British police said they had arrested a man after a "major incident" in Southport, north west England, on Monday in which there were several casualties.Merseyside Police said they were called to reports of a stabbing and a knife had been seized by armed police. There is no wider threat to the public, they added.

Cyprus is on standby to assist in the evacuation of civilians from the Middle East if a standoff between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon escalates, its foreign minister said on Monday.Lebanon has been bracing for a response from Israel since a rocket strike killed 12 children and teens in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. Israel and the United States have blamed Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah for the strike. Hezbollah has denied any involvement.Cypriot authorities have had an emergency response mechanism in place for a possible evacuation of civilians since last October, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos told reporters."We have established the manner in which the scheme will operate, if needed," Kombos said."We are all hoping it won't be necessary, but should that not happen, Cyprus will continue to operate as a safety bridge in facilitating the departure of civilians from any embattled zone in our area," he added.