annual

Aug. 17 (UPI) — Britain’s Reform U.K. party said Monday that it would slash almost $68B from welfare, were it to win power at the next election.

The largest single ticket-items, saving $58.3 billion, would come from halting welfare payments to non-citizens and a shake up of disability and ill-health benefits.

Cutting off nationals of other countries, including those with settled status and resident EU nationals would save $28.5 billion by year five, according to Reform, but would breach the country’s 2019 Brexit deal with Brussels and would therefore require it to be renegotiated.

Foreign nationals would become ineligible for six main benefits from the state including “universal credit,” housing payments, free childcare and unemployment, child and disability checks.

All families whose children were born in Britain would continue to receive payments for each child under 16 [under 20 if in non-higher education or training] and free school meals for those with after-tax household incomes of $10,000 or less.

Danny Kruger, Reform’s work and pensions spokesman, told BBC’s Breakfast program it was fair that people requiring welfare should have it paid by the country of which they are a citizen.

“I’d understand if the Europeans decided to apply the same principle that we are and to deny our nationals access to their welfare system and we will pay for that ourselves.”

Kruger acknowledged that many settled overseas nationals living in Britain would simply apply for — and would likely be granted — British citizenship, insisting that the savings calculated took account of that scenario.

He said the plan had also taken into account that the EU would likely take reciprocal action, halting welfare payments to Britons who had not become citizens of the EU country where they were living.

The other biggest area of savings — $29.8 billion — would come from reforming disability benefits, including scrapping so-called personal independence payments for disabled people and replacing them with another cash benefit available only to those deemed “gravely ill and severely challenged.”

Kruger stressed that Reform accepted some people were unable to ever work, saying that those people would continue to be properly supported and would no longer be required to repeatedly be assessed to see if they were still eligible.

The pro-EU Best For Britain group criticized Reform’s plan, in particular the potential negative impact on relations with the EU.

“Our polling shows that people do want to renegotiate our relationship with Europe, but by moving closer, not by damaging ties with vital allies and punishing our neighbours, colleagues and friends who have settled status here,” said policy executive director Tom Brufatto.

Labour MP Rachael Maskell was critical of the targeting of disability benefits.

“When Pip helps people go to work, play a role in our society and simply live, threatening to remove Pip demonstrates that Reform do not want disabled people to play a full role in our society,” said Maskell who previously led a rebellion by Labour backbenchers against efforts by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer to cut welfare.

In April, the Office for Budget Responsibility said it expected Britain’s welfare bill for 2025-2026 to hit $452.4 billion, equivalent to 10.6% of GDP, and accounting around 24% of all government spending.

However, more than half of all welfare spending goes on pensioners, nearly all of it on the State Pension, an inflation-protected pension which people pay into until they retire and is topped up by the government.

WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday passed a defense policy bill that incorporates President Trump’s request for a historic $1.15 trillion in spending for national security and would designate the Department of Defense as the Department of War.

It also would provide for a pay raise next year ranging from 5% to 7% for service members, depending upon their rank.

The National Defense Authorization Act is generally one of the more bipartisan bills that Congress takes up on an annual basis. That’s not the case this year. The vote was 216-212.

Democrats took issue with steep spending increases for the Pentagon as Republicans attempted to cut numerous non-defense programs through other bills. They also opposed some of the conservative social policy riders that were included.

For example, the bill includes a prohibition on gender-related medical care under the military health program known as TRICARE. It also eases hurdles for service members to carry a privately owned firearm on base, following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s lead on the issue.

Republican leaders’ decision to attach Trump’s elections overhaul bill to the defense bill upon its passing also amplified the partisan divide. Speaker Mike Johnson is working to accommodate Republican lawmakers who are angry that the Senate won’t pass the SAVE America Act and are insisting that it be included in must-pass bills until the Senate relents.

House bill tests a normally bipartisan process

Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he knows there were areas of disagreement, but emphasized that Wednesday’s vote was a step in a long process. He promised to work in a bipartisan manner on a final product that can pass both chambers and be signed into law.

Rogers said the United States needs to reverse decades of underinvestment and neglect in the nation’s armed forces and defense industrial base.

“This bill will do that and much more,” he said. “It will build the ready, capable and lethal fighting force we need to deter China and other adversaries.”

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democratic lawmaker on the Armed Services Committee, said the defense spending the administration has asked for this year is approaching $1.6 trillion including separate efforts to pay for the war in Iran and boost weapons stockpiles.

“The American people are struggling to pay their bills and we’re going to put $1.6 trillion into the defense budget. It’s not a reasonable thing to ask,” Smith said.

Smith also expressed concern about the war with Iran and that in supporting the defense bill, lawmakers are “de facto supporting this war with no end in sight.”

