France and Ukraine have signed a declaration of intent for Kyiv to acquire up to 100 Rafale fighter jets and new-generation air defence systems. The agreement, signed by Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris, would mark Ukraine’s first purchase of Rafale aircraft.
Published On 17 Nov 202517 Nov 2025
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We look at what this olive harvest really means for Palestinians and how it connects generations across the land.
For Palestinians, the olive harvest is both an essential source of income and a treasured cultural tradition. Each year, families gather beneath the groves to pick olives, press oil, and celebrate a connection to the land that spans generations. But this season has seen increasing attacks from settlers and Israeli troops, damaging or uprooting thousands of trees. With tens of thousands relying on olives for their livelihoods, each loss carries economic and emotional weight. This episode examines the harvest as a means of livelihood, a celebration, and a form of resistance.
Presenter: Stefanie Dekker
Guests:
Sami Huraini – Palestinian activist
Sarah Sharif – Palestinian American food blogger
Published On 17 Nov 202517 Nov 2025
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Bundled into vehicle with blacked-out windows, British journalist recounts detainment in US due to Palestinian support.
Published On 17 Nov 202517 Nov 2025
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British journalist Sami Hamdi, who says he was held illegally for more than two weeks by United States immigration authorities for his pro-Palestinian commentary, has described his detention as “like something from the movies”.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Hamdi accused the US Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of using “loopholes” to abuse people, and he directed attention towards the plight of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention.
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The 35-year-old British citizen was stopped at San Francisco International Airport in California on October 26 midway through a speaking tour discussing Israel’s war on Gaza.
Hamdi said Laura Loomer and other right-wing activists and allies of President Donald Trump created the grounds for his arrest by posting his lectures and calling for his visa to be revoked.
Homeland Security Department authorities stopped Hamdi at the airport and told him his visa had been revoked. However, they refused to allow him to immediately leave the US by flying to London instead of his planned domestic flight.
“And then four other ICE agents appeared out of nowhere,” he told Al Jazeera. “They surrounded me, and then they escorted me outside of the airport where a black car with tinted windows was waiting for me. They told me, ‘Get in the car.’”
He was given a few moments to use his phone after insisting on his legal rights as a United Kingdom citizen, which he used to contact the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The civil rights group agreed to help him get legal representation and inform his family of his detention.
After three car rides in handcuffs, he arrived at an ICE detention facility and was checked in with a number of other people of various ethnicities.
He later discovered through a lawyer that he was being held in Golden State Annex in McFarland, California, in what he labelled “a very politically motivated manoeuvre”.
Hamdi said he and 20 other men were held in a small cell with no facilities. Inmates repeatedly had their cases delayed through bureaucracy, he said.
One Latino man named Antonio whose wife and children are US citizens had been in detention for 10 months without charge, Hamdi said.
“This is the tragedy. You have these people who are illegally detained, who shouldn’t be there longer than six months, according to all habeas corpus rules, but who stay there longer because of bureaucratic loopholes,” said the journalist, who returned to London on Thursday.
ICE agents were “particularly aggressive” and most displayed “little sympathy for the people they were dealing with”, Hamdi said. They appeared to feel that they could act with “impunity”, he continued.
The journalist noted that while his case has received much attention, he believes it is important to remember that thousands of Palestinians remain incarcerated in Israeli military prisons in appalling conditions.
“It’s important to note that arbitrary detention for the sake of expression of freedom of speech isn’t something that’s under threat just in America or in the UK.”
Who: Spain vs Turkiye
What: UEFA World Cup qualifier, Group E
Where: La Cartuja Stadium in Seville, Spain
When: Tuesday at 8:45pm (19:45 GMT)
Click here to follow our live coverage.
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Unbeaten Spain (5-0-0) is guaranteed direct qualification into the FIFA World Cup 2026 if they beat Turkiye in their last Group E fixture on Tuesday in Seville.
Armed with a three-point lead – and a huge goal difference – Luis de la Fuente’s side are in a highly advantageous position to clinch a 13th consecutive appearance at football’s global showpiece.
Turkiye (4-0-1), for their part, still have a mathematical chance to steal the top spot from Spain in their Matchday 10 finale – but they will need to rain down a plethora of goals on the reigning European champions to avoid the runners-up spot.
Here is all to know about their Group E return clash:
Spain currently sits at the top of their Group E with five wins out of five fixtures and have a perfect record with 15 points.
Scenario 1:
A draw or a win in their final match against Turkiye would seal their spot at the 2026 World Cup with an insurmountable lead in the group.
Scenario 2:
A loss to Turkiye would mean both teams conclude the qualification period with 15 points from six matches – but with Spain having a vastly superior goal difference.
To finish first in Group E, Turkiye would have to pull off a stunning seven-goal victory away to Spain to pip La Roja for automatic World Cup qualification.
Turkiye sit in second position in Group E with 12 points – nine points clear of next-best Georgia.
Unless they can defeat Spain by seven goals, Turkiye will enter the UEFA playoff competition in March as the group runners-up.
Turkiye last took part in the World Cup finals in 2002, finishing a surprise third place in the tournament that was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.
Mikel Merino’s hat-trick helped Spain thrash hosts Turkiye 6-0 in their last World Cup qualifier on September 7.
The home side had no answer to Spain’s dominance, undone time and again by the visitors’ speed and finesse, with a helpless Turkish defence torn apart on every counterattack.
