UN watchdog says Russia and Ukraine have established special ceasefire zones to allow the repairs to be safely carried out. What we know on day 1,334

Work has started to repair damaged power lines leading to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after a lengthy outage, the UN’s nuclear watchdog said on Saturday. The site, occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, lost its connection to the grid on 23 September for the 10th time – the longest outage of external power supply to the facility since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The repairs to the off-site power lines began after Russian and Ukrainian forces established “local ceasefire zones to allow work to proceed”, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a post on X. “Both sides engaged constructively with the IAEA to enable the complex repair plan to proceed,” Grossi said. “Restoration of off-site power is crucial for nuclear safety and security.” The agency said it expected the work to take about a week. Russia and Ukraine confirmed the repair works had begun.

Since the outage, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe has been powered by back-up diesel generators. The nuclear plant’s six reactors, which produced about one-fifth of Ukraine’s electricity before the war, were shut down after Moscow took control. But the plant needs electricity to maintain its cooling and safety systems to prevent a disaster.

Elsewhere, Russia continued its aerial bombardment of Ukraine, launching three missiles and 164 drones overnight, Ukraine’s air force said on Saturday. It said Ukrainian forces shot down 136 of the drones. Two people were injured after Russian drones targeted a petrol station in the Zarichny district of Sumy in northeast Ukraine, local officials said Saturday. Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that its air defences had shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Ukrainians have shared their disappointment that the US may not provide Kyiv with long-range Tomahawk missiles. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met Donald Trump at the White House on Friday after the US president signalled that Washington could provide Ukraine with the long-range missiles that Kyiv believes will help bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.

Yet Zelenskyy ultimately left empty-handed, an outcome that dismayed, but did not surprise, many in the streets of the Ukrainian capital, who maintained their determination to end Russia’s invasion of their country. One Ukrainian military serviceman, Roman Vynnychenko, told the Associated Press he believed the prospect of Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine was a political “game”. “Ukraine won’t get those missiles,” he said. Vynnychenko said Ukraine still needed to procure new weapons with or without American help, particularly as Russian drones and missiles continued to hit civilian infrastructure. “Every day civilians and soldiers die, buildings collapse, our streets and cities are being destroyed,” Vynnychenko said. Victoria Khramtsova, a psychologist, said “we just want peace” after being at war for more than three years. “To tell you the truth, I look at the news, but nowadays I read only the headlines. And even those make me sad.”

The exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has warned Trump that Vladimir Putin is not serious about negotiations over Ukraine. Tsikhanouskaya poured cold water on planned talks between the US and Russian presidents, telling AFP in an interview released on Saturday: “As neighbours of Russia, we understand that dictators don’t need peace … So I don’t think that Putin is negotiable at all.” She also urged Trump to step up efforts to support democracy in her country, saying that without a free Belarus, there could be no peace in the region. “Our task is to explain [to Trump] that it’s not only about [political] hostages. It’s about the whole future of our country. And a democratic Belarus is in the interest of the US as well,” she added.

• No 8 to leave Saracens at end of the season

• Only Gallagher Prem players eligible for England

Tom Willis will leave Saracens at the end of the season after signing a contract with Bordeaux that will make him ineligible for Steve Borthwick’s England squad. In a major blow to the head coach, Willis has rejected a new deal from Saracens in order to return to the club where he spent a chunk of the 2022-23 campaign once Wasps had entered administration.

Since heading to north London in 2023, he has established himself as England’s first-choice No 8 and was awarded an enhanced contract by the Rugby Football Union in recognition of the impact he has made.

Scheme will offer training for plumbers, welders and carpenters as well as promoting trade union recognition

Plumbers, electricians and welders will be in huge demand as part of a national plan to train people for an extra 400,000 green jobs in the next five years, Ed Miliband has said.

The energy secretary revealed a new scheme to double those working in green industries by 2030, with a particular focus on training those coming from fossil fuel jobs, school leavers, the unemployed, veterans and ex-offenders.

Dr Tom May, a mycologist at the Royal Botanic Gardens and an expert witness at the Erin Patterson trial, has collaborated with renowned fungi photographer Stephen Axford for Planet Fungi, a new book from CSIRO Publishing full of incredible macro-photography

• Lando Norris is second on grid, Oscar Piastri is sixth

• Max Verstappen won sprint after McLarens collided

Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the US Grand Prix with an immense lap for Red Bull at the Circuit of the Americas. However the day was marked by yet another incident between the two world championship contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with the latter crashing into Norris on the opening lap of the sprint race taking them both out and leaving McLaren with a headache as to how they manage their drivers.

