In normal times, the private jets would be stacking up at King Khalid airport in Riyadh about a fortnight from now. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s favourite international jamboree, the Future Investment Initiative – “Davos in the Desert” – is due to open on 26 October.
But these are not normal times. The airport was hit by Houthi missiles four times in a week, while the Saudi ruler – MBS as he’s known – is reported by the to be “shuttling between heavily guarded palaces equipped with bunkers”.
MBS’s war with the Houthis and President Donald Trump’s war with Iran have stemmed the flow of two things the Saudis must have thought would never run short: oil and money. The result is that MBS’s dream for the kingdom – his “Vision 2030” – has collided with financial reality. In August, Saudi oil production fell to its lowest point in 36 years. Tankers cannot get safely through the Strait of Hormuz because of Iran, or through the other main sea-lane to world markets, Bab al-Mandab, because of the Houthis. The government had forecast that the economy would grow by 4.6 per cent this year; now the Saudi finance ministry expects it to shrink by 3.6 per cent.
EX-DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson sentenced to 15 years – what you need to know
Former Democratic Unionist Party leader, Jeffrey Donaldson has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for child sex abuse and rape.
What you need to know
The former DUP leader, who was an MP for 27 years until 2024, was convicted of 18 counts of sex abuse earlier this year, which he committed against two women when they were children.
- Complainant A said Donaldson had touched her breasts and kissed her, and in one incident, had used a light to examine her crotch.
- Complainant A said Donaldson’s wife, Eleanor, had witnessed an incident where he touched her under her clothing but did not intervene.
- Donaldson was found guilty of eight offences between 1999 and 2008.
- Eleanor Donaldson was found to have aided and abetted his crimes after a trial of the facts but cannot be given a prison sentence on mental health grounds.
The second victim
Complainant B is the elder of the two women who was abused by Donaldson.
- Complainant B described an incident where Donaldson “lifted her top up and her bra and started to touch her exposed breasts”.
- She added that Donaldson would frequently put his hand down her underwear.
- Complainant B also said Eleanor Donaldson had witnessed an incident where her husband had “played” with her breasts.
- The offences were committed between 1985 and 1991.
Victim’s statements
Victim A said the abuse had condition her experiences in adult life. She said she still suffers debilitating nightmares and has been medicated since her 20s.
Victim B said the abuse has affected every relationship she has ever had.
“I wonder what it is like not to be afraid at night,” she says. “I wonder what it is like not to be afraid at night.”
Why Sally Rooney’s books are being pulled from the UK
Irish author Sally Rooney has said her books will no longer be on sale in the UK due to legal complications from her support for Palestine Action, a proscribed terrorist organisation.
A ‘serious criminal offence’
Rooney, who is the author of books such as , previously pledged to donate sale proceeds to Palestine Action.
- She said: “In July 2025, the direct-action protest group Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK. The following month, I wrote an opinion piece expressing my intention to go on supporting Palestine Action.”
- The group is not proscribed in Ireland.
- “As a result, the fulfilment of contracts to publish my work in the UK could now constitute a serious criminal offence […] Faber has therefore determined that it can no longer supply my work within the UK,” Rooney added.
- From 5 July last year, support for Palestine Action can result in a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
- The group has challenged the ban in the Supreme Court. The appeal is yet to be heard.
Can you still get her books?
On Wednesday, Ronney’s publisher Faber & Faber announced it would be halting sales in the UK, and her titles appear to have been pulled from sale as ebooks and audiobooks. Booksellers can continue to sell her books until they run out, after which they will not be restocked.
- The BBC also has TV adaptations of some of her work, and it is not clear whether this will be affected. Rooney has said previously that any fees generated by their availability could be problematic.
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What did Reform councillors say?
In the film, Undercover: A Year in Reform, Reform councillor in Solihull, Alan Feeney, was recorded saying the area has been “infested” with Asian families, and called them “absolute parasites”.
ITV reported Feeney had “mutually agreed” to resign from Reform, citing “personal reasons”, and would be continuing as an independent councillor.
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Further allegations
Alongside Feeney, fellow Solihull councillor Chris Whelan was recorded using sexist and Islamophobic language.
- Speaking about a female Reform candidate, Whelan said: “If she was my daughter, it would still be bath night on a Thursday.”
- Whelan has resigned from Reform citing health and personal reasons.
