Revealed: Government quietly dropped plan to prepare England for wildfires 04. October 2026 (09:00) FOI request shows wildfire risk scheme scrapped, as survey highlights many fire services lack proper protective gearThe government quietly scrapped plans to prepare the countryside in England for wildfires, it has been revealed. This was despite new data showing fire crews do not have the proper protective gear to tackle them.This summer has been a potent reminder of the scale of the threat posed by the climate crisis, with the UK experiencing record-breaking wildfires after punishingly hot and dry weather turned large parts of the countryside into a tinderbox. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia investigating Flydubai co-pilot's links to country 04. October 2026 (08:19) State police and the country's security agency are looking into the co-pilot, who attempted to take control of a Flydubai plane travelling to Israel.(BBC News)
Party conference will be more upbeat than last year, Tories say – but that’s not the whole story 04. October 2026 (08:00) The mood is better but ‘overhyped’, says one Conservative MP as party remains a distant third in pollsThe forthcoming Conservative conference will be, almost everyone in the party agrees, notably more upbeat and unified than last year. There is a similar consensus that Kemi Badenoch is doing well as party leader. That is, however, not the whole story.“The mood is better but the facts are still very poor,” one Conservative MP said. “We are still a distant third in the polls, and if there was an election tomorrow we would lose, and badly. That means the mood is overhyped.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘You have 10 minutes to decide’: answering the life-changing call to become a kinship carer 04. October 2026 (08:00) Those who have stepped in to keep young family members from going into care in England and Wales say the decision has brought them joy and hardshipClive vividly remembers the day when, without warning or time to work out what he was really letting himself in for, he became a kinship carer.“The social worker left, the door closed and Savannah was lying there in a carry cot, wrapped up in a pink blanket. She looked so calm and so comfy, absolutely oblivious about what’s just happened. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Burn Brexit, burn, signals Burnham — the City is with him 04. October 2026 (07:01) Across London, businesses are breathing a collective sigh of relief at the prospect of closer ties with the EU, writes Chris Blackhurst (London News)
