The exhaustion is showing. When Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, appeared in public this week, the lines on his face seemed as deep as the trenches that his hard-pressed troops dig on the front lines to resist Russian assault. There are few signs left of the fresh-faced politician that I first met more than six years ago, just after he was elected, when I worked for an international development bank helping to improve Ukraine’s economy.
The physical impact on him of more than four and a half years of wartime stress should be no surprise, but the events of the past few days appear to have shattered even his renowned resilience. Donald Trump, aided by or using his ideological fellow traveller Elon Musk, has turned a bad situation for Ukraine into something far worse.
Trump is already seemingly making a down payment on US pressure – restricting the speed of Musk’s Starlink satellite systems in Ukraine, which are used widely by the country’s military units. The decision is making it harder for Ukraine to launch strikes on Russian targets and to defend itself against jet-powered drone attacks.
How the UK rejoining the EU could impact your money
With the prospect of rejoining the EU now a possibility, many questions have been asked about the possible impact on people’s finances. Our business columnist Hamish McRae aims to answer 10 such questions on what this seismic change could mean.
The impact of the euro
- 1Would we have to adopt the euro? We don’t know. The opt-outs we had previously have lapsed but we could renegotiate.
- 2Would the euro be better? Historically, the euro has been stronger, but it would only be a marginal advantage.
- 3Would inflation be higher or lower? Historically, the UK has a much worse record so you would expect slightly lower inflation.
- 4How would it affect interest rates? They are generally lower in Europe, but when this has led to inflation or a surge in borrowing, governments have been forced to take other measures to hold down prices.
Membership pros and cons
- 5Would the EU have control of tax and spending policies? No, but the European Central Bank could have a big influence on these.
- 6What about unemployment? Unemployment is generally higher in the EU; so, on balance, it would probably go up in the UK.
- 7Are there practical advantages of membership? There are some, like individuals and companies not having to change currencies, but it does come at a price.
- 8Is the euro popular with the European public? Yes, 83 per cent support it as per a survey carried out last year.
How popular would it be?
9. What about euro popularity here?
It is impossible to unpack that from the issue of rejoining the EU. If you look at where Britons emigrate to, the top three are Australia, the US and Canada, which all have their own currencies. In that sense, our links are with the Anglosphere, not Europe.
10. What will happen to the Eurozone?
The answer, inevitably, is that we don’t know. What we do know is that adopting the euro, if it were ever to happen, is a long, long way down the line.
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New world-leading NHS genomics lab to improve cancer care
A world-leading NHS laboratory has launched in the UK to advance personalised cancer testing and treatment.
Making use of AI
The Royal Marsden Centre for Cancer Genomics will work with to deliver a new generation of cancer diagnostics known as .
This involves information about a patient and their tumour being combined with artificial intelligence to give the fullest picture of their cancer.
It will help doctors ensure NHS patients can access clinical trials, more personalised treatments and flexible treatment plans that can change with their cancer.
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“Currently, workflows in the NHS very much focus on doing a single test for a patient with a single action that follows it. We think that, in the future, to really refine patient treatment to make sure that it’s truly personalised… we’ll be taking multiple measurements from patients during the course of treatment for cancer”
Professor Michael Hubank, scientific director of clinical genomics at the Royal Marsden
How will it work?
- AI will “integrate” the information to create a score which is very specific,” said Hubank.
- This score tells doctors where the patient sits on a spectrum of how to treat them and what therapies to give them in the first place.
- Hubank added: “Not only that, the continuous monitoring of those patients down the line will tell doctors how to tailor that treatment to each individual patient.”
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Rayner ‘confident’ rough sleepers offered Christmas shelter
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has said she was “very confident” that everyone sleeping rough would be offered accommodation this Christmas.
A “whole-systems approach”
Rayner said she hoped the push to end rough sleeping would become “as entrenched” as the national minimum wage.
She added that Andy Burnham asked her to speak about homelessness to the Cabinet, with the PM stressing the need for a “whole-systems approach” and intra-departmental collaboration to address the problem.
