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Most owners would consider installing aircon as heatwaves lead buyers to focus on ability to stay cool, Rightmove saysSearches for homes for sale in the UK with air conditioning have more than doubled this summer as heatwaves push staying cool up the list of priorities for homebuyers, alongside nearness to good schools and transport links.In the week of the UK’s fifth heatwave, in which temperatures in parts of England hit 38C, the property website Rightmove said the heat was influencing how Britons thought about their homes, with more people paying attention to how comfortable a property would be during hotter weather. Continue reading...

Defense secretary said conditions on aircraft carrier deployed in support of Iran war have been ‘completely misrepresented’The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, insisted a wave of reports describing deteriorating conditions and mental health struggles onboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln have been “completely misrepresented”, pushing back against growing congressional pressure over the ship’s record-breaking, nearly nine-month deployment.“We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” Hegseth told reporters during a visit to Panama, adding that “some deployments are longer than others” and praising sailors enduring “high seas” and “austere conditions with less port calls”. Continue reading...

• A U.S. study highlights the high economic burden of measles outbreaks, estimating that a single event can cost millions of dollars in healthcare and public-health response. • Global health efforts are shifting toward infectious disease preparedness, including the U.S. FDA's approval of Moderna’s first mRNA influenza vaccine. • In India, research suggests that implementing a hexavalent vaccine could enhance the national immunisation programme, while ICAR has developed an indigenous vaccine for African swine fever.

RCN calls for more air conditioners as Burnham faces pressure to recognise urgency of adaptation to climate crisisNurses are collapsing during shifts amid “inhumane and impossible” conditions caused by extreme heat, their union has warned, as Andy Burnham promised to grapple with “the bigger questions” of climate adaptation.Amid growing pressure from Labour backbenches to fully acknowledge the urgency of adaptation measures as the climate crisis bites, Burnham said he was for now focusing on the immediate crises caused by an ongoing summer of extreme heat. Continue reading...

• On August 8, 2026, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened to maritime traffic. • The decision follows a reported agreement where the United States accepted specific conditions set by Iran to de-escalate tensions. • This move is critical for global energy security, as the strait is a primary chokepoint for the world's oil supply during the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran.

IRGC says strait is ‘a theatre of war for us and not just a waterway’Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp said they will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States meets Tehran’s conditions, including compensation for war damages.The IRGC said their strategy was to maintain the closure “until the enemy accepts all our conditions ... the strait is now actually a theatre of war for us and not just a waterway”.Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian has said he believes now is the best time for an agreement with the US. “There is cohesion, strength, and unity in the country, and as far as I know, Iran is considered victorious and powerful in this war,” Iranian news agencies quoted him as saying.Oman condemned what it described as repeated attacks on vessels while transiting the strait, without assigning blame, and said that ​negotiations with Iran on arrangements for shipping through Hormuz were “positive and constructive”.The UAE said on Saturday that Iran had attacked a carrier affiliated with the UAE’s state oil company with a missile as it transited the strait of Hormuz. No injuries were reported. The UK maritime trade monitor UKMTO said a ‌vessel had caught fire after being hit by an unknown projectile but the fire was put out and there was no reported environmental impact. There was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities.US Central Command said on Saturday it had allowed more than 30 ships through for humanitarian aid since the current blockade started. US forces have turned away 53 ships, disabled two vessels and boarded two others, Central Command said in a statement on social media. Continue reading...

• The European Central Bank (ECB) utilizes the ECB-BIG index to monitor credit conditions across the euro area by analyzing a broad set of indicators. • The index tracks critical data regarding credit availability, costs, and needs, providing a comprehensive summary when individual indicators provide conflicting signals. • This tool is vital for understanding economic shifts, as evidenced by its ability to highlight the diverging trends between household and firm bank loans during the 2008 global financial crisis.