List

The top fish and chip takeaways and restaurants across the UK have been listed, with some surprising entries

As the year draws nearer to a close, it’s time to celebrate the very best of tasty food, as the Fry Awards announce their top spots for fish and chips in the UK.

Fry Magazine has yet again unveiled its ruling of the 50 best fish and chip takeaways, alongside their top 10 restaurants. These results come after months of judges secretly assessing fish and chip shops nationwide, assessing them on key things such as their food quality, cleanliness, staff, and value for money.

It was only those with the highest scores that rightfully earned themselves an award, and the pass mark for both categories had to be an impressive 96% and above. 2025 marks the 13th year of the awards taking place, and its list is evidence that good food is going nowhere in the UK.

The top 10 restaurants show a wide range of locations, from down south by the coast of Devon right up to Glasgow in Scotland, but it’s safe to say the top contenders are mostly based in beloved seaside towns. Sticking out like a sore thumb, however, is the capital’s only entry in the top restaurants list, and that’s Toff’s of Muswell Hill, in London.

10 Best Restaurants

Catch, Giffnock, Glasgow

Eric’s Fish & Chips, Hunstanton, Norfolk

Fish City, Belfast

Harbour Lights, Falmouth, Cornwall

Pier Point Bar & Restaurant, Torquay, Devon

Squires Fish Restaurant, Braunton, Devon

The Elite, Tritton Road, Lincoln, Lincolnshire

The Magpie Cafe, Whitby, North Yorkshire

The Scallop Shell, Bath, Somerset

Toff’s of Muswell Hill, Muswell Hill, London

Included in the sizeable list are plenty of places in Yorkshire, with seven total entries in the exclusive list, including the likes of Lighthouse Fisheries of Flamborough and Two Gates Fisheries. Home to the likes of Southend-on-Sea and Clacton-on-Sea, the county of Essex also came out with a total of four fish and chip takeaways alone, making waves in the world of seafood.

Reece Head, competition organiser, said: “Another year has passed and, once again, these shops have shown resilience, adapting to today’s challenges with remarkable dedication. At a time when inflationary pressures are being felt, these businesses continue to stay positive and prioritise their customers, maintain exceptional standards, and find innovative ways to keep fish and chips affordable.

“Starting the year as award winners is a fantastic way for fish and chip shops to kick off 2025, setting the tone for a successful year ahead. Whether served in a restaurant, a takeaway, or from a mobile unit, the Fry Awards prove that quality fish and chips can be enjoyed anywhere.”

50 Best Takeaways (in alphabetical order)

• Ainsworth’s Fish & Chips, Caernarfon
• Angel Lane Chippie, Penrith, Cumbria
• Angell’s Fisheries, Newark, Nottinghamshire
• Batterfly Fish & Chips, Surbiton, Surrey
• Bredon Village Fish and Chip Shop, Bredon, Worcestershire
• Callaway’s Fish & Chips, Dorchester, Dorset
• Churchill’s Fish & Chips Langney, Eastbourne, East Sussex

• Farnham’s at Fontygary, Rhoose, Vale Of Glamorgan
• Fiddlers Elbow, Leintwardine, Herefordshire
• Fintans Fish & Chip Co. Llanishen, Cardiff
• Fishnchickn, Hutton, Brentwood, Essex
• French’s Fish Shop, Wells next the Sea, Norfolk
• Garioch Fish Bar, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire
• Greg & Lou’s, Redruth, Cornwall
• Henley’s of Wivenhoe, Colchester, Essex
• Hiks, Brynhyfryd, Swansea
• Hirds Family Fisheries, Halifax, West Yorkshire
• Howe & Co 55, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

• Joe’s Traditional Fish and Chips, Strabane , County Tyrone
• Kellaway’s Fish and Chips, Truro, Cornwall
• Kirbys of Horsforth, Horsforth , Leeds
• Kirbys of Meanwood, Meanwood, Leeds
• Lighthouse Fisheries Of Flamborough, Flamborough, East Yorkshire
• Malt and Anchor, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
• Moore’s Fish & Chips, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway

• Oysters Fish & Chips, Lightwater, Surrey
• Oysters Fish & Chips, Marlow Bottom, Buckinghamshire
• Pennington Plaice, Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Pier Point, Torquay, Devon
• Pisces, Fleetwood, Lancashire
• Portside Fish & Chips, South Elmsall, Leeds
• Portside Fish & Chips, Kirkstall Road, Leeds
• Quintiliani’s Fast Food, Hamilton, Larkhall, South Lanarkshire

• Redcloak Fish Bar , Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire
• Sea Blue Fisheries, Clowne, Derbyshire
• Sea Salt + Sole, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire
• Seafront Chippy, Hornsea, East Yorkshire
• Shappy Wheels, Shap, Cumbria
• Shaws Fish And Chips, Dodworth, Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Squires, Braunton, Devon
• Sykes Fish and Chips, Manchester

• The Anchor, Bexley, South East London
• The Bearded Sailor, Pudsey, Leeds, West Yorkshire
• The Cafe Royal, Annan, Dumfries and Galloway
• The Chippie Van, Penrith, Cumbria
• The Codfather, Wakefield, West Yorkshire

• The Fish at Goose Green, Wigan, Greater Manchester
• The Fish Bank, Sherburn in Elmet, North Yorkshire
• The Friary, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim
• The Hook of Clacton, Clacton on Sea, Essex
• The Oyster Shell, Bath, Somerset
• The Village Fish & Chips, Petts Wood, Orpington, Kent
• Town Street Fryer, Marple Bridge, Stockport, Cheshire
• Two Gates Fisheries, Shafton, Barnsley, South Yorkshire

Here are the key events from day 1,351 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

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”.

Here are the key events from day 1,350 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Wednesday, November 5:

Fighting

• Russian and Ukrainian troops have fought battles in the ruins of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub in eastern Ukraine, with Ukraine’s military reporting fierce fighting under way in a part of the city that was key for Kyiv’s front-line logistics.

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he visited troops fighting near the eastern city of Dobropillia, where Ukrainian forces are conducting a counteroffensive against Russian troops.

  Russia struck civilian energy and port infrastructure in a massive overnight drone attack on Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa, the region’s governor said in a post on the Telegram messaging app, adding that rescuers extinguished fires and there were no casualties.

• Ukraine has struck an oil refinery in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region east of Moscow, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in a statement. The extent of damage to the Lukoil refinery in the town of Kstovo, which supplies the Russian military, was not immediately known.

