‘I can deliver’: Burnham pledges radical change on eve of Labour conference
Posted on Saturday September 26, 2026

Exclusive: UK prime minister says delivering fiscal stability would be ‘crucial’ to be able to fix bigger problems

Andy Burnham has said he can deliver on his promise of radical change for the country despite severe economic headwinds, telling the Guardian: “There’s always things you can do; it’s just whether you’re prepared to do them.”

The prime minister acknowledged public finances were “challenging” ahead of next month’s budget but said delivering fiscal stability would be “crucial”, because only then would the government be able to focus on fixing bigger problems.

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Three-quarters of UK’s popular plug-in hybrid cars unable to use rapid chargers
Posted on Saturday September 26, 2026

Only 26% of PHEVs sold across top 20 models can use chargers with power of 50kW or more, analysis finds

Three-quarters of the 20 top-selling plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in the UK cannot use rapid chargers, research has found, amid concerns that many are essentially “petrol cars pulling round a heavy battery”.

The cars, which can run on electric batteries as well as combustion engines, have been promoted by carmakers as a way to cover long distances in a single drive – unlike fully electric cars – while still reducing emissions.

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Work intensifying on UK laws to stamp out concert ticket touts, say sources
Posted on Saturday September 26, 2026

Artists including Tinie Tempah and the Smiths’ drummer Mike Joyce ramp up pressure on government to keep its pledge to outlaw for-profit resales

The government has stepped up work on new laws to stop ticket touts fleecing fans, as the prime minister came under pressure from artists including the drummer from the Smiths, one of his favourite bands.

Keir Starmer said last year that the government would “stop fans from being ripped off” by outlawing the for-profit resale of tickets on sites such as Viagogo and StubHub, a pledge Labour first made in its 2024 election manifesto.

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London transfer: is it time to kill off the Heathrow Express?
Posted on Saturday September 26, 2026

With fares high and passenger numbers low, plans for a third runway could bring the train’s future into question

If Heathrow finally builds its third runway, Londoners can expect hundreds more planes flying overhead each day. But greater congestion on the ground will be a problem too. Under Heathrow’s £33bn expansion plan, 100,000-200,000 more passengers would eventually be travelling to or from the airport each day.

The most eye-catching problem has been moving part of the UK’s busiest motorway, the M25, to make space for a new 2.2-mile (3.5km) runway. A thornier one may be getting motorists out of their cars, and finding more sustainable ways for the extra passengers – and thousands of staff – to travel to and from Heathrow.

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OpenAI says agents leaked 53 images from ChatGPT users in latest example of rogue activity
Posted on Saturday September 26, 2026

Disclosure reveals ⁠new area of privacy risk for the company and illustrates ​how difficult it is to inventory unauthorized activity tied to its agents

Two ⁠months after OpenAI disclosed the accidental hacking of Hugging Face, the ChatGPT maker is still working to understand the full scope of its rogue agent activity, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The latest example came on Friday when OpenAI said its agents had leaked 53 images from ChatGPT users. OpenAI declined to say if the images were AI-generated or identified real people. It also declined to ⁠say when the images were posted.

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Pope Leo warns of AI threat to humanity at start of three-day France visit
Posted on Friday September 25, 2026

Pontiff says artificial intelligence must remain at service of people in first official papal visit to country in 18 years

Pope Leo has warned against losing humanity in a “paradise of machines” as he addressed global concerns over the dangers of artificial intelligence at the start of a three-day visit to France.

“If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for people to be educated in ethical discernment, capable of seeing what is morally right,” he said in a speech at the Élysée.

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England 2-3 Spain: Nations League football – as it happened
Posted on Saturday September 26, 2026

England were 2-1 up when Harry Kane’s penalty hit the bar; the world champions made them pay

England are about to face the hardest challenge in international football, maybe at any level of the game. They are going to try to score against Spain. Spain conceded one goal in eight games on the way to winning the World Cup while allowing their opponents 2.37 expected goals, a mere 0.30 per 90 minutes played.

Thomas Tuchel has said he hoped his side “became for 10 minutes more like Spain” to comfortably dominate possession when the heat was on. A fine aspiration for those situations, but it is not an approach that will help England unlock the Spain backline. The pass masters cannot be toppled that way. The solution may lie elsewhere within the same Tuchel press conference.

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Republic of Ireland’s Gavin Bazunu boycotts Israel match ‘as a person of principle’
Posted on Saturday September 26, 2026

• Bolton goalkeeper issues statement after withdrawal

• Ireland players will wear black armbands in match

The Republic of Ireland will fulfil their fixture against Israel in Hungary on Sunday night, but only after lengthy deliberations between the players resulted in a “significant majority” voting to play. The Bolton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, however, will not be involved, after pulling out in protest.

After a week in which the Irish team and officials have come under increasing domestic pressure to boycott the match due to Israel’s military actions in Gaza, training was delayed by five hours on Saturday while the squad discussed whether to go ahead.

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