Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s Secretary of War, made a jaw-dropping announcement this month: the US would livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former US army major who killed 13 people and injured 32 more in a mass shooting at the Fort Hood military base in 2009.
Eight days later, after much public scrutiny, Trump made an announcement of his own: the livestream would not be happening after all, though Hasan’s execution by firing squad is still scheduled to go ahead on 3 December.
Hegseth, one of the most prominent faces of the Trump administration, had very publicly announced the public execution, the first in America in 90 years, retweeting the Pentagon’s announcement with a single word: “Justice.”
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EXPLAINED
Why the budget weekend away to Spain and Portugal could be over
Customers with existing bookings either weeks or months away are being informed their departures have been grounded (Photo: Hinterhaus Productions/Getty)
Budget holidays to Spain and Portugal could become a thing of the past for Britons.
Soaring fuel prices
As the aviation industry enters its first winter since the outbreak of the US-Iran war, record-high fuel costs have led to airlines calling off hundreds of thousands of flights.
Caption: A flight departure board showing cancellations on flights to Scotland, at George Best Belfast City Airport during disruption because of a “technical issue” at an air traffic control centre in Scotland, National Air Traffic Services (Nats) have said. Picture date: Monday September 21, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Liam McBurney/PA Wire
Photographer: Liam McBurney
Provider: Liam McBurney/PA Wire
Source: PA
Fire burns and smoke rises from Aqdasieh Oil Depot after being reportedly hit by strikes (Photo: Reuters)
Customers with existing bookings weeks or months away are being informed their departures have been grounded, many of them not even rearranged for another date.
Supply versus demand
$196
The International Air Transport Association revealed the price of a barrel of aviation fuel in Europe has almost doubled from $100 at the beginning of this year to $196.
0.2%
European jet fuel imports are currently operating at a third of their pre-war average, yet consumption in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy fell by just 0.2 per cent last year.
Winter weekend breaks in danger
Caption: An El Al Boeing 737-958(ER) takes off from Barcelona-El Prat Airport, in Barcelona, Spain, on April 29, 2026. (Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Photographer: NurPhoto
Provider: NurPhoto via Getty Images
Source: NurPhoto
Copyright: Urbanandsport/NurPhoto
The winter period presents unique operating conditions as lower demand makes services more prone to higher costs, which now jeopardises the future of festive weekend getaways to popular holiday destinations from the UK, including Portugal and Spain.
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The impact
So, where and whom will be affected this winter?
EasyJet and Ryanair have announced cuts to their winter schedule rather than run loss-making flights.
Mike Malik, chief industry officer at Cirium aviation, said smaller airports would be hit hardest.
In a fuel-shortage crisis, resources mostly reach larger hubs first as “that is where volume and the commercial weight sit”, Malik explained.
Midweek flights also at risk
Ryanair intends to reduce two million passengers during an “unprofitable winter”. The budget airline is targeting midweek flights in late November, early December and the middle of January.
Ryanair’s revenue streams in from unbundled charges, which can be added at the point of booking, from luggage to speedy boarding (Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty)
Rows of yellow and blue sun umbrellas and loungers at Gran Canaria, Las Palmas in Spain, which is a popular tourist attraction for UK holiday makers (Photo: Alexander Shapovalov/Getty)
Affected passengers have rights to refunds or alternative flights, but airlines generally owe no additional compensation when giving at least 14 days’ notice.
Home ‘power banks’ or plug-in batteries that store excess power in a bid to cut bills are sold by retailers, including Lidl, in countries across Europe (Photo: Geography Photos/Getty)
exclusive – news
£250 Lidl home power banks to be sold in UK to cut your energy bills
Plans to help UK households save hundreds of pounds on their energy bills using plug-in batteries are a step closer, The i Paper can reveal.
New power banks
Although new power banks will be available to purchase from retailers, households will have to wait until 2028 to be able to install them due to pending safety checks.
Plug-in batteries will be priced around £250 but will save households money on their bills by storing excess power from solar panels or utilising cheap off-peak electricity rates.
They are sold by retailers, including Lidl, in countries across Europe, but are currently not permitted in the UK.
Ministers are hoping to make plug-in batteries legal in the UK following changes to regulations this year that now permit the sale of plug-in solar panels.
