ends

The longest multi-day truce between Russia and Ukraine, limited to Ukraine’s eastern Kherson region, has come to an end with no violations reported by either side, but also no sign of an extension.

The truce, which ended on Sunday night, allowed hundreds of besieged residents of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky to be evacuated in a rare joint operation between Kyiv and Moscow.

Russian strikes elsewhere in Ukraine on Sunday left hundreds of thousands of households without power, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. In Russia, meanwhile, authorities reported major ⁠damage to an industrial site following Ukrainian drone attacks on the Nizhny Novgorod region.

The six-day localised ceasefire in the front-line Oleshky and the surrounding area was reached after mediation efforts by United States First Lady Melania Trump and with the involvement of Pope Leo XIV. It was set to expire at 10:59pm Ukraine time (20:59 GMT).

On Sunday, Ukraine’s military said it evacuated 167 more people from threatened areas of the southern Kherson region, including 22 children and 21 people with limited mobility requiring special assistance.

“Units of civil-military cooperation of the ‘South’ group of forces, in cooperation with representatives of local authorities, evacuated 167 civilians to safer points in the Kherson region,” Ukraine’s General Staff wrote on Telegram.

An estimated 2,000 civilians were in Oleshky when the temporary truce took hold. They were offered the choice to evacuate to Kyiv-controlled territory of Ukraine or territory occupied by Russia, or to remain in the city with replenished food and medical supplies.

“The ceasefire across Oleshky and the surrounding Kherson region has provided residents with the freedom to move, access to food, clean water, medicine, plus a renewed sense of dignity without the constant threat of attack,” Melania Trump said on social media. “Let Oleshky become the starting point for lasting peace.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian news agencies, said Moscow had a positive view of how the operation was conducted in Oleshky, as well as of the coordination between the two countries’ human rights commissioners.

A Ukrainian official, however, told the AFP news agency that Russia reportedly refused an offer to extend the ceasefire after Kyiv’s Foreign Ministry proposed it.

Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022, Moscow’s forces have occupied most of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as the majority of territory in Ukraine’s southern Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.

Residents urged to remain vigilant

Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin urged residents to be vigilant as the expiry of the ceasefire neared on Sunday.

“I also strongly urge you not to visit the so-called ‘red zones’ – areas and settlements near the Dnipro [River],” Prokudin wrote on Telegram. “The intensity of Russian strikes there remains high, and the threat to life is extremely high.”

Residents in Kherson city, one of the remaining areas of the region still controlled by Ukraine, remained calm, despite knowing the quiet of the localised ceasefire would soon end.

“Don’t be afraid, keep holding on,” Oleksandr Knyha, head of the Mykola Kulish Kherson Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater, told the audience as he opened a concert.

Knyha is from Oleshky and used to commute from there to Kherson for work. He has not given up hope of returning home.

“That’s also what keeps me here,” he told the Associated Press news agency.

Fighting elsewhere

Elsewhere, Moscow and Kyiv have continued air strikes, with Zelenskyy saying on Sunday that Russia continues to target Ukraine’s energy systems before winter. Attacks on power infrastructure in four Ukrainian regions overnight cut electricity to hundreds of thousands of households, he said.

A Russian attack also killed three people, including a 13-year-old girl, in the Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia, when a drone hit the grounds of a vocational school, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said. Four others were wounded.

Russian drone attacks targeting Ukraine’s Kyiv region for a second consecutive day wounded a woman and damaged homes, energy infrastructure and a retail establishment, regional authorities said.

In its daily report on Sunday, Ukraine’s Air Force said that Moscow’s forces attacked Ukraine with 433 drones overnight, of which 371 were destroyed or suppressed.

Meanwhile, more than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the skies of Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region east of Moscow, Governor Gleb Nikitin said on Sunday.

The attack sparked a blaze at the Kstovo oil refinery, Russian media outlets reported, sharing images of black plumes of smoke over the horizon.

Zelenskyy said Kyiv also struck a factory for missile components and air defence facilities in Russia’s southern Rostov region.

“We are justly defending ourselves against Russian aggression and doing everything to reduce Russia’s capability to continue it,” Zelenskyy said.

Great Britain’s Jody Cundy’s 20-year reign as para cycling’s C4 kilo time trial world champion was ended by Australian Korey Boddington at the para cycling track world championships in the Netherlands.

Cundy, 48, won the world title in 2006 and had managed to hold onto his rainbow jersey in the 15 world championships since.

But battling for his 17th title in the C4 kilo discipline, Cundy had to settle for silver after finishing his kilometre in one minute and 4.93 seconds, a time which Boddington beat by 2.25 seconds on the final run.

