Paul Rodgers, one of the original members of the English rock supergroup, announced Tuesday that he will miss the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday where Bad Company will be honored as part of the 2025 class.
“My hope was to be at the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and to perform for the fans, but at this time I have to prioritize my health,” Rodgers wrote in a statement posted to Bad Company’s Instagram page. The singer had planned to reunite with former bandmate and drummer Simon Kirke on stage to perform a couple songs at the ceremony.
While Rodgers did not elaborate on his health in the statement, in 2023 he told CBS News that he had suffered two major strokes in 2016 and 2019, as well as 11 minor strokes, which had temporarily stripped him of his ability to speak.
“I have no problem singing, it’s the stress of everything else,” Rodgers’ statement continued. “Simon along with some outstanding musicians will be stepping in for me — guaranteed to rock.”
Best known for hits such as “Can’t Get Enough,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Ready for Love” and, of course, “Bad Company,” the hard rock group formed in London in 1973. In addition to Rodgers and Kirke, who had played together in the rock band Free, Bad Company’s original members included guitarist Mick Ralphs and bassist Boz Burrell.
The band initially disbanded in 1982 but over the years reunited to record or tour, though not always with the same lineup. Rodgers and Kirke are Bad Company’s only surviving original members — Burrell died in 2006, followed by Ralphs this June.
In addition to Bad Company, the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees include Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, OutKast, Soundgarden and the White Stripes in the performer category. Additional inductees Salt-N-Pepa, Warren Zevon, Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins and Carol Kaye will all be honored either for musical influence or excellence, while Lenny Waronker is the recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award for lifetime achievement.
Phil Foden’s dazzling double against Borussia Dortmund kept Manchester City unbeaten in UEFA Champions League after four matches.
Published On 6 Nov 20256 Nov 2025
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Phil Foden sent an emphatic reminder to England’s head coach Thomas Tuchel with two brilliantly taken goals in Manchester City’s 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.
“He is back,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “He is a special player.”
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Tuchel will name his latest England squad this week after overlooking Foden so far this season, and with time running out before next year’s World Cup.
But the City forward strengthened his case for a recall with an inspired performance against Dortmund. He scored in each half at the Etihad Stadium, with star striker Erling Haaland smashing home his 27th of the season in between. Substitute Rayan Cherki got the other after Waldemar Anton scored for Dortmund.
Tuchel is set to announce his squad on Friday for the final World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, with England having already secured qualification.
Foden has rediscovered some of his best form this season after enduring a frustrating campaign last term as City relinquished the Premier League title. His goals on Tuesday – both swept low into the bottom corner – took his tally on the season to four and could have come at just the right time to capture Tuchel’s attention.
“There’s no person in this country or around the world that doesn’t know his quality and ability, but England is so lucky to have this amount of good players,” Guardiola said. “In his position there are a lot, and that’s why he has to push himself to be better and better and better.”
Foden’s omission from England’s four games this season has been a talking point, with players like Eberechi Eze, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon all adding to the competition for places.
Despite being widely regarded as one of the most gifted English players of his generation, Foden is still to consistently perform for England.
And it appears he is yet to convince Tuchel after being given chances in the German’s first games in charge earlier this season.
“Thomas is so smart and wise and knows exactly what the team needs,” Guardiola said. “I think Thomas knows perfectly [about] Phil. What Phil wants to do is play better and better and better.”
Foden, right, scores Manchester City’s third goal in the 57th minute [Phil Noble/Reuters]
Haaland achieves new goal record
Haaland set another scoring benchmark in the Champions League after finding the back of the net for the fifth consecutive game for City in European club football’s elite club tournament.
According to City, he is the first player to achieve that feat with three different teams, having previously done so with former clubs RB Salzburg and Dortmund.
His latest goal – a powerfully struck effort from close range – was his 54th in 52 games in the Champions League. Lionel Messi has the record for reaching 60 goals in the fewest number of games, at 80. Haaland looks certain to beat that – possibly before the league phase of this year’s tournament is completed.
Rodri didn’t even make the bench after returning from a hamstring injury against Bournemouth last weekend. Guardiola said City was being cautious about the Spain international, but his absence raises doubts over whether he will be available for the league clash against Liverpool on Sunday.
Rodri missed the majority of last season with an ACL injury, and his contribution has been limited this term.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, right, scores their second goal as Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel attempts to make a save [Jason Cairnduff/Action Images via Reuters]
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
General Atomics’ Gambit family of drones, with its common modular core ‘chassis’ concept, now has a sixth member optimized for air-to-surface missions, such as attacking hostile air defenses or enemy ships. The company is already eyeing international sales of the new Gambit 6, particularly in Europe, but it could also be of interest to branches of the U.S. military. The latest Gambit configuration underscores the growing pursuit of loyal wingman-type drones, also now often referred to as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), by armed forces globally.
Gambit 6 made its official debut yesterday at the annual International Fighter Conference in Rome, Italy. General Atomics’ Aeronautical Systems, Inc. division (GA-ASI) first unveiled the Gambit family back in 2022, at which time it included four designs. They were joined last year by Gambit 5, which is intended for carrier-based operations.
“The Gambit Series is a modular family of unmanned aircraft designed to meet diverse mission requirements, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; multi-domain combat; advanced training; and stealth reconnaissance,” according to a press release from GA-ASI. “It’s built around a common core platform that accounts for a significant proportion of the aircraft’s hardware, including the landing gear, baseline avionics, and chassis. This shared foundation reduces costs, increases interoperability, and accelerates the development of mission-specific variants like Gambit 6.”
“The multi-role [Gambit 6] platform is optimized for roles such as electronic warfare, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), and deep precision strike, making it a versatile option for evolving defense needs,” the release adds.
An accompanying rendering, seen in part at the top of this story and below, shows a trio of Gambit 6s. Each one is depicted releasing several GBU-53/B StormBreaker precision-guided bombs, also known as Small Diameter Bomb IIs (SDB II).
General Atomics is also now among the companies under contract to develop conceptual CCA designs for the U.S. Navy.
“It’s best to think of Gambit 1 as optimized for advanced sensing, and represented by our XQ-67A OBSS [Off-Board Sensing Station] flying today,” C. Mark Brinkley, a spokesperson for General Atomics, told TWZ. “Gambit 2 is optimized for air-to-air combat and represented by our YFQ-42A, which has multiple airframes currently flying. Loaded with the proper weapons, a Gambit 2 could conduct a ground or surface strike as a multirole aircraft, but it is not optimized for that ground mission.”
From top to bottom, General Atomics’ Avenger drone, the experimental XQ-67A, and the first YFQ-42A CCA prototype. GA-ASI
“The Gambit series, including YFQ-42A, can be equipped with EW [electronic warfare] suites or EW-capable launched effects [uncrewed aerial systems],” Brinkely added.
The Gambit 3 design is primarily intended to act as a ‘red air’ adversary during training. The flying wing Gambit 4, so far the most visually distinctive member of the family, is focused on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. As noted, Gambit 5 is designed for carrier-based combat operations.