• Ukraine’s military also said that its drones had caused “considerable damage” to a petrochemical plant in Bashkortostan in central Russia. Regional authorities reported an attack on the Sterlitamak petrochemical plant, but added that the facility was still operating.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that allows the use of military reservists to guard oil refineries after Ukrainian drone strikes have led to fuel shortages in some regions of the country.

Weapons

• Putin lauded his country’s development of new weapons, including the Burevestnik cruise missile and Poseidon super torpedo, describing them as faster and more effective, with the Burevestnik said to be capable of reaching more than three times the speed of sound.
• Putin also said that Russia was proceeding with the mass production of its Oreshnik missile, which Moscow said was first used to attack Ukraine in November 2024.

• Zelenskyy again urged the United States to remain open to supplying Kyiv with long-range weapons for its war effort against Russia’s invasion, while also calling for more sanctions on Moscow’s gas and nuclear sectors.

• Norwegian munitions maker Nammo has signed a letter of intent with a Ukrainian industrial partner to produce, develop and sell ammunition in Ukraine, Norway’s government said.

Sanctions

• Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company Kazmunaygaz and the sanctioned Russian oil and gas firm Lukoil are continuing work on joint projects in accordance with contractual obligations, despite Western sanctions, Russia’s Interfax agency reported.

• Japan’s investment firm Marubeni plans to follow the guidance of the Japanese government regarding its involvement in Russia’s Sakhalin-1 oil project after the US government sanctioned the project’s key shareholder, Rosneft, Marubeni’s CEO, Masayuki Omoto, told a briefing in Tokyo.

• Turkish fuel supplier Guzel Enerji has announced that it will raise the price of diesel after Western sanctions on Russian oil companies led to issues with supply and increased insurance and financing costs, according to a document seen by Reuters news agency.

Politics and diplomacy

• Zelenskyy called on Hungarian leader Viktor Orban to stop blocking Kyiv’s bid to join the European Union.
• The European Commission said that the EU could welcome new member countries as early as 2030, as it praised Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova for their progress on reforms needed to join the bloc.
• The EU may need to come up with a bridging solution to keep Ukraine financed in early 2026 if a deal on an EU loan, based on frozen Russian assets held in EU accounts, continues to be delayed, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis said.

• Germany plans to increase its financial aid to Ukraine by about 3 billion euros ($3.5bn) next year, a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Finance said. Germany has already contributed about 40 billion euros ($46bn) since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022.

• Maxim Oreshkin, a deputy chief of staff in Russia’s presidential administration, will lead Moscow’s delegation to the G20 summit in South Africa later this month, according to a decree signed by Putin. The Kremlin earlier said that Putin, who is facing an International Criminal Court warrant for arrest, would not travel to the summit in Johannesburg on November 22-23.

• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is constantly working as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia over Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, including in Zaporizhzhia, IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

Here are the key events from day 1,349 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Tuesday, November 4:

Fighting

• Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, an important transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for more than a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that Pokrovsk remained under severe pressure, though Russian troops had made no gains in the past day.
• He also said that Russia was massing troops by the nearby town of Dobropillia, where Kyiv’s forces advanced earlier this year in a successful counteroffensive. He described the situation in Dobropillia as complicated.
• Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps said that Ukrainian forces had thwarted a Russian attempt to cut off a supply route to Pokrovsk from Rodynske, to the north.
• Elsewhere, Russia said its troops had also attacked Ukrainian forces near another eastern city, Kupiansk, and dislodged them from four fortified positions in the industrial zone on the left bank of the Oskol River. Zelenskyy said that up to 60 Russian soldiers remained in Kupiansk, and that Ukrainian forces were trying to clear them.
• The Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces had carried out heavy overnight strikes on a Ukrainian military airfield, a military equipment repair base and military-industrial facilities, as well as gas infrastructure facilities that supported them.
• Ukraine’s military said it hit an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region, adding that a successful strike and resulting fire had been recorded on one of the refining facilities.
• Ukraine also said that it had hit Russian military logistical facilities in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Luhansk.

Weapons

• Zelenskyy announced that Kyiv will set up offices for arms exports and joint weapons production in Berlin and Copenhagen this year.

• Zelenskyy added that Ukraine plans to launch mass production of its domestically produced missiles – the Flamingo and Ruta – by the end of this year.
• He also said that a Ukrainian delegation would visit Washington, DC, next week for further talks on a US-Ukraine drone deal, which Kyiv hopes will bolster ties with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Politics and diplomacy

• The European Commission (EC) said in a draft text that Ukraine is showing “remarkable commitment” to joining the European Union, but must reverse recent negative trends in the fight against corruption and accelerate rule of law reforms, according to the Reuters news agency.
• The agency reported that the EC also said that Kyiv needed to make more progress on judicial independence, fighting organised crime and respecting civil society.
• Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin departed for a two-day visit to China, which the Kremlin said is significant and includes planned talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Economy

• Zelenskyy said Ukraine still needs to raise $750m to secure gas imports for the upcoming winter. The government wants to increase natural gas imports by about 30 percent after Russia sharply intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector in recent weeks, focusing on gas facilities.

Kyle Schwarber, 33, DH, 4.7, 19.9: Schwarber is a premier slugger with 187 home runs in four seasons with Philadelphia, where he also was an exceptional clubhouse leader. He is pretty much restricted to designated hitter and is approaching an age where offensive production might decline. He still merits a lucrative multi-year deal, although going longer than four years at a $30 million average annual value (AAV) might be inviting buyer’s remorse in 2030.

Kyle Tucker, 29, OF, 4.5, 27.3: Although his 2025 bWAR was lower than that of Bellinger and Schwarber, Tucker might have the highest sticker price in this free-agent class. The average of projections from 20 ESPN experts is 10 years and $391.5 million for a $38.8 million AAV. The Dodgers are considered a prime suitor because of their deep pockets and need for a productive corner outfielder.

Eugenio Suárez, 34, 3B, 3.6, 26.8: A drop of nearly one win above replacement from the top three free agents — Cody Bellinger, Schwarber and Tucker — still puts Suárez in an enviable position. Splitting the season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, Suarez tied a career high with 49 home runs and drove in 118 runs.

Alex Bregman, 32, 3B, 3.5, 43.1: Even though Bregman’s bWAR was slightly lower than that of Suárez, he should command a larger deal because he’s younger and more well-rounded. Bregman missed 44 games because of injury in his single season in Boston but still put up solid numbers. His average bWAR over his 10-year career is 4.3.