Before the event, Cundy had said “age was catching up with him” and it would be “hard” to add to his 23 track cycling world titles.

Cundy is a nine-time Paralympic champion – with three of his medals coming in para swimming between 1996 and 2000.

Elsewhere on day one of the championships, Great Britain’s Rebecca Newark took gold in the women’s C5 kilo time trial.

In the women’s B kilo time trial, Britain’s Sophie Unwin and pilot Jenny Holl won silver and Elizabeth Jordan and pilot Anna Whitworth Hay claimed bronze.

Great Britain’s Finlay Graham also took bronze in the men’s C3 sprint final.

Free travel to a Salzberg gem

Bad Gastein is a relatively unknown gem. The Austrian state it sits in, Salzburg, offers free local transport (the guest mobility ticket) if you are staying in the state, so you can travel to the resort via train for nothing. The slopes are directly next to the station, too.

Rob Owen

Family fun in the French Alps

Puy-Saint-Vincent in France is a wonderful, small, child-friendly resort. Our grandchildren learned to ski each morning with great instructors on the gentle slopes under amazing azure skies. Three generations then made memories of a lifetime, skiing the wide quiet slopes together each afternoon. We enjoyed dog sleds and cosy hot chocolate in the slopeside cafes. A wonderful trip.

Barbara

A historic railway and superb skiing in Norway

Gausta, Norway, is such fun. Stay at Gaustablikk, the hotel built by Kirk Douglas’s stuntman, a wonderfully quirky piece of local history. Explore Vemork, the historic heavy-water plant where British and Norwegian resistance fighters carried out their daring sabotage during the second world war. For families, the on-piste skiing is friendly and accessible; while the cross-country trails are simply stunning. Then there’s the real adventure: an old US military train climbs Gaustatoppen, opening up spectacular off-piste skiing with views and terrain that rival much of mainland Europe. It’s a brilliant mix of history, skiing, scenery and adventure, and somehow remains a wonderfully under-the-radar destination.

Fiona

Markets and gluhwein in the Austrian Tirol

As a family of four, we loved St Johann in Tirol. It’s a comfortable Austrian village with Christmas markets, picturesque churches and gorgeous frozen valley walks – with little marmosets and weasels to look out for along the river. Wherever you stay, you can walk to a gondola. It’s really near to Salzburg airport, too. In Austria, kids get all-day lessons, which is a big bonus. Parents can just kick back or wander around and have a gluhwein or two. Prices were very reasonable in the Christmas holidays.

Nick

A locals’ favourite on the Italian border

Tarvisio-Monte Lussari on the Italian-Slovenian border covers 24km (15 miles) of skiable terrain interconnected across two main sectors: the historic and stunning Monte Lussari pilgrimage peak and the Priesnig area. Used by local people and those in the know, it offers sufficient ski runs and good value ski passes and restaurants, and is much cheaper than neighbouring resorts in Austria.

Neil

Magic in the air at La Rosière, France

Stay in the attractive resort of La Rosière in France, in the foothills of the Mont Blanc region. Enjoy the short forest walk to the village, with wind chimes and magic in the air, for an après-ski drink and a cheese fondue in a local tavern with the kids.

Oliver

Off-piste heaven in the Norwegian Alps

About 50km (30 miles) from Ålesund, Strandafjellet has excellent pistes, but also some of the best off-piste skiing in Norway. Strap on a pair of randonnée skis and you can use the lifts to access spectacular backcountry skiing in the Sunnmøre Alps. The views down to the fjord make this truly special. Pistes are illuminated for evening skiing.

Graham

A charming village in Les Trois Vallées

Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, in the French Alps (Les Trois Vallées), is low at about 1,500 metres, so go mid-season. The single run ends smack in the centre of the village, which has retained its historical features along with small, friendly bars and places to eat. Plus, it gives access to the whole of the Trois Vallées ski area – absolutely amazing from one small but beautiful village. There are plenty of choices for accommodation, both expensive and cheap.

Russell Walker

Queue-free skiing for all in Italy’s Dolomites

Brunico is tucked away in the Dolomites, just a 90-minute transfer from Innsbruck. I had a great week at the beginning of March. Unlike bigger resorts, queues were nonexistent here. There are runs for beginners through to experts. Great snow and plenty of opportunities to use it.

