By LILY JOBSON, SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER

Published: 08:33 BST, 24 July 2026 | Updated: 11:16 BST, 24 July 2026

Keely Hodgkinson looked incredible as she flashed her abs in a tiny bralette while posing for stunning Instagram snaps.

The Olympic 800m gold medallist, 24, sent fans wild in a second braless look after stepping out in a racy red dress. 

Keely recently enjoyed a string of dates with Love Island star Casey O’Gorman, according to reports. 

The Olympian and the reality star, 29, were said to have exchanged ‘flirty messages’, before going on secret dates where there was ‘real sexual chemistry’. 

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However, insiders claimed any hopes of romance fizzled out after the pair soon realised it wouldn’t work long term. 

Keely Hodgkinson looked incredible as she flashed her abs in a tiny bralette while posing for stunning Instagram snaps

The Olympic 800m gold medallist, 24, sent fans wild in a second braless look after stepping out in a racy red dress

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‘Casey has known who Keely is for years. He thinks she’s very attractive and talented. He sees himself as a bit of a runner, obviously not on her level but enough for him to chat about it with her,’ a source told The Sun. 

‘Some of her Insta pics caught his eye and they started swapping flirty DMs last year. She was really flattered by the attention – Casey really has the gift of the gab.

‘Casey didn’t waste any time in asking her out and they went on a few dates. They got on really well and there was real sexual chemistry but they lead very different lives and it was never going to work long term.’

The insider added they have remained friends, with Casey ‘showing his appreciation’ by liking her Instagram pictures. 

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The Daily Mail has contacted Casey and Keely’s representatives for comment. 

Casey is best known for his multiple appearances on Love Island. He first appeared on the show back in 2023. 

He then went on to star in Love Island: All Stars series one and two. He won the second series with Gabby Allen, but they split three months later. 

Keely revealed back in March she won’t take part in this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. 

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The Olympian and the reality star, 29, were said to have exchanged ‘flirty messages’, before going on secret dates

Keely revealed back in March that she won’t take part in this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

The runner admitted she wants to avoid burnout with the Scottish showpiece falling just a week before the European Championships in Birmingham.

And her quest for a hat-trick of continental crowns must take precedence over the Commonwealths, claims the Englishwoman, who is currently a red-hot favourite to land her first world indoor title in Poland later this month.

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‘I’m currently not going to be competing,’ Hodgkinson confirmed. ‘I love competing in front of a home crowd but it is such a busy year with Europeans and the world indoors.

‘I’ve done that many championships before in a year – and it is a lot. So I just had to decide on which one was best for me. But I definitely will be supporting and enjoying it as well.’

Just as reports from the front lines in Ukraine are giving Volodymyr Zelensky some reasons to be cheerful, his government has descended into turmoil. Within a matter of days he sacked his defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, before having to fire his commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Fedorov’s dismissal was very much Zelensky’s decision. Syrskyi’s, however, appears to have been forced on the Ukrainian president, after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Ukraine to protest the departure of the defence minister. Fedorov is widely credited with masterminding the success of Ukraine’s drone strategy, which, apart from helping to even up the odds on the front lines, has wreaked havoc inside Russia and Crimea.

Using drones to target Russian energy infrastructure has led to petrol shortages, and power outages across the country. Crimea, meanwhile, is under a state of emergency thanks to a bombing campaign targeting bridges, rail lines, roads and other infrastructure.

So it’s unsurprising that so many people are angry at Zelensky’s decision to dismiss Fedorov, writes Stefan Wolff, an expert in international security at the University of Birmingham. It seemed to make very little sense to defenestrate someone whose modern approach and nimble thinking have enabled this success.

Zelensky’s choice of replacements will, however, go some way to placating the protesters, Wolff believes. The military commander brought in to replace Syrskyi, Mykhailo Drapatyi, is thought of as part of a new generation of strategists very much aligned with Fedorov’s hi-tech approach. The acting defence minister, Yevhenii Khmara, is on the same page. This will be critical if Ukraine is to maintain its momentum.

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Ukraine’s defence shake-up exposes rift in Zelensky’s inner circle

The crisis began when Fedorov called for Syrskyi’s removal, saying the commander was blocking his attempts to reform Ukraine’s defence establishment. In the event, it was Fedorov that Zelensky sacked. The president opted to back his most senior military officer rather than his political colleague.

