Russia’s president says US-led plan ‘could form the basis of a final peace settlement’, bolstering concerns in Europe about one-sided nature of US-brokered deal. What we know on day 1,368

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Vladimir Putin says Ukraine is being unrealistic if it does not accept the US plan to end the war, declaring: “Ukraine is against it. Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under illusions and dream of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield”. The positive response from the Russian president adds weight to the views of European and Ukrainian officials that the deal amounts to a “capitulation”. Addressing Russia’s national security council, Putin called the 28-point plan “a new version” and “a modernised plan” of what was discussed with the US ahead of his Alaska summit with Donald Trump in August, and said Moscow has received it. Putin said the plan “could form the basis of a final peace settlement”.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted to the deal by saying Ukraine faces one of the most difficult moments in its history. Luke Harding, Pjotr Sauer, and Andrew Roth report that Donald Trump has demanded Kyiv accepts the plan by Thursday. Agreeing to the US-Russian plan, which would force it to give up territory and make other painful concessions, could leave Ukraine “without freedom, dignity and justice”, Zelenskyy said in a sombre 10-minute speech outside the presidential palace. In a radio interview, Trump said he thought Thursday was an “appropriate time” for Zelenskyy to sign the deal.

Zelenskyy has signalled Ukraine must confront the possibility of losing US support if it makes a stand. Sounding out his European allies, Zelenskyy spoke on Friday by phone to the leaders of Germany, France and the UK. German chancellor Friedrich Merz, French president Emmanuel Macron and British prime minister Keir Starmer assured Zelenskyy of “their unchanged and full support on the way to a lasting and just peace” in Ukraine, Merz’s office said. They reaffirmed their support for Kyiv and said any agreement to end the conflict had to be genuinely fair and take into account Ukraine’s own red lines.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has warned that how the Ukraine war ends matters. She said: “Russia’s war against Ukraine is an existential threat to Europe. We all want this war to end. But how it ends matters. Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded. Ultimately, the terms of any agreement are for Ukraine to decide.” In a radio interview on Friday, Trump pushed back against the notion that the settlement would embolden Putin to carry out further actions against his European neighbours. “He’s not thinking of more war,” Trump said of Putin. “He’s thinking punishment. Say what you want. I mean, this was supposed to be a one-day war that has been four years now.”

The Trump administration has told Ukrainian and European officials there is little room to negotiate on its plan to end Russia’s war, the Financial Times (paywall) reports. The paper reported “a volatile meeting” between US army secretary Daniel Driscoll and European ambassadors and western officials late on Friday. “We are not negotiating details,” Driscoll said, according to a senior European official present at the meeting. Another described the tone of the meeting as “nauseating”, the paper reported.

Poland’s ambassador to South Korea on Friday voiced “great concerns” over North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to reports. “Security between the Korean Peninsula, central Europe and the so-called eastern flank has become intertwined. We are crystal clear that the DPRK’s involvement in the brutal war and aggression against Ukraine is a source of great concerns to us,” ambassador Bartosz Wisniewski said. Hundreds of North Korean troops have been killed in the conflict, as reported previously by the Guardian.

The man in Washington state had a backyard flock of domestic poultry that had been exposed to wild birds, health officials said

A US man is believed to be the first person to die from a rare strain of bird flu, but state health officials said on Friday the risk to the public is low.

The man in Washington state, an older adult with underlying health conditions, was being treated for a bird flu strain called H5N5 after becoming seemingly the first known human infected by the strain, according to a statement from the Washington State Department of Health.

Decision by Georgia Republican and leading Maga figure to give up House seat comes after dramatic break with Trump

• Reaction: Trump calls resignation ‘great news for the country’

• From staunch Trump ally to ‘traitor’: key takeaways of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s career

Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Friday evening she will be resigning from office effective 5 January 2026.

In a four-page statement, the Georgia congresswoman said the legislative branch has been “sidelined” and accused Republican leaders of refusing to advance conservative priorities such as border security or “America First” policies.

The president hosted the mayor-elect at the White House – and seemed enamoured of his fellow New Yorker

The highly anticipated Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani – the mayor-elect of New York City, the US president’s beloved home town – was hardly the combustible tête-à-tête many had predicted. For the moment at least, the two New Yorkers appeared friendly, smiling and cautiously optimistic about the work they might accomplish together.

Neither revived their hot campaign trail rhetoric, in which they cast each other as diametrically opposed political adversaries. Trump had labeled Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and urged voters to back his opponent, the former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. In turn, Mamdani had assailed Trump as a “despot” and pledged to be the president’s “worst nightmare”. Here are five things that stood out from their surprising display of political bonhomie.

Tourists take 40-run lead into second innings in Perth
Day one report | Ashes top 100 | Series omens | Mail Geoff

43rd over: Australia 131-9 (Lyon 4, Doggett 6) And on it goes for Doggett. Another clunky drive, this time through mid on, gets him back for a second run. Fourth ball of the over he finally gets a reprieve, a single to cover. Atkinson bumps Lyon but the ball sails way over his head.