That loss remains Turkiye’s only defeat in Group E.
Barcelona star forward Lamine Yamal will miss Spain’s final World Cup qualifier against Turkiye as he continues to manage an ongoing groin issue.
Yamal, 18, underwent a small procedure in Barcelona on November 10 to try and fix the problem. Doctors estimate his recovery time from the surgery at 7-10 days.
Spain has never lost to Turkiye in the six international fixtures they have played since 2005.
Spain: W-W-W-W-W (UEFA World Cup qualifiers, most recent result last)
Turkiye: W-L-W-W-W (UEFA World Cup qualifiers, most recent result last)
In addition to Yamal’s unavailability, Spain heads into the Turkiye fixture without other key players Dani Carvajal, Pedri and Rodri.
Dean Huijsen is also questionable with a groin issue and is likely to be a game-time decision for De la Fuente.
Mikel Oyarzabal, who has scored eight goals in his last eight international appearances, will again be the No 1 choice to lead the line for Spain on Tuesday.
The Turkish Football Federation has officially ruled out Inter Milan midfield star Hakan Calhanoglu against Spain after he picked up a wrist injury during the previous international match against Bulgaria on Saturday.
Calhanoglu, who is the top goalscorer in Italy’s top-flight Serie A this season, will likely be replaced in an attacking midfield position by Isak Vural, who has been brought into the squad.
Head coach Vincenzo Montella will almost certainly be without Galatasaray defender Kaan Ayhan, who is highly questionable after he was substituted on Saturday with a groin injury.
Midfielder Ismail Yuksek will serve a one-match ban after picking up a second yellow card in the qualifying campaign against Bulgaria.
Spain: Simon (goalkeeper); Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella; Merino, Zubimendi, Ruiz; Torres, Oyarzabal, Baena
Turkiye: Cakir (goalkeeper); Celik, Demiral, Bardakci, Kadioglu; Vural, Kocu; Aydin, Guler, Yildiz; Akturkoglu
De la Fuente:
The Spain head coach is not taking his team’s unbeaten Group E run for granted before Tuesday’s fixture with Turkiye.
“Our aim is to qualify for the [FIFA] World Cup,” he said.
“Regardless of the results in this phase, we want to win to secure our place in the qualifiers, and that means fighting, working hard and doing things right to give ourselves the best chance of winning.
“It’s very difficult to win and we want to continue on our path, but one game at a time and one day at a time,” De la Fuente said.
“Every now and then it’s good to keep our feet on the ground. What this team is doing is very difficult, but we want to keep improving.”
Montella:
The Turkiye head coach has deployed a strong tactical game plan against Spain, but concedes his side’s chances of overtaking the European champions in the points table are slim.
“It [the fixture] won’t have much effect on the points table, but it’s important for us nonetheless,” he said. “I believe in my players.”
The tournament is being staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The first match will be played in Mexico City on June 11, while the final will be staged in New Jersey, US, on July 19.
Due to the expansion of the tournament – from 32 teams to 48 – the 39-day event is the longest in its history.
Russian attacks killed three people in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region as President Zelenskyy visits Paris to meet President Macron.
Published On 17 Nov 202517 Nov 2025
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Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz for just the second time this year and defended his ATP Finals crown in Turin.
Published On 17 Nov 202517 Nov 2025
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Italy’s Jannik Sinner retained his ATP Finals title on Sunday, sending the Turin crowd wild as he battled past Spanish world number one and rival Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(4) 7-5 in the decider to the season-ending championships.
Sinner, backed by a raucous Italian crowd, fell to the floor after breaking his rival’s serve in the final game before racing to celebrate with his team as chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole, Sinner, Sinner” rang around the Inalpi Arena.
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“Finishing in front of the Italian public was a fantastic thing, maybe even better than last year. Thank you very much for the support, it was incredible,” Sinner said.
“Thanks to all of you, it felt like being on a football pitch.”
In a season defined and dominated by the rivalry between the two players, it seemed inevitable that they would meet in the title clash, and both obliged by easing through the tournament unbeaten to set up one last dance in Turin.
Alcaraz forced the only break point in the first set, but Sinner held firm and brought the crowd to its feet with a tiebreak win and sealed the match when the Spaniard was unable to hold while serving to stay in the contest.
Sinner missed out on ending the year as world number one to Alcaraz after the Spaniard won his three round-robin matches this week, but the Italian won the last act of 2025 to crown the best season of his career.
The 24-year-old reached the final of all four Grand Slams, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon, while Alcaraz has also had a stellar year, winning Roland Garros and the US Open, beating Sinner in both finals.
“Hopefully you’re going to be ready for next year,” Alcaraz said with a smile.
“Because I will be ready.”
Alcaraz put Sinner to the test in Turin, but despite not being at his best and struggling with his service game – which had powered him past opponents all week – the Italian held his nerve.
Sinner won his opening service game to love with Alcaraz responding in kind, and at 2-2 the Spaniard forced deuce before a medical emergency in the stands led to a 10-minute break, the duo chatting over the net, belying the tension in the arena and on court.
When play resumed, Sinner advanced to the net to slam down a winning volley and fired an ace to hold. Alcaraz required a medical time-out during the break at 5-4 up before forcing the first break point of the match at 6-5.
