In this Wednesday’s Mirror Daily Digest, we’ve pulled together the biggest stories of the day from Starmer’s Ukraine war claims to the latest Beckham feud information
The PM held virtual calls with the US President, Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders(Image: AP)
Welcome to the Mirror’s Daily Digest, where we pull together all the best stories of the day from our News, Showbiz, Sport teams and more. This Wednesday, we’re featuring everything from Starmer’s claims regarding the Russia-Ukraine war to details surrounding the Beckhams’ feud and three children being charged with murder.
Following a phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump and other European leaders, Starmer has claimed that a Ukraine ceasefire is ‘viable’ ahead of crunch talks with Putin. Elsewhere, Associate Editor Tom Bryant has offered the inside story of the Beckham fall-out and the man killed on the Isle of Sheppey has been named.
Keir Starmer says Ukraine ceasefire ‘viable’ and makes Donald Trump claim
Keir Starmer and Donald Trump were both on the call(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
This afternoon, our Politics team broke the news that Keir Starmer said there is a ‘viable’ chance of reaching a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. The PM claimed that it was possible because of Donald Trump’s work.
Mr Starmer said Britain stands ready to “increase pressure” on Russia if necessary after holding virtual calls with the US President, Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders. The talks came ahead of high stakes in-person talks between Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Briefing the Coalition of the Willing after the calls, Mr Starmer said: “As I’ve said personally to President Trump, for three and a bit years this conflict has been going on and we haven’t got anywhere near the prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way, of bringing it to a ceasefire. And now we do have that chance because of the work that the President has put in.”
Article continues below
Read the full story here.
Inside ‘cruel’ Beckham feud – blacklisted brothers and desperate efforts to heal rift
Brooklyn and Nicola had their vows renewed in a ceremony officiated by her dad Nelson(Image: nicolaannepeltzbeckham/Instagram)
Our Associate Editor Tom Bryant has been looking into further details surrounding the Beckham feud since Brooklyn and wife Nicola Peltz’s wedding vows renewal appeared to further deepen the rift. According to Tom, David and Victoria only found out about the wedding vow renewal by reading it online.
When it came to the guest-list for Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz-Beckham’s lavish “second” wedding, few would have expected the groom’s parents David and Victoria to make the cut. As one Peltz-Beckham confidante bluntly put it: “In the current climate….hell would have had to freeze over before that happened.”
Friends of Nicola and Brooklyn have told how Brooklyn’s siblings Romeo and Cruz were also persona non grata after what they claim are a series of online barbs from the duo. “Brooklyn’s brothers have been fanning the flames. They’ve openly made fun of and trolled Brooklyn in comments on social media,” said the pal.
Read the full story here.
Isle of Sheppey ‘murder’: Teens charged after man, 49, ‘beaten to death with rocks’
Kent Police continue to appeal for information that could help their investigation(Image: Tony Kershaw / SWNS)
Three children have been charged with murder after a man died on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent Police have said. A 16-year-old girl and two boys, aged 14 and 15, from London have been charged with the murder of Alexander Cashford, 49, in Leysdown-on-Sea. A 12-year-old girl, from Basildon, who was also been arrested in connection with the incident, remains in custody.
The man was pronounced dead at around 7pm on Sunday after an air ambulance was called to the scene. It is alleged the victim was assaulted following a “disturbance involving a small group of people”. Multiple injuries to the man’s body were reported.
Two teenage boys and a girl were arrested a short while later and taken into custody. Yesterday, the boys, aged 14 and 15, and the 16-year-old girl were charged with murder by joint venture.
Read the full story here.
Jay Blades appears in court as The Repair Shop star charged with rape
Jay Blades (stock image) appeared via video link at court(Image: PA)
TV presenter Jay Blades appeared before a judge today charged with rape. The Repair Shop star, 55, is alleged to have carried out two rapes between 2022 and 2024. He appeared via video-link at Telford magistrates’ court this morning.
