Vladimir Putin may take pleasure in looking at damaging election results in other countries – happiness that he doesn’t have to suffer the same constraints that others in power do. But the scale of the Democrats’ victory in the US midterm elections this week may end up giving him something he hates: chaos that he didn’t start, and doesn’t control.
There is a chance that the Russian leader now sees the remaining two years of Donald Trump’s time as US President as a vanishing chance to end the war in Ukraine on terms he can portray as victory: the kind of terms – including Ukraine ceding territory Russia claims but doesn’t hold – that Trump has previously suggested Kyiv should accept.
Official reactions from Moscow since the US midterms have been thinly disguised flattery for the US President. “We are sincerely counting on the fact that he will continue his peace-making efforts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Channel 4 axes Married At First Sight UK after review following misconduct claims
Channel 4 has cancelled Married At First Sight UK following an external review triggered by “serious allegations of wrongdoing”.
What led to this?
Earlier this year, two women who participated in the show made allegations of rape and a third of sexual misconduct by their on-screen husbands, speaking in a BBC documentary which aired in May.
- In June, a cast member was arrested on suspicion of rape. All three men deny the claims.
- Channel 4 has now confirmed the series will not be returning.
What will happen to season six?
Channel 4 chief executive Priya Dogra confirmed season six of the show, filmed this year, will not be broadcast.
Second Married at First Sight, a spin-off set to bring contestants from the UK and Australian versions of the show for a second chance at love, was in pre-production with CPL before being paused during the review. It will not resume.
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What the production company said:
“CPL has always put contributor welfare at the heart of its programme making and will continue to do so,” CPL said.
“CPL have worked closely with Channel 4 for many years and throughout the review process, and we look forward to working with them again in the future.”
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Cristiano Ronaldo retires from international football
Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football.
Here is everything we know so far about his decision.
What did he say?
The day has come back for me to hand back the number 7 shirt of our national team…It was not an easy decision. Because some decisions are not made with the mind alone. They are also made with the heart. A journey that began in August 2003 and changed my life forever has come to an end.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The background
- The 41-year-old has made 234 appearances for Portugal and scored 146 goals.
- He holds the all-time record for international appearances and for international goals.
“When I look back at everything with the national team, I don’t just see the matches, goals, records or trophies,” he added. “ I see the Portuguese people living abroad who, for 90 minutes, felt a little closer to home.”
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong jailed for 10 years
Joshua Wong, 30, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to “foreign collusion” under the region’s national security law.
Wong is among hundreds of campaigners arrested under the law, which was enforced in 2020 following pro-democracy protests against Beijing’s control in Hong Kong.
Who is Joshua Wong?
Wong rose to fame as the face of Hong Kong’s 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations and “Umbrella Movement”.
He rallied more than 100,000 people to protest against Hong Kong’s plans to implement mandatory “patriotic education”.
In 2020, Wong stayed in Hong Kong and tried to run for a seat in its legislature – but was barred due to his opposition to the national security law.
The charges he faces
The activist has already spent the last six years in jail for subversion and was due to be freed in January – but will now spend another decade in prison.
Now, prosecutors have claimed he conspired with other campaigners to lobby for foreign sanctions and blockades against Beijing between July and November 2020.
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Wong not only severely undermined national sovereignty, security, and development interests, but also directly prejudiced the wellbeing of the general public and the stability of society.
john lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive
Opponents hit back
Cruel and unjust.
Critics argue that the national security law has completely silenced political opposition and debate.
Elaine Pearson, director of Human Rights Watch in Asia, believes this ruling serves “to keep Hong Kong society subdued”.
“The government appears to have adopted the tactic of stacking charges against influential pro-democracy leaders,” she said.
The 2.4 million households that could have energy debt wiped
Plans published alongside Chancellor John Healey’s Budget last week reveal a new strategy to help homes that have fallen behind on their gas and electricity bills.
The Government and energy regulator Ofgem’s new plan vows a one-off Debt Relief Scheme.
Ofgem estimates around 2.4 million customers have debt that could be considered for the scheme and help Britons “get back on top of their finances and make a fresh start”.
However, the exact figures on how many people will receive help and the amount of debt written off will be finalised next year.
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What has led to this new scheme?
- In 2022, energy costs soared after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed up wholesale gas prices.
- At the peak of the conflict, a typical household’s annual bill was capped at £2,500 – double the previous year.
- Great Britain’s household energy debt stood at £5bn in the middle of 2026 – three times that of 2021.
