Households in Great Britain ‘could owe energy suppliers £7bn by end of year’

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After higher prices for winter kick in, energy debt unpaid for more than 30 days likely to rise, says Energy UK

Households in Great Britain could owe their energy suppliers as much as £7bn by the end of the year after higher gas and electricity prices forecast for the winter kick in, an industry group is warning.

Domestic energy debt and arrears climbed by about £500m over the past year to a record £6bn at the end of June as the Middle East conflict continued to stoke rising gas market prices.

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‘There’s a baby on the field’: Toddler invades pitch during Minnesota’s MLS win over San Jose

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  • Child wandered on field during MNUFC’s 5-1 win

  • Minnesota posts win was ‘Like taking money from a baby’

A toddler interrupted a Major League Soccer match between Minnesota United and San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday by invading the pitch – a bizarre scene punctuated by an on-air analyst saying, “There’s a baby on the field.”

With a minute and a half to play in the game that Minnesota won 5-1 at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, the small child took to the field – and the referee blew his whistle to stop play.

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Denmark’s prime minister blasts unsolicited beauty advice from plastic surgeon on Instagram – AP News

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  1. Denmark's prime minister blasts unsolicited beauty advice from plastic surgeon on Instagram  AP News
  2. ‘Fix that little spot’: Danish PM hits back at unsolicited beauty tip from cosmetic surgeon  The Guardian
  3. Denmark's PM blasts plastic surgeon for his unsolicited offer to 'fix' spot on her nose  CBC
  4. Denmark PM told by male surgeon to fix her nose. Her reply is gold  India Today
  5. Danish PM rejects surgeon’s unsolicited offer to ‘fix her nose’  AOL.com
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The health of Norway’s King Harald deteriorated over the weekend but he is stable now – AP News

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  1. The health of Norway’s King Harald deteriorated over the weekend but he is stable now  AP News
  2. Norway's King Harald V's health has worsened, palace says  BBC
  3. Norway: King Harald's health has 'deteriorated' — palace  DW.com
  4. Health of Norway's king deteriorates while in hospital, palace says  Reuters
  5. From Mette-Marit to Durek Verrett, Norway's royal family rallies at King Harald's hospital bedside  HOLA
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Australia has just 12,000 sea lions left – and ‘carnage’ may await them as bird flu takes hold, scientists warn

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Virus has already caused catastrophic losses in pinnipeds in South America and sub-Antarctica, particularly among pups

Scientists have warned deadly H5 bird flu could cause “carnage” for Australia’s seal and sea lion populations after detection of the virus in long-nosed fur seals in South Australia.

SA confirmed Australia’s first case in a mammal on Saturday after a dead long-nosed fur seal found at Beachport on the Limestone Coast tested positive for H5N1.

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Guns, axes, explosives: violent museum heists are on the rise, says Europol

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EU police agency says shift could point to involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific artefacts

Robberies at European museums are becoming increasingly violent, with thieves sometimes brandishing guns, assaulting staff and using sledgehammers, axes and even explosives to smash their way into buildings and display cases, according to a report by Europol.

The EU police agency said that while museum thefts were generally seen as a non-violent form of organised property crime, member states had detected a recent shift “towards violent and forceful methods” that could point to the involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific cultural artefacts.

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Putin Signs Order Allowing Government to Seize Critical Infrastructure Following Attacks – The Moscow Times

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  1. Putin Signs Order Allowing Government to Seize Critical Infrastructure Following Attacks  The Moscow Times
  2. Russia to seize poorly protected infrastructure amid Ukraine drone attacks  Al Jazeera
  3. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 19, 2026  Institute for the Study of War
  4. Putin says Ukraine opened 'Pandora's box' with strikes on economic targets  Reuters
  5. Putin Allows Russia to Take Over Poorly Protected Facilities  Bloomberg.com
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Man suspected of killing five people in Oregon found dead, officials say

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Authorities suspect Benjamin Charles ​Parker, 36, died by suicide after he was found in vehicle in Washington state

A man ⁠suspected of killing ⁠five ​people in rural Oregon was found dead in a suspected ⁠suicide, local law enforcement officials said on Sunday.

