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Hello, and welcome back to .
When a medical treatment turns out to have an unexpected side effect, it’s usually bad news.
But sometimes side effects are welcome – that’s when they are health benefits. That seems to be happening in the case of the shingles vaccine, recommended for older people.
Top Gear to return to BBC – everything we know
The BBC has confirmed is returning to the broadcaster. The show has been on hiatus since presenter Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff was almost killed during filming in December 2022.
What we know so far
The BBC’s director of entertainment Ed Havard confirmed the news of the return at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Thursday. He said: “There has been a lot of speculation about this and we can confirm that is coming back.”
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What happened to Flintoff?
Following the crash, the BBC announced would not be returning “for the foreseeable future”, explaining it had “decided to rest the UK show”.
Who will host now?
- Havard declined to comment on reports that Jimmy Carr is being lined up as the show’s new host.
- However, reports claim talks are underway with the comedian.
- Joe Marler, a former rugby player who appeared in last year, is also being eyed by the BBC, according to Deadline.
- No deals are thought to be in place.
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The back story
- It enjoyed a second life when Chris Harris, Paddy McGuinness and Flintoff took over hosting duties from Matt LeBlanc and Chris Evans, before the crash involving Flintoff occurred.
Liver disease cases linked to obesity up five-fold
Cases of a linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes have risen five-fold in a decade, a study has found.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) happens when in the liver and is left undiagnosed, researchers said.
What are the symptoms?
- Symptoms include feeling very tired or generally unwell, and pain in the abdomen.
- People who are overweight or not active are more likely to develop MASLD.
- Those who have type 2 diabetes, are over 50, or have high blood pressure are also more at risk.
- New diagnoses doubled from 2012 to 2022, and those diagnosed with the condition were three times as likely to have type 2 diabetes, analysis of GP records found.
A closer look at the findings
The study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Glasgow found that 2.4 per cent of adults – 283,762 people had the disease in 2022, up from 0.02 per cent (1,300 people) in 2003.
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The expert view
The diagnostic gap remains large compared to expected rates. At-risk groups such as those living with type 2 diabetes and obesity should be identified and -finding actively pursued
researchers at Queen Mary University and University Glasgow
More on health from The i Paper
Thunderstorms expected across England and Wales
Flooding has hit part of the West Midlands as are expected across large areas of England and Wales.
A yellow thunderstorm has been issued from 5am until 10pm on Thursday.
What the warning says
The yellow warning covers swathes of the country, from Norwich and London to Cardiff and Manchester.
Some areas could see 50-75mm of rainfall on Thursday, as well as lightning and hail, which could cause disruption.
Warm temperatures with highs of 27°C or 28°C are expected, and there is a small chance some areas could see more than 75mm of rainfall.
Where the warning is in place
What happened in Birmingham?
There has been significant flooding in Birmingham. A flood warning was issued for the Perry Barr area on Wednesday night due to rising river levels.
The Environment Agency has issued 22 flooding alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in the Midlands and South East.
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The forecast for the rest of the week
- Further heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected on Friday across the UK.
- Further rain will move in on Saturday, followed by a mix of sunshine and showers on Sunday and Monday.
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Dozens of Britons missing in deadly Nepal flood
More than 160 people have died and hundreds are missing, including , after a devastating flash flood on the Nepal–Tibet border.
What happened?
- Floodwater swept along the Bhote Koshi river in Rasuwa region, in the Himalayas, at around 8.30am local time on Wednesday, destroying roads and washing away houses and bridges.
- More than 40 people were injured in the tragedy and are receiving treatment in hospital.
- Nepali officials said a further 826 people are missing, the majority of them tourists, including 33 Britons.
- Around 2,000 military personnel have been deployed by the Nepali army to assist with search and rescue operations.
What is known about the missing Britons?
Among the 33 Britons missing, 12 were with one tour company. Ram Kumar Adhikari, manager of Alpine Eco Trek, said the group included a 13-year-old girl, with the oldest member aged 65.
