Russia and Kazakhstan have sought to play down speculation about the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, as sources in Azerbaijan connected to the investigation told Reuters the plane had been brought down by a Russian air defence system.

The assertion comes after a Ukrainian national security official claimed that the crash, which killed 38 people on Christmas Day, was caused by Russian air defence fire.

The plane, which was flying from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to the Russian city of Grozny in Chechnya, came down in a field near Aktau in Kazakhstan after veering hundreds of miles off its planned route. Twenty-nine people survived.

Video of the crash appeared to show the plane plummeting out of the sky and bursting into flames as it hit the ground and thick, black plumes of smoke rising.

On Thursday, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the investigation into the cause of the crash was under way, adding that it would be “wrong” to speculate before the inquiry concluded.

The chair of Kazakhstan’s senate also stressed on Thursday that the cause remained unknown. “None of these countries – neither Azerbaijan, Russia nor Kazakhstan – is interested in hiding information. All information will be made available to the public,” said Ashimbayev Maulen. He described the allegations of air defence fire as unfounded and “unethical.”

Their comments came after Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation, posted on X on Wednesday: “This morning, an Embraer 190 aircraft of an Azerbaijani airline, flying from Baku to Grozny, was shot down by a Russian air defence system.’ He cited video footage from inside the plane that showed “punctured life vests”.

The allegation was echoed by four sources in Azerbaijan who spoke to Reuters. The four, all of whom had knowledge of the investigation, told the news agency that the flight was downed by a Russian air defence system.

One of the sources told Reuters that preliminary results showed the plane had been struck by a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system, and its communications were paralysed by electronic warfare systems on the approach into Grozny.

“No one claims that it was done on purpose,” said the source. “However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft.”

Caliber, an Azerbaijani news website, also alleged that the airliner had been fired upon by a Russian Pantsyr-S air defense system as it was approaching Grozny. It questioned why Russian authorities had not closed the airport after Wednesday’s drone attack, and why the plane had not made an emergency landing in Grozny or other Russian airports nearby after it was hit.

There has also been speculation in Russian media that the plane could have been shot down by Russia’s air defences, which mistook it for a Ukrainian drone.

The Fighterbomber Telegram channel, which is believed to be run by Ilya Tumanov, a captain in the Russian army, released a clip that appeared to show holes in the plane’s wreckage, which some suggested resembled the kind of damage caused by shelling or an explosion with shrapnel.

Fighterbomber said it was unlikely that the holes were caused by a bird strike.

The Kazakh aviation expert Serik Mukhtybayev told the Orda news outlet that a bird strike causing the plane crash was “nearly impossible” given the altitude at which the aircraft was flying when it encountered trouble. He pointed to external impact as a probable cause.

Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24.com showed the aircraft making what appeared to be a figure of eight while nearing the airport in Aktau, the plane’s altitude moving up and down substantially over the last minutes of the flight before hitting the ground.

Separately, FlightRadar24 said online that the plane had faced “strong GPS jamming” that “made the aircraft transmit bad ADS-B data”, referring to the information that allows flight-tracking websites to follow planes in flight. Russia has been blamed in the past for jamming GPS transmissions in the wider region.

Russia has previously employed jamming technology to defend against drone attacks, and some reports suggest that Chechnya came under such an attack shortly before the crash.

On Wednesday morning, Khamzat Kadyrov, a local security official and nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, wrote on Instagram that “all drones were successfully shot down”.

In recent weeks, Ukrainian drones have targeted several sites in Chechnya, including a facility housing local police forces.

The popular Russian pro-war blogger Yuri Podolyaka said holes seen in the wreckage of the plane were similar to the damage caused by “anti-aircraft missile system”, adding: “Everything points to that.”

In Brussels, Nato called for a probe into the cause of the crash. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims of Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243,” spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said on social media. “We wish those injured in the crash a speedy recovery and call for a full investigation.”

The Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, said it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, but that the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course. Russia’s civil aviation authority said preliminary information showed the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.

Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general’s office has opened a criminal investigation.

The country’s state news agency, Azertac, said an official delegation of the emergency situations minister, the deputy general prosecutor and the vice-president of Azerbaijan Airlines were sent to Aktau to conduct an “on-site investigation”.

On Thursday, national flags were lowered across Azerbaijan, traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains as the country observed a nationwide moment of silence for the victims of the plane crash.

