Health chiefs warn of rising meningitis cases linked across the Channel. People are urged to avoid kissing and sharing drinks, look out for fever, headache and neck stiffness, and seek prompt medical advice if unwell. Vaccination eligibility and hygiene guidance are being reinforced.

The father of 18-year-old Juliette, who died from meningitis, says the family are beyond devastated and struggling to find words. The case has sparked fresh appeals to recognise symptoms early and ensure vaccinations are up to date.

Jeremy Clarkson jokes he should become Iran’s Supreme Leader, saying the country needs a universally loved figure and he’s “the man in the driver’s seat”. The tongue‑in‑cheek pitch riffs on his motoring image and prompts debate over celebrities wading into politics.

A newly surfaced 1999 photo shows a senior royal and a former Cabinet minister socialising with a disgraced US financier at Martha’s Vineyard. The image has revived scrutiny of their past links; both figures deny wrongdoing and neither faces charges.