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Jeffrey Donaldson, the former DUP leader and one of Northern Ireland's best-known politicians, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for child sex offences including rape; the judge called it a disturbing and disquieting case and said Donaldson had shown no regret, apology or shame, and he is applying to appeal. Two victims gave evidence, and his wife Eleanor was found in a trial of the facts to have done acts related to five aiding and abetting counts after being ruled unfit for a conventional trial. Police and prosecutors praised the victims' courage and said no one was beyond the law; the DUP said he deserved every day of his lengthy sentence. At least 19 people were injured, some seriously, after a freight train and a bus crashed near the French entrance to the Channel Tunnel, about six miles from Calais; the bus driver was a Eurotunnel employee and there were 18 passengers. Emergency services included 55 firefighters and a helicopter that took two patients to Lille, and a judicial inquiry was launched; Eurostar and Eurotunnel trains ran as expected with no delays, and the number seriously injured was revised down from five to two with no life-threatening injuries expected. Russia accused Ukraine of attacking an oil refinery after President Zelensky said such strikes would resume following a pause requested by Donald Trump, while Zelensky accused the US of withdrawing intelligence sharing and said Trump openly admired dictators like Putin. Strikes continued on Ukrainian cities including Kyiv and Odesa, the energy ceasefire was described as over, and the proposal was said to have existed only on Trump's social media post; Russia's president said they had responded to a first step by striking energy facilities and data centres. Romania's president told NATO this was part of a wider Russian strategy against European countries, and the US defence secretary called supporting Ukraine a moral cause; Zelensky travelled to Europe, but the challenge was getting the US back on side.

New NHS England guidelines said trans patients should normally be cared for on single-sex hospital wards or bays aligned with biological sex rather than gender identity, and also covered staff facilities, after the Supreme Court ruled that under equality law sex means biological sex and woman refers to a biological woman. Clinical need could override this in areas such as accident and emergency or urgent care, while trusts were told to organise changing rooms and toilets on the basis of biological sex; trans rights campaigners called the guidance unworkable, and sex-based rights campaigners welcomed it but said it needed enforcement. One of six women accusing Russell Brand of rape and sexual assault gave evidence, saying he raped her in a Bournemouth hotel room after they met at a Labour Party conference event in 1999 and that she did not report it because she felt ashamed and thought no one would believe her. Brand, 51, denies three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault; under cross-examination the woman said she thought he was a gay man and felt safe, and she described him changing from camp and friendly to monster-like, while the defence suggested she had wanted him to join her in a small bedsit. In Pakistan, at least 32 children and a teacher died and 20 others were injured after a school roof collapsed; police said three floors gave way when the building could not support the weight, and mourners called for buildings to be inspected so children could be safe. Donald Trump decided there would be no live stream of the execution of mass murderer Nidal Hassan, who was sentenced to death for killing 13 people at a Texas military base in 2009; the US defence secretary had said the firing-squad execution would be made public, a decision widely criticised including by some prominent Republicans. An inquest heard that William Chapman, 24, who climbed two fences into a tiger enclosure at a wildlife park near Doncaster and died of multiple traumatic injuries, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and his family had raised concerns about his contact with mental health services; the responsible NHS trust commissioned an independent patient safety investigation, and the inquest is due to resume in March.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino apologised over a plan to sell off shares in the World Cup that met near-universal hostility, and he was warned he would not be fit to continue leading unless he released all documents relating to the sell-off plans. He declined interviews and gave a video statement after a council meeting in Zurich, apologising for mistakes in communication and consultation over the FIFA Forward enterprise project; some attendees remained unimpressed, and the FA chair said they had withdrawn their letter of support. Infantino was set to stand for a fourth term unopposed, while a proposal to distribute more than £2.5bn from FIFA reserves for football development was approved. Severe drought was declared in parts of England after the driest April to September period in more than a century, the first time a severe drought had been declared in the UK, with reservoirs in the southeast and southwest running low and some at 16 to 19 percent full. The Environment Agency said reservoirs should be about three quarters full at this time of year, and the government said public water supplies would not be interrupted while asking the public to use water wisely; scientists warned climate change made hotter, drier summers and droughts more likely. In the US, the latest poll suggested Democrats held the advantage in the midterm elections on 3 November, with both chambers of Congress currently controlled by Republicans and Democrats hoping to flip House seats and possibly take the Senate, which could make life difficult for Trump in his final two years and hamper his legislative agenda. In Iowa, which voted three times for Trump, some voters were angry about rising prices and the war in Iran, Republican candidates were feeling the heat, and a Democratic Senate candidate, Paralympian Josh Turek, had a decent shot in the conservative state; Republican Ashley Hinson had voted to support the war but called for its immediate end, and farmers faced high diesel prices and tariffs. Some Trump voters were disappointed but would not change their votes, and the predicted Democratic wave might not flood Republican states like Iowa. Prince Harry and Meghan carried out their first public engagement together since returning to the UK from California, visiting Nottingham, where they had their first official royal engagement nine years earlier; it was not a royal visit and they had private protection instead of police. Meghan visited an organisation tackling food poverty and met women who had contributed to a charity cookbook she helped produce in 2018, and the couple visited charity projects across the city; Buckingham Palace views them as private citizens, their trips are not official royal duty, and although views remain divided, the day was seen as a success and they are expected to do more such events.