Children among 20 missing after Cyprus ferry sinking

A specialist team equipped to search deep ​waters was due to arrive from Turkey on Tuesday as emergency crews pressed on with efforts to find 20 people missing after a ferry capsized off northern ⁠Cyprus.

What happened?

• A ferry carrying 267 people capsized and sank off the coast of northern Cyprus on Sunday.
• The Filo Jet left the town of Kyrenia and soon started to take on water.
• Survivors reported the ferry moving erratically, with its last hard impact with the water’s surface breaking the ⁠bow of the vessel.

Everything we know so far

There are still 20 people unaccounted for, including an unknown number of children.

Passengers interviewed in local media claim they begged the captain to turn around, then were left scrambling for life jackets.

Captain Mustafa Oz, 66, and seven crew members have been arrested over the incident.

Search efforts continue

Visiting Kyrenia on Monday, Tufan Erhürman, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is not recognised by the UK, said the search would “continue with the same intensity, with no interruption, through the day and night”.

A mother, Ayten Bicer, felt her 12-year-old daughter slip from her hands and disappear as the ferry capsized. Her daughter and son, six, are among the missing.

Badenoch’s Tory reshuffle – what you need to know

After she took over as leader of the Tory Party almost two years ago, Kemi Badenoch pledged not to hold a reshuffle before the next general election.

What are the big changes?

• Badenoch has ruthlessly dispatched Stride as shadow chancellor.
• Patel has also been replaced as shadow foreign secretary.
• MPs Andrew Griffith and Tom Tugendhat will replace them.
• Damien Hinds has been selected as the new shadow Health Secretary, while Katie Lam comes in on housing.

• 
  One reason for the shakeup is the Conservatives’ position treading water in the shallow end of the polls.
• 
  “It’s partly because the Tories are stuck in the polls and can’t budge forward, so they hope a refreshed team will do it. Only time will tell,” one Tory source said.
• 
  The latest BMG poll for The i Paper, published this weekend, puts Labour on 27 per cent, Reform on 23 per cent and the Tories on just 18 per cent.
• 
  The contradiction for Badenoch is that her personal ratings are improving. 

Stride was one of the biggest names relegated to the backbenches. One insider revealed: “Mel isn’t well liked across the party and hasn’t really waded in on big things.”

They added, though, that he had been held back by a lack of staff – which will need to be remedied if Griffith is to perform better.

• Chris Philp survived the cull to remain as shadow Home Secretary. One insider said he “works hard” and had begun to get some traction on illegal immigration.
• Lam has become the new shadow Secretary for Housing. She replaces James Cleverly, who announced on Saturday that he was quitting to run in the next London Mayor election.
• The appointment of Griffith as shadow Chancellor shows Badenoch plans to prioritise the economy in her next election pitch.

Trump may review US stance on Falkland Islands

Donald Trump has indicated he is reviewing the US stance on Britain’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

The US has typically remained neutral on the Falkland Islands, while recognising British administration of them.

What did Trump say?

I always review every position. That’s just one of many.

Trump said the US stance on the status of the Falklands is “one of many” positions he is considering.

In April, a Pentagon memo was leaked suggesting the US could recognise Argentina’s claim to the islands to punish Britain for not joining the war on Iran.

US officials also reportedly considered including the option as a way to pressure the UK to hit its Nato spending targets.

Chancellor John Healey told he was not aware of a suggestion that the US position could change.

“The Falkland Islands will remain British as long as the Falkland Islands want that to happen,” he added.

But last week, a US official told that Washington may change its position over the islands if the UK doesn’t meet its defence spending commitments.

Trump wades into Falkands dispute

It’s the first time Trump has commented on the islands’ sovereignty.

The UK would struggle to defend the Falklands if Trump followed through on threats to withdraw US support for British sovereignty, analysts have warned.

Uk politics

Former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer is to quit Parliament, saying he felt it was the “right time” to step down as an MP just weeks after leaving Downing Street.

His resignation will trigger a by-election in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency, where Starmer’s majority was cut by 17 per cent in the 2024 election amid anger over Gaza.