“We are in an incredibly, incredibly dangerous time,” Smith said. “I want to maintain the bipartisan nature of this bill. I do. And I know that the chairman does. But if we’re going to do this, we’re going to need some Republicans to stand up to the president of the United States and say, ‘No. No, we’re not going to get you $1.6 trillion. No, we’re not just going to give you a blank check for a war that is totally out of control.‘”

White House backs parts of the legislation

The spending increases authorized in the bill would not take effect until Congress follows up with a separate defense appropriations bill. The Senate has not yet approved its version of the defense measure. It’s possible a final product won’t be ready until after the midterm elections.

The White House applauded the spending levels authorized in the House bill and the Department of War designation that it says recognizes the “willingness to fight and win wars on behalf of our nation.”

The president issued an executive order last year renaming the Defense Department, but it’s up to Congress to make the change official. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the renaming could cost taxpayers as much as $125 million.

The White House’s statement also said that the administration has a number of concerns with certain provisions in the bill and would work with Congress before a final bill is presented to the president. Among those concerns was a section of the bill it said would limit or undermine the president’s ability to name military installations and property.

In 2023, during a national reckoning on issues of race in America, seven Army bases’ names were changed because they honored Confederate leaders. Last year, those bases reverted to their original names, but with different namesakes who share Confederate surnames. The Army found other service members with the same last names to honor.

Freking writes for the Associated Press.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is moving at light speed toward its Sept. 22 opening, announced Thursday that it will give free annual passes to its South L.A. neighbors living in the 90037 ZIP Code. The 300,000-square-foot, $1-billion museum located in Exposition Park will also host a special community preview day on Sept. 13, more than a week before the general public gets to step inside.

The 90037 ZIP Code has a population of more than 65,000 and is bordered roughly by the 110 Freeway to the west, Slauson Avenue to the south, Central Avenue to the east and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north. Residents can register for passes at lucasmuseum.org/lm37 and will be alerted in August when the program launches. Pass holders can reserve tickets for themselves and one guest.

Tickets for non-pass holders go on sale July 21. They cost $25 for adults and $21 for seniors. Kids 17 and under are free.

“Storytelling has the power to bring people together and create a sense of community,” said Lucas Museum Chief Executive Tracey Bates in a news release about the program. “Through LM37, we are inviting our South Los Angeles neighbors to make the museum part of their lives and take their own path of discovery through the art, programs and experiences that will help shape this new cultural hub for Los Angeles.”

The community preview day is designed to give local business owners, community partners, civic leaders and registered LM37 pass holders a sneak peak of the 10,000 square feet of exhibition space, as well as the expansive gardens with 11 acres of park space.

The opening programming, curated by co-founder George Lucas, features 20 inaugural exhibitions across more than 30 galleries, including one titled “Star Wars in Motion,” containing vehicle designs, high-speed racers, flying vessels, props, costumes and illustrations from the first six films in the beloved franchise.

More than 1,200 objects will be on display from Lucas’ personal collection of narrative art. Highlights include work by Norman Rockwell and Dorothea Lange, as well as a variety of manga, children’s book illustrations and comics.

Published on
10/07/2026 – 13:58 GMT+2

Global oil demand will fall by one million barrels a day in 2026, the IEA said on Friday, making it the first annual contraction since 2020, when Covid lockdowns grounded aviation and shuttered industry.

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The comparison flatters this year’s decline in one respect, since demand collapsed by around eight million barrels a day at the height of the pandemic, but it underlines how severely the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has damaged the global economy.

The contraction is “highly skewed in both product and regional terms”, the agency noted in its monthly report.

Earlier IEA analysis traced the sharpest losses to Asia’s import-dependent economies and to petrochemical feedstocks such as naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas, whose supply chains run through the Strait of Hormuz.

At the time of writing, the front month contract on Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading at around $76 a barrel, roughly 6% higher than before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, and far below the peaks near $120 reached in March at the height of the conflict.

The US benchmark, WTI, was trading lower at around $72 a barrel.

June’s fragile rebound

Supply improved sharply last month, if from a desperately low base.

Global production jumped by 4.1 million barrels a day in June to 98.8 million as the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz allowed Gulf producers to restart shut-in wells, though output was still running 9.4 million barrels a day beneath its pre-war level.

Gulf exports, counting cargoes rerouted around the strait, climbed by 6.5 million barrels a day to 16.1 million. Before the fighting began in late February, the region shipped an average of 24 million barrels.

Global oil inventories grew for the first time since US and Israeli strikes on Iran ignited the conflict, halting months of record drawdowns, although stockpiles in the wealthiest economies shrank further as buyers held back from importing.

The truce unravels

The IEA’s forecasts rest on an assumption now under visible strain which is that a ceasefire holds and the Strait of Hormuz gradually reopens.

On that basis, global supply would contract by 3.7 million barrels a day this year, leaving production 860,000 barrels a day short of demand, before expanding by 7.5 million next year and tipping the market into surplus.

Stronger output elsewhere and weaker demand than expected before the war could still restore a surplus by the end of the year, allowing countries to rebuild depleted reserves, the IEA noted.

