Sunderland face a glamour trip to AC Milan in their first European season in 52 years, while Bournemouth will host the Italian giants at the Vitality Stadium on their Europe League debut. Crystal Palace face Lyon while Celtic play fellow European champions Benfica in the Europa League league phase.

Bournemouth, who finished sixth in the Premier League last season, will welcome Ruben Amorim’s Milan to the south coast and also travel to Real Sociedad. The Cherries also face Viktoria Plzen, Sparta Prague, Sturm Graz, Celta, Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Lillestrom.

Sunderland’s fans are rewarded with a trip to the San Siro as the Black Cats return to European competition for the first time since 1973-74. After finishing seventh in the Premier League last season, Sunderland also play AZ Alkmaar, GNK Dinamo, Anderlecht, Jagiellonia, Lech Poznan, Levski Sofia and Torreense.

Crystal Palace, Conference League winners last season, host Real Sociedad and travel to Lyon, while also playing Sparta Prague, Red Bull Salzburg, Lech Poznan, Jagiellonia, Hoffenheim and Besiktas, in Istanbul.

Celtic host Marseille, after their painful defeat in Champions League play-offs, and will travel to Lisbon, the scene of their 1967 European Cup victory, to face Benfica. Martin O’Neill’s side also take on Ferencvaros, Union SG, Celta, Omonia, Besiktas and Torreense.

Follow along for all the updates from the Europa League draw with our live blog below:

A traditional Ugandan ruler named as the world’s youngest monarch has died aged 34, his prime minster announced.

Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV became king of Tooro in western Uganda at just three years old in 1995 after the death of his father.

The Toroo kingdom did not disclose the cause of King Oyo’s death, but a Ugandan government minister was quoted in local media saying that he had been critically ill and was seeking treatment in the US.

Though Uganda is governed by an elected president, it has several traditional kingdoms which continue to have significant cultural influence despite not having political power.

Oyo, who Guinness World Records listed as the world’s youngest reigning monarch, external, ruled over more than two million people. He was the 13th monarch of a kingdom that was founded in the early 19th Century.

Announcing his death on Thursday, Tooro’s Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki called his passing an “immeasurable loss” to the royal family and the people of Tooro.

“I call upon all the people of Tooro to remain united, calm and prayerful during this profoundly difficult time,” Akiiki said on Friday. “May His Majesty the King rest in eternal peace.”

The Tooro Kingdom follows a hereditary system in selecting its monarch.

Oyo was not officially married, but Akiiki said “the continuity of the Crown is assured”.

“His Majesty leaves behind a Prince as his heir, whose identity will be formally revealed at the appropriate time, in accordance with the traditions and customs of Tooro Kingdom,” he explained.

When he became king in 1995 a regency, including the queen mother, was established until Oyo turned 18 when there was an official coronation.

The young king was well respected by his people and according to a report in the Daily Monitor newspaper he promoted causes such as youth empowerment, education and climate conservation, as well as HIV/Aids awareness.

The country’s largest and most influential traditional institution, the Buganda Kingdom, said it mourned with the people of Tooro following the death of their monarch, labelling him a valuable figure to Uganda.

By MARK DUELL, DEPUTY CHIEF REPORTER (DIGITAL)

Published: 12:13 BST, 28 August 2026 | Updated: 12:24 BST, 28 August 2026

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for information after a garage was burgled in Clifton in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The incident took place in Lumley Road at around 1.47am on August 27, 2026, when someone broke into the garage and stole a number of DeWalt screwdrivers.

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“We are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed any suspicious activity in the area around the time of the offence, or who may have relevant CCTV, doorbell, dashcam or other footage, to come forward,” said a spokesperson for the force.

Anyone with information is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 or by making a report on the North Yorkshire Police website.

Please quote reference number 12260167509.

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Published: 12:00 BST, 28 August 2026 | Updated: 12:00 BST, 28 August 2026

The director of the CIA flew to Moscow to warn Russia they need to cut a deal with Ukraine before their military and economic situation worsens. 

On Tuesday it was reported that John Ratcliffe made a secret flight amid frenzied speculation about why a US military plane landed in Russia. 