Ian B

Winning tip: Bavarian charm and quiet slopes

Oberstdorf in Germany continues to be my go-to for a quiet and restorative ski week away. There are 130km (80 miles) of pistes for all levels, stacks of Bavarian restaurants, a wide variety of mountain huts, plenty of hotels for all budgets and family sizes, and the novelty of skiing into and out of Austria daily. Neuschwanstein Castle is a short hop away for a day off. Unbeatable value.

Daniel Stephens

Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has called an early finish to what she described as “one of the most challenging” seasons of her career.

Poland’s Swiatek failed to qualify for the end-of-season WTA Finals – for the first time since 2019 – after pulling out of the Ningbo Open on Tuesday with a thigh injury.

Shortly afterwards, the 25-year-old announced she was bringing a largely barren season to a close, in order to recharge over a longer period of time before returning in 2027.

Former long-time world number one Swiatek – who has ended a season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2021 – has dropped to ninth in the rankings.

“The past few months, or actually the past couple of years, have been incredibly intense,” said Swiatek, who will have an opportunity to complete the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.

“I feel I need to rest and recover my body fully, so that’s exactly what I will do – [for] a bit longer this time.”

Her most recent Grand Slam triumph came at Wimbledon last year.

Swiatek has managed one WTA title this season – the Canadian Open in August – and ends 2026 with a 42-16 win-loss record.

On Saturday, she lost to fellow Pole Maja Chwalinska in the Wuhan Open semi-finals, only her fourth defeat in 23 matches.

“I’m especially proud of the work we’ve done in the second half of the year and the progress that came with it,” said Swiatek, who needed treatment on her thigh but played on against Chwalinska.

“It gives me a lot of confidence in what’s ahead.”

The ITV psychological thriller drama boasts a star-studded cast and concluded on Monday evening

Tensions were high as The Party concluded on Monday evening.

The ITV political thriller is adapted from Elizabeth Day’s bestselling novel and written for the screen by Sarah Solemani, who also stars. Made up of five episodes, The Party also stars Luke Evans as Martin Gilmour, a working-class boy who wins a scholarship to an elite boarding school and forges a lifelong bond with the wealthy, charismatic Ben Fitzmaurice, played by Tom Cullen.

Years on, and married, Martin attends Ben’s lavish birthday party as Ben weighs a run for the Conservative leadership, and fears the attendant publicity could expose secrets from their past, with tragic consequences.

The twisty story moves between the party itself, a police investigation and flashbacks to the pair’s earlier lives. It was revealed that the pair had been involved in a car crash when they were teenagers, which killed Ben’s twin sister.

While Ben was behind the wheel, three times over the limit, Martin took the fall after being coerced by Ben’s father, Lord George Fitzmaurice (Douglas Hodge), resulting in a huge payoff each year. Although this happened decades ago, the tragic event was the catalyst for the shooting, as a journalist revealed she knew the truth and was about to expose Ben after he had shared his plans to run as the next conservative leader.

In the final episode, Martin pulled a gun on Ben as he accused him of ruining his childhood and leaving him broken as an adult. In the end, Ben talked his friend down and took the gun off of him, although after admitting he always loved him, he shot himself in the head.

Ben’s wife, Serena (Lydia Leonard), heard the gunshot and saw Martin holding the gun, which he took from Ben when he fell to the floor. She believed Martin had shot her husband and told the police.

Ben didn’t die, and Martin was arrested before being later released by the police. However, a police detective was adamant that they wanted to investigate the historical car crash further. Martin realised that the time had come to walk away and put some distance between himself and the Fitzmaurice family. After visiting Ben at the hospital, he left and began facing the world with fresh purpose.

As he walked through the park, he saw a male couple with a newborn baby in the park, a smile played around his lips, as though he’d had a glimpse of the happiness that could be his at some point in the future.

Despite the gripping final episode being full of twists and turns, The Party viewers were left questioning the “abrupt” ending and accused the drama of leaving the plot “incomplete”.

Taking to X, one viewer fumed: “Is that it? What a waste of my time… #TheParty”, while a second agreed: “What a waste of 5 nights #theparty.”

A third asked: “#theparty is that it?”, while another chimed in: “What a **** ending. So many unanswered questions and loose ends #TheParty.”

“#TheParty the night went on for weeks and now it’s getting wrapped up quicker than Poirot says no no mon ami !”, joked another

The Party is available to stream on ITVX

Ben Simmons’ comeback attempt with the Sacramento Kings generated more than one blip on the basketball radar during the preseason before it came to an abrupt end Sunday when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon during practice.

Injuries had restricted the former No. 1 overall draft pick to appearing in only 107 games the last five seasons, but his return on a one-year $3.5 million, non-guaranteed contract had gone well enough that he was set to start in the regular-season opener Wednesday against the Clippers.

