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Police clash with protesters as tens of thousands take to streets across France

Police have fired teargas and clashed with protesters supporting high school student grievances, as demonstrations across France were boosted by other groups angry over high prices and the fraying of a social welfare system. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country, and tensions erupted on the fringes of the nationwide demonstrations over absent teachers, decrepit school buildings and police violence. In Marseille, protesters stormed the town hall, ramming the door with security barriers they removed from the street. They briefly managed to enter the municipal building, where a protester spray-painted an “A” for anarchy on a wall before the police removed them. Around Place de la République in central Paris, a peaceful march turned violent, with police firing teargas at black-clad and masked rioters who threw fireworks and paving stones, attacked a bank and looted a sports shop. “We’re taking the Bastille!” one demonstrator yelled. Others set wheelie-bins on fire and threw firecrackers inside or pushed over glass recycling bins and picked up the bottles inside to use as missiles. A lorry was set fire and flames spread to a nearby building. Residents in surrounding streets were forced to close windows and doors as huge clouds of tear gas spread rose to roof level. French authorities detained dozens of protesters across the country, with more arrests expected. Saturday’s mobilisation follows calls on social media to revive the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement, which emerged in 2018 against social injustice. The protests began last month at schools ⁠in the poor northern suburbs of Paris, where ⁠anger over teacher absences and shabby facilities quickly morphed into a nationwide movement against inequality, weak public spending and falling standards. Saturday’s protests called for teachers and students, labourers, pensioners and farmers to join the protests and widen the movement. French authorities said 140 protests involving 32,800 people had been recorded outside Paris by midday, blaming the unrest and violence on what they said was the “ultra-left”. The CGT, one of France’s biggest labour unions, has also backed the protests, calling for “higher wages and pensions, lower prices and the protection of public services that meet people’s needs”. About 45% of French people are worried about the rising cost of living and inflation, according to a 2,000-person survey conducted in October. Protesters ⁠in hi-vis vests blocked streets, an echo of the unrest that dogged President Emmanuel Macron’s previous term, and in Marseille rubbish bins were set alight. Both the far left and far right in France sought to capitalise on the protest movement, with the left positioning itself on the side of the protesters and the right backing the police. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, marched in a demonstration on Tuesday and has expressed support for student protesters. A large police presence was visible in central Paris, especially near landmarks such as ⁠the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe, which were excluded from the routes of the two official demonstrations. About 100 people walked towards the police at the beginning protest yelling, “all cops are bastards!”. “We are fighting because the cost of living is ‌too harsh, because the price of ‌fuel is too high, because high school pupils are being violently attacked and hurt all over the country just for trying to ‌protest and ask for more teachers and decent learning conditions,” said a 19-year-old protester in Paris who gave her name as Lola. Macron is entering the final stretch of his presidency, leaving behind a polarised electorate and a badly fragmented political landscape. On Friday, the president appealed for calm and respect for people and property as officials warned of possible violence. “There is a constitutional right to protest and to express oneself, and I have always been vigilant and attentive that that right is fully respected,” he said. “But this right comes with the need to respect. Respect for people, respect for property, and therefore a commitment not to insult or destroy.” Macron denounced as “unacceptable” the potential presence of people “solely to cause damage and create unrest”. The interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said hundreds of protest actions and more than 80 marches were expected nationwide, including spontaneous gatherings, street demonstrations and blockades. Police banned some other proposed gatherings in central Paris. Many Métro stations were closed on Saturday at the police’s request, including those around the Champs-Élysées and near the presidential palace, parliament and government offices. In recent weeks, there have been thousands of arrests, hundreds of injuries, and schools set on fire as the new school year descended into nationwide student protests that are influencing the country’s presidential election campaign and drawing international attention. The police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen allegations of police violence, while the French prime minister said that more than 900 police officers had been injured. Among protesters, particularly gruesome wounds suffered by some teenagers have been blamed on police riot-control weapons. Nuñez suspended the use of a type of police stun grenade against the young demonstrators after a 15-year-old lost a hand, but said that they could be used on Saturday. On Tuesday, the climate and social justice activist Greta Thunberg joined students at a school in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. Agencies contributed reporting

