Catherine Mackinlay

The UK will experience a partial solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, although the event will be total elsewhere in the world because the path of totality will not cross Britain. The next eclipse visible from the UK will occur on August 2, 2027, lasting from approximately 8:57 a.m. to 11:01 a.m. BST, with London expected to see around 42–45% of the Sun obscured. The next total solar eclipse visible from the UK is not expected until September 23, 2090. The last such event occurred on August 11, 1999, when totality crossed Cornwall.

Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World near Telford, Shropshire, was temporarily closed after a fire gutted its office building. Three personal pets belonging to the owners—a group of stick insects, a hedgehog and a snake—died, while the owners’ wife and father were treated for smoke inhalation and discharged. Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service prevented the blaze from spreading to nearby wooden structures and animal enclosures. The cause remains unknown, and the zoo planned to reopen while repairs continued and affected visitors were offered rescheduled bookings.

Rain and drizzle are forecast across northern and western parts of the UK on Tuesday, while central, southern and eastern England and Wales are expected to reach 25C to 26C under largely sunny conditions. Thicker cloud will keep temperatures cooler across northern and northwestern Scotland, with only sporadic outbreaks of light rain. Northern Ireland may see occasional spots of rain, though dry intervals are anticipated. Eleven areas, including the Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, Argyll and Bute, and six counties in Northern Ireland, are expected to face rainfall.

A 26-year-old Deutsche Bahn security officer suffered life-threatening injuries after falling from a regional train near Karlsruhe during a violent altercation with a passenger. The confrontation reportedly escalated after ticket inspectors clashed with a drunk 36-year-old passenger, leading to a physical struggle during which the officer was pushed against a train door that then broke, causing him to fall from the moving train. A major search operation located the injured man two kilometres from where the train stopped. The passenger was arrested, and investigators are examining witness accounts and video evidence while also probing why the train driver received no alert about the door. Deutsche Bahn condemned the attack, and the EVG union warned that assaults on railway staff have reached a dangerous new level.