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Astronomers find possible ‘phoenix planet’ born of a dead star
A faint brightness signal repeating every 4.4 days in NASA’s TESS data is consistent with a Jupiter-sized gas giant, but the planet remains a candidate.
Most adults eat about 20g of fibre a day – the target is 30g
A Lancet review of 185 studies and 58 trials found risk reductions were greatest at 25g to 29g a day, though the certainty of the evidence was moderate.
Man charged with murder of Norfolk GP Dr Hannah Terry
Mark Cain is due before magistrates in Norwich on 7 October, and the CPS has reminded all concerned that proceedings are active.
Paramount completes Warner Bros takeover to form Skydance
Warner Bros Discovery shareholders were paid cash, and a filing shows David Zaslav left the company on the day the deal closed.
Nobel medicine prize goes to light switch for nerve cells
Hegemann and Nagel found the protein behind optogenetics in a single-celled alga that swims towards light, in the early 2000s.
Five things to try when sleep will not come
Five suggestions from NHS pages, plus NICE’s first-choice treatment for long-term insomnia: cognitive behavioural therapy.
Two Sussex officers sacked for excessive force on care home resident, 92
PC Stephen Smith and PC Rachel Comotto were acquitted of assault in May 2025, but a disciplinary panel has found they breached standards on use of force.
British man, 22, arrested in RAF Fairford terror investigation
Counter Terrorism Policing said it was working “around the clock, and at pace” to identify the motivation behind events in Gloucestershire.
Webb finds signs of Mars-sized and Moon-sized collisions
Scientists estimate roughly 1% of young stars show this phase, but a sample of 21 dust disks points to two kinds of impact.
Greens vote to treat Zionism as racism
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the decision “a disgrace”.
Cold Weather Payment 2026-27: who gets £25 and when it is paid
Nobody needs to apply, and each payment should arrive within 14 working days of a period of very cold weather in the claimant’s area, GOV.UK says.
UAE: Flydubai co-pilot attacked captain with crash axe in attempted ‘terrorist act’
Flydubai said it has temporarily suspended flights to Tel Aviv at the request of the authorities.
Daily vitamin C: no shield against colds, a little time saved
A Cochrane review found no consistent effect on how long colds lasted from taking high doses of vitamin C only after symptoms began.
Fabric cover more than triples strawberry yields in tunnel field tests
North Carolina State University said Plant Armor began as a spinoff of work on military uniforms.
Energy-storing cement holds up as well as commercial concrete in tests
The American Chemical Society said the supercapacitors could in future power everything from emergency lighting to self-powered sensors.
Melatonin: the sleep aid that needs a prescription in the UK
The MHRA found melatonin that was not on the label in a children’s gummy product sold online as a food supplement.
Two Iranian men charged over alleged Manchester Jewish community plot
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said the case was not connected “in any way” to the investigation into the RAF Fairford incident.
Christmas Bonus 2026: who gets the £10 payment
Qualifying benefits include State Pension, PIP and Carer’s Allowance, and a partner who gets none can sometimes still qualify, GOV.UK says.
UK average diesel price passes £2 a litre for first time
A litre of unleaded petrol now averages 174.71p, around 42p more than at the start of the US/Iran war, the RAC said.
Butterflies’ wing stripes can make predators miss
A computer simulation of over 50,000 wing patterns converged on designs strikingly similar to those found in nature, the University of Exeter said.
What honey does for a cough – and who should avoid it
A Cochrane review found honey probably had no advantage over a placebo beyond three days, and the NHS says it is not suitable for babies under 1 year old.
Half of electronics brought to UK Repair Cafés get fixed
The findings suggest community repair services and local maker spaces should become a formal part of the UK’s electronic waste system, the University of Surrey said.
Statutory Sick Pay 2026-27: £123.25 a week from the first full day
At the full rate, 28 weeks of Statutory Sick Pay adds up to £3,451, a sum worked out here rather than stated by GOV.UK; employees paid 80% of their earnings would…
Widdecombe murder accused charged with preparing terrorist acts, including against Farage
Under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006, a person convicted on indictment is liable to life imprisonment.
Blue-light glasses: what they promise – and what the evidence shows
The review covered 17 trials and 619 people, and its lead author said the findings do not support prescribing the glasses to the general population.