Kazakhstan’s main transport prosecutor, Timur Suleimenov, told a briefing in the capital, Astana, that the plane’s black box, which contains flight data to help determine the cause of a crash, had been found, Interfax reported.

A spokesperson for the Kazakh emergencies ministry said on Thursday that specialists were working to identify the bodies of those who died in the crash. Of the survivors, 11 were in intensive care, the spokesperson said. Russia’s emergencies ministry said on Thursday morning it had evacuated nine nationals who survived the crash, including one child, from Aktau to Moscow on a special flight.

Pope Francis has visited one of the largest prisons in Italy, opening a special “holy door” for the Catholic church’s 2025 jubilee, in what the Vatican described as a “historic move” as it is the first time a sacred portal has been opened at a jail.

Speaking to hundreds of inmates on Thursday at the Rebibbia prison on the outskirts of Rome, in a gesture of hope to show his closeness to detainees, Francis said he wanted to open the door, part of the prison chapel, and one of only five that will be open during the “holy year”, to show that “hope does not disappoint”.

“I wanted the second holy door I open to be here at a prison,” said the pope, who kicked off the “jubilee of hope” by opening the holy door of St Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve on Tuesday.

In the papal bull marking the jubilee, titled “Spes non confundit” (hope does not disappoint), the pope has called for forms of amnesty or pardon for prisoners and for “pathways of reintegration” dedicated to them, as well as for “the abolition of the death penalty”.

Speaking at the noon Angelus service, the pope described prison as a kind of “cathedral of pain and hope”.

Francis said: “I like to think of hope as the anchor that is on the shore and, with the rope, we are safe. Do not lose hope: this is the message I want to give you, to give all of us … because hope never disappoints.

“In bad moments, we can all think that everything is over. Do not lose hope. This is the message I wanted to give you. Do not lose hope.”

Over the next 12 months, Catholic pilgrims will pass through the door – which is normally bricked up – by tradition benefiting from a “plenary indulgence”, a type of forgiveness for their sins.

Pope Francis opened the first holy door of St Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, launching the jubilee year of Catholic celebrations, which will draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome.

Organised by the church every 25 years, the jubilee is intended as a period of reflection and penance, and is marked by a long list of cultural and religious events, from masses to exhibitions, conferences and concerts.

The jubilee, whose motto this year is “pilgrims of hope”, is aimed at the world’s almost 1.4 billion Catholics, but also aims to reach a wider audience. As well as the regular jubilees every 25 years, the church has organised extraordinary jubilees, the most recent in 2016. The next is in 2033 to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report

French maritime authorities carried out 12 rescue operations along the coast of northern France on Christmas Day, rescuing 107 people in distress from small boats trying to cross to the UK.

On Christmas morning, 30 passengers were rescued from a boat near Dunkirk, while the others onboard wished to continue their journey and were taken into British custody once they reached UK waters, said the French Channel and North Sea maritime prefect’s office.

Another boat experiencing engine damage was spotted later in the day, also near Dunkirk. Its passengers called for help and all 51 people onboard were rescued. Later, 26 people were taken off another boat experiencing difficulty near Calais.

More than 450 people crossed the Channel in small boats on Christmas Day, according to the Home Office.

The figures, updated on Thursday, indicated that 451 people arrived on 11 boats. The last time vessels carrying migrants were known to have arrived was on 14 December, when 160 people arrived in three boats.

Weather conditions on Christmas Day meant that Channel waters were relatively calm with less wind, causing more people to attempt dangerous crossings. Many departures were observed on the northern French coast during what authorities called an “intense” day. Charities had warned of potential deaths over Christmas.

Departures were seen from Dieppe in Seine-Maritime to Leffrinckoucke near Dunkirk, as small boats and dinghies continued to push off along an increasingly long stretch of the northern French coast.

The maritime prefect’s office said in a statement that the Channel was “a particularly dangerous area, especially at the height of winter for precarious and overloaded boats”.

Charities in France had warned of a growing number of attempted departures in winter when the sea may appear calm but temperatures are dangerously low and small inflatable boats are overloaded. Charity workers continued to be present along France’s northern coast over the Christmas period to provide help to those often soaked, injured or in shock, and stranded after small boats got into difficulty near the shore.