This is par for the course for Ukraine, say Sarah Whitmore of Oxford Brookes University and Bettina Renz of Nottingham University. The pair have spent some years researching the relationship between the government and the military in Ukraine. They have traced this pattern back to well before Zelensky acceded to the presidency in 2019.

Which is remarkable when you think that Nato and the EU, which have been encouraging reform in Ukraine as a condition for joining those alliances, require civilian control of the military. It hasn’t helped that previous defence ministers have been caught up in corruption scandals (three former defence ministers are accused of treason for allegedly selling off vital defence supplies). But Zelensky has also shown he is also more likely to side with his military commanders, write Whitmore and Renz. And this is unlikely to change while Ukraine remains under existential threat from Russia.

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Ukraine war: inside the longstanding conflict between politicians and military commanders

Putin under pressure

Someone else under existential threat, if you believe some of the more breathless commentary on the state of Russian politics during the war, is Vladimir Putin himself. Certainly Ukraine’s recent successes and the hardships they are imposing on the Russian people, coupled with the terrible death toll among Russian troops and the prospect of further rounds of conscription, have affected the Russian president’s popularity.

Putin’s approval ratings have fallen steadily this year and the Kremlin has been forced to deal harshly with a couple of outspoken Putin critics. But whether this is a sign that the president is losing his grip on power in Russia is debatable, to say the least. Since taking office on the last day of 1999, Putin has assumed almost complete control of the levers of power in Russia.

Opponents have been ruthlessly liquidated, the media stifled and big business – once a potentially powerful source of opposition to Putin – largely tamed.

Besides which, as Bo Petersson of Malmo University points out, history tells us that Russian (and Soviet) leaders tend to die in office. Petersson suggests this is likely to be Putin’s destiny too.

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Putin under pressure but history tells us most Russian leaders die with their boots on

Flies on the White House wall

I’ve spent the past couple of weeks reading a fascinating new book about the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency. Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan is a detailed, almost fly-on-the-wall report of goings on in the White House. It’s irresistible stuff for what our reviewer Colleen Murrell calls “political nerds and Trump obsessives” (guilty as charged).

And it’s the fly-on-the-wall aspect that Murrell homes in on. Haberman and Swan are seriously credentialed reporters of the Trump era, and their access to the US president’s inner circle is extraordinary. Most of the information in this 496-page book has been sourced on what journalists call “deep background”, an agreement between a reporter and their source that they can use information without attributing it.

But some of the direct quotes, including plenty of rather florid language from the 47th president about various of his political enemies, almost makes you feel as if you are in the room with him. Which, as Murrell observes here, feels like an invitation to play the time-honoured journalists’ parlour game: who blabbed?

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New Trump book will have readers playing the parlour game: who blabbed?

One of the themes that anyone following the first 18 months of Trump’s second term will have identified is the way that the US president has sought to increase the power of the executive at the expense of the US Congress. Last month he took to his Truth Social platform to boast of a recent Supreme Court judgment that: “90 years of precedent has been COMPLETELY AND UNEQUIVOCALLY OVERRULED, greatly increasing Presidential Power at a time when it is most needed!”

The US Supreme Court ruled in June that the president was entitled to sack federal trade commissioner Rebecca Slaughter “at will”, despite an act of Congress and a Supreme Court precedent establishing that the power to appoint and remove the heads of various independent agencies should lie in the hands of Congress.

It’s a big deal which hands US presidents almost monarchical powers, writes Andrea Loux Jarman, an expert in US constitutional law at Bournemouth University. She highlights the words of Associate Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor in her dissenting opinion that the decision “gives the President a power unknown even to the English Crown against which the Founders revolted”.

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Supreme Court ruling hands Trump sweeping new powers and limits Congressional oversight

North Yorkshire Police said an e-bike was stolen from the bike park area of the Ron Cooke Hub in Deramore Lane, Heslington, which is part of the University of York.

A force spokesperson said a black “Eleglide M2” e-bike with mudguards front and back was stolen between 8.15am and 4.30pm on Thursday, July 16.

Recommended reading:

The bike has the serial number “MEL05050099”.

North Yorkshire Police said if anyone has seen the bike, or been offered it for sale, or has any information, to get in touch with the force.

The spokesperson said: “Email PC Ben Robinson-Brockhill on ben.robinson-brockhill@northyorkshirepolice.uk.

“Alternatively, visit our website, select ‘Tell us about’, then choose ‘An existing case or report’.

