The ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky is good news: good news for the people who will be saved from the danger of death amid desperate shortages of food and fuel.
The ceasefire is also good news for Vladimir Putin. Putin will rejoice not because he is a “humanitarian”, as US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, described him. Let’s not forget that Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
Putin will see this as a win because it helps him not only in terms of propaganda, but also in terms of politics in the midst of a war he has never shown any real intention of ending save on his own merciless terms.
Pope Leo becomes first pontiff to vote in US election
Pope Leo XIV has become the first pontiff to vote in a US election, the Vatican confirmed on Friday.
Pope Leo, who was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, Illinois, submitted a mail-in ballot in his home state ahead of the midterm elections on 3 November.
The Pope, who has lived in Vatican City since his election last May, “expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes”, a statement from the Vatican said.
Influence from abroad
The Pope “has exercised his right to vote as a US citizen…whenever he was eligible to do so”.
Dedicated voter
He also voted while living in Peru as a missionary priest and bishop for over 20 years.
Pope’s hometown
The pontiff is yet to return to the US since his election but is registered to an address in New Lenox, a south-west Chicago suburb.
What’s on the ballot
- Pope Leo had requested a mail-in voting ballot from the Will County Clerk’s office this month.
- Illinois voters are deciding whether to elect Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to his third term.
- They are also filling an open US Senate seat after longtime Catholic Democrat Dick Durbin’s retirement.
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Voting history
He did not vote in the Illinois primary in March.
American citizens who are based overseas can vote in US elections by mail if they choose to as per the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
Clashes with Trump
The upcoming midterms are seen as something of a referendum on the increasingly unpopular Donald Trump, and come after clashes between the US President and the Pope on issues such as conflicts in the Middle East and immigration.
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The small town in Ohio that shows why Trump is in trouble
Director of the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting
Welcome to Ohio, where the dirtiest campaign of the midterm elections is unfolding. I’ve come to this state because its mix of farmland and factories has made it a bellwether for the nation.
Could you be eligible for the new Your First Home scheme?
Further details of the support being made available for aspiring first-time buyers were outlined in the Budget this week.
What to know
70,000
The new £4.7bn scheme aims to help around 70,000 households in England to take their first step on to the property ladder.
20% equity
The scheme will provide 20 per cent equity loans to first-time buyers, accessible with a five-year interest-free period.
The deposit requirement will be 2.5 per cent, with a maximum deposit of 15 per cent.
Cost caps
Income caps for the scheme will be set at £110,000 per household outside London and £140,000 inside London.
Budget documents said price caps for properties will be set based on local authority median prices to ensure support is targeted at those who need it, with inner and outer London caps of £650,000 and £500,000, respectively.
When does it start?
The scheme will open for pre-registration by the end of December 2026 and full applications from February 2027, with the first loans issued from April 2027.
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How to lower your council tax band – and the deadline for £100 energy payment
The Government has seen a surge in council tax enquiries following Chancellor John Healey’s maiden Budget. Here’s why.
What to know
On Wednesday, the Chancellor revealed that the more than 20 million households in council tax bands A-D in England will get a £100 payment sent straight to their bank accounts, to give people “breathing space” to offset rising energy bills. The Welsh Government confirmed it will deliver the same £100 payment, and funding has been allocated to Scotland and Northern Ireland to set up equivalent schemes.
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Checking your council tax band
How it works
Each residential property in England, Scotland and Wales is assigned a council tax band, from A to H.
Who pays what?
Tax is cheapest for those in Band A, with each band after that more expensive.
Check online
There is a government website for people to check what band they are in based on their home address.
Could your band be wrong?
However, many people may be sitting in the wrong council tax bands because of incorrect valuations that were made in 1991, as time-pressured assessors often drove through streets and looked at houses from the outside to determine their value.
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What to do before challenging
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) experienced “high demand” for council tax services after the Budget, including challenges to bands. Before going down that road, though, you should check a few things:
- You can’t ask for your band to be lowered, only revalued, meaning you or your neighbour’s bands could also go up.
- So, check if you are in a different band to your neighbours in similar or identical properties.
- You also need to know your property’s worth in 1991, so enter the price and date of sale into a free website like Zoopla.
- Then, find a house that is similar to yours on your street that sold recently and note down the price and date.
- Input this information into a home valuation calculator and compare it to the council tax band you are in today.
How to challenge
- One way to challenge your banding is to make a proposal if you’ve been paying council tax on your property for less than six months or changed your band in the past six months. The VOA must review your band by law.
- If you think you are in the wrong band and you have been paying council tax for more than six months, you can request a band review. However, the onus is on you to provide strong evidence that you are in the wrong band after reviewing your “property attributable data”, which the VOA can provide online or over the phone.
Cut off date
- There will be a cut-off date when people will need to have their council tax band reviewed by to be eligible for the £100 payment.
- This date, which is yet to be announced, will be part of guidance to local authorities with details on eligibility criteria for the payment.
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The Thunderbirds-inspired house that has sold for £375,000
A house in Berkshire inspired by , featuring an extensive network of tunnels, rooms and a railway – all more than 50 feet underground – has sold at auction for £375,000.
