Category: News Story

STORY

British businesses are to be given greater access to the expertise of UK diplomats as part of a new Government programme intended to help companies expand into international markets. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has launched the Global Network Programme, which will bring together business leaders, diplomats and international partners to help firms identify overseas opportunities and understand the risks associated with operating in different markets.

Participants will receive advice from ambassadors, senior policymakers and academics on subjects including international trade, geopolitics, security and emerging technology. Overseas officials, businesses and civil society organisations will also participate, with the Government saying the programme should help British companies build international networks and make better informed investment decisions. UK diplomats will meanwhile gain greater insight into the challenges faced by businesses seeking to expand abroad.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said stronger international networks and a better understanding of economic and geopolitical developments would be increasingly important for British businesses. Sessions will be held at FCDO venues including King Charles Street, Wilton Park and Lancaster House, with the scheme forming part of the department’s Diplomatic College and its wider FCDO2030 modernisation programme.

STORY

Donald Trump has been mocked after suggesting that the United States could rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America”, as criticism grows that the President’s increasingly confrontational approach towards traditional allies is damaging America’s international reputation. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US was giving “serious consideration” to changing the lake’s name because he did not expect the country to be doing much business with Ontario in future. The proposal was quickly met with ridicule and bemusement online, with critics describing it as childish and absurd.

The intervention came during a rapidly escalating trade dispute between the United States and Canada, after talks collapsed and Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50% on billions of dollars of Canadian goods. Canada has responded with retaliatory tariffs, while Prime Minister Mark Carney has accused the Trump administration of attempting to subordinate his country and interfere with Canadian protections for French language and culture. Lake Ontario itself crosses the US Canadian border and is jointly managed by the two countries, meaning Trump could change the name used by US federal agencies but could not compel Canada or international organisations to adopt it.

The episode has also fed a wider debate in the United States about the reputational and strategic damage caused by Washington’s increasingly hostile rhetoric towards allies. Republican politicians and former senior US military figures have criticised recent attacks on Canada as embarrassing and harmful to American interests, pointing to Canada’s long standing role as a NATO ally, NORAD partner and military partner in conflicts including Afghanistan. The dispute now extends well beyond a row about the name of a lake, with critics arguing that repeated threats and insults risk weakening trust in the United States among countries which have traditionally regarded Washington as their closest ally.

STORY

The UK has called for an immediate humanitarian truce in Sudan followed by a permanent ceasefire and an inclusive civilian led political process, warning that the conflict has created what it described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Britain told the UN Security Council that 33 million people now require humanitarian assistance, while civilians continue to face attacks, torture, arbitrary detention, sexual violence and the loss of essential services.

UK Permanent Representative to the UN Dame Sarah MacIntosh said responsibility for ending the conflict ultimately rested with Sudan’s military leaders, fighters and those financing and supplying the war. She said Britain supported efforts by the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to broker a humanitarian truce, alongside wider international attempts to establish an inclusive Sudanese political dialogue. The UK also called for restrictions on the flow of weapons, stronger sanctions and greater pressure on those responsible for attacks on civilians.

The Government said Britain was providing $200 million in humanitarian assistance to Sudan this year, intended to reach more than 1.8 million people with food, healthcare, clean water, nutrition and protection services. MacIntosh also called on all parties to allow rapid and unrestricted humanitarian access, saying families were starving and aid workers remained under attack. She said the UK would continue supporting mediation efforts, sanctions against those responsible for atrocities and work to gather evidence for potential accountability through international bodies including the International Criminal Court.

STORY

UK Minister for the Indo Pacific Rosie Winterton has called for continued peaceful dialogue between Cambodia and Thailand during her first overseas visit in the role, as Britain reiterated its support for the December 2025 ceasefire between the two countries.

Winterton is visiting Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey and Phnom Penh, where she is expected to meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. The visit will include discussions on trade and investment, development and human rights, as well as the UK’s support for communities affected by the recent border conflict. In Oddar Meanchey, the minister will visit an education programme supporting children displaced by the fighting and meet organisations involved in humanitarian mine clearance.

The Government said the UK has supported demining work in Cambodia for more than three decades and announced a further £1.6 million for mine clearance and risk education in May. Winterton said Cambodia was important to UK security and prosperity and that Britain remained committed to stability, long term development and a peaceful region. She is also expected to sign an education agreement intended to strengthen links between British and Cambodian institutions.

STORY

The UK is to allow classified information about British missile components to be released to help Ukraine establish production lines for long range weapons, following Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first overseas visit since taking office.

The Government said defence company MBDA would be permitted to share information relating to British components used in the SCALP long range cruise missile. The agreement is intended to allow more of the weapons to be assembled in Ukraine and strengthen the country’s ability to maintain its own missile supply.

Burnham announced the move during a visit to Kyiv for Ukrainian Independence Day, where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and chaired a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing. Russia criticised the decision and warned that missile production facilities would be considered military targets, while Burnham said Britain would continue supporting Ukraine despite what he described as threats from Moscow.

STORY

The Government has called on social media companies to remove material which glorifies dangerous driving following the A66 collision near Middlesbrough in which seven people died.

Two police officers and five occupants of another vehicle were killed when a car travelling on the wrong side of the dual carriageway collided with a police vehicle. Police have subsequently made 12 arrests as part of an investigation into suspected organised crime connected with events surrounding the collision.

Downing Street described the online glorification of dangerous driving for entertainment as disgraceful, while ministers said platforms should enforce their existing rules against harmful content. There is no evidence that the fatal collision itself was being filmed for social media, but the incident has renewed concern about videos showing high speed driving, police pursuits and other dangerous behaviour being circulated online.

STORY

The Treasury has launched an independent review of the way pubs and hotels are valued for business rates following concerns from businesses about sharp increases in rateable values.

Business rates specialist Jerry Schurder will lead the review, which will examine whether the existing valuation methodology remains appropriate and how the system could be made clearer and fairer. Publicans, brewers, hotel operators and other interested groups have been invited to submit evidence before the consultation closes on 16 October.

The review will report by the end of March 2027, although any accepted changes would not affect current business rates bills and would instead be introduced at the next revaluation. The Government has said pubs, social clubs and live music venues will separately receive a 20% reduction in business rates bills from April 2027.

STORY

Millions of women in England are to be offered free home testing kits for the virus that causes almost all cervical cancers as the NHS attempts to increase screening rates.

Women aged between 30 and 65 who are not up to date with cervical screening will be able to carry out a vaginal swab themselves before returning the sample to an NHS laboratory. Kits will be available through the NHS app and website, while some eligible women will receive invitations by text, email or letter.

Around four million eligible women are currently not up to date with cervical screening and uptake is below the NHS target. The programme is intended to remove some of the practical and personal barriers associated with attending a conventional screening appointment and forms part of the NHS ambition to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2040.

STORY

Young people are being prevented from taking up jobs because of lengthy waits for driving tests, according to new research from the Centre for Social Justice. Analysis of Department for Transport data by the think tank found that learners in England faced an average wait of 20.8 weeks for a practical car test in July 2026, compared with around five weeks in 2020. The CSJ said test availability remained extremely limited, with only 7.7% of slots across English test centres available on average during 2026.

The organisation said the backlog was particularly significant for young people who are not in employment, education or training because many jobs require applicants to hold a driving licence. Research cited by the CSJ found that 17.4% of job vacancies required applicants to be able to drive, rising to 34% of roles in care and social work and 68% of plumbing vacancies. Nearly one in five unemployed people also reported having turned down a job or decided not to apply because of transport difficulties. The proportion of 17 to 20 year olds in England holding a full car licence has fallen from 48% in 1994 to 29% in 2024.

The CSJ has called for accredited employers to be allowed to conduct car driving tests for employees who require a licence for their work, through an expansion of the existing Delegated Examiner Scheme. It also proposed regional testing hubs involving employers and further education colleges and allowing vocational and apprenticeship funding to help cover the cost of driving tests. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has been recruiting additional examiners and changing booking rules in an attempt to reduce waiting times, with 1,604 full time equivalent examiners in post by April 2026, its highest level since March 2018.