The cost of batteries varies depending on how much electricity they store, but the cheapest on the market in Europe is Lidl’s Tronic Solar Battery at €299 (£252).
How much could you save?
Regen, a non-profit clean energy think-tank, has estimated it will take two-and-a-half years for an average UK household to pay off a plug-in battery via bill savings. Over 10 years a household with high energy use could save up to £2,400.
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British households held back
“With the war in Iran pushing up energy costs, households need help with their bills now. The Government is right to make sure plug-in batteries are safe, but it could move faster on its safety study so British households aren’t left waiting.”
Frank Hodgson, electrification and flexibility lead at Regen
Caption: File photo dated 03/02/22 of an online energy bill. Households are facing heightened winter pressure from energy bills after regulator Ofgem raised its price cap by 4% to a three-year high. The regulator said the price cap will rise by ?60 per year – or ?5 per month – to ?1,723 for the average household using both electricity and gas if this level was sustained for a year. Issue date: Wednesday August 26, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Jacob King/PA Wire
Photographer: Jacob King
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Source: PA
What you need to know as Russell Brand trial continues
Russell Brand turned into a “wild-eyed maniac” as he tried to drag a TV worker into a toilet for a sexual encounter, a court heard as the celebrity’s trial continued on Friday.
Caption: Russell Brand arriving at Southwark Crown Court, London, where he faces three charges of rape, indecent assault, and three counts of sexual assault, relating to six women. Picture date: Friday October 16, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/the Press Association
Photographer: Jonathan Brady
Provider: Jonathan Brady/the Press Association
Source: PA
Copyright: the Press Association
What’s the story?
Brand, 51, is accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one allegation of indecent assault, relating to allegations made by six women. Brand denies all the allegations.
Caption: Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Russell Brand and barrister Riel Carney-Jones KC listening to witness evidence being given from behind the blue screen at Southwark Crown Court, London, where Brand is charged with three counts of rape, indecent assault, and three counts of sexual assault, relating to six women. Picture date: Friday October 16, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Elizabeth Cook/the Press Association
Photographer: Elizabeth Cook
Provider: Elizabeth Cook/the Press Association
Source: PA
Caption: British actor and comedian Russell Brand arrives at Southwark Crown Court where he stands trial on charges of rape and sexual assault involving six women between 1999 and 2009, which he denies, in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Corey Rudy
Photographer: Corey Rudy
Provider: REUTERS
Source: REUTERS
On Friday, Southwark Crown Court continued to hear details about the alleged incidents, which are said to have occurred between 1999 and 2009, when the actor and presenter was at the height of his fame.
A ‘wild-eyed maniac’
Brand is accused of indecently assaulting a former MTV worker in 2001 after asking her for directions to the toilet when he was a presenter with the channel.
The woman told the court on Friday that Brand was “affable” at first, but “suddenly turned into this wild-eyed maniac trying to pull me into the toilet”.
Asked why she did not report the incident to police until 2023, when more allegations against Brand began to emerge, she replied: “There he is, one of the big assets at MTV and I have a mortgage to pay. Why make it hard for myself?”
‘Egotistical’ and ‘erratic’
Brand is also accused of raping a woman he met after performing in a satirical cabaret show at the 1999 Labour Party conference.
The woman told the court on Thursday that Brand turned “monster-like” and forced her on to a bed.
Brand’s former flatmate, who composed music for the show, said on Friday that the accused was “very egotistical” and “erratic”.
Explained
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‘Preoccupied’ with sex
“I would also say I used to find him… erratic might be a slightly better term. Hard to predict.”
The ex-flatmate, Andrew Dobson, said Brand had a “huge preoccupation” with sex and spent nights out looking for women to sleep with. He said the troupe returned to their accommodation after the conference show without Brand, who reappeared the following morning. “I recall Russell coming in and there suddenly being an urgency to leave,” Dobson added.
Caption: British actor and comedian Russell Brand arrives at Southwark Crown Court where he stands trial on charges of rape and sexual assault involving six women between 1999 and 2009, which he denies, in London, Britain, October 16, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Photographer: Isabel Infantes
Provider: REUTERS
Source: REUTERS
Elon Musk unveils ‘flying’ Tesla
Tesla has showcased its latest iteration of its Roadster electric sports car. Elon Musk says the vehicle, which could become the fastest car ever made, can “fly”.
