Brent crude rose about 3.5% on Friday to pass $117 a barrel at one point, its highest since April, after Tehran threatened retaliation against Gulf refineries and data centers if attacked. Physical Middle East crude grades softened as oil continued flowing through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said it had looked into a large burst of oil futures selling in March shortly before Trump backed away from threats to strike Iranian power plants.
Cybersecurity leaders warned of a coming 'vulnerability tsunami' after AI tools exposed critical flaws in PHP, a programming language underlying about 70% of websites. NPR reported hacking attempts are rising, Amazon said it saw attacks before the warning was public, and IT workers described relentless patching. A UK minister said 500 new vulnerabilities had been found in government systems.
Storm Austen left thousands of homes without power and closed dozens of schools in Cornwall on Friday, with a 76 mph gust recorded on the Isles of Scilly and gusts up to 160 km/h in Brittany. Storm Boelo is forecast to bring winds up to 80 mph to Scotland and Northern Ireland on Saturday, with amber warnings in place.
Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, from Harrow, became the youngest female international master in chess history, breaking Judit Polgar's world age record, after a round-one game at the European Club Cup.
British singer Raye won the Mercury Prize for her album This Music May Contain Hope, beating nominees including Paul McCartney, Suede and Jade Thirlwall.
Jamie Miller's single Babydoll reached UK number one, the first Welsh artist to top the chart since 2011, with a feature from Sian Evans on DJ Fresh's Louder.
Brent crude rose above $113 a barrel on Thursday, a five-month high, after tanker attacks near Hormuz, Houthi strikes in Saudi Arabia and reports of possible US action against Iran. Citi, which three months ago forecast $60 to $65 Brent by year-end, now sees more upside risk, citing difficulties getting crude out of the Gulf. Kpler data reported by the Wall Street Journal show Iranian oil in floating storage has been drained under the US blockade.
A major tech company reported millions of attempts to exploit two critical PHP vulnerabilities found by AI, and Amazon said it saw attacks before the warning was made public. PHP's developers released fixes on Wednesday, and governments, banks and companies took websites offline while updating; a UK minister said 500 new vulnerabilities had been found in government systems.
The UK government announced a £2 billion Energy Wealth Fund to channel North Sea oil and gas tax revenues, alongside approval for production from the Jackdaw gas field. The Treasury also calculated how much Britain could have raised had it invested past North Sea proceeds, while Scottish politicians criticized the Jackdaw decision as taken outside Scotland.
UK inflation rose to 3.5% in the year to September from 3.1%, driven by petrol and diesel prices, and government borrowing was the highest for a year. The figures come before Chancellor John Healey's Budget on October 28.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh authorized consent for the Jackdaw gas field, about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, which operator Adura expects to supply gas by the end of the month. Greenpeace criticized the decision, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged lifting the ban on new licences, and the Guardian reported Fahnbulleh is leaning toward rejecting the larger Rosebank oilfield.
The 18-year-old Ngumoha registered an assist in Liverpool's Champions League win over Villarreal at Anfield, becoming the club's youngest player to do so in the competition.
Researchers have confirmed that the Silverpit Crater beneath the North Sea was formed by a roughly 160-meter asteroid about 43 to 46 million years ago, which also triggered a tsunami.
Google Cloud said services had mostly recovered after an outage caused widespread disruption to UK financial institutions and websites. Revolut was among the hardest hit, with banking services down for many customers.
BloombergNEF said nine of ten key energy transition metals are on track for sufficient supply by 2050, but $332bn of investment in new copper mines is needed to avoid a shortfall. Copper has risen 15.8% in 2026, with investors citing demand from AI, power grids and stockpiling.
The UK government is expected to give the go-ahead to the Jackdaw gas field on Wednesday, according to the Guardian and BBC. Climate campaigners and some Labour MPs oppose the decision, which the Guardian said signals Prime Minister Andy Burnham's commitment to the North Sea industry.
Brent briefly hit $109.99 overnight, a five-month high, after Houthi claims of attacks on Saudi sites and Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil facilities, before retreating on signs of recovering Middle East supply. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said gasoline prices have peaked; a US deal to import Russian diesel is under debate.
Unite said more than 160 offshore workers will stage a 24-hour strike from Wednesday, warning walkouts over the coming weeks could severely disrupt UK fuel supplies.
Oil prices jumped on Friday as Iran escalated attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent touching $110 a barrel. Ukraine's vow to keep striking Russian refineries added to supply fears.
Authorities declared severe drought in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex after prolonged low rainfall. More than 80% of England is in drought and major reservoirs are below 20% capacity.
Jeffrey Donaldson, former leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for child sexual abuse and rape. The offences took place between 1985 and 2008.
Severe drought was declared in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex after prolonged low rainfall. More than 80% of England is in drought and major reservoirs are below 20% capacity.
Jeffrey Donaldson, former leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for child sexual abuse and rape. The offences took place between 1985 and 2008.
A High Court judge quashed search warrants used by Thames Valley Police at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's homes, citing errors in the applications and in the handling of legally protected material.
The next series of sterling notes will feature the Atlantic puffin, barn owl, buff-tailed bumblebee and European hedgehog. It is the first time animals will replace people on Bank of England notes, aiming to raise awareness of British wildlife.
The British Antarctic Survey reported that Zavodovski Island has lost more than 500,000 chinstrap penguins since 2011. Warming waters are reducing access to krill, the researchers said.
London's Court of Appeal overturned the convictions of five former Barclays traders for manipulating Libor and Euribor. It followed a 2025 Supreme Court ruling that legal errors made similar convictions unsafe.
The Bank of England said the Atlantic puffin, barn owl, buff-tailed bumblebee and European hedgehog will appear on the next series of notes. It will be the first time animals replace people on English banknotes.
Judge Nicholas Hilliard quashed warrants used to search Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's homes. He found errors in Thames Valley Police's applications and in how legally protected material was considered.
The British Antarctic Survey reported that Zavodovski Island has lost more than 500,000 chinstrap penguins since 2011, ending its status as the world's largest penguin colony. Warming waters are reducing the penguins' access to Antarctic krill.
London's Court of Appeal overturned the convictions of five former Barclays traders for manipulating the Libor and Euribor benchmark rates. The ruling follows a 2025 Supreme Court decision that found legal errors made similar convictions unsafe.