At least 73 people have died trying to cross the Channel to Britain this year, according to the Pas-de-Calais authorities, making 2024 the deadliest year on record for the crossings. In October, a baby died after an overloaded boat started to sink off the French coast. In September, six children and a pregnant woman were among 12 people who died after a boat carrying dozens of people was “ripped open” in one of the worst Channel tragedies since the small boats crisis began.

Tens of thousands of people on small boats reached Britain in 2024, where the government has pledged to crack down on people-smuggling gangs. In November Keir Starmer called for greater international cooperation against the gangs, which he described as a “global security threat similar to terrorism”.

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated the Miami-Dade county commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera to serve as ambassador to Panama.

Trump described Cabrera as “a fierce fighter for America First principles” who he said has been instrumental in driving economic growth and fostering international partnerships.

“Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin – He will do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama!” he said in a post on Truth Social.

The announcement of his pick for ambassador comes after Trump threatened to reassert US control over the Panama Canal, which it administered for decades before handing over to Panama in 1999.

Trump said the Central American country, with whom the US has had diplomatic relations since 1903, is “ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams”.

In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump accused Chinese soldiers of illegally operating the canal and “always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in ‘repair’ money but will have absolutely nothing to say about ‘anything.’”

Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, has said China had no influence on the canal’s administration.

China does not control or administer the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long managed two ports located on the canal’s Caribbean and Pacific entrances.

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated the Miami-Dade county commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera to serve as ambassador to Panama.

Trump described Cabrera as “a fierce fighter for America First principles” who he said has been instrumental in driving economic growth and fostering international partnerships.

“Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin – He will do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama!” he said in a post on Truth Social.

The announcement of his pick for ambassador comes after Trump threatened to reassert US control over the Panama Canal, which it administered for decades before handing over to Panama in 1999.

Trump said the Central American country, with whom the US has had diplomatic relations since 1903, is “ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams”.

In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump accused Chinese soldiers of illegally operating the canal and “always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in ‘repair’ money but will have absolutely nothing to say about ‘anything.’”

Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, has said China had no influence on the canal’s administration.

China does not control or administer the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long managed two ports located on the canal’s Caribbean and Pacific entrances.

Five Palestinian journalists have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle in central Gaza, their employer has said, as renewed ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel have reportedly reached an impasse.

Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, Ayman al-Jadi, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed al-Lada’a were sleeping in their broadcasting truck, marked as press, when it was targeted in a direct strike by the Israeli military, witnesses told Palestinian media. Another 16 people were killed in other Israeli pre-dawn strikes across the territory, the local health ministry said.

The five men, who worked at Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group that fights alongside Hamas, were buried on Thursday morning.

Israel’s military said in a statement it had conducted “a precise strike on a vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside in the area of Nuseirat”, adding: “Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.”

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said 195 journalists have been killed, including those who died in this attack, and at least 400 have been injured since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces denied targeting media workers. However, a Guardian investigation found that amid a loosening of the IDF’s interpretation of the laws of war in the conflict, some in the military appeared to view journalists working in the territory for outlets controlled by or affiliated with Palestinian militant groups to be legitimate military targets.

Since foreign media are blocked by Israel from freely entering Gaza, the task of documenting the war on the ground is carried out only by Palestinian journalists, many of whom have continued to work despite the risks to their safety.

Under the Geneva conventions, a journalist can lose their civilian status if they engage in planning or carrying out combat operations. Working for an organisation such as Al-Quds Today does not make someone a target.

The Middle East branch of the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday that the organisation was “devastated by the reports that five journalists and media workers were killed inside their broadcasting vehicle by an Israeli strike”.

“Journalists are civilians and must always be protected,” it said on social media.

About 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed during Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, and 250 taken hostage. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.

More than 45,000 people have been killed, more than half of whom are women and children, in Israel’s ensuing war on the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry, which the UN relies on for data on deaths.

The war has triggered a humanitarian crisis amid allegations that Israel has blocked the entry of aid and medicine, and is seeking to depopulate the northern third of the strip. It denies the allegations.

Israel’s Kan Radio reported on Thursday that renewed ceasefire and hostage deal negotiations are at an impasse as Hamas and Israel trade blame for reneging on understandings that had already been reached. Hamas has allegedly reneged on a pledge to submit a list of hostages to be released in a first stage of a deal, and Arabic-language media reported that Hamas has accused Israel of introducing new conditions related to its withdrawal from the strip.

