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STORY

The number of reported giardiasis cases in England increased by 11.4% during 2025, reaching its highest level for nine years. UK Health Security Agency figures show that 6,069 laboratory confirmed cases were recorded, compared with 5,450 during 2024.

London recorded the largest number of cases with 1,568, followed by the North West with 1,029. Infections peaked during the autumn, with 599 cases reported in October. The UKHSA is investigating the increase and said possible factors include improved testing, greater international travel and environmental or climatic changes.

Giardiasis is caused by the parasite Giardia intestinalis and commonly produces diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, bloating and weight loss. It can spread through contact with infected people or animals and through contaminated food or water. The UKHSA advises people with the infection to remain hydrated, contact their GP and avoid swimming until two weeks after diarrhoea has stopped.

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Serious sexual and violent offenders could be confined to tightly defined areas following their release from prison under a new scheme announced by the Government. The restriction zones will be introduced in England and Wales from October 2026 and will apply to selected offenders who remain subject to licence conditions.

Unlike existing exclusion zones, which prevent an offender from entering specified locations, the new measure will limit an offender to an approved area that could be only a few miles wide. Victims will be consulted when boundaries are drawn, while probation officers will ensure that offenders can still attend appointments and access services intended to reduce the risk of reoffending.

Offenders covered by the scheme will be monitored through GPS tags and could be recalled to prison if they leave their designated area. Restrictions may remain in place for as long as probation services consider them necessary, although each case must be reviewed at least every three months. The Government has not yet published detailed eligibility criteria but describes the scheme as the first of its kind internationally.

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Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant has announced four appointments to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. Orla Drummond, Gavin Gray, Ben Warwick and Jacqueline Witherow will take up their positions on 1 September 2026, while Alyson Kilpatrick has been reappointed as Chief Commissioner.

Kilpatrick’s full time reappointment is for five years and carries annual remuneration of £114,845. The four new Commissioners have been appointed on a part time basis for three years, receiving £7,500 annually. The Government said all five appointees had declared that they had undertaken no political activity during the preceding five years.

The Commission is an independent public body established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 following the Belfast Agreement. Its responsibilities include reviewing the effectiveness of laws and practices protecting human rights in Northern Ireland and promoting public understanding of those rights. It also contributes to the mechanism monitoring human rights and equality commitments under the post Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland.

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People across the UK can now register for alerts warning them when air pollution in a chosen area is high or forecast to become high. The free service can provide notifications by text message or email covering places such as a person’s home, workplace or local park.

The Government said the scheme would give the public access to current local pollution information and help people decide when to alter their activities. It is expected to be particularly useful for those with asthma and other respiratory or cardiovascular conditions that can be aggravated by poor air quality.

Environment Secretary Angela Eagle said the service would help people understand the air quality in their area and take practical steps to protect their health.

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A British man has become the first patient to undergo brain tumour removal using live artificial intelligence to guide surgeons during the operation. Rhys Hibbert, 48, was treated at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, part of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The technology analysed live images from inside Mr Hibbert’s brain and used colour coding to identify small but important anatomical structures. Surgeons could then distinguish more clearly between the tumour and areas associated with functions such as eyesight, reducing the risk of accidental damage while removing the growth.

The operation took place in May and Mr Hibbert has since returned to work. He said the procedure had saved his sight, while the hospital described the operation as the first use of live AI assistance during brain tumour surgery anywhere in the world.

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The Trump administration has warned that Washington’s Kennedy Center could be demolished if courts prevent the performing arts venue from proceeding with renovations and again displaying President Donald Trump’s name. Justice Department lawyers claimed that blocking the recognition of Trump would cause donors to withdraw, bringing structural work to a halt and potentially leaving demolition and replacement by an outdoor amphitheatre as the only viable option. The warning was made during a legal dispute over the administration’s attempts to associate Trump personally with the national memorial to President John F Kennedy.

A federal judge ruled in May that Trump’s name had been added unlawfully because Congress had designated the building as a memorial to Kennedy and had not authorised its renaming. The inscription was removed in June, but the Trump appointed board subsequently approved proposals to add wording crediting him with renovating and restoring the centre. Democratic representative Joyce Beatty has asked the court to prevent that move. The administration says Trump’s support is essential to the building’s physical and financial survival, although an appeals panel said in July that similar claims about lost donations had not been supported by specific facts or evidence.

The dispute threatens to cause further reputational damage to Trump because it makes the future of a nationally important cultural institution appear dependent upon the public celebration of the serving President. Even if substantial repairs are genuinely necessary, linking them to the restoration of Trump’s name risks creating an impression of personal vanity, political coercion and indifference towards both congressional authority and Kennedy’s memorial. With artists having cancelled performances and attendance having fallen since Trump took control of the centre, the demolition warning may reinforce criticism that his intervention has damaged the institution he says only he can rescue. Internationally, it is also unlikely to improve the reputation of a President already accused of treating public buildings and national history as extensions of his personal brand.

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The United States has imposed financial sanctions on Palestine Action and designated the UK based organisation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The US Treasury Department said the measure was taken under Executive Order 13224 and formed part of wider action against organisations which the Trump administration described as violent far left terrorist networks.

The designation requires any property or financial interests belonging to Palestine Action within US jurisdiction to be blocked and generally prevents American citizens and companies from conducting transactions with the group. The Treasury accused Palestine Action of supporting acts intended to damage military and commercial infrastructure, injure police officers and influence Government policy through intimidation or coercion. Palestine Action disputes the characterisation of its activities as terrorism and says its purpose is to disrupt companies associated with the Israeli defence industry.

The American measure follows the UK Government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 in July 2025. That decision remains the subject of legal proceedings: the Court of Appeal upheld the ban in June 2026, but co-founder Huda Ammori has been given permission to take the case to the Supreme Court. She described the US action as a threat to freedom of speech and civil liberties, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his department would seek to cut financial support for organisations it considered responsible for political violence.

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Sadhiul Haque has been jailed for four and a half years after admitting offences connected with a drugs line supplying crack cocaine and heroin from Bradford into Leeds. The 28-year-old was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday 25 August following an investigation by West Yorkshire Police’s Operation Phoenix county lines taskforce.

Detectives linked Haque to a telephone line which had sent thousands of bulk messages advertising Class A drugs, principally to customers in the Pudsey area. Officers searched his home on Nottingham Street in Bradford in February and recovered two telephones linked to the operation, together with £1,520 in cash.

A key found in Haque’s Volkswagen Golf led officers to search a Vauxhall Corsa parked nearby, where they discovered crack cocaine and heroin worth a combined £2,360. Much of the drugs had been divided into individual deals and forensic examination identified Haque’s DNA on the packaging. He pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and two counts of possession with intent to supply.