Caption: Tesla unveils its long-delayed Roadster nearly a decade after first revealing a next-generation version of its original electric sports ???car, at a launch event in Waco, Texas, US, on October 15, 2026, in this still image taken from a handout video. Tesla/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT.
Photographer: Tesla
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Source: Handout
New features
Livestreamed online, the reveal showcased the Tesla Roadster 2 at a test site in Texas on Thursday evening. The roadster was equipped with rocket-style thrusters, designed in partnership with Musk’s aerospace company, Space X.
Caption: A grab taken on October 16, 2026 from a live feed released by Tesla shows Tech billionaire Elon Musk unveiling on October 15 the next-generation Roadster electric car in McGregor, Texas, United States. (Photo by Tesla / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / TESLA” – HANDOUT – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
Photographer: –
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Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
Caption: Tesla unveils its long-delayed Roadster nearly a decade after first revealing a next-generation version of its original electric sports ???car, at a launch event in Waco, Texas, US, on October 15, 2026, in this still image taken from a handout video. Tesla/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT.
Photographer: Tesla
Provider: via REUTERS
Source: Handout
It also features an underbody suction system which allowed the car to cling to a vertical ramp and even drive upside down, as well as a fully retractable rear wing and a jet-like cockpit with a steering ‘yoke’ and steer-by-wire controls.
How fast will it go?
Tesla claims
0.81 secs
Tesla says the Roadster 2 will boast a 0-60 mile per hour (mph) time of 0.81 seconds.
If achieved, that would put it among the fastest-accelerating vehicles ever made.
230mph
It also claims the car will have a top speed of over 230 mph (370 km per hour)
Can it fly? Sort of…
During Thursday’s demonstration, the thrusters were used to lift the car off the ground, before it rotated in mid-air over a row of other vehicles and landed back down to earth on all four wheels.
The car also used its thrusters to control its landing after driving up and launching off a vertical ramp.
Caption: Tesla unveils its long-delayed Roadster nearly a decade after first revealing a next-generation version of its original electric sports car, at a launch event in Waco, Texas, US, on October 15, 2026, in this still image taken from a handout video. Tesla/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT.
Photographer: Tesla
Provider: via REUTERS
Source: Handout
Caption: A grab taken on October 16, 2026 from a live feed released by Tesla shows the company unveiling on October 15 its next-generation Roadster electric car in McGregor, Texas, United States. (Photo by Tesla / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / TESLA” – HANDOUT – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
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Musk hails ‘flying car’
“Turns out the future does have flying cars,” Musk said afterwards.
The original Roadster, released in 2008 and on sale until 2012, was Tesla’s first electric vehicle.
This model, first teased in 2017 but routinely delayed, is said to be focused on ultra-high performance.
Tesla has claimed production, originally slated for 2020 will commence in 2028.
3 min read
What else do we know?
In 2017, Musk claimed the Roadster 2 would be “the fastest sports car ever made, period”. In 2024, he said it would travel 1,000km (620 miles) on a single charge.
Aside from the production timeline of 2028, no further information on pricing or powertrain has been revealed. Some reports suggest it is set to be priced at upwards of $200,000 (upwards of £150,000).
3 min read
5 min read
Watch: Musk unveils ‘flying’ car
WORLD NEWS
All you need to know as Trump brands Zelensky ‘a disgrace’
Caption: President Donald Trump points while speaking to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Photographer: Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Provider: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Source: AP
Ukraine’s resumptions of strikes on Russian refineries is a “disgrace” that keeps global energy prices high, Donald Trump has said.
Ukraine renews strikes
The deteriorating relationship between Kyiv and Washington hit another low on Thursday. Declaring that Ukraine was breaking a ceasefire covering energy sites that Trump had announced, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticised his American counterpart’s deal-making with Moscow.
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‘That’s a disgrace’
After Ukraine struck a Rosneft refinery south-east of Moscow that supplies the Russian capital, Trump said of Zelensky: “All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that’s a disgrace.”