“If you are unable to use these options, please call North Yorkshire Police on 101.

“Please quote reference 12260135901 when providing information.”

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A United Nations committee voted Friday to inscribe a major archaeological site in the West Bank and a set of castles in southern Lebanon as World Heritage sites, despite objections from Israel, which had urged the committee to reject the bids.

The decision at a U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization meeting in South Korea came days after Israel’s Foreign Ministry urged the committee to reject efforts to designate the small West Bank town of Sebastia and the Lebanese castles, calling the nominations a “weaponization of cultural heritage.”

At their meeting in Busan, members of the UNESCO committee decided to place Sebastia and five castles in Lebanon’s Mount Amel area on both the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger after reviewing the nominations on an emergency basis.

Sebastia, a hilltop town about 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is identified by scholars as ancient Samara, capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel. The area’s archaeological remains span the Iron Age, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods. Christian and Islamic tradition holds that John the Baptist was buried there, according to a UNESCO website.

Sebastia’s nomination, first submitted by the Palestinian delegation to UNESCO in 2012, argued that World Heritage status was needed to help preserve the site, saying it remains largely undeveloped under Israeli control and requires additional conservation despite attracting tourists.

The designation comes as Israel, which does not recognize a Palestinian state, moves to expropriate large swaths of land around the site, even as it faces pressure to crack down on violence by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian territory.

The five castles in the Mount Amel region are recognized for their layered architectural heritage, combining Crusader, Ayyubid, Mamluk and local influences, reflecting the evolution of fortified architecture over nearly nine centuries, according to a UNESCO description.

In Tuesday’s statement, Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused the Palestinian delegation of waging a “hostile, one-sided campaign” at UNESCO by falsely portraying Sebastia as an area facing an emergency, calling the effort a political attempt to “erase the site’s profound, well-documented Jewish and Christian history.”

Israel withdrew from UNESCO in 2019, accusing the organization of being biased against it and of downplaying its historical ties to the Holy Land.

The ministry said Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, has turned Beaufort Castle into a military stronghold by building tunnels beneath the site and launching rockets from the area, and accused UNESCO of ignoring those developments.

UNESCO and the Lebanese embassy in South Korea declined to comment on the Israeli claims about Hezbollah.

The UNESCO committee on Wednesday placed another Lebanese site, Tyre, an ancient Phoenician city in the southern part of the country, on the list of world heritage sites in danger.

Pep Guardiola has turned down the chance to coach the Italian national side.

Earlier this week, Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Giovanni Malago said talks had been held with Guardiola, who left Manchester City this summer after 10 years, and that “exceptions” could be made for his salary.

On Thursday, FIGC technical director Paolo Maldini said Italy first approached their former player Carlo Ancelotti, who is currently in charge of Brazil.

Ancelotti has agreed to stay in post and now Guardiola has informed the FIGC he intends to continue with his plan to take a break from the game, which will allow him to rest, spend more time with his family and travel.

In addition to a huge salary, the FIGC is understood to have effectively told Guardiola he could shape the job as he saw fit, as they tried to tempt one of the most successful coaches in the game to take charge of a side that has failed to qualify for three World Cups in a row.

However, after taking some time to consider the situation, he has said no.

It means former Italy playmaker Andrea Pirlo, currently head coach of Dubai-based United FC, is the frontrunner to be tasked with navigating Italy through a Nations League group that includes France, Belgium and Turkey in the autumn and then try to qualify for Euro 2028.

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR

Published: 08:14 BST, 24 July 2026 | Updated: 10:42 BST, 24 July 2026

Andy Burnham is spending his first day working from a ‘No10 North’ office as he denies the move is just a ‘gimmick’. 

The PM is making great play of his decision to be based part of the week in Manchester, where his family lives and he used to be mayor.

The so-called ‘King of the North’ wants to use the arrangements as a symbol of his drive to devolve power out of Westminster.

However, construction has not even started yet on the site earmarked to become the premier’s base in the city, and it will not be operational until 2032.

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Instead Mr Burnham is planning to head for Heron House, an existing Government office in the centre that is used by GCHQ. 

Security at the building – which also hosts a pub – has been hugely increased and workers have been busily sprucing up nearby Albert Square. 

No10 has insisted there will be no extra costs to the taxpayer, but experts have warned that the bill for fortifying an office for the PM and providing round-the-clock armed police will be eye-watering.