Blades appeared on the court screen wearing a blue suit, sky blue shirt, black polka dot tie and spectacles. He gave his name as “Jason Blades” and confirmed his address and date of birth.
Blades separately faces a controlling or coercive behaviour charge between 2023 and last September. The star, from Claverley, Shrops, found fame on The Repair Shop, which he started presenting in 2017.
Read the full story here.
Chaotic 40C heatwave sees 82 fires break out across holiday hotspots
Greek officials have evacuated tourists and locals(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Temperatures have soared past 40C in parts of Europe as apocalyptic wildfires continue to rage. Three people have been killed in the devastating forest fires sweeping across Spain, Turkey and Albania, while firefighters also scramble to quench the flames in Greece and Portugal.
Dozens in Greece have also been hospitalised with smoke inhalation. Tourists and locals have been evacuated from blazes that are tearing through Ionian islands.
Officials ordered the evacuations of dozens of villages amid an intense drought and strong winds that have helped the spread of the fire. Large fires have been raging in Zante, Kefalonia and Chios, all popular destinations for British holidaymakers.
Read the full story here.
Article continues below
READ MORE: Ditch your old broadband provider as Sky launches ‘lowest prices ever’
Bandits have again struck a community in Benue State, killing three persons.
They attacked the Uikpam community of Mbabai Council Ward of Guma Local Government Area of the state, 24 hours after three others were killed in Yelewata within the same LGA.
A community leader and a former candidate for the Guma I State Assembly seat in the 2023 general elections, Jimmin Geoffrey, confirmed this to Channels Television on Wednesday.
READ ALSO: Several Terrorists Killed In Failed Borno Ambush
Geoffrey said the discovery of the corpse of Iorhemba Ikpanju, an elderly man from the community, on Wednesday morning, has brought the casualty figures to three following the killing of Akeh Kelvin and Francis Nomsoor last night.
Sustained herdsmen attacks on Guma communities, which share borders with Nasarawa State, remain a major setback to the fight against insecurity.
“The discovery of the body of Baba Iorhemba Ikpanju at a nearby bush this morning brings the total casualty figures to three, following the death of Akeh Kelvin and Francis Nomsoor last night when herdsmen attacked the Uikpam community.
“We again call on concerned authorities to make haste by redeploying security operatives to Uikpam in order to at least repose some level of confidence in the already traumatised residents.”
The police authority in Benue State has remained silent on these killings, as every media inquiry is met with no response.
The Ibom Air Passenger, Comfort Emmanson, who was arraigned and remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre, over her alleged unruly behaviour during a flight inbound Lagos from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on Sunday, has been released.
Emmanson was discharged by Magistrate Olanrewaju Salami on Wednesday after the five counts against her were struck out, following the withdrawal of the case against her.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed her release to Channels Television on Wednesday.
“Emmanson has gone home from the court. I can confirm that,” he said in a terse message.
Keyamo had, in a statement on Wednesday, said the move was necessitated by consultation with critical stakeholders in the aviation sector and those involved in the “unfortunate incidents regarding the unruly behaviours of certain individuals at our airports of recent”.
READ ALSO: FG To Engage KWAM 1 As Airport Security Ambassador After Aircraft-Blocking Incident
Emmanson had been accused of assaulting a flight attendant and being confrontational with security agents at the Lagos airport on Sunday.
Following the incident, the Airline Operators of Nigeria imposed a no-fly ban for life on her.
The alleged assault led to her being arraigned before the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on criminal charges and remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos State on Monday.
He explained that she was remanded because she failed to provide adequate sureties in court.
While condemning her actions, the minister also criticised the circulation of the viral indecent video, which showed Emmanson’s top torn and her upper body exposed.
He said he had ordered action against the Ibom Air officials who leaked the footage.
But her arrest, arraignment, and remand sparked outrage among civil societies, the public, including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), which condemned Ibom Air and the AON for the unfair manner in which the incident was handled.
In a U-turn on Wednesday, Keymao said parties involved in the incidents had learnt their lessons.
He also said the incident had raised public awareness of airport security protocols regarding travelling.