Sinner survived and after letting slip a mini-break in the tiebreak, the champion brought the crowd to its feet, smashing down a lob after Alcaraz had chased back to return a drop shot and then catching out the Spaniard with a lob of his own to take the first set.
The Spaniard had chances to take the final the distance, breaking the Italian in the opening game of the second set, where Sinner hit two double faults. Yet Sinner came back to level the set at 3-3 and came through when it counted.
Sinner arrived in the final on a remarkable indoor hardcourt winning run of 30 matches since losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 decider in Turin, also the last time the Italian dropped a set in the competition.
Appearing in his third successive final in the season-ender, Sinner had lost four of his previous five meetings with Alcaraz this year, which all came in finals, but he was not to be denied in Turin, where his win earned him a record $5.07m in prize money.
Portugal recovered from a shock loss to Ireland on Thursday to qualify, while Norway is through for the first time since 1998.
Portugal booked their ticket to the 2026 World Cup with a 9-1 victory over Armenia on Sunday, while an Erling Haaland brace rubber-stamped Norway’s place in the global showpiece as they romped to a 4-1 win in Italy.
After being held by Hungary and then stunned by the Republic of Ireland last time out, Portugal sealed top spot in Group F at the third time of asking with a resounding win over bottom-side Armenia.
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In the absence of the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, star midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves both scored hat-tricks as the Portuguese ran riot in Porto.
Renato Veiga, Goncalo Ramos and Francisco Conceicao were also on the scoresheet.
“The most important thing was qualifying for the World Cup,” Paris Saint-Germain linchpin Neves told RTP.
“For me, as I always say, the team always comes before the individual. I’m very happy to have scored my first goal for the national team, and my second and third as well.”
Portugal will compete in a seventh consecutive edition of the World Cup, a tournament which the Euro 2016 champions have yet to win.
“We’re at the World Cup! Let’s go, Portugal!” Ronaldo posted on social media.
The striker could miss the start of the tournament depending on whether FIFA extend his suspension beyond the mandatory one-match ban he served against Armenia.
Ireland sewed up the playoff place in the group thanks to Troy Parrott’s 96th-minute hat-trick goal, handing them a 3-2 win over third-placed Hungary.
Daniel Lukacs gave the hosts the lead in Hungary after four minutes, before Parrott levelled from 12 yards shortly afterwards.
Barnabas Varga’s 37th-minute goal looked to have been enough for Hungary to seal second spot until 23-year-old Parrott notched his fourth and fifth international goals this week.
Parrott was the hero with his brace in Thursday’s 2-0 defeat of Portugal, and he struck to equalise again for Ireland with 10 minutes remaining in the Hungarian capital.
The AZ Alkmaar forward then sparked wild Irish celebrations as he prodded home Liam Scales’s knockdown deep into injury time to send Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side into March’s playoffs.
Italy needed a miracle in Milan to pip Norway to first place in Group I due to the visitors’ gargantuan goal difference advantage.
Pio Esposito scored early at the San Siro to give the home side the faintest of hopes, but they were unable to again break down stubborn Norwegian defending as Stale Solbakken’s side held firm.
Antonio Nusa levelled just after the hour before Haaland, inevitably, netted twice in 60 seconds to turn the tie on its head. Jorgen Strand Larsen then put gloss on the result in injury time as Norway romped to an eighth win from eight outings.
It will be Norway’s first appearance at the World Cup in 28 years.
“I’m happy, but more relieved. There’s a lot of pressure and stuff, and I feel it. But it’s fun,” Haaland, who netted 16 goals across the campaign, told TV 2.
“It’s indescribable. Absolutely insane. The way we did it is absolutely incredible. It’s huge,” Martin Odegaard said.
Israel beat Moldova 4-1 but finished six points adrift of second-placed Italy, who go into the playoffs.
France booked their place in next year’s tournament in North America with a win over Ukraine earlier in the week, and a much-changed side concluded their campaign with a 3-1 win in Azerbaijan.
Ukraine saw off Iceland 2-0 thanks to two strikes inside the final 10 minutes from Oleksandr Zubkov and Oleksii Hutsuliak to claim second place in Group D.
Thomas Tuchel’s England completed a perfect group-stage performance as they won 2-0 against Albania to finish their campaign with a 100 percent record, featuring 22 goals scored and zero conceded – a European record for a team playing at least six qualifying matches.
“I think it’s as good [a squad] as we’ve ever had,” Harry Kane, who scored both England goals, told ITV.
“I think when you look at the starting 11, you look at the players coming off the bench, we’re going to go into the tournament as one of the favourites.”
With Albania already assured of second place, Serbia beat Latvia 2-1 in a dead-rubber in Group K’s other match.
Here are the key events from day 1,362 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Published On 17 Nov 202517 Nov 2025
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Here is how things stand on Monday, November 17:
Russia’s Novorossiysk port resumed oil loadings after a two-day suspension triggered by a Ukrainian missile and drone attack, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two industry sources. The Ukrainian attack has been described as the most damaging to date on Russia’s main Black Sea crude export infrastructure.
Ukraine has secured imports of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Greece to cover its winter needs from December through to March next year, officials said during a visit to Athens by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had a conversation with Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin last week during a visit by Kazakhstan’s president to Moscow, state media reported, as United States-led sanctions continue to take a financial toll on the company.
The exchanges have been the only progress of any note in negotiations between the two countries as the war rages on in its fourth year.
Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia that could bring 1,200 Ukrainians home, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, a day after his national security chief announced progress in negotiations.
“We are … counting on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this.”
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Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said on Saturday that he held consultations mediated by Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates on resuming prisoner of war exchanges, which the two sides have carried out successfully multiple times.
He said the parties agreed to activate prisoner exchange agreements brokered in Istanbul to release 1,200 Ukrainians.
The Istanbul agreements refer to prisoner exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022 that set rules for large, coordinated swaps. Since then, Russia and Ukraine have traded thousands of prisoners although the exchanges have been sporadic.
But the swaps have been the only progress of any note in talks between the two sides as the war rages on and another punishing winter approaches with oil and energy sites being targeted by both Moscow and Kyiv.
Authorities in Moscow did not immediately comment on the issue.
Umerov said technical consultations would be held soon to finalise procedural and organisational details, expressing hope that returning Ukrainians could “celebrate the New Year and Christmas holidays at home – at the family table and next to their relatives”.
Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb told The Associated Press news agency that a ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely before the spring and European allies need to keep up support despite a corruption scandal that has engulfed Kyiv.
Europe, meanwhile, will require “sisu”, a Finnish word meaning endurance, resilience and grit, to get through the winter, he said, as Russia continues its hybrid attacks and information war across the continent.
“I’m not very optimistic about achieving a ceasefire or the beginning of peace negotiations, at least this year,” Stubb said, commenting that it would be good to “get something going” by March.
In other developments, energy infrastructure was damaged by Russian drone strikes overnight into Sunday in Ukraine’s Odesa region, the State Emergency Service said. A solar power plant was among the damaged sites.
Ukraine is desperately trying to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across Ukraine on the brink of winter.
Combined missile and drone strikes on the power grid have coincided with Ukraine’s efforts to hold back a Russian battlefield push aimed at capturing the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.
Russia launched 176 drones and fired one missile overnight, Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down or neutralised 139 drones.
Ukrainian forces struck a major oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region along with a warehouse storing drones for the elite Rubicon drone unit in partially Russian-occupied Donetsk, Ukraine’s general staff said on Sunday. Russian officials did not immediately confirm the attacks.
Months of long-range Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries are aimed at depriving Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue the war.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that its forces shot down 57 Ukrainian drones overnight.
It also said its troops had captured the settlements of Mala Tokmachka and Rivnopillya in eastern Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region.
Foreign minister says Iran has not been enriching uranium at any of its sites since Israel and the US bombed them.
Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities maintain that the United States and its allies are set on a forceful approach over the country’s nuclear programme, so negotiations appear far off.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has left no room for talks by repeatedly presenting “maximalist demands”, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday at a news conference in Tehran.
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“The current approach of the US government in no way shows readiness for an equal and fair negotiation to secure mutual interests,” he said on the sidelines of the state-organised Tehran Dialogue Forum, which diplomats and envoys from across the region attended.
Iranian officials said they have been receiving messages from neighbouring countries that are trying to mediate and keep the peace. A letter from Araghchi was also delivered to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Sunday that deals with Iran, the ceasefire in Gaza and other issues, according to Iranian media.
Araghchi said communication channels remain open with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well. Iran’s envoy to Vienna, where the nuclear watchdog is based, was joined on Friday by counterparts from China and Russia in a meeting with the representatives of the United Nations agency.
“There’s no enrichment right now because our nuclear enrichment facilities have been attacked,” the foreign minister said at the news conference. “Our message is clear: Iran’s right for peaceful use of nuclear energy, including enrichment, is undeniable, and we will continue to exercise it.”
Last week, the latest IAEA confidential report on Iran’s nuclear programme was leaked to Western media, which reported that the UN agency has not been able to verify Iran’s stockpile of 60 percent-enriched uranium since its facilities were bombed and severely damaged by the US and Israel in June.
The IAEA said it needed “long overdue” inspections of seven of the sites targeted during the war, including Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
Iran has granted the IAEA access to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and the Tehran Research Reactor but has said security and safety conditions have not been met for inspections at other facilities as the high-enriched uranium stays buried.
Iranian officials signalled over the weekend that three European powers – France, the United Kingdom and Germany – which were part of the country’s now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, may be mobilising to introduce another Iran-focused resolution to the IAEA’s board.
Iran responded to several previous censure resolutions with escalations in uranium enrichment, and Israel launched its June attacks on Iran a day after the IAEA passed a European-tabled resolution that found Tehran noncompliant with its nuclear safeguards commitments.
Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Sunday, the deputy for international and legal affairs in Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said Iran “reserves the right to reconsider its approaches” if a new resolution moves through.
He said the three European countries’ effort was a US-backed move to reinstate UN sanctions against Iran despite strong opposition from China and Russia last month and it “eliminated them from the field of dialogue and diplomacy with Iran”.
“Another resolution will bear no additional pressure on Iran, but the message it will send shows that collaboration and coordination are not important to them,” Gharibabadi said.
Iran’s nuclear programme chief, Mohammad Eslami, also slammed the West and the IAEA, telling reporters on Sunday that the UN agency is being used for political purposes, which “enforces double standards and a law of the jungle that must be stopped”.
“The attacks on Iran’s facilities were unprecedented. It was the first time that nuclear facilities under agency supervision were attacked, which meant a violation of international law, but the IAEA did not condemn the attacks,” Eslami said.