Verstappen had been all but untouchable throughout qualifying, his lead over Norris in second place was a full three-tenths, an age on this track. However in what is an increasingly tense title fight Piastri’s difficult weekend continued as he managed only sixth on the grid. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton took third and fifth for Ferrari, with Mercedes’ George Russell in fourth.

Club cited possible safety ‘concerns’ after West Midlands police decided to ban Maccabi fans from fixture

Aston Villa told matchday stewards they would not have to work during the club’s Europa League fixture against the Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv, citing possible “concerns” over safety, it has been reported.

West Midlands police decided to ban Maccabi fans from the forthcoming match, after saying the force would not be able to police the fixture safely owing to “violent clashes and hate crime offences” at a previous match in Amsterdam in 2024.

Jess Rowe and Miriam Payne have set a new record with their five-and-a-half-month crossing from Lima to Cairns

One more day. One more day up and down the pitiless slide. One more day of blistered hands gripping unforgiving oars.

But after more than 8,000 nautical miles (15,000km) at sea – an epic five-and-a-half-month journey across the Pacific that included close encounters with whales, failing beacons and chocolate shortages – the sea had one more challenge.

At no stage did the Australian coach seem to understand the assignment he had been given at Nottingham Forest

Well, the Chelsea fans were wrong anyway. Ange Postecoglou was not sacked in the morning. Instead he was sacked in the afternoon. So, another small win there for Ange, even in defeat. Not to mention further proof of the notion to which he has always seemed so fatally in thrall, that he is at any given moment the smartest guy in the room. Even when, as of Saturday afternoon, he’s no longer in the room at all.

The official version seems to be that Postecoglou was fired 18 minutes after his final defeat at the City Ground. In reality he was fired in real time, a live-action televised touchline sacking, gone from the moment Evangelos Marinakis disappeared from his seat midway through the second half with the look of a gamekeeper required now to the wring the neck of a dying pheasant.

Releasing them from US custody evades thorny legal issues regarding military detention of suspected drug smugglers

The Trump administration is moving to send the two survivors of Thursday’s strike in the Caribbean overseas rather than seek long-term military detention for them, four US officials and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday.

The source, who like the US officials spoke on condition of anonymity, said the survivors were being sent to Colombia and Ecuador.

The security chief of SolarWinds reflects on the Russian hack that exposed US government agencies – and the heart attack he suffered in the aftermath

Tim Brown will remember 12 December 2020 for ever.

It was the day the software company SolarWinds was notified it had been hacked by Russia.

Rachael Maskell says ‘a lot of clarity’ needed over how Prince Andrew funded settlement of sexual abuse case

• Why Prince Andrew is giving up his titles now – and what it means for the royal family

An MP has called on the royal family to explain how Prince Andrew funded a settlement in a sexual abuse case brought by Virginia Giuffre.

Rachael Maskell, who represents York Central, said “a lot of clarity” was needed regarding the reported £12m payment, made in 2022.

Officials say reopening of gateway between Gaza and Egypt would depend on Hamas returning remains of dead hostages

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will stay closed “until further notice”, Israel has said, after the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said the territory’s sole gateway to the outside world would reopen on Monday.

The statement by Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said reopening Rafah would depend on how Hamas fulfils its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 dead hostages. Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said the crossing would probably reopen on Sunday.

Winning the Premier League means the Dutchman can ride out the setbacks after making radical changes to his gameplan

Replacing a legend is difficult. Even if that legend has lingered too long, even if he has stayed beyond the scope of his powers, coming next is an almost impossible job. David Moyes could not follow Sir Alex Ferguson. Unai Emery could not follow Arsène Wenger. Brian Clough could not follow Don Revie.

When there has been a successful transition it has tended to come from within. George Allison continued Herbert Chapman’s work at Arsenal. Dave Mackay took the Derby Clough had built to another league title.

• Forest moving fast to replace Ange Postecoglou

• Fulham manager Marco Silva also on shortlist

Nottingham Forest have sounded out Sean Dyche and Roberto Mancini regarding their vacancy, after sacking head coach Ange Postecoglou.

Evangelos Marinakis, the Forest owner, made the call to sack Postecoglou just 40 days into the job during the club’s 3-0 home defeat by Chelsea.

As Brighton’s young hearts ran free, a canny campaigner condemned Newcastle to another defeat at the stadium where they have never won. Danny Welbeck’s two goals were moments of rare composure amid a slugfest of a contest. They denied the Toon Army’s latest folk hero. Nick Woltemade’s backheel flick, a speciality, had levelled the scoring.

Welbeck’s first was a moment of equal delicacy, his second saw him thrash – first time – a loose ball home; his third winner against Newcastle in the last 12 months. Brighton snatched a third win of the Premier League season, each over opponents in this season’s Champions League, Newcastle following Chelsea and Manchester City. Newcastle, meanwhile, are yet to win away from St James’ Park.

