With the number of migrants crossing the English Channel by boat rising in recent days - totalling more than 1,500 this week - and upwards of 12,600 people making the journey this year, Home Secretary Priti Patel is stepping in. She’s authorising Border Force to turn back boats in order to prevent them reaching the UK - and she has warned Britain could withhold the £54.2m it pledged to France unless more vessels are intercepted. According to reports, Ms Patel has now secured legal advice for small boats to be redirected away from British waters. However, this would only be happen if it’s safe to do so, in limited situations and once Border Force are trained. "I made clear that delivering results and stopping crossings were an absolute priority for the British people," the home secretary tweets.
She describes talks with French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin as constructive however they didn’t reach an agreement on how to prevent crossings. Tackling the issue by forcing boats back into French waters is unlikely to be welcomed as Mr Darmanin, before the meeting, wrote a letter saying: "Safeguarding human lives at sea takes priority over considerations of nationality, status and migratory policy”. So France’s position hasn’t changed out of respect to international maritime law governing search and rescue at sea, he says. Ms Patel’s new tactic risks their relationship, he adds. Meanwhile, charities are also urging the Home Office to take a "more humane and responsible approach" towards asylum seekers. Every possible tactic needs to be used, says the government, as it continues to find ways of stopping small boats making the dangerous journey.

Compulsory vaccinations for care home workers in England, unless they are exempt, will be brought in later this year and now a consultation is being launched about whether this should apply to other health professionals. So for 88% of NHS trust staff, the government says, have received two doses of the Covid vaccine. And depending on the outcome of a six-week consultation it could mean jabs become mandatory for frontline NHS and care workers in England. Staff in contact with those receiving care would also have to have the flu vaccine. Exemptions do apply. If the proposal's approved, only fully vaccinated would be able to be deployed to deliver health and care services. Health Secretary Sajid Javid is urging all health service workers to get both jabs as views on the proposals are sought from those including staff, patients and their families. Meanwhile in Scotland, MSPs will be voting on plans to introduce a vaccine passport scheme later which the government says will allow large events to go ahead as safely as possible. However, there’s concern among some business and opposition parties.

"I didn't expect to be here at all," says 18-year-old British tennis star Emma Raducanu. She’s made it to the semi-finals of the US Open in New York but it appears she didn’t think she’d make it that far. It turns out the world number 150 had booked flights back to the UK a fortnight ago. "My flights were booked at the end of qualifying, so it's a nice problem to have," she says. Raducanu latest win of the tournament saw her beat Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic in straight sets on Wednesday. “It definitely means a lot to be in the semi-finals," she says, adding: "I'm just really enjoying the experience.” Raducanu now faces Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has "shrugged off Conservative rebellion" to secure a tax rise to battle the NHS and social care crisis, says the Financial Times. The Guardian reports that the "£12bn gamble" will not fix the care crisis despite Mr Johnson winning the vote, with a comfortable majority, to increase National Insurance. The fallout from this story leads some of this morning’s papers but there are a variety of others too. They include the i which looks at Covid vaccine boosters, the Daily Express reports on a "crackdown on crossings" and the Daily Star has a take on Geronimo the alpaca’s post-mortem results. It asks "TB or not TB? That is the question!". Most of the papers include a picture of British teenage tennis sensation Emma Raducanu who is through to the semi-finals of the US Open. Read the newspaper review in full here.

The hidden depths of the North Sea have revealed something spectacular. Under the bottom-muds lie Ice Age landscapes and they’ve been recreated in 3D. It shows the massive channels cut by rivers that ran under northern Europe's ancient ice sheets. Take a look.
Now to dry land where a piece of tarmac is going on display at a museum. Yes, you read that right. It’s from a driveway where a meteorite crash landed after it was seen hurtling towards Earth. The mini-crater’s been preserved to go on display at London’s Natural History Museum. Museum bosses think the tarmac will prove to be a popular attraction. What do you think?
And, did you read the story about the porcelain bowl that turned out to be a rare piece of Chinese history? It was thought to be worth £500 - well that was until it turned out be 900 years old and a relic possibly from the Song Dynasty. It’s not made it to a museum, as far as we’re aware, but you can find out more about the £320,000 Ru that's been sat on a chest of drawers.

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