Current and former officials have now said Mr Ratcliffe went to deliver the warning to Aleksandr Bortnikov, head of Russia’s FSB intelligence service, but made no threats about potential consequences should Russian president Vladimir Putin ignore the CIA’s assessment.

The CIA has long questioned whether Putin‘s advisers give him the whole truth about the invasion’s trajectory and toll on the country. 

The American agency has also held lines of communication open with both the FSB and Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR, for many years. 

Separately, Donald Trump‘s envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, have established communication channels with some of Putin’s senior advisers.

Officials told the New York Times that Putin, himself a former intelligence official, would take the warning seriously if it came from the CIA director. 

Before Mr Ratcliffe spoke with his Ukrainian counterparts before he met Bortnikov in Moscow, assuring them he would not be making concessions on behalf of the Ukrainians. 

The flight Ratcliffe made was highly secretive

John Ratcliffe made a secretive flight to Moscow earlier this week and delivered the warning to the FSB

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The last year has seen Russia’s advance on Ukrainian territory grind to all but a halt. It was initially believed by many that Russia’s victory over Ukraine was inevitable. 

But Kremlin forces have suffered huge losses, with little to show for it. 

Last month, Mr Ratcliffe warned that the average life expectancy of a Russian soldier was as little as 20 minutes.  

Speaking at the Defence and Innovation Summit in Pennsylvania, the CIA’s director said: ‘That’s because AI-powered drones have gotten to be such specialised, low-cost killing machines.’

AI drones account for more than 80 per cent of destroyed Russian targets, according to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

To date, about two million soldiers have been killed, wounded or are missing since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, 1.4 million of them Russian, according to a recent estimate by the Centre for Strategic & International Studies.

Neither side releases military casualty data.

Russia’s troops have struggled to advance this year along the 745-mile front line as Ukraine’s drones counter Russia’s numerical advantage in troops. 

A drone attack early on Friday killed one man in Kherson, hours after authorities urged residents to leave as intensifying Russian attacks on the southern Ukrainian city risk cutting power supplies ahead of the long winter.

Russian forces are positioned on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River, which borders the city briefly occupied by Moscow in 2022, making it particularly vulnerable to shelling.

A C-17 Globemaster, believed to be carrying CIA Director John Ratcliffe, lands near Riga, Latvia, August 25, 2026

Further from the front line, Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has been particularly targeted this summer

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The drone attack early on Friday in Kherson’s Korabelnyi district killed a 61-year-old man who was taken to hospital with a ‘penetrating chest wound’, Yaroslav Shanko, the head of the Kherson city administration, said.

Three others wounded were taken to hospital in the Dniprovsky district.

The attack came after regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin on Thursday urged residents of Kherson, ‘especially families with children and elderly people,’ to ‘please leave’.

Mr Prokudin said there was an ‘extremely difficult security situation’ in the city, which had about 280,000 inhabitants before the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. It was occupied by Russian forces from March to November of that year.

‘The enemy is intensifying its attacks every day on the region’s critical infrastructure,’ he said, adding that on Wednesday ‘Russian forces again attacked Kherson’s district heating plant with glide bombs’.

The facility ‘sustained very serious damage,’ he said, adding that Kherson may find itself ‘without electricity or heating not for hours or days but for a long period’.

Ukrainian stocks of interceptor missiles have also started to dwindle.

‘There is no way to destroy these types of drones or aerial bombs in any region of our country,’ he said.

Cars burn as firefighters try to put out a fire following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Friday, August 28, 2026

Last winter, Russia repeatedly targeted Ukrainian power plants, plunging millions of people into cold and darkness

Aftermath of a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on August 27, 2026

Firefighters work at the site of a warehouse hit by a late evening Russian air strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine, in this handout picture released August 28, 2026

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Last winter, Russia repeatedly targeted Ukrainian power plants, plunging millions of people into cold and darkness.

Mr Zelensky warned earlier this month that Ukraine had ‘virtually no intact thermal power plants’.

Russia and Ukraine have for several months been ramping up their long-range strikes, increasingly targeting civilian infrastructure such as logistics warehouses and oil and port facilities.

These attacks are causing a rising number of civilian casualties.