This week brought the second and far larger breach of last month’s truce.

After Iranian forces struck three commercial vessels on Monday and Tuesday, US Central Command hit more than 80 targets across Iran, including air defences, coastal radar and over 60 Revolutionary Guard small boats, while Washington revoked the licence permitting Iranian oil exports.

Iran fired drones and missiles at Bahrain and Kuwait, causing no major damage, and US President Donald Trump has since declared the ceasefire over.

Tehran insists the only safe passage is the route it sets in the Strait of Hormuz as traffic fell to 13 tankers on Wednesday, against an average of 33 a day the previous week, according to shipping data from Kpler.

Additional sources • AFP

NATO chief Mark Rutte visited the White House to ease tensions with US President Trump ahead of next month’s NATO summit. Trump has said NATO isn’t doing enough, ordering a review of US forces in Europe after saying allies did not support the US war on Iran.

THE UK’s largest theme park with over 40 rides and attractions has launched an annual pass costing less than a Cadbury Fudge bar a day.

Alton Towers in Staffordshire has dropped a new annual pass costing £64 per person – or just 19p per day you visit (several pence less than a Fudge bar).

The pass gets you access to the theme park for 339 days of the year.

During that time, passholders can visit as many times as they like.

The theme park is usually open between March and November and hosts a number of seasonal events as well.

Each passholder will be sent their pass digitally and it is ready to use as soon as it lands in their email inbox.

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The pass is also only required for visitors who are 90cm and taller.

Once you have your pass and wish to visit the theme park, you’ll need to book online beforehand which can be done via the Passholder Pre-Book Portal.

In addition to all the rollercoasters, Alton Towers recently opened a new attraction – Bluey The Ride: Here Come the Grannies – which is the world’s first Bluey junior coaster.

Travel writer Madalyn Bielfeld recently visited and tried out the park and said: “The rollercoaster whisks you up and down over gentle dips, and around turns amid a fun, interactive setting of Bluey’s back garden.

“It’s filled with fun references to the various episodes – including as the name suggests when the characters dress up as their Grannies.

“The ride is the perfect mix of gentle and exciting and went down a storm on the day of opening.”

Parents who are wondering how to fill the six week holidays should take a look at this offer on Merlin passes, which not only offer unlimited park visits, but also other passholder perks

Merlin has launched a summer sale that slashes the cost of annual passes and monthly memberships in time for the six-week school holidays.

The sale, launched today by the owner of a number of theme parks and attractions across the UK, means theme park fans can enjoy discounts on both Gold and Platinum passes, as well as monthly memberships, giving them unlimited access to over 20 UK attractions. These include Thorpe Park, Alton Towers, LEGOLAND, and Chessington.

Best of all, if you opt for a Gold membership at the discounted price of £16.99 a month, this works out cheaper than a monthly Netflix Premium subscription, which costs £18.99 a month. So, you can enjoy lots of days out with the kids and screen-free time over the summer without worrying about entry fees.

You can currently buy an annual pass at Gold or Platinum level with £50 off the total price. This brings Gold membership down from £239 to £189 a year, and Platinum down from £299 to £249. If you prefer to pay monthly, the sale has slashed Gold from £19.99 a month to £16.99, and Platinum from £24.99 to £20.99.

Gold memberships, whether annual or monthly, include 364 days’ entry to over 20 Merlin attractions, free parking, and 20% off food, drinks, and shopping. Platinum members get these perks with no exclusion dates, four bring-a-friend passes, a free one-shot Fastrack per visit, and other extras.

While it’s not included in the sale, there’s also the cheapest Merlin Essentials pass for £139 a year, which offers unlimited access for 339 days of the year. However, parents should note that exclusion dates include Saturdays in August, at the peak of the school holidays.

Merlin’s parks are set to be popular with families this summer thanks to the addition of some major new rides aimed at the younger crowd. The brand-new World of PAW Patrol at Chessington World of Adventures Resort opened in early May, and includes four pup-themed rides, play areas, and meet and greets. Over at Alton Towers, CBeebies Land also recently opened Bluey the Ride: Here Come The Grannies!, a must-visit for fans of the Heeler family.

In addition to its well-known theme parks, Merlin also operates a range of family-friendly attractions that make perfect school holiday days out. These include the London Eye, SEA LIFE centres, Madame Tussauds, and Cadbury World, meaning it’s easy to make the most out of your pass.

For comparison, booking a day ticket to Alton Towers starts at £34, so if you live near a Merlin theme park or visit a lot, you could soon get your money’s worth.

If you’re planning a one-off visit, then Cadbury is currently running a promotion on selected packs offering half-price tickets. Simply pick up an eligible product and visit fun.cadbury.co.uk to enter your barcode to receive a discount code and a link to book your tickets at 50% off.

The Merlin Pass Summer Sale ends June 28. For more information or to purchase, visit the Merlin website.

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