“Gambit 6 will be truly optimized for air-to-ground/surface operations. It might visually look like a Gambit 2, and perhaps the differences would be imperceptible to the casual viewer, as both would utilize RF [radiofrequency] and optical sensing,” Brinkley added. “But the mission systems inside Gambit 6 are fine-tuned specifically for ground/surface operations, missions in which General Atomics has developed deep experience over decades of ground/surface sensing and strikes. Gambit 6 could also be outfitted for an electronic warfare mission, for instance, or even naval strikes.”
Overall, “the idea is that Gambit 6 will be primarily looking down.”
Just like an air-to-air combat optimized CCA-type drone, an air-to-surface focused design would help friendly forces expand their coverage and capacity to perform relevant missions over one or more areas of the battlespace, while also reducing the risk to crewed platforms. As described, Gambit 6s seems geared to be particularly well-suited to the suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses mission sets, or SEAD/DEAD, to aid in clearing the way for follow-on operations.
A previously released General Atomics rendering showing members of the Gambit family, some of which are depicted firing air-to-air missiles. General Atomics
The idea of CCA-type drones taking on these ‘downward-focused’ missions is not new. Though the U.S. Air Force’s CCA program is currently focused on air-to-air missions, the service has expressed interest in future air-to-surface strike and electronic warfare capabilities. Previous U.S. Marine Corps testing of Kratos’ XQ-58 Valkyrie has put particular emphasis on the ability to launch electronic warfare attacks as part of SEAD/DEAD missions conducted together with F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. Earlier this year, the Marines confirmed that experimental work with the XQ-58 was transitioning into a full program of record with a clear eye toward a real operational capability. Air-to-surface missions are also a component of other CCA-type programs globally.
“Air forces throughout the world are looking to air-to-ground-capable CCAs to enhance operational capabilities and address emerging threats in a denied environment,” the General Atomics press release says. “Airframes will be available for international procurement starting in 2027, with European missionized versions deliverable in 2029. GA-ASI is building industry partnerships throughout Europe with the aim of providing sovereign capabilities for all its platforms.”
It has been pointed out that the schedule stated aligns particularly well with a German requirement for a CCA-type drone capable of air-to-surface missions. Last year, Airbus also unveiled a loyal wingman drone with a clear eye toward meeting German Air Force needs. Airbus and Kratos also announced a partnership earlier this year to supply a version of the XQ-58 to the Germans.
Gambit 6 sounds a lot like it’s General Atomics’ pitch for Germany’s ‘fighter bomber drone’ requirement.
Notice the system being described as a ‘deep precision strike’ solution and that European missionized versions will be deliverable in 2029 (Germany’s readiness deadline). https://t.co/HA06tR9eel
General Atomics has made clear that it is looking at multiple potential foreign sales opportunities with Gambit 6.
“Many international allies and partners have expressed interest in a CCA optimized for ground or surface strike. Gambit 6 was announced here in Rome on the first day of the International Fighter Conference, and the resulting interest and inquiry from attending military representatives has been great,” Brinkley, the General Atomics spokesperson, also told TWZ. “We look forward to continuing those discussions here this week. We absolutely intend to submit Gambit 6 for various emerging international opportunities.”
“Nothing would prevent the United States from procuring a Gambit 6 variant, fine tuned to American specifications,” he added.
“I don’t have any additional details to offer on Gambit 5 or the US Navy opportunity. We’ve been talking about the Gambit 5 concept for about 16 months at this point, since Farnborough 2024,” Brinkley also said when asked for a general update on the work the company is doing in relation to the Navy’s CCA effort. “There is no specific relationship between Gambit 5 & Gambit 6 at this time. The point of the Gambit Series is to quickly deliver affordable mass at scale, and to adjust to customer demands rapidly, and each of these aircraft does that, while also leveraging years of hard work and demonstrated success. “
As has been made clear in this story already, the market space for CCA-type drones has been steadily growing in recent years, and extends well beyond General Atomics. Just since September, Lockheed Martin’s Vectis and Shield AI’s X-BAT have joined the growing field of relevant designs. The jet-powered X-BAT is a particularly novel design, intended to take off and land vertically, as you can learn more about in great detail in this recent TWZ feature. In addition to the Gambit family, Vectis, X-BAT, and Anduril’s Fury, among other drone designs, are also being showcased at the International Fighter Conference this week. Also on the market now is Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat, originally developed for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Aviation Week just recently disclosed the existence of a new drone design from Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites, referred to now simply as Project Lotus, which could be in the broad CCA category, as well.
BBC viewers have been urged to look out for any clues as the broadcaster is reportedly gearing up to announce the return of one of its biggest shows very soon
23:45, 05 Nov 2025Updated 23:45, 05 Nov 2025
Line of Duty could be making a comeback very soon(Image: BBC)
A huge BBC drama is set to announce its comeback within a matter of days. Fans have been waiting on tenterhooks to see if another series will be released, and now the cast have finally aligned their schedules to make it happen.
The BBC are said to be gearing up to confirm Line of Duty will be back on screens for a seventh series. Fans have been urged to keep an eye out for any online announcements that will be followed by TV teaser trailers.
Now, it seems fans won’t have long to wait for an official announcement as a source said: “Although this has been discussed at length since the unsatisfactory ending of series six in 2021, it’s still going to create huge excitement when the Beeb makes the announcement.
“It’s one they’ve been preparing to make for weeks, but they’ve been trying to pick the right moment, since The Celebrity Traitors has been hogging quite a lot of limelight recently.” They added to Sun: “And the BBC very much view Line Of Duty as one of the jewels in its crown that they want to deliver with some fanfare.”
The BBC declined to comment when approached by the Mirror. Back in July, Actor Adrian said: “We’re really excited about getting our hands on a Line of Duty script, to see what happens to us.”
The Ridley star even teased what is to come on the programme, which could air in 2026, as he told The Times: “It is down to the BBC to make an announcement, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that next year we’ll be working on a new series. No doubt Jed will think of some interesting twists and turns.”
Martin Compston played DS Steve Arnott in the show, which came to an end when his character and his team discovered the identity of “H”. He also shared details on whether viewers can expect more from the series.
“We’re always talking about possibilities and schedules and whatnot,” he said to The Sun. Martin didn’t dare share more and added: “Everybody’s got stuff going on at the minute, so I think anything, unfortunately, would be a way off.”
Before Martin discussed a potential new series, a source told the same publication that Adrian, Vicky McClure and Martin will reunite to film six new episodes. They said at the time: “This is the news Line of Duty fans have been waiting for since the sixth season left them deflated when it aired back in 2021.
“The BBC almost immediately requested more episodes to continue the story, but the success of the show meant Vicky, Martin and Adrian were instantly snapped up for other projects. But after several meetings with Jed [Mercurio, creator and writer] and the production team, they’ve finally managed to clear space in their calendars next year to commit to making the show.”
While last August, Adrian said that he was desperate to get back into character for another series. He told Good Housekeeping: “We all want another series.