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The issue is ‘entrenched’
“I’m confident everyone will receive an offer this Christmas. But it can’t just be about a Christmas offer, and we know some of the reasons why people are rough sleeping are quite entrenched. We have to sustain it and we have to build on it… I’m not confident you won’t see any rough sleepers, I’m confident that everyone will have an offer”
Housing secretary angela rayner
Changing the system
Rayner spoke of the Government’s shift away from centrally-imposed “draconian” targets towards giving local areas more ownership of the drive to tackle the issue.
- She said local authorities had been given funding and were expected to make sure everyone sleeping rough received an offer of accommodation.
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Trump posts ‘offensive’ videos after man killed by tiger
The family of William Chapman, who was killed by a tiger last weekend, say “deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress”, as US President Donald Trump posted multiple videos related to the attack.
What to know about the tiger attack
Chapman, 23, was mauled to death when he entered the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday.
- His family have criticised the online reaction to his death and questioned what part his “significant mental illness over a number of years” and strong prescription medication played in the incident.
More details
- Chapman was pronounced dead at the scene on Saturday, according to South Yorkshire Police.
- City of Doncaster Council, which is responsible for licensing the park, said on Monday it had started a health and safety investigation.
- The park remained closed on Wednesday for a fourth day after the attack.
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A statement from the family
“The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened […] The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this”
statement WILLIAM CHAPMAN’S family
What did Trump post?
The President reposted a short clip to his Truth Social account, which has 13 million followers, on Tuesday showing the tiger biting and clawing Chapman, but not him being killed. The caption of the post read: “Don’t ever mess with nature!”
On Wednesday morning, Trump then posted an AI-generated video of himself grappling with a tiger. The song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by Tight Fit plays over the clip.
Trump’s sadistic tiger videos are a hideous window into his mind
It is hard to avoid facing the reality that Trump shared footage of a man’s death, against the express wishes of his grieving family, so he could use an AI slop video to suggest he could beat a tiger in a fight.
The firms fined millions for misleading sales tactics
Three major firms have been fined £6m for misleading sales tactics, the UK’s competition watchdog said.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has also ordered two of the companies to pay customers £440,000.
The firms fined – and why
The online furniture retailer was fined £4.8m for misleading customers with time-limited offers.
The online electronics seller was fined £1.2m for the same practice.
The gym chain has been fined £48,000 for not telling customers the total price of memberships in a clear and timely way.
Two to pay refunds
Gold’s Gym and Appliances Direct have been ordered to refund a total sum of £440,000 to affected customers.
- Appliances Direct, which was found to have automatically opted customers into paid-for extras, is responsible for about to customers affected by opt-ins, at an .
What did Gold’s Gym do?
The CMA said Gold’s Gym did not include joining fees in the price shown to consumers for annual and direct debit memberships, or the total price was shown in a way that was unclear and unlikely to be seen. It ordered that the 726 affected customers should be refunded a .
The amount repaid to will depend on the type of membership they bought, but it will be .
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No customer action needed
- The CMA said Gold’s Gym and Appliances Direct would contact affected customers about their refund. Customers do not need to take any action.
- The CMA investigation found products advertised on Wayfair’s website with labels like “daily deals” and 24-hour “flash deals” implied customers needed to act quickly to get the best deal.
- However, it found many products remained available at the same price or lower after the stated deadline, making the time-limited offers false.
‘Time up for this behaviour’
“At a time when many households are carefully managing their budgets, people shouldn’t lose out because of misleading sales tactics. The time is up for this kind of behaviour. Businesses must treat their customers fairly and make sure they comply with the law – or risk hefty fines”
Hayley Fletcher, senior director for consumer protection at the CMA
Burnham rules out Greens coalition after Zionism motion
Andy Burnham has ruled out forming a coalition with the Green Party while it keeps its “antisemitic” policy that defines Zionism as a form of racism.
