What happened
Three people were killed and one was left critically injured after a helicopter crashed into a field near Shanklin on the Isle of Wight yesterday morning. Police said the aircraft came down beside the A3020 at about 9.20am, prompting a major emergency response. The sole survivor was airlifted to University Hospital Southampton. The helicopter, a Robinson R44 II operated by Northumbria Helicopters, had taken off from Sandown Airport about 20 minutes earlier for a flying lesson.

Who said what
Tracking of the helicopter's flight "suggests that it left Sandown airport and reached an altitude of about 800ft before a problem occurred", said The Telegraph. From that point it was "about 27 seconds before the aircraft hit the ground". The helicopter crashed on a busy bank holiday weekend and it's "incredible" that no vehicles on the ground were affected, Darren Toogood, editor and publisher at Island Echo, told Sky News.

What next?
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has deployed inspectors to the scene to determine the cause of the crash while police continue to contact the families of the victims.

What happened
The Irish rap group Kneecap has cancelled 15 US shows scheduled for October, citing the clash with member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh's next London court hearing on 26 September. The band said it was the target of a "witch hunt" by the British government, but promised to return with a bigger tour "once we win our court case, which we will".

Who said what
Reuters confirmed that Ó hAnnaidh, who performs as Mo Chara, had been charged with allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig last year, an allegation he denies. His defence has argued that the charge was procedurally flawed. The band has dismissed the case as a "carnival of distraction" from the war in Gaza.

Over the past two years Kneecap's fan base has "grown on both sides of the Atlantic", according to The New York Times. Supporters celebrate "both the trio's rowdy songs, in which they rap in Irish and English over dance beats, and the political statements they make on stage".

What next?
Kneecap's Canadian dates in Vancouver and Toronto remain unaffected, and the band teased a "very special" announcement for US fans next week.

At suburban swimming pools and tropical beaches, "mermaiding" enthusiasts are donning mono-fin tails and wiggling towards the water. What began as a novelty at fantasy conventions in the 1980s has now spawned active communities around the world.

Like wild swimming but with added sparkle, mermaiding is a new way to escape life's stresses and channel your free spirit. It's about "finding a place where you can let your guard down and actually get in touch with your inner child and play", part-time mermaid Colleen McCartney told The Washington Post. "That's not a space that exists very often."

Some "merfolk" describe their "pods" as similar to the close-knit circles of drag-ball culture, and the online mermaiding scene has a lot of overlap with the fantasy, LGBT and body positivity communities, said i-D magazine. Every swim is documented with group "shellfies" and professional mermaids stage elaborate underwater photo shoots with rainbow wigs and glittering costumes.

Margaux Caillier, a French artistic swimmer who competed in last year's Paris Olympics, offers mermaiding lessons in the sea near Biarritz. "In the swimming pool, what I hate" is doing length after length, she told Olympics.com. In contrast, mermaiding is "like a dream" and "it's accessible to everyone".

Flitting through the sea doesn't come cheap, however. Custom silicone tails "usually weigh about 10kg to 15kg and cost upwards of £1,500", said i-D magazine. Fabric and neoprene are cheaper, but make swimming more difficult. And not every swimming pool welcomes mermaid tails.