Updated Return on Investment for Preparedness to Respond Study - UN World Food Programme

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2 hours agoIsabella BonehamWest MidlandsBBCSteven Cooper said hospices "can help such a lot" and "need the funding"A man living with stage-four cancer has taken a petition signed by more than 103,000 people to Downing Street, urging the Prime Minister to make hospice funding a national priority. Steven Cooper received care at The Shakespeare Hospice in Stratford-upon-Avon and The Myton Hospice in Warwick after being told he only had months, and then days to live. He delivered the petition on Tuesday alongside hospice leaders, politicians and others whose lives have been touched by hospice services. He said: "I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for hospices - they need funding. Hospices can help such a lot and can take the pressure off hospitals". The petition, which has been backed by more than 103,000 people nationwide, including almost 12,000 in the Midlands, is asking Prime Minister Andy Burnham for sustainable hospice funding to be made a national priority. According to Hospice UK, three quarters of hospices in England were already running at a deficit as of February this year and nearly six in 10 have either made or are considering cuts to frontline services.

Both candidates for the Brazilian presidency have called for the disqualification of their rivals over allegations of social media interference, ramping up political drama ahead of the close-fought October 25 runoff election. Brazil’s right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro has requested the annulment of the candidacy of his rival, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, over what he called unlawful propaganda. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Lula and Bolsonaro spar in Brazil’s fiery first presidential run-off debatelist 2 of 3Brazilian court orders Meta to prove Lula and Bolsonaro get equal treatmentlist 3 of 3Lula challenges Bolsonaro to release personal records before electionend of listLawyers for Bolsonaro filed a request with the Superior Electoral Court on Tuesday, alleging Lula’s “abuse of power” in the mass dissemination of government postings during the campaign period via WhatsApp. Bolsonaro’s camp claimed the Brazilian government sent mass messages to millions of Brazilians via the messaging service, promoting social programmes, benefits and government initiatives in the midst of the presidential race, Brazilian media reported.

As Brussels works on closer ties with both countries, it is also looking for partners to help meet Kyiv’s rising costs. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country is likely to face requests for more Ukraine support, acknowledges MEPs as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen applauds in the hemicycle at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Sept. 17, 2026. | Jean-Christophe Verhagen/AFP via Getty Images

A drone strike on a market in a border region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan killed at least 153 people on Monday, according to a local official, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks. The strike pushed the toll from attacks in recent days to more than 250, underscoring the lethality of airstrikes in Sudan’s war, which ⁠erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces ⁠and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Yohanna Akol Ngor, the Abyei administration’s caretaker information minister, blamed Sudan’s military, without providing evidence, for Monday’s attack on Amiet market, north of Abyei town. “We have recorded 153 deaths,” Akol said. Sudan’s military did not respond to a request for comment. A witness said he heard five large explosions that led to a fuel depot nearby catching fire. “People started evacuating the casualties. They ​had injuries from shrapnel on their stomach and legs … In one site, I saw 28 bodies that were burnt,” the witness said, asking not to be named for safety reasons.