“We filmed our last series in lockdown, which meant we didn’t get to do anything other than work, so we’re really keen to get together for one last hurrah.”
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) — North Korea on Thursday denounced the latest U.S. sanctions on Pyongyang as a demonstration of Washington’s hostile policy, vowing to take proper measures to counter it with patience.
The North’s reaction came as the U.S. announced Tuesday that it had imposed sanctions on eight North Korean individuals and two entities for their involvement in laundering money stolen through illicit cyber activities.
The sanctions came even as U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his wish to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to resume stalled diplomacy with Pyongyang.
Kim Un-chol, North Korea’s vice foreign minister in charge of U.S. affairs, said in a statement that by imposing fresh sanctions, the U.S. has showed its “invariable hostile” intents toward North Korea in an “accustomed and traditional way,” according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“Now that the present U.S. administration has clarified its stand to be hostile towards the DPRK to the last, we will also take proper measures to counter it with patience for any length of time,” the statement showed.
Denouncing the U.S. for revealing its “wicked nature,” the North’s official warned Washington should not expect its tactics of pressure, appeasement, threat and blackmail against North Korea will work.
“The U.S. sanctions will have no effect on the DPRK’s thinking and viewpoint on it in the future, too, as in the past,” Kim said, using the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
In regard to North Korea’s statement, South Korea’s unification ministry assessed the North appears to have responded to the imposition of U.S. sanctions in a “restrained” manner.
The U.S. move came as North Korea has not responded to Trump’s proposal to meet with the North’s leader during his latest trip to South Korea on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering.
Earlier this week the U.S. State Department also raised the need to seek U.N. sanctions on seven ships accused of illegally exporting North Korean coal and iron ore to China in violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions over the North’s nuclear and missile programs.
South Korea’s spy agency said this week there were signs that North Korea had been preparing for a possible meeting with the U.S. in time for last week’s APEC gathering.
The National Intelligence Service said there is a high possibility that the North and the U.S. would hold a summit some time after an annual joint military exercise between South Korea and the U.S. in March next year.
Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.
Digital technologies, particularly AI, are accelerating democratic backsliding and revitalizing authoritarian governments. AI-focused companies have been forming close partnerships with government actors, often in ways that undermine democratic norms. Around the world, private firms are supplying or co-designing technologies that enhance mass surveillance, predictive policing, propaganda campaigns, and online censorship. In places like China, Russia, and Egypt, a blurring of boundaries between the state and the technology industry has led to serious consequences. This collusion has undercut privacy rights, stifled civil society, and diminished public accountability.
This dynamic is now playing out in the United States. Companies like Palantir and Paragon Solutions are providing government entities with powerful AI tools and analytics platforms, often under opaque contracts. In September, U.S. President Donald Trump approved the sale of TikTok to U.S. private entities friendly with the administration. Unchecked public-private integration within the technology industry poses serious risks for democratic societies, namely that it offers increased power to unaccountable actors. The focus of this article is to examine case studies on how these emerging alliances are enabling authoritarian practices, as well as what they might mean for the future of democratic societies.
Russia: Manipulating Digital Tools
In Russia, democratic norms under Vladimir Putin have eroded while Russian tech companies continue to work hand in glove with state authorities. Sberbank, the country’s largest financial institution, and their development of Kandinsky 2.1, an AI-powered, text-to-image tool owned by the firm, illustrate this long-running trend.
Despite the quality of its outputs compared to rivals like DALL-E, the solution came under fire in 2023 from veteran lawmaker Sergey Mironov, who argued that it generated images that tarnished Russia’s image. He would go on to charge that Kandinsky 2.1 was designed by “unfriendly states waging an informational and mental war” against the country.
Not long after, some in the tech space noticed that Kandinsky 2.1’s outputs changed. For instance, while the tool previously churned out images of zombies when prompted with “Z Patriot,” users noted that it now repeatedly produced pictures of hyper-masculine figures. Critics claim that this alteration not only represented an overt manipulation of the technology itself but also an attempt to curry favor with those in the government.
This episode shows how AI-powered tools are being specifically tailored to serve the needs of authorities. The modifications made to the model transformed it into an invaluable resource the government could use to amplify its messaging. As a result, users are no longer likely to see Kandinsky 2.1 as a tool for creativity, particularly if its outputs remain blatantly skewed. Developers in countries like Russia may look to this case for inspiration on how to succeed in restrictive political contexts.
United States: Supercharging Mass Surveillance
AI-centric firms in the United States have also taken note. Palantir Technologies stands as the most prominent example of how private technology firms can deepen government surveillance capabilities in ways that test the limits of democratic accountability. The firm, established in the wake of 9/11, has expanded its domestic footprint through lucrative contracts with local police departments and, most notably, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Investigations reveal that Palantir’s software enables ICE agents to compile and cross-reference vast amounts of personal data, from Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) records and employment information to social media activity and utility bills. This capability gives the government a unique opportunity to build detailed profiles on individuals and their community networks. This has helped facilitate deportations and raids on immigrant communities. Critics argue that Palantir’s tools create a dragnet that vastly expands state power, all while shielding the company and its government clients from public oversight.
Beyond immigration enforcement, Palantir’s Gotham platform has been adopted by police departments for predictive policing initiatives, which attempt to forecast locations and suspects for crimes. Civil liberties groups have warned that such uses reinforce systemic biases by encoding discriminatory policing practices into algorithmic decision-making. Predictive policing algorithms inherit bias because they rely on historical data shaped by discriminatory over-policing of Black communities, among others. Scholars of “surveillance capitalism” also note that these partnerships normalize the commodification of personal data for state security purposes.
The deeper concern lies in how this private-public nexus erodes societal trust and transparency. Unlike government agencies bound by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements, companies like Palantir operate under corporate secrecy, limiting democratic oversight of technologies that profoundly affect civil rights. In this sense, the Palantir case illustrates how authoritarian-style practices, combined with technological breakthroughs, can be incubated within democratic societies and later contribute to their overall decline.
Challenging Anti-Democratic Alliances
The deepening collaboration between AI firms and authorities in developing repressive technologies is alarming. Across the globe, these partnerships have flourished, often to the detriment of average citizens. The examples of Russia and the United States underline how AI firms have been willing and able to work with governments engaging in repression when convenient, leaving the public in the lurch.
Advocates for democracy must educate themselves on how to combat the misuse of AI. Leaders in civil society, for example, could build up their technical knowledge as a starting point. Capacity-building may also have the bonus of enabling pro-democracy groups to create their own AI solutions that support civic accountability actions. Activities like these may provide a counterbalance to corporate-state collusion that places citizens at a disadvantage. It may also help ensure that AI tools are designed in ways that strengthen democracies, not undermine them.
*Aaron Spitler is a researcher whose interests lie at the intersection of human rights, democratic governance, and digital technologies. He has worked with numerous organizations in this space, from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to the International Republican Institute (IRI). He is passionate about ensuring technology can be a force for good. You can reach him on LinkedIn
ACTRESS Sydney Sweeney scores a hat-trick in a selection of outfits in one day.