Further from the front line, Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has been particularly targeted this summer.

On Thursday, the capital spent nearly 15 hours under air raid alert due to repeated drone attacks, according to local authorities.

This ‘shows another way Russia is using its weapons to disrupt civilian life’, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in response, warning that Moscow ‘continues to choose terror and war’.

In the face of Russian bombardments, Mr Zelensky has consistently appealed to allies for new air defence systems.

While Ukraine has in recent days received fresh promises of military aid from European countries, including France, it primarily relies on advanced US Patriot systems to protect its airspace.

Deliveries of these missiles have sharply decreased, however, as US stockpiles depleted because of the Middle East war.

Smoke rises at the site of a Russian drone strike on a shopping mall in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, 28 August 2026

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a shopping mall in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 27 August 2026

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People watch the smoke rising over a logistics centre in Kolpino, outside Saint Petersburg after being hit by Ukrainian drones early on August 23, 2026

Four-and-a-half years after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, negotiations, briefly undertaken with US mediation to end the conflict, are at a standstill.

Russian chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov has nonetheless visited troops fighting on the Ukrainian front to congratulate them on their ‘successes’ in the eastern Donetsk region.

During the visit he said the Russian army was now only a few kilometres from Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, cities whose capture is a key objective for the Kremlin.

MINISO launched its latest store at 40 Coney Street, York, drawing crowds from 10am ahead of a 12pm opening.

The global lifestyle and pop culture retailer, founded in China in 2013, is known for its affordable, design-led products and fun, family-friendly shopping experience.

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It sells homeware, beauty items, stationery, toys, and licensed merchandise featuring characters from Hello Kitty, Disney, Pokémon, and Star Wars.

The store is located in the former Luxe Company premises.

Employees Cailan Hobson, Emmie Rudland and Quinn Holmes joined colleagues in last-minute preparations ahead of the 12pm opening today. 12 staff will be employed in all at the store in Coney Street (Image: Kevin Glenton)

A MINISO spokesperson said the lucky first 200 customers through the doors spending £5 or more would be offered a free goody-bag worth £25.

The grand opening will also feature a display of balloon modelling and visit from PenPen, the company mascot.

Vivian Leadley, who lives near Acomb, queued outside the store with her daughters and grandchildren.

She said: “I’m sure I’ll be spending over a fiver with these three (her grandchildren) to qualify for the goody-bag.”

Vivian Leadley, with her daughter Bethany Richardson and grandchildren Lilly, Meila and Charlie were amongst the first in the queues forming outside MINISO in Coney Street (Image: Kevin Glenton)

The shop is filled with colourful collectables and lifestyle products.

It features cuddly versions of PenPen, one of the brand’s best-selling items, along with its popular blind boxes, “a mystery collectible that keeps the excitement alive until the very moment you open it”.

Nicholas Wallis, franchise area manager, said the new store will employ 12 members of staff and took around four months to prepare.

MINISO opened its new store in Coney Street, York at 12pm today (Friday, August 28) (Image: Kevin Glenton)

He said the team were excited to be bringing their particular brand of pop culture to the city.

The store will open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, and 10 to 5.30pm on Sundays.

Miniso has been present in the UK for six years and is focusing on refreshing some of its outlets in 2026.

The retailer aims to create a “fun, family-friendly destination that blends value with entertainment.”

Since launching in 2013, Miniso has grown to more than 6,000 stores globally.

The Girls Aloud legend, 43, has returned as Nivea’s brand ambassador to help launch their new eye serum

This is not a drill! Cheryl is back – and could there be a huge TV comeback on the horizon?

The Girls Aloud legend, 43, has returned as Nivea’s brand ambassador to help launch their new eye serum. It comes after Cheryl withdrew from the spotlight two years ago following the death of ex Liam Payne, the father of her nine-year-old son Bear.

Following her son’s birth in 2017, she decided to focus on Bear rather than her music and TV career. She briefly returned to the stage in 2024 for the Girls Aloud reunion tour and paid tribute to late bandmate Sarah Harding.

