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👋 Good morning! It’s Saturday 29 August 2026. I’m Neil McIntosh, editor of The Early Line, and it’s great to have you here. Sorry today’s edition is so late: I slept in.
📣 You’re reading the weekend edition of The Early Line. Paying subscribers get the full version, with six talking points and film, TV and sporting recommendations for the weekend.
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And if that’s not for you, no problem: see you on Monday when the free Early Line is back at 7am.
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
☀️ The weekend’s weather: For most places, it’s a simple formula: enjoy today, because it’s going to be mostly fine. Tomorrow, you’ll need a waterproof in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee and Inverness, although Aberdeen might be dry, the forecast claims. London is the same, but reversed: tipping it down today (and how it needs some rain), but dry tomorrow. (Here’s the UK forecast).
SIX THINGS TO TALK ABOUT
Himalayan devastation becomes clear | Golf gaffe makes you wonder: what were they thinking? | TV drama to portray Sturgeon and Murrell | Will our holidays change with the climate? | Scotsman names final Fringe Firsts | Buy your own Scottish castle
🍸 The full extent of the devastation caused by the Himalayan floods is becoming clear, as rescue teams fight their way through the devastated landscape.
It is now confirmed that more than 600 people have been killed in the disaster, but that number is expected to grow. At least 2,426 are missing, but rain and the threat of further floods is hampering attempts to reach the worst-affected areas.
Live coverage: BBC | Guardian | New York Times
A Chinese rescue team has described finding “nothing but ruins” at the Gyirong border crossing complex, which was one of the locations shown in a video on social media being hit by a vast, black wave of water earlier this week. A satellite image now shows the area around the former crossing stripped back to bedrock.
Nepal is now requesting foreign help for specialised technical support it does not have, pointing to the grim shift from rescue to recovery the country faces: rebuilding transport and communications, identifying victims, DNA testing, and storing bodies for longer durations. (Guardian)
Meanwhile, another vast and overflowing lake could cause more flooding, with rescue and recovery workers remaining at high alert as they continue their work downstream. Satellite imagery shown on Chinese state TV appears to show water building in the same area as where a chunk of glacier fell on Wednesday. (AP)
A little light in the darkness: remarkably, a 97-year-old woman was rescued from the rubble of her care home, and is recovering in hospital. (BBC)
Upgrade to read the full Party Line, including
The tale of another marketing gaffe, this time with a big golf brand, which makes you wonder: what were they thinking?
Details emerge of the TV drama that’s going to portray Sturgeon and Murrell
“Coolcation”, anyone? How our holidays might change with the climate
Last chance to see some exciting debuts at the Festival Fringe in Edinburgh
Buy your own Scottish castle for the price of a posh flat
PLUS: find top TV, film and sporting picks for the weekend.
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