The 28-year-old was spotted switching up her style in New York City while promoting her boxing biopic Christy.
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Sydney Sweeney scores a hat-trick in a selection of outfits in one dayCredit: GettySydney was spotted switching up her style in New York CityCredit: SplashThe actress was promoting her boxing biopic ChristyCredit: Getty
As well as the three outfits pictured, Sydney changed into three more throughout the day for a total of six.
Actress Sydney described her latest role as “one of the most inspiring” experiences of her life.
Talking of the female boxer she said: “Christy’s strength isn’t in all of her punches it’s in her heart.”
Sydney became emotional as she detailed how Christy was shot and stabbed in the chest and left for dead after threatening to leave her abusive spouse.
“Christy reminds us strength doesn’t have to look loud sometimes, it’s just about getting up again and again no matter who is watching.
“Playing her taught me it isn’t the end of the story, it’s about re-claiming it.
“And to every young girl out there I hope that you know your power is already within you.”
In her latest film, Christy, she learned to box to play US pro fighter Christy Martin — the first female boxer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
She won a world title before her husband tried to murder her.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told top Kremlin officials to draft proposals for the possible resumption of nuclear weapons testing, as Moscow responds to President Donald Trump’s order that the United States “immediately” resume its own testing after a decades-long hiatus.
The Russian leader told his Security Council on Wednesday that should the US or any signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) conduct nuclear weapons tests, “Russia would be under obligation to take reciprocal measures”, according to a transcript of the meeting published by the Kremlin.
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“In this regard, I instruct the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry, the special services, and the corresponding civilian agencies to do everything possible to gather additional information on this matter, have it analysed by the Security Council, and submit coordinated proposals on the possible first steps focusing on preparations for nuclear weapons tests,” Putin said.
Moscow has not carried out nuclear weapons tests since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But tensions between the two countries with the world’s largest nuclear arsenals have spiked in recent weeks as Trump’s frustration with Putin grows over Russia’s failure to end its war in Ukraine.
The US leader cancelled a planned summit with Putin in Hungary in October, before imposing sanctions on two major Russian oil firms a day later – the first such measures since Trump returned to the White House in January.
Trump then said on October 30 that he had ordered the Department of Defense to “immediately” resume nuclear weapons testing on an “equal basis” with other nuclear-armed powers.
Trump’s decision came days after he criticised Moscow for testing its new Burevestnik missile, which is nuclear-powered and designed to carry a nuclear warhead.
According to the Kremlin transcript, Putin spoke with several senior officials in what appeared to be a semi-choreographed advisory session.
Defence Minister Andrei Belousov told Putin that Washington’s recent actions significantly raise “the level of military threat to Russia”, as he said that it was “imperative to maintain our nuclear forces at a level of readiness sufficient to inflict unacceptable damage”.
Belousov added that Russia’s Arctic testing site at Novaya Zemlya could host nuclear tests at short notice.
Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, also cautioned that if Russia does not “take appropriate measures now, time and opportunities for a timely response to the actions of the United States will be lost”.
Following the meeting, state news agency TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Putin had set no specific deadline for officials to draft the requested proposals.
“In order to come to a conclusion about the advisability of beginning preparations for such tests, it will take exactly as much time as it takes for us to fully understand the intentions of the United States of America,” Peskov said.
Russia and the US are by far the biggest nuclear powers globally in terms of the number of warheads they possess.
The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (CACNP) estimates that Moscow currently has 5,459 nuclear warheads, of which 1,600 are actively deployed.
The US has about 5,550 nuclear warheads, according to the CACNP, with about 3,800 of those active. At its peak in the mid-1960s during the Cold War, the US stockpile consisted of more than 31,000 active and inactive nuclear warheads.
China currently lags far behind, but has rapidly expanded its nuclear warhead stockpile to about 600 in recent years, adding about 100 per year since 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
France, Britain, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea comprise the remaining nuclear-armed countries.
The US last exploded a nuclear device in 1992, after former Republican President George HW Bush issued a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing following the collapse of the Soviet Union a year earlier.
Since 1996, the year the CTBT was opened for signatures, only three countries have detonated nuclear devices.
India and Pakistan conducted tests in 1998. North Korea has carried out five explosive tests since 2006 – most recently in 2017 – making it the only country to do so in the 21st century.
Such blasts, regularly staged by nuclear powers during the Cold War, have devastating environmental consequences.
Trump has yet to clarify whether the resumption he ordered last week refers to nuclear-explosive testing or to flight testing of nuclear-capable missiles, which would see the National Nuclear Safety Administration test delivery systems without requiring explosions.
Security analysts say a resumption of nuclear-explosive testing by any of the world’s nuclear powers would be destabilising, as it would likely trigger a similar response by the others.
Andrey Baklitskiy, senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, said that the Kremlin’s response was a prime example of the “action-reaction cycle”, in which a new nuclear arms race could be triggered.
“No one needs this, but we might get there regardless,” he posted on X.
Russian MOD Belousov suggests Russia should start to prepare for a full-scale nuclear test in response to the US statements. Action-reaction cycle at its best. No one needs this, but we might get there regardless
Mayor-elect of New York says he will not mince words on Trump, but ‘door open’ to dialogue.
United States President Donald Trump has suggested that he is open to assisting New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, but warned that the trailblazing democratic socialist will need to be “respectful” of Washington to succeed.
Trump made the comments on Wednesday as Mamdani announced his transition team following his historic election as the first Muslim and first South Asian mayor of the US’s largest city.
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Responding to Mamdani’s victory night remarks pledging to stand up to Trump, the US president described the mayor-elect’s comments as a “dangerous statement”.
“He has to be a little bit respectful of Washington, because if he’s not, he doesn’t have a chance of succeeding,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier.
“And I want to make him succeed. I want to make the city succeed,” Trump added, before quickly clarifying that he wanted New York City, not Mamdani, to succeed.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump suggested that his administration would “help” the new mayor, even as he branded him a “communist”.
“The communists, Marxists, and globalists had their chance, and they delivered nothing but disaster, and now let’s see how a communist does in New York. We’re going to see how that works out,” Trump said in a speech to the American Business Forum in Miami, Florida.
“We’ll help him, we’ll help him. We want New York to be successful. We’ll help him a little bit, maybe.”
Trump railed against Mamdani in the run-up to Tuesday’s mayoral election in New York, describing him as a “communist lunatic” and threatening to cut off federal funding to the city if he won the race.
Mamdani, whose platform includes free universal childcare, free buses, and government-run grocery stores, has rejected the communist label, describing himself as a democratic socialist.
While Mamdani will be responsible for governing a city of about 8.5 million people, his election has been widely seen as having implications nationwide amid the Democratic Party’s struggles to reconcile its centrist and progressive factions and effectively counter Trump.
In his victory speech, Mamdani cast his election as a model for how to defeat Trump, addressing the TV-loving president directly by telling him to “turn the volume up”.