Iran’s military commanders continue to signal defiance as well. Defence Minister Amir Hatami told a meeting of lawmakers on Sunday that armed forces have been “sparing no moment in improving defence capabilities” after the 12-day war with Israel.
Tensions remain high in the region after the war with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday confirming that it seized a Cyprus-registered tanker that transited through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Palestinian national football team played their first match in Europe in a generation against Basque Country at a sold-out stadium in Bilbao, Spain. Players walked onto the pitch with roses instead of children to remember those killed in Israel’s genocide. Despite a 3–0 loss, the game was seen as a symbolic victory for solidarity, with proceeds donated to Doctors Without Borders.
Published On 16 Nov 202516 Nov 2025
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The plans, inspired by Denmark’s approach, aim to slash irregular immigration and counter the UK’s far right.
Published On 16 Nov 202516 Nov 2025
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The United Kingdom has announced a drastic reduction in the protections for asylum seekers and refugees under a new plan aimed at slashing irregular immigration and countering the far right.
The measures, modelled on Denmark’s strict asylum system, were announced late on Saturday as Prime Minister Keir Starmer comes under pressure from surging popularity for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party.
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“I’ll end UK’s golden ticket for asylum seekers,” Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood declared in a statement, with the Home Office, as her ministry is known, calling the new proposals the “largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times”.
Mahmood is due to lay out the policy in parliament on Monday.
Meanwhile, the head of the UK’s Refugee Council warned the government that the measures would not deter people from trying to reach the country and urged a rethink.
“They should ensure that refugees who work hard and contribute to Britain can build secure, settled lives and give back to their communities,” Enver Solomon said.
Currently, people get refugee status for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually, citizenship.
Mahmood’s ministry says it would cut the length of refugee status to 30 months. That protection will be “regularly reviewed”, and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, it added.
The ministry also said it intended to make those refugees who were granted asylum wait 20 years before applying to be allowed to live in the UK long-term.
Asylum claims in Britain are at a record high. Polls suggest immigration has overtaken the economy as voters’ top concern.
Some 109,343 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending March 2025, a 17 percent rise on the previous year and 6 percent above the 2002 peak of 103,081.
The Home Office said the reforms would make it less attractive for irregular migrants and refugees to come to the UK and make it easier to remove those already in the country.
A statutory legal duty to provide support to asylum seekers, introduced in a 2005 law, would also be revoked, the ministry said. That means housing and weekly financial allowances would no longer be guaranteed for asylum seekers.
It would be “discretionary”, meaning the government could deny assistance to any asylum seeker who could work or support themselves, or those who committed crimes.
Starmer, elected last year, is under pressure to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats from France, something that also troubled his Conservative predecessors.
More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived this year following such dangerous journeys – more than for the whole of 2024 but lower than the record set in 2022.
The crossings are helping raise the popularity of Reform, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, which has led Labour by double-digit margins in opinion polls for most of this year.
More than 100 British charities wrote to Mahmood, urging her to “end the scapegoating of migrants and performative policies that only cause harm”, saying such steps are prompting racism and violence.
Makhachev makes light of stepping up a weight class to beat Della Maddalena by unanimous decision.
Published On 16 Nov 202516 Nov 2025
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Islam Makhachev out-classed Jack Della Maddalena in a five-round beat-down to claim a unanimous decision victory and win the UFC welterweight championship at Madison Square Garden, with Valentina Shevchenko retaining her flyweight title in the co-main event.
Makhachev made light of stepping up a weight class after relinquishing the lightweight crown to chase a new challenge, utterly dominating his Australian opponent for 25 minutes with his smothering grappling to claim his 16th UFC victory in a row on Saturday night.
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The 34-year-old softened up his 29-year-old adversary with calf kicks before launching a relentless wrestling attack and Della Maddalena had no answer, getting stuck on the mat dealing with submission threats under tremendous pressure for long periods.
“This is my plan. It’s not a secret, all my opponents know this, and nobody can stop it,” Makhachev said before calling for his first title defence to be at the proposed event on the White House lawn in 2026.
All three judges scored the contest 50-45 as Makhachev became the 11th fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two different weight classes.
Della Maddalena – who ended an 18-fight career win streak, that featured 14 finishes – walked out of the cage without conducting the traditional post-fight interview and lost his first title defence since he beat Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision in May to wrest away the welterweight championship.
In the co-headliner, Zhang Weili’s dream of joining the elite group of double-champions came up short as the wily Shevchenko out-pointed her in another dominant performance to retain the flyweight crown.
Shevchenko (26-4-1) won her 11th overall title fight once she swept the scorecards 50-45 against Zhang.
Shevchenko displayed her full array of skills, sniping at her Chinese opponent and hurting her with punishing kicks to the body, and taking her to the mat and controlling her whenever she felt in danger.
The fighter from Krygyzstan became the first female UFC fighter to record 60 career takedowns – and the fight indeed ended with Zhang on her back.
“I was preparing for this fight as the hardest challenge in my life,” Shevchenko said in the cage after her customary victory dance.
“This is what I call the art of martial arts. When they are here in front of me, they cannot do anything.”
The show went on without an appearance from President Donald Trump, a close friend of UFC CEO Dana White, who normally has a cage side seat for the tri-state area’s biggest events.
