UK Met Office says this year’s El Nifio is expected to be the strongest since modern records began and may intensify droughts, heavy rainfall and other extreme weather across multiple regions, with potential impacts on agricultural production.

UK preliminary services PMI for August rose to 52.8 from July's 52.1, a six‑month high and above a REUTERS SURVEY forecast of 51.8. The reading, recorded despite ongoing Middle East tensions, adds to signs of an unexpectedly firmer economy and will be welcome for Starmer's successor Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey. S&P Global Market Intelligence chief business economist Chris Williamson said fine weather and tech investment supported expansion, while manufacturing growth eased as precautionary precautionary stockpiling unwound.

A maritime theft monitoring group said Somali coastal piracy has risen after two new attacks this week. The incidents come as two major regional conflicts are diverting and depleting naval resources: Houthi forces last month announced a blockade on Saudi ports and have attacked several vessels, forcing many ships to avoid the area, while fighting linked to Iran has produced attacks on dozens of merchant ships in the Persian Gulf and nearby waters. Two vessels were reported hit by Somali pirates, reinforcing concerns about an uptick in Somali incidents this year. An International Maritime Bureau official, Cyrus Modi, said naval deployments remain but higher-priority threats have likely created an opening for Somali pirates, who had been effectively suppressed over the past decade; Somali piracy peaked in 2008–2010 when hundreds of ships were attacked and some owners rerouted around Africa.