In a speech laying out his priorities on Wednesday, Mamdani, who is set to take office on January 1, reiterated his determination to oppose Trump, while also indicating his willingness to engage with the administration.
“I will not mince my words when it comes to President Trump,” the mayor-elect said.
“I will continue to describe his actions as they are, and I will also always do so while leaving a door open to have that conversation.”
The first shot of director Lynne Ramsay’s stubborn and exasperating postpartum nightmare “Die My Love” would be a great opener for a horror movie. The camera lurks in the kitchen of an isolated ranch house, as still and foreboding as a ghost, while a couple named Grace and Jackson (Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson) poke around the front porch of their newly inherited property. The two take several beats to go inside, long enough that we suspect these crazy kids are making a dangerous mistake. Just look at the wallpaper. Those florals would make anyone crack.
“It’s not New York but it’s ours,” Jackson says of the rural home, left to him by his uncle who died violently upstairs in a way that Grace finds hilarious. He grew up in the area and his parents, Pam and Harry (Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte), still live nearby. Neither Jackson nor Grace say anything about their past lives back in the city, but he yearns to play drums and she once claimed to write. There’s a sense that their dreams have stalled out, either due to finances, passion or talent. So they move in, have a baby and pivot to domestic chaos.
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Lawrence and Pattinson are such a natural, overdue pairing that it’s a surprise to realize this is the first time they’ve teamed up to make the kind of polarizing, go-for-broke prestige film they both enjoy. The two stars launched into the public consciousness roughly around the same time, then followed the same trajectory from teen franchise idols to creatively ambitious A-listers and now, more recently, newish parents making a movie about miserable parents whose hopes have run aground. Lawrence has two tots under 3; Pattinson, a toddler. Their kids shouldn’t watch this movie until college.
In a dynamic montage, Ramsay sets up their boyfriend-girlfriend pair as lusty but strange. Jackson and Grace flirt by fighting like wild beasts. Nuzzling, sniffing, biting, wrestling — that’s foreplay (and she’s more into it than he is). But they can’t communicate with words. “If you’re not feeling good, maybe we should, like … talk?” Jackson says tentatively to his increasingly restless and unstable partner. Grace isn’t interested in talking, though occasionally she’s game to scream. When they fight for real, their bodies twist into spasms of outrage. And when the other one isn’t looking, each seems to power down — Lawrence’s Grace physically collapsing like an unplugged air dancer — a clue of how much energy they must privately expend to make it work.
“Die My Love,” adapted by Ramsay, Enda Walsh and Alice Birch from the 2012 novel by Argentine author Ariana Harwicz, makes parenthood feel like being handcuffed to an anchor that’s sinking into a swamp. Lawrence’s Grace needs help and the more she flails, the worse she makes things. The book is an inner monologue of poison: “How could a weak, perverse woman like me, someone who dreams of a knife in her hand, be the mother and wife of those two individuals?” the first paragraph seethes. But Ramsay rejects putting its angst into words. As with Joaquin Phoenix in “You Were Never Really Here,” she prefers characters who silently roil under their skin.
The tension in this home starts quiet — too quiet — with Grace cranking up kiddie albums by Alvin and the Chipmunks and Raffi to drown out whatever noise is happening in her head. After Jackson brings home a stray dog, the racket becomes unbearable, with sound designers Tim Burns and Paul Davies skillfully and cruelly making sure that no matter how far Grace roams, she can still hear the darned thing bark.
Lacking much perspective into Grace, we mostly see a mentally unwell woman incensed that her sexual playtime is over. She howls with the urge to mate, prowling the house in matching fancy bras and thong sets that clash with this disheveled house and its stockpile of cheap beer. Occasionally, a mysterious leather-clad biker (LaKeith Stanfield) speeds by, considering a quickie with this bored beauty.
Grace’s erotic agony is reductive and a bit ridiculous, although I think the script is also trying to imply that Grace herself is focused on the wrong problems. The film represents her depression by coating the night scenes in so much blue tint that even Picasso might suggest dialing it back. Despite cinematographer Seamus McGarvey’s efforts to put us in her headspace with lenses that make the world blur and swirl around her, you’re more afraid of Grace than for Grace, especially when the shock editing has her smashing through doors like Michael Myers.
Hurling herself into every scene, Lawrence puts her full faith in Ramsay. It’s not a trust fall so much as a trust cannonball. As good and committed as Lawrence is, there were times I wanted to rescue her from her own movie, to protect her from the fate of Faye Dunaway when “Mommie Dearest” turned another blond Oscar winner into a joke.
Yet, this is a character who hates pity and I can’t help but admire that Ramsay faces down today’s phonily upbeat and relatable motherhood discourse with this boogey-mom who keeps herself aloof. Grace treats the older women in her family like a wall of advice to be tuned out even when they’re right. “Everybody goes a little loopy the first year,” Spacek’s Pam says, offering empathy that falls on deaf ears. (Spacek delivers a lovely, endearingly layered turn.) And while Grace is so lonely she literally claws the walls, she rejects any overture of friendship, either from a perky fellow parent (Sarah Lind) or a peppy cashier (Saylor McPherson) whose attempts to start a conversation go so badly that when the poor dear asks Grace if she’s found everything she’s looking for, Grace huffs, “In life?”
Pattinson has the more recessive role but his performance is so subtle and clever that it’s worth watching closely. His Jackson is pathetic, passive and skittish around his baby’s mother, who he both longs to heal and tries to avoid. He has a few moments that play so close to comedy — say, whining to be let into the bathroom — that you wish the movie would do more to encourage our pained, guttural laughs. The punchlines are there, such as a beat after one meltdown where Jackson admits he’s getting really stressed out and Grace coolly replies, “About what?”
There’s one scene in which Grace reveals a snippet of backstory that might explain her psychology, and I think that specificity is a narrative misstep. What’s powerful about Grace is that she’s howling for all parents, even the mostly happy ones. Harwicz’s book deliberately never gave her character a name.
Even inside this movie, Grace’s anguish is universal. Yes, she wanders into the wilderness at night, but so do her in-laws Harry and Pam, for reasons of their own.There are dark vibrations emanating from almost every character, even the minor ones, although Grace is too caught up in herself to take any comfort from that. But Ramsay is comfortable suggesting that everyone feels crazy and miserable. I suspect she thinks it’s the most normal way to live.
‘Die My Love’
Rated: R, for sexual content, graphic nudity, language, and some violent content
Nov. 5 (UPI) — A federal district judge on Wednesday ordered authorities to improve conditions inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building near Chicago.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman, calling the conditions “unnecessarily cruel,” acted on a class action lawsuit Wednesday after hearing several hours of testimony from five people detained at the Broadview immigration detention site west of Chicago.
“People shouldn’t be sleeping next to overflowing toilets,” Gettleman, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, said. “They should not be sleeping on top of each other.”
The four-page order also mandates detainees to be able to contact their attorneys. The order on the class action lawsuit will run from Nov. 19, when he will have another hearing though the Trump administration was told to give him a status by Friday on complying with the order.
