News 19/09/26

Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen claim to have launched drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting Riyadh and Red Sea energy sites.

Saudi authorities confirmed intercepting a ballistic missile over the capital, where air raid alerts sounded and flights at the international airport were briefly disrupted. A column of black smoke was spotted near fuel tanks, though officials confirmed no further strikes or casualties.

A thirteen-year-old girl missing from her Greater Manchester home for over a week has been found safe and well.

Lillia had left her family home in Bolton on Friday, the eleventh of September. Greater Manchester Police released CCTV images of her earlier today in a public appeal, before confirming she had been located and is now in the care of officers.

A food manufacturer in Slough has been handed a zero food hygiene rating following a council inspection.

Rakuk Limited, based on New Road, was given the lowest possible grade by Slough Borough Council after an assessment on the fifth of August. Inspectors stated urgent improvement was necessary, citing major concerns over confidence in management Alongside required upgrades to food safety standards.

With the Liberal Democrats polling lower than a year ago, party leader Sir Ed Davey has defended their impact at their annual conference in Brighton.

Serving fish and chips at Brighton Palace Pier, Davey rejected claims by MP Roz Savage that the party is struggling for relevance. The longest-serving national leader since Keir Starmer’s departure insisted the Liberal Democrats remain a strong and united force in British politics.

Police are treating a fire that forced nearly three hundred people to evacuate a Folkestone hotel as suspicious.

Emergency services were called to the Grand Burstin Hotel on Marine Parade early on Saturday morning, with twenty-six fire engines tackling the blaze at its peak. Kent Fire Service believes the fire started in the basement. No injuries have been reported, and enquiries into the cause are ongoing.

A Maidenhead woman says she wouldn’t still be here without a mental health partnership between her local football club and the Campaign Against Living Miserably charity.

Claire Smith described herself as a shell of a person, isolated by depression and anxiety, before joining weekly walks hosted by Maidenhead United Community Trust. The partnership, formed in July twenty twenty-three, includes front-of-shirt sponsorship and helpline promotion.

Police have released a new CCTV image of a thirteen-year-old girl who went missing over a week ago from her family home in Bolton.

Greater Manchester Police identified Lillia at Manchester Piccadilly bus station at ten thirty-six on Monday morning. In the image, captured on CCTV, she is wearing a dark outfit with her hood up and carrying a backpack.

Michael Marra has been elected as the new leader of Scottish Labour, describing the result as the honour of his life.

The MSP for North East Scotland and former party finance spokesperson defeated Joe Fagan in a vote by thousands of members. Marra succeeds Anas Sarwar following May’s Scottish parliament elections, where Labour suffered its worst devolution result, returning just seventeen MSPs.

Poland’s air force has launched preventive military aviation operations for the fourth time this week following continued Russian drone strikes on Ukraine.

Poland’s military confirmed on X that ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems were placed on readiness. The operations aim to secure Polish airspace and protect areas near threatened zones.

Parents could lose benefits or face prison sentences for their children’s crimes under proposed youth justice system reforms.

Youth Justice Minister Jake Richards told The Times newspaper that the system must hold parents accountable in a proportionate way to keep communities safe. The plans expand Parenting Orders, with prison sentences reserved for extreme cases at a judge’s discretion.

Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in the UK, describing the country as being on the slide.

The Ineos founder and Manchester United co-owner blamed high taxes and high immigration for the decline. He claimed failing to invest in North Sea energy was insanity and warned low gas storage risks shortages during cold weather. The government responded that business investment has grown.

Late summer warmth could see temperatures reach twenty-six degrees Celsius across parts of the UK next week.

Southern areas will enjoy the highest temperatures, with most regions experiencing warmer conditions than usual for late September. High pressure bringing the warmth to England and Wales will also mean little rain for areas currently experiencing drought conditions, while warmth in Scotland and Northern Ireland may be brief.