The Kremlin’s charm offensive with the White House is in full swing, evident in its willingness to go along with Melania Trump’s initiative for a temporary humanitarian ceasefire in the town of Oleshky.
In further signs of the ties between the US and Russia, the CIA on Saturday passed a warning to Moscow that appears to have thwarted a planned terrorist attack in the city.
The agency passed on a warning to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) under its “duty to warn” policy, which requires it to raise alerts when they have specific, credible information about an impending attack, even to an unfriendly nation.
Tenerife footballer dies aged 30 after on-pitch collision
Jesús de Miguel suffered a serious injury after colliding with the opposition goalkeeper in a match on Monday.
What happened?
The 30-year-old CD Tenerife forward was playing in a second-division match against Andorra, when he was struck in the chest by their goalie, Jesús Owono.
De Miguel suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital. He died at 8am on Tuesday, according to his club.
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The sequence of events
- Owono’s knee appeared to collide with De Miguel while challenging in the midfield, according to reports.
- It occurred in the final minutes of the game, which at that point was drawn 2-2.
- The forward reportedly lay motionless on the pitch and distressed players called for medical aid. He was treated for more than five minutes on the pitch before being rushed to hospital by ambulance.
What the club has said
There are no words of comfort – there is absolutely nothing that can lessen this overwhelming sadness. We stand with his grieving family, with his loved ones, with all of Tenerife who mourn this cruel loss today.
CD tenerife, in a statement today
When the BBC licence fee could be axed
Ministers are set to announce proposals to reform the £180-a-year charge in a White Paper setting out the terms of a new BBC charter next month.
A few of the options
New charter by 2028
Insiders believe the licence fee could gradually transition to something new over several years.
Streaming tax
The Government is considering extending the charge to streaming services – which could cost £6.25 a month.
Broadband levy
This would cost £11 per month, £4 a month cheaper than the current licence fee.
What else is on the table?
- BBC director-general Matt Brittin has suggested that the BBC could use a German-style funding model.
All households in Germany pay €18.36 per month (£15.70) to fund all public TV and radio broadcasters across different states.
Brittin predicted the scheme would enable the current fee to be reduced by 20 per cent from its current level.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has looked at whether the BBC should be allowed to take advertising around some of its services.
A final option could be to let the licence fee continue its decline and give the BBC the commercial freedom to raise more funds itself.
A BBC spokesman said: “The current funding model is outdated and needs reform. We will continue to engage with government to secure a new charter.”
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Watch more from The i Paper
How rapid delivery services are ‘fuelling’ alcohol harm
A group of MPs, health leaders and charities have argued the availability of strong and cheap alcohol should be tackled via minimum unit pricing (MUP) in England.
What does the letter say?
- In a letter to Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, 55 experts said that the evidence from Scotland and Wales, where MUP has already been introduced, is “clear and compelling”.
- The letter reads: “Very strong, very cheap alcohol is available everywhere in this country, from our supermarkets to our corner shops and increasingly via online rapid delivery services.”
- They argued the current conditions allow for “escalating alcohol harm”.
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The story in numbers
Between 2019 and 2023, deaths in England increased by a “staggering”
42%
and have not returned to pre-pandemic levels since.
The authors said that alcohol harm is estimated to cost
£27.4bn
a year, with £4.9bn of this “shouldered by the NHS”.
Human and economic costs
Labour MP Cat Smith said: “The human and economic costs are now far too high to ignore.”
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, warned England “is in danger of becoming the UK’s alcohol harm outlier”.
5 min read
Mahmood announces new immigration rules – what we know
The Home Secretary was forced to back down over proposals to make care workers wait 15 years to qualify for permanent residence.
What you need to know
Shabana Mahmood revised plans to force many low-paid workers, including carers, to wait up to 15 years before being granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
On Monday, she scrapped these plans for care workers. But other professions have not seen the same reversal.
3 min read
Why the change of heart?
Mahmood introduced the carve out for care workers after intense backlash from Labour MPs. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner called the retrospective plan “un-British”.
Workers in a set list of public service jobs – such as doctors, nurses and teachers – will also be able to qualify for ILR after five years, even if they do not meet the new salary threshold of £50,271.
Routes to settlement
Under the new system, legal migrants will be able to settle on the following timelines:
- 3 years: additional rate taxpayers earning over £125,141, as well as highly skilled individuals on Global Talent and Innovator Founder visas.
- 5 years: higher rate taxpayers earning over £50,271, as well as skilled public service workers.
- 10 years: the new standard route for everyone else.
- 20 years: anyone who claims certain benefits while in the UK or commits a visa offence.
Watch more from The i Paper
How getting your RDA (recommended dose of art) can transform wellbeing
Visiting a museum or art gallery every month for a “recommended dose of art (RDA)” can transform wellbeing, according to a report.
At least 60 minutes per month inside a gallery or museum could help cut depression, lower stress and improve health, according to the study from the Art Fund charity.
What do the figures tell us?
50%
Evidence in the report shows how a 2019 study on 2,148 adults found a 32 per cent lower risk of depression from going to museums, theatre and cinema every few months.