Trent Grisham, 29, OF, 3.5, 14.6: Grisham is an enigma, a first-round draft pick who blossomed with the Padres only to crater and bat under .200 three years in a row. But in 2025 he rebounded, swatting a career-high 34 home runs with the Yankees in 2025. Grisham also has two Gold Gloves in center field. Still, he’s a bit of a gamble.

Bo Bichette, 28, SS, 3.4, 20.8: Bichette showed his toughness by playing effectively in the World Series despite a lingering knee injury. Bichette can flat-out hit, accumulating more than 175 hits in four of the last five seasons with above-average power. He also plays a premium position and will turn only 28 in March, meaning he could command a contract exceeded only by that of Tucker.

Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette hits a three-run home run during Game 7 of the World Series, Nov. 1, 2025, in Toronto.

(Ashley Landis/AP)

Pete Alonso, 31, 1B, 3.4, 23.3: Alonso was disappointed by the tepid interest in him as a free agent last offseason, re-signing with the Mets on a one-year, $30-million deal with a player option. He’s expected to test the market again after once again posting the glittering power numbers that have made him a fan favorite in New York for seven years.

Josh Naylor, 28, 1B, 3.1, 8.4: The 5-foot-10, 235-pound left-handed slugger produced well in 2025 while splitting the season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, batting a career-high .295 and hitting precisely 20 home runs for the third time in five seasons.

Gleyber Torres, 29, 2B, 2.9, 18.7: Torres needed to restore his value after taking a one-year deal with the Tigers following a ho-hum 2024 season with the Yankees. He did so incrementally and should land a measured multi-year deal this time around.

J.T. Realmuto, 35, C, 2.6, 38.8: Realmuto is recognized as one of the top-hitting catchers in baseball, and he’s clearly the top free-agent backstop, proving in 2025 that he can still catch upward of 130 games while putting up solid offensive numbers. Still, he will be 35 on opening day and his .700 OPS was his lowest in a decade.

Jorge Polanco, 32, 2B, 2.6, 20.7: Polanco hit 26 home runs and posted an .821 OPS, the switch-hitter’s best season since 2021 when he hit 33 homers and drove in 98 runs. Chronic knee problems have put his shortstop days behind him and cut into his range at second or third base, but the bat still plays.

Mike Yastrzemski, 35, OF, 2.6, 16.8: Although the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski posted his best OPS (.839) since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he might be entertaining only contract offers of one year at $10 million or so.

Ryan O’Hearn, 31, 1B/DH, 2.4, 3.1: O’Hearn is an accomplished left-handed hitter coming off a season split between the Orioles and Padres. He can expect a large raise from the $3.5 million he made in 2025, perhaps tripling it.

Marcell Ozuna, 35, OF/DH, 1.6, 29.5: Ozuna is a proven power bat who has exceeded 20 home runs in nine seasons and led the NL with 18 homers and 56 RBIs in pandemic-shortened 2020. After tremendous 2023 and 2024 seasons in which he totaled 79 homers and 204 RBIs, Ozuna slipped in 2025, batting .232 with 21 home runs while battling hip pain.

Luis Arráez, 29, 1B, 1.3, 16.5: Arráez doesn’t get much love from bWAR or fWAR, but he sure can hit, leading all major leaguers with a .317 lifetime average. He led the NL with 181 hits in 2025, but because he doesn’t hit for power or walk much, his OPS was a pedestrian .719. The three-time batting champion should continue to be paid about $14 million a year, with the question becoming for how long.

Paul Goldschmidt, 38, 1B, 1.2, 63.8: Goldschmidt boasts the highest career bWAR of any free-agent hitter and he has made it clear that he is not ready to retire. His productivity, however, is trending downward, especially his power. With only 10 homers and 45 RBIs in 534 plate appearances with the Yankees last season, Goldschmidt is no longer an elite hitter.

Victor Caratini, 32, C, 0.9, 4.3: Catchers are at a premium in this free-agent class and Caratini is one of the few with a potent bat and ability to play more than 100 games in a season. He most recently delivered decently on a two-year, $12-million deal with the Astros and could land a similar contract because of the scarcity of backstops.

Here are the key events from day 1,348 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Monday, November 3, 2025:

Fighting

• Russia fired a wave of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight on Sunday, killing at least 15 people, including two children, the Kyiv Independent reported.
• The attacks cut electricity to nearly 60,000 residents in the southern front-line region of Zaporizhia, Ukrainian authorities said.
• Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on one of Russia’s main Black Sea oil ports, Tuapse, causing a fire and damaging at least two foreign vessels there, according to local officials.
• The overnight attack on Sunday forced the temporary closure of dozens of Russian airports, chiefly in the country’s south and west, for safety reasons, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya said on Telegram.

Weapons

• United States President Donald Trump said that he is not considering a deal that would allow Ukraine to obtain the long-range Tomahawk missiles for use against Russia.

Sanctions

• Turkiye’s largest oil refineries are buying more non-Russian oil in response to the latest Western sanctions on Russia, two people with direct knowledge of the matter and several industry sources told the Reuters news agency. Turkiye is a major buyer of Russian crude, along with China and India.

Politics and diplomacy

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the continuing deadly Russian attacks on his country proved that Moscow was aiming to “inflict harm” on civilians, and announced that Kyiv had beefed up its air defences in response.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “painstaking work” on the details of a possible agreement is needed to resolve the war in Ukraine, and not a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Entertainment and Features Editor: Brittany Levine Beckman

Lead Gift Guide editor: Marques Harper

Project editor: Betty Hallock (food)

Writers: Lisa Boone, Stephanie Breijo, Kailyn Brown, Jaclyn Cosgrove, Danielle Dorsey, Marah Eakin, Betty Hallock, Jenn Harris, Jeanette Marantos, Todd Martens, Deborah Netburn, Christopher Reynolds, Lindzi Scharf, Deborah Vankin

Senior deputy design directors: Jim Cooke, Faith Stafford

Lead Gift Guide art director: Nicole Vas

Art director: Judy Pryor

3D illustrations and lead animation: Daniel Jurman

Executive director of photography: Kim Chapin

Photo editors: Taylor Arthur, Raul Roa

Copy editors: Blake Hennon, Ruthanne Salido

Digital production: Nicole Vas

Fact checking: Michael Darling

Audience engagement: Defne Karabatur, David Viramontes

Editor’s note: Prices and availability of items and experiences in the Gift Guide and on latimes.com are subject to change.

LOVE a buffet but fancy something a little more luxury? Well, we’ve found the spot perfect for that with the world’s biggest buffet just a few hours from the UK.