Both sides say discussions are continuing, although the Israeli negotiating team returned from a week of talks hosted by Qatar, the mediator, earlier this week.

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem on Thursday Israel’s extremist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the contested holy site of Temple Mount, known to Palestinians as al-Aqsa.

The visit was to mark the beginning of the Hanukkah holiday, his office said. “The minister recited a prayer for our soldiers’ safety, the return of the hostages, the living and the dead, and total victory in the war.”

South Korea’s opposition has said it has filed an impeachment motion against the acting president, Han Duck-soo, in an escalating row over the composition of the constitutional court which will decide whether to remove his predecessor from office.

South Korea fell into a political crisis when President Yoon Suk Yeol, currently suspended, declared martial law on 3 December.

Parliament stripped Yoon of his duties on 14 December over the dramatic declaration, but a constitutional court ruling upholding the decision is necessary to complete the impeachment process.

The court is short of three judges. While it can go ahead with its six members on the bench, a single dissenting vote would reinstate Yoon.

The opposition wants Han to approve three more nominees to fill the nine-member bench, something that he has so far refused to do, essentially leaving both sides in a deadlock.

The opposition Democratic party therefore says the acting president should be impeached too.

“We have filed the motion … and will report it to the plenary session today,” the MP Park Sung-joon said of the action against Han. “We will put it to a vote tomorrow.”

Han’s refusal to formally appoint the three judges proved that he “does not have the will or qualification to uphold the constitution”, the Democratic party’s floor leader, Park Chan-dae, told reporters.

Han has said that he will certify the judges’ appointments only if his ruling People Power party (PPP) and the opposition reach a compromise on the nominees.

He said: “The consistent principle embedded in our constitution and laws is to refrain from exercising significant exclusive presidential powers, including the appointment of constitutional institutions.”

“A consensus between the ruling and opposition parties in the national assembly, representing the people, must first be reached,” added the 75-year-old career bureaucrat.

If the opposition passes the impeachment motion against Han in Friday’s vote, it would mark the first time democratic South Korea has impeached an acting president.

In Han’s place, the finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, would step in as acting president.

In the impeachment motion, the opposition accuses Han of violating his duty as acting president, citing his refusal to formally appoint the judges and promulgate two special investigation bills to investigate Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law and graft allegations involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.

Earlier this week, Han rejected the opposition’s demand for the special bills that would establish two independent bodies to investigate the first couple, prompting warnings of impeachment from the Democratic party.

Han is “intentionally avoiding the special investigation to probe those involved in the insurrection and has clearly stated his intention to reject the appointments of three constitutional court judges”, the motion reads.

Such actions, it adds, are “in violation of a public official’s duty to uphold the law … and serve the public”.

If the opposition succeeds in its attempt on Friday, it would be South Korea’s second impeachment of a head of state in less than two weeks, further destabilising its vibrant political scene.

Separately, Yoon faces criminal charges of insurrection over his martial law declaration, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

Yoon was ordered for a third time on Thursday to appear for questioning on the morning of 29 December, days after he refused a summons to do so on Christmas Day.

People who want to lose meaningful amounts of weight through exercise may need to devote more than two-and-a-half hours a week to aerobic training such as running, walking or cycling, researchers say.

The finding emerged from a review of 116 published clinical trials that explored the impact of physical exercise on weight loss, waist size and body fat. In total, the trials reported data for nearly 7,000 adults who were overweight or obese, meaning their body mass index (BMI) was more than 25.

Analysis of the trials’ results showed that body weight, waist size and body fat all decreased as people did more aerobic exercise each week, but training for less than 30 minutes a day, five days a week resulted in only minor reductions, the researchers found.

“At least 150 minutes per week of aerobic exercise at moderate intensity is required to achieve important weight loss,” said Dr Ahmad Jayedi, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, and first author on the study published in the medical journal Jama Network Open. For people who were overweight or obese, losing 5% of body weight in three months is regarded as clinically important, Jayedi said.

The NHS says all adults should do some type of physical activity every day. People aged 19 to 64 are urged to do at least two-and-a-half hours of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, each week to keep fit and reduce the risk of conditions such as heart attack and stroke. The latest study suggests the same level of aerobic exercise is the minimum needed to achieve meaningful weight loss for people with a BMI of more than 25.

Jayedi acknowledged that the target might seem daunting for some, but urged people to find an exercise they could build into their daily routine. For example, people could increase the distance they walk by changing their route to work or hopping off the bus or train a stop earlier than usual, he said.