- Dean Miller, another Reform councillor, representing Bromley in south London, was recorded calling black children “animals” while campaigning for the party in the Makerfield by-election.
- He told ITV he had been heavily medicated and no longer represented the party.
What has been Reform’s response?
Reform has said “there is no room for racism” in the party. A party spokesman said “investigations have commenced” and there have been some suspensions. Reform added that it had improved its vetting but that “a handful of individuals who do not share our values will initially make it through”.
- Nigel Farage has repeatedly said he wants to rid the party of “bad apples” and has previously insisted he didn’t want Reform to be “a sectarian or racially based party in any way at all”.
How have other parties reacted?
Labour has described the revelations as “truly sickening”, adding: “Nigel Farage can’t shrug these latest revelations off as being a few bad apples.”
The Conservative Party said: “Nigel Farage promised to make Reform ready for government. These sorry individuals are proof he has failed.”
How one in six on disability benefits ‘do not face extra costs’
Around one in six working age people who receive disability benefit do not incur extra costs because of their conditions, a new report has found.
What PIP is meant to do
The personal independence payment (PIP) is a disability benefit designed to help cover extra living costs from long-term physical or mental health conditions.
However, the Resolution Foundation think-tank said its research suggested 16 per cent of those on PIP reported no additional costs due to their condition.
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A saving of £4.4bn
The think-tank said a redesigned system could remove 12 per cent of claimants by 2029-30 and switch payments for a further 4 per cent to improved non-financial support.
Combined, the report claimed the measures could save £4.4bn by targeting those whose conditions increase their outgoings.
- A change of this nature would affect younger PIP claimants particularly, with 21 per cent of those in the 16- 24 years caseload reporting no additional costs and little limitation from their disability.
Other suggestions for reform
The think-tank also suggested one-off payments could be more effective for people who reported a particular cost such as a mobility aid.
It also recommended that claimants should be asked more specifically about their extra costs and needs and be subject to more frequent but “lower stakes check-ins.”
How many people are on PIP?
Official data shows 4.09 million people were entitled to claim PIP as of 31 July, 2026.
- This is an increase of 7 per cent from last year
- The number of claimants has roughly doubled since comparable figures began in January 2019
- Up to £16.3bn was spent on PIP in 2019-20 when adjusted for inflation, which increased to £27.3bn in 2024-25 according to Department for Work and Pensions statistics
- It is currently predicted to rise to £41.5bn by 2030-31
The key benefit cuts that look likely after Burnham hints at shake-up
Two reviews due this autumn will shape what comes next for universal credit and personal independence payments.
The recruitment scam warning catching out 47% of Gen Z
Nearly half of adults aged 18-24 have been sent a message offering a job they had not applied for, a survey by Virgin Media O2 has found.
What people should watch out for
The company warned that recruitment scams can appear convincing, with victims tricked into paying fees, sending money, clicking links or downloading software.
- O2 identified scams on its network that promised hundreds of pounds for an hour or so of work per day, whilst others just looked like a regular message from a recruitment agency.
Worries over finding work exacerbates the problem
Half of the 18- to 24-year-olds surveyed said they are concerned about missing a genuine opportunity if they ignore unexpected recruitment messages.
Of those, 35 per cent said they would be tempted to respond to an attractive offer, even if they thought it might not be genuine.
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How to check for a scam
“Before responding to an unexpected job message, check the opportunity directly with the company using contact details you’ve found yourself.”
Murray Mackenzie, director of fraud prevention at Virgin Media O2
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Astronomers discover first ever green star
The first-ever green star has been detected (and catchily named WD J1330+6435) by astronomers at Warwick University.
What type of star is it?
The star is a white dwarf – the collapsed core left behind when a burnt-out star reaches the end of its life and ejects its outer layers.
But their name can be misleading, with researchers at the university finding them in shades of yellow, pink, purple and now green.
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How scientists worked out its colour
White dwarfs are so dense and dim that they are not bright enough to be seen as a circle even with the use of a telescope, only appearing as a single point.
- This also means that our eyes can’t detect its colour
- To work out its shade, scientists had to analyse the chemical make-up of the light to identify the colour of the star if it’s close enough to see
- They found that in the atmosphere of the star, sodium was absorbing yellow, orange and red wavelengths of light, while calcium absorbed violet and blue
- A model of the human optical system concluded that because of this, the star would appear a “ghostly” shade of green
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.
