It is the Friday before the last bank holiday weekend of the summer – some say the last weekend of the summer full stop – but, as others embark on long motorway drives or flights abroad, we will still be here to deliver the news. So far today, Hussein Osman – one of the July 21 suspects – has announced he's going to appeal against his extradition order from Italy, and a fire in an overcrowded Paris apartment building has killed at least 17. The blaze, which has mainly claimed its victims among the French capital's African and Asian immigrant communities, follows a similar fire in the city in April that killed 24 mostly African immigrants.
In Iraq, the constitution is still unagreed. We don't yet know which way it will swing – if a compromise can be found, or if the process will grind to a halt – but, until then, Mark Tran has explained the drawn-out circumstances surrounding the drafting of the US constitution more than 200 years ago.
At Trent Bridge, England are still batting against Australia. Despite the loss of Kevin Pietersen, a partnership between Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones has taken the hosts to a strong 344-5. This could be one that runs through to Monday – for however long it lasts, however, the Guardian Unlimited Sports team will be providing their popular over-by-over coverage.
And since this is a holiday weekend, we will be rounding up some of the more intriguing events and supplying a few statistics about how the British spend their leisure time. If you just want to be outside, the forecast looks better than it was for much of this week.
