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Saudi Arabia has urged Washington to intensify attacks on Iran, a Saudi intelligence source has confirmed, while it considers whether to join the war directly.

The Saudi source confirmed reporting in the New York Times, which said the kingdom’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has urged Donald Trump not to end the fighting, and that the US-Israeli war represented a “historic opportunity” to remake the Middle East.

Trump appeared to confirm the report about the crown prince’s role, telling journalists on Tuesday: “Yeah, he’s a warrior. He’s fighting with us.”

• Have there been reports of active Saudi military involvement? Not so far. But a Saudi analyst said the kingdom was likely to intervene if peace efforts led by Pakistan failed. Mohammed Alhamed said: “If [Iran] rejects the conditions and continues its attacks, the threshold for Saudi action will be crossed.”

• What is the latest on the strait of Hormuz? On Tuesday, Tehran said it would permit “non-hostile vessels” to pass: here is a visual guide.

• For the latest updates, follow our live blog.

Senate passes funding package for Homeland Security that excludes ICE

The Senate has passed legislation that will fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, except ICE and part of Customs and Border Protection.

The deal, which would fund DHS components, such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and US Coast Guard, should begin to ease the chaos that has engulfed US airports recently.

The shutdown has left airport security staff without pay for weeks, and nearly 500 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began last month, sending airport waiting times through the roof.

The House of Representatives will still need to act before funded agencies within the department can reopen, CNN reported. The deal also came hours after Donald Trump announced Thursday he would sign an order for the DHS to immediately pay TSA agents, though he failed to say where that funding would come from.

• Why has there been no DHS funding? Democrats have blocked it as they demand changes to its immigration crackdown, particularly after agents in Minneapolis killed the US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Venezuelans deported by US detail fresh claims of torture and abuse at El Salvador mega-prison

A group of 18 Venezuelan men deported by the US have detailed new allegations of torture and abuse at El Salvador’s Cecot mega-prison, demanding that Salvadoran authorities be held internationally accountable for human rights violations.

A petition, filed on Thursday before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleges that El Salvador breached their human rights. The men, who were sent to the notorious prison in March 2025 without charge before being returned to Venezuela in July, recount “a pattern of abuse, including beatings, humiliation and sexual assault”, and lasting mental and physical damage.

• How much influence does the commission have? Most American states, including El Salvador in the past, have complied with orders of the inter-American human rights system. But it is unclear how El Salvador’s autocratic president, Nayib Bukele, who has run the country under a “state of exception” since 2022, will respond.

In other news …

• Faith Kates, a top modelling industry executive, was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein and introduced him to women on the agency’s payroll, a Guardian investigation has found.

• Two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid to Cuba have gone missing, Mexico’s navy said on Thursday.

• Vladimir Putin has reportedly asked Russia’s oligarchs to contribute to the country’s dwindling defence budget to continue its war on Ukraine.

Stat of the day: Under-fives should get no more than an hour of daily screen time, experts say

Children under five should spend no more than an hour a day on screens, according to new advice from the UK government. This is consistent with recommendations to US parents, which state that for children aged between two and five, non-educational screen time should be limited to about an hour on weekdays. There is an impact on language development among those with the highest screen time.

Culture pick: Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is so scary it will send you hysterical

If you can’t handle horror, read no further. Because TV critic Lucy Mangan says the the eight-episode wedding horror series from the makers of Stranger Things is so terrifying that she “may never sleep again”. If that’s not a ringing endorsement for fans of scary movies (and a warning for everyone else to run a mile), I don’t know what is.

Don’t miss this: ‘A broken heart can turn somebody into a bad Casanova’ – breakout R&B star Leon Thomas on defiance, D’Angelo and his ‘doggie’ persona

Leon Thomas knew he’d made it when Stevie Wonder came backstage at Coachella to present him with a custom-made gift. The godfather of funk told him: “‘You’re the kid who does the dog song, right? I made something for you,’” Thomas recalls. “He gave me this cool white hat with a foxtail on it.” R&B’s rising star opens up about his musical background – at home in Brooklyn, listening to classic rock “was as normal to me as Marvin Gaye or Alicia Keys”, he says – and the creation of his musical persona, saying: “A broken heart can turn somebody into a bad Casanova.”

Climate check: How Africa’s first water fund supports farmers to protect Kenya’s biggest river

Africa’s first water fund was created in 2015 to conserve the watershed of Kenya’s biggest river, including by supporting the region’s farmers to adopt sustainable practices. A decade of protecting the Tana River is securing the water supply to Nairobi by delivering about 5.9m gallons of additional dry-season water daily, the fund’s developers say – protecting both water security and livelihoods in a changing climate.

Last Thing: Experience – I’ve spent decades collecting more than 260 mailboxes

Arthur Reeder started collecting postboxes in 1994: the first item in his collection was one from north Wales dating back to the late 1800s. Now, he has 260 in his museum on the Isle of Wight, including items from Scotland, England, Ireland and even Hong Kong. “I’m not allowed to have a favorite, that would be like having a favourite child,” he says. “But I do have some amazing ones. One of the standouts looks like a giant tin of baked beans.”

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