BBC News

Jeffrey Donaldson, the former DUP leader and one of Northern Ireland's longest-serving politicians, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for historical child sex offences, including rape, against two women when they were children. The court heard he was convicted in June of 18 charges; the judge described a disturbing and disquieting case and said Donaldson had shown no regret, apology or shame. His wife Eleanor Donaldson had been charged with five counts related to aiding and abetting and, after being ruled unfit for a conventional trial, a trial of the facts found she had done the acts; both are appealing. An inquest opening heard that William Chapman, 24, who was killed by a tiger at a wildlife park near Doncaster, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had climbed two fences to enter the enclosure. His family had expressed concerns about his contact with mental health services, and the NHS trust responsible said an independent patient safety incident investigation was underway; the inquest is due to resume in March. NHS England issued new guidance saying trans patients should normally be cared for on single-sex hospital wards or bays that align with their biological sex rather than gender identity, with the guidance also covering staff facilities. It follows the Supreme Court ruling that sex in equality law means biological sex. The guidance stresses that clinical need can override this and that dignity should be maintained, and trusts are asked to audit facilities for enough gender-neutral spaces. In court, one of six women who has accused Russell Brand of rape and sexual assault gave evidence that he raped her in a Bournemouth hotel room in 1999 after they met at a Labour Party conference event. She said she did not report it because she felt ashamed and thought no one would believe her. Brand, 51, denies three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one of indecent assault, and has said any sexual contact, if it happened, would have been consensual.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino apologised at a meeting of football's governing body for his aborted plan to sell off shares in the World Cup to private investors. It was the first FIFA council meeting since the proposal was made public. He was told he is not fit to lead unless he releases all documents relating to the plans. Infantino issued a video statement and did not take questions; he remains set to stand for a fourth term unopposed next year. A proposal to distribute more than £2.5 billion from FIFA's financial reserves for football development was approved. President Trump halted plans to live stream the execution of a man by firing squad. Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death for shooting dead 13 people at a military base in Texas in 2009. The move to stream his death in December at Fort Hood was made by defence secretary Pete Hegseth and was widely criticised by Democrats and Republicans. The chancellor said he wants to give people a bit of breathing space from the cost of living when he delivers his first budget later this month. He spoke after figures showed the UK economy grew by 0.1% in August, surprising many analysts. At an IMF meeting in Bangkok, he said he plans to cut borrowing in coming years and that the impact of AI on the economy is only beginning to register; he described a tough time in which spending must be controlled. A severe drought was declared across large parts of southern England after the driest six months in more than a century. Reservoirs in parts of South East and South West England are low; Wimbleball reservoir on Exmoor is only 17% full. The government said it was sounding a wake-up call to water companies, with daily monitoring, increased checks on businesses, an existing hosepipe ban and possible further restrictions on non-essential business water use. Southwest Water denies criticism that it has not invested enough, and the government plans nine more reservoirs. In Turkey, Istanbul saw the heaviest rainfall in at least 80 years, causing flash flooding and chaos; three people were killed and others were missing, thousands were evacuated, schools were closed until Monday and residents were advised to stay home. Flash floods on the Greek holiday island of Rhodes left one person dead. At least 33 pupils and a teacher were killed after a school roof collapsed in Pakistan; authorities said the roof of an upper-floor classroom collapsed, causing ceilings below to cave in and trap children beneath debris. The school's owner was arrested and an inquiry promised into whether building codes were violated.

Ukraine attacked a Russian oil refinery, and President Zelensky said his country would no longer abide by President Trump's demands for an energy ceasefire after Russia launched attacks on Ukraine. Zelensky said he felt betrayed by the United States, while Moscow accused Ukraine of being unwilling to pursue peace. A BBC correspondent reported that the gulf between Kyiv and the White House was growing, that Zelensky had criticised the withholding of intelligence and a speed restriction on the military part of the Starlink network, and that Ukraine would start striking oil refineries again as he met European leaders in Brussels. The King spoke of his special connection with Wales as he opened the Welsh Parliament for the first time as monarch, addressing the Senedd in English and Welsh and calling Wales the most special corner of the earth. Charities said the government had made a generational shift in how brain tumours are dealt with in the UK after ministers said they would speed up the process of turning lab-based research into treatments. It followed a meeting between the Prime Minister and 25-year-old Scottish swimmer Archie Goodburn, who has inoperable brain tumours. A panel of experts has three months to produce a plan, a new clinical lead in England will push research and trials, and a review of rules on drugs for rare cancers will be sped up; brain tumours remain the biggest single killer of children and adults under 40 of any cancer type. Prince Harry and Meghan carried out their first public engagements together since returning to the UK last month, visiting Nottingham, where they went on their first official royal engagement nine years ago. This time it was not a royal visit and they had private protection rather than police. They visited an organisation tackling food poverty, and Meghan met women who had contributed to a charity cookbook she helped produce in 2018. Buckingham Palace views them as private citizens, and the report said regular joint events would not happen all the time but today was viewed as a success.