The five homicide victims were found ⁠on Saturday at a home in a ​rural community near ‌Forest Grove, ‌Oregon, about 30 miles (48km) outside Portland, ‌when authorities responded to a report of a vehicle fire.

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Prince Harry to leave board of African Parks conservation nonprofit – AP News

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  1. Prince Harry to leave board of African Parks conservation nonprofit  AP News
  2. Prince Harry quits board of wildlife charity after rangers’ human rights abuses  The Guardian
  3. Prince Harry steps down from African wildlife charity board  BBC
  4. Prince Harry quits African conservation charity after rangers’ human rights abuses  The Hill
  5. Prince Harry Steps Down from Longtime Charity Role amid Scandal Ahead of His U.K. Return  People.com
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About 90,000 urged to evacuate as fast-moving wildfire threatens Reno, Nevada

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‘Human-caused’, wind-driven fire in Reno leaves thousands of homes and businesses without power, officials say

About 90,000 residents of Reno, Nevada, and the adjacent North Valley are under evacuation orders as a fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire bears down on the city.

The Hawk fire began on Saturday to the north-west of the city, and quickly grew, showing “extreme fire behavior”. It stood at a little more than 15,000 acres burned on Monday morning, and was 0% contained.

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Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott found guilty of sexually abusing children

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Five-day trial at high court in Glasgow heard Dott subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse

The former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been found guilty of sexually abusing two primary school age children. The 49-year-old subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse, with the girl targeted between 1993-96 and the boy between 2006-10.

A five-day trial at the high court in Glasgow heard Dott exposed himself in front of both children, touched them inappropriately, and kissed them. On Monday, he was found guilty of two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour towards them. In both cases the abuse happened in the Glasgow area.

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Twelve people arrested after A66 crash that killed seven including two police officers

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Nine men and three women aged between 19 and 61 arrested as part of investigation into events leading to deadly collision

Twelve people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including being involved with organised crime as part of the investigation into events leading to a crash on the A66 that killed two police officers and five others.

Cleveland police confirmed that nine men and three women were detained by officers investigating the events that led up to PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough dying when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on the A66 near Middlesbrough collided with their marked armed response vehicle. All five men who were in the second car, aged between 17 and 23, were pronounced dead at the scene.

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‘Staggering’: watchdog condemns police after Indigenous teenager on bus wrongfully arrested – then searched

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Ombudsman Iain Anderson says he is concerned police ‘had no clearly understood definition of racial profiling’

The commonwealth and ACT ombudsman has criticised the Australian federal police for failing to clearly define “racial profiling” after police in Canberra pulled guns on an Indigenous teenager who they mistook for a suspect in an aggravated burglary.

The scathing investigation, released on Tuesday, made eight recommendations to the Australian federal police (AFP) and ACT Policing after investigating the November 2025 incident. ACT Policing sits under the AFP as the community policing arm.

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Israel warns of ‘forceful’ response to kites flown from Gaza – BBC

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  1. Israel warns of 'forceful' response to kites flown from Gaza  BBC
  2. Netanyahu warns of 'targeted strikes' if Hamas doesn't stop kites from flying toward Israel  CBC
  3. Live updates • Right-wing Israeli activists protest Gaza reconstruction under Trump's plan  Haaretz
  4. Israel accused of using kites as pretext to justify escalating Gaza attacks  Al Jazeera
  5. Herzog says Israel can’t play down border residents’ jitters amid return of Gaza kites  The Times of Israel
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Survivors of violent crime criticise MoJ for not explaining offender restriction zones

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Campaigners accuse ministers of trying to grab headlines with announcement before a working system is ready

Survivors of violent crime and families of victims have criticised the UK government for announcing “world first” plans to introduce restriction zones for serious offenders freed from prison within a few weeks without spelling out how they would work.

Key campaigners who have championed the idea of the zones, designed to “lock” offenders into specific areas, accused the government of seeking to grab headlines rather than providing the detail that would reassure survivors and families.

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