Caption: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference following talks with Germany’s Chancellor in Mariinsky Palace following talks in Kyiv on October 4, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: SERGEI SUPINSKY
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‘Senior Democrats speculated to me that their rivals seem more rattled, flailing around for fresh fights,’ writes Ian Birrell (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty)
“There are a lot of targets you can hit, but when you shoot at diesel refineries where you make, you know, diesel oil, and we need that, the world needs that, he’s not doing a good service for the world,” he added.
Ukraine’s patience runs out
Trump also said he is “not a big fan” of Zelensky, who he finds “more difficult to deal with than [Vladimir] Putin.”
Zelensky said Ukraine’s patience ran out as Russia continued to strike energy facilities in spite of Trump’s supposed ceasefire.
It also came after Ukraine claimed earlier this week that Elon Musk’s SpaceX had imposed a speed limit on its Starlink terminals mounted on Ukrainian drones.
ANALYSIS
Inside Trump’s destructive feud with Zelensky
The great personal clash of this conflict is not between the entrenched protagonists, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, but between a Ukrainian leader facing a fifth winter of war and a US President whose tepid support for Kyiv has morphed into all-out hostility.
Norwegian teen hitman hired by Iran-backed gang jailed for 20 years
A teenage hitman from Norway has been locked up for 20 years for plotting a murder on British soil on behalf of an Iran-backed international crime gang.
Caption: Johannes Natland, 19
Johannes Natland, 19, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of travelling from Norway to Manchester Airport on 17 March last year to carrying a gun
Copyright: Metropolitan Police
What happened?
Johannes Kongsnes Natland was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday to 20 years in prison for plotting a killing on British soil on behalf of an Iran-backed international crime gang.
Caption: TEHRAN, IRAN – FEBRUARY 11: Missiles produced by Iran’s armed forces are displayed near a row of Iranian flags during commemorations to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution on February 11, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. In that year, Ruhollah Khomeini led an overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979 and established himself as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
Photographer: Majid Saeedi
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Caption: Undated handout photo of of Johannes Natland, 19, that shown to the jury during his trial at the Old Bailey. The Norwegian teenager who it is alleged, was recruited by a Swedish organised crime group used by the Iranian regime to murder someone in England. Issue date: Wednesday June 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Metropolitan Police
Provider: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire
Source: PA
Natland, 19, had agreed to shoot an unknown target for 25,000 euros (£21,500) in March last year. The court heard Natland was a “popular” student and talented footballer before he “went off the rails”.
How it unfolded
Natland is said to have been controlled by an English-speaking boss called Agent 47.
He took a flight from Stavanger to Manchester Airport on a temporary passport on 17 March 2025.
Natland was stopped by Border Force officials, who bailed him to return to the airport for the next direct flight home.
He instead took a taxi to Huddersfield, where he picked up £2,000 in cash, two guns and bullets.
Natland was directed to a stolen Nissan with false plates for use in the killing.
In his hotel room, he bragged of having “bangs in the bag” to his girlfriend and took selfies with the guns and cash.
At 5.15am the next day, armed police arrived to arrest him.
In a ‘pickle’
Natland, who emerged smiling in boxer shorts, pretended to shoot an officer with his empty hands.
Police seized a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, 12 rounds of live ammunition, gloves and the cash.
Natland admitted possessing the firearms and ammunition.
He claimed he would have shot himself in the foot to get out of the “pickle” he was in.
Big Read
5 min read
Who was Natland working for?
The court heard Natland was recruited by another teenager referred to as “Generalen” who was working for the proscribed Swedish Foxtrot gang, which is backed by the Iranian regime and is known for deploying children as young as 13 in drug smuggling and violent crimes.
Analysis
3 min read
Big Read
5 min read
‘Terrified’ teen
Giving evidence before he was found guilty of conspiracy to murder, Natland claimed he wanted to look “cool” to his peers, but it was just “bravado” and inside he was “terrified”.
Natland obtained an emergency passport allowing him to leave Norway and boarded a flight from Stavanger to Manchester (Photo: Met Police)
Natland filmed himself handling one of the handguns he collected (Photo: Met Police)
Despite having supportive parents, Natland’s life went downhill after he became addicted to drugs and he was placed in rehab and a care home, the court heard. Paul Hynes KC, defending, highlighted Natland’s young age at the time of the offending and claimed he did not present a danger in the future.
