Last Christmas, you gave us first class: Royal Mail turns Scrooge with gift to staff of second-class stamps

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Switch comes amid first festive season since Daniel Křetínský’s takeover of parent company IDS

Royal Mail says that it has “delivered Christmas” for more than 500 years, but this year many workers have been left feeling less than festive after the company downgraded a small gift to workers to second class.

The postal service, which traces its history back to the appointment of a “master of the posts” by Henry VIII in 1516, has given workers a collection of 50 Christmas stamps to recognise their work over the busiest time of year. In previous years, including in 2024, workers have received a book of 50 or 100 first-class stamps, but that has quietly been switched to second class this year.

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US flight cancellations rise as Sean Duffy warns travel could reduce to a ‘trickle’

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Over 2,500 flights cancelled as transportation secretary says flight reductions could reach 20% if shutdown persists

Flight cancellations and delays are set to grow as airline passengers across the United States spent the weekend grappling with those issues at major airports nationwide after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandated a 4% reduction in air traffic in response to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

If the shutdown continues, the FAA has instructed airlines to cut 6% of flights on Tuesday – and to do the same to 10% by 14 November. The transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, has warned that flight reductions could reach 20% if the shutdown persists, and on Sunday he predicted a “substantial” number of people in the US would be unable to celebrate the upcoming holidays with their families if the shutdown wasn’t resolved.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting

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Russian activist held in Poland admits he worked as FSB agent, court papers say

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Igor Rogov, who left Russia in 2021, due to go on trial accused of informing on other Russian opposition activists

A Russian opposition activist arrested in Poland and due to go on trial next month has admitted he worked as an undercover agent for Russia’s FSB security service and informed on other opposition figures, court documents claim.

Igor Rogov, 30, has been associated with various opposition movements in the Russian city of Saransk, including Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and Open Russia, linked to the exiled businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

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Ukrainian strikes disrupt power and heating to 2 major cities in Russia – AP News

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  1. Ukrainian strikes disrupt power and heating to 2 major cities in Russia  AP News
  2. Ukraine drone strikes throw power supplies into disarray in Russian cities  Al Jazeera
  3. Ukrainian drones hit electricity substation in northern Russia, governor says  Reuters
  4. Ukraine says it has hit a major Russian oil refinery with long-range drones  NBC News
  5. Ukraine hits Russian energy, leaving thousands without power  dw.com
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Ukraine hits Russian energy, leaving thousands without power – DW

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  1. Ukraine hits Russian energy, leaving thousands without power  DW
  2. Ukraine drone strikes throw power supplies into disarray in Russian cities  Al Jazeera
  3. Ukraine Can Win the Energy War  Time Magazine
  4. Explosion in Russian Black Sea port of Tuapse amid reported sea drone attack  The Kyiv Independent
  5. Special operations forces strike Hvardiiske oil depot in Crimea for third time  Ukrinform
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Bar Council calls for legal aid for all family court cases involving domestic abuse

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Only 15% of families are eligible for legal aid which has led to huge swathes of UK becoming ‘legal advice deserts’, body says

The Bar Council has called for all family court cases involving domestic abuse to be brought within the scope of legal aid for both parties, and for means testing to be scrapped for alleged victims and survivors of domestic abuse.

In a new policy paper, the body, which represents all 18,000 barristers in England and Wales, has set out a package of recommendations to improve the ability of the family justice system.

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Bad Bridgets podcast about crime among Irish women in US inspires film

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Margot Robbie’s company to make movie based on Northern Ireland academics’ stories of poverty and prison

It started as a trawl of dusty archives for an academic project about female Irish emigrants in Canada and the US by two history professors, a worthy but perhaps niche topic for research.

The subjects, after all, were human flotsam from Ireland’s diaspora whose existence was often barely recorded, let alone remembered.

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Review to look at role of mental health issues in UK youth unemployment

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Former health secretary Alan Milburn’s review is exploring reasons for rising inactivity among young people

The role of mental health issues and disability in youth unemployment will be examined by the former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn as part of a review looking into rising inactivity among Britain’s young people.

Nearly a million people aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training, often described with the acronym Neets. Milburn will look at ways to avoid people becoming trapped as Neets and the findings will be published in the summer.

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North Carolina police officer fatally shot in hospital emergency room incident

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Campus police officer Roger Smith was killed during a struggle and a ‘person of interest’ is in custody, police say

A police officer was shot and killed during a struggle in the emergency department lobby at a North Carolina hospital Saturday.

The shooting happened around 9am at the WakeMed Garner Healthplex, killing WakeMed campus police officer Roger Smith, according to a WakeMed statement.

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Israel receives remains of hostage that Hamas says is IDF soldier killed in 2014 – NPR

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  1. Israel receives remains of hostage that Hamas says is IDF soldier killed in 2014  NPR
  2. Hamas Hands Over Body of Hadar Goldin, Israeli Soldier Held Since 2014  The New York Times
  3. It Took 11 Years to Bring Hadar Goldin Home. Apologies Are Long Overdue  Haaretz
  4. Israel-Gaza live updates: Netanyahu says war 'has not ended'  abcnews.go.com
  5. Israel confirms receiving remains of soldier killed in Gaza in 2014  Politico
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Kyiv targets Russia’s energy supply after massive attack on Ukraine power grid – politico.eu

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  1. Kyiv targets Russia’s energy supply after massive attack on Ukraine power grid  politico.eu
  2. Ukraine facing widespread power cuts after generating capacity reduced to ‘zero’ by Russian attacks  The Guardian
  3. Russian Bombardment Causes Large Outages in Ukraine’s Big Cities  The New York Times
  4. Millions of Ukrainian face dark and cold after one of Russia’s largest attacks on energy infrastructure  CNN
  5. Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,354  Al Jazeera
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Why is the BBC expected to apologise over a Donald Trump speech edit?

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Boris Johnson and White House criticise the corporation, but some journalists say criticism is part of campaign to destroy the BBC

The BBC is expected to apologise on Monday for the way in which a speech by the US president, Donald Trump, was edited in an episode of Panorama. The show is one of a number of examples highlighted by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, who detailed his concerns about the broadcaster’s impartiality in a memo published by the Telegraph.

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