- Now, more than 2 million households are in debt with their suppliers.
- While Ofgem first proposed a debt-tackling scheme in November 2025, the plan never went ahead until its current revival.
- The strategy has expanded and is now aimed at the debt built up during the peak of the crisis.
- Government analysis suggests the expanded scheme could save households £130 over the next decade.
What makes people qualify?
Britons in “genuine financial need” will be prioritised under latest plans. This covers those on universal credit or pensioners.
People with little realistic prospect of paying back the sums of debt on their own will be helped.
It is also dependent on how willing households are to negotiate with suppliers on repayment plans and future bills.
Who pays for the scheme?
While the Government has not exactly outlined who will exactly fund the strategy yet, Ofgem is expected to announce this later in the year.
The i Paper understands it will add a small upfront cost to bills, but the Government expects to pay for it itself within two years.
Government analysis suggests the new scheme should prevent more than £5bn of new energy debt building up by 2036. The Budget promised that no new government costs would be added to energy bills until a new framework is in place.
What happens next?
- Ofgem will publish a fresh consultation on the scheme shortly.
- In early 2027, it will make a final decision on the scheme.
- In spring 2027, it is scheduled to go live, depending on the consultation.
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Typhoons batters East Asia as El Niño grows
In recent months across the Philippines, Taiwan, China and Japan, intense and volatile storms, worsened by the climate phenomenon El Niño, have destroyed major airports, ruined infrastructure and killed dozens.
What is El Niño?
El Niño is a naturally occurring complex weather phenomenon that transpires over the Pacific Ocean roughly every two to seven years.
It can increase global temperatures, as it weakens trade winds and allows warmer water to spread across central and eastern parts of the tropical Pacific.
- : Typhoon Mekkhala and Storm Higos forced 1 million people to evacuate Japan.
- : Storm Narra submerged villages along China’s southern coast and displaced tens of thousands.
- : Super Typhoon Dolphin triggered heavy floods and dozens of casualties in China over 16 days.
- : Typhoon Saudel made landfall in three Chinese cities in just one week, shutting transport and forcing evacuations.
The impact in pictures
East Asia vs El Niño
- Typhoon Champi cut off 15,000 Japanese homes from power at a speed of 295kph.
- Hundreds of flights were forced to cancel in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.
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How are countries preparing?
Stockpile food, essentials and secure outside furniture that could become deadly when typhoons hit.
Local officials will identify vulnerable areas and upgrade warning and monitoring systems.
In lieu of food production disruption, farmers receive increased support.
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How a lab grown ‘human lens’ may bring new eye treatments
Scientists have grown a realistic human lens from stem cells for the first time which could potentially pave the way for new treatments for cataracts and other eye conditions.
New stem cell eye
In a new breakthrough, researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) created the “mini lenses”.
The team, which also includes experts from Cardiff University and the University of Osaka in Japan, said that the lenses closely resemble the natural lens inside the human eye.
It is hoped the new lenses will now be able to be used to test new medicines and better understand eye diseases.
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Hope for treating cataracts in the future
“This is a major step forward as it is very difficult to obtain and study human eye lens tissue while it is developing.”
Said Professor Barbara Pierscionek, from the Centre for Biomedicine and Health Innovation at ARU
The key nutrients you won’t get from drinking oat milk
Replacing dairy products with plant-based ones, such as oat and almond milks, could lead to people missing out on vitamins and minerals, a study suggests.
Milk alternatives might cause health issues
New research suggests that swapping normal milk for plant-based alternatives might cause health issues.
The research team, from the University of Surrey and Queen’s University Belfast, found that even a partial swap may lead to deficiencies in certain essential vitamins and minerals.
The findings
What was studied?
Researchers looked at the risks of dropping dairy in favour of plant-based items.
Vitamins and minerals
They examined the effect on micronutrient intake for iodine, calcium and vitamins B2 and B12.
The findings
They found that even modest replacements of dairy intake with plant-based alternatives led to declines in all four micronutrients.
The health impacts
Vitamin B12 helps , while B2 is important for skin, eyes and the nervous system.
Dr Sarah Bath, associate professor at the University of Surrey and lead author, warned of the impacts from a lack of iodine, which is “needed to make thyroid hormones to regulate our metabolism, support healthy growth and brain development“.
Calls for better food fortification
Nutrition policy must evolve in tandem with environmental targets, however, it is important that shifts towards more sustainable diets do not compromise on public health.