Zinc may shorten colds – with a catch
A 2024 Cochrane review found zinc supplements made little or no difference to the risk of catching a cold, and said taking zinc as a treatment probably increased the…
The odd ice craving that can be a sign of low iron
The NHS lists it alongside a sore tongue, hair loss and spoon-shaped nails among the less common symptoms that can accompany the condition’s more familiar tiredness and…
Pension Credit payment dates 2026: up to £238 a week
Couples can get up to £363.25 a week under the same guarantee credit, GOV.UK says, £125.25 more than the single rate, before savings above £10,000 start to reduce the…
Researchers explain why bacterial vaginosis keeps coming back
A Monash University and Melbourne Sexual Health Centre study found two separate pathways behind repeat infections — re-infection and bacteria that survive the first…
SpaceX Dragon sets fastest US docking record at ISS
Nasa astronaut Jessica Watkins commanded the four-person Dragon flight, which will carry out stem-cell and crop research before handing over to the outgoing Crew-12 team.
Tennessee halts executions after Christa Pike survives lethal injection
Tennessee’s governor has paused all executions and ordered an independent review, after lawyers said Christa Pike was left in critical condition by a botched lethal…
Why modern screens show different colours to different eyes
A UCL-led study found the gap is widest in blue tones for older viewers, and in red and green tones for people with common genetic variations in colour vision.
Fish oil pills linked to higher heart-rhythm risk in healthy adults
The same UK Biobank study found a different pattern in people who already had heart or circulatory disease when it began: for them, regular fish oil users had a lower…
Sun’s death could tear outer planets from orbit
A new study finds that once the Sun’s mass loss is modelled as uneven bursts rather than a smooth process, the outer planets’ dynamical lifetime collapses from an…
Drumcree talks collapse as legal fight continues
Garvaghy Road residents have handed in a 4,000-name petition against this year’s march, campaigner Breandán Mac Cionnaith said, as the Portadown Orange Order points to a…
Maternity Allowance payment dates 2026: every 2 or 4 weeks
The weekly rate tops out at £194.32 for employed claimants, GOV.UK says, falling to £27 for some self-employed claimants and those doing unpaid work in a spouse’s…
Putin: All weapons ‘on the agenda’ for Kaliningrad
Putin said the warning was a response to Western talk of a Russian attack on Europe by 2029 or 2030, not a threat of Moscow’s own making.
RAF Fairford: arrested man is dual UK-Iranian national
Counter Terrorism Policing said the 25-year-old was held in Westminster on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts — the sixth person held in the investigation into the…
What magnesium does – and the claims the evidence doesn’t back
What magnesium does for muscles, nerves and bones is well supported, but a Cochrane review found it unlikely to stop cramps, and sleep evidence is still limited.
Nasa scientists head to Highlands in hunt for Mars life clues
The team hiked the cliffs of Scotland’s Stoer formation, where 1.2 billion-year-old rocks hold signs of ancient microbial life.
153 homes evacuated after Somerset fraud arrest
An Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit was called in after officers found suspicious substances and items at a property in Worle, Avon and Somerset Police has said.
Bank of England: AI boom risks ‘sharper’ market correction
AI-related debt issuance has more than doubled in a year to around $450bn, the Bank said, as it also pointed to growing cyber and operational risks from the technology.
Around 700 prisoners freed in England and Wales as release scheme begins
Rape, serious child sex offences and, since 30 August, manslaughter and several other crimes were barred from the scheme, after two rounds of exclusions announced by…
Childline founder Dame Esther Rantzen dies aged 86
The broadcaster, who presented BBC1’s That’s Life! for 21 years before becoming one of Britain’s most prominent voices for changing the law on assisted dying, had stage…
Swiss glaciers lose 5.5% of volume in a year
Glacier Monitoring Switzerland said the loss was the second-largest on record after 2022, driven by a winter with little snow and heatwaves that ran from May to…
Netanyahu: Flydubai pilot stabbed co-pilot and tried to crash jet near Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said passengers and crew overpowered the attacker before the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Christa Pike still alive after two lethal injection doses, lawyers say
Christa Pike, Tennessee’s only female death row inmate, remained alive and showing vital signs more than 40 minutes after the lethal injection, Pike’s lawyers said…
Housing Benefit payment dates 2026: set by your council, not a national timetable
Most people can no longer make a new claim for the benefit at all, GOV.UK says, because Universal Credit has taken its place.
Attendance Allowance payment dates: how the four-week cycle works
Attendance Allowance is usually paid every four weeks straight into a bank account, and moves earlier when payday falls on a weekend or bank holiday, GOV.UK says.
Burnham: UK believes Iran played a part in RAF Fairford incident
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” Iran was involved, the first time the government has named a state behind the suspected plot.