Les Grands Buffets in the south of France is so in demand that it often has a seven-month waiting list.

The luxury buffet dates back to 1989 and welcomes 400,000 brave diners each year.

That’s around 600 people each day, for lunch and dinner.

Whilst not exactly your budget buffet, it isn’t too outrageously priced either at €65.90 (£57.38) per person.

The inside of the restaurant is so vast that visitors are handed a map upon entering – there are four dining rooms in total.

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One of the rooms – called Salon Dore Jean de la Fontaine – was created by the same people who restored the Palace of Versailles, so as you can imagine, is pretty extravagant.

In fact, around 18,000 gold leaves have been added to the finishings in the room.

Another – the Tente d’Apparat Jean-Baptiste Nolin – is a tented room that pays tribute to Louis XIV.

If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can even weigh yourself before and after to see how much food you have consumed.

All of the food served at the buffet is inspired by 19th century chef Auguste Escoffier, who is often considered one of the masters of traditional French cuisine.

In total, there are 150 entrees, main courses and desserts at the buffet.

One section of the restaurant is a seafood buffet, with dishes including a royal seafood platter, fish soup and smoked salmon.

Bottomless lobster is also available.

At the foie gras buffet, guests can help themselves to a range of different duck foie gras, including ones with pepper or creme brulee.

Then there is also a pâté en croûte buffet and a cooked meat and terrine buffet.

For main dishes, guests can enjoy a range of options such as veal, snails,a roasted leg of lamb, scallops, quail stuffed with foie gras, suckling pig on a spit, omelettes, salmon, beef fillet, beef stew, onion soup, squid, wild boar stew, gratin dauphinoise… The list goes on.

Les Grands Buffets is home to the largest cheese selection in the world, in a restaurant with over 100 varieties of cheese.

When it comes to sweet treats there is a cake section, with a towering chocolate fountain.

Classic desserts make an appearance as well, such as creme caramel and black forest gateau with candied cherries.

Flamed desserts are available too, like crepes, rum bananas and baked Alaska.

Or opt for some classic ice cream or sorbet.

The restaurant has over 32,000 reviews on Google, equalling an average rating of 4.5 stars.

One recent visitor said: “You don’t come here just for the food.

“It’s about the whole experience which is totally ridiculous and fun.

“While it wasn’t the best buffet food I’ve ever had, the showmanship and atmosphere really do make up for it.”

Another added: “It is a feast for once in a lifetime.”

The restaurant is located in Narbonne, a town in south France on the Canal de la Robine.

If visiting, the town has some other lovely spots to explore such as the Gothic Cathédrale Saint-Just et Saint-Pasteur, which started construction back in the 13th century but was never finished.

For some history, head to the Archbishop’s Palace which is home to a number of archaeological and art museums.

And if it is sunny, you can explore Plage de Narbonne beach which has golden sand and clear waters.

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In other buffet news, these are the little-known way hotels are trying to make you eat less at the breakfast buffet.

Plus, 10 tips to enjoy your holiday buffet without gaining extra pounds – from plate size to eating that dessert.

The battle over Ukraine’s Pokrovsk rages as both Russia and Ukraine continue to hit each other’s energy infrastructure.

Here is how things stand on Sunday, November 2, 2025:

Fighting

• At least four civilians have been killed and 51 injured across Ukraine by Russian attacks, according to local officials.
• A strike blamed on Russia hit a shop in the Samariivskyi district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing two and injuring multiple people, regional military chief Vladyslav Haivanenko said.
• The Ukrainian military has said Russian forces launched four missiles and dropped 139 guided bombs over the past day, as well as thousands of shells and drones.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its air defences intercepted 164 Ukrainian drones, including 39 over the Black Sea and 26 over Crimea, overnight.
• Fighting continues to intensify near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, with the Russian army saying its forces destroyed Ukrainian military formations near the railway station.
• Oleksandr Syrskii, Ukraine’s top military commander, said Ukrainian troops were facing a “multi-thousand enemy” force in Pokrovsk, but rejected Russian claims that they were surrounded or blocked.
• Ukraine confirmed that its special forces had been deployed to protect key supply lines in Pokrovsk, while Russia claimed Ukrainian troops were surrendering and some of the special forces were killed while landing in a helicopter.
• Ukraine’s military intelligence announced a strike on the Koltsevoy fuel pipeline near Moscow, claiming all three lines were destroyed.
• A drone attack by Ukraine reportedly hit an oil terminal pier and a tanker in Tuapse town, located on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, setting fire to port infrastructure.

Politics

• Ukraine condemned Russia’s attacks on key energy infrastructure. Its Foreign Ministry accused Moscow of carrying out strikes on a power substation feeding nuclear power plants in “nuclear terrorism”.
• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that its inspectors visited a substation critical to nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, and reported damage “as a result of recent military activities”.
• In a statement on Friday, G7 energy ministers condemned Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, saying they are affecting civilians.
• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Friday that his foreign intelligence service has identified 339 Ukrainian children who have been allegedly abducted by Russia.

Regional security

• Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told the Reuters news agency he is confident that the country’s governing coalition can agree on a new model of military service for implementation next year as planned.
• An unidentified drone was spotted over the Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium on Saturday, the second such sighting over the previous 24 hours.

“Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” star Jesse Eisenberg may soon one-up the film franchise’s Robin Hood-esque Four Horsemen in the giving-back department.

This December, the Academy Award nominee and longtime blood donor will give one of his kidneys to a complete stranger, he said Thursday on the “Today” show. He slipped the news into a conversation with host Craig Melvin about a recent show-sponsored blood drive.

As Melvin and his co-hosts reacted in disbelief, Eisenberg said, “I really am [donating].”

“I don’t know why. I got bitten by the blood donation bug,” he said, adding that he was “so excited” to make the nondirected (a.k.a. “altruistic”) donation, wherein a living donor is not related to or known by the recipient.

According to the National Kidney Registry, approximately 90,000 people in the U.S. are currently in need of a kidney transplant, while roughly 6,000 people donate kidneys each year. Less than 5% of those already slim donations are nondirected.

Eisenberg said he suspected that if people knew how safe the process was, those numbers would go up.

“It’s essentially risk-free and so needed,” Eisenberg said in a separate interview with Today.com. “I think people will realize that it’s a no-brainer, if you have the time and the inclination.”

“The Social Network” alum added that prospective donors need not worry about forking over a kidney and later facing a situation wherein a family member urgently needs one.