This was a mechanical performance from Arsenal but it was enough. Enough to see off Fulham, enough to avoid a row over a questionable refereeing decision and enough for Mikel Arteta’s side to increase the pressure on Liverpool before the champions look to move past their slump when they host Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

It never came close to capturing the imagination. There was the inevitable corner to decide a drab contest, Leandro Trossard popping up with an opportunistic goal just before the hour, but there was nothing memorable from Arsenal in open play. They created few openings and for all his graft there was concern about another blunt outing for Viktor Gyökeres, who returned from a troubled international break with Sweden and saw his goalless streak for club and country run into a ninth game.

• Updates from the Circuit of the Americas (10pm BST)

• Verstappen wins sprint | Email Beau with your thoughts

Q1 is 18 minutes today. That will eliminate five of the 20 cars. Q2 is 15 minutes to eliminate another five, and then Q3 is 12 minutes.

We did seem to have some issues in sprint qualifying with cars that were not on their fast laps getting in the way of cars that were. It is a peculiar qualifying system, isn’t it?

State senator Samuel Douglass, 26, and wife, Brianna, both made comments in Young Republicans Telegram group

A Vermont state lawmaker has resigned over racist and antisemitic chat messages that circulated within the Young Republican political group, another substantial consequence in a scandal that on Friday saw the New York state Young Republicans’ charter revoked.

State senator Samuel Douglass, the only elected official known to have taken part in the leaked group chat exposed by Politico, resigned Friday over his participation.

• Two men tried to plant flag of St George in centre circle

• Far-right group calls it protest against Neville’s ‘treachery’

Salford’s League Two match against Oldham was briefly disrupted when two men tried to plant a flag of St George inside the centre circle at the Peninsula Stadium.

The men entered the field during the first half wearing white hoodies displaying the message “Gary Neville is a traitor” before being removed by stewards and police.

James Tavernier’s late goal earned Rangers a 2-2 draw with Dundee United at Ibrox as the interim manager, Steven Smith, got a taste of the fragility that has dogged the club this season. “Any potential new manager that’s watching knows there is talent in the group. But it’s just about how you get that consistency over a 90-minute game. And then the results will start to change,” he said.

“To go from the level in the first half where you’re thinking you should be two or three goals up to coming away at the end where you’re probably lucky to get a point is quite frustrating. When you’ve only worked with a group of four, four or five training sessions, it’s quite difficult.”

Driver lost control of bus in Saloá in Pernambuco state and cause of accident is under investigation

A passenger bus in north-eastern Brazil has crashed into a sand embankment and flipped on its side, killing 17 people, local authorities have said.

The bus was carrying about 30 passengers, police said on Saturday, but the number of injured, who were taken to nearby hospitals, was not immediately clear. The vehicle departed from the state of Bahia and crashed in Saloá, a city in the neighbouring state of Pernambuco.

Authorities urge UN to intervene ‘to protect unarmed civilian populations’ after attack on bus that killed 11

Gaza’s media office has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire with Hamas 47 times since the truce came into effect in early October, killing 38 Palestinians and wounding another 143.

“These violations have included crimes of direct gunfire against civilians, deliberate shelling and targeting, and the arrest of a number of civilians, reflecting the occupation’s continued policy of aggression despite the declared end of the war,” reads the statement.

⚽ Premier League updates from the 5.30pm BST kick-off
⚽ Live scores | Top scorers | Postecoglou sacked | Mail Scott

The teams emerge from the Cottage. Fulham in white, Arsenal in second-choice blue. A heady atmosphere down by the river. It won’t be too long now.

Marco Silva talks to Sky. “[To have Raúl Jiménez back] is crucial … we have two strikers who have been scoring more than 20 goals a season together … we miss Rodrigo [Muniz] … it is crucial to have at least one of them.”

• Winner is elite British racing’s longest-priced victor

• Cicero’s Gift follows up at 100-1 in Champions Sprint

Calandagan became only the second horse ever to win the King George and Champion Stakes in the same season at Ascot on Saturday, matching the achievement of the great Brigadier Gerard in 1972, but it was a very different moment of racing history that may stick longest in the memories of many racegoers at the track. When Qirat set a record for the longest-priced victory in a British Group One race with a 150-1 success in the Sussex Stakes in August, it seemed likely to remain unmatched for years if not decades, but instead his tenure as elite British racing’s unlikeliest winner lasted only until mid-October and Powerful Glory’s 200-1 win in the Champions Sprint.

It was the most astonishing result on a day that also saw a 100-1 success for Cicero’s Gift in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, and unlike Qirat’s front-running success at Goodwood, where the jockeys on his rivals ignored an apparent pacemaker until it was too late, Powerful Glory came late with a perfectly timed challenge under Jamie Spencer.