Simmons, considered the greatest player to come out of Australia, made news in August by taking part in the national team’s player-driven minicamp in Melbourne, a precursor to the 2027 FIBA World Cup and 2028 Olympics. Simmons, 30, has never played in a major tournament for his home country.

He also became an unwitting part of an embarrassing episode three weeks ago at Kings media day when open microphones captured an off-air conversation between female reporters discussing the physical appearance and personalities of Simmons and teammates.

A woman’s voice said, “That’s what comes with being Ben Simmons. He is cringe, cringe,” and another woman added that he is “lucky he’s so fine.” The first media member agrees, saying, “He’s a good-looking dude. His skin is, like, so smooth, I was like, damn, no tattoos?” The media members have yet to be identified.

He refrained from commenting on the exchange except to back teammate Zach LaVine, whose personality also was criticized by the reporters. But Simmons will be in street clothes from now on. The Kings said he will undergo surgery to repair the tear, which normally requires a recovery period of six to 12 months.

“I’ve faced challenges before that tested me mentally, physically, and emotionally, and I’ve found a way through every single one of them,” Simmons said in a statement posted to his Instagram Stories.

Being sidelined is nothing new for Simmons. He missed his entire first NBA season with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016-2017 with a foot injury, missed the entire 2021-2022 season with a back injury and the entire 2025-2026 season to focus on his physical recovery from back and leg issues as well as his mental well-being. He last played for the Clippers in the spring of 2025, averaging 16.4 minutes and 2.9 points over 18 games.

That production was a far cry from the promise he displayed coming out of LSU, where in his one season was a consensus All-American after averaging 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists a game. A 6-foot-10 point guard, Simmons was NBA Rookie of the Year in 2017-2018, joining Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as the only rookies to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. And Simmons was an All-Star the next three seasons before injuries began mounting.

His return this preseason was intentionally low key, sliding onto the roster of the lowly Kings (22-60 last season) without much fanfare. Simmons was quietly repairing a reputation marred by his succession of injuries and the performance anxiety and emotional burnout he has openly discussed.

He also seemed keen on representing Australia for the first time. Simmons was forced to miss the 2024 Paris Olympics with a back injury after passing on the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 Games even when relatively healthy. Now any sort of return is again in jeopardy.

He pounded his chest twice as he left the batter’s box, and all of Dodgers nation rocked to the beat.

Andy Pages did it. He finally did it. He finally broke out of his baffling two-year October slump with a hit so powerful, he didn’t even have to climb over Kiké Hernández to get it.

How powerful? With one smooth swing he broke a tie by scoring two runs while sending two teams packing, the Atlanta Braves trudging home for the winter and the Dodgers charging into the National League Championship Series.

Yeah, it was a blast, both figuratively and literally, Pages’ two-out, two-strike bases-loaded single in the seventh inning Wednesday night silencing the lame tomahawk-chopping fans at Truist Park and giving the Dodgers an eventual clinching 4-1 victory against the Braves in the National League Division Series.

Dodger Andy Pages hits a two-RBI single against the Braves during Game 4 of the NLDS Wednesday in Atlanta.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

Certainly, it only gets tougher from here. In winning this best-of-five series three games to one, the Dodgers can now prepare for a best-of-seven showdown task against either the mighty Milwaukee Brewers or blazing San Diego Padres.

Yes, they will need to hit better, they will need Blake Snell to find his focus, they will need Shohei Ohtani to show up.

But… Andy Pages! Seriously! If a guy who was seven for 66 in the last two postseasons and was so helpless last year he was benched for the last three games of the World Series… if that guy can drive in the winning run from the bottom of the order? The once-fallible Dodgers may just be unbeatable.

“There’s no more talented team than the Los Angeles Dodgers,” manager Dave Roberts shouted in the postgame clubhouse. “We’re the best organization in sports, top to bottom. We’re smarter, we’re better, and we’re tougher.”

At that point, someone referenced a recent comment from Padres owner José E. Feliciano insinuating that the Dodgers, baseball’s oldest team, was composed of dinosaurs.

“And we’re dinosaurs!” shouted a voice above the clubhouse din.

If they’re dinosaurs, their first initial is “T” and their last name is ‘Rex.”

It’s OK to start seriously thinking about a three-peat now. They’re now just eight wins away but, given how mediocre the American League playoff teams appear, they could realistically be just four wins away.

Here’s guessing that the NLCS will be the real World Series. And here’s guessing the Dodgers will be ready.