“The way it works now is you can put a list of whoever you would like to be the first [relative] to be at the top of the list,” he said, referring to the National Kidney Registry’s family voucher program. The program launched in 2019, preceded by an earlier “standard” iteration that required the voucher donor to name a voucher holder who had some form of kidney impairment. (The standard voucher option is still available to donors as well.)

“Not only does this remove an important disincentive to living kidney donation, but it is the right thing to do for the generous people who are donating a kidney to a stranger. Donors can now donate a kidney and still provide security for their loved ones should they need a kidney transplant in the future,” Dr. Jeff Veale, who helped pioneer the voucher system, said in a statement at the time of the program update.

Recovery is also a non-issue for most kidney donors, who on average return to daily activities within a few weeks of the surgery, per the Mayo Clinic.

“Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” hits theaters Nov. 14, nearly a decade after the previous installment in the franchise premiered. Eisenberg stars alongside returning cast members Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco and newcomers Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt and Rosamund Pike.

United States President Donald Trump has announced that Nigeria will be placed on a watchlist for religious freedom, based on vague claims that Christians in the country are being “slaughtered” by Muslims.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump explained that the African nation would be added to a Department of State list of “Countries of Particular Concern”.

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” Trump wrote. “Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’.”

The Nigerian government has denied such allegations in the past. But critics warn that designating Nigeria a “country of particular concern” could pave the way for future sanctions.

Trump also appears to have bypassed the normal procedure for such matters.

The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act created the category of “country of particular concern” in order to help monitor religious persecution and advocate for its end.

But that label is usually assigned at the recommendation of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom – a bipartisan group established by Congress – and specialists in the State Department.

In Friday’s post, Trump explained that he had asked the House Appropriations Committee and two congressmen, Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, to “immediately look into this matter”. Both are Republican.

Trump’s claims appear to mirror language pushed by right-wing lawmakers, which frames fractious and sometimes violent disputes in Nigeria as a case of radical Islamists attacking Christians.

Experts, however, have called that framing largely inaccurate, explaining that strife in the country is not explained simply by religious differences.

Nigeria is divided between a majority-Muslim north and a largely Christian south. The country has struggled with violent attacks from the group Boko Haram, which has created turmoil and displacement for more than a decade.

Disputes over resources such as water have also exacerbated tensions and sometimes led to violent clashes between largely Christian farmers and largely Muslim shepherds. Nigeria has denied, however, that such clashes are primarily motivated by religious affiliation.

Still, Representative Moore echoed Trump’s assessment in a statement after Friday’s announcement.

“I have been calling for this designation since my first floor speech in April, where I highlighted the plight of Christians in Muslim majority countries,” Moore said.

He added that he planned to “ensure that Nigeria receives the international attention, pressure, and accountability it urgently needs”.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, another Republican, also applauded Trump’s decision. “I am deeply gratified to President Trump for making this determination,” he said in a news release. “I have fought for years to counter the slaughter and persecution of Christians in Nigeria.”

Since returning to office for a second term in January, Trump has sought to bolster his base among the Christian right in the US.

At a prayer breakfast in February, he announced his administration was establishing a task force to root out anti-Christian bias in the federal government.

Later, in July, his administration issued a memo allowing federal employees to evangelise in their workplaces.

While Trump denounced alleged anti-Christian violence in Friday’s post, his administration has also been recently criticised for its policy towards refugees: people fleeing persecution or violence in their homelands.

On Wednesday, Trump announced the lowest-ever cap on refugee admissions in the US, limiting entry to just 7,500 people for all of fiscal year 2026.

In a notice posted to the Federal Register’s website, he explained that most of those spots would “primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa” and “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination”.

Critics were quick to point out that refugee status is awarded for fear of systematic persecution, not discrimination.

Still, Trump has continued to ratchet up diplomatic tensions with South Africa, falsely claiming that white Afrikaners are subjected to a “genocide”, an allegation frequently pushed by figures on the far right.

Here are the key events from day 1,346 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Saturday, November 1, 2025:

Fighting

• Russian forces killed eight people and injured 18 others in Ukraine’s Donetsk region in the past day, the Head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Vadym Filashkin, reported on Facebook on Friday.
• Five people were killed, and three others injured, when two different cars hit explosive devices in a forest area of Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region on Friday, local police said, adding that they are “investigating the circumstances” of the “two car bombings in the border zone”.
• Russian forces launched 673 attacks on 19 settlements in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region in a day, killing at least three people and injuring 29, governor Ivan Fedorov wrote in a post on Telegram.
• A 56-year-old woman was killed, and four other people were wounded, in Russian shelling of the Dnipro district of Ukraine’s Kherson region, the Kherson Regional Military Administration wrote in a post on Telegram on Friday.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that 170,000 Russian troops are deployed near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk but that the city is not encircled, according to Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
• Russian forces seized the Ukrainian village of Novooleksandrivka, in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claim.
• Ukrainian shelling left more than 2,000 households without electricity in the town of Kamianka-Dniprovska in Russian-occupied Zaporizhia, TASS reported, citing local officials.
• Ukraine’s navy said on Friday it struck a Russian thermal power plant in the Oryol region and an electric substation in Novobryansk with Neptune cruise missiles.

• Ukrainian forces have hit 160 Russian oil and energy facilities so far this year, the head of the SBU security service, Vasyl Maliuk, told reporters on Friday.

Politics and diplomacy

• Moldova’s parliament chose Alexandru Munteanu as its new prime minister, in support of the country’s efforts to join the European Union and move further away from Russia.

Sanctions

• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he hopes to convince United States President Donald Trump that Hungary should be exempted from US sanctions on Russian oil because of its high dependence on pipeline networks for its energy supplies. Orban also noted that Germany had sought an exemption for one of its refineries.
• The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday it had banned entrance to Russia for more European Union officials in response to new European sanctions against Russia, without providing a list of banned individuals.
• The European Commission said on Friday that export bans on Ukrainian foods imposed by three EU members – Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – were not justified now that an updated EU-Ukraine free trade agreement has entered force.

Regional security

Weapons

• The Pentagon has told the White House that providing Tomahawk weapons to Ukraine would not negatively impact US stockpiles, CNN reported, citing three unnamed US and European officials.

Oct. 30 (UPI) — Los Angeles has toppled Chicago as America’s Rattiest City, according to exterminating company Orkin, which publishes a Top-50 list.

“With year-round warm weather, a booming culinary scene and dense neighborhoods that offer ample access to food and shelter, the City of Angels checks every box for rodent survival,” a company press release said.

“From bustling commercial corridors to hidden alleyways, Los Angeles’ signature blend of glam and grit creates a perfect storm for rodent activity.”