Trump’s pause on Russia sanctions is ‘reward’ for Putin, Zelenskyy says

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Donald Trump’s decision to roll back sanctions on Russia as a “reward” for Vladimir Putin and warned it will embolden the Russian leader and intensify the Kremlin’s war, as Moscow launched one of its worst strikes yet on Ukraine’s power plants in an attempt to black out the country’s cities before winter. The Ukrainian president also said he expected the Trump administration to lift more sanctions against Russia in the future and called for Europe to establish its own negotiations with Moscow as the US has sought better ties and business deals with the Kremlin. “Unfortunately, the lifting of sanctions will continue, and I believe that the ‘diesel deal’ is the first step,” said Zelenskyy on Saturday. “Unfortunately, it seems to me that this cannot stop Putin; on the contrary, he feels joy and happiness that he has such support.” In a social media message earlier, Zelenskyy wrote: “A US ⁠sanctions blackout, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin – all of this only encourages him to keep attacking. We must not give up ground. “We must keep trying to end the ‌war. To end it, not give Putin every reason to continue it indefinitely.” In its latest effort to reduce tensions with Russia, Trump announced on Friday that he would put a hold on a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause on the legislation passed by both chambers was in the national interest. The act, named for the late senator Lindsey Graham, who championed the legislation, would have introduced tough new sanctions on Russia including a 100% tariff on major importers of Russian oil such as China and India, as well as sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, financial institutions and shadow fleet of oil tankers. On Saturday, Zelenskyy said the decision to waive the sanctions would encourage Vladimir Putin to intensify the war in Ukraine and called for support in the US to resurrect the bill. “At the time when the Russians launched such a massive strike against our energy sector, in America, regrettably, a decision was made to completely ignore the Lindsey Graham law, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to end this war,” he wrote in a statement. “This law could have – and still can! – help a great deal. But the law needs to actually work, and every voice in support of it matters.” The move was greeted by the Russian presidential envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, who wrote on social media: “The Trump administration’s suspension of the Graham Act is an important and truly historic moment.” The legislation, which sanctions Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps the country’s energy supplies moving, was due to be implemented in two days. It also directs Trump to impose up to 100% tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with an exception for countries that import less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce those imports. Friday’s announcement comes a week after Trump said the US had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down global energy prices, upending years of US and western pressure on the Kremlin to end its war against Ukraine. Trump said last week that Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tonnes in November and 1m tonnes “immediately thereafter”. Russia would deliver an additional 3m tonnes “within a short period of time” after that, he wrote. The Trump administration’s decision to waive the sanctions is the latest consequence of a brutal quarrel between Trump and Zelenskyy. Several times this week, the US did not provide intelligence of impending ballistic missile attacks to Ukraine, and the White House reportedly ordered the Pentagon to throttle the military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet network used by Ukraine’s armed forces to run its drone operations on the frontline. “We very much hope – and I personally hope – that the president of the United States of America will do everything so that Putin stops the killings, stops the strikes on our energy infrastructure, and stops this war,” Zelenskyy said on Saturday. “But once again, you cannot achieve this by restricting Ukraine’s responses to Russia for killing our people. And even less so by lifting sanctions.” Trump has demanded that Ukraine halt its strikes on Russian oil refineries, as he has blamed the war in Ukraine, rather than the closure of the strait of Hormuz, for the worldwide spike in diesel prices. Ukraine unilaterally halted the strikes after Trump declared an “energy ceasefire” last week, but resumed them when it became clear that Russia was stepping up its attacks on Ukrainian power plants and substations. Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russia had launched one of its worst strikes yet against the country’s energy infrastructure, hitting more than 15 critical power generation and transmission facilities and causing “severe consequences”. He also indicated that Ukraine’s dwindling stock of anti-air weapons made it difficult to shoot down many of the loitering munitions, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles being launched each night at Ukraine. “Although our warriors are shooting down a significant number of them,” he said, the “sheer scale and unrelenting pace of Russia’s strikes, specifically against our energy sector, are unfortunately having severe consequences.”

