Burnham to pass law scrapping pension triple lock before next election

• Iran prepared for an escalation of tensions on October 1, 2026, contributing to a rise in global energy prices. • Brent crude oil prices topped $102 per barrel as geopolitical risks increased.

• Government and business leaders met at the Council on Foreign Relations during the UN General Assembly to discuss global security and financial reform. • Former Ghanaian President John Mahama highlighted the Accra Reset initiative to expand vaccine and medicine production across Africa.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly pressed for an end to the conflict in Ukraine. • Modi told reporters that both President Putin and President Zelenskyy have spoken with him to share their perspectives on the war.

Five defendants accused of being part of ‘black team’ tasked with overcoming security at Israel-linked firm Elbit near BristolPalestine Action activists brandished whips, hammers and kebab skewers to intimidate security guards and keep them at bay during a break-in at an Israel-linked arms factory, a court has heard.Five defendants are accused by prosecutors of being part of a “black team”, wearing black jumpsuits, whose role was to overwhelm security guards, so that a “red team”, wearing red jumpsuits, could break into the Elbit systems factory in Filton, near Bristol, and smash up equipment including drones. Continue reading...

Leaders agree a coordinated drawdown within four months as rising prices put pressure on households and economiesLeaders of G7 nations are to release up to 100m barrels of their emergency diesel and crude oil stockpiles after coming under pressure from Donald Trump to ease surging fuel prices.The drawdown of reserves from some of the world’s largest economies will be coordinated by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and will take place within four months, according to France’s president, Emmanuel Macron. Continue reading...

Opposition lawmakers joined forces to defeat proposals made by Socialist-led coalition after eviction of 87-year-oldRightwing lawmakers in Spain have joined forces to reject emergency measures put forward to tackle the country’s housing crisis, pitting a fractured parliament against the widespread protest movement that has swelled in recent days.As protesters outside the parliament building in Madrid held up homemade signs bearing images of vultures, the conservative People’s party, the far-right Vox and the Catalan pro-independence party Junts voted against a package of decrees by Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist-led coalition that included a ban on evictions until 2030 and the regulation of temporary lettings and lettings by room. Continue reading...

The 1938 mansion, Casa Encantada, once belonged to Conrad Hilton and was sold at foreclosure auctionTech billionaire Peter Thiel has been revealed as the new owner of a storied Bel-Air estate that quietly sold in July for a staggering $130m.The 1938 mansion, Casa Encantada, was sold at an open-air foreclosure auction in Pomona, with the name of the buyer kept under wraps for months. The winning bid is now revealed to have come from a limited liability company linked to the venture capitalist and PayPal and Palantir co-founder, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the buyer’s identity. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Education secretary sends Ofsted back to ‘drawing board’ as teachers raise ‘serious concerns’ about new systemSchool inspections in England will be overhauled for the second time in a year, after a barrage of complaints that the new system was dangerously stressful and damaging teachers’ mental health.Lucy Powell, the education secretary, will tell the schools regulator Ofsted to “go back to the drawing board” after becoming concerned that inspection changes overseen by her predecessor, Bridget Phillipson, were creating problems for headteachers. Continue reading...

Rolling stock companies, which also paid out nearly £400m to shareholders, accused of profiting at passengers’ expenseThe chief executives of three firms that rent out trains to Britain’s railways were paid a combined £3.5m last year as they passed on almost £400m to shareholders in dividends.Rail unions accused the rolling stock companies (Roscos) of raking in profits at passengers’ expense. Continue reading...

Questions raised over cockpit locks and screening of pilots as UAE investigates details and motives of near disasterAt around 9.30 on Wednesday morning local time, Tali Manes was taking her six-year-old daughter Nina to the toilet on the regular flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv when she heard a series of heavy blows against the cockpit door.Manes, an Israeli bank executive, immediately told a flight attendant seated nearby that something was wrong. When he didn’t react, she shouted at him: “Something is happening in there!” Seconds later, the man “simply went to the [cockpit] door and opened it”, Manes told Israel’s Channel 12 TV. Continue reading...

US says ship thought to be using common ‘dark fleet’ tactics was boarded and taken to Mexico as embargo continuesThe US Coast ⁠Guard has announced that it intercepted a large cargo ship carrying fuel bound for Cuba, as the ⁠Trump administration’s crippling ⁠oil embargo against ​the island nation continued.The vessel named Grace was stopped on 5 September in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba ⁠and Mexico while using tactics to evade authorities, the Coast Guard said. The New York Times reported that the ship ⁠was 91 metres (300ft) long. Continue reading...