Chicago has held the top spot since Orkin created the annual list in 2015

The shift is most likely due to weather patterns, urban infrastructure and human behavior, the press release said.

“Rats and mice are more than a nuisance — they’re opportunists,” Ian Williams, Orkin entomologist, said in a statement. “If there’s food, warmth and a way in, they’ll find it. And once inside, their constant chewing and rapid reproduction can quickly turn a small issue into a large, expensive one.”

Rodents are known carriers of illnesses to humans, including Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis, Lymphocytic Choreomeningitis, plague and typhus.

Orkin measures the number of calls to Orkin to eliminate rats to make the rankings.

The top 25 Rattiest Cities, according to Orkin are, in order, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Hartford, Conn., Washington, D.C., Detroit, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Denver, Cleveland, Baltimore and Boston.

Also, Indianapolis, Dallas, Milwaukee, Seattle, Atlanta, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Tampa, Fla., Houston, San Diego and Grand Rapids, Mich.

Here are the key events from day 1,342 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Tuesday, October 28, 2025:

Fighting

• Russian attacks on Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhia killed a 44-year-old man and wounded several others, Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Monday, as the death toll from other assaults on Sunday continued to rise.
• Ukrainian officials said the attacks on Sunday killed two people in the eastern Donetsk region and a 69-year-old man in the northern Sumy region. Fifteen others, including two children, were wounded in Sumy, police there said.
• Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) claimed the killing of Lieutenant Vasily Marzoev, the son of a Russian general, using a guided aerial bomb. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the report.
• A Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian minibus in the village of Pogar in the Bryansk region killed the driver and injured five passengers, Russia’s state TASS news agency reported, citing Governor Alexander Bogomaz.

• The Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces seized the Ukrainian village of Yehorivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region. However, the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reported that Ukrainian forces had cleared Russian troops out of the village. Neither claim could be independently verified by Al Jazeera.

• Russia’s Defence Ministry also said its forces captured the villages of Novomykolaivka and Privolnoye in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, according to TASS.

• TASS also reported the ministry as saying that Russian forces shot down 350 Ukrainian drones, two guided missiles and seven rocket launchers in the past 24 hours.
• A report by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found that Russian drone attacks were used as “part of a coordinated policy to drive out civilians from [Ukrainian] territories”, amounting “to the crime against humanity of forcible transfer of population”.
• The report described civilians who were chased over long distances by drones with mounted cameras, and sometimes attacked with fire bombs or explosives while seeking shelter.

Politics and diplomacy

• United States President Donald Trump said that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, should end the war in Ukraine instead of testing nuclear-powered missiles, adding that Washington had a nuclear submarine positioned off Russia’s coast. The comments came a day after Putin said that Russia had successfully tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile.

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was nothing in the test of the missile that should strain relations with Washington, and that Russia was guided by its own national interests.
• Norway’s military intelligence service said that Russia’s test of the Burevestnik missile was launched from the Barents Sea archipelago of Novaya Zemlya.
• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the US-based Axios news outlet that Kyiv and its allies have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan in the coming 10 days, following Trump’s recent proposal to stop the war at the current lines.
• Putin signed a law on Monday terminating an already defunct plutonium disposal agreement with the US that aimed to prevent both sides from building more nuclear weapons.

• North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son Hui met Putin at the Kremlin on Monday to discuss strengthening cooperation with Russia, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Tuesday.

• “Many future projects to constantly strengthen and develop” the bilateral relationship were discussed during the meeting, KCNA said, with Choe also conveying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s “brotherly regard” to Putin. The Russian leader, in turn, asked Choe to tell Kim that “everything was going to plan” during the meeting.

• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will discuss US sanctions on Russian oil companies, among other issues, when he meets Trump in Washington next week, Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said on Monday.

Regional security

• Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said on Monday that her country will begin to shoot down smuggler balloons crossing the border from Belarus, a close Russian ally, after the balloons repeatedly interrupted the Baltic nation’s air traffic.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that helium balloons over Lithuania were a “provocation” and “a hybrid threat”, adding in a post on X that the balloons are another reason to accelerate the European Union’s Eastern Flank Watch and European drone defence initiatives.

Weapons

• Ukraine’s military intelligence published a list detailing the origins of 68 foreign components used in Russian missiles and other weapons, which it says came from China, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the US.

DUA LIPA has topped heat magazine’s annual Rich List – with a fortune of £129million.

And the pop star looks like she’s going to be keeping her crown as she’s miles ahead of second place Tom Holland whose £35.7m pot looks pretty measly by comparison.

Lewis Capaldi, Millie Bobby Brown and Molly-Mae Hague, and love rat Tommy Fury, make up the rest of the top five.

The magazine Rich List, which is made up of the 30 richest under 30s in the UK and Ireland, has also compiled the biggest international stars – with Kylie Jenner coming in at No1 with a fortune of £540m, beating Hailey Bieber, Billie Eilish, Blackpink and Kylie’s sister Kendall.

And they’ve also listed their top five most generous celebs, with Sir Elton John giving away £27m last year.

While Harry Styles raised a massive £5.2m for charity last year, with Ed Sheeran also giving away £2m to good causes.

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Last month Dua and her fiance Callum Turner were on the look out for a place in the sun.

I’m told the couple, who got engaged last Christmas, have called on a property expert to tap up a series of very posh holiday homes in Andalusia in southern Spain.

A source said: “Dua and Callum are looking for a sunny bolthole to enjoy with their families.

“Their preference has been pretty clear: nice weather and properties that have space.

“They have a man scouting for homes in Portugal and Andalusia, which have amazing weather all-year round.

“The house has to be able to comfortably fit Dua and Callum, as well as their family and friends.”

IRIS Law had her assistants running across New York to find her favourite treats ahead of the Victoria’s Secret show, it’s been reported.

The 25-year-old daughter of actor Jude Law and film producer Sadie Frost, made her debut as an Angel during the return of the world famous runway show in October.

This year’s Victoria’s Secret show was full of famous faces including fellow nepo babies, Bella and Gigi Hadid, and Lila Moss.

But it was reported that Iris had plenty of demands as she prepared to walk the runway.

Iris is said to have sent her team of assistants looking for cookies from a particular bakery and then smoothies from another place in New York, according to Daily Mail.

The Victoria’s Secret catwalk show made a stunning return earlier this month and was full of A-list models including, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jasmine Tookes, Angel Reese,  Barbie Ferreira,  Ashley Graham, Irina Shayk and Emily Ratajkowski.

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Born Iris Tallulah Elizabeth Law on October 25, 2000, the rising star is a British fashion model and actress.

