Morning Briefing: Friday 21 August 2026
- Water: With 10 regions in drought and hosepipe bans now covering around 29 million people, restrictions are set to persist — and officials warn parched ground raises the risk of flash flooding when rain does come.
- Taxes: The government borrowed more than expected in July, sharpening the risk of tax rises in the autumn budget. What the Chancellor does in October will land on household finances.
- Savings and mortgages: Gold hit fresh highs and Bitcoin surged past $78,000, while markets await a key speech from the US Federal Reserve chair today that could steer interest rates — and, in time, mortgage costs.
Israel Moves Settlers Into E1 Bloc as Allies Condemn
Israel began re-establishing the E1 settlement in the occupied West Bank overnight, moving the first families onto a site long frozen because it would sever the territory in two and cut off a future Palestinian state from East Jerusalem. B…
Hong Kong Convicts Tiananmen Vigil Organisers Under Security Law
A Hong Kong court convicted two veteran activists, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, of inciting subversion under the national security law, over their organising of the city’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil. The pair, who denied the charge…
Yemen Slides Toward Full-Scale War as Truce Collapses
Fighting in Yemen escalated sharply, with government forces claiming 81 attacks on Houthi positions in a day and the Houthis claiming drone strikes on an airport and an oil facility in southern Saudi Arabia. The UN warned that the four-yea…
Panama Canal to Cut Ship Transits as Drought Bites
The Panama Canal will reduce the number of ships allowed to pass through, its operator said, after low rainfall driven by the returning El Niño weather pattern cut water levels in the lakes that feed the waterway. The canal is one of the w…
US Vows to 'Collapse' Iran's Economy and Presses China
The US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said Washington would impose its “toughest sanctions in history” to crush Iran’s economy and even “collapse” its government, and pressed China to fall in behind the campaign. Beijing, Iran’s bigges…
Drought Deepens as Prime Minister Chairs Emergency Meeting
Ten regions of England are now officially in drought and hosepipe bans imposed by nine water companies affect around 29 million people, as the prime minister chaired an emergency Cobra meeting on the crisis. Reservoirs stand at 62.6 per ce…
UK Borrowing Overshoots Forecast Before Autumn Budget
The government borrowed £1.8bn in July, some £2.3bn more than the official forecast and higher than a year earlier, official figures showed, underlining the squeeze facing the Chancellor before his first budget. Borrowing over the financia…
Government Touts Record Effort Against Channel Crossings
The government said it had more than doubled the number of National Crime Agency officers tackling people-smuggling, to nearly 800, and that France was intercepting hundreds more crossings this summer. Ministers said the joint effort had s…
London Boroughs Challenge PM Over Council Tax Rises
London’s councils are challenging the prime minister over council tax rises they say will follow a reform of local-government funding that redirects money towards more deprived areas. The dispute pits London’s largely Labour boroughs again…
North Sea Oil and Gas Decision Looms for Burnham
The oil and gas industry is pressing the prime minister to approve two contentious North Sea developments as a public consultation on them closes, setting up an early test of the government’s energy priorities. Supporters say the projects…