Morning Briefing: Tuesday 13 October 2026
- If you heat your home with oil: ministers have accepted that the sector needs regulating, but no price cap is proposed and no date is set. Prices have close to doubled in a year, with one customer quoted 111p a litre. About 1.5 million households rely on it and none is covered by the energy price cap.
- If you have a mortgage: the International Monetary Fund expects inflation to average 3.3% this year and 2.8% next, above the Bank of England’s 2% target, and says core inflation will not return to target until late 2027. A rate-setter argues the growth upgrade is itself a case for higher rates.
- If your child has special educational needs: council deficits are forecast to reach £10bn by 2028, and the accounting rule keeping them off the books expires in April that year. Plans covering 718,000 children are up 12.5% in a year, the sharpest rise since 2014.
Riyadh Targeted a Third Night as Houthis Threaten America
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at the capital and two more fired towards Khamis Mushait. No casualties were reported. Donald Trump said the Houthis were “misbehaving very badly”, and the group replied that Ameri…
Trump Insists the Ceasefire He Announced Is Holding
Asked how he knew Moscow and Kyiv had signed up, the president said: “Well, they agreed, because I said, ‘You agree’.” Pressed on continued Russian strikes, he said there had been “violations on both sides”. The Kremlin has still not said…
Sacked Ukrainian Commander Says Russia Cannot Advance
In his first interview since being removed this summer, General Oleksandr Syrskyi says Ukraine has stabilised the front and broken Russia’s ability to advance. He puts Russian losses at six times Ukraine’s, and says Moscow took a net 61 sq…
The Only Region in the World Forecast to Shrink
The Middle East and Central Asia will contract 0.3% this year, the International Monetary Fund says, against growth of 1.9% it projected in April. Kuwait is forecast to shrink 16.7%, Iraq 16%, Qatar 15.6% and Bahrain 11.3%. No other region…
Five Dead as Two Storms Hit Mexico’s Pacific Coast
Hurricane Simon killed a 71-year-old man when a wall collapsed in Chilpancingo, and Tropical Storm Rachel is blamed for the deaths of four members of one family, including two children, found outside Ensenada. Five people are still missing…
Fund Upgrades Growth and Warns on Inflation
The International Monetary Fund has raised its forecast for British growth this year to 1.3%, from the 1% it expected in July, making the United Kingdom joint second-fastest in the G7. It also expects inflation to average 3.3% this year an…
Six Hundred More Prisoners Released Early Today
About 650 offenders serving up to two and a half years leave jails in England and Wales today, freed after a third of their sentence rather than half. It follows roughly 700 released on 1 October, and the scheme escalates in stages, reachi…
Council Deficits on Special Needs Forecast to Reach £10bn
County councils say deficits on support for children with special educational needs will reach a record £10bn by 2028, describing the position as catastrophic. Ministers recently cleared more than £5bn of historic debt; councils expect to…
Heating Oil Households Face Winter Without a Cap
The government has accepted that the heating oil market needs tighter regulation, promising clearer compensation, more competition and a review of minimum order sizes. It has not proposed a price cap and has set no date. Prices have close…
Violence Plans Shelved on Cost, Southport Inquiry Told
Four Home Office proposals drawn up after the Southport murders — on online risk, prevention partnerships, a national gateway and strengthening Prevent — were not taken forward because they required more money, the inquiry has heard. The d…