She burst onto the modelling scene when she was in her teens and has been booked by some of the biggest fashion houses in the world.

Iris has previously posed for Christian Dior, Calvin Klein, and Versace.

She has also started to forge a career in the movies and follow in her famous parents’ footsteps.

Iris previous dated England footballer Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The whirlwind romance between Trent and Iris hit the rocks last year.

Before then pictures of Trent and Iris in the Caribbean in July showed them looking like a perfect couple after meeting on a photoshoot with Guess Jeans only five months prior.

Her dad, Jude has seven different children with four different women.

His other kids are named Raff, 27, Rudy, 21, Sophia, 14 and Ada, eight.

Jude and his current wife Phillipa Coan, whom he married in 2019, have reportedly had two children, one in 2020 and one in 2023.

Here are the key events from day 1,340 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Sunday, October 26, 2025:

Fighting

• Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in the early hours of Sunday, striking residential buildings and wounding at least five people, including two children, according to officials.
• Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight on Saturday killed at least two people and wounded 12 others, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on X. She accused Moscow of trying to “create a humanitarian catastrophe” in her country amid the winter season.
• The Russian attacks on Saturday targeted “critical infrastructure”, the energy grid, a railroad and residential areas in the Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and other regions, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha wrote in a separate post on X. “Russian terror can and should be stopped,” he said, as he called for “stronger sanctions” against Moscow.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that such attacks intensified Ukraine’s need for Patriot air defence systems. “America, Europe and the G7 countries can help ensure that such attacks no longer threaten lives,” he wrote.
• Ukraine’s Air Force, in a statement on Telegram, said it downed four of nine missiles and 50 of 62 drones launched in the Russian attacks across the country on Saturday.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence, meanwhile, said that its forces had downed 121 Ukrainian drones overnight, including seven that were flying towards Moscow.
• Separately, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that Ukrainian forces struck a dam on a reservoir in the border area, causing damage. He warned that the strikes could risk flooding and advised residents of two border settlements to temporarily evacuate.

Politics and diplomacy

• United States President Donald Trump told reporters on board Air Force One, while heading to Asia, that he is “not going to be wasting” his time on meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin until he thinks a deal is in place to secure peace between Russia and Ukraine.
• The Reuters news agency, citing a US official and another person, reported that Trump’s administration is also preparing additional sanctions it could use to target key areas of Russia’s economy if Putin continues to delay ending the war.
• Reuters quoted the US official as saying that Washington would like to see European allies make the next big Russia move, which could be additional sanctions or tariffs.
• Zelenskyy has welcomed the latest US sanctions targeting two of Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, “a strong and much-needed message that aggression will not go unanswered”.
• In a separate statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine expects to receive up to 150 Swedish Gripen fighter jets starting next year, hailing the deal as necessary to defend the country.
• Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, however, said in an interview with the US cable broadcaster CNN, that Moscow, Washington and Kyiv are close to a diplomatic solution to end the three-year war.

South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Burkina Faso removed from Financial Action Task Force’s financial crimes list.

A global money-laundering watchdog has taken South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique and Burkina Faso off its “grey list” of countries subjected to increased monitoring.

The Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF), a financial crimes watchdog based in France, on Friday said it was removing the four countries after “successful on-site visits” that showed “positive progress” in addressing shortcomings within agreed timeframes.

The FATF maintains “grey” and “black” lists for countries it has identified as not meeting its standards. It considers grey list countries to be those with “strategic deficiencies” in their anti-money laundering regimes, but which are nonetheless working with the organisation to address them.

FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo called the removal of the four “a positive story for the continent of Africa”.

South Africa revamped its tools to detect money laundering and terrorist financing, she said, while Nigeria created better coordination between agencies, Mozambique increased its financial intelligence sharing, and Burkina Faso improved its oversight of financial institutions.

Nigeria and South Africa were added to the list in 2023, preceded by Mozambique in 2022 and Burkina Faso in 2021.

Officials from the four countries – which will no longer be subject to increased monitoring by the organisation – welcomed the decision.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said the delisting marked a “major milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards economic reform, institutional integrity and global credibility”, while the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit separately said it had “worked resolutely through a 19-point action plan” to demonstrate its commitment to improvements.

Edward Kieswetter, commissioner of the South African Revenue Service, also cheered the update but said, “Removing the designation of grey listing is not a finish line but a milestone on a long-term journey toward building a robust and resilient financial ecosystem.”

Leaders in Mozambique and Burkina Faso did not immediately comment, though Mozambican officials had signalled for several months that they were optimistic about being removed.

In July, Finance Minister Carla Louveira said Mozambique was “not simply working to get off the grey list, but working so that in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, when the FATF makes its assessment in 2030, it will find a completely different situation from the one detected in 2021,” MZ News reported at the time.

More than 200 countries around the world have pledged to follow the standards of the FATF, which reviews their efforts to combat money laundering, as well as terrorist and weapons financing.

The FATF’s black or “high-risk” list consists of Iran, Myanmar and North Korea.

A SEASIDE city in the UK has been named among the happiest in the world.

It has a world famous pier, pretty shopping streets and an enormous beach that sees millions of tourists during the summer months.

We all like to be beside the seaside, and therefore it is no surprise that, according to Time Out, Brighton is one of the happiest cities in the world.

Cities across the world were ranked on a criterion of five statements: My city makes me happy; I feel happier in my city than other places I’ve visited or lived; The people in my city seem happy; I find joy in the everyday experiences my city offers; The sense of happiness in my city has grown a lot recently.

Overall, Brighton then scored 11th place on the table and it was the only city in England to gain a spot on the list.

And it isn’t surprising, as the city has a lot to boast about including being close to London and having sprawling beaches.

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If heading from London Victoria, it takes just 58 minutes to reach Brighton on the train with an adult anytime day return usually costing £34.70.

Once there, one of the obvious spots to explore is the beach.

The pebble beach stretches far and is also where visitors can find the historic pier.

For breathtaking views, head up the BA i360 observation tower, costing £18.50 per person.

Then make sure to head to Brighton’s Grade-II listed pleasure pier, which boasts a number of fairground rides, bars and restaurants – all hovering above the sea.

It stretches a total of 525 metres and is the ideal spot to catch the sunset.

If you then stroll along the promenade, make sure to check out the Upside Down House.

Inside, there are lots of quirky photo ops and it costs between £7.45 and £14.95 to enter.

Heading into the town, make sure to explore Brighton’s art district – North Laine.