This rose to a 48 per cent lower risk for people who attended once a month or more, according to the data, taken from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.
- Daisy Fancourt, professor of psychobiology at University College London (UCL), who wrote the foreword to the report said adopting a monthly habit can make a difference.
The expert view
Regular engagement and meaningful encounters with art are now recognised as an important contributor to our health and wellbeing, and the evidence suggests they should be viewed as health-promoting behaviours, alongside having a balanced diet, regular exercise and spending time outdoors.
Daisy Fancourt
What other studies have also found
Another study published this year in the journal, , found “evidence that authentic art viewing engages biological processes linked to stress reduction and immune modulation”.
A further study found community cultural engagement was associated with a lower risk of developing dementia.
4 min read
Why Ryanair is warning customers to book summer flights now
The boss of Ryanair has warned travellers to book their summer flights sooner rather than later, with plane ticket prices set to “rise dramatically” next year.
The budget airline said it expects short-haul airfares – like those for trips from the UK to Europe – to increase tickets by 20 per cent.
Why are ticket prices soaring?
Fuel prices have increased dramatically due to the US-Israeli war on Iran. Ryanair said it expects jet fuel prices to remain “elevated well into 2027”.
Short-haul airfares must therefore rise to reflect “much higher” cost of aviation fuel prices. There will also be fewer seats available as airlines reduce capacity to try to control costs, according to Ryanair.
3 min read
3 min read
But raising fares won’t fully cover spiralling fuel costs. The airline, therefore, is mulling pay freezes, reducing crew numbers and increasing its use of AI to cut costs.
“Unless there is a swift resolution of the Middle East conflict we expect jet fuel prices to remain elevated well into 2027,” said O’Leary.
A closer look at the figures
€2.15bn
The company revealed that profit after tax fell by 15 per cent to €2.15bn (£1.79bn) for the half-year to September, compared with a year earlier.
Revenues increased by 3 per cent to €10.08bn driven by 6 per cent increase in passenger numbers. But the firm saw operating costs lift by 10 per cent.
- Earlier this year, Ryanair said it would cut its traffic target for the year from 216 million passengers to 214 million in an effort to offset increases in unhedged fuel costs.
What you need to know about new Buy Now Pay Later rules
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) lenders – like Klarna and Clearpay – have been officially regulated since July, meaning their rules of use have quietly changed.
Here is what that means for you.
What you need to know
Stricter checks
The new regulation mean users have stricter background checks on their ability to repay loans.
Purchases blocked
If you fail, then your purchase via BNPL will be blocked.
Borrowing figure
There are different affordability checks for different purchases, partially based on how much is borrowed.
Shoppers given stronger rights
Why were the regulations needed?
- BNPL regulations are designed to help prevent people from falling into unaffordable debt.
- Lenders must now direct shoppers who fall into financial difficulty towards debt advice rather than immediately referring them to debt collectors.
- Treasury minister Rachel Blake said the rules deliver promised consumer protections.
Protecting consumers
It is not fair that people using these products have had fewer rights than if they had paid by credit card. These new rules protect the consumer — with proper checks before credit is offered, real rights when things go wrong, and support rather than pressure if someone falls into financial difficulty.
Rachel Blake, economic secretary to the Treasury
How to avoid being blocked
Sara Williams, a former volunteer debt adviser at Citizens Advice who posts tips as Debt Camel on social media, told the BBC just how consumers can avoid being blocked by BNPL lenders.
- Slow down your purchases: If your budget is tight, ensure that what you are buying is essential or see if you can postpone the spending.
- Be more careful about what you buy: Avoid needing a high credit limit to buy lots of clothes in different sizes.
- Cancel subscriptions: Escape the trap of having to use BNPL to make up for the cost of previous payments.
- Talk to debt charities: If you are using BNPL for essentials, speak to charities for help and access to food bank vouchers.
Your quick guide to the US midterms
Americans are heading to the polls for the 2026 midterm elections on 3 November.
In these pivotal elections, voters will decide which party controls Congress for the rest of Donald Trump’s presidency – and the Democrats have high expectations.
What are the midterms?
Midterms allow voters to elect members of Congress – one-third of the Senate and all members of the House of Representatives.
Votes are held in the middle of each four-year presidential term. While the president is not up for election, they are largely a referendum on their party.
The party that controls Congress has the power to shape laws and act as a government watchdog.
Control of Congress up for grabs
Trump’s Republican Party currently has power in the White House and both chambers of Congress – the 435-strong House and the 100-member Senate.
Their majority is slim, but it means they have the power to bring their preferred laws to the floor and have them signed off by Trump.
To win a majority in the Senate, Democrats need to flip four Republican-held seats, while holding on to all their own. In the House, they need a net gain of three seats.
What do the polls tell us so far?
Democratic candidates lead in well over the 218 seats (of 435 total) needed to flip control of the House, polls suggest. They are tied or narrowly ahead in Senate races.
It comes as Trump’s approval ratings hit an all-time low of 32 per cent, according to a September Reuters poll.
