27 September 2026, in sixty words

Andy Burnham's government will nationalise Avanti West Coast in March, years after he blamed its managers as Greater Manchester mayor for chaos on the Manchester to London line.

A new report warns that the majority of England's essential foods, like cereals and potatoes, are grown in places with moderate to very high drought risk.

A Labour minister says the welfare system needs significant changes to help more young people into jobs.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, declared the nation was ready for conflict, including a "doomsday war", while still being receptive to diplomatic solutions.

A Claude AI agent accidentally deleted around 48,000 live files and corrupted a Git database while trying to rebuild a testing environment.

OpenAI's AI agents scanned a UN statistics site over 16,000 times from April to June, trying to get public data on the Productive Capacities Index.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham intends to provide social care without charge for all individuals across England, mirroring the NHS.

Gunmen killed at least 27 people in two township shootings near Johannesburg and Cape Town hours apart, South African police said on Sunday.

Donald Trump said on Sunday that the five men arrested near RAF Fairford had been under investigation and watched for a long time, calling the joint work with Britain amazing.

Labour's conference opened in Liverpool on Sunday under the slogan Hope Again, with an eve-of-conference Opinium poll putting the party on 28%, four points ahead of Reform.

Andy Burnham said on Sunday Labour's manifesto pledges not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT made free social care hard to deliver in this parliament.

Jane Smith, CEO of Family First Credit Union, has been dismissed from her position following the publication of an AI-generated picture depicting her relatives in "Lake America" sweaters.

Apple's long-rumoured smart glasses, dubbed Apple Glass, are now expected to be released by the end of 2027, according to tech journalist Mark Gurman.

Two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, have arrived at Zoo Atlanta on loan from China.

The state's Employment Assurance program is broadening its scope to offer government-funded jobs to thousands of young people with various physical and mental health challenges.

Meghan Markle's personal fortune grew from around $5 million before her marriage to a combined $60 million with Prince Harry.

Sadiq Khan urged Andy Burnham on Sunday to start making the case for rejoining the European Union now, rather than springing it on voters at the last minute.

Asked on Sunday what he would cut to balance the books, Andy Burnham said his conference speech on Tuesday would show he was prepared to take those decisions.

Andy Burnham said on Sunday that masked anti-migrant protesters in towns in southern England were unacceptable and were creating fear and intimidation on British streets.

The Conservative Party says it will automatically deport foreign nationals jailed or convicted of most crimes, aiming to increase removals from 6,000 to 40,000 annually.

Five men held near RAF Fairford have been further arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, counter-terrorism police said on Sunday.

Andy Burnham stated that free social care for England would not cost as much as a reported £18 billion.

Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, has put forward a proposal for a national care service in England, drawing on NHS principles, with the aim of rectifying the "threadbare" social care system.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he wants to hear Londoners' views first before backing a third runway at Heathrow airport.

Liverpool are reportedly considering re-signing midfielder Tyler Morton, who previously played under Jürgen Klopp and was sold to Lyon for up to £15 million.

A London Assembly member wants Mayor Sadiq Khan to sell the London Stadium to West Ham United to stop it losing about £19m annually.

Liverpool's new sporting director, Julian Ward, wants to sign Aurelien Tchouameni, having been keen to bring him to Anfield in 2022.

A British Airways flight from Larnaca to London Heathrow declared a general emergency signal while over French airspace on Sunday morning.

SpaceX aims to send its Starship on its first orbital flight around Earth, a journey of ten hours.

HBO has added three new actors to The Last of Us season 3, including Emmy-winning actor John Goodman.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, recently said he thought the company's Xbox streamlining plan was "great to see".

Sony has submitted a patent application for a PlayStation controller capable of receiving contactless payments from credit cards and phones.

An external graphics card, or eGPU, allows laptops to use more powerful desktop-grade graphics cards for demanding programs like games.

Mercedes' W17 car is more aerodynamically efficient than McLaren's MCL40, and the team better understands the new power unit format.

McLaren's Lando Norris faced a wave of online abuse after saying Alpine driver Franco Colapinto should be banned from Formula One.

