Southport killer Axel Rudakubana moved to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital

• A Washington Post report reveals that the CIA questioned the validity of Israeli intelligence regarding a threat to Donald Trump prior to a plane switch in Turkey. • While the report indicates the threat was actually real, CIA officials reportedly deemed the intelligence "not compelling enough" to warrant a different response.

• Myanmar is challenging the traditional diplomatic model where governments must make political concessions and end human rights abuses to end international isolation. • Historically, Western diplomacy utilized conditionality, applying economic restrictions and diplomatic pressure to force rehabilitation and political reform.

Weaker growth, rising energy costs and persistent inflation mean Britain could face tougher times in the autumnUK economic growth slows downBusiness live – latest updatesIn the spring the International Monetary Fund warned Britain faced the heaviest economic blow from the Iran war among the world’s most advanced nations. Almost six months into the conflict, on the surface, the UK appears to be proving the forecasters wrong.The latest official figures show the UK maintained its pole position as the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of 2026. Despite the gloomy international backdrop and yet more domestic political uncertainty, consumers have largely continued spending and business investment has boomed. Continue reading...

Incheon airport had 38.39m international passengers in first half of 2026, as traffic diverted from Middle East hubsSouth Korea’s Incheon airport has become the world’s busiest airport for international passengers, in part owing to disruption in the Middle East caused by the Iran war.The airport, South Korea’s main gateway, about 30 miles (48km) west of Seoul, handled 38.39 million international passengers in the first half of 2026, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Airports Council International (ACI), the global trade body for airports. Continue reading...

Dineth Fernando – who moved to Australia with his family in February – says he just needed to ‘find the word and play – that’s all’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDineth Fernando’s first language isn’t English and he only arrived in Melbourne six months ago – but already he’s claimed an international Scrabble title with an Australian flag draped around his shoulders.The 13-year-old won the 2026 world youth Scrabble championships in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi over the weekend, becoming the third Australian representative in the competition’s history to take out the prize. Continue reading...

Christopher Alan Saunders found guilty of 13 sex offences in West Australian district court on Thursday. He was acquitted of six other chargesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA former high-ranking Catholic known for hosting boozy shirts-off parties has been convicted of sexually abusing two young Aboriginal men.Former bishop of Broome Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, was found guilty of 13 sex offences on Thursday following a jury trial in the West Australian district court. Continue reading...

Biological factors mean a child’s core temperature rises faster than an adult’s – and that can result in a medical emergencyChildren and babies are more vulnerable in heatwaves than healthy adults. As temperatures rise again, how do we keep children safe? Continue reading...

The Reform UK leader resigned as the MP for Clacton at the start of July and forced a byelectionGood morning. In the media, August is known as the “silly season”. With parliament not sitting and many people on holiday, there is less proper news than normal, which means the nonsense stories get (even) more attention than usual. We are almost slap bang in the middle of the month, and today we’ve got a silly season classic in Clacton, where Nigel Farage, the Reform UK candidate, is fighting a byelection in which his main opponent is a joke candidate who dresses up as a dustbin.Farage is not inherently silly. Few politicians have been more consequential over the past quarter of a century (because he did more than any other single individual to make the Brexit referendum happen); for most of the past 16 months his party has had a big poll lead and he has a very realistic chance of being the next PM; and even if he doesn’t become PM, his hard-right, anti-migrant, crass, crypto-friendly populism will have changed British politics significantly.POLITICO analysis of the Reform UK leader’s digital campaign messages shows that Farage has run a twin-track strategy in the seaside seat as polls open Thursday. The two key themes of the digital air war have been painting Farage as a champion for local residents — as well as an insurgent leader harried by the “establishment” machine.Farage and his party have spent more than £10,000 pushing those messages via ads on Meta’s platforms — which include Facebook and Instagram — in the campaign so far.Almost £1,000 has been spent on videos of Farage urging local supporters to request the party deliver and install an “I’m with Nigel” garden sign. Meanwhile, around £500 went to ads asking voters to return their postal votes and “send a message to the establishment.”The largest single sum — between £4,000-£4,500 — was spent on an almost five-minute campaign video in which Farage waxes lyrical about the connection he’s made with local constituents, while claiming his party’s surging success has resulted in the powers-that-be using “foul means” to hamper him. Continue reading...

Elbridge Colby, a US under secretary of war, says he is ‘very pleased’ with the nuclear submarine program’s progressElbridge Colby, the third-highest-ranking official at the Pentagon and formerly an avowed Aukus sceptic, has mirrored his president’s language on the nuclear submarine deal, saying it is “full steam ahead”.Colby, a US under secretary of war, was the author of the Trump administration’s review of the Aukus deal, which would see the US sell three in-service Virginia-class submarines to Australia, before the development of Australia’s domestically built Aukus-class submarines. Continue reading...

Firms in England and Wales seek to fund measures including supporting new homes and datacentresBusiness live – latest updatesMillions of households in England and Wales face higher bills after water companies were given the green light to spend £3.4bn more than planned, including to support new homes and datacentres.The new spending will come on top of the £104bn programme of investment approved by the regulator that had already meant water bills will rise by 36% over the second half of the decade. Continue reading...

In France, 80 departments have been placed on an orange heat warningWell, that was quick.Straight off the back of the solar eclipse last night, we’re heading into a solar inferno as extreme heat returns today, with temperatures above 40C in parts of Spain and up to 38C in London and Paris. Continue reading...

Mina Smallman, whose daughters were killed in north London park in 2020, says force ‘decides who matters’The Metropolitan police does not take all cases of violence against women seriously and “decides who matters”, the mother of two murdered women has said.Mina Smallman, whose daughters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman were killed in a north London park in 2020, also said Britain’s biggest police force is incapable of change. Two police officers were jailed in 2021 after taking photographs of the dead bodies of her daughters and sharing the images in WhatsApp groups, referring to them as “dead birds”. Continue reading...