In a set of stunning new photos, Cheryl glows as she shows off her figure in a sensual, sleek teal blue maxi dress. Placing a manicured hand on her thigh, the singer sits on a white boulder as she gazes into the camera. In another teaser, she gave a glimpse of her cheeky trademark wink.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Cheryl is set to make a huge comeback after reportedly landing a role on The Voice UK.

The Fight For This Love singer is said to be joining pal will.i.am when filming kicks off in the next few weeks, while Stacey Solomon and Alesha Dixon have been tapped to host.

“Every year producers ask Cheryl to go on the show, and it’s a polite ‘no’ as the timing has never quite been right,” a source claimed.

“This year it’s different. She feels ready to re-enter the spotlight and talks are now in the final stages.

“Things could come crashing down but with three weeks to go until filming kicks off, the production team is working on the assumption she will be doing it.

They added to the Sun : “It helps that long-term friend Will.i.am will be beside her on the panel.”

If Cheryl does join the show, it will mark her return to ITV following her exit from the X Factor in 2015. She first joined the show in 2008, replacing Sharon Osbourne – and quickly became a fan favourite.

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In 2011, she briefly switched to the US version of the show but left after just a few weeks of filming. Four years later, she made a bombshell return to the UK series, where she remained for two years.

The show, in which the coaches famously turn around their chairs if they want to pick a singer for their team, has been on ITV since it switched channels from BBC One in 2016.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Pot 1 involves some of Europe’s biggest names, even if they aren’t at the level of years gone by with all three Premier League sides finding themselves in Pot 3.

Pot 1: Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Juventus, AC Milan, Lyon, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Real Sociedad, Marseille

Pot 2: Ferencvaros, Viktoria Plzen, Union Saint-Gilloise, Dinamo Zagreb, Red Bull Salzburg, Celtic, Sparta Prague, Rennes, Anderlecht

Pot 3: Sturm Graz, Lech Poznan, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Celje, Jagiellonia Bialystok, Omonia, Celta Vigo

Pot 4: Hoffenheim, Besiktas, Torreense, Hapoel Be’er Sheva, NEC Nijmegen, OFI Crete, Lillestrom, Aarat-Armenia, Levski Sofia

By ISABELLA MACHIN, REPORTER and ELIANA SILVER, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER

Updated: 11:25 BST, 28 August 2026

Nepali authorities have said a dammed lake over the border in Tibet has broken its banks, two days after a flash flood swept through Nepal’s Rasuwa region on Wednesday.

Nepal is facing what officials have described as ‘devastation beyond imagination’ after a ‘tsunami from the sky’ battered the area following a glacier collapse.

The rushing waters, reportedly reaching up to 650ft high, have left more than 1,500 people missing and at least 538 dead. 

This includes 33 missing British nationals, with a 13-year-old schoolgirl from Surrey among those feared missing.

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Mass helicopter rescue operations were stopped on Friday morning, according to Reuters, and locals were forced to rush up a hill to reach higher ground after waters overflowed the dammed lake. 

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has since reported rescue operations on the Tibet side of the border are ‘continuing as normal’. 

Narendra Pariyar, the most senior bureaucrat of the district, previously said the level of water the river is ‘rising’.

The lake is located approximately 10km (six miles) from Gyirong port, the border crossing with Nepal that was engulfed by mud and floodwater, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

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Nepali and Chinese authorities urged people in potentially affected areas to move to safer ground. 

China‘s Ministry of Water Resources said on Thursday that the lake held around two million cubic meters (70 million cubic feet) of water and was expected to receive another three million cubic meters (106 million cubic feet) over the next three days.

Dammed lake BREAKS ITS BANKS, sparking fears of second tsunami

Nepali authorities have said a dammed lake over the border in Tibet has broken its banks, two days after a flash flood hit the region.

Helicopter rescue operations have now been stopped, according to Reuters, and locals have been witnessed rushing up a hill to reach higher ground.

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‘Information has been received that a water dam has burst again on the Tibetan side,’ police said in a statement.

‘All security personnel, rescue workers, and the general public deployed in rescue and relief operations are requested to remain alert and immediately move to a safe location/report the incident.’

Narendra Pariyar, the most senior bureaucrat of the district, said on Friday: ‘We can see that the level of water in the river is rising,’ he said, adding that it is unclear how high the water level is at present.