Age-old inspiration
Located on Long Lane in the village of Tilehurst, on the outskirts of Reading, the property was inspired by Tracy Island, the secret headquarters featured in popular 1960s TV series .
The site boasts a swimming pool and garden with a model space rocket measuring around 23 feet tall, as well as a 2,500 square foot workshop and a hand-built underground railway, with the subterranean network spanning four levels.
Future plans
The tunnels were the passion-project of civil engineer Tony Deane, the late owner of the property, who started on them over two decades ago. Now, there are plans to convert the spacious workshop – which spans three floors – into a three-bedroom house.
Other features
- Deane, the previous owner, first built underground changing rooms for the property’s swimming pool in the 1960s.
- The entrance was behind the existing model rocket.
- Construction on the tunnels took place in the 80s and 90s, carried out by Deane and his family.
It represents a really unique opportunity for somebody to either develop it or to live there and enjoy it. To say it’s a workshop is doing it down a little bit, it’s constructed better than 95% of houses, to be honest.
Richard Worrall, auctioneer and consultant at BTG Eddisons Property Auctions
First, the propaganda value. The US First Lady, Melania Trump, apparently negotiated the ceasefire. It is she who must take credit for any lives that will be saved. This, after all, was a town where residents were reported to have been reduced in some cases to eating grass – the alternative being walking the “road of death” to the nearest village in search of supplies.
The Kremlin is keen to burnish the humanitarian credentials it seems to believe it has. “The main thing is that humanitarian aid is now reaching the people. This is exactly the help that was stated as necessary,” Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said as the evacuation was getting under way.
While some residents are naturally sceptical – they have, after all endured years of experience of what the Kremlin’s military machine has done to their region – neither Russia nor Ukraine can afford to question the White House’s contribution, or refuse to engage with it.
Recent events have reminded us that Washington will play a key role in deciding the future course of the conflict. Circumstances can change rapidly in times of war, but at present, Putin has more to celebrate than just the propaganda victory of his unlikely portrayal as a humanitarian.
Trump’s decision to suspend some sanctions on Russian oil exports – in the hope that increased supply might lower diesel prices in the United States ahead of midterm elections – had already encouraged Putin. It showed that Trump was willing to do business with Russia – a sign that perhaps he sees future US-Russia relations in terms of commerce, not conflict.
It is an impression strengthened by Trump’s request – soon ignored – that Russia and Ukraine stop targeting each other’s energy infrastructure. Kyiv’s increasing ability this year to strike at Russian oil refineries far behind the front lines has been its biggest military success.
After the failure of that “energy ceasefire” there was a greater shock in store for Kyiv: midway through October, Starlink and Starshield – respectively, the civilian and military internet services operated by Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, were subject to operating restrictions.
No one – initially, at least – seemed ready to accept responsibility for the decision. It must, though, have been taken in the US. Musk initially put the blame for the Starshield restrictions on the Pentagon, but has since said his company restricted Starlink, claiming Ukraine had violated civilians terms of service.
At the same time, the US paused intelligence-sharing with Kyiv – a vital means of giving Ukraine early warning of Russian ballistic missile strikes, which it is struggling to defend against.
And Putin did not hesitate to take advantage, exploiting the US moves by bombarding Ukraine with missiles and drones that it was unable to intercept.
During this period, Russia nearly doubled the number of strikes against Ukraine according to analysis from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) reported by the . Between 12 and 24 October, Russia launched some 4,003 strikes, compared with 2,527 in the preceding 12 days, CSIS found. Interceptions also dropped, particularly in the days after Ukraine reporting the pause in US intelligence sharing, the report added.
When Zelensky warned that “people will die” because of the Starlink disruption, he was right. Trump, Musk or whoever else was responsible, jeopardised the safety of millions of Ukrainians, while at least six people died in Russian missile attacks on Kyiv on 20 October.
The systems seem now to be working as normal in Ukraine – for now. But many have seen the move as a warning to Ukraine. Political or commercial decisions might change that once more – perhaps something Putin was hoping to provoke when, on 28 October, he referred to Musk as “a genius”.
Witkoff’s compliments to Putin; the suspension of sanctions; to pressure on Kyiv: all are wins for the Russian leader, who – from the Kremlin’s point of view – may point to a brighter future. Why? Because they are also signs of further distance between the US, the UK, and Europe – just the kind of split that Putin will hope to exploit.
There seems now to be further evidence of that, with Reuters reporting that the United States has told some European Nato to allies to “tone down” anti-Russian rhetoric for fear it has undermined security on the continent.
So while the ceasefire in Oleshky must be welcomed for any lives it will save, it must be seen in context. It is exceptional, and as such, cannot be seen as a sign that the two sides are ready for a wider ceasefire. This is happening because neither Russia nor Ukraine wishes to offend the First Lady. Putin is not ready for peace – and may even be planning to use the pause in fighting around Oleshky to prepare for a renewed offensive in the nearby region.
Some reports suggest Russia could use the ceasefire to launch a new attack on Kherson, the southern city Ukraine took back in a dramatic 2022 counteroffensive after it was seized by Moscow in the initial days of the invasion.
If such an offensive materialises, it would be yet another sign of the brutal cynicism of Putin’s Russia. But could that finally push the US to punish Moscow? Judging from Trump’s record, Putin probably isn’t too worried.