In the headlines
Russia has ordered its troops to withdraw from the Ukrainian city of Kherson, in a humiliating setback for Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin’s top commander in Ukraine said forces would be “used on other fronts”, less than two months after Putin claimed the occupied area would remain Russian territory “forever”. Nurses have voted for their first-ever national strike, meaning thousands of operations will likely be cancelled during a series of walkouts before Christmas. Health Secretary Steve Barclay says demands for a 17.6% pay rise, which would cost the government £9bn, “simply aren’t reasonable”. England’s cricketers have made it to the Twenty20 World Cup final, smashing India by 10 wickets in this morning’s semi-final. They will play Pakistan for the title in Melbourne at 8am UK time on Sunday.