News 22/10/25

The United States has imposed sweeping new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil giants, Rosneft and Lukoil, aiming to tighten economic pressure on Moscow and push for peace in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump, speaking from the Oval Office after talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, said, “I just felt it was time. We waited a long time.” The move follows confirmation that Trump’s planned meeting with Vladimir Putin in Budapest has been shelved indefinitely. It came just hours after a Russian missile barrage struck Ukraine, killing at least seven people, including children.

In Ireland, at least twenty-three people have been arrested after a second night of violent clashes outside an asylum hotel in Dublin.

Two Garda officers were taken to hospital, one after being hit by a bottle. A Sky News crew was caught in the unrest as police charged crowds throwing fireworks, stones, and debris. It follows days of protest at the Citywest Hotel after an alleged sexual assault earlier in the week.

A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years for the murder of Sheffield schoolboy Harvey Willgoose.

Harvey, also 15, was stabbed twice in the chest outside his school cafeteria in February this year by Mohammed Umar Khan during lunch. At Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Mrs Justice Ellenbogen said Khan’s “senseless acts” reflected a long-standing interest in weapons and condemned the “devastating effect” on Harvey’s family, whose lives she said had been “blighted by your actions.”

Calls are growing for Prince Andrew to appear before MPs to give evidence over his lease of Royal Lodge.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said a select committee should scrutinise the Crown Estate’s management of the property, following wider questions about transparency in royal finances. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer added that proper oversight of all Crown properties was important. Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.

Jim Gamble, one of the frontrunners to chair the national grooming gang inquiry, has withdrawn from consideration.

In a letter to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, the former police officer said he needed the confidence of victims and survivors to serve on any survivor panel. He acknowledged that “a lack of confidence due to my previous occupation exists among some” and said he would not proceed where trust was absent, insisting he must now be true to his word.

The automatic anonymity order protecting Harvey Willgoose’s killer has been lifted.

The 15-year-old, previously known only as a minor in court proceedings, can now be identified as Mohammed ‘Umar’ Khan. Members of the media successfully argued that there is a public interest in naming him following his conviction for Harvey’s murder, and Judge Mrs Justice Ellenbogen agreed to remove the restriction despite the teenager’s age.

A Royal Navy destroyer has intercepted and monitored a Russian warship as it passed through UK waters.

HMS Duncan, based in Portsmouth, was deployed by NATO Allied Maritime Command, with a Wildcat helicopter also scrambled. The Russian ship, Vice Admiral Kulakov, was shadowed for the operation, the first time a Royal Navy vessel has been tasked directly under NATO command for such a mission, a spokesperson said.

A migrant has returned to the UK on a small boat after being removed to France under the government’s “one in, one out” scheme less than a month ago.

The man claimed he had been a victim of modern slavery at the hands of smuggling gangs in France.

It’s understood that the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats this year has now surpassed the total recorded in 2024, with at least 82 arrivals needed to break the previous record achieved today.

The Prime Minister has insisted the government’s grooming gangs inquiry will not be watered down.

Sir Keir Starmer told MPs he wants to reassure victims that the scope of the investigation will not be diluted and said the inquiry will not shy away from addressing cultural or religious issues. He confirmed that Baroness Louise Casey has been brought in to assist with the review, describing survivor involvement as “the priority.”

Sir Keir also revealed that more than twelve hundred historic, previously closed cases have now been reopened by his government.

The mother of Baby P has been sent back to prison twice after forming intimate relationships with men she met online, the Parole Board has heard.

Tracey Connelly, who was jailed for her role in the death of her 17-month-old son Peter in 2007, is making her latest bid for release. The hearing was told she also had a relationship with another inmate while behind bars. The Baby P case caused national outrage after it emerged the child, who suffered more than 50 injuries, was on the at-risk register and had been visited 60 times by social workers and health professionals before his death.

A former Lebanese pop star turned wanted Islamist militant has appeared in court after twelve years on the run.

Fadel Shaker had been hiding in a Palestinian refugee camp since 2013, following violent clashes between militants and the Lebanese army in Sidon. He was sentenced in his absence to 22 years in prison for aiding a terrorist group, but has now agreed to surrender as part of a deal that will see those convictions dropped.

Police in Slough are appealing for help to find a missing woman known locally as Anita.

The forty-year-old was last seen on Monday the thirteenth of October at the Tesco Extra on Wellington Street. She’s described as Asian, five foot four, of slim build, with brown eyes and brown hair.

Officers say it’s not known what she was wearing when she disappeared.

Rises in benefits and pensions are hooked to September’s inflation data.

Millions of benefit claimants will, by law, see an increase next April of whatever headline CPI figure is announced at 7am. September’s figure is also used as part of the triple lock, which guarantees the state pension rises each April by whatever is highest from: average wage growth, inflation or 2.5%.

Next year, wages are likely to be the highest of these as they grew by 4.8% between May and July.

UK inflation held steady at 3.8% in the year to September, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The cost of essentials like food, energy, water, and travel continues to put pressure on households, with many families still feeling the squeeze.

Economists say inflation may have edged up to 4% last month, driven by a mix of global price rises and domestic factors.