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Security at the building temporarily acting as ‘No10 North’ – which also hosts a pub – has been hugely increased

Workers have been busily sprucing up the area near Albert Square

Experts have warned that the bill for fortifying a regular office for the PM and providing round-the-clock armed police will be eye-watering

Downing Street and much of the Government estate in Whitehall is entirely closed off from the public (Mr Burnham pictured outside No10 this week) 

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Downing Street and much of the Government estate in Whitehall is entirely closed off from the public.

Ahead of his arrival at the Manchester offices, Mr Burnham said: ‘For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve.

‘No 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country.

‘It will be the situation room for making Britain better – the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.

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‘The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good.’

Mr Burnham is expected to speak to leaders from business representative organisations ahead of his first No 10 North meeting, including from the Federation of Small Business and Confederation of British Industry.

The Treasury approved the ‘outline case’ for a civil service ‘digital campus’ in Manchester in March this year, after being in development since the council acquired the disused retail park in 2017. That is now envisaged as the permanent ‘No10 North’.

Construction is due to get going at the five-acre site over the coming years but the ‘target’ for it becoming operational is not until 2032 – three years after the latest date for the next general election. 

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Construction has not even started yet on the site earmarked to become the premier’s base in the city, and it will not be operational until 2032 

An artist’s impression of the ‘digital campus’ slated to be built in Manchester 

Mr Burnham judged mock-ups of his promised ‘No10 North’ on TikTok recently – but he might not even be in power to see it up and running

At that stage around 8,800 civil servants are meant to be based at the 900,000 square foot venue. 

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Earlier this week the PM’s spokesman insisted staff are ‘already working in the new No10 North’. 

The official said: ‘The running of No10 North will be covered by existing Cabinet Office budgets. There is no additional cost to taxpayers.’

On the question of relocation packages for London-based personnel to move there, he said it is ‘standard practice’ for employers to support staff required to relocate.

The spokesman said numbers would be detailed in due course, adding: ‘We already have around 80,000 civil servants based in the North West of England, with around 700 roles moved from London to Manchester last year.’

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Britain faces its fourth heatwave of the year next week as a heat health alert is issued and the extremely dry weather continues with no rain for 36 consecutive days.

The Met Office expects temperatures to reach at least 28C in south-east England between next Tuesday and Thursday – meeting the criteria for another heatwave.

The third heatwave of the year ended last weekend in London after a fortnight, but has continued for 19 days so far at Exeter in Devon and Usk in Monmouthshire.

Temperatures could reach 30C in some areas today and tomorrow, prompting the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to issue six 48-hour yellow heat health alerts.

These will cover regions across the South and the Midlands from 9am today until 9am on Sunday and warn of ‘increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people’.

Officials said there is a ‘greater risk to life of vulnerable people’ while ‘water‑related incidents may increase, including risks from cold‑water shock and drowning’.

The Met Office defines an official heatwave as three days in a row of temperatures above a certain threshold, which varies by UK region but is 28C in London.

The heatwave temperature threshold will be met for only two days today and tomorrow, before conditions turn much fresher across the country by Sunday.

Scorched grass at Blackheath in south-east London yesterday as the dry weather continues

Dried grass at Peckham Common in south London yesterday after a prolonged lack of rainfall

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Holiday traffic at the Port of Dover in Kent today as drivers make their way across the Channel

The Met Office forecast for London shows the heatwave criteria of temperatures at least 28C for three consecutive days could be met between Tuesday and Thursday next week

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Rain is also possible in very dry areas – with Wisley in Surrey now having had 36 consecutive days with no rain. London has had no rain for 27 days since June 27.

But while heavy rain could fall in the North of England, the areas most in need of it in the South and Wales are set to see just a few millimetres at most and possibly none.

Temperatures will get to 27C on Monday, but the fourth heatwave is then set to start from Tuesday with 28C highs in London before 30C on Wednesday and Thursday.

An official drought has now been declared in North Wales and the Upper Severn, after record dry conditions, heatwaves, wildfires and dwindling rivers. This is the first part of the UK to declare drought status amid a summer of record-breaking heatwaves.

Many parts of England are in prolonged dry weather status as the country has received just 3 per cent of its average July rainfall, with hosepipe bans in place for 23 million customers and suppliers warning they may stay in place all summer.