UFC fans at the Garden, though, did get a big fight well ahead of the main event when a massive brawl broke out near one of the tunnels used for fight entrances and spilled through the stands and near press row.
The stir – which involved MMA fighter Dillon Danis – had the crowd howling and caused a short delay to the start of the pay-per-view card as police and security tried to bust up the melee.
Fists continued to fly at a furious pace once UFC 322 truly got under way.
Beneil Dariush (in 16 seconds of the first round), Carlos Prates (at 1:28 of the second round), and Michael Morales (at 3:27 of the first round) each won with devastating knockouts to open the card.
The Casa Guidi in central Florence dates from the 15th century and was divided into graceful, high-ceilinged apartments in the early 1800s. In July 1847, it was rented, initially for three months, by Elizabeth and Robert Browning – but the couple carried on living there until Elizabeth’s death in 1861. The apartment has been restored as closely as possible to the Brownings’ family home, based on a painting Robert commissioned, family letters and an inventory of their son Pen’s belongings. The furnishings include the works of art the couple collected around Europe, the original drawing room mirror and a copy of the brocade curtains described by Elizabeth.
Three nights from £870, sleeps five, landmarktrust.org.uk
Puro, a small Polish group of hotels, reopened its branch in Kraków’s old town in 2021 after a renovation by a local design office. The revamp was intended to capture the spirit of bygone Kraków, especially the cafes and restaurants that proliferated between the first and second world wars. The aesthetic is also inspired by two legendary midcentury hotels, Cracovia and Forum, and Kino Kijów, a cinema that is still open today. There is lots of pale oak panelling, natural stone, handmade glass and ceramics, and local art. Rooms have retro radios and Bauhaus-inspired furniture. Trams rattling past and chatter from cafes in the nearby square complete the illusion.
Doubles from €95 B&B, purohotel.pl
Billengehus opened in 1970 on the top of a hill in Skövde, western Sweden. The entrepreneur Arne Sandberg and his wife Maja wanted to build a hotel that combined relaxation and exercise: as well as a swimming pool and tennis courts, it had football pitches, trails for running, cycling and cross-country skiing, and a ski slope and lift. The hotel was recently refurbished and now has a new spa; it still offers hiking, biking and skiing packages. The 70s style has been preserved (lots of brown velvet!), and some rooms have record players and disco balls for a private boogie – to Abba, of course.
Doubles from £110 B&B, billingehus.com
Palazzo Previtera, in Linguaglossa on the slopes of Mount Etna, tells the story of 500 years of Sicilian history. It was built in 1649 and has been restored by descendants of the original owners. There is a 12-room museum, a library of rare books, including limited editions by Thomas Aquinas and John Milton, and a restaurant under the old arches. Four rooms and two cottages cater to overnight guests – three of the rooms are in the oldest part of the palazzo. They combine ornate painted ceilings, original floor tiles and antique furniture with designs inspired by different people and periods: the composer Vincenzo Bellini, 1930s Italian art deco, contemporary cinema. Members of the Previtera family are on hand to give guests guided tours.
Doubles from about €130 room-only, palazzoprevitera.com
The four-star Vintage Design Sax in central Prague is full of retro furniture classics by designers including Verner Panton, Luigi Colani, Eero Saarinen, and Charles and Ray Eames. It has 25 rooms (some have a view of Prague Castle) with original pieces and accessories, psychedelic wallpaper and orange, 60s-style bedding. The hotel’s central atrium is something of an art gallery, showcasing statement pendant lights, chairs and mirrors. It is part of LH Hotels, a small Czech group of seven stylish but affordable hotels.
Doubles from €78 B&B, hotelsax.cz
Step back into Georgian times with a stay at two recently opened cottages at the Beamish Museum, an open-air living history museum 10 miles south of Newcastle. Potter’s Cottage and Drover’s Rest have been created from original farm buildings near the museum’s Georgian-style pub, the Drovers Tavern. The cottages were curated by the museum’s staff and showcase period furniture and artworks from its collection – plus concealed mod cons. They feature stone floors, open fires, wooden beams, four-poster beds and free-standing baths; the gardens have views of a recreated Georgian-era area. Stays include admission to the museum to learn more about the period (usually £33pp).
From £357 for two nights (two-night minimum stay), each cottage sleeps two, beamish.org.uk
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Gwydir Castle, a fortified Tudor manor house near Llanrwst, was once owned by the Wynn family, descendants of the kings of Gwynedd. The current owners have been restoring it to its former glory for more than 20 years. Although it remains a private house, not a hotel, there are two rooms for paying guests who want to live like royalty: the King’s Room and the Duke of Beaufort’s Chamber have four-poster beds, antiques, en suites and garden views. New arrivals are greeted by peacocks parading on the lawns and welcomed with tea and shortbread. Breakfast is by a log fire in the panelled parlour and all public areas of the castle and four-hectare gardens are open to guests (entry usually £12pp).
Doubles from £140 B&B, gwydircastle.co.uk
Feeling nostalgic for the 1990s? Relive the heady days of Cool Britannia at Little Nan’s holiday home in Weymouth. The four-storey, three-bedroom house is a 90s time capsule and a temple to all things kitsch and maximalist. It’s more Spice Girls than Britpop: expect a riot of bright colours, neon lights and clashing prints, with naff ornaments and cuddly toys galore. From the lifesize cutout of Peter Andre to the toilet roll doll, no detail has been overlooked. The house has sea views and is minutes from the harbour and beach. The owner also runs Little Nan’s Bar in Deptford, south-east London (both named after his late grandmother Jojo).