“The court finds that plaintiffs and members of the punitive class have suffered, and are likely to suffer, irreparable harm absent the temporary relief granted herein, that they are likely to prevail on the merits of the claims, that the balance of the equities tips in their favor,” he said.
They also must be provided with a shower at least every other day; clean toilet facilities; three full meals per day; a bottle of water with each meal; adequate supplies of soap, toilet paper, and other hygiene products; and menstrual products and prescribed medications.
Holding cells also must be cleaned at least twice a day.
Regarding legal defense, detainees must have free and private phone calls with their attorneys and a list of pro bono attorneys in English and Spanish.
And they must be listed in ICE’s online detainee locator system as soon as they arrive at the Broadview facility.
The judge heard several hours of testimony about conditions at the building, which is intended to hold detainees for a few hours.
They described the inadequate food, sleeping conditions, medical care and bathrooms near where they slept. They said they slept on the floor or on plastic chairs.
The lawsuit claimed the facility “cut off detainees from the outside world,” which the government has denied.
The judge didn’t act on the plaintiff’s request to limit how many people would be kept in holding cells and limit them to not more than 12 hours if the changes aren’t enacted.
The U.S. government said the restrictions would “halt the government’s ability to enforce immigration law in Illinois.”
Sheinbaum calls for nationwide review of sexual harassment laws, as attack shines light on Mexico’s poor record on women’s safety.
Published On 6 Nov 20256 Nov 2025
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has called for sexual harassment to be made a crime nationwide after being groped on the street while greeting supporters near the presidential palace in Mexico City.
Sheinbaum, 63, said on Wednesday that she had pressed charges against the man and would review nationwide legislation on sexual harassment following the attack by a drunk man who put his arm around her shoulder, and with the other hand touched her hip and chest, while attempting to kiss her neck.
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Mexico’s first woman president removed the man’s hands before a member of her staff stepped between them. The president’s security detail did not appear to be nearby at the moment of the attack, which was caught on camera.
The man was later arrested.
“My thinking is: If I don’t file a complaint, what becomes of other Mexican women? If this happens to the president, what will happen to all the women in our country?” Sheinbaum told her regular morning news conference on Wednesday.
In a post on social media, the president said the attack was “something that many women experience in the country and in the world”.
Presenté una denuncia por el episodio de acoso que viví ayer en la Ciudad de México. Debe quedar claro que, más allá de ser presidenta, esto es algo que viven muchas mujeres en el país y en el mundo; nadie puede vulnerar nuestro cuerpo y espacio personal.
Translation: I filed a complaint for the harassment episode that I experienced yesterday in Mexico City. It must be clear that, beyond being president, this is something that many women experience in the country and in the world; no one can violate our body and personal space. We will review the legislation so that this crime is punishable in all 32 states.
Sheinbaum explained that the incident occurred when she and her team had decided to walk from the National Palace to the Education Ministry to save time. She said they could walk the route in five minutes, rather than taking a 20-minute car ride.
She also called on states across Mexico to look at their laws and procedures to make it easier for women to report such assaults and said Mexicans needed to hear a “loud and clear, no, women’s personal space must not be violated”.
Mexico’s 32 states and Mexico City, which is a federal entity, all have their own criminal codes, and not all states consider sexual harassment a crime.
“It should be a criminal offence, and we are going to launch a campaign,” Sheinbaum said, adding that she had suffered similar attacks in her youth.
The incident has put the focus on Mexico’s troubling record on women’s safety, with sexual harassment commonplace and rights groups warning of a femicide crisis, and the United Nations reporting that an average of 10 women are murdered every day in the country.
About 70 percent of Mexican women aged 15 and over will also experience at least one incident of sexual harassment in their lives, according to the UN.
The attack also focused criticism on Sheinbaum’s security detail and on her insistence on maintaining a degree of intimacy with the public, despite Mexican politicians regularly being a target of cartel violence.
But Sheinbaum dismissed any suggestion that she would increase her security or change how she interacts with people following the incident.
At nationwide rallies in September to mark her first year in power, the president allowed supporters to embrace her and take selfies.
Claudia Winkleman, praised recently for her work on The Celebrity Traitors, was supposed to start filming The Piano at King’s Cross Station in London last weekend
Claudia Winkleman, pictured during The Celebrity Traitors, is also loved for her work on The Piano(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)
The Christmas special of The Piano has reportedly had to be canned because of the stabbing attack on a London-bound train last weekend.
Filming for the festive episode was supposed to start this week at London King’s Cross Station, where the ill-fated service was due to terminate on Saturday night. Claudia Winkleman and her crew had to halt their plans, though, as heightened security created problems for access in the station.
And it was decided to abandon the one-off, hour-long Christmas special this year, it is understood. The team, it is believed, behind The Piano felt it was inappropriate to make the cosy show in the neighbouring St Pancras Station while the horrors affected passengers on the train from Peterborough to the capital.
Claudia, who also presents The Traitors and The Celebrity Traitors, was due to be joined by The Piano mentors Jon Baptiste and Mika on the train concourses, which are regularly filled with amateurs tinkling on the ivories.
The Piano has enjoyed three seasons since it started in February 2023. Last year, the festive special aired on Christmas Day itself on Channel 4, but it was unclear when 2025’s episode was due to air.
But, according to The Sun, a full series of The Piano, hosted by Claudia once more, will return in 2026 with a fourth series, which will start filming in the spring and air later in the year.
During last Christmas’ episode, Claudia and her team reunited with some of the stand-out players from series two, performing seasonal favourites including Walking in the Air, O Holy Night and Joni Mitchell’s River. Brad Kella, who won Series two, puts on a moving performance of his first single. Mika and Lang Lang performed a duet of a Beatles classic too.
And, during the third series in the spring, Claudia, 53, wept during performances at other locations, including Heathrow Airport. She had said: “The people who make the show make it beautifully. There are no lights. There is no tripod. They’re just in the station and they’re documentary makers at heart. It’s not like any other TV show. The people who make it are the stars.”
More than 12 million people typically tuned in for The Celebrity Traitors each episode this year, a show also hosted by mother-of-three Claudia. Audiences for the first four episodes of the tense BBC One game show averaged 12.6 million, according to official seven-day consolidated figures published by the research body Barb.
The ultimate game of deception and trust draws to a close tonight on BBC One.
Brugge had the lead three times against Barcelona and had a fourth goal chalked off, but ended up sharing the points.
Spanish giants Barcelona needed to come from behind three times to earn a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League, with teenage winger Lamine Yamal back to his best for Hansi Flick’s side to help them earn a point in a gripping clash in Belgium.
Barca’s defence was shredded on multiple occasions on Wednesday by the hosts as Brugge winger Carlos Forbs struck twice and set one up for Nicolo Tresoldi.
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Ferran Torres, Yamal and a Christos Tzolis own goal saved Barcelona from what would have been a humiliating defeat, even though they have several players out injured.
Barcelona have been in shaky form in recent weeks, including a Clasico defeat by rivals Real Madrid in La Liga.