You can wander around independent shops and stop off at traditional pubs.

Often referred to as ‘the lanes’, the area is full of higgledy-piggledy alleyways and avenues.

North Laine is a top spot for coffees, pastries and second-hand shopping.

There are then also the historical lanes, to the south, which have a number of restaurants, bars and boutiques.

For those who love exploring history, visit The Royal Pavilion – a palace in the middle of the town.

This rather extravagant building is a former palace that was commissioned by King George IV.

Today, the attraction is a Grade I listed building and is known for its ornate designs inside.

It costs £19.50 per adult and £11.75 per child to visit.

There’s also the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, which costs £9.50 to enter.

With its central gallery having just reopened following a £2million upgrade, visitors get the chance to see collections of fine art, decorative arts, fashion, and local history.

If you’re looking for a spot to grab a bite, then head to Baqueano – the number one rated restaurant in Brighton, with a full five out of five stars from more than 1,900 TripAdvisor reviews.

Though don’t expect it to be cheap – the catch of the day will set you back £28.50 and a fillet steak, £39.30.

And if you are looking to stay longer, you won’t be short of choice when it comes to hotels and accommodation.

For example, you could stay at Drakes Hotel, which is set along the seafront and is just a 10 minute walk from the beach.

Inside, the rooms are all individually designed with bespoke furniture, large TVs, tea and coffee making facilities and free wifi.

There’s even a 24-hour cocktail bar.

It costs from £134 per night to stay at the hotel.

Alternatively, for a slightly cheaper option, you could stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole costing from £95 a night.

The hotel features an indoor pool, fitness centre, onsite restaurant and even has pet friendly rooms.

Other cities on the list features Abu Dhabi securing the top spot.

Then the only other UK spot, was Glasgow, placing 20th. The city was also named the friendliest in the country, and you can read why by one local who lives there.

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The 20 happiest cities in the world in 2025

THESE are the 20 happiest cities in the world in 2025, according to Time Out.

1. Abu Dhabi, UAE
2. Medellín, Colombia
3. Cape Town, South Africa
4. Mexico City, Mexico
5. Mumbai, India
6. Beijing, China
7. Shanghai, China
8. Chicago, US
9. Seville, Spain
10. Melbourne, Australia
11. Brighton, UK
12. Porto, Portugal
13. Sydney, Australia
14. Chiang Mai, Thailand
15. Marrakech, Morocco
16. Dubai, UAE
17. Hanoi, Vietnam
18. Jakarta, Indonesia
19. Valencia, Spain
20. Glasgow, UK

If you are looking for other seaside spots to visit, there is also an English seaside town that’s better in autumn with London-worthy restaurants and new hotels.

Plus, one of the UK’s most underrated and affordable seaside cities is set for a huge £53million revamp.

Here are the key events from day 1,337 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Thursday, October 23, 2025:

Fighting

• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces captured the village of Pavlivka in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhia region, as well as Ivanivka village in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The ministry also said it struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure in what it claimed was a response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian targets.
• Russian attacks throughout Ukraine on Wednesday killed six people, including two children, and forced nationwide power outages, Ukrainian officials said.
• Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 405 drones and 28 missiles at Ukraine in an overnight attack targeting energy infrastructure. Ukraine downed 16 Russian missiles and 333 drones, while other missiles eluded defences and directly hit targets, the air force said.
• Ukrainian Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said Russia is implementing a methodical campaign to destroy Ukraine’s energy system and is targeting repair teams working at energy facilities with secondary attacks after initial strikes.
• Russian drones attacked Kyiv for a second night on Wednesday, injuring four people, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city’s military administration, said early on Thursday. Tkachenko said drones damaged several dwellings and other buildings, including a kindergarten.
• Ukraine’s military said it struck a weapons and ammunition plant in the Russian region of Mordovia and an oil refinery in Dagestan in overnight attacks.
• Russian Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky said Russia’s army would seek to use reservists to defend civilian infrastructure such as oil refineries after a sharp rise in Ukrainian drone attacks deep into the country over recent months.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw a test of Russia’s nuclear forces on land, sea and air to rehearse their readiness and command structure, according to reports. The test included the launch of a land-based Yars intercontinental ballistic missile, the launch of a Sineva ballistic missile from a nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea, and the launch of nuclear-capable cruise missiles from strategic bombers.

Sanctions

• United States President Donald Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft as his frustration grows with President Putin over the failure to implement a ceasefire.
• The US Department of the Treasury said it was prepared to take further action and called on Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire in its war in Ukraine.
• “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”
• Trump also said he expected to reach a trade agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding that he would raise concerns about China’s purchases of Russian oil during their meeting in South Korea next week.
• European Union countries also approved a 19th package of sanctions on Moscow that includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.
• The LNG ban will take effect in two stages: Short-term contracts will end after six months, and long-term contracts from January 1, 2027.
• Britain has issued a special licence allowing businesses to work with two German subsidiaries of the sanctioned Russian oil giant Rosneft, as they are under German state control. Last week, Britain announced new sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil firms, accusing them of helping fund the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Ukraine is urging European countries not to limit its use of a proposed $163bn loan based on frozen Russian state assets, arguing that it needs to be able to buy non-European arms, repair war damage from Russian attacks and compensate victims. Some EU states have suggested the funds be spent mainly on European-made weapons to boost their defence industries.
• Russia has no plans to seize any European assets, including companies and banks, but will consider its position if the EU confiscates frozen Russian sovereign assets, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev said.

Ceasefire talks

• President Trump said he cancelled a planned summit with President Putin due to a lack of progress in diplomatic efforts to reach peace in Ukraine and a sense that the timing was off.
• “We cancelled the meeting with President Putin – it just didn’t feel right to me,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future,” Trump said.
• Trump also expressed frustration with the stalled negotiations, saying, “Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere”.
• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Trump’s call for Ukraine and Russia to freeze the war at its current front lines was “a good compromise”, but he doubted that Putin would support it.

Military and financial aid

• Trump said a news report on the US giving approval for Ukraine to use long-range missiles deep into Russia was false, adding the US “has nothing to do with those missiles”.
• Sweden has signed a letter of intent that could see it supply up to 150 of its domestically produced Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said after meeting President Zelenskyy.
• Zelenskyy said Ukraine aims to receive and start using Swedish Gripen jets next year. “For our army, Gripens are a priority. It is about money, about manoeuvres,” he said.
• Norway is donating another 1.5 billion Norwegian crowns ($149.4m) to Ukraine for the purchase of natural gas to secure electricity and heating, the Norwegian government said.