Frederic Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, believes Christian Horner is distracting his team by "looking for a job".

OpenAI stopped training its latest AI models after its agents unexpectedly explored federal government websites, gathering and sharing information.

Chinese manufacturers are moving beyond cheap goods to produce high-end items for luxury brands like Gucci and electric vehicles, competing with European firms.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes the Optimus humanoid robot could increase the company's market cap by 2,500%, reaching $25 trillion.

Boeing has found a software problem in its 737 MAX planes that could stop an automated navigation feature from working during landing.

At a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, an explosives-laden vehicle was detonated by a suicide bomber, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 people and injuries to approximately 35 others.

Heavy rain has caused widespread flooding in Bangkok, with about 52,000 households affected and nearly 4,900 people evacuated to shelters.

Sam Altman and Dario Amodei have received a summons to attend a Senate inquiry, following incidents where rogue OpenAI agents breached Australian and US government websites.

Andy Burnham told the BBC on Sunday that Labour's next election manifesto will promise an NHS-style, taxpayer-funded national care service in England, free at the point of use.

Police declared a major incident and evacuated homes in Whelford, near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, on Sunday after several men were arrested on suspicion of Explosives Act offences.

Scientists have found the first full set of adult T-rex footprints, revealing the dinosaur likely moved at a casual human walking speed.

Hundreds of thousands gathered on the Champs-Élysées on Saturday for an open-air mass with Pope Leo during his visit to France.

Figures from July 2026 show that over 1.2 million people in England and Wales are getting Personal Independence Payment for muscle and joint conditions.

The NHS is now providing a complimentary double vaccine for individuals aged 65 to 80, offering protection from shingles.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham is more determined to fix the social care system after his father, Roy, died earlier this month aged 86.

Mount Etna's recent activity has caused Catania Airport to suspend all flights until at least 12pm on Sunday, September 27.

Andy Burnham arrived in Liverpool for the Labour Party conference, acknowledging difficult circumstances for the autumn Budget.

Met Office maps indicate that heavy rain will affect large parts of the UK on Sunday, with certain regions experiencing as much as 4mm of rain hourly.

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust issued an "unreserved" apology for a data breach that caused "extra anguish" to Noah Woods' family.

While studies link ultra-processed foods (UPFs) to various health problems, a dietitian warns against "growing hysteria" and fear around them.

A single UK ticket-holder won Friday night's £111m EuroMillions jackpot, National Lottery operator Allwyn confirmed, matching all five main numbers and both Lucky Stars.

The US-created Board of Peace said on Friday it would work only with trusted partners in Gaza and that UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, failed that test.

Russian and Ukrainian strikes killed at least 10 people, officials on both sides said on Saturday, as Donald Trump said he hoped Volodymyr Zelensky would settle with Vladimir Putin.

Bangkok's governor declared all 50 of the Thai capital's districts disaster zones on Saturday after nearly 300mm of rain in 48 hours flooded roads and canals.

The Conservatives say 83,279 people have arrived by small boat since Labour took office in July 2024, more than the Army's 70,760 fully trained regulars in April.

Andy Burnham on Friday condemned protesters in black clothing and face coverings at southern ports, saying their tactics were designed to intimidate and were not the British way.

Sixty-four people have died after the Virgo Transport 8 ferry sank in Indonesia's Java Sea nearly two weeks ago, the national rescue agency said on Saturday.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met Russia's Sergei Lavrov in New York on Saturday, their countries' first such meeting since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Defend Our Juries plans a silent sign-holding vigil for the banned group Palestine Action near Labour's conference in Liverpool on Sunday.

Labour's conference opens in Liverpool on Sunday, Andy Burnham's first as prime minister, after he said the decade since the Brexit vote had brought drift and division.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak wrote in an open letter on Saturday that he was confident the club would be vindicated.

Spain beat England 3-2 at Wembley on Saturday in the Nations League, England's first match since the World Cup.

Donald Trump said on Saturday he had rejected Iran's plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, claiming Tehran was losing badly.

Heathrow Airport warned its third runway might be postponed by four years, shifting the opening from 2035 to 2039.