The hosts took an early lead at the Jan Breydel Stadium through Tresoldi, who was set up by the electric Forbs.
With Forbs rampaging in behind Barcelona’s high defensive line, Brugge set an early blueprint for how they could consistently hurt the Catalans.
Flick’s side hit back quickly through Torres, who produced a clever finish after Fermin Lopez played him in.
Midfielder Lopez struck the woodwork before Forbs netted Brugge’s second in a relentless battle between two sides determined to attack.
The Portuguese winger played a one-two with Tzolis to burst into space behind Barca’s defence once more before finishing with aplomb past Wojciech Szczesny.
Barca defender Jules Kounde crashed a shot against the bar at the other end as last year’s semifinalists sought a leveller.
Yamal, who was once again his side’s key player after some recent flat displays, created a fine chance for Torres to score before the break, but the striker nudged the ball past goalkeeper Nordin Jackers and wide.
Szczesny saved well from Joaquin Seys at the near post as Brugge continued to attack in the second half, showing no intention of trying to protect their lead.
Eric Garcia almost scored from long range but became the third Barca player to hit the frame of the goal, as his effort slapped against the crossbar.
Barcelona eventually pulled level with a brilliant goal, as Yamal combined with Lopez superbly to break through.
Lopez backheeled the ball into the teenager’s path, and Yamal flicked it past Jackers and into the bottom corner.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal celebrates with Fermin Lopez after scoring the equalising 2-2 goal [Nicolas Tucat/AFP]
Forbs wasted a fine chance to put his team ahead again, but given another chance minutes later, he took it with a stylish finish.
Hans Vanaken played him through on goal, and he delicately dinked it past Szczesny for his second and Brugge’s third.
Forbs was awarded a penalty when he went down after a collision with Barca’s Alejandro Balde in the box, but it was cancelled after a VAR review showed he had actually bumped into the Spaniard.
Jackers produced a superb save to tip away a Yamal effort bound for the top corner, but could do nothing about Barca’s equaliser, which arrived in a similar fashion.
Yamal’s curling effort from the right deflected off Tzolis’s head and beat the goalkeeper.
Brugges thought they had won it in stoppage time when veteran goalkeeper Szczesny tried to turn in his area but lost the ball as Romeo Vermant slid in on him.
Vermant rolled the ball into the empty net, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review after the Belgian forward was ruled to have fouled the relieved Szczesny.
Elsewhere in the Champions League on Wednesday, Erling Haaland scored against his former club as his Manchester City cruised to a 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday
Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen scored a second-half hat-trick to ensure a comfortable 3-0 away win over hapless Ajax.
Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, defeated Benfica 1-0 to bounce back from a 7-2 defeat to title holders Paris Saint-Germain in the previous matchday two weeks ago.
Runners-up Inter Milan made it four wins in as many games with a 2-1 triumph against Kairat Almty. Inter, Arsenal and leaders Bayern Munich are the only teams that have won all of their Champions League games so far this season.
Meanwhile, Newcastle defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 and Atalanta claimed a narrow 1-0 win at Olympique Marseille.
Here are the key events from day 1,351 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Published On 6 Nov 20256 Nov 2025
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Here is how things stand on Thursday, November 6:
Fighting
The Russian Ministry of Defence said encircled Ukrainian troops in the cities of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk should surrender as they have no chance to save themselves otherwise.
Russia said its forces were advancing north inside Pokrovsk in a drive to take full control of the Ukrainian city, but the Ukrainian army said its units were battling hard to try to stop the Russians from gaining new ground.
Ukraine has acknowledged its troops face a difficult situation in the strategic eastern city, once an important transport and logistics hub for the Ukrainian army, which Russia has been trying to capture for more than a year.
Russia sees Pokrovsk city as the gateway to its capture of the remaining 10 percent, or 5,000 square-kilometres(1,930 square miles), of Ukraine’s eastern industrial Donbas region, one of its key aims in the almost four-year-old war.
A Ukrainian drone attack caused minor damage to oil pumping stations in two districts of Russia’s Yaroslavl region, Mikhail Yevrayev, the regional governor, said.
Energy
Ukraine has resumed gas imports from a pipeline that runs across the Balkan peninsula to Greece, to keep its heating and electric systems running through the winter after widespread damage from intensified Russian attacks on Kyiv’s energy infrastructure.
Data from the Ukrainian gas transit operator showed that Ukraine will receive 1.1 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas from the Transbalkan route on Wednesday, after the import of 0.78 mcm on Tuesday. The route links Ukraine to LNG terminals in Greece, via Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria.
Poland is working on a deal to import liquefied natural gas from the United States to supply Ukraine and Slovakia, an agreement that would further tighten the European Union’s ties to US energy, the Reuters news agency reports, citing two sources familiar with the negotiations.
Nuclear weapons
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his top officials to draft proposals for a possible test of nuclear weapons, something Moscow has not done since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Putin’s order – made in response to US President Donald Trump’s announcement last week that Washington would resume nuclear testing – is being seen as a signal that the two countries are rapidly nearing a step that could sharply escalate geopolitical tensions.
The US notified Russia in advance of its test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on November 5, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Russia-US relations have deteriorated sharply in the past few weeks as Trump, frustrated with a lack of progress towards ending the war in Ukraine, has cancelled a planned summit with Putin and imposed sanctions on Russia for the first time since returning to the White House in January.
Trump said he “may be working on a plan to denuclearise” with China and Russia, during a speech at the American Business Forum in Miami.
Sanctions
Bulgaria is drafting legal changes that will allow it to seize control of sanctioned Russian oil firm Lukoil’s Burgas refinery and sell it to a new owner to protect the plant from US sanctions, local media reported.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna called on China to stop its economic support of Russia’s war in Ukraine and urged Beijing to join European and US efforts to pressure President Putin into a ceasefire.
“China says that they are not part of this military conflict, but I was very clear that China has huge leverage over Russia, every week more and more, because the Russian economy is weak,” Tsahkna told Reuters.
Economy
Ukraine plans to replace its kopek coins to shake off a lingering symbol of Moscow’s former dominance, Central Bank Governor Andriy Pyshnyi said, adding that he hoped the change could be completed this year.
Ukraine introduced its hryvnia currency in 1996, five years after it gained independence from the Soviet Union, minting its own coins but retaining the former Soviet name kopek – kopiyka in Ukrainian. The new coins will be known by the historical Ukrainian term “shah”.
Heidi Klum and daughter Leni posed together for the new Intimissimi campaignCredit: IntimissimiThe pair previously caused controversy for posing in lingerie togetherCredit: Intimissimi
The mother and daughter duo wore long sleeve pyjama tops and pants from the new range.
Nov. 5 (UPI) — The disruption of federal benefits that help feed families spurred a Pittsburgh man to create a front-yard food bank to help others as the federal government remains shut down.
A.J. Owen. 36, resides in the Pittsburgh suburb of Whitehall, and initially started his ad-hoc food pantry after completing a $150 food run with his two sons about a week ago, according to TribLIVE.