After the Greens passed the controversial motion at their conference this month, the Prime Minister faced pressure to rule out a pact with them in a future hung parliament.
- At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Burnham said he condemned the policy “unequivocally” and wouldn’t commit to a “partnership” with the Green Party for as long as it was still in place.
Burnham’s statement
“It is wrong, it is antisemitic and this side of the House will have nothing to do with it. We will always take the right response when it comes to any partnerships we have with other parties. We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds the position that has recently been adopted”
prime minister Andy Burnham
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Trump, through his sometime partner Musk, is making his feeling that Ukraine cannot win known.
Ukraine was already heading towards winter with a military problem because of the intensified air war, an economic problem and a humanitarian problem – but now, above all, it has an American problem.
It will mean a winter of maximum danger for Ukraine unless Britain and the EU can persuade Trump to shift position again.
With his latest interventions, the US President has once more shown Vladimir Putin that intransigence pays. Trump has, with one gift after another, lifted sanctions on Russian diesel, demanded that Ukraine stop striking the Russian refineries that help to finance and fuel the war and, behind the scenes, apparently, threatened to cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine and the sale of US weapons that Europe buys to pass on to the Ukrainians.
Throw in a demand for President Zelensky to resign and you get back to where we were when Trump took office for his second term: with a strong belief in the White House that the only way to end the war is to force Ukraine into a humiliating capitulation to all of Russia’s demands.
The next few months could be existential for Ukrainian resistance. Not because the army is about to collapse but because, in the face of a ramping up of the air war against Kyiv and other cities, the US appears to be turning its back on cries for help. There will be no Patriot interceptors to stop missiles, no diplomatic pressure on Putin and now, it seems, little or no Starlink.
Russia will use the breathing space to take maximum advantage. It is destroying the ability of a modern state to keep its cities warm, inhabitants fed and factories running. Many Ukrainians that I have spoken to are either fleeing Kyiv or think that they might have to in the days and weeks ahead. It will be a miracle if the morale-sapping drone and missile strikes on their families and friends in the country’s cities do not undercut the determination of Ukraine’s soldiers to keep fighting in terrible conditions at the front.
So, what should Britain and the EU do now to try to limit the damage? There are options.
The first is to stop treating Europe’s dependence on Washington as a paralysing factor.
It is clearer now, even though it has been evident for a long time, that Trump won’t provide reliable leadership, so the Europeans must step up with more confidence.
The priorities must be more air defence for Ukraine’s battered cities, with an acceleration of European manufactured systems. Production must be expanded so that bureaucratic delays do not dictate events on the ground. Europe must ensure that Ukraine can finance its defence and keep functioning as a state. The various support loans are an important foundation, but they must be transferred faster.
Zelensky is not perfect, he has not tackled corruption at home and is becoming more autocratic, but for now Ukraine and Europe’s interests are aligned and that is why we should stand by him, for all his failings. The shared goal is to stop Russia believing it can redraw the continent’s borders by force.
The message to President Trump from London, Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Warsaw and the other capitals should be blunt but constructive: Europe wants peace, too, but peace secured by making Russian assaults unviable, not by making Ukrainian resistance impossible.
Confronted by a unified and consistent approach, the US President might return to his previous middle ground rather than actively undermining Ukraine.
Winter will test Ukraine’s infrastructure, military and its public endurance. Trump’s latest posture will test whether the West’s commitment to national sovereignty survives the politicking of America’s midterm elections where Trump needs to show his voters that he is making progress on peace talks.
There is still time to prevent a diplomatic rupture from becoming a strategic catastrophe. But the clock is ticking.
If Europe waits for Trump to change his mind, it may discover that Putin has already changed the map.
When I went into that first meeting with that fresh-faced President Zelensky, in what seems like another world, I was part of a team helping him to improve his economy.
That door closed in 2022 with Russia’s launching of all-out war.
The least we can do now, in 2026, is help the older and more battle-hardened Zelensky to negotiate from a position of strength once any peace talks come.