London Northwestern Railway says that Birmingham New Street was evacuated after a “unit on fire”.

It stated on X: “Birmingham New Street evacuated.

“Due to a unit on fire at Birmingham New Street, the station has been evacuated and all services will be suspended until the fire services have dealt with the issue. Apologies for the inconvenience caused.”

And in an update it said: “Birmingham New Street evacuated. New Street has just reopened, however residual delays and cancellations will occur due to staff and service displacement.”

The smouldering remains of the bonfire were continuing to burn on Friday morning

A loyalist bonfire which was widely condemned after a replica of a mosque was placed on top has been lit before police could remove the display.

The smouldering remains of the bonfire were continuing to burn in the village of Moygashel in Co Tyrone on Friday morning.

A man is due to appear in court on Friday charged with incitement to hatred.

Political and religious leaders had criticised the placing of the mosque on top of the fire, which had been scheduled to be lit on Friday night, and police had faced calls to act.

Signs saying: “Secure our borders” and: “End the threat of radical Islam” have also been placed on the pyre.

Shortly after midnight, in a social media post, the Moygashel Bonfire Association said: “Due to confirmation of contractors moving in and removing the bonfire, the decision has been made to light it asap.”

The PSNI said it had “commenced a significant and complex policing operation to remove a hate display from the Moygashel bonfire”.

It said the operation was at an “advanced stage when the bonfire was lit”.

A spokesperson said: “Had the bonfire not been lit police would have secured the site and removed the offending material and seized it as evidence.

“The Police Service of Northern Ireland’s investigation into this hate motivated crime is ongoing.

Chief Superintendent Norman Haslett said: “Hate crime has no place in our society and will not be tolerated.

“That is why we commenced a proactive policing operation to take action and remove the hate display from Moygashel Bonfire.

“Before police arrival, the bonfire was set alight a day in advance to prevent removal of the criminal material.

“Where there is evidence that offences have been committed, we will take robust action.

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“As part of our ongoing investigation, a 56-year-old man has been charged with incitement to hatred.

“He is due to appear before Dungannon Magistrates’ Court on Friday July 10. As is normal procedure, all charges are reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.”

Police were maintaining a low-key presence in the village on Friday morning.

The bonfire site in Moygashel has attracted controversy in previous years.

Last year, there was condemnation after effigies of migrants in a boat were burned on the Moygashel fire.

Eleventh night bonfires will be lit across Northern Ireland on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings ahead of the Orange Order’s July 12 parades on Monday.

While most of the bonfires pass off without incident, several have become the focus of contention due to the placing of flags, effigies and election posters on the structures before they are ignited.

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Some 800 million people have gained access to electricity since 2010, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), which said the figures highlighted “encouraging progress”.

Despite the gains, however, progress remains “too slow” and uneven. The WHO warned that the global electricity access rate stagnated at 92% in 2024, with Sub-Saharan Africa increasingly left behind.  

Achieving universal access by 2030 – one of the United Nations’ (UN) sustainable development goals – will require a threefold increase in current progress, the WHO said. Furthermore, around a quarter of the world’s population still does not have access to clean fuels for cooking. 

Still, the WHO said that, with the right policies, meeting the target is possible. It called for an acceleration of renewable energy deployment – a call echoed by the UN. 

“We have seen encouraging progress in expanding access to affordable, reliable and clean energy, however, this year’s report shows that millions of people still lack access,” said the UN’s Li Junhua.

“The current global energy crisis presents an opportunity to accelerate the transition to clean energy in support of energy security. Seizing this opportunity will require substantial scaling-up of international support and investment.”

Image: Vignesh Moorthy

Four Britons have been found dead in their car after getting trapped in a Spanish wildfire that claimed 12 lives, according to local officials.

Antonio Sanz, Andalucia’s Regional Minister for Health, the Presidency and Emergencies, confirmed the deaths early this morning.

He said: ‘Unfortunately, the decision of some people to take evacuation routes that weren’t those indicated by the emergency services and take an alternative route became a mortal trap.

‘There were two scenarios like that specifically. One was a vehicle in which four people died, with everything pointing to them being of British origin. Their steering wheel was on the other side from the side it’s normally on in Spain.

‘Then another seven people died in another scenario. They were walking and had abandoned their cars and were probably looking for a way out. But they had taken a route which wasn’t the one indicated by the emergency services and the consequences have been terrible.’

150 firefighters are working to put out the blaze in Bedar, Almeria, the Emergency Agency of Andalucía said early on Friday. 

The fire injured at least six people, including a woman who suffered burns and another person with smoke inhalation, who were taken to hospital.

One Brit living in Scotland posted on X overnight: ‘My dad is in hospital. His house in Bedar has been evacuated and his cat is trapped inside.’

The fire injured at least six people, including a woman who suffered burns and another person with smoke inhalation

Witnesses told authorities the blaze may have started after a power line fell, igniting dry vegetation

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He went on to post the address in the hope that rescue teams and Civil Protection workers would see his message and respond.

Sanz called the deaths ‘an unprecedented tragedy’, adding in the statement that ‘the pain is immense’.

Witnesses told authorities the blaze may have started after a power line fell, igniting dry vegetation before spreading rapidly through surrounding woodland. Authorities have not confirmed the cause of the fire.

Roads were closed and residents evacuated as the inferno spread, with about 50 people housed in a cultural centre.

The origin of the accident, which prompted more than 150 emergency calls, is located on a road in the area. 

Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME), which is deployed in major emergencies, was due to join firefighting efforts in the coming hours.

‘The fire situation is complex. It’s a fire in a very large ravine that machinery hasn’t been able to reach, with no access points. The topography is extremely difficult,’ explained Sanz 

‘The updated fire perimeter is estimated at about 3,150 hectares burned. During our response to this fire, we have had a large number of personnel on the ground – 464 firefighters with 124 vehicles. 

‘[There are] 21 firefighting stations, comprising of 150 firefighters, 9 trucks, 18 operations technicians, and environmental agents,’ he said. 

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X that he was ‘deeply saddened and devastated by the terrible consequences of the wildfire’.

He said in May that Spain would deploy its largest-ever summer wildfire response this year.

The head of the regional government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, called the blaze ‘a tragedy’. ‘Our hearts are heavy and we are devastated by grief,’ he wrote on X.

The wildfire comes as Spain swelters in a heatwave, with scorching temperatures triggering orange weather warnings – the second highest level – across parts of Andalusia in recent days.

Spain has experienced increasingly frequent and prolonged heatwaves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 40C, creating conditions for major wildfires.

The country registered its third-warmest year on record in 2025, with 25 single-day heat records set during the period, national weather agency AEMET said.

Earlier this month, hundreds of firefighters battled a wildfire that raged near the popular Mediterranean tourist destination of Costa Brava and forced thousands to stay indoors.

Strong winds whipped up the fire and prompted regional authorities to urge residents of 10 municipalities to remain at home, including at the popular Platja d’Aro beach resort.

Deadly wildfires devoured almost 400,000 hectares of land last year, the highest figure recorded for the country by the European Forest Fire Information System.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.