Morning Briefing: Monday 6 July 2026
- Your TV: Sky is buying ITV’s channels and the ITVX streaming service for up to £1.6bn — nothing changes on screen yet, but the deal creates Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster under a single American owner, and the competition and media regulators now decide what conditions to attach.
- The Heat Peak Is Coming: The week’s heat builds from here towards around 34C in the South East on Thursday or Friday — the riskiest days are midweek onwards, health alerts run to Saturday evening, and hosepipe restrictions widen on Friday.
- Petrol: Brent slipped towards $71 this morning as Gulf shipping flows normalise, and fuel suppliers say pump prices should keep falling — the cheapest motoring since February’s war began is set to get cheaper still.
Russian Missiles Kill Fourteen in Kyiv on Summit Eve
Russia struck Kyiv overnight with 68 missiles and 351 drones, killing at least 14 people and injuring 117 — the second mass-casualty attack on the capital within days. Ukraine’s air force downed 37 missiles and 326 drones, but none of the…
Tehran Throngs Mourn Khamenei as Successor Stays Hidden
Tens of thousands filled central Tehran for the biggest day of Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral rites, as his coffin was driven through crowds who stoned a billboard of President Trump and burned American and British flags beneath banners hail…
Trump Heads to Ankara for Talks With Zelensky and Sharaa
President Trump departs for Turkey tonight ahead of tomorrow’s NATO summit, where he meets President Erdogan on arrival, sees President Zelensky on the sidelines, and — in a first for a NATO summit — meets Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa…
Tankers Stream Out of Hormuz as Red Sea Risk Returns
Ten Japan-linked vessels including six supertankers carrying twelve million barrels of crude exited the Strait of Hormuz today, and a Saudi supertanker sailed for South Korea over the weekend — the strongest sign yet that Gulf energy flows…
Macron to Make First Western State Visit to Syria
President Macron will visit Damascus “soon”, Syria’s presidency announced — the first visit by a Western head of state since the fall of the Assad regime — reportedly bringing a delegation of French investors for talks with President Ahmed…
Sky Buys ITV’s Broadcast and Streaming Arm for £1.6bn
Comcast-owned Sky is buying ITV’s Media and Entertainment division — the ITV channels and the ITVX streaming platform — for up to £1.6bn, in the biggest takeover in British broadcasting history. The deal, first mooted last November, create…
Blunkett Commission Demands Overhaul of Police Leadership
The Police Leadership Commission, chaired by Lord Blunkett with Lord Herbert, found leadership across the 43 forces of England and Wales “not consistently of a high enough standard”: no force is rated outstanding for leadership, chief cons…
Ministers Cap Overseas Donations to Shut Out Foreign Money
The Government tightened the rules on political funding overnight, capping donations from overseas electors newly arrived in the UK at £100,000 in their first year and imposing tougher checks on company donations, to stop what it called do…
Farage Threatens Legal Action as Standards Pressure Mounts
Nigel Farage said he is “considering legal action against the Sunday Times” over its report on undeclared support from convicted fraudster George Cottrell, declaring: “It’s now clear the establishment will stop at nothing to hurt Reform —…
Heatwave Builds Towards 34C Peak From Midweek
The third heatwave of the summer is under way, with heat-health alerts covering most English regions until Saturday evening and the peak — around 34C in the South East — expected on Thursday or Friday. This spell is drier than June’s recor…