Your morning briefing: What you should know for Tuesday, August 21st

10 hikers die in gorge tragedy

The death toll after flash flooding hit a popular hiking gorge in southern Italy has risen to 10.

At least 36 people were trekking along the Raganello gorge in Calabria when heavy rain fell yesterday.

The flood water rose to eight feet at its height and rescuers said overnight that at least five hikers were still missing.

Hunt to call for EU unity against Russia

Jeremy Hunt will today challenge the EU to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the US and Britain against Russian aggression.

Mr Hunt is making the call in a speech marking his first visit to Washington as Foreign Secretary.

He will say the bloc must speak with one voice against transgressions by Moscow, quote, "whenever and wherever they occur, from the streets of Salisbury to the fate of Crimea".

Mr Hunt also claims Russia’s foreign policy is making the world a more dangerous place.

Emotional tribute to Aretha Franklin at VMAs

Madonna has paid tribute to Aretha Franklin at the MTV Video Music Awards this morning, describing her as one of the greatest soul singers that ever lived.

Delivering a powerful eulogy, Madonna said it was a performance of one of the soul legend’s songs that launched her career.

Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello was the big winner at the event in New York, scooping both Artist Of The Year and Video Of The Year.

An emotional Ariana Grande won the Best Pop prize for No Tears Left To Cry, her first single after the Manchester Arena bombing last year.

Man charged over hammer attack

A 27-year-old man will appear in court today accused of trying to murder a mother and her daughter with a hammer.

Ania Gos and her 64-year-old mother remain in a critical condition after the attack in south-east London on Sunday.

Joe Xuereb from Greenwich faces two counts of attempted murder.

Queen Olivia

Olivia Colman has pipped world-famous stars Sir David Attenborough and Benedict Cumberbatch to be named the most powerful person on British television.

The actress, who is soon to take over as The Queen in Netflix series The Crown, has topped the Radio Times' TV 100 Power List.

Three injured in shooting near Tube station

Two men and a woman have been injured after a shooting close to Kingsbury Tube station in north-west London.

The victims were rushed to hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

Scotland Yard said the incident was not terror-related and have not yet made any arrests.

On this day...

1911: Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in Paris. The thief was Italian waiter Vincenzo Peruggia who, posing as an official photographer, walked off with it under his arm. It was recovered in 1913 from where he had hidden it, under a bed in a hotel.

1959: Hawaii became the 50th state of the USA.

1965: Keith Peacock became the first substitute to be called on in a Football League match.

1976: Mary Langdon, 25, joined East Sussex Fire Brigade to become Britain's first female firefighter.

1988: Amended British licensing laws allowing more flexible pub opening hours came into force at midnight. Pubs could now stay open 12 hours in the day, except on Sunday.