Wes Streeting urges US to back Ukraine on Washington visit after Starlink row

UK defence secretary trying to cool tensions and is arguing it is in America’s economic interests to support Kyiv

Wes Streeting urged the US to stand by Ukraine on his visit to the American capital and sought to cool tensions between the two countries in the wake of the Starlink row that is threatening to set back Kyiv’s war effort.

The British defence secretary, giving a speech before a meeting with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, argued that supporting Ukraine was in the long-term interests of Washington, and a business opportunity.

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Russell Brand made alleged rape victim take photos of him half naked, trial told

Woman claims comedian ‘pranced around like an ostrich’ before forcing himself on her in hotel room attack

Russell Brand transformed into a “monster” when he allegedly made a woman take half-naked photographs of him before raping her in a hotel room at a Labour party conference, a court has heard.

The 51-year-old comedian has denied attacking the woman, who broke down in tears in the witness box at Southwark crown court as she told how she could not fight him off.

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Albania’s prime minister vows not to resign over student-led protests

Demonstrators demand resignation of Edi Rama after three days of clashes in capital Tirana

Albania’s prime minister has said he will not resign as a protest movement, initially prompted by a proposal to build a Trump family-backed resort in the Balkan state, turned violent with clashes convulsing the capital for a third consecutive day.

Speaking on Thursday after calls by students who this week assumed control of the anti-government demonstrations that have rattled Tirana since June, Edi Rama said: “Governments are changed through democratic elections. We had elections last year, not a revolution.”

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Second Ebola Infection Announced in Kenya – The New York Times

  1. Second Ebola Infection Announced in Kenya  The New York Times
  2. Kenya’s Ebola cases test preparedness beyond Nairobi  Al Jazeera
  3. Kenya's first Ebola case: Questions remain after man travelled across three nations undetected  BBC
  4. Kenya reports second Ebola case, family member of first patient  Reuters
  5. WHO urges vigilance after Kenya confirms second Ebola case  UN News
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Iranian Basij female unit commander assassinated in latest attack against IRGC – The Jerusalem Post

  1. Iranian Basij female unit commander assassinated in latest attack against IRGC  The Jerusalem Post
  2. At least two security officials killed near Iran’s critical Chabahar port  Al Jazeera
  3. Iran Fights Spike in Militant Attacks as US War Threat Looms  Bloomberg.com
  4. Women’s Basij commander, police officer killed in southeast Iran  Iran International
  5. Iran Fights Rising Militant Attacks as US Threatens to Renew War  Military.com
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Seven sailors missing after drones strike tankers near Romania’s Black Sea coast

Nato source says drones came from Russia, while Romania’s president says attacking commercial ships ‘is unacceptable and has to stop’

Seven sailors are missing after drones struck two tankers near Romania’s Black Sea ⁠coast, setting them ablaze and raising ⁠fresh security concerns on a ​vital shipping route used by Ukraine.

A Nato military source told Reuters the drones that had hit the Wine Trader and the Yara J came from Russia. “The drones that caused ⁠the fires on board two tankers inside Romanian territorial waters were of Russian origin,” the source said.

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Thames Water asks for £2.4bn more to avoid going bust this year or early 2027

Water company tells creditors it will not survive long enough to agree refinancing deal without more money

Thames Water has asked its creditors for another £2.4bn as the embattled water company comes close to running out of cash.

The UK’s largest water company said on Thursday it needed another short-term cash injection because it would be unable to reach a longer-term deal to sort out its giant debt pile before running out of cash by “the end of 2026 or the start of 2027”.

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An Egyptian farmer found “an unusual stone.” It led archaeologists to pieces of statues for an ancient king. – CBS News

  1. An Egyptian farmer found "an unusual stone." It led archaeologists to pieces of statues for an ancient king.  CBS News
  2. Man discovers mysterious stone outside home, leading to massive 3,300-year-old Egyptian treasure  FOX Weather
  3. Giant Ramesses II statues found in Behbeit El-Hagar after a villager reports a carved stone block  Archaeology News Online Magazine
  4. Mysterious Stone Outside Man’s Home Revealed to Be Remains of 28-Foot Statue of Pharaoh Who Ruled Egypt 3,000 Years Ago  Yahoo News Canada
  5. An Egyptian Villager Stumbled Upon an Inscribed Stone. It Led to a Colossal Head of Ramses II  Gizmodo
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Albania’s PM dismisses calls to resign as student protests spread – Al Jazeera

  1. Albania’s PM dismisses calls to resign as student protests spread  Al Jazeera
  2. Albanian protests turn violent: What we know  BBC
  3. Thousands march in Albanian capital as anti-government protests spread  Reuters
  4. Anti-Trump protesters torch Albanian government buildings  The Telegraph
  5. ‘Boiling point’: Why students are protesting against Albania’s Edi Rama  Al Jazeera
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Eritrea accuses Shabana Mahmood of ‘political gimmick’ over visa ban threat

Home secretary says she will block all Eritreans from UK unless a returns deal is agreed for rejected asylum seekers and criminals

Shabana Mahmood has been accused of launching a “perfunctory political gimmick” by the Eritrean government in a row over the return of rejected asylum seekers and criminals.

After the home secretary threatened to block all Eritreans from entering the UK unless a returns deal was agreed, the country’s embassy claimed the UK had failed to engage in “meaningful and appropriate” dialogue.

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Nicolás Maduro tells New York court new torture allegations are ‘false’

Rewritten indictment accuses ex-Venezuela president and wife Cilia Flores of leading campaign of torture

Nicolás Maduro insisted on Thursday during an appearance in a New York court that torture allegations in a rewritten drug trafficking indictment against the deposed Venezuelan president and his wife were “false accusations”.

Maduro, shackled at the ankles, was brought to court to face the new charges accusing the couple of leading a state-sponsored campaign of repression that tortured scores of victims, including three Americans.

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UK bookstores scramble as Sally Rooney’s novels are withdrawn because she supports Palestine Action – AP News

  1. UK bookstores scramble as Sally Rooney's novels are withdrawn because she supports Palestine Action  AP News
  2. Sally Rooney Withdraws Her Books From UK Over Her Support of Palestine Action  The New York Times
  3. Sally Rooney’s exit does no favours to other writers  The Times
  4. Sally Rooney’s stand on Palestine is brave and humane  The Guardian
  5. ‘Actions have consequences’: minister weighs in on Sally Rooney row  The Times
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