Pages, who won the hearts of Dodger fans last October when he made a leaping game-saving catch over the back of Kiké Hernández, was granted his first big October swing thanks to the Braves largess.

In the seventh inning of a 1-all tie, Teoscar Hernández redeemed himself for another fielding blunder with a single that finally drove dizzying Tyler Mahle from the game.

In came Game 2 rookie sensation Didier Fuentes, only this time, he was all rookie and zero sensation, walking Josue De Paula and Kyle Tucker to load the bases. Considering De Paula is just a kid and Tucker has been struggling, the fact that both showed such patience in such a pressure situation was pretty cool. And moments later, it got even cooler.

In came veteran reliever Robert Suarez, and Pages was ready for him, working the count full before lining the two-run single up the middle.

The Dodgers added a run two innings later on a Max Muncy home run — has there ever been a playoff game when he hasn’t homered? — to finalize the score.

Dodger Max Muncy celebrates after hitting a home run in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the NLDS against the Braves in Atlanta Wednesday.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

When the game ended on an Austin Riley fly out to right field, Pages celebrated in center field by taking off his cap, turning his face to the sky and pounding the cap three times into his glove.

It was a series that was worth the emotion, the Dodgers famous starting rotation giving up just four runs in 21 ⅓ innings, the bullpen solid behind a revived Edwin Díaz, and the offense doing just enough to beat Braves aces Chris Sale and Mahle.

In the fifth inning of a tie game, starter Tyler Glasnow issued walks to Riley and Michael Harris II. With two out, in came Alex Vesia. Up stepped slugger Matt Olson. The fans climbed to their feet. This was the Braves’ big chance.

Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz throws the ball against the Braves in the ninth inning Game 4 of the NLDS Wednesday in Atlanta.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

But Olson swung at the first pitch and lined it directly to second baseman Kiké Hernández to end the threat and quiet the joint. Díaz threw a hitless ninth for his second save of the series and…who’s going to beat them?

Afterward, Roberts referenced nearly half of his team when talking about his pride. He talked about Pages’ hit, about De Paula’s walk, about reliever Edgardo Henriquez’s 1 ⅔ shutout innings, about Muncy’s bat and Freddie Freeman’s glove.

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“I guess, amazement,” he said. “Our guys just continue to fight, persevere. You never know who the guy’s going to be.”

The only glaring weakness was, once again, the superstar who used to be their strength. Ohtani scored the Dodgers’ first run after drawing a walk but went hitless in three ensuing at-bats. He only got two hits in the four-game series and you have to wonder if his injury-wracked body would be better out of the lineup.

How well are they playing without the full services of their most historic player? On the verge of making history, the Dodgers don’t even miss him.

Rescuers halt operation off the coast with no survivors found, following a Black Sea attack that also damaged a second vessel.

Bulgarian authorities have ended search operations after confirming no survivors were found following a drone strike that sank a ship off the country’s coast.

Drones hit two commercial vessels early on Tuesday as attacks on Black Sea shipping increase amid an intensifying Russia-Ukraine war. One caught fire, and the other sank.

“There is no trace of the sailors,” Rumen Nikolov, the head of the country’s Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, told reporters on Wednesday.

The search stopped late on Tuesday and would not continue, he added.

Eighteen Turkish and Indian crew members were rescued from the ship that caught fire, but the crew members from the vessel that sank remain missing.

Authorities have not said how many people are missing, but according to the Maritime.bg specialised website, 10 people were on board the ship.

Nikolov said the ⁠incident occurred in a so-called “responsible search and rescue zone” and not in the country’s territorial waters, which extend to 12 nautical miles off the coast.

“What was found from the sunken ship was one overturned boat, three life rafts and debris from the ship’s equipment that was floating on the surface of the sea,” he said.

Asked whether any debris from the drones had been recovered, Nikolov said: “I have no information about drone debris.”

Prime Minister Rumen Radev has described the attack as “absolutely unacceptable”.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen has also condemned the incident.

Bulgarian authorities have said they are not yet able to determine the origin of the drones.

A distress beacon signal from the ship that sank was received at 2:54am on Tuesday (23:54 GMT on Monday), while the distress signal from the other ship was received at 3:23am (00:23 GMT), Nikolov said.

Both commercial ships were managed by Turkiye-based companies, according to the Equasis merchant shipping database.

They were hit about 80 nautical miles (150km) east of the Bulgarian coastal town of Byala.

The strikes came a day after another ship caught fire and sank off the Romanian coast on Monday, killing two people. Ukraine blamed Russia for the drone attack.