKenzie Crook. Running from 2001 to 2003, it was an influential and acclaimed comedy, not least for its innovative "mockumentary" style. Davis is also known for playing Hayley Jordan on BBC Radio 4's The Archers for nearly 10 years and appeared in the 2004 comedy Shaun Of The Dead.

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Former Arsenal midfielder Wilshere will take his League One side to Stamford Bridge, as the 11 Premier League sides not involved in European competition this season joined the winners of the first-round ties in the hat. Among the other tasty ties are League One club AFC Wimbledon visiting Alvaro Arbeloa's Fulham at Craven Cottage, while Keith Andrews' Brentford face a potentially tricky tie against Birmingham at St Andrew's. Got Sky? Watch the Carabao Cup on the Sky Sports appNot got Sky? Stream the Carabao Cup with no contract Plymouth - who won the Devon derby with Exeter, live on Sky Sports on Monday night - will host Premier League side Coventry City, as West Ham face an all-Championship tie away to Southampton. In the north draw, Newcastle have been given Championship side West Brom at home, while Leeds were given an all-Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest. David Moyes' Everton go to second-tier club Preston North End - as the Toffees boss reunites with the club where he began his managerial career. Like the first round, the second round draw was also regionalised and split into Southern and Northern section ties. The second-round matches will be played in the week commencing August 24. The remaining Premier League teams will join in the third round, which will be split over the week commencing September 7 and the week commencing September 14. The teams competing in the Champions League will start in the later week. Carabao Cup second round draw in full North Draw Stoke City vs Hull City Newcastle vs West Brom Blackburn vs Sheffield Utd Nottingham Forest vs Leeds Doncaster vs Middlesbrough Barnsley vs Crewe Preston vs Everton Blackpool vs Lincoln Sheffield Wednesday vs Wolves Bradford vs Burnley Fleetwood vs Shrewsbury South Draw Walsall vs Leyton Orient Ipswich vs Leicester Cardiff vs Norwich Stevenage vs Reading Cambridge vs Millwall Birmingham City vs Brentford Southampton vs West Ham Watford vs Peterborough Fulham vs AFC Wimbledon Plymouth vs Coventry Chelsea vs Luton Tottenham vs Charlton Catch up with all the goals so far! The first-round ties have had plenty of drama, action and goals as sides from the Championship, League One and League Two sought a spot in the second round. Clubs relegated from the Premier League in West Ham, Wolves and Burnley have all made it through, while three clubs from League Two have also booked their spot in the hat - Crewe, Fleetwood and Shrewsbury. You can catch up with all the highlights here