Morning Briefing: Saturday 5 September 2026
- Taxes: The Chancellor is preparing the ground for a “tough” first Budget on 28 October, blaming the war for hitting “inflation… growth… borrowing costs” — the signals point one way.
- Fuel: Brent settled at $96.28 — up 7.8% in a week, its strongest since July — and petrol is already at war-era highs above 163p a litre.
- Rates: A blowout US jobs report has markets pricing a September Fed hike; the Bank of England decides on 17 September with rises priced in — remortgagers should not wait for good news.
US Envoys Arrive in Moscow Today With 'a Proposal to End the War'
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travel to Moscow today to meet Mr Putin, then on to Kyiv — and they are not travelling empty-handed. “They are bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” President Trump said, blaming the deadlock on a “…
Trump Calls Iran War 'Small Potatoes' but Renews Pickaxe Mountain Threat
The president downplayed a war entering its seventh month — “It’s not a big thing… In Venezuela, we lost nobody. In this, we lost 18 people” — endorsing his vice-president’s “I wouldn’t call it a war” framing while insisting “We control th…
Explosion at Bolivian Barracks Kills at Least Two; 10-15 Feared Dead
Stored pyrotechnic material detonated at an artillery regiment’s barracks in Viacha, near La Paz, injuring at least 58 people; two deaths are confirmed and a health official said 10 to 15 are feared dead. Authorities warned of the risk of…
AfD Bids for First Far-Right State Power in Tomorrow's German Vote
Saxony-Anhalt votes tomorrow with the AfD aiming for an outright majority — which would hand the far right state-level power for the first time in Germany’s post-war history, bypassing the “firewall” entirely since no party will govern wit…
UN Votes 164-1 for New World Map Showing Africa's True Size
The General Assembly adopted Togo’s “Correct the Map” resolution, replacing the Mercator projection — which shows Africa comparable to Greenland despite being fourteen times larger — with the Equal Earth projection in institutional use. Br…
Healey Warns of 'Tough' First Budget as War Hits the Economy
The Chancellor used an FT interview to prepare the country for a hard Budget on 28 October: “What’s happening in the Middle East is hitting inflation, it’s hitting growth, it’s hitting borrowing costs.” John Healey pledged a “buffer agains…
Full Met Investigation Into Reform Donations 'Highly Likely'
A full Metropolitan Police investigation into whether Mr Farage, James Orr and Dan Jukes broke political funding law is now “highly likely”, sources say — one option being extension of an existing inquiry into donations channelled through…
Farage Would Pack the Lords and Review How Judges Are Appointed
The constitutional substance of the Reform leader’s conference speech reached beyond the headlines: under his “national emergency”, Parliament would sit “24 hours a day, for six days a week”; an obstructive Lords would face hundreds of new…
Badenoch: Argentina Is a 'Weak Country'; Mail Turns on 'Too Weak' Burnham
The Falklands row sharpened overnight at both ends: Kemi Badenoch dismissed Argentina as “a weak country” over its threats, while the Mail’s front page accused the Prime Minister of being “too weak” to stand up to Buenos Aires. Behind both…
Cambridge Appoints Nazir Afzal to Lead Jason Arday Death Review
Cambridge has asked Nazir Afzal — the former chief crown prosecutor who led the Rochdale grooming prosecutions — to lead the first part of an independent review into the death of Professor Jason Arday, who died last month, nine days after…