Help to Buy mostly helped high earners, IFS says 15. April 2026 (01:03) People with lower incomes benefitted less from the house-buying scheme than those with high incomes, the influential think tank says.(BBC News)
UK to call for end to Sudan bloodshed at Berlin talks on third anniversary of war 15. April 2026 (01:01) British aid to double as 19m people face acute hunger, but summit unlikely to end conflict amid Saudi-UAE tensions The British foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, will urge Sudan’s warring parties to “cease bloodshed” during a major conference on Wednesday, which analysts believe is unlikely to deliver a significant step towards peace.The talks in Berlin – held on the third anniversary of the start of Sudan’s ruinous war – are expected to help address a catastrophic funding shortfall that is compounding the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Higher-income households benefited most from Help to Buy, thinktank finds 15. April 2026 (01:01) Analysis by IFS shows George Osborne’s mortgage schemes launched in 2013 had little effect on social mobilityHigher-income households were the biggest beneficiaries of George Osborne’s Help to Buy mortgage schemes, introduced in the 2010s, according to an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank.Launched by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government in 2013, Help to Buy involved two separate schemes aimed at making home ownership more achievable in a period of rapid house price growth. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lidl and Iceland ads are first banned under new UK junk food rules 15. April 2026 (01:01) ASA rules ads on Instagram and Daily Mail website broke ban on promoting items high in fat, salt and sugarLidl and Iceland have become the first companies to have ads banned after the introduction of rules cracking down on the marketing of junk food in the UK.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has been policing the ban on ads featuring junk food on TV before 9pm, and in paid online advertising at any time of the day, since 5 January. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
JD Vance expected to lead a potential second round of peace talks with Iran after negotiations fell apart last week