“Motivating people can be quite challenging, especially when it comes to altering their lifestyle and boosting their physical activity levels. Habits like consuming a lot of ultra-processed foods and having a sedentary life are deeply ingrained, making them tough to change,” Jayedi said.

“When it comes to exercise, all forms are beneficial, and we didn’t evaluate any differences among them. However, walking and running are excellent examples of aerobic activities that can easily fit into our daily lives,” he added.

The national health guidelines recommend people spread their exercise over the week, but recent studies have shown that “weekend warriors” who cram all their training into Saturday and Sunday reap similar health benefits. One study found that weekend warriors who fit a week’s worth of exercise into one or two days were less likely to develop more than 200 diseases than inactive people.

For people looking to lose weight, doctors recommend a healthy diet as well as regular physical exercise to ensure people are not consuming too many calories. Jayedi said a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and fish, and low in red meat, sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods was helpful and reduced the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

Last month, a report from the charity the Food Farming and Countryside Commission said that Britain’s growing addiction to unhealthy food was costing the country £268bn a year, more than the entire NHS budget. “Far from keeping us well, our current food system, with its undue deference to what is known colloquially as ‘big food’, is making us sick. The costs of trying to manage that sickness are rapidly becoming unpayable,” it said.

Readiness to support Ukraine “until it wins” has fallen sharply across western Europe at a critical time for the country, a survey suggests, as Donald Trump’s forthcoming return to the White House raises questions over the future of US military assistance to Kyiv.

December polling by YouGov in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark and the UK found public desire to stand by Ukraine until victory – even if that meant prolonging the war – had slumped in all seven countries over the past 12 months.

Support for an alternative resolution to the conflict – a negotiated end to the fighting, even if that left Russia in control of parts of Ukraine – had increased in every country, the survey found, and was the preferred option in four of them.

There was some unhappiness at the idea of an imposed settlement that would involve Ukraine ceding territory to Russia, but also widespread belief that the new US president would abandon Ukraine after his inauguration on 20 January.

Trump has boasted, without providing details, that he can end the war “in 24 hours”, and his Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, is due to travel to European capitals in early January. Analysts have expressed doubts the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, will enter talks on terms that are in any way acceptable to Kyiv.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has welcomed Trump’s victory amid exasperation with the incremental policy and strategy of “escalation management” from the outgoing Biden administration.

The data comes almost three years after Putin’s full-scale invasion and at a critical moment for Ukraine. This year Russia has been advancing at its fastest rate since spring 2022, when its columns made an unsuccessful attempt to seize Kyiv.

Russian troops have overrun several towns and cities in the eastern Donbas region, with Ukraine’s armed forces struggling to defend urban settlements in the face of a lack of frontline troops and Russia’s continuing military superiority.

Kyiv concedes that the Kremlin’s tactics have been effective, including deployment of aviation to target defensive positions with glide bombs, then using artillery barrages and small groups of infantry. Russia has also been adept at identifying weaker Ukrainian brigades.

The polling showed that willingness to back Ukraine until it defeated Russia remained high in Sweden (50%) and Denmark (40%), with the UK on 36%, but those levels were down by as much as 14 points on January figures of 57%, 51% and 50%.

Over the same period, the percentages saying they preferred a negotiated peace surged to 55% from 45% in Italy, 46% (38%) in Spain, 43% (35%) in France and 45% (38%) in Germany, matched by corresponding falls in readiness to back Ukraine until it won.

It was unclear whether the shift reflected declining interest or increasing fatigue. In France, Germany and Sweden, the proportions wanting Ukraine to win – and caring that it did – have remained stable since early 2023, though they have dipped elsewhere.

Less than a month away from Trump’s return, majorities or near-majorities in all but one of the countries thought it likely the US president-elect would cut off support to Ukraine: 62% of Germans, 60% of Spaniards, 56% of Britons, 52% of French and 48% of Italians.

They were less certain whether Trump would withdraw the US from the Nato defensive alliance, with Danes, Germans, Italians, Spaniards and Swedes more likely to think that is not about to happen, but Britons and French evenly split.

People were also divided on how they would feel about a peace settlement that would leave Russia in control of at least some of the parts of Ukraine it has illegally seized since the February 2022 invasion, as Trump may reportedly be planning.

