BBC News

Counter-terror police were investigating a major incident near RAF Fairford in south-west England after five men were arrested on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences, including preparation of a terrorist act, and remained in custody. Eighty-five properties were evacuated, bomb disposal experts were deployed, and the base was put into lockdown; Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged people not to speculate, while President Trump praised the security operation. The base has recently been used by US warplanes and bombers in the conflict with Iran. In Northern Ireland, nationalist Catholic protesters in Portadown dispersed after blocking a contentious Protestant Unionist parade for more than 24 hours; the route had been cleared by the courts to proceed down the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years, and some Orange Order members said they still planned to complete the march. Pope Leo XIV was ending a four-day visit to France in Metz, where he was expected to pay tribute to Robert Schuman, a founding father of the European Union and a candidate for beatification, after celebrating Mass in Lourdes and calling on French bishops to root out sexual abuse. The US ambassador to China, David Perdue, said Donald Trump had offered to sell weapons to China while justifying a pending US arms sale to Taiwan, though the White House said there were no plans for such an arms deal with China. The Republic of Ireland beat Israel 3-0 in a Nations League match in Northern Hungary, after Irish players voted to go ahead despite boycott calls over Israel's war in Gaza; they refused to shake hands, bowed their heads during the Israeli national anthem and wore black armbands to commemorate those killed in Gaza.

At the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, the chancellor was expected to speak about re-industrialization, including plans to boost British shipbuilding, after the prime minister announced plans for a national care service in England free at the point of care, with more details due in his conference speech. In Bangkok, the governor warned flooding was not over, with all 50 districts declared emergency zones and much of the city underwater; despite people being urged to stay home, cars and buses were seen moving through flooded streets. A correspondent said three days of almost uninterrupted rain had overwhelmed the city's canals and pumps, but water levels had fallen in the city centre while outlying areas still had at least half a metre of water, leaving thousands cut off and without power; authorities were prioritising food, water, medical evacuations and pumping, with no heavy rain expected for the rest of the week. In Yemen, fighting intensified around Taiz as government forces tried to halt a new Houthi advance, and the BBC became the first international news organisation to reach the country since the Houthis seized the Red Sea port of Mokha. A report from the frontline near Mokha described taking cover from a Houthi drone, the Houthis' capture of Mokha and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, more than 100,000 people displaced, and civilian casualties including a 12-year-old girl hit by shrapnel; a Yemeni specialist said Taiz had been encircled and blockaded, Iran had aided the Houthis, and civilians were paying the price.

On the final day of the UN General Assembly, discussions focused on artificial intelligence, climate change, wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and the impact on global energy markets, with growing attention on who will replace outgoing Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Former Singapore ambassador Kishore Mahbubani said the UN remained indispensable despite going through a bad phase amid geopolitical power shifts, and said great powers did not want a strong, dynamic secretary general.