Following deliberations, “including appeals made by well-meaning individuals and remorse shown by the actors”, Keyamo said he had prevailed on Ibom Airline to withdraw the complaint against Emmanson.
“In the case of the unruly passenger, Ms. Comfort Emmanson, on the Ibom Airline on Sunday, August 10, 2025, I have conferred with Ibom Airline to withdraw the complaint against her today. When the police took her Statement in the presence of her lawyer, she exhibited great remorse for her conduct.
Clashes have erupted as opponents and supporters of the Serbian government faced off, each side staging its own demonstrations, as sustained protests against populist President Aleksandar Vucic have now gone on for more than nine months.
The clashes first began on Tuesday night in Vrbas, northwest of the capital Belgrade, where riot police separated the two groups outside the governing Serbian Progressive Party offices in the town.
The student-led protests in Serbia first started in November after a train station canopy collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people, triggering furious accusations of corruption in state infrastructure projects.
Serbia’s president, other government officials and pro-government media have repeatedly described the protesters as “terrorists”, although protests since November have been largely peaceful.
Led by university students, the protesters are demanding that Vucic call an early parliamentary election, which he has refused to do.
Images from the scene showed government supporters throwing flares, rocks and bottles at the protesters, who hurled back various objects. Police said that dozens of people were injured, including 16 police officers.
Similar incidents were reported at protests in other parts of the country.
Police said that several people were detained in Vrbas. Police Commissioner Dragan Vasiljevic told state-run RTS television that the protesters “came to attack” the governing party’s supporters outside the party’s offices.
An image taken from video shows protesters and riot police engulfed by smoke as clashes erupted at protests in Vrbas, Serbia, Tuesday, August 12, between opponents and supporters of the government [File: N1 Serbia via AP]
Protesters have said that government supporters attacked them first in Vrbas and also further south in Backa Palanka and later in Novi Sad and the southern city of Nis. In Belgrade, riot police pushed away protesters who gathered in a downtown area.
Vucic said at a news conference on Wednesday with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker that pro-democracy protests in Serbia have been “very violent and were violent last night”.
Protests have, since November, drawn hundreds of thousands of people, rattling Vucic’s long-running presidency. The Serbian leader’s supporters have recently started organising counterdemonstrations, fuelling fears of further violence.
Kenya will receive another fine over crowd safety and security breaches, a football governing body said Wednesday, with officials promising to prevent chaotic scenes outside stadiums with extra security.
It is the first time three east African countries — Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — have hosted the ongoing African Nations Championship, but the historic moment has been overshadowed by long delays over the stadiums’ readiness and now unruly spectators.
Crowds have stormed Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium without tickets at previous matches involving Kenya, with videos on social media showing people chaotically streaming into the facility being shared — and condemned — widely online.
The continent has a deadly history of football crowds losing control, with 140 people dying in a stampede outside a Guinean stadium last year.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has already fined Kenya — imposing a $17,500 fine on Monday — and limited the crowd size ahead of their match against Zambia on Sunday.
READ ALSO: Romero Replaces Son As Spurs Captain
CAF’s disciplinary board said there had been “multiple safety and security breaches” at the Kasarani Stadium, stating that it had “found Kenya guilty and imposed a fine of $50,000”.
In a statement online, CAF warned Kenya must meet safety and security requirements — advising additional security at matches — otherwise the country’s games may be relocated “to an alternative venue”.
Sports minister Salim Mvurya said that they had assured CAF they would comply with international standards.
“We have taken a senior security meeting this morning with the senior ranks in our police service, and we have agreed that we will put extra measures to ensure we secure Kasarani and Nyayo stadiums,” he told reporters.
Mvurya said there would also be increased checkpoints on the roads approaching the stadium.
He also acknowledged many Kenyan football fans would not be able to access the stadium, announcing the establishment of six “fan zones” across the capital.
Fan violence and stadium stampedes across Africa have led to the deaths of hundreds of supporters over the last decade, including in 2020 when seven fans died in a stampede in Kenya.