Wildfires have been raging in several places in England, while Scotland has also been hit by a major wildfire in the Cairngorms, and in the Republic of Ireland, a nationwide hosepipe ban is in place in response to the dry conditions.

The South-East has seen the longest no-rainfall spell for more than 30 years. Three heatwaves have brought the UK’s hottest ever days in May and June, while the latest one earlier this month saw 12 consecutive days of temperatures above 30C.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said rain will move southwards tomorrow, spreading from Scotland and Northern Ireland into northern England and parts of Wales. 

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued yellow heat health alerts from 9am today

Heavy rain could fall in the North on Sunday but the South could see a few millimetres at most

By Sunday, temperatures are expected to turn ‘fresher’ across much of the UK, with rain possible in ‘areas that haven’t seen much’ over the past few weeks, he added.

BBC lead weather presenter Ben Rich wrote: ‘Weather fronts are expected to bring spells of rain in the north and west, with parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and north-west England likely to see their most significant rainfall in a number of weeks.

‘However, high pressure may build to the south-east which would cause those weather fronts to stall.

‘That could allow dry and hot weather to rebuild across many parts of England and Wales, with temperatures potentially climbing back into the 30Cs in places. There is the chance that heatwave conditions could return.’

The heat alerts are in place at the beginning of a stretch in which millions of motorists are expected to take to the roads for summer getaways.

The AA said around 6.3 million drivers are planning a road trip of more than 100 miles between today and Thursday.

Schools have broken up for the summer holidays and the Met Office said areas in England and Wales will see ‘plenty of sunshine’ in the coming days.

Lee Morley, AA expert patrol, said: ‘The roads may not have the same first-day rush as they did when schools first broke up, but holiday traffic is far from over.

‘Families are continuing to head away throughout the summer rather than all leaving on the same weekend, so we expect plenty of busy routes over the coming days.’

RAC breakdown spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘Drivers should be ready for some very busy roads this weekend and expect delays.

‘The best advice is to plan journeys and think about setting off earlier or later in the day to avoid traffic jams.’ 

This Environment Agency graphic shows how little rainfall there has been since mid-June

River flows are also low in many areas of England and Wales – especially those marked in red

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The heatwave threshold is defined as three consecutive days at or above a set temperature

The Port of Dover is expecting another busy weekend but has worked to smooth any delays caused by new EU border checks.

This morning, the port posted on X that there was a 40-minute processing time in the Buffer Zone – the area where traffic may be held in multiple lanes while waiting to pass through French border and security checks.

Ferry company DFDS also said its wait times at Dover were up to 60 minutes at border controls and ‘free flowing’ at check-in.

The Entry Exit System (EES), rolled out fully in April, involves people from third-party countries such as the UK having their fingerprints registered and photograph taken to enter the Schengen Area, which consists of 29 European countries, mainly in the EU.

For most UK travellers, the process happens at foreign airports, but it is also carried out at the port, as well as Eurotunnel’s Folkestone terminal and London St Pancras railway station.

The Port of Dover declared a ‘critical incident’ during the May half-term period after waiting times reached four and a half hours on a day with about 8,500 outbound tourist vehicles.

However, after last weekend, it said in a statement that French border police had ‘performed extremely well’ by ‘maximising their resourcing as required throughout’.

The statement added: ‘We will be preparing in earnest once again with all of our partners for the upcoming weekend, which will be our busiest of the whole summer.

‘Let’s all continue working together to ensure local communities remain clear of disruption, trade continues to flow and everyone can start their holidays well.’

Thousands of tourists have been forced to flee a top French holiday hotspot, with many evacuated by boat to escape a raging wildfire. 

The area of Lege-Cap Ferret in southwestern France – an upmarket tourist destination known as the French Hamptons – is in the middle of a total evacuation with thousands of hectares of forest burning and villas going up in smoke. 

French President Emmanuel Macron has already requested help from the European Union as the country’s growing battle against wildfires intensifies. 

Images showed scores of residents boarding boats this morning as they evacuated the area while a French television report was interrupted by a fireball blast when a gas canister exploded. 

Residents have described the inferno as ‘mega-fire’ and apocalyptic, with few means of escape from the thin peninsula.  

‘France has requested the activation of the European Union’s civil protection mechanism. We will soon be able to count on reinforcements from two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor planes, as well as two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia,’ wrote Macron on X on Friday. 

