Sri Lanka beat England by two wickets with one ball to spare in Rawalpindi on Thursday. England made 429-4, with Harry Brook scoring 202 off 116 balls, the fastest ODI double century. Sri Lanka replied with 430-8, and Janith Liyanage hit the winning six.
Europe Explained
Saturday 24 October 2026 · No. 8
Top Story The Gulf
Oil Jumps Above $114 as Attacks on Saudi Arabia Continue
Oil Costs More After New Attacks in Saudi Arabia
Dearer oil is feeding straight into fuel bills in Britain and Europe.
🧵 New to this story? Read the story so far →Brent crude, the benchmark price for oil traded around the world, rose 3.59% to $117.20 a barrel on Friday evening, UAE time. Earlier it had traded about 1.1% higher at $114.5. Brent was on track for a third straight weekly gain. On 19 October it had dipped 2.5% to $107.16, after nearly $110 on 16 October, its highest since mid-May.
The cause is a new wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia. Over 48 hours the Houthis, an armed group from Yemen, claimed strikes on the Saudi Defence Ministry headquarters in Riyadh, airports at Dammam and Abha, and an Aramco site in Yanbu. These are Houthi claims. Two people died in attacks at Dammam airport. Saudi Aramco evacuated its Dhahran headquarters, the first such evacuation since the Iran war began in late February.
Ships are at risk too. The UK's maritime trade centre counted 10 attacks on commercial vessels in and near the Strait of Hormuz in the week to 19 October. For Europe the effect is practical: France secured an extra 200,000 tons of diesel a month from the UAE and Bahrain, and UK inflation has been pushed up by fuel.
Oil rose to about $114.50 a barrel on Friday. Later it reached $117.20. Oil has gone up for three weeks in a row.
A group from Yemen called the Houthis said they hit targets in Saudi Arabia, including airports. Two people died at the airport in Dammam.
Saudi Aramco, the oil company, moved people out of its headquarters. When oil costs more, petrol and diesel cost more too, even in Europe.
World Russia and Ukraine
Putin Agrees in Principle to Restart Three-Way Talks
Russia Says It Will Talk Again About Ukraine
Russia says talks with the US and Ukraine could resume after 10 November.
🧵 New to this story? Read the story so far →Russian President Vladimir Putin met US envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg on 21 October for about three hours. Afterwards the Kremlin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Putin agreed “in principle” to resume three-way talks with the US and Ukraine after 10 November. The talks would focus on a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the war ends.
Earlier rounds in Abu Dhabi and Geneva earlier this year produced little beyond prisoner exchanges. This time Russia freed an American, Stephen Hubbard, a retired teacher, which Witkoff called a goodwill gesture. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says a freeze in the fighting is the “minimum” Russia must accept, and that only a meeting of leaders can break the impasse.
The war goes on. Russian strikes in Kyiv killed three people and wounded 12. Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of its largest attacks of the war, and an oil export terminal in St. Petersburg caught fire. Norway's prime minister, who hosted Witkoff and Zelenskyy in Oslo, said Russia may be looking for diplomatic options. US President Trump pressed Zelenskyy to make a deal and said the US had gotten “absolutely nothing back” from Ukraine.
Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin, met an American envoy named Steve Witkoff. They talked in St. Petersburg for about three hours.
Afterwards, Russia said Putin agreed in principle to restart talks with the US and Ukraine. They could start after 10 November.
The fighting has not stopped. Ukraine's leader says the fighting should freeze first. Russia also freed an American teacher as a goodwill gesture.
🗺️ Where in the world?
For grown-ups: sources
United Kingdom Economy
UK Prices Rise 3.5% in a Year as Fuel Costs Climb
Prices in the UK Are Rising Faster
The Bank of England meets on 5 November, a week after the Autumn Budget.
Inflation is the rate at which prices rise. UK inflation was 3.5% in the 12 months to September, up from 3.1% in August. Economists had expected 3.4%.
The Office for National Statistics, which compiles the figures, said motor fuels recorded their fastest annual rise in four years. That links back to the Gulf: oil prices have risen sharply since the Iran war began in late February.
The Bank of England's base rate, the interest rate that guides what banks charge, is 3.75%. Its next meeting is on 5 November, and economists increasingly expect a rise before the end of the year. In the Commons the opposition argued government borrowing was driving inflation, while the government pointed to instability in the Middle East.
Inflation is how fast prices go up. In the UK it was 3.5% over the year to September. In August it was 3.1%.
Petrol and diesel were a big reason. They rose faster than at any time in four years.
The Bank of England sets an interest rate of 3.75%. It will meet again on 5 November. Many experts think it may raise the rate.
🗺️ Where in the world?
Did you know?
Sri Lanka's 430-8 against England is the second-highest successful chase in one-day international history. The record is South Africa's 435 against Australia in Johannesburg in 2006.
Europe Protests
Protests Over Living Costs and Schools Spread Across Europe
People Across Europe Protest About Prices and Schools
From France to Albania, students and workers say prices and public services are failing them.
HOW FAST PRICES ROSE Percent rise over one year, September
Rising fuel costs, unhappiness with schools, weaker public services and a housing crisis have fuelled protests across Europe this autumn, according to the Associated Press. In France, high school students held blockades for more than three weeks, asking for more resources for understaffed, run-down schools. The CGT union then joined.
Weekend unrest in France led to 2,400 arrests and looting in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux. President Macron condemned the violence and blamed far-left activists. In Italy, peaceful marches were followed by riots in Turin, Bologna and Milan. Italy's inflation was 4.2% in September. In Spain, housing protests and a teachers' strike led Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call a snap election for November.
In Albania, students joined the “Flamingo” movement in Tirana, which wants Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign and an end to corruption. Serbia holds a parliamentary election on 25 October after nearly two years of student-led anti-corruption protests.
In many European countries, people are marching. They say prices, rent and schools are not good enough.
In France, high school students started the protests. They wanted more help for their schools. A workers' union joined them. Police made 2,400 arrests in one weekend after some marches turned violent.
In Italy, prices rose 4.2% in a year. In Spain, the prime minister called an election for November.
🗺️ Where in the world?
Sport
CRICKET: SRI LANKA CHASE 430 TO BEAT ENGLAND
In brief
More news
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- Health: a trial of a personalised mRNA vaccine given with Keytruda cut the risk of melanoma returning by 42%, according to reports.
New words
Words from this issue
- Snap election
- An election called earlier than expected. Today: Spain's prime minister has called one for November.
- Base rate
- The Bank of England's main interest rate, which guides what banks charge. Today: it stands at 3.75%.
- Trade union
- A group that speaks for workers. Today: France's CGT union joined the school students' protests.
- Benchmark
- A standard price others are measured against. Today: Brent crude is the benchmark for oil.
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