Majorities in Sweden (57%), Denmark (53%) and the UK (51%), and a sizeable minority (43%) in Spain, said they would feel very or fairly negatively about such a deal, compared with only 37% in France and 31% in Germany and Italy.

It is unclear how any deal on Ukraine could be done. Putin last week restated his maximalist goals, including Russian control of Crimea and four “annexed” Ukrainian regions, plus the demilitarisation of Ukraine and a veto on its Nato membership.

Zelenskyy is unwilling to hand over occupied territory to Russia. The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, has criticised western talk of a peace process as premature, saying Ukraine should get what it needs to stop Putin winning.

The survey showed that most western Europeans felt Ukraine’s allies had not been doing enough, both in terms of economic sanctions against Moscow and military and other assistance for Kyiv, to prevent Russia from winning the war.

About 66% of Danes, 63% of Swedes and Spaniards, 59% of Britons, 53% of Germans and Italians and 52% of French said overall assistance to Ukraine was either not quite, or not nearly enough. However, few thought their country should increase support.

Minorities ranging from 29% in Sweden, through to 21% in the UK and Germany, to 14% in France and just 11% in Italy felt their government should increase aid to Ukraine, with larger proportions in every country saying it should either be maintained or reduced.

In terms of specific measures such as increasing sanctions, shipping more weapons, sending more troops to support Nato members in eastern Europe or coordinating airstrikes against Russian targets in Ukraine, support was stable or lower than before.

Asked to say what they thought would be the situation a year from now, few western Europeans thought either Russia or Ukraine would have won, with most believing the two countries would either still be fighting, or a peace would have been negotiated.

A settlement was seen as more likely by those in Denmark (47%), Germany (40%), the UK and France (38%) and Italy (36%), with continued fighting seen as marginally the more likely scenario by those in Spain (36%) and Sweden (35%).

Salman Rushdie’s 1988 novel The Satanic Verses – which led to a fatwa threatening his life, forcing him into hiding for a decade – has finally returned to bookshops in India, the land of his birth.

The novel, inspired by the life of the prophet Muhammad, became the focus of a fierce global debate about freedom of speech when Iran’s then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, placed a bounty on Rushdie’s head due to its supposed blasphemy. The book was banned in India by Rajiv Gandhi’s government in 1988 after riots erupted over its contents.

Two years ago, many years after Iran distanced itself from the fatwa and Rushdie had come out of hiding, the author was critically injured and lost an eye when he was stabbed at an event in upstate New York. Hadi Matar, 26, has been charged with second degree attempted murder. A separate federal indictment charges him with terrorism.

The reappearance of The Satanic Verses in Indian bookshops has nothing to do with freedom of speech, however, but missing paperwork. The original government order banning the book’s import could not be found in India’s labyrinthine bureaucracy, leading to its overturning. Last month, Delhi’s high court ruled: “We have no other option except to presume that no such notification exists.”

Bahrisons Booksellers, a long-established family-run book retailer in New Delhi’s Khan Market, announced the book’s availability in a post on the social media platform X. “The Satanic Verses is now in stock,” the post read. A store manager, who declined to be named, said sales “have been very good”, despite a price tag of 1,999 rupees (about £19), hefty by Indian standards. “We’re selling out,” he said on Thursday.

Manasi Subramaniam, the editor-in-chief at Penguin Random House India, the book’s publisher, also quoted Rushdie on X, writing: “‘Language is courage: the ability to conceive a thought, to speak it, and by doing so to make it true.’ At long last, @SalmanRushdie’s The Satanic Verses is allowed to be sold in India.”

Some readers expressed curiosity about the book’s reputation. “I’ve heard The Satanic Verses spoken about all my life. I wanted to read it out of curiosity,” said Dilip Sharma, 22, an English major who planned to buy a copy. “It feels unreal to see it in the bookstore because it’s like seeing the unicorn you’ve been hearing about all your life.”

However, the return of The Satanic Verses has provoked anger among some Muslim organisations which have called for the ban to be reinstated, arguing that the novel “insults” Islamic beliefs and threatens social harmony in a country where 14% of the population is Muslim.

“No Muslim can tolerate seeing this hateful book on any bookstore shelf,” said Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, the national president of the All India Muslim Jamaat. Rushdie, who holds US-British citizenship and was knighted in 2007, has consistently maintained that The Satanic Verses is a work of fiction and contains nothing offensive.