Burnham’s Your First Home scheme ‘could boost Bellway’s house output by 10%’ 13. October 2026 (13:59) Help-to-buy initiative for England could slow market while first-time buyers wait for launch, builder admitsBusiness live – latest updatesThe new Your First Home programme for first-time buyers could increase the number of houses British builder Bellway produces each year by 10%, its boss has said.Faced with a chronic shortage of homes, the government has made housing one of its top priorities and Andy Burnham’s surprise announcement of the YFH scheme a fortnight ago sent housebuilders’ shares soaring by more than 10%. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pope Leo admitted to hospital for operation to remove growth on lung 13. October 2026 (13:27) Leo arrived at hospital on Tuesday for the surgery, which is deemed low risk and could take place this afternoonPope Leo has been admitted to hospital in Rome for an operation to remove a small growth from his lung, a discovery a top Vatican cardinal said had come “like a bolt out of the blue”.In a rare moment of Vatican transparency, Leo, 71, said during his angelus prayer on Sunday that doctors had found a small nodule on his lung during a check-up, adding that it was “well-contained” and detected early. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK asks Interpol to reject Argentina’s ‘politically motivated’ requests for Falklands oil arrests 13. October 2026 (13:00) Exclusive: Caution urged over Javier Milei government’s ‘red notice’ requests for arrest of individuals linked to oil projectBritain has appealed to Interpol to reject Argentina’s requests for the arrest of individuals involved in a large oil project off the Falkland Islands.With tensions over the sovereignty of the British overseas territory reaching levels not seen since the war with Argentina in 1982, UK officials have sought urgent assurances from the international organisation. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Our future is being stolen’: Greta Thunberg joins students protesting in Paris 13. October 2026 (12:03) Swedish activist stands alongside French teenagers calling for investment to fix teacher shortages and crumbling schoolsThe Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has joined demonstrating high school students in France as the country braced for another day of nationwide protests over chronic teacher shortages, overcrowded classes and crumbling buildings.“Young people are not being included in the conversation,” Thunberg, 23, who became famous as a teenager through school strikes demanding action on the climate crisis, told reporters outside the Lycée Paul Éluard in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How a scandal engulfing Brazil’s top court could return the Bolsonaros to power 13. October 2026 (12:00) The judge who helped convict Jair Bolsonaro is caught up in a crisis that could benefit his son and damage LulaMarina Silva on Flávio Bolsonaro: He will try to finish his father’s ‘perverse project’ to destroy the AmazonThundering to a crowd of thousands of far-right supporters in São Paulo on 7 September, Brazil’s Independence Day, the senator Flávio Bolsonaro focused less on his opponent in the presidential election, the leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, than on someone who is not running at all.“Whoever votes for Lula is voting for Alexandre de Moraes,” Bolsonaro shouted, referring to the shaven-headed supreme court justice once described as “Voldemort” by Elon Musk. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Millions of Medicaid recipients to face draconian requirements as of 1 January 13. October 2026 (12:00) Trump’s reform law that seeks to make coverage harder to get, and to keep, includes working 80 hours per monthIt is a date keeping US healthcare providers up at night: 1 January 2027.As the midterm elections loom, everyone from hospital leaders and to patient advocates are focused on the New Year, when Republicans scheduled the most controversial elements of their healthcare reform law to go into effect. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Andy Burnham will take Britain back into European Union, Neil Kinnock claims – UK politics live 13. October 2026 (11:58) Former Labour leader says he believes the prime minister has an ‘authentic commitment’ to taking the UK back into the EUAndy Burnham promises ‘serious dialogue’ over UK’s relationship with EUEd Miliband, the foreign secretary, is speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum with his counterparts from Germany, Poland and Norway. Jakub Krupa has been covering it in detail on his Europe live blog.As Jakub reports, Miliband said the EU should review its policy on dealing with Russian assets frozen under sanctions imposed since the war in Ukraine starts. He said:Europe has big decisions to make, including on Russian sovereign assets. I think we need to return to this issue.Britain is willing to do this alongside the European Union, because we know that every wrong message that is sent to President Putin is a message that sets back our security and sets back the Ukrainian cause, and we need to send the right messages. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK holiday demand may have peaked amid cost of living squeeze, says travel industry 13. October 2026 (11:30) Spain remains most popular destination as Britons book later in hope of better deals, Abta report findsBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK’s cost of living squeeze means fewer people plan to ringfence money for holiday abroad next year, the travel industry warned on Tuesday.Despite war, wildfires and EES border checks, the numbers of Britons taking holidays climbed back to pre-pandemic levels this year – but rising costs may mean the numbers have peaked, according to an annual travel industry report. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ex-Chicago detective identified as killing child in 65-year cold case 13. October 2026 (11:30) Police used recently discovered DNA to pin murder of eight-year-old girl on Thomas McInerney, who died in 2006Chicago police on Monday said they recently used newly discovered DNA evidence to tie the 1960 murder of an eight-year-old girl to one of its own former homicide detectives.Thomas McInerney had been dead for 20 years by the time authorities issued a statement identifying him as the killer of Gloria Kowalewicz – well after retiring from the Chicago police department (CPD) and two federal public defender’s offices in Nevada where he worked as an investigator. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Anne Aly reveals she has received 19 death threats in the last week alone 13. October 2026 (11:13) After an opposition MP says she should be ‘shamed and stoned’, the federal minister hits back at ‘racist and misogynistic’ languageGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastAnne Aly has condemned as “racist” and “misogynistic” comments in parliament calling for her to be “stoned in the square” – while revealing she has received 19 death threats in the last week alone.The Gold Coast Liberal National MP Angie Bell, the member for Moncrieff, told the House of Representatives that Aly, the small business minister, and the prime minister should be “shamed and stoned in the square” over a decision made by the tax office. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
