News 28/08/26

One person has died and at least six others have been injured after a large sign fell at a Christian festival in West Sussex.

Sussex Police were called to the Big Church Festival at Wiston Park near Steyning on Friday, where a forty-one-year-old man from Eastbourne was pronounced dead. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers. Detective Chief Superintendent Richard McDonagh described the tragedy as a tragic incident, adding that thoughts are with the man’s family and friends.

A widow whose husband died following severe turbulence on a flight has launched legal action against the airline.

Seventy-four-year-old Linda Kitchen from Thornbury near Bristol suffered a broken back when the Singapore Airlines flight from London Heathrow suddenly dropped around six thousand feet. Her husband, seventy-three-year-old Geoff Kitchen, was fatally injured. Mrs Kitchen is seeking damages at the High Court to access specialist support for her injuries. Singapore Airlines have been contacted for a comment.

A further seven men have been arrested as part of Cleveland Police’s investigation into organised crime in Middlesbrough, bringing the total number of arrests to twenty-four.

The force is investigating a series of recent incidents following a fatal crash on Saturday that killed seven people, including police officers Tom Clough and Matthew Blades. The crash involved a stolen Volkswagen Passat driving on the wrong side of the A66. Reports have since emerged that several cars were set on fire at a vigil in County Durham for one of the victims, twenty-three-year-old Michael Cahill.

A sixteen-year-old boy has died after collapsing in a river in Scotland.

Police Scotland named the teenager as Kenzie Carmichael, whose body was recovered from the River Nith on Wednesday evening. Officers were called to Nith Avenue near The Boathouse at twenty-five to eight following reports that he had collapsed in the water. Detective Inspector Scott Wilson said Kenzie’s family and friends were devastated, emphasizing that it is vital officers get them answers as to how he died.

Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed said he and his players were unaware of a threat by the Pakistan Cricket Board to cancel their tour of England over a television interview.

Sky Sports aired an interview during lunch on day one of the second Test with the sons of former Pakistan captain and prime minister Imran Khan, who has been in prison for three years. The PCB reportedly threatened to call off the Lord’s Test and the remainder of the series, though play resumed after the interval.

Search and rescue operations following floods in northern Nepal are at a critical stage, according to the Chinese embassy.

The embassy warned that a lake formed by a landslide dam has reached high water levels and started to overflow, creating a risk of a further breach. Authorities in both China and Nepal are continuing to monitor the situation and assess the risks to manage emergency response efforts across both countries.

Celtic and Rangers have been ordered to play their next home Scottish Cup matches behind closed doors following fan disorder during last season’s quarter-final.

Both clubs must also pay one hundred thousand pounds to their opposing teams. A further home stadium ban will apply if any similar unacceptable conduct occurs. Fans spilled onto the pitch at Ibrox after Celtic defeated Rangers on penalties to reach the semi-finals.

Four men have pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to destroying four Jewish community ambulances in a £1m arson attack.

Hamza Iqbal, Rehan Khan, Judex Atshatshi, and Saif Ali admitted damaging property being reckless as to whether life was endangered. The vehicles, operated by the charity Hatzola, were set alight in Golders Green on the twenty-third of March in what prosecutors described as a targeted attack.

Nearly five hundred migrants arrived in the UK on Thursday, marking the first successful Channel crossings in ten days.

Seven vessels carrying four hundred and ninety-four people reached British waters and were taken to the Border Security Command compound in Dover, Kent. Government data analysed by the Press Association shows that overall arrival numbers for the year remain lower compared to previous figures.
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A teenager who recently finished his A-levels and his thirteen-year-old sister are among the British citizens missing following the disaster in Nepal.

Eighteen-year-old Spandan Sahu and his sibling Syna were in the country with their parents, Santosh Sahu and Surabhi Manmath Padhy. Spandan recently completed his education at the Royal Grammar School in Guildford and was preparing to study at university.

Several vehicles have been set on fire during a memorial vigil for one of the men killed in last weekend’s A66 crash.

Social media videos appeared to show cars alight in Haswell, County Durham, where crowds gathered on grassland to release balloons in memory of twenty-three-year-old Michael Cahill. Later footage showed burnt-out cars being removed from the site, twenty miles north of the collision.

A Met Office yellow weather warning for heavy showers and thunderstorms is in place across large swathes of England and Wales.

The alert, running from midday until nine o’clock this evening, warns that floodwaters could damage homes and businesses, while travel disruption is expected to delay train, car, and bus journeys across most regions.

Serious disorder at a balloon release for one of the young men killed in the A66 car crash has been condemned as unacceptable by a local MP.

Overnight social media footage appears to show cars set alight in a County Durham field, flares being set off, and masked youths on motorbikes. Redcar MP Anna Turley said the event put lives at risk and left residents frightened and angry in their own communities, adding that while people have a right to grieve, residents also have a right to feel safe in their homes.

Norway’s King Harald the Fifth has died at the age of eighty-nine following treatment for a rare blood condition.

The palace in Oslo confirmed he passed away peacefully at the national hospital this morning. Members of the royal family visited the king in his final hours as well-wishers laid flowers outside the palace. Reforming the monarchy over thirty-five years on the throne, King Harald will be succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Haakon.

There are warnings of further possible flooding in northern Nepal as rescuers search for survivors of a flash flood that has killed at least 469 people.

In Trishuli, roads are caked in mud with vehicles left half-buried, while police barricades block entry to the worst-affected areas near river beds. Casualty figures continue to rise in what has become the country’s worst disaster since the 2015 earthquake.

The clear-up of one of England’s largest illegal waste tips at Kidlington in Oxfordshire has been completed, landing taxpayers with a £6m bill.

Around twenty-two thousand tonnes of rubbish was dumped at the site in 2025. The government has vowed to recoup clearance costs for Kidlington and seven other dumps by confiscating money and assets from the criminals responsible following a national crackdown on waste crime.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for a freeze on approving new data centres in England over concerns regarding their energy and water consumption.

Mr Polanski urged ministers to introduce stricter environmental rules and grant local communities a greater say. The government warned that any pause would cost the UK vital investment and leave the country reliant on overseas computing for sensitive data.