He said they had passed Chinese border controls to enter Tibet.
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The flood in pictures
Plug-in solar panels go on sale – what you need to know
New rules mean that people can now buy plug-in solar panels online and in shops.
Retailers will begin selling them from Thursday, meaning solar power can run into the home network using an ordinary plug.
What you need to know
A kit can produce up to 800W of power, enough to generate up to 20 per cent of an average home’s electricity, officials say.
This should equate to savings of around £110 annually on bills. As they appear on shelves, ministers say prices could start off higher, but they expect them to average out at around £400-£600.
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Who will sell them?
Argos has confirmed it will sell the kits from Thursday and Amazon is expected to follow suit soon.
Other retailers, including Currys, B&Q, Screwfix and Wickes have committed to stocking the plug-in panels.
Why are they only on sale now?
The sale of the technology was previously restricted because of safety and wiring standards.
The legal change follows rigorous, independent safety checks which show the panels are safe, according to officials.
Can everyone have one?
It depends on your property and its rules. You may still require consent from landlords, building owners, councils, freeholders, planning permission or listed building consent.
- Officials have advised people to check if any permissions are required for their home before buying or installing the techology.
The young Maga women whitewashing Trump’s presidency
The make-up of Donald Trump‘s inner circle has come under scrutiny after US Senator Jon Ossoff remarked on the President’s close relationship with his executive assistant, Natalie Harp.
The episode has highlighted how Trump has surrounded himself with young, perfectly groomed Maga women in the White House.
Leavitt has been perhaps the most prominent of these women as White House press secretary. She recently announced she would step down at the end of August to focus on her family.
- Upon her appointment to the post, she became known for her combative style, quick thinking and pushing false claims. She was often described a Trump’s “attack dog”.
Martin, communications adviser and special assistant to Trump, has been tipped as a possible replacement for Leavitt. She is the President’s leading content creator, often posting photo dumps and reels of events she has attended with Trump.
She was accused of “whitewashing and sanitising” Trump’s Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin by Azza Cohen, Kamala Harris’s official White House videographer.
Kelly is also in the running to replace Leavitt, who she has worked under as White House deputy press secretary.
The 29-year-old is a former beauty queen with a master’s in political management, and has followed Leavitt in attacking journalists and defending Trump.
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The President and Harp have a very close working relationship.
She also reportedly left him notes saying, “you are all that matters to me” and, “I want to bring you joy”.
A closer look at Ossoff’s comments
Ossoff made his comments after it emerged that Harp was one of the few aides who went with the President when he secretly switched planes after a Nato summit in Turkey last month, because of a possible Iranian threat.
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Mpox arrives in new countries – how worried should you be?
Since 2022, there have been nearly 190,000 lab-confirmed cases of mpox, but a fresh outbreak in the small West-African nation of Guinea-Bissau means the virus is back on the global agenda.
What we know about the new outbreak
Cases had not been reported in Guinea-Bissau before the latest outbreak, with 23 of the 46 reported cases being children under the age of 15.
The confirmed cases do not appear to be linked, suggesting the virus is circulating more widely and there are unidentified cases.
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Why is it spreading?
In the last major global outbreak in 2022, mpox appeared to undergo changes which meant it spread more efficiently from person to person, passing via close contact.
- This more infectious version of the disease means that it spreads more easily in places like West Africa as there are areas where many people live closely together, such as refugee camps.
Vaccines and treatments
The WHO recommends two vaccines, but the issue of availability is particularly pressing in poorer nations.
A new global stockpile is set to be launched within weeks, meaning vaccines can be deployed more quickly to stop outbreaks.
But they do not stop outbreaks alone, with experts calling for better contact tracing, early detection, strong public health surveillance and supportive care.
People who have had this jab have a lower rate of some completely unexpected conditions, including heart attacks and strokes, a study found this week.
Here’s what’s going on – as well as three other everyday vaccines that give benefits on top of their original function.