Pope Leo discharged from hospital after cancer operation

Pope Leo has been discharged from hospital in Rome after undergoing an operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his lung. Leo, 71, was deemed “fit for discharge”, his doctors, Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora, said in a statement published by the Vatican. He walked unaided from the hospital on Saturday afternoon, to cheers from well-wishers. Leo, who in May last year became the first US-born leader of the Roman Catholic church, has been in the Gemelli hospital since Tuesday, when doctors removed part of his right lung in order to extract the tumour. “Considering the blood tests, the chest X-ray done this morning, and evaluating the clinical picture, the Holy Father has been deemed fit for discharge,” the statement said. Doctors said on Wednesday that Leo’s recovery from the operation was progressing normally. They are waiting for the results of tests to determine whether the cancer has spread and if more treatment will be needed. Leo was diagnosed with the most common kind of lung cancer – adenocarcinoma. The pontiff celebrated mass in his room on the 10th-floor of the Gemelli hospital in the north-west of the Italian capital before being discharged. The Vatican said he would recite the Angelus prayer on Sunday “from the window of the papal apartment”. It was during his angelus last week, in a rare moment of Vatican transparency, that Leo made the shock announcement to the crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square that a small nodule on his lung had been detected during a check-up. The pope has worked from hospital, including making a phone call on Friday to Vladimir Putin, during which he urged the Russian president to call a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky. The Vatican had originally estimated a week-long stay in hospital. The pope’s appointments had been cancelled until 20 October. It is uncertain if he’ll make an intense 12-day trip to South America planned in November. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, told reporters on Friday that Leo may need to readjust his trip schedule, at least with regard to South America, depending on his health. Before the cancer diagnosis, Leo, who enjoys sports, especially playing tennis, was generally believed to be in good health. He often makes use of the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, close to Rome. The Gemelli, located in the north-west of the Italian capital, is renowned for treating reigning popes. Pope John Paul II stayed there so many times that the Vatican worked with the hospital to establish a high-security papal suite.