Owen has large plastic bins containing canned goods and other foods placed on portable tables in his front yard for those who need food and for others to leave food donations.
“The amount of donations we received and the amount of people coming and getting food is both so gratifying and so horrifying,” Owentold TribLIVE.
“So many people need help,” he added, “and I’m so happy to be a resource for them.”
Owen said he initially started the food pantry to teach his sons about the need to help others, but it has become a much greater endeavor, as affirmed by a recent visit from Good Morning America and its cameras.
The single father notified others of his effort on social media, which resulted in additional food donations — including one donation that he said was thousands of dollars’ worth of $100 bills from an anonymous person.
He found the money stuffed in an envelope inside his mailbox with a note saying, “May God prosper and bless your food pantry,” Owen told ABC News.
“My body started shaking,” he said. “I started crying.”
He also said, “This was the best cry ever because whatever you want to believe, an angel truly came down and blessed us that day. And we’ve been good ever since.”
Owen didn’t say how much money was in the envelope, other than it added up to “thousands” of dollars.
He posted a video of the anonymous donation on social media, which drew millions of views and prompted others to visit and donate more food.
Among them were Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Yahya Blackand his fiancé, who donated “tons of food,” Owen said on social media.
Owen did not say if his food pantry effort might outlast the federal government shutdown, which entered a record 36 days on Wednesday and temporarily disrupted funding of the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Policymakers at the Bank of England are widely expected to hold interest rates at 4% following their final meeting before the chancellor’s Budget.
Some Bank watchers have suggested that the latest inflation data could strengthen the case for a cut, but most commentators think such a move is more likely in December.
In September, the Bank’s governor Andrew Bailey said he still expected further rate cuts, but the pace would be “more uncertain”.
The Bank’s base rate has an impact on the cost of borrowing for individuals and businesses, and also on returns on savings.
Uncertainty over pace of cuts
The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will make its latest announcement at 12:00 GMT with most analysts predicting a hold.
The Bank of England has reduced its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points every three months since August last year. However, that cycle is widely expected to be broken this time.
Members of the MPC will be closely considering the latest economic data on rising prices, as well as jobs and wages as they cast their vote on interest rates.
The rate of inflation in September was 3.8%, well above the Bank’s 2% target, but lower than expected. Within that data, food and drink prices rose at their slowest rate in more than a year.
That has eased some of the squeeze on family finances, and also led to some analysts, including at banking giants Barclays and Goldman Sachs, to predict a cut in interest rates this month to 3.75%.
They expect a split in the vote among the nine-member committee. For the first time, the views of each individual on the MPC will be published alongside the wider decision.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said the market was giving a one in three chance of a rate cut to 3.75%.
“The odds are still firmly in favour of a hold,” she said.
All eyes on Budget
Members of the MPC will be fully aware of the potential implications of the Budget which will be delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on 26 November.
The case for a cut in interest rates in December could be boosted if the Budget includes substantial tax rises that do not add to inflation.
The chancellor, in a speech on Tuesday, said measures in the Budget “will be focused on getting inflation falling and creating the conditions for interest rate cuts”.
However, detail remains thin until the Budget is delivered and more economic data will be published before the Bank’s next meeting in December that could sway MPC members’ thinking.
“It’s possible Rachel Reeves’ surprise press conference on Tuesday was partly a cry for help to the Bank of England,” AJ Bell’s Ms Hewson said.
“By promising to push down on inflation, she might have been signalling that the Bank didn’t have to wait until after the Budget to cut rates. Whether they do or not is a finely balanced call.”
The Bank’s interest rates heavily influence borrowing costs for homeowners – either directly for those on tracker rates, or more indirectly for fixed rates.
In recent days and weeks, many lenders have been cutting the interest rates on their new, fixed deals as they compete for custom, and in anticipation of future central bank rate cuts.
Savers, however, would likely see a fall in the returns they receive if the Bank cuts the benchmark rate on Thursday or in December.
Rachel Springall, from financial information service Moneyfacts, said many savers were feeling “demoralised” as a result of falling returns and still relatively high inflation, which reduces the spending power of their savings.
The in-game island will also feature a replica of the 70th anniversary sculpture inspired by Sleeping Beauty Castle as well as glimpses of the theme park’s familiar landmarks including the Incredicoaster and Pixar Pal-a-Round across the virtual skyline. Players who complete the island’s mini-games will collect keys that can be used to unlock Disneyland 70th-themed island-exclusive cosmetics so players will be able to show their Disney spirit.
“Fortnite” players can access the island by searching for Disneyland Game Rush or using island code 4617-4819-8826.
“Disneyland Game Rush” marks the latest Disney-affiliated “Fortnite” crossover since Walt Disney Co. acquired a stake in Epic Games in 2024. Earlier this year “Fortnite” launched “Galactic Battle,” which was billed as its biggest Star Wars-themed tie-in, as well as a “Simpsons”-themed battle royale mini-season that kicked off earlier this month.
Still to come is Disney and Epic Games’ interconnected “games and entertainment universe,” which will include brands such as Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and Avatar. This “new persistent universe” was announced last year.
The agency made the announcement as it confronts staffing shortages caused by air traffic controllers who are working unpaid.
Published On 5 Nov 20255 Nov 2025
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The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will reduce air traffic by 10 percent across 40 “high-volume” markets beginning Friday morning to maintain safety during the ongoing government shutdown, it has said.
The agency made the announcement on Wednesday as it confronts staffing shortages caused by air traffic controllers, who are working unpaid, with some calling out of work during the shutdown, resulting in delays across the country.
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FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency is not going to wait for a problem to act, saying the shutdown is causing staffing pressures and “we can’t ignore it”.
Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said they will meet later Wednesday with airline leaders to figure out how to safely implement the reduction.
Widespread delays
The shutdown, now in its 36th day, has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers to work without pay. This has worsened staff shortages, caused widespread flight delays and extended lines at airport security screening.
The move is aimed at taking pressure off air traffic controllers. The FAA also warned that it could add more flight restrictions after Friday if further air traffic issues emerge.
Duffy had warned on Tuesday that if the federal government shutdown continued another week, it could lead to “mass chaos” and force him to close some of the national airspace to air traffic, a drastic move that could upend American aviation.
Airlines have repeatedly urged an end to the shutdown, citing aviation safety risks.
Shares of major airlines, including United Airlines and American Airlines, were down about 1 percent in extended trading.
An airline industry group estimated that more than 3.2 million passengers have been affected by flight delays or cancellations due to rising air traffic controller absences since the shutdown began on October 1. Airlines have been raising concerns with lawmakers about the impact on operations.
Airlines said the shutdown has not significantly affected their business, but have warned bookings could drop if it drags on. More than 2,100 flights were delayed on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, FAA’s Bedford said that 20 percent to 40 percent of controllers at the agency’s 30 largest airports were failing to show up for work.
The federal government has mostly closed as Republicans and Democrats are locked in a standoff in Congress over a funding bill. Democrats have insisted they would not approve a plan that does not extend health insurance subsidies, while Republicans have rejected that.
