Morning Briefing: Monday 10 August 2026
- Petrol: Oil held steady around $84 a barrel despite a Houthi strike on a Saudi refinery over the weekend — markets judged it contained. Pump prices should hold rather than spike for now.
- Savings: Gold is sitting at a record and shares near highs, with investors betting on interest-rate cuts after a weak US jobs report — a lift for pensions, and a hint borrowing costs may ease over time.
- Water: A fifth heatwave is building, with temperatures forecast towards 36C and drought set to widen to more of England. Hosepipe bans are spreading and food prices remain under pressure.
Iran Hardens Terms as Trump Leans on Economic Pressure
Iran toughened its stance on the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, with a senior security official insisting the waterway “is not going to return to its pre-war condition” and that there was “no military solution”. President Trump said the Unite…
White House Shrugs Off Netanyahu's Rejection of Gaza Plan
The White House said it was “not worried” that Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected President Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, playing down the rift a day after the Israeli leader refused to withdraw until Hamas disarms. Mr Netanyahu said h…
Houthi Barrage Kills Seven in Yemen's Mocha
A fresh Houthi missile and drone barrage struck the Red Sea port city of Mocha in Yemen, killing at least seven people, according to reports, in a renewed assault on positions held by the Saudi-aligned government. It followed the group’s s…
Turkey Debates Pardon Bill for Thousands of PKK Fighters
Turkey’s parliament opened debate on a bill offering pardon-like provisions to thousands of members of the Kurdish militant group the PKK, a potentially historic step in a fragile peace process. The legislation would ease the path for figh…
India's Assam Floods Kill 100
The death toll from flooding in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam has risen to a hundred, officials said, after two more people died overnight. Vast areas remain under water and hundreds of thousands have been affected, with the regi…
Record 230 Migrants Cross Channel in One Boat
A record two hundred and thirty people crossed the English Channel in a single inflatable boat, the most ever recorded in one vessel, officials said. The overcrowded “mega-dinghy” underlined both the scale of the crossings and their danger…
Protests Spread to Thetford as Bishop Condemns Disorder
Anti-migrant protests spread over the weekend to a former RAF base near Thetford in Norfolk that is earmarked for asylum accommodation, where crowds gathered and arrests were made. The Bishop of Thetford condemned the “indefensible” disord…
Wealth-Tax Row Grips Labour Before the Budget
A row over whether to impose a wealth tax on the richest has broken out inside Labour ahead of the autumn Budget, with allies of the Prime Minister pressing the idea and ministers resisting it. One minister insisted Andy Burnham’s spending…
Fifth Heatwave Builds as Drought Set to Widen
Britain is bracing for its fifth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures forecast to climb towards 36C this week and drought expected to be extended to more of England. Heat-related disruption has already hit some rail services. It follo…
Burnham to Bring Forward Ban on "Subscription Traps"
Andy Burnham has said he will bring forward a ban on “subscription traps” — deals that are deliberately hard to cancel — and crack down on misleading discounts and fake sales, as he opened a national cost-of-living tour. The measures are b…