42nd over: Australia 128-9 (Lyon 4, Doggett 3) Lyon single first ball puts Doggett back on strike. Ohh, dropped catch! In at short leg, Pope under the mitre, and the ball reaches his fingertips but goes down rather than up. Mark Wood keeps peppering Doggett, who by the end of the over has faced every delivery so far today but two. The sixth ball he decides he’s had enough and aims a big drive, inside edges it, gets a run to fine leg, and keeps the strike.

Tom Player speaks out about incident in which Victoria Bond died along with two Mexicans and two Germans

A survivor of the blizzard that killed a British woman and four others in Chilean Patagonia has said that tourists were concerned about adverse weather conditions ahead of the trek, but were told by staff it was “normal” and they could proceed.

Tom Player, a London-based composer, told the Guardian that during the brutal blizzard about 30 volunteers worked together in an attempt to try to rescue hikers.

UK academics say latest chemicals are ‘wake-up call’ and urge global action to stop weaponisation of neuroscience

Sophisticated and deadly “brain weapons” that can attack or alter human consciousness, perception, memory or behaviour are no longer the stuff of science fiction, two British academics argue.

Michael Crowley and Malcolm Dando, of Bradford University, are about to publish a book that they believe should be a wake-up call to the world.

Simon Case says voters will look elsewhere if chancellor cannot find solutions to tax, spending and debt problems

Voters will look elsewhere if Rachel Reeves does not use next week’s pivotal budget to show that “centre-ground” politicians can fix the UK’s entrenched economic problems, the former head of the civil service, Simon Case, has said.

Case told the Guardian that at the time of last year’s general election, when he was still cabinet secretary, he believed Labour would be forced to break its manifesto promise to not raise taxes because of the state of the public finances.

Dozens of traditional boats made as part of a project to reconnect with culture and ‘start of conversation’ on ocean rights

In October in Lifou island, a double-hulled canoe was pushed into the lagoon - a small act that marked a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the first launch of a traditional canoe on Lifou in generations, an event that brought together the island’s three chiefly clans in a rare show of unity.

In a signed statement, 28 victims say they are bracing for blame for their abuse and threats of harm

A group of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse have warned they have received death threats and are worried about an escalation as they wait for the release of the files related to the late paedophile financier.

In a statement titled “What we’re bracing for”, the women said they had received threats of harm and asked police to investigate and protect them.

It is the first cyclone of that strength in Australian waters in November in 20 years, with sustained winds of 140km/h

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Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina has intensified to a category three system as it closes in on Darwin today, making it the first cyclone of that strength in Australian waters in November in 20 years.

Darwin was expected to see the worst of Fina’s effects on Saturday, as the system advanced through the Van Diemen Gulf. It would be closest to the city at about 9pm, with sustained winds near the centre of up to 140km/hr.

Justice department challenges policy allowing in-state tuition for undocumented students at public universities

The justice department sued California on Thursday for allowing undocumented college students to pay in-state tuition for public universities, alleging the policy harms US citizens.

The lawsuit, filed in the US district court for the eastern district of California, marks the third time this week that the Trump administration has sued California. In addition to challenging the state’s in-state tuition policy, the lawsuit argues that California unlawfully extends eligibility for scholarships and subsidized loans to undocumented students.

US health secretary said he told agency to update website to claim the fact vaccines do not cause autism is not evidence based

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, said in an interview with the New York Times that he personally instructed the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to change its longstanding position that vaccines do not cause autism.

Countering decades of science showing vaccines to be safe, the US public health agency’s website was changed to say: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”

The 52-episode Christian podcast was announced with a number of actors involved yet many claim they had no idea about it

The Fox News announcement of a new podcast series on Jesus Christ has turned into a bizarre holiday tale in Hollywood, as several actors attached to massive, 52-episode project claim their recordings date back 15 years and are being released without their prior knowledge.

The new audiobook titled The Life of Jesus Christ Podcast, announced on Wednesday as part of a splashy rollout for the network’s new Christian vertical called Fox Faith, purports to guide listeners “through the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ”, with each episode introduced by Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt.

Coach’s assistant in tough time at Feyenoord sees parallels with issues his former boss needs to deal with at Anfield

Just over five weeks after Arne Slot’s Feyenoord had lost a tight Conference League final by a goal to Roma in 2022, they suffered a 7-0 home defeat by Copenhagen in their first pre-season friendly. Some of the Dutch club’s internationals were on holiday, seven of their starters from the final would leave that summer and Copenhagen were well ahead in preparations, but even so, the scoreline was bruising. It felt as if Slot had to start all over again.

“I can remember it like yesterday,” says Marino Pusic, Slot’s assistant at Feyenoord and earlier at AZ. “The score could have been even higher – that says enough.” Copenhagen’s then coach, Jess Thorup, described it as more akin to “a training session than an actual friendly match”. Two weeks later a stronger Feyenoord side lost 4-0 to the Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise. Then came home defeats by Lyon and Osasuna.