Shingles jab cuts heart attacks
Shingles is a peculiar illness, as it is caused by the same virus responsible for chicken pox, which lies dormant for decades in nerves near the spine.
Shingles happens because when people get older or their immune systems weaken, the virus wakes up and travels back down the nerves to the skin, where it causes a painful rash and blisters.
The shingles vaccine works by revving up the immune response against the virus, which stops it from reactivating.
A few years ago, health services switched from using one type of shingles vaccine to a second more effective one, and it is this new type, called Shingrix, that seems to protect the heart, according to research published in the journal, .
Rates of heart disease and strokes were 9 per cent lower over seven years in Americans who got the new shingles vaccine compared with those who were vaccinated before the switchover, which began in 2017.
This cuts heart disease by about the same amount as when people take a daily tablet to lower their blood pressure, said researcher Dr Maxime Taquet, associate professor at the University of Oxford. “It might be the first vaccine that protects the heart,” he said.
Dr Taquet cautioned that the results are not conclusive, and need to be confirmed in randomised trials, which are ongoing.
If the effect is real, it might happen because reactivation of the chicken pox virus damages the heart. Or an ingredient in the vaccine might reduce inflammation of blood vessels. Inflammation makes plaques more likely to rupture, leading to blood clots that cause heart attacks.
MMR jab avoids ‘immune amnesia’
An infection with measles is bad enough, requiring a stay in hospital in one in five people who get infected.
A lesser known consequence is that, as well as causing the hallmark blotchy rash and fever, measles also infects immune “memory” cells, reducing the immunity that children have built up against previous viruses and bacteria. This is called immune amnesia.
That means that the MMR jab, not only protects against measles itself, but over the following years cuts the rate at which children fall prey to ear infections, diarrhoea and pneumonia.
The immune amnesia from measles was only discovered in 2019, after an outbreak of the virus in a Dutch Christian community that shuns vaccines. A bout of measles cut the number of different antibodies they had by a third.
TB vaccine can treat cancer
The vaccine against the lung disease tuberculosis or TB is one of the world’s oldest, having been developed in the 1920s. It is a weakened form of a bacterium that causes TB in cattle, closely related to the human version.
While many British adults still have a small round scar on their arm from the jab, its routine use was phased out around 2005. Falling rates of TB meant it could instead be given only to children with family from countries where rates are higher as well as other high-risk groups.
But the vaccine has another surprising use. It has been turned into a treatment for bladder cancer.
After surgery to remove the tumour, a liquid containing the TB vaccine is put into the bladder through a catheter, for several weeks or months.
Patients need to take precautions to make sure they don’t then pass on bovine TB to other household members, by bleaching the toilet after use.
The vaccine seems to work by attracting immune cells into the bladder to fight off the bacteria. These then also start recognising and killing cancer cells.
Cervical cancer jab stops throat cancer
Cervical cancer is caused by a virus, called HPV, that takes years to change from a lingering infection, passed on by sex, into a malignancy that can kill.
Because of its viral origins it can be prevented by a vaccine, given to teenagers, before they start having sex.
But its impact has turned out to be greater than originally expected. The same virus is also responsible for some cancers of the penis and anus, as well as throat cancer, as it can be passed on by oral sex. The virus also causes genital warts.
That is why, although the vaccine was first offered just to teenage girls, it is now recommended for both males and females
Rates of throat cancer are currently on the rise in people over 50, even though smoking rates (another key cause of these tumours) are declining. That is probably because of people starting to have more oral sex, decades ago.
It is too soon to see any effect of the HPV vaccine on throat cancer rates – modelling studies suggest this will start happening in about 20 years.
But showing how effective the vaccine is against stopping the virus being spread during sex, rates of cervical cancer in women under 25 in England fell to zero in the four years to 2024, according to a study from June.
Based on previous years, an estimated 23 women in this age group would have died without vaccination having been introduced.
“This study provides the strongest national evidence to date that the vaccine is saving lives,” said a spokesperson for Cancer Research UK.