The House Foreign Affairs chairman has subpoenaed the State Department for classified documents that could indicate whether the U.S. deviated from its plans for sanctioning China after a Chinese surveillance balloon crossed over sensitive military sites across North America

Eddie Howe has insisted the decision not to introduce a ban which could have prevented Newcastle from loaning players from Saudi clubs is no great advantage to them. Premier League clