News 11/08/26

Fifty police chiefs have called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to prevent the early release of two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper.

In an open letter coordinated by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, fifty policing leaders urged ministers to examine every lawful option to keep the killers behind bars. Signatories include Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg. They also called for an additional public protection safeguard and better consideration for victims’ families.

The man accused of shooting a US healthcare executive dead in New York has appeared in court, where a judge ruled the murder trial will feature an anonymous jury.

Justice Gregory Carro ordered lawyers to draw up a questionnaire to select jurors for the trial of twenty-eight-year-old Luigi Mangione. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel in December 2024.

The mayor of Colombia’s capital Bogota, Carlos Galan, says a team of forty-six people is travelling to assist rescue efforts in Pereira, around thirty-five miles from the earthquake epicentre, where severe damage has been recorded.

Meanwhile, medical teams at Barco Hospital San Raffaele, ActionAid’s partner organisation in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, have deployed to the city centre, with others on standby.

Octopus Energy, the country’s biggest household energy supplier, is urging customers to reduce electricity use during tomorrow’s solar eclipse.

The window between six and eight in the evening is expected to impact the grid, as ninety-five per cent of the sun could be obscured across parts of Britain, cutting solar generation while air conditioning, fans, and refrigeration push demand higher.

A twenty-five-year-old man has been shot dead in south-west London.

Emergency crews were called to reports of gunfire on Willington Road in Clapham shortly before ten o’clock on Monday night, where the victim died at the scene. Metropolitan Police officers confirmed a second man, aged twenty-two, attended hospital with a gunshot wound shortly afterwards and has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

An amber extreme heat warning has been issued for large parts of England on Thursday.

The Met Office alert will be in place from nine in the morning until midnight, with predictions temperatures could reach up to thirty-eight degrees Celsius. Covering London, the Midlands, and parts of the South East, Yorkshire and the East of England, officials warn transport, infrastructure and health services could all be affected.

Former Syrian president Bashar al Assad has been sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Following a ruling on Tuesday by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, Assad and his brother Maher were sentenced for atrocities during their regime’s twenty-four-year rule. Assad fled to Moscow in December 2024 after his government collapsed under an offensive by anti-regime forces.

The Prime Minister says he is increasingly confident that plans to expand prison capacity will prevent the early release of serious offenders, including the killers of PC Andrew Harper.

Andy Burnham has asked Justice Secretary Alex Norris to fast-track proposals for Parliament next month. Options include removing more foreign national offenders, tackling indeterminate sentence delays, and potentially using female prison space for male offenders.

Donald Trump was secretly smuggled out of Turkey inside a catering container to a military jet following a threat from Iran, according to reports in the US.

Senior American officials told US newspapers that despite public claims the President returned on Air Force One, he was moved for security reasons following last month’s NATO summit. During his visit, US forces launched major retaliatory strikes inside Iran.

Amber heat health alerts have come into force across most of England as temperatures begin to climb at the start of the summer’s latest predicted heatwave.

The UK Health Security Agency is warning that significant impacts are likely across health and social care, including a rise in deaths. Amber alerts will remain in place until Friday evening to cover high and extreme temperatures through the week. Peak temperatures across England and Wales will widely reach the low to mid-30s Celsius.

A trainee police officer has been charged with kidnap and rape following an incident in Manchester while off-duty over the weekend.

Greater Manchester Police said Mohammad Hassan was charged after reports made to the force on Saturday, which culminated in a police pursuit on the M62 motorway in West Yorkshire. A woman was safeguarded at the scene and continues to receive support from specialist officers. Hassan has been remanded in custody and suspended from duty.

Figures show England is on track to become one of the first countries in the world to eliminate hepatitis C, a dangerous virus attacking the liver.

The target to treat 80 percent of known cases has been met, while deaths have fallen by 36 percent over the last decade. Antiviral tablets taken for eight to twelve weeks cure over 95 percent of cases. NHS England credits initiatives like A&E blood tests, GP registration testing, and free home tests.

At least 132 people are dead and a state of emergency is in place after Colombia was hit by one of its largest earthquakes in years.

Officials fear the death toll will rise with people trapped beneath collapsed buildings. The magnitude 7.4 quake struck at a depth of 103 kilometres in Chocó province and was felt across western Colombia. Many deaths occurred in Pereira, with surrounding cities and Valle del Cauca hit hard.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to change England’s planning system to make permission mandatory before opening vape shops, aiming to revive high streets.

Currently categorized alongside banks and cafes, vape shops do not need planning permission. Burnham previously announced that a 20 percent business rate reduction for social clubs, pubs, and live music venues would be funded by reviewing rate relief for the vape sector.