Monday briefing: After 250 arrests in two days, why the UK still isn’t under control

In today's newsletter: What next after a weekend of far right thuggery'

Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition

Good morning. If there was any expectation that the far-right violence that has spread across the UK since the killing of three young girls in Southport might fizzle out, it was dashed over the weekend.

There was disorder on Saturday in Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool and Belfast, and then yesterday in Rotherham, Tamworth, Middlesbrough, Bolton, Hull and Weymouth. In total, police attended 56 gatherings of the far right or counter-protesters over the two days. There were assaults on police officers and bystanders, missiles thrown, shops ransacked, and - amid flagrantly racist chanting - smashed windows and the lighting of fires at hotels housing asylum seekers.

Middle East | Jordan's foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, has made a rare visit to Iran in a last-ditch effort to persuade it to hold back from attacking Israel in response to the assassination of the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran last week. On Sunday Iran insisted that there was no room for compromise and that it would make a decisive response to the assassination.

Israel-Gaza war | Israeli airstrikes hit two schools and a hospital complex in Gaza on Sunday, killing at least 30 people. The attack came amid reports of heated disagreements between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu about a possible ceasefire deal.

Special educational needs | The system set up to support children in England who have special educational needs and disabilities (Send) is in utter disarray" and requires a complete overhaul, the local government ombudsman (LGO) has said. Amerdeep Somal told the Guardian: The system is simply not working for children."

Venezuela | The Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro has vowed to pulverise" the latest challenge to his rule and told troops he is willing to do anything" to protect his revolution". Amid growing criticism of the crackdown that followed last week's disputed election, more than 2,000 have been arrested.

US elections 2024 | Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has revealed that he dumped a dead bear cub in New York's Central Park a decade ago and staged the scene to make it look like a bicyclist had run over the animal. The video was apparently an effort to get ahead of an upcoming New Yorker story.