As most government business halted during the shutdown, immigration agents continued their raids

US immigration officials arrested, detained and deported tens of thousands of people in operations nationwide during the federal government shutdown, new data reveals.

The arrests have led to a marked increase in the number of people held in immigration jails, with more than 65,000 currently detained nationwide – the highest number of people in immigration detention ever.

President of talks urges ministers and high-ranking officials to find common ground as conference nears its end

• Cop30 live – latest updates

Climate crisis talks look likely to stretch well into the weekend in Brazil, with countries still far apart on the crucial issues of phasing out fossil fuels and cutting carbon.

The Cop30 president, André Corrêa do Lago, urged ministers and high-ranking officials from more than 190 countries to find common ground: “We need to preserve this regime [of the Paris climate agreement] with the spirit of cooperation, not in the spirit of who is going to win or is willing to lose’” he said. “Because we know if we don’t strengthen this, everyone will lose.”

A fire at Cop30 in Brazil, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, Russian missiles hit Ukraine and a giraffe on the move in Kenya: the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

US president demands that Kyiv accepts plan that would mean giving up territory to Russia

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine faces one of the most difficult moments in its history, after Donald Trump demanded Kyiv accepts within days a US-backed “peace plan” that would force it to give up territory to Russia and make other painful concessions.

Trump confirmed on Friday morning that next Thursday – Thanksgiving in the US – would be an “acceptable” deadline for Zelenskyy to sign the deal, which European and Ukrainian officials have said amounts to a “capitulation”.

The 23-year-old ‘Queen of Tejano music’ was murdered just as her music was set to cross over and revealing new film Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy finds new ways to celebrate her

The tragic circumstances surrounding Selena Quintanilla’s death are well documented. In 1995, while on the verge of US pop crossover success, the 23-year-old Queen of Tejano Music was murdered by one of her employees, Yolanda Saldívar.

Selena’s life story has already been told in multiple ways, including through a movie, a musical and a podcast series. However, the touching Netflix documentary Selena y Los Dinos: A Family’s Legacy is the most empathetic and personal look at her life and career to date. Working alongside Selena’s family, who generously opened their archive of rare photos and home videos and sat for extensive interviews, director Isabel Castro uses intimate recollections and vivid primary sources to trace the artist’s ascent.

The wider TV and film industries have a long way to go in including disabled actors and creators, and leaving stereotypes behind

While the entertainment industry has been at pains to address issues of diversity in race, gender and sexuality, disability remains shockingly underrepresented. It’s not just that disabled actors are discounted for many roles. As actors and activists have pointed out, “blacking up” might have become taboo, but “cripping up” is still a shoo-in for awards. In almost 100 years, only three disabled actors have won an Oscar, compared to 25 able-bodied actors who have won for playing disabled characters.

The arrival this weekend of Wicked: For Good, the second part of a prequel story to The Wizard of Oz, has put the importance of authentic casting in the spotlight once more. The story of green-skinned witch Elphaba, and the prejudice she faces, Wicked is a celebration of difference. Yet since the hit musical opened in 2003, only able-bodied actors had played the part of Nessarose, Elphaba’s disabled sister. Last year, Marissa Bode became the first wheelchair-using actor to take the role, in part one of the film adaptation. The child Nessa is also played by a wheelchair user. The movies give the character greater agency and complexity, amending a scene that suggested she needs to be “fixed”.

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Event thrown into confusion and 13 treated for smoke inhalation after conference centre evacuated

• Brazilian president will take fossil fuel phase-out plan to G20 summit

Talks at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil were disrupted on Thursday after a fire broke out in the venue, triggering an evacuation just as negotiators were preparing to try to land a deal to strengthen international efforts to address the climate crisis.

Thirteen people were treated for smoke inhalation, organisers said in a statement, after the fire broke out in the pavilion area of the conference centre in Belém, Brazil.

Party’s former leader in Wales admitted taking payments to make statements in favour of Russia

Nigel Farage is facing calls to investigate and root out links between Reform UK and Russia after one of his party’s former senior politicians was jailed for 10 years for accepting bribes from a pro-Kremlin agent.

Keir Starmer said Farage had questions to answer about how this happened in his party. Nathan Gill, a former leader of Reform UK in Wales, admitted taking payments to make statements in favour of Russia.

Greene announced her departure in a video and statement posted on X, denouncing Republican party establishment

• Marjorie Taylor Greene to resign from office effective January 2026

• Trump news at a glance: president meets Mamdani at White House and it was … nice?

Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the House oversight committee, has sent a letter to the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, urging the justice department to release the complete trove of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, despite the newly launched investigation into several Democrats’ ties to the late sex offender.

“There is already a concern President Trump will attempt, on dubious legal grounds, to exploit a provision which allows DoJ to withhold information relevant to ongoing investigations,” Garcia wrote.