Sophie Brocas, the prefect for the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, said on Friday that evacuees from the Lege-Cap Ferret peninsula could leave from piers in four villages in the area between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. local time. 

All those still present in those villages must leave either on the boats or by the only road linking the area with the mainland, she added.

Holidaymakers from Lege-Cap-Ferret disembark from a boat upon their arrival in Arcachon during an evacuation operation of the entire Cap-Ferret peninsula, in southwestern France, on July 24, 2026 whilst a wildfire is spreading across the area

The blaze in south-western France has been described as a ‘mega-fire’ and ‘apocalyptic’ in French social media posts

Patrick Martineau, a 69-year-old resident of Le Porge, south of Bordeaux, said, ‘The gendarmes came and knocked on every door, the fire was about 500 metres away – we grabbed some things and left.’

Footage taken in the south-western town of Biscarrosse captured scenes of chaos, showing several cars rushing down roads to get away from nearing flames. 

A separate video showed horses frantically running down a street as a huge black cloud of smoke engulfed the town. 

Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez said on Friday that the fire in Biscarrosse is ‘difficult to control’, adding that around 100 homes had been burned or damaged by the flames. 

France’s southeast was also being hard hit, with dozens of fires flaring up and being fanned by the Mistral wind around the historic village of Cotignac – officials saying around 25 houses had been destroyed since Tuesday. 

Two firefighters died on Tuesday tackling another blaze near Bordeaux airport.

Skies over Le Porge turned orange as smoke rose from charred and crackling pine trees, while helicopters made repeated runs over deserted neighbourhoods.

Fires in 2022 damaged a massive area of the same forest, forcing around 50,000 people to flee.

The authorities said the fire had been contained on its northerly flank but was not yet totally under control further south.

EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib said Thursday that the bloc was providing three water-bombing planes to France.

 In Spain, the government declared a state of emergency in the Madrid region, where more than 10,000 people have been evacuated in recent days.

A volunteer gives indication to holidaymakers from Lege-Cap-Ferret upon their arrival in Arcachon by boat during an evacuation operation of the entire Cap-Ferret peninsula

A firefighter uses a hose to spray water on a burning building of a residential area during a wildfire near Lege Cap Ferret

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Video grab shows an aerial view of the out-of-control fire spreading through the Lege-Cap-Ferret 

The order for a total evacuation of the area of Lege-Cap Ferret underlined the severity of the fire that has been burning since Wednesday

A couple carries a few belongings while evacuating a residential area during a wildfire near Lege-Cap-Ferret, southwestern France, on July 23, 2026

Screen grab of video showing several cars rushing down roads to get away from nearing flames

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People watch smoke from the beach in Andernos-Les Bains during a fire in Lege Cap-Ferret forest

People in Lege Cap-Ferret watch as flames tear through a forest 

One video on social media showed the moment horses ran away from incoming flames 

Emergency services said alert messages had been sent to people in Aldea de Fresno, a town west of Madrid, ordering them to leave.

Eighteen firefighting units with specialist troops were working to contain the blaze near the city of Toledo, close to another wildfire that forced the evacuation of several villages on Wednesday.

Firefighters battled through the night, and most residents were allowed to return Thursday.

Hundreds of firefighters and troops were still struggling to contain a much larger wildfire in Guadalajara province, north of Madrid.

‘Climate change is what kills, what destroys our villages and our natural and cultural heritage,’ civil protection chief Virginia Barcones told Spanish radio.

She warned some fires become so intense that, despite the deployment of aircraft and ground crews, firefighters stand ‘no chance’.

Barcones said conditions at the Guadalajara blaze were improving but that strong winds and extreme heat remained a danger.

Thousands of emergency workers in Italy battled scores of fires in Sicily and in the Calabria region, where a local official said arsonists had started fires by tying rags soaked in flammable liquid to the tails of stray cats to spread the flames.

Along with the stray cats, investigators found candles and delayed ignition devices

Domenico Costarella, of Calabria’s civil protection agency, said: ‘These animals were released into the fields, running around and spreading the fire.’