UAE agrees with Saudi Arabia to re-enter Yemen conflict amid Houthi gains

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to re-enter the Yemen conflict by resuming payments to some government forces fighting Iran-aligned Houthis in the south, according to sources in Yemen. In return, Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide air cover for the anti-Houthi force. The new cooperation agreement is the first tangible sign that the deep rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over Yemen’s future is starting to be healed – if only because the advance by Houthi forces across Yemen has alarmed all the rival Gulf state rulers. Saudi Arabia is facing daily drone and missile attacks and is struggling to maintain an atmosphere of normality, as Houthi strikes immobilise its airports and some of its energy infrastructure. Southern forces – mainly in the Giant Brigades – were previously trained and funded by the UAE, and are regarded as some of the most effective in the disjointed anti-Houthi military coalition. But the UAE quit operations inside Yemen in January, cutting off its funding supply line. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE have responded to a demand this week by southern Yemen separatists for a referendum on secession, a move that would restore the 1967-1990 borders, when Yemen was two separate states. The separatist Southern Transition Council has also not yet agreed for its troops to fight outside the borders of the old Southern Yemen, but an explicit agreement by Saudi Arabia to allow a referendum would be likely to lead to the lifting of that restriction. Yemen’s UN-recognised government, based in Aden, declared last week a counteroffensive to drive Houthi forces from the capital Sana’a, but so far the military drive has met with limited success around Majzar near Marib and the Bab al-Mandab strait. There is also no direct contact between the STC leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, and Saudi officials. Zubaidi fled to Abu Dhabi in January after a failed STC attempt to take charge across the south and announce a referendum on separation in two years’ time. In response, the Saudis bombed UAE arms shipments for STC forces. The UAE then announced it was quitting all involvement in Yemen, and the Saudi-backed government said it would seek to try Zubaidi for treason. UAE officials are deeply concerned by the state of the conflict. Despite massive losses, the Houthis are determined eventually to capture Taiz and Marib, the two remaining cities outside the boundaries of the old Southern Yemen. On Friday two missiles fired by the Houthis struck the airport of Aden while a passenger plane was preparing to take off. No casualties were reported. The missiles landed about 500 metres from the Yemenia Airways aircraft, and approximately 100 metres from the midpoint of the runway, said Yemen’s information minister, Moammar Al-Eryani. The strike came a day after at least five people were killed and 16 injured in a Houthi attack on a presidential palace in Aden. Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, said he was convening an emergency session of parliament to grant his country’s military the powers to take action in defence of Saudi Arabia. He stressed Egypt would not be taking any offensive action, and would only defend Saudi Arabia. In the UK, discussions are continuing about a Saudi request for further military aid. The UK has sent an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft, but regional diplomats are pressing for the UK to do more. Some concern is being expressed over whether Riyadh should be engaging more closely with other Gulf States, including Oman and Qatar, on the issue. The legal implications of a blanket UK backing for the largely Saudi air campaign is also being considered, since the court of appeal in 2019 found the UK had acted unlawfully in issuing arms export licences during a previous Saudi bombing campaign of Yemen in 2015-16. The Campaign Against Arms Trade said the UK had made no proper assessment of potential Saudi breaches of international humanitarian law, forcing the UK to revise its procedures. Saudi Arabia claims to have revised its methods substantially since then, and certainly argues that it is acting in self-defence in line with the UN charter. The UN security council on 15 October adopted a UN presidential statement on 15 October asserting Saudi Arabia’s right to act in self-defence in line with international law. No accurate death toll in the war since August is available, but more than 200,000 people have been displaced, according to the UN, which is placing increasing pressure on Aden-based humanitarian groups.