Inside Burnham’s Brexit gamble: How under-30 migration is set to unlock a new deal
Andy Burnham is set to sign a landmark Brexit reset deal with the EU next month which he said could provide a £10bn-a-year boost to the British economy.
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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This is not all the effect of these two, connected wars. There were signs of trouble even before hostilities erupted. In January, work was suspended on what was to be the world’s largest single structure, the Mukaab in Riyadh, a cube 400 metres on each side and supposedly “large enough to fit 20 Empire State Buildings”. MBS’s steampunk city of the future, NEOM, was reduced from a 170-kilometre-long ribbon through the desert for nine million people, to a 2.4-kilometre stretch to house 300,000. The stadium that was to sit on top of it, a World Cup venue, has been “shelved indefinitely”. The 2029 Asian Winter Games, planned to take place on artificial snow in the desert, are going to Kazakhstan instead.
Saudi officials insist that everything’s fine, that work on all these projects will resume in a few years’ time. And Davos in the Desert will go ahead, they say. That is despite the fact that, at the weekend, the chief executives of ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP withdrew from an energy conference in the Saudi capital; the US energy secretary addressed it by video. That was inevitable with 13 dead and more than 300 injured at the airport and all flights cancelled. But of serious long-term significance: Saudi Arabia‘s expensive air defences seemed unable to stop the Houthi drones and missiles.
Part of this may be that the Saudis are running short of interceptors. The Israeli newspaper put the stock at about 400 Patriot missiles, down from 2,800 when the Iran war began. More importantly, as “regional officials” told the Associated Press, some Houthi missiles “can manoeuvre and escape” the Patriots altogether. The Houthis are no longer the ragtag, flip-flop-wearing militia of 10 or 20 years ago. Now they make – and even reportedly export – sophisticated weapons, employing Iranian know-how.
MBS may have only himself to blame for the current crisis. He picked this latest fight with the Houthis. In July, he ordered his air force to crater the runway at Sanaa airport so that an Iranian plane could not land with Houthi officials coming home from Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral. (MBS’s Yemeni government allies claimed the strike, but it’s doubtful they acted alone.) To be fair, the Saudis may have thought the Iranian plane was carrying weapons, in defiance of the UN arms embargo. Either way, three days later, the Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said: “The equation will be airports for airports, ports for ports, a blockade for a blockade.”
Most worrying of all for MBS, he asked for American airstrikes, and they never came. Axios reported that on 10 September, as the Red Sea town of Mokha fell to the Houthis, MBS rang Trump twice to ask for American bombing. Trump said no. Then, three days later, American officials sat down with the Houthis at the US embassy in Muscat. The Houthis reportedly promised not to touch American ships. And after one of the strikes on King Khalid airport, all Trump could manage was: “We may [help]. We’re going to look at it.” Khalid al-Malik editor of the Riyadh daily , reflected the official line when he wrote: “Politics is strange. Sometimes allies let you down, even when agreements are in place.”
So, the richest kingdom in the Arab world has been reduced to calling on Pakistan. The Mecca defence pact with Islamabad and Ankara was triggered on 5 October. A unnamed Pakistani official told Reuters that 30,000 to 40,000 of their troops were in the kingdom. (A government spokesman in Islamabad called that figure “invented”.) Riyadh has asked Britain, France, Egypt and Pakistan to assist in defending the kingdom’s airspace. It already has a drone-defence deal with Ukraine, signed in March. The reports that foreign fighters – mercenaries – may be recruited to go to Yemen.
All these things are consequences of what promises to be a hesitant, initially limited American withdrawal from the Middle East. President Trump is reluctant to fight on another front: Yemen. And there’s neither the money nor the political will to repair the billions of dollars’ worth of damage to US bases inflicted by Iranian missiles. Trump was always seen as closer to Saudi Arabia than any previous US president, but the Saudis are now finding him an unreliable ally.
MBS may conclude that the ultimate guarantee of the kingdom’s security is to have his own nuclear weapon. Back in 2023, he said that if Iran got the Bomb, Saudi Arabia would “have to get one”. Last month, the reported that classified documents sent to Congress carried the intelligence community’s assessment that Saudi Arabia “has not ruled out the option of developing a nuclear weapons programme”. In this, as in many other things, President Trump’s erratic behaviour has a price.