Dr Katie Nicol, co-author of the study and research fellow at the University of Surrey
Battle of the supermarkets – the cheapest, revealed
Consumer champion Which? has revealed which supermarket is the cheapest in the UK.
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The cheapest supermarkets revealed
Which? has published its list of the cheapest supermarkets in the nation, comparing the costs of a list of 87 grocery items across all the major supermarkets.
October’s items included a mixture of own-brand and branded products – including milk, cheese and Hovis sliced bread.
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The top three
Retaining the title of cheapest, Aldi’s 87 items came to (£154.34).
Lidl Plus followed closely at £157.17.
Tesco’s Clubcard prices came in third with a basket total of £181.77.
- 4Sainsbury’s Nectar scheme came in fourth with a basket total of £181.77 across 18 discounted products.
- 5Despite having beaten Tesco and Sainsbury’s member prices in September, Asda slipped to fifth place – outpaced in a competitive market (£183.47).
- 6Morrisons (£186.77) came in ahead of Tesco (£187.31) and Sainsbury’s (£191.56) but only without loyalty prices.
- 7Ocado and Waitrose brought up the rear both exceeding £200.
I like to think I’m ahead of the butter curve, but it’s having such a moment right now that I’m not sure anyone can keep up. The rise in popularity of real butter is somewhat curious.
Of course they are. Trump’s most recent “peace-making efforts” have shown a distinct sympathy for Putin’s own points of view.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, also took a swipe at Trump’s victorious opponents. “The Democratic Party leadership’s approach to relations with Russia is sharply negative. There is nothing new about that.”
But now comes the real test. Russia will be wondering how Putin-friendly Trump can be with a Congress determined to rein him in. Trump will be looking increasingly at his historical legacy and will see “solving” Ukraine as a way to cement that. But Bloomberg has reported that the Kremlin has lost confidence in Trump’s ability to “push Ukraine to accept a peace deal on Russian terms”.
There will be clues of any possible moves towards peace in talks due to take place in Abu Dhabi next week. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s chosen negotiators, are continuing to work on a deal ahead of the worst months of winter, when the prospect of strikes on energy infrastructure will only make civilian suffering worse.
And Trump has a possible new member on his Ukraine team: Melania. The First Lady’s profile in the conflict has been boosted by her recent successful negotiation of a deal to let civilians leave the town of Oleshky in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, has honoured Melania with the Order of Princess Olga, first class, in recognition of her humanitarian work. The award, one of Ukraine’s highest, is also a diplomatic move designed to improve Kyiv’s relationship with the White House in the wake of Zelensky’s visible fury over Trump’s decision to import Russian diesel into the US.
Putin is probably worried that the time when he can hope for such gifts is starting to run short.
While it is true that Putin long ago removed the risk of his own actions being restricted by a Russian parliament, the Kremlin will now have to deal with a lame-duck US President heavily distracted by a hostile Congress.
While Ryabkov insisted that Russia’s “principled and consistent line regarding Ukraine – as well as our foreign policy in general – is not based on short-term considerations and, naturally, does not depend on the fluctuations of the political barometer in other countries”, it is easy to see that this isn’t the case.
What happened in the US this week has direct implications for Putin and his war.
If support for military aid to Ukraine was falling among some sections of the US electorate, it remains very strong – close to 70 per cent– among Democrats, according to an /YouGov poll published last month. This means that those with the new power in Washington come January are backed by voters who have a firmer desire to prop up Ukraine’s war efforts.
In contrast, support had fallen most sharply among Maga Republicans, whose power and influence is now much diminished after the midterms.
What Putin does now will show how confident he is in his own war aims, and Trump as a negotiating partner. It will also show how prepared Russia is for a post-Trump future.
For all its praise of the US President as a peacemaker, the Kremlin is also clever enough to know that there is no guarantee his successor – even a Republican – will be so tolerant of Putin’s refusal to settle for anything less than the conquest he sought when he escalated his attack on Ukraine almost five years ago.
That knowledge may lead to yet more attacks and escalations in the coming months, as Russia looks to speed up the timeline of its war and any deal. Ukrainians will certainly fear the worst.
At the same time, when Putin pauses to plot the next stage of his plans, he may – given his paranoia about staying in power – also be freshly reminded of how quickly wars can weaken or bring down a country’s leader, if the public mood truly goes against them.
Trump’s midterm hammering is a moment when Putin will feel both more powerful and also much weaker. How it affects his war will probably become clear in the coming period.