‘I cannot carry all of this alone’: the couples kept apart by the war in Gaza

Wijdan Abu Matar, 43, was forced to leave Gaza in November 2023 with her eight children for medical treatment, while her injured husband, Hatem, remained behind. Wijdan and her family were living in the Nuseirat refugee camp when the Gaza war began with the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Ten days later, on 17 October that year, an Israeli strike hit the al-Muhandseen tower, near their home, injuring Wijdan and every member of her family. “We were sitting together, just about to start lunch when the bombing happened,” Wijdan recalled. “The ceiling collapsed over our heads. Everything went dark. I couldn’t see anything. I just started screaming the names of my sons and daughters.” Her daughter Nour, 15, suffered the most serious injuries, including a fractured skull and bleeding in the brain. Five-year-old Amna suffered severe burns to her chest. The family was initially separated after the strike. Nour spent about 33 days in intensive care, with Wijdan by her side. Amna and Aysel, three and a half, were at a different hospital for 15 days. On 30 November 2023, Wijdan travelled with Nour to a hospital in Egypt for treatment. For months, the family remained scattered across Egypt, receiving medical treatment and staying with other relatives. “I felt completely helpless,” Wijdan said. “There was a fire in my heart because I was away from my husband and my family was scattered.” Eventually, Wijdan managed to bring her children together in an apartment in Egypt. Three years on, however, she is still separated from her husband, who remains in Gaza. “I have become both the mother and the father to my children,” she said. “The responsibility is exhausting me, and I am constantly worried about my husband.” Hatem suffered a serious leg injury that limits his mobility and is now displaced in a tent in Nuseirat. Even speaking to him is difficult because of Gaza’s unreliable internet connection. “When he manages to get online, he calls me and the children. He tells me, ‘I am counting the days until I can see you again.’ I can see the tears in his eyes,” Wijdan says. Wijdan has no regular source of income and relies on donations. Hatem stopped receiving a salary 10 months ago and his injury prevents him from working. In Egypt, life is difficult for Wijdan and her family. She says she cannot afford transportation to send five of her children to school. “I see my children’s future slipping away in front of me, and there is nothing I can do.” Nour still requires medical treatment, but Wijdan often cannot afford her medication. She sometimes considers returning to Gaza to be with Hatem, but fears exposing her children to further suffering. “I dream of getting my children the treatment they need, and I hope we can reunite with my husband as soon as possible so he can also receive treatment,” Wijdan said. “I cannot carry all of this alone. Psychologically, I am exhausted. I have lost 35 members of my family in this war.” Since the war began with Hamas’s attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, at least 73,783 Palestinians have been killed and 174,738 wounded, according to the health ministry. Earlier this year an independent UN inquiry found that Israel continues to commit genocide by deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza. Sami Abu Tabaq, a 29-year-old Palestinian photojournalist, was forced to leave the Gaza Strip in April 2024, leaving behind his family and his fiancee, Ola. “Loneliness kills me every day,” he said. “Life away from the woman I love and my family is incredibly hard. I’m desperately waiting for the day God brings us together again.” Sami became engaged to Ola five months before the war began. They had met by chance when he chose her family’s home as a location for a photoshoot. Before the war, they saw each other constantly. They went to the sea, had dinner at restaurants in Gaza, and spent months preparing the house where they planned to live after their wedding, which was scheduled for November 2023. Sami and his family fled their home in Tal al-Zaatar, Jabaliya, early on in the war. Their home was badly damaged and later destroyed, along with the house Sami and Ola had been planning to move into once they got married. When his sister decided to flee south with her children, Sami accompanied her but he could not reach Ola to say goodbye. The separation became unbearable. Days, sometimes weeks, passed without Sami knowing whether Ola was alive. Once, he saw reports that an entire residential block near her home in Gaza City had been bombed. “I almost lost my mind. I had never felt so helpless,” he said. Unable to return north, he asked his brother to check on her. Eventually, his brother confirmed that she and her family were alive. Sami continued working as a photojournalist from southern Gaza. Four journalists who had shared his tent were later killed, including Hamza al-Dahdouh, a son of the Al Jazeera journalist Wael al-Dahdouh. As Israel threatened a ground invasion of Rafah in 2024, Ola began urging Sami to leave Gaza, fearing he would be killed. Sami paid a company coordinating exits at the time for both of them to cross into Egypt. But Ola could not reach southern Gaza to travel through Rafah. “She told me, ‘You go, and I’ll follow you,’” Sami said. “And here we are, still waiting, nearly two and a half years later.” They still have not managed to get married. By his second day in Egypt, Sami was overwhelmed by guilt. “The overthinking kills me,” he said. “I felt ashamed to turn on the lights or eat proper food while my fiancee and my family were struggling to find the most basic things.” In Egypt, his life has become dominated by loneliness and sleeplessness. “There is safety in Egypt and there are beautiful places, but I stay home. Happiness has no meaning without her. I cannot enjoy anything while she is not here,” he said. Despite the war, Ola completed her bachelor’s degree in nursing at the Islamic University of Gaza. She has also endured enormous loss: her cousin, the journalist Ayat Khadoura, was killed, along with about 50 other members of her extended family. From Egypt, Sami tries to create moments of happiness for her. For her latest birthday, he contacted her brother in Gaza and secretly arranged a cake, gift and flowers. “When she woke up and saw everything, she was so happy. I love her reaction when she’s happy.” The only problem was the flowers. “They were artificial,” he said. “I wasn’t happy with them, but natural flowers can’t get into Gaza because Israel does not allow them in.” Sami says he has tried every possible way to get Ola out, without success. She is now applying for scholarships abroad, hoping education might provide a route to evacuation and, eventually, to him. Sami recently travelled to Mecca for Umrah, where one prayer remained constantly on his mind. “I prayed, ‘God, please bring us together soon,’” he said. “But one thing I know for sure: I will wait for her for the rest of my life, until God brings us together.”