What we know so far

• Starmer told the he had spent the summer reflecting and decided it was the “right time” to go.
• He said he intends to focus on international affairs – including defence, security, trade and technology.
• Green Party leader Zack Polanski could use the by-election to make a run for Parliament.

What has Starmer said?

It has been a huge honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country and to have taken over from Frank Dobson, who was such a great constituency MP and a member of the last Labour government.

keir starmer in the camden new journal

What next for the former PM?

Starmer said he intends to pursue a career working on international affairs and continue his long-running campaign against violence against women and girls. 

He has already been linked with the post of NATO secretary-general when Mark Rutte’s term ends in 2028, although there is no suggestion that he has formally put himself forward for the position.

us news

Ex-gang boss found guilty over Tupac Shakur murder

Former gangland boss Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, has been found guilty of orchestrating the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996.

It is the first time anyone has been convicted over the infamous drive-by shooting.

What you need to know

• The jury found Davis guilty of one count of murder with a deadly weapon.
• Prosecutors argued that Davis did not fire the gun himself, but had masterminded the killing.
• He is a former gang leader and uncle of the man long suspected of shooting Tupac.
• After the verdict, Davis said he plans to appeal his conviction. He is due to be sentenced on 13 October.

What happened on the night

The cold case has rumbled on for decades, with witnesses allowing police to piece together the chain of events before the rapper died.

• On 7 September, 1996, Tupac went to watch a Mike Tyson boxing match on the Las Vegas strip.
• He and Marion “Suge” Knight, the head of his record label, got into a fight with Orlando Anderson, Duane Davis’s nephew and a suspected member of the South Side Compton Crips gang.
• Leaving the match with Suge, Tupac was shot four times in a drive-by shooting from the back of a white Cadillac.
• Six days later, on 13 September, he died in hospital. He was 25 years old.

The prosecution used Davis’s 2019 memoir, , in which he wrote he had been in the white Cadillac when the shots were fired.

In closing arguments, prosecutor Binu Palal urged jurors to find Davis guilty, saying: “He’s the shot caller – in every instance in every iteration he’s the leader of the South Side Crips.”

Super flu vaccines start for pregnant women and children

Millions of children and pregnant women across England can get an updated flu vaccine from today.

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  This year’s vaccine will protect against the Super-K strain which was rampant last year.
• Schoolchildren and pregnant women will get priority as they can easily catch and spread flu.
• Other vulnerable groups, including those aged 65 and over, will be eligible for a free jab from October.
  
• Children over two will be offered the vaccine as a nasal spray, while adults will receive an injection.
• Pharmacies, GP surgeries and schools will offer the vaccines on the NHS.

Dr Amanda Doyle, a national director at NHS England, said: “Last year’s flu season came early and was made worse by a new variant, which had a major impact for patients and put enormous pressure on urgent and emergency care services.”

She added: “With services already under significant pressure, it is vital that everyone offered the vaccine comes forward.”

Facts and figures

• Jabs will be given in locations including mobile vans.
• Last year’s flu season started a month early with the Super-K strain.
• Children are offered a vaccine in September as flu spreads quickly.
• Almost 19 million people had flu jabs last winter, preventing 104,000 hospital admissions.

uk politics

Burnham to tell MPs more public control needed

The Prime Minister is set to call for greater control over public services like water, energy and transport in his first House of Commons statement since entering No 10.

What is he calling for?

Burnham held a Cabinet meeting this morning as the Government set out plans to build more prison spaces.

He has already announced cuts to VAT on energy bills and business rates for pubs and clubs and plans to overhaul social care.

Today’s speech will be Burnham’s first time at the dispatch box in 16 years.

He is expected to face a two-hour grilling from MPs when he stands up in the Commons on Tuesday this afternoon.

On Wednesday, he will face Tory leader Kemi Badenoch during his first Prime Minister’s Questions.

Burnham is expected to face questions on how he plans to fill a £4.7bn black hole in defence spending.

Burnham has ‘clear plan’

• The PM is considering legislation to to bring struggling utilities under government ownership.
• He is set to tell MPs the cost of services to families is harming the economy.
• Burnham is set to promise a plan to regain control of these costs.
• A No 10 source said: “Andy is optimistic about our country’s future. He has a clear plan for how we turn things round.”