Earlier this morning, rescue operations in the area were suspended after the lake began to overflow.

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Nepali and Chinese authorities had warned of further flooding from the lake that formed upstream after Wednesday’s disaster and was already overflowing.

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PICTURED: Stranded children rescued by a rescue helicopter in Nuwakot

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Breaking:Death toll rises to 538

Nepalese authorities have now confirmed that 538 people died due to Wednesday’s flash floods.

This is an update from the previous death toll of 489 given a few hours ago.

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WATCH: Video believed to show moment landslide strikes in Nepal

A video has emerged believed to show the moment a massive landslide plummeted into Nepal, causing a devastating flood to sweep through Nepal’s Rasuwa region.

The footage is believed to have been captured by a tourist flying a drone over the landscape

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Nepal declines foreign ‘search-and-rescue’ assistance

Nepal declined foreign assistance for search-and-rescue operations, its foreign ministry said.

This follows the offer of help from several countries, including the UK.

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Saying Nepal was managing the rescue efforts, a spokesman added: ‘The offer for help is natural. Our security agencies are doing the search and rescue operation. For now we don’t require such help.’

It comes as hundreds of foreign nationals are still missing.

The Kathmandu Post reported that India, China, the United States, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had asked the government to allow their search-and-rescue teams to assist in the operation.

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Rasuwa only accessible by helicopter after becoming ‘totally disconnected’

Nepal’s Rasuwa district has become ‘physically totally disconnected’ after flooding swept through and destroyed the region, according to authorities.

‘We have not been able to get there, it takes time for us to assess the scale of the damage,’ Bikram Timilsina, the country’s information minister, told the BBC.

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‘Only by helicopter have we been able to rescue people.’

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Red Cross: ‘Risk’ of second tsunami is high

A Red Cross official in Nepal has warned of a second tsunami, saying: ‘We are very concerned about risk of secondary flood’.

‘We believe that at least 93,000 people have been affected and are in great need,’ they added.

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Missing family of four from Surrey were ‘in Nepal for pilgrimage to celebrate son’s A-levels’

The missing family of four from Cobham, Surrey, were reportedly on a pilgrimage in Nepal after they landed from the UK on Tuesday.

It is understood the trip came after their son ‘got amazing grades at A levels’ and their daughter celebrated her 13th birthday.

A neighbour told The Times: ‘The son got amazing grades at A levels so as part of that they wanted to pay their homage to God.

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‘As a family they were always on the go and the husband was always travelling around the world to places as far away as Australia.’

The family visited India every year for a family holiday, it was reported, but this year chose to visit Nepal to go on a pilgrimage.

The mother and daughter is believed to have British citizenship while the father and son have Irish citizenship.

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Rescue operations resume in Nepal

Search and rescue operations have resumed in Nepal after they were halted over fears of second tsunami, an army spokesman said.

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Authorities ‘struggle to store and identify’ bodies of victims

Nepal’s authorities said they are faced with a growing challenge to identify the bodies of victims taken downstream by the floods – and then house them.

Some bodies were found more than 320km (200 miles) away from their homes, local outlet The Kathmandu Post reported.

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Meanwhile, bodies are being sent to neighbouring districts as morgues in Nuwakot, Dhading and Nawalparasi are running out of space.

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China offers aid as President Xi Jinping sends condolences to Nepal

Chinese President Xi Jinping offered Beijing’s help in Nepal’s rescue operations on Friday, state media said, after deadly flooding at their shared border.

‘China is willing to actively assist Nepal in its rescue efforts and provide support and aid to the best of its ability,’ President Xi said in a condolence message to Nepal’s president, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The Chinese embassy in Nepal has also deployed a team to assist with rescue efforts, according to Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zhang Maoming.

‘China stands firmly with Nepal at this difficult time,’ Mr Zhang told Nepal’s state-run NTV World. ‘We have been working closely with the Nepali side and supporting each other in responding to the disaster’.

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Breaking:Five killed and 558 missing in Tibet

Five people have died in Tibet due to flash floods and landslides on Wednesday.

Chinese state media said 558 people are currently missing in the region.

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