Mexican judge sentences three men to 158 years in prison for murders of Australian and US surfers

A Mexican ⁠judge ⁠has sentenced three men to 158 years ⁠and nine months in prison each for ⁠the murder of two Australian ‌brothers ‌and their American friend during ‌a 2024 surf trip to the state of Baja California. The ‌defendants were declared guilty a week ago of homicide, aggravated robbery, robbery with violence and vehicle theft ⁠with violence, crimes committed against Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, and their ‌American friend Carter Rhoad. Rhoad and the Robinsons were shot dead in a suspected robbery while travelling through Mexico. They were camping in a remote beachside area near the city of Ensenada when they were attacked on 27 April 2024. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Their bodies were found days later in a clifftop well with gunshot wounds to the heads. Jesus Gerardo – known as “El Kekas” – was accused of leading the attack. His surname has not been disclosed for legal reasons. Two other defendants, Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus, were also found guilty and have been sentenced. The families of the victims followed the sentencing hearing via video link. Prosecutors had requested damages of more than $100,000 but the judge ruled against it and said any compensation would have to be pursued through civil proceedings. The brothers’ parents, Martin and Debra Robinson, travelled from Australia to the port city of Ensenada for the trial, which began on 7 September. They have established a foundation in their sons’ names to carry on their legacy. The Callum and Jake Robinson Foundation aims to “help people live bigger, shine brighter and love harder in their honour”. Callum, the older of the two brothers, moved to the US as a professional lacrosse player and has been remembered for his loving nature and passion for the environment, having been involved in coastal cleanups. Jake, a doctor, was set to take up a position at Geelong hospital after returning to Australia. He has been remembered for his academic success, his passion for sport, particularly cricket and surfing, and his compassion. Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, plagued by organised crime and drug trafficking, although cartel activity does not usually affect tourists. Other foreign visitors have, however, been targeted in criminal attacks on Mexico’s Pacific coast. Two Australian surfers, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, were killed in 2015 while travelling through the north-western state of Sinaloa. Their bodies were later burned.

Mimicking populists will not ease cost of living or boost productivity, Mathias Cormann warns

Australia’s mainstream political parties are being warned not to adopt populist policies such as migration caps to address voters’ grievances over the cost of living. Instead, Australia’s longest-serving finance minister, Mathias Cormann, is urging politicians to deliver housing, real wage growth and lower energy costs by boosting productivity. Now the secretary general for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Cormann will deliver an address to the Centre for Independent Studies on Saturday night spruiking productivity as the only way to reliably lower the cost of living over the long term. Though not directly named in his address, One Nation – which largely runs on an anti-immigration platform – has surged in popularity since the 2025 federal election, with its primary vote reaching 25%, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll, rising above the Coalition’s 22%. While populist parties may have gained traction by speaking to real grievances about rising energy bills, home ownership and real incomes going backwards, Cormann is expected to warn Labor and the Coalition not to follow suit. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email “Mainstream parties that respond to a populist surge by adopting its economics do not recover their voters. They lose twice: once to the original, which the electorate will always prefer to the copy, and once to the centre, which has nowhere else to go,” he will say in his address. “The lesson is consistent: deliver homes, lower energy costs, real wage growth and a credible budget, and the populist tide recedes. “Mimic the populists, and you simply confirm that they were right all along. The way to defeat populism is to solve the problems it feeds on.” Cormann will point to “arbitrary migration caps” imposed regardless of their effect on business, hospitals, aged care or universities. He will acknowledge more Australians now than any time in the past 20 years say the migration intake is too high and may support such policies, with many attributing their concerns to housing. But the answer is to address housing supply, infrastructure, services and the composition of the migration intake, he will say. According to OECD research across Australia’s regions, in places where more migrants arrived, employment among Australian-born workers grew faster, not slower, with no measurable effect on their wages. Without migration, Australia’s working-age population would decrease as the number of older people grows. “An ageing country that chooses to shrink its working-age population while promising to spend more on health, care and defence has not developed a plan – it has put forward a contradiction,” Cormann will say. Tariffs, which have been imposed by US president Donald Trump and proposed by One Nation, would also fail to address the cost of living and could instead raise costs for farmers, miners and builders, Cormann will say. He believes Australia can only grow its way out of the issue through productivity. “There is no shortcut to a lower cost of living. There is no populist shortcut, through tariffs and caps and state banks,” he will say. “There is only the long way round: an economy that produces more, competes harder and grows faster than its costs … anyone offering you a quicker route is offering you a poorer country.”