Despite this, recent US political history holds many examples of opinion polls being proved wrong. For example, Trump outperformed predictions on his way to White House victories in 2016 and 2024.
What are the key issues?
More than 53 million people, of the total 210 million registered voters, have alreaady cast their ballots by voting early, with more Democrats doing so than Republicans.
There are also signs that Hispanic voters who veered to Trump in 2024 might be returning to Democrats because of frustration over the economy and some of Trump’s immigration enforcement tactics.
- Domestic issues like consumer prices are likely to affect the outcome of many races and could erode support for Republicans.
- Inflation remains above the level targeted by the US Federal Reserve, partly down to the war that the US and Israel started with Iran in February.
- However, immigration and the growing influence of AI and big tech remain high on voters’ minds.
From blockades to impeachment
What it means for Trump
- If the Democrats win either the House or the Senate then Trump will find it difficult to get laws through Congress.
- Democratic control of either chamber would also mean they could use committees to investigate aspects of the Trump presidency.
- Corruption allegations, the controversial new White House ballroom and violent ICE tactics could be subject to scrutiny.
- There is also a debate within the Democratic Party about whether to impeach Trump, which means to bring charges in the House that will form the basis for a political trial in the Senate.
- However, a two-third majority is needed in the Senate for such a trial to be successful, which is highly unlikely.
The US embassy in Moscow then warned its citizens still resident there about a “credible threat” of a terrorist attack “with the risk of mass casualties” on the grounds of the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve.
This historic park, about half the size of Richmond Park, includes palaces, ponds and pavilions and is often used for musical and theatrical performances. It was hurriedly evacuated and police sniffer dogs and metal detector teams deployed to locate any potential explosive devices. Finding nothing, the authorities reopened the park on Sunday.
The warning may be a fruit of a visit to Moscow by CIA director John Ratcliffe in August and a mooted one by his FBI counterpart later this month. Although rumours abounded that Ratcliffe was there to warn Moscow against any escalation, both the Kremlin and the White House presented it instead as a routine contact to further co-operation.
Certainly, Moscow could do with such assistance. Just as the FBI saw a massive flow of resources from fighting organised crime to combating terrorism after the 9/11 attacks, there are concerns within the Russian security community that the need to address Ukrainian subversion, sabotage and subversion has taken the focus away from other forms of terrorism.
Add that to the haemorrhage of military weapons from the war, which has already led to rising gun crime rates, and this is a potential threat which could seriously undermine Vladimir Putin’s carefully cultivated image as the “only man who can guarantee Russia’s security”.
America’s warning to Russia is not purely altruistic. As an intelligence liaison at the embassy back in 2015 told The i Paper, it’s also “good advertising: if Uncle Sam cares about ordinary Russians, then he’ll certainly care about protecting anyone who is willing to help us” by becoming an asset.
The alleged world-be Tsaritsyno attacker has been linked to a neo-Nazi movement, and there have been other recent incidents from the far right. In February, for example, another teenage neo-Nazi stabbed seven foreign students at the Bashkir State Medical University while painting a swastika with blood.
However, the greater threat remains jihadist extremists, either from the restive Russian North Caucasus or else Central Asia. This February, a suicide bomber blew himself up near Moscow’s Savyolovsky Station, killing a policeman, while in June, the FSB arrested a man preparing arson attacks on a synagogue.
Infiltrating these groups, often formed on the basis of kin or from temporary migrant workers, is difficult and resource-intensive. In that context, as a US security source told The i Paper, “intelligence sharing, even between antagonists, is essential, and the Russians are coming to discover that”.
This is not the first time there have been similar warnings. On 7 March, 2024, the CIA alerted Moscow to the risk of an imminent major attack on a large public gathering in the city, issuing a public warning the next day. The Kremlin didn’t appear to take it that seriously, and Putin even suggested it had been “a provocation”.
On 22 March, though, four terrorists from the so-called Islamic State Khorasan, a Central Asian affiliate of the jihadist movement, attacked Moscow’s Crocus City Hall music venue, with guns, knives and incendiaries. All told, 151 people were killed and more than 600 wounded in the deadliest such attack in Russia for a decade.
Afterwards, FSB director Alexander Bortnikov tried to justify his agency’s inaction by saying the US warning had been “general in nature.”
This time, the authorities responded differently. The CIA had directed them towards videos the alleged terrorist had posted on TikTok, which showed him in military-style outfit and a balaclava, brandishing what looked like an assault rifle, also showing pictures taken at Tsaritsyno with the caption “I found a place”. On Sunday, a team of FSB commandos arrested a teenager in a Moscow suburb, accusing him of recording the videos.
So far, at least, the Kremlin has avoided the kind of clumsy propaganda evident after the Crocus City Hall attack, when they tried rather implausibly to suggest there was a Ukrainian connection. Nor has there been any reluctance on the part of the FSB to acknowledge the US role and thank them for the warning. Likewise, Kirill Dmitriev, one of the key figures in current negotiations, hailed the CIA for acting “in a spirit of good faith”.