News 09/03/26

RAF fighter jets have carried out military action to defend the nations of Jordan and Bahrain overnight, the Ministry of Defence says.

The jets successfully took out an uncrewed aerial system in defence of Jordan and intercepted a drone heading towards Bahrain, it said. Iran’s foreign minister has criticised the US for destabilising oil prices with strikes on the country.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is giving a statement in the House of Commons on the current economic situation, following the Iranian war.

She says she is ready to support the release of International Energy Agency oil reserves, after talks with G7 counterparts earlier. The chancellor will also meet the head of Lloyd’s of London later today to discuss shipping insurance issues

Rail operators have warned of disruption after a huge fire destroyed a building next to Glasgow Central Station.

Flames spread through a B-listed Victorian property after the blaze began in a vape shop at about 15:45, on Sunday. Network Rail says the station escaped major damage, but safety checks mean it will stay closed on Tuesday with further disruption expected

NATO has confirmed it intercepted another missile heading towards Turkey.

Earlier, Turkey’s defence ministry said a ballistic missile fired from Iran was shot down in its airspace. The ministry says NATO defences based in the eastern Mediterranean destroyed the missile, and fragments fell in a remote area of southeastern Turkey without reports of any injuries or damage to property there

Five members of the Iranian women’s football team are in a safe house in Australia after their elimination from the Asian Cup.

They were due to fly home, but supporters feared for their safety after the team refused to sing the national anthem before facing South Korea. Critics in Iran accused them of betrayal, while supporters gathered outside chanting loudly

Tributes have been paid to grime pioneer Dot Rotten, who has died aged thirty seven.

His family confirmed the death to the BBC, although no details about the circumstances were released. Born Joseph Ellis in Stockwell, he created a distinctive sound and worked with artists including Chip, D Double E, Cher Lloyd and Ed Sheeran, scoring a Top Twenty hit

Fuel prices are rising quickly as the crisis in the Middle East affects oil markets.

Petrol has gone up five pence to one hundred and thirty seven point five a litre, while diesel has increased nine pence to one hundred and fifty one. The RAC says diesel is especially vulnerable because the United Kingdom imports most of its supplies

An eyewitness says he tried to tackle a fire at a vape shop next to Glasgow Central station but had to stop after explosions.

The blaze on Union Street began on Sunday afternoon and spread until the building was engulfed, causing part of it to collapse. Lamin Kongira said he saw a fire under the counter before it grew.

Glasgow Central station is expected to remain closed into Tuesday after a fire at a nearby building.

Network Rail says emergency services are still at the scene after the blaze on Union Street, although the fire is now under control. The station will stay shut while safety checks are carried out, and all train services to and from Glasgow Central are suspended. Passengers are being told to follow alternative travel arrangements advised by their train operators until reopening timescales can be confirmed.

NHS England has paused new prescriptions of cross sex hormones for sixteen and seventeen year olds questioning their gender identity.

The decision follows a review which found previous research into the risks and benefits of the treatment was really weak. The hormones can help develop characteristics linked to a preferred gender rather than biological sex and may cause permanent changes. The health service says only a small number of teenagers will be affected and a consultation on longer term guidance has begun.

The UK should urgently accelerate plans to increase spending on its armed forces or risk vulnerability to missile and drone attacks, an author of the government’s defence review has warned.

General Sir Richard Barrons told Sky News that politicians would need to make “very difficult choices” to shift investment away from peacetime priorities such as health and welfare. He said that following the eruption of war between the US and Israel against Iran, the world has become even more dangerous than when his review was published last June. The Ministry of Defence has faced questions about its readiness after failing to deploy a single warship rapidly from Portsmouth to protect two British sovereign bases in Cyprus amid threats from Iranian strikes. Iran has carried out its first missile attacks under new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to state broadcaster IRIB’s Telegram channel.

Cancer death rates in the UK have fallen to a historic low, Cancer Research UK has announced.

The charity said rates have dropped by 11 percent over the past decade, with 247 deaths per 100,000 people annually. That represents a 29 percent fall from the peak of 355 per 100,000 in 1989.

Iran has carried out its first missile strikes under new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to a post on state broadcaster IRIB’s Telegram channel.

An image showed what appeared to be a projectile marked with the words “At your service, Sayyid Mojtaba”. As the conflict in the Middle East continues into its tenth day, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to reassure the public during a visit to a London community centre, where he will discuss the impact of the situation on people in the United Kingdom.

Several gunshots have been fired into Rihanna’s home in California, with one round penetrating the wall of the property.

Police in Los Angeles say a thirty year old woman has been arrested after the incident in Beverly Hills on Sunday afternoon. Officers believe seven to nine rounds were fired from an AR fifteen rifle, with four striking the house. The singer was reported to be at home at the time, although it is not known if her partner A$AP Rocky or their children were inside.

Qatar’s prime minister has described Iran’s strikes on Gulf countries as a dangerous miscalculation.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani warned the escalation could destabilise the region and send shockwaves through the global economy. Speaking after Qatar faced repeated missile and drone attacks, he said the country had entered a very difficult period but praised the professionalism of its defence and security forces during the crisis.