RIO HANDS OVER TO TOKYO AS TEAM GB CELEBRATES GOLDEN GAMES

Rio has passed the Olympic baton to 2020 host Tokyo in a colourful closing spectacular that capped off a record-breaking Games for Britain.

Dozens of Team GB's victorious athletes are set to return as heroes, bringing with them the biggest medal haul for the nation in more than a century.

The historic accomplishment that saw Britain come behind only to the United States has triggered a clamour for the victors to be awarded knighthoods, damehoods and honours.

Fireworks during the Rio Olympic Games 2016 Closing Ceremony at the Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday August 21, 2016. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS - Editorial Use Only.

JEREMY CORBYN VOWS TO BOOST TRADE UNIONS AS LABOUR BALLOT PAPERS SENT OUT

Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to strengthen trade union bargaining powers as the battle for the Labour leadership enters a crucial phase.

The first ballot papers go out to the estimated 640,000 members and supporters who will decide whether Mr Corbyn carries on as leader or is replaced by his challenger Owen Smith.

With many expected to cast their votes in the coming days, it could be a vital week in the contest - even though polling does not close until September 21.

CALL FOR ISLAMIST EXTREMISTS TO BE HELD IN SEPARATE PRISON UNITS

Dangerous Islamist extremists will be held in separate prison units after an inquiry revealed that inmates were acting as "self-styled emirs" behind bars.

Charismatic prisoners were found to have exerted a "radicalising influence" on the wider Muslim population in jail.

A Government-ordered review into radicalisation in jails also disclosed that fanatics have attempted to engineer segregation and exploit a fear among staff of being labelled racist.

'RACE HATE' CRIMES REPORTED ON BRITAIN'S RAILWAYS SOAR AFTER BREXIT VOTE

Suspected race hate crimes on Britain's railways jumped sharply following the EU referendum, new figures show.

In the fortnight after the poll, British Transport Police recorded 119 incidents including allegations of racist abuse and attacks at stations - equivalent to eight every day.

The number of alleged race hate offences logged by the force between June 24 and July 7 amounts to a 57% increase compared with the previous two weeks - and an even sharper rise of 78% on the equivalent period last year.

WHITE MEN'S DOMINANCE OF SENIOR NHS ROLES IS 'A SERIOUS WEAKNESS'

The lack of women and ethnic minorities in senior roles within the NHS has been branded "disgraceful" and a "serious weakness" in the health service.

Just 2% of NHS trusts are chaired by people from a black and minority ethnic (BME) background, while under 30% of trusts are chaired by women, a report showed.

There must now be a "radical transformation" to redress the balance, the study, entitled Action Not words - Making NHS Boards More Representative, said.

COMMUNITIES TO FALL SILENT IN REMEMBRANCE OF MEN KILLED IN SHOREHAM AIR CRASH

Communities will fall silent today to remember the 11 men killed in the Shoreham air crash, exactly one year on from the disaster.

A minute's silence will be held at 1.22pm - the precise time the vintage Hawker Hunter jet crashed on to the A27 in West Sussex during the Shoreham Airshow.

Names of the 11 who died when the 1950s' plane came down in front of thousands of spectators last August 22 will be read by the Rev Canon Ann Waizeneker.

CATHOLIC MONK CHARGED WITH HISTORICAL SEX OFFENCES ON RETURN FROM KOSOVO

A Catholic monk has been charged with a string of historical sex offences against teenage boys after he returned to Britain from Kosovo following a five-year police hunt.

Father Laurence Soper is accused of assaulting five boys, one under 14 at the time, over a period from 1972 to 1986.

The nine charges include offences of buggery, gross indecency and indecent assault.

NUCLEAR ATTACK THREAT FROM NORTH KOREA AS MILITARY DRILLS START

North Korea threatened nuclear attacks on Seoul and Washington as South Korea and the US began annual military drills on Monday.

The extreme rhetoric from Pyongyang comes at a time of high tension following the defection of a senior North Korean diplomat and a US plan to place a high-tech defence missile system in South Korea.

The North's military said that it will turn Seoul and Washington into "a heap of ashes through a Korean-style pre-emptive nuclear strike" if they show any signs of aggression toward the North's territory.

MILLION CALL MILESTONE REACHED FOR THE SILVER LINE HELPLINE

The Silver Line helpline for lonely and isolated older people has received its one millionth call in just over two-and-a-half years.

The charity's founder Dame Esther Rantzen, who launched the 24-hour phoneline number 0800 4 70 80 90 in November 2013, said that to have answered so many calls in such a short space of time is "desperately sad".

The millionth call came on a Sunday this summer when the free helpline was dealing with a record 1,600 calls, easily outstripping the surge of calls it got on New Year's Day 2016.

UK DIVIDENDS 'LAG BEHIND REST OF WORLD' AFTER GROWTH HIT

UK dividends are lagging behind the rest of the globe after eking out the weakest performance in the G7, a report has found.

The Henderson Global Dividend Index found that UK dividends fell by 3.3% year on year in the second quarter, as the slump in sterling and cuts from blue-chip companies hammered growth.

However, the UK's total of 33.7 billion US dollars (£25.8 billion) was 7.7% higher than last year, thanks in part to special dividends issued by drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline and Intercontinental Hotels.

EVACUATION ORDERS LIFTED FOR 80,000 PEOPLE AS CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES CONTAINED

Five days after an explosive wildfire in Southern California sent thousands fleeing for their lives, the authorities lifted all evacuation orders to allow residents to return home.

About 82,000 people were ordered to leave their properties on Tuesday when the fire broke out 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

Most of those residents are returning to find their homes intact, though not all. A preliminary damage assessment found 105 homes and 216 outbuildings destroyed across the rural, mountainous terrain where large areas have been turned black.