Your First Home

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is set to announce a new 'Help to Buy'-style scheme next week called 'Your First Home'. Reports say it would allow young people to buy their first home with a deposit of just 2.5%, a far lower barrier than most mortgages require. The proposal is drawing heavy attention online, with many debating whether such low-deposit buying would genuinely help first-time buyers or fuel house price inflation.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the country's first central bank digital currency, presented as a step toward greater transparency in the delivery of funds and welfare mechanisms. The move ties India to a growing list of nations experimenting with digital rupee-style state currencies, and officials frame it as a way to cut leakage and make transactions traceable.

The government is set to confirm a new scheme to help first-time buyers at the upcoming Budget, according to an official announcement. Details of the scheme have not yet been published, but it is expected to form part of wider housing measures aimed at improving access to home ownership for younger buyers struggling with high deposits and mortgage costs.

Spain, fresh off their World Cup triumph, travelled to England for their first match as champions in the Nations League. Ferran Torres and Fabian Ruiz started, and Lamine Yamal scored after just two minutes to silence the home crowd. Coach Luis de la Fuente said his players have yet to reach their ceiling, while Ruiz spoke of targeting the Nations League title. The match is drawing attention across Europe.

Beneficiaries will learn their 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment when it is announced in October, while Medicare Part B premium changes are revealed a month later in November. Because the Part B deduction is taken directly from benefit payments, the January 2027 deposit will be the first to show the combined effect of both changes, giving retirees a true picture of their net increase.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced a new housing programme, including plans to revive a Help to Buy-style scheme aimed at boosting housebuilding and helping first-time buyers onto the property ladder. The Financial Times reports the initiative is designed to stimulate construction, while The Times highlights its focus on getting young people into home ownership. The proposals position Burnham as an active voice on housing policy.

A new ranking places the New York City metropolitan area as the fifth-most-difficult US metro for first-time homebuyers. The assessment reflects the city's notoriously high purchase prices and the growing gap between local incomes and housing costs. The finding fuels ongoing debate about affordability in one of America's priciest property markets, where many aspiring buyers say ownership remains out of reach.

In a Major League Baseball game, home plate umpire called strike three on a batter, but the call was overturned after Dodgers first base coach Danny Karros, or a player named Karros, successfully challenged the pitch using MLB's automated ball-strike (ABS) system. It marks another visible example of the robot umpire review system changing a strikeout outcome in real time, fuelling ongoing debate about technology in officiating.