From £521 a night sleeping up to eight or £626 a night sleeping 10, littlenans.co.uk
Guests can time-travel between two periods during a stay at the Mayor’s Parlour in Dover. The three-bedroom suite was designed by William Burges in the gothic revival style of the 19th century, and it is inside the Maison Dieu, Dover’s 800-year-old town hall. The mayor’s private office is now the dining room, with the original round table and padded chairs with lion-headed arms; the magistrates’ retiring room has become the kitchen; and the record-keeping rooms upstairs are the bedrooms and bathrooms. There are decorative tiles featuring parrots and butterflies, elaborate coffered ceilings, hooded chimney breasts – and even an original urinal. The Victorian property has its own access but guests can also explore the rest of the medieval Maison Dieu, which opened to the public after a £10.5m restoration in May.
From £547 for two nights, sleeps six, landmarktrust.org.uk
The Control Tower opened in 1943 to guide takeoffs and landings of second world war bombers. Today, the modernist building is a peaceful vegetarian B&B. There are three double rooms in the original signals room, boardroom and controller’s restroom, plus a separate suite with a living room and patio doors on to the garden. Each room is individually designed around statement pieces of art deco furniture, with original artworks and photographs. Guests also have use of the shared living room, which was once the meteorological office. There is no TV, but plenty of 40s-style entertainment: books, puzzles, games and strolls around the garden.
Doubles from £140 B&B, controltowernorfolk.uk
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Here are the key events from day 1,361 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Published On 16 Nov 202516 Nov 2025
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Here is how things stand on Sunday, November 16:
Conor Benn scored a unanimous points victory over Chris Eubank Jr in their rematch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Published On 16 Nov 202516 Nov 2025
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Conor Benn dominated Chris Eubank Jr for 12 rounds in their middleweight clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday to claim a unanimous decision victory, exacting revenge for his defeat in the pair’s first meeting in April.
Benn lost that fight after all three judges scored it 116-112 in favour of his opponent, but there was no doubting who won Saturday’s clash as the 29-year-old put on the most complete performance of his professional career over 36 minutes.
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Similar to the first fight, Benn came out strongly in the opening rounds, coming in under his opponent’s jab to land some heavy blows, but this time, there was to be no fall-off in production as Eubank Jr struggled from the opening bell.
Eubank Jr looked to make his height and reach advantage tell midway through the third round, punishing Benn when he allowed his head to go over his front foot, but Benn’s fast footwork allowed him to get in and out without suffering too much damage.
With Benn controlling the tempo, Eubank Jr found himself forced to lock his opponent up in the clinch to avoid damage when his guard was breached.
Sensing his adversary beginning to tire, Benn stepped on the gas in the seventh round, launching savage shots to the body to slow him down even further. Eubank Jr tried to respond, but there was little malice in his usually potent jab until he finally landed some offence late in the eighth round.
That was to be as good as it got for Eubank Jr, and Benn went for broke in the final frame, knocking his opponent to the canvas twice, with the bell coming to Eubank Jr’s rescue at the end of another epic clash between the two British boxers.
With the two boxers’ fathers engaging in a heated rivalry in the 1990s that echoed in their sons’ two 2025 clashes, Benn recorded his family’s first victory over the Eubanks and quickly drew a line under it, saying there would be no rematch.
“I feel like this is the end of the Benn-Eubank saga. Done. Finished. It’s over … this ends here,” he said, before taking a swipe at his detractors and praising Eubank Jr.
“Everyone’s saying, I can’t box? Put that in your pipe and smoke it … credit to Chris man, that’s all I say. Thank you for sharing the ring with me.”
For his part, Eubank Jr was gracious in defeat, giving no excuses for his flat performance and hailing his opponent as the better man.
“I’ve been through hell and back to get to this night, and it is what it is. I tried my best, and listen, the kid fought hard. He fought tough. He’s got power,” he said.
“Who knows, maybe we will see something new between me and him, and maybe we won’t, but for right now, it’s all about this man. It’s his night.”
Protesters demand justice over the nightclub fire that killed 63 people in the town of Kocani in March.
Published On 16 Nov 202516 Nov 2025
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Thousands of protesters have marched in North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje, demanding justice for the 63 people who were killed in a fire at a nightclub in March.
The rally on Saturday comes ahead of the trial of the 34 people and three companies charged over the incident, which marked the deadliest blaze in North Macedonia’s history.
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The fire broke out at the crowded Pulse club in the eastern town of Kocani during a hip-hop concert on March 16, triggering a stampede and killing 63 people. Some 200 others were injured.
Most of the victims were aged between 16 and 26.
Families of the victims and their supporters marched to the North Macedonian parliament on Saturday, dressed in black and carrying a huge banner with pictures of the victims, saying, “63 shadows will be following you”.
The protesters also chanted “justice for Kocani”.
The families blame corruption and greed for the deaths of their children at the unlicensed venue in Kocani. Authorities said the fire was sparked by a pyrotechnic flame that engulfed the roof of the club and that the venue had numerous and serious safety violations.
Natalija Gjorgjieska was among the families demanding justice on Saturday.
