Evening Briefing: Friday 28 August 2026
- Getaway: Record bank-holiday traffic is forecast — over 4 million car journeys today alone — with petrol at 161.6p a litre, its highest since November 2022, and thunderstorms today and Sunday.
- London travel: The Metropolitan line is largely suspended and the Jubilee line part-closed after the Neasden waste fire — disruption runs well into this evening. Check before travelling.
- Weekend weather: Sixteen flood alerts remain in force and heavy, thundery showers return Sunday — unsettled throughout, 20–22C, with Monday wettest in Scotland.
Nepal Toll Reaches 543 With Nearly 2,000 Missing
The flood death toll climbed to 543 with the number missing jumping to nearly 2,000, as the barrier lake overflowed and briefly halted the search before operations resumed. The Red Cross says at least 93,000 people are affected. Nepal’s ar…
Haakon VIII Takes Norwegian Throne: 'Everything for Norway'
Haakon took the throne as King Haakon VIII, leading an extraordinary cabinet meeting where he announced his title and adopted his father’s motto, “Everything for Norway”. His daughter Ingrid Alexandra, 22, becomes crown princess — in line…
Iran Sets Hormuz Terms; Trump Says Tehran Is 'Begging'
Iran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz took shape: a temporary two-lane corridor agreed with Oman through Iranian waters, activated only if Washington lifts its naval blockade, returns to the summer memorandum and halts opera…
Iceland Votes Tomorrow on Rejoining the EU Path
Icelanders vote tomorrow on whether to resume EU accession talks, with polls on a knife edge — the latest put Yes at 51.3 per cent. A Yes only restarts negotiations; any final deal would need a second referendum. Fishing is the dealbreaker…
Sudan Lifts Khartoum's Two-Year Curfew as Chad Row Deepens
Sudan’s military-led government lifted the curfew and state of emergency imposed on Khartoum more than two years ago, eighteen months after retaking the capital — over two million of the five million who fled have returned. The normalisati…
Four Admit £1m Arson Attack on Jewish Community Ambulances
Four men aged 18 to 20 pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to the arson attack that destroyed four fully stocked ambulances run by the Jewish volunteer charity Hatzola in Golders Green in March, causing around £1m of damage as gas canisters e…
Scotland Publishes Independence Referendum Bill; No 10 Refuses
The Scottish government published its draft independence referendum bill — question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” — delivering the SNP’s hundred-day pledge after May’s Holyrood win. John Swinney demanded Westminster “respec…
Burnham to Abstain on Assisted Dying and Muzzle Ministers
The prime minister told Labour MPs he will abstain on the assisted dying bill’s second reading on 11 September, writing that “there is no single right position” and that his role is “to lead a government that implements the will of parliam…
Police No Longer Link A66 Crash to Fatal House Fire
Cleveland Police said it is not currently linking the A66 crash to the Grangetown fire that killed Natalie McDonald and seven-year-old Valentina Foster — stepping back from earlier suggestions an organised-crime connection could not be rul…
Huge Waste Fire Shuts Tube Lines Into Bank Holiday Getaway
A hundred and twenty-five firefighters tackled a large fire at a waste facility in Neasden, near Wembley Stadium, sending smoke across London and largely suspending the Metropolitan line — with the Jubilee line part-closed and Chiltern ser…