French President Emmanuel Macron has already requested help from the European Union as the country’s growing battle against wildfires intensifies

A firefighter douses a burned house at a residential area during a wildfire near Lege-Cap-Ferret, southwestern France, on July 23, 2026

A firefighter sprays water on a burning forest close to a residential area during a wildfire near Lege-Cap-Ferret

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Residents in the department of Gironde watch as a massive cloud of smoke billows in the distance

Firefighters respond to a wildfire in Lege-Cap-Ferret in the Gironde department amid worsening drought conditions

Firefighters drive around a burning forest while monitoring a wildfire close to a residential area near Lege-Cap-Ferret

Across Europe, three heatwaves in succession this season have intensified drought, strained water supplies, and left vegetation tinder-dry, helping wildfires scorch more land

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The heat has also been blamed for thousands of deaths. 

France has been particularly hard hit, with the intense heat pressuring its capacity to handle the situation. 

‘Our security forces are engaged in a genuine battle against the wildfires,’ Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Thursday evening. 

‘The nation stands with you.’ The pressure on fire departments in southwestern France has been increased by another wildfire that began on Thursday afternoon near Biscarosse, just 25 miles south of Cap Ferret. 

That fire, which is still not under control, has devastated 2,500 hectares, the prefect for the Landes area, Gilles Clavreul, said in a statement. 

He added that fighting arson would take a ‘shift in mindset… These are inhumane acts. Sadly, men are their own worst enemies’.

One firefighter died after falling ill while battling the flames in Sicily, the interior minister said.

Across Europe, three heatwaves in succession this season have intensified drought, strained water supplies, and left vegetation tinder-dry, helping wildfires scorch more land than the annual average over the past two decades. 

This screen grab from a video posted on the X account of Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit UME (@UMEgob) on July 23, 2026, shows UME personnel fighting a wildfire in San Martin de Valdeiglesias, Madrid

The Spanish government declared a state of emergency in the Madrid region, where more than 10,000 people have been evacuated in recent days

Hundreds of firefighters and troops were still struggling to contain a much larger wildfire in Guadalajara province, north of Madrid

‘Winds are blowing, and the situation remains highly dynamic and unfavourable,’ he said. 

More than 23,000 people were evacuated from the Biscarosse district, mainly in campsites and homes, and a children’s summer camp and a residential care home for the elderly were also evacuated. 

He asked farmers to contribute with water tanks.

European droughts are now more severe, climatologists from the World Weather Attribution group said in a study published on Thursday.

The total area of land burnt so far this year in EU countries is the second largest on record, according to satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). 

Latest energy bill predictions could mean that households do not see any savings from the VAT cut

Money Saving expert Martin Lewis has explained how households will be impacted by the new energy tax reduction announced by Andy Burnham this week. The Prime Minister has confirmed that electricity bills will be exempt from VAT from October 1, that initially predicted a cut of £45 from a typical household’s annual bill.

However since updated predictions for the Energy Price Cap have been published indicating that a Price Cap rise of 5.1% could be seen in October that “will wipe out any household savings from the VAT cut”, says the expert.

The announcement comes amid predictions that energy prices will remain raised throughout the coming winter, following a £221 rise to the price cap which came into effect on July 1, pushing it to £1,862 per year. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here

Andy Burnham said: “I said I wanted to give people breathing space, and that’s what I’m announcing on my second day as Prime Minister. We’re taking immediate action to cut taxes on energy bills, put more money in people’s pockets and bring back hope.”

The energy price cap has been projected for October.

Martin Lewis spoke of the projections saying: “I’ve just got the latest energy bill predictions. The average of three sources show the Price Cap rising 5.1% on 1 October – as the last week has seen very high wholesale rates. An annualised rise of £93 on a typical bill.

“If this happens, it will wipe out any household savings from the VAT cut during that Price Cap period (those on fixes will still see a 4.8% reduction).”

The Money Saving Expert founder contacted major UK energy suppliers to ask if they’ll pass on the reduction to all customers from October. Ten firms confirmed they will including:

• 100 Green
• British Gas
• EDF
• E.on Next
• Fuse
• Good Energy
• Octopus
• So Energy
• Utilita
• Utility Warehouse

Martin Lewis detailed how the the move will work in more detail as he explained that it will see VAT on electricity bills cut from 5% to zero between October 1 2026 and March 31 2027.

He also explained that the cut will only apply to electricity bills meaning those with dual fuel bills for gas and electricity will only see the reduction on the electricity they use.

It will be funded in part by scrapping Sir Keir Starmer’s, digital ID project that had been estimated to cost around £600 million-a-year over three years. Funding for the ID scheme was due to have come from savings within existing departmental budgets, which will now be reprioritised to fund the VAT cut.