WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Long-range missiles, UK weather warnings, and how AI could help protect journalists

 
today's international story

US lifts Ukraine's long-range missile ban

What happened
Joe Biden yesterday authorised Ukraine to fire powerful long-range US-made Atacms rockets into Russian territory. France and Britain quickly followed suit, confirming that Kyiv could also use their Scalp and Storm Shadow missiles in combat, reported Le Figaro.

Who said what
The lifting of the ban is primarily intended to allow Kyiv to launch missiles against Russian and North Korean forces in Kursk, the southern Russian region where Ukraine launched its unexpected counter-offensive in the summer, according to reports by Reuters, the Associated Press and The New York Times citing multiple sources.

Such a move has been "long requested by Ukraine", said The Guardian. But it is a "stunning shift in US policy" – just weeks before Donald Trump takes over as US president – that will "trigger fury and fresh threats from Moscow", said Sky News.

"This is a very big step towards the start of World War Three," said Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy head of the Russian upper house's international affairs committee, according to the TASS news agency.

What next?
The authorisation to use US long-range missiles comes just in time to counter the expected start of a major assault by Russian and North Korean troops aimed at removing Ukrainian soldiers from Kursk, said Serhii Kuzan, the chair of Kyiv-based think tank the Ukrainian Security and Co-operation Centre. The missiles are "not something that will change the course of the war", Kuzan told the BBC, "but I think it will make our forces more equal".

 
 
today's crime story

Police seek husband of murdered Harshita Brella

What happened
An international manhunt has been launched for the husband of Harshita Brella, whose body was found in the boot of a car.

Who said what
Police released a CCTV image of Pankaj Lamba (above), who they believe murdered Brella, 24, "earlier this month" before fleeing the country yesterday.

Detectives discovered Brella's body in a car in Ilford, east London in the early hours of last Thursday, 100 miles away from her home in the small town of Corby, Northamptonshire. Police had been contacted the day before over concerns for her welfare.

Brella had been "made the subject of a protective domestic violence court order just two months before her death", said the Northamptonshire Telegraph.

What next?
Northamptonshire Police have urged anyone with information that may assist inquiries, "no matter how small", to contact the force. Extra neighbourhood officer patrols will be deployed in Corby in the coming days to reassure the public.

 
 
Today's weather story

Met office warns of disruptions due to cold snap

What happened
The Met Office has extended a severe weather warning for the UK as colder air sweeps across the country, bringing with it snow and ice that could disrupt travel.

Who said what
"Woolly jumpers at the ready! Temperatures are set to drop next week with wintry weather on the way," posted the Met Office on X on Saturday.

According to the national meteorological service, temperatures this week will be much lower than the mid-November average during the day and much of the country can expect cold and frosty nights.

What next?
The weather warnings cover southern Scotland, north-east England, Yorkshire and north-west England, including Lancashire and Cumbria, extending to north Wales and reaching Nottingham.

Snow is "likely to accumulate on the hills", a Met Office spokesperson said, with a "small chance of snow settling at lower levels … but this remains very uncertain".

 
 

It's not all bad

It has long been clear that exercise is good for our muscles, bones, blood vessels and immune system, but researchers have just discovered that it also has benefits for brain neurons. According to MIT researchers, exercise can significantly boost neuron growth by causing muscles to release myokines – biochemical signals that enhance neural development by up to four times. Published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, the study suggests that targeted muscle stimulation could aid nerve repair and restore mobility in neuro-degenerative diseases, reinforcing the powerful, multi-faceted benefits of exercise on nerve health.

 
 
under the radar

How AI is protecting Venezuelan journalists

A group of Venezuelan media organisations has launched a news show using AI-generated anchors in a bid to protect themselves from state crackdowns, said CNN.

"Venezuela Retweets" is hosted by two AI avatars named "La Chama" (the girl) and "El Pana" (the dude). They share real news created by journalists who have found reporting the news to be "an increasingly dangerous business".

Many Western journalists may view artificial intelligence as a "looming threat to livelihoods", but their Venezuelan counterparts see it "more favourably", as a "protection". The AI news anchors can "shelter their real-life journalists" from the crackdown launched by authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro since he claimed victory in July's disputed election.

"Right now being a journalist in Venezuela is a bit like being a firefighter," Carlos Eduardo Huertas, the director of Connectas (a Colombia-based platform co-ordinating the initiative) told CNN. "You still need to attend the fire, even though it's dangerous. The Girl and The Dude want to be instruments for our firefighters: we don't want to replace journalists, but to protect them."

Maduro has also "moved to stifle online dissent", said the Financial Times, "blocking access to X" and "encouraging citizens to uninstall WhatsApp".

"It's a policy to instigate fear," another Venezuelan journalist told the paper.

But "Venezuela Retweets" is "gaining traction", said CNN. Organisations involved in freedom of the press elsewhere in Latin America have been in touch, said Huertas. He hopes to make the content available in Russian, Chinese and other languages to reach audiences in countries allied with Maduro.

In authoritarian nations, said CNN, there is a "widespread interest for using AI as a freedom-of-expression tool".

 
 
on this day

18 November 1307

According to legend, William Tell shot an apple off the head of his son in a single attempt, sparing them both from execution. Last week the trailer was released for a new war epic based on Tell, starring Connor Swindells, set to be released in the UK early next year.

 
 
Today's newspapers

Keir Starmer wants to update Britain's relationship with China, says The Times, leading on the PM's planned meeting with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20. The Telegraph and the FT lead on Joe Biden's "green light" to Ukraine to launch US-supplied long-range missiles, which they say comes as a "big policy shift". The Sun splashes on news of a burglary at the Windsor Castle estate in October.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Banana drama

A Swedish government minister made national headlines after leaked emails revealed the severity of her banana phobia. Paulina Brandberg, the minister for gender equality and working life, has her aides work to ensure all premises are cleared of "any trace of bananas" ahead of official meetings, under the guise of a "strong allergy". "It's sort of an allergy you could say," Brandbery told the Swedish tabloid Expressen. While the minister is getting professional help for the fear, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was quick to assure the public that the phobia "had not interfered with government work".

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Tess Foley-Cox, Harriet Marsden and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: South Korean Defence Ministry / Getty Images; Northamptonshire Police handout; Christopher Furlong / Getty Images.