Evening Briefing: Sunday 27 September 2026
- Social care: The Prime Minister will fight the next election on a National Care Service for England, free at the point of use. Nothing changes this Parliament, and Baroness Casey’s review has been pulled forward to next summer.
- Tax: He confirmed he will stick to the last manifesto, so rises in income tax, national insurance and VAT stay ruled out until the election. After it, “nothing is off the table”.
- Care workers: Still no decision on settlement. Those on health and social care visas face a fifteen-year wait for permanent residency, and people who arrived in 2022 would otherwise qualify in February 2027.
Revolutionary Guards Threaten US Warships as Far as the Indian Ocean
Iran will strike American warships well beyond the Gulf if Washington resumes attacks, the Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned. “If another war breaks out, we will undoubtedly attack and hit their ships and destroyers even in the Indian O…
Russia Strikes Kyivstar's Headquarters in a Widening War on Ukraine's Internet
The head office of Ukraine’s largest mobile provider was hit on Sunday, the company said, with no casualties reported. Russia’s defence ministry said it had also struck a data centre belonging to Vodafone Ukraine, the second-largest networ…
Swiss Voters Reject Stricter Neutrality in Every Canton
About 70% voted against writing a strict definition of neutrality into the constitution, and every canton rejected it. The proposal, promoted by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, would have required Switzerland to curb cooperation with…
Board of Peace Rules Out Any Role for UNRWA in Gaza
The body overseeing the ceasefire and reconstruction said on Friday it would “only work with trusted partners who will deliver for the people of Gaza and contribute to a deradicalised Strip”, adding that “UNRWA fails on those litmus tests”…
Ethiopia's War Widens Into Afar With Abala Under Siege
Fighting between Afar regional forces and the Tigray front continued for a fourth day along a line running 80 to 90 kilometres, with artillery audible in the hills dividing the two regions. The town of Abala, with a population above 50,000…
Five Held Over Suspected Plot at the Airbase Used to Strike Iran
Armed officers stopped three vans heading for RAF Fairford at about a quarter to one on Sunday morning and arrested five men, first under the Explosives Act and then on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. A major incident was declared,…
The Orange Order Won in Court but Never Walked the Garvaghy Road
Having secured the right to parade at a quarter past two in the morning, the Portadown district never passed along the road. Hundreds of nationalist protesters spent the day blocking the route in driving rain, many linking arms and singing…
Burnham to Fight the Election on a Free National Care Service
The Prime Minister committed to a manifesto promising universally funded social care in England, free at the point of use, and ruled it out for this Parliament because the last manifesto bars rises in income tax, national insurance and VAT…
Manchester Terror Suspects Can Now Be Held Until 4 October
The two men arrested in Manchester on the eve of Yom Kippur over a suspected plot against the city’s Jewish community have been neither charged nor released. Detectives have obtained fresh warrants of further detention and have been grante…
Scores Arrested Under the Terrorism Act Outside Labour's Conference
More than 250 people sat outside the conference centre in Liverpool holding signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Officers warned each of them that they were supporting a proscribed organisation, asked whether they…