Her husband, musician Andrej Gjorgjieski, was killed in the fire. “We demand the truth. Where did the mistakes occur, who didn’t respond, which institutions were late, who had the responsibility to prevent [them] and did not?” she said.
The prosecution filed indictments for 34 people, among them the club owner, security guards and former mayors of Kocani, as well as representatives of three legal entities, including the security firm and the club owner’s companies.
They are accused of “serious crimes against public security”.
Other defendants include inspectors, civil servants and former economy ministers. If found guilty, they face up to 10 years in prison.
Corruption has long plagued North Macedonia. The Berlin-based monitor Transparency International ranked North Macedonia in 88th place globally on its Corruption Perception Index last year, one of the worst rankings in Europe.
Bribes to authorities to skip licensing requirements and skirt safety regulations are commonplace.
The European Union has repeatedly expressed concerns over pervasive corruption in the country, identifying it as a major obstacle to the nation’s accession to the bloc. North Macedonia is a veteran candidate country, waiting for entry into the EU since 2005.
Hundreds of Turkish footballers and referees have been found to hold illegal betting accounts.
The sport betting scandal that took hold of the Turkish Football Federation this week has put a spotlight on an endemic issue.
Hundreds of players and referees have been accused of illegally placing bets.
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Authorities are trying to understand the scale and impact of a situation they’re calling a “moral crisis”.
But it’s not just Turkiye, it’s not just football, and it’s not just the lower leagues.
Betting scandals are increasingly hitting major sports leagues around the world.
Fans are being bombarded with sports gambling advertisements, and betting regulations are easing.
So, is sport still about the love of the game, or just the rush of placing a bet?
What impact is gambling having on the pitch, and what can authorities do to keep the game honest?
Presenter: Nick Clark
Guests:
Ali Emre Dedeoglu – Sports commentator
Tancredi Palmeri – International sports analyst
Jamie Allen – Football journalist and writer
Published On 15 Nov 202515 Nov 2025
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LOCATED in the Baltic Sea is a crowd-free island with outdoor music festivals and ancient forests – and we bet you’ve never heard of it.
Hiiumaa in Estonia is an island home to several historic lighthouses and sprawling beaches.
It is Estonia’s second largest island, yet is home to less than 10,000 people.
But this led to the island, along with other West Estonia islands, joining the UNESCO biosphere programme area dubbed ‘Man and Biosphere, which means that the locals have lived sustainably alongside nature for hundreds of years.
And most of the time, the island is completely in the dark unless the moon and stars are glowing – as a result it also has no noise or light pollution.
Many people who travel to the island love it for its peace, including soothing sauna and walks in the forest.
Read more on travel inspo
Naturally, being an island, the destination also has “endless beaches” according to Hiiumaa.ee, such as Tõrvanina, Luidja and Ristna.
Ristna, in particular, is loved by surfers thanks to having the biggest waves in the Baltic Sea.
This spot is also where you will find on of the island’s historic lighthouses.
Ristna Lighthouse’s tower was completed in France at the workshop of Gustave Eiffel – the same person responsible for the Eiffel Tower.
Then it was brought across to Hiiumaa in pieces and then assembled to watch over the sea and ships in the region.
The lighthouse is still operational today, but is open to visitors during the summer.
Nearby is also Kõpu lighthouse, which is one of the oldest working lighthouses in the world.
Visitors can climb to the top of the lighthouse and see across the coastline.
If you happen to visit the island during the summer months, you can also explore The Lavender Farm, which is the northmost lavender farm in the world.
And rather unusually, it is located on the edge of a meteorite crater.
Visitors heading to the farm can see 20,000 lavender plants and the products produced using them, such as lavender jam, lavender spice and lavender micellar water.
For a longer walk in nature, then visitors can head to the ancient Kõpu Nature Reserve, which is located on the oldest part of the island.
The area has many rare plants and bird species.
The island also hosts a number of festivals throughout the year including the Ice Fish Festival in February which involves a number of winter-related activities on the ice and summer music festivals of jazz, folk and club music.
When it comes to food options, local dishes often include fish or lamb.
One top spot is IIUmeekk, which is located inside a quaint redhouse and overlooks a harbour.
Inside, dish options include sea trout with edamame beans, parsley and salted egg yolk or slow cooked porky belly, with tomato kimchi and polenta.
Make sure to check out their desserts as well, such as gingerbread tiramisu.
As for somewhere to stay, there are hotels scattered across the entire island.
For example, for £75 per night you could head to Kassari Holiday Resort which features bubble baths on the hotel’s roof terrace, access Kassari beach and family-friendly rooms.
Alternatively, you could head to Utoopia No. 9 for £70 a night.
The 19-room hotel is sat on Kirikulahe Bay and is inside a historic manor’s vodka kitchen.
The best way to get to Hiiumaa is by flying to the capital of Estonia – Tallinn.
Return flights from London in November cost from £37 and the flight takes under three hours.
From Tallinn you can either hop on another flight to Kärdla Airport, which takes 30 minutes.
Then you can jump on the ferry to Hiiumaa, which takes less than an hour.
Alternatively, you can hop on a coach from Tallinn, which takes just under four hours before catching the ferry.
Also in Estonia is a seaside city nicknamed the ‘summer capital’ by locals – with huge sandy beach and the sea hits 33C.
Plus, there is a tiny island in Estonia with white sandy beaches that’s the most child-friendly holiday destination in the world.