Other charges
“Generalen”, Natland’s 17-year-old recruiter, was convicted in Norway of attempting to “contribute to murder” in May last year.
Three more people have been charged by Norwegian police. A decision is yet to be taken by prosecutors on indicting them.
The identity and whereabouts of Agent 47 remain unknown.
He told right-wing cable channel Real America’s Voice that he had ordered the public execution, while calling the firing squad a “no-brainer” and framing it as reciprocal justice that would mirror Hasan’s crimes.
Now he looks out of sync with his boss, which is never a good place to be in Trump’s White House. (Trump showed initial enthusiasm for the plan but appeared to distance himself after the public backlash.)
Hegseth is rarely camera-shy, but so far at least he hasn’t issued his own statement or been seen in front of camera since Trump’s announcement, where he said that “many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die”.
One thing that can be said for Hegseth’s plan is that it united a nation that is so often divided, albeit uniting it in opposition to his plan. Polling by Ipsos showed that 80 per cent of Americans – including 64 per cent of Republican voters – thought the execution should not be streamed, versus just 18 per cent of adults who were in favour.
The proposal also attracted an unusual level of backlash even from senior Republicans, who usually avoid publicly criticising their own party just weeks before an election. It seems that sometimes an idea is just so obviously bad that it can cross party lines, even in Trump’s America.
‘Hegseth is rarely camera-shy, but so far at least he hasn’t issued his own statement or been seen in front of camera since the President’s announcement,’ writes James Ball (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP)
Hasan’s 2009 attack was motivated by radical Islamist ideology, which often aims to portray Islam and Western democracy as incompatible, with a goal of escalating conflicts between the two. Few Islamist attackers are concerned with protecting their own life. Hasan probably expected to die during his attack, which only stopped when he was shot. He survived, but was paralysed from the waist down.
Critics pointed out that the public execution of a man in a wheelchair, who used violence for propagandistic ends, would almost certainly backfire. Others noted that mass shooters often commit their crimes in the hope of gaining notoriety – a public execution would definitely offer that.
Hegseth’s plan, in other words, might have been offering potential killers exactly what they sought.
Meanwhile, no one in Hegseth’s orbit seemed to have thought through the possible consequences of his announcement. Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups around the world have suggested that they would publicly execute hostages if the livestreamed execution went ahead.
Hegseth, a defence chief who often seems out of his depth tackling even simple issues, had walked the Trump administration into a nightmare position – announcing a move unpopular with his own party, hated by the general public and likely to lead to reprisals. All, seemingly, for no reason other than he appeared to think a livestreamed execution would be somehow cool and macho.
But then again, Hegseth also doesn’t seem to have thought through the basics of how a livestreamed execution would even work. Would it air on YouTube? Facebook? Both social networks have strict rules banning such content. Did he expect US television networks to air the execution? Would he try to force networks to air the execution if they came out against doing so?
It was a mess, and one that was increasingly distracting the Trump administration in the lead up to midterm elections that polls predict will be a disaster for Trump and his Republican colleagues.
On one level, this is hardly the biggest mistake Hegseth has made. He was widely reported to have been an early cheerleader for the war with Iran, but when it didn’t work out according to the most optimistic assessments – the idea the regime would collapse within weeks if not days – he has tried to talk about almost anything else.
But if neither Hegseth nor Trump know how to end that war, they are, at least, in the same boat. With his livestreamed execution debacle, Hegseth has created a self-contained crisis of his own making.
Trump has proven time and again that there is no one so close to him that he won’t fire them. This week, he sacked Kimberly Guilfoyle as US ambassador to Greece after controversies over her reportedly asking a Republican donor to pay off a $100,000 (£75,390) credit card bill. (Guilfoyle was once engaged to Trump’s eldest son.)
Guilfoyle’s lawyers denied that she had done anything wrong, and said the money she was seeking was payment for public appearances and speaking engagements.
At a time when Trump may be looking for more scapegoats after the midterms, or people to cut adrift to revamp his team, Hegseth has almost volunteered himself to be considered for a clear out.
Proposing a livestreamed execution might not be the worst mistake Hegseth has made as Trump’s Secretary of War – but it could prove to be one of his last.