In today\u2019s newsletter: Kyiv\u2019s interrogation footage of captured North Korean soldiers leads to questions about what it might do with the soldiers \u2013 and what the PoWs might do for them<\/p>\n
Good morning. In a grinding war where significant changes at the front are hard to discern, a video released by Ukraine on Sunday<\/a> is a rare point of focus: it featured two North Korean soldiers, answering questions from their Ukrainian captors, and weighing the circumstances of their presence in a conflict thousands of miles from home.<\/p>\n The video is, perhaps, not militarily significant. But it is a unique insight into one of the more extraordinary aspects of a conflict that has drawn in actors from all over the world, and is a crucible in which every participant is learning how modern wars are fought.<\/p>\n Economy<\/strong><\/em> | Rachel Reeves will remain as chancellor until the next general election, Keir Starmer has insisted<\/a>, as he warned the Treasury would be \u201cruthless\u201d over public spending cuts to help meet the government\u2019s fiscal rules.<\/p>\n Gaza<\/strong><\/em> | Joe Biden has said his administration is on the brink of sealing a ceasefire deal<\/a> between Israel and Hamas that could pause the war after more than 14 months of fighting. Biden administration officials have said they believe the deal may be concluded before Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration next week.<\/p>\n US politics<\/strong><\/em> | Donald Trump would have been convicted of crimes over his failed attempt to cling to power in 2020 if he had not won the presidential election in 2024, according to the special counsel who investigated him<\/a>. Jack Smith\u2019s report detailing his team\u2019s findings about Trump\u2019s efforts to subvert democracy was released early on Tuesday.<\/p>\n UK news<\/strong><\/em> | A man accused of driving a young mother to suicide through domestic violence has been found guilty of assault and prolonged controlling behaviour but cleared of her manslaughter<\/a>. Ryan Wellings, 30, was blamed from \u201cbeyond the grave\u201d for the death of his partner, Kiena Dawes. Read more about the case<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2018Forever chemicals\u2019<\/strong><\/em> | The cost of cleaning up toxic forever chemical pollution could reach more than \u00a31.6tn across the UK and Europe<\/a> over a 20-year period, an annual bill of \u00a384bn, research has found. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are used in everything from cosmetics to nonstick pans but are almost indestructible without human intervention.<\/p>\n [It is] unclear if North Korea will even claim the two captured soldiers as their own, given Moscow and Pyongyang\u2019s refusal to officially admit that North Korean forces have been deployed to Russia. At the same time, Russia could claim them as their own and hand them over to North Korea after they are traded with Ukrainian PoWs.<\/p>\n