Ukraine war briefing: Russia building non-negotiable ‘security zone’ inside Ukrainian border, Putin declares

Russia is establishing a “security zone” inside Ukraine along the border and it will be non-negotiable in any ⁠future talks with Kyiv, Vladimir Putin has said. The Russian president, wearing military uniform and speaking during a visit to a command post, said the operation ⁠was in response to Ukraine’s ⁠2024-25 incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region. “The Russian armed forces were tasked not only with expelling the enemy from our land but also with establishing a security zone ⁠in the adjacent territory. This task is being carried out successfully,” he said in televised comments on Friday. “Our goal is to ensure the absolute security of Russia’s border regions ⁠for the future, and we do not plan to make this a subject for potential peace negotiations with Ukraine.” The planned ‌security zone spanned 660km (410 ‌miles), of which 70% was currently under Russia’s control, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov did not say how deep it would ‌reach inside Ukraine. The zone requires Russia to carve out land in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, which are not among those it is illegally claiming as its own territory. Donald Trump has put on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling the US Congress the pause on the legislation which passed both chambers was in the national interest. The US president said in an executive order on Friday he was waiving many ⁠sanctions, restrictions and duties ⁠on Russia, in a move that comes as he has been publicly criticising ⁠Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian military’s access to the Starlink satellite internet service had not yet been fully restored, as media reports suggested the order to throttle the service had come from within the White House. Zelenskyy met European leaders on Friday in Brussels and asked the EU for another €70bn ($79bn/£59bn) next year to fund Ukraine’s defence against Russia, report Jennifer Rankin and Andrew Roth. Hours earlier Trump called Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries “a disgrace” after his purported “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine failed to take hold. A Russian ⁠airstrike on Kherson in southern ⁠Ukraine killed one ⁠person and ‌injured ‌19 others, the governor ‌said on Saturday. The person ‌killed was an ambulance driver and ⁠a child was among the injured, Oleksandr Prokudin said ‌on Telegram. Russian attacks on Friday killed at least eight people and injured 60 ⁠across Ukraine, hit two shopping centres and cut power to more than 1 million people after strikes on the energy grid, ⁠officials said. Two were kiled and 12 more wounded in attacks on three districts of the eastern city of Kharkiv, governor Oleh Syniehubov ⁠said. Further Russian strikes through the evening injured nine, officials said. Attacks in Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region killed two and another two were killed in south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region. A drone strike on a food-processing facility killed one person and wounded eight in the north-western region of Volyn, according to governor Roman Romaniuk, leaving 370,000 people temporarily without power. Drone attacks also struck a customs terminal and torched about 10 trucks in the town of Kovel, he said. Other attacks hit at least two shopping centres – one in the northern city of Sumy and another in the neighbouring region of ⁠Rivne, officials said. The attacks came as a new report showed that civilian casualties from Russia’s invasion have climbed steeply. At least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 wounded last month – a total that is 85% higher than in September last year, the report from the UN human rights office in Kyiv said on Friday. It said intensifying Russian attacks in October already had killed dozens of civilians, including children. “The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years,” said Danielle Bell, the UN office head. As Russian missiles and drones have systematically slammed into power plants in Kyiv and Kharkiv this week, the rolling blackouts and water outages have increasingly resembled a supposed Russian blueprint to destroy life in major Ukrainian cities seen by the Guardian, writes Andrew Roth in this analysis.