Tuesday briefing: Can Andy Burnham beat Britain’s headphone dodgers?

In today’s newsletter: The prime minister’s campaign against noisy passengers has struck a chord with commuters. Whether anyone hears him remains to be seen. Good morning. Me again, back from the October school holiday (a week in glorious Wales, thanks for asking) and ready to he

In today’s newsletter: The prime minister’s campaign against noisy passengers has struck a chord with commuters. Whether anyone hears him remains to be seen. Good morning.

Me again, back from the October school holiday (a week in glorious Wales, thanks for asking) and ready to hear your commuter woes. For our prime minister, it’s “one of the most annoying things on public transport”: maybe you’re trying to work, or read, or you’ve finally got your kid to sleep, when someone starts blasting sound from their phone at full volume. France | The prime minister has said he has asked regional authorities to impose partial curfews in some cities after the government admitted police had “lost control” in several places during violent weekend protests around the country.

UK politics | Andy Burnham has told officials to rip up their plans for how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical options for what to do with the stricken company. Yemen | At least 53 people have been killed in a Houthi ballistic missile attack on a training camp for Yemeni government forces in the largest single loss of life since the country’s civil war reignited in September. Israel | Israeli police have detained 10 people in a rare raid against settlers, after a weekend of extreme violence in the occupied West Bank including an attack on US photojournalist Heidi Levine.

Reform | Nigel Farage undermined his own claims that a £5m gift was for security when he referred to the money as a reward for Brexit, according to one of his closest aides. Continue reading...