English sparkling winemakers expect their earliest grape harvest and a “vintage year” after a scorching summer quickly ripened grapes. However, beer sellers have warned of a potential shortage after record-breaking temperatures and a drought hitting much of England has caused poor yields of barley.more

The state pension is expected to top £13,000 a year, reigniting the debate about its long-term affordability and generational fairness. The full, flat-rate state pension is expected to rise by £488 a year in April, based on the latest official earnings figure released on Tuesday.more

Alcohol buyers will be able to use a digital ID app on their phones to prove their age under new rules introduced on Tuesday. Pubs and shops in England and Wales can use the tech in addition to current physical forms of ID - with the government saying a digital option will make age-checks quicker and more secure for customers and staff.more

Portuguese commentators expect FC Porto player Oskar Pietuszewski to be fit to play in the derby against Benfica Lisbon, scheduled for 20 September. The Polish player has not yet featured this season due to injury.more

The leaders of the governing parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland signed an agreement yesterday in Cardiff on cooperation and working towards secession from the United Kingdom.more

A romance between a Spanish NATO officer and a woman he met online has caused alarm at a British military base, as the security services began to suspect that Janina White, who holds dual Polish and British citizenship, was spying for the Kremlin, the ‘Daily Telegraph’ reported yesterday.more

‘The only oversight AI needs is a strong president,’ US President Donald Trump declared yesterday. He went on to say that there is a ‘sick conspiracy’ against the development of technology and the construction of data centres.more

Inter Milan beat Udinese 5–3 at home in Matchday 4 of the Italian top flight, with Piotr Zieliński providing the assist for the fourth goal. The defending champions have a perfect record, but sit behind Roma in the table, who beat Torino 2–0 away from home.more

A cross-party group of MPs and peers has identified human rights risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), arguing existing laws are ill-equipped to address the technology's rapid growth.more

Troy Meink, the US Secretary for Air Force Affairs, admitted yesterday that the United States possesses ‘space-based weapons’ in Earth’s orbit. He pointed out that these are used to defend against enemy actions.more

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has cancelled his official engagements following the death of his father, who was 85 and had been suffering from Alzheimer’s, Downing Street announced yesterday.more

Barcelona defender Lamine Yamal believes that, alongside himself, the strongest contender for the 2026 Ballon d’Or is Real Madrid’s French striker Kylian Mbappé. “I genuinely believe that the two of us are the best in the world,” he said.more

The average salary for specialists and managers rose by 5 per cent, from nearly 15,700 zł to 16,400 zł gross per month, according to a report published yesterday by Antal. Salaries are rising fastest in sectors such as AI and cybersecurity.more

Lewes in East Sussex has become the first town in England to officially grant rights to its trees, following a local council vote to adopt a new municipal "Tree Charter".more

The rising cost of renting a home in the UK has accelerated after a three-year slowdown - with tenants told to expect more pain to come. Average rental costs for new tenancies were up 2.6% in July compared with a year earlier, according to property website Zoopla.more

TransUnion is overhauling its credit rating system in a bid to make it "clearer, more transparent and informative". The credit agency will soon begin to roll out an expanded scoring system ranging from 0 to 999 - up from 710 currently.more

Following her triumph at the US Open, Elena Rybakina has topped the WTA rankings for the first time in her career. In the ATP rankings, Jannik Sinner remains at the top, although his lead over Alexander Zverev has narrowed significantly. Iga Świątek is ninth, and Hubert Hurkacz is 46th.more

More than 90% of mothers say they are more likely to vote for a party that pledged to overhaul paternity leave. Almost eight in 10 said the same for maternity leave, according to the survey by campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed.more

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that the Russian army is conducting operations across the entire territory of Ukraine and will continue to do so. He was referring to a Russian drone attack on Sunday in western Ukraine, right near the border with Poland.more

People are overestimating how much crime takes place in London and how unsafe residents feel, according to research by King's College London. Researchers found that respondents thought that 30% of Londoners had personally experienced a crime in the year between October 2024 and September 2025, when the reality was 12.2%, according to ONS figures.more

In the Manchester football derby, the highlight of Matchday 4 of the English Premier League, City beat United 1–0 away from home. The winning goal was scored in the 60th minute by the Norwegian Erling Haaland.more

Canada is in talks with the EU regarding its participation in a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine, according to the ‘Financial Times’. Ottawa and Brussels aim to agree on the amount of this contribution ahead of the Canada-EU summit, which is due to take place in Montreal at the end of October.more

In an interview with the BBC today, the Polish Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, did not rule out the possibility that Russia may have deliberately targeted the train carrying diplomats from Kyiv to Poland. He emphasised that, in response to Russia’s hybrid attacks, Europe should “stay the course” and support Ukraine.more

US President Donald Trump’s comments expressing support for Irish reunification were not made in passing, and during his visit to Dublin he raised the issue with the Irish President and Prime Minister, the Irish ‘Sunday Independent’ reported yesterday, citing government sources.more

Defending champions Barcelona, with Wojciech Szczęsny on the substitutes’ bench, have won all their matches after five rounds of the Spanish top-flight football league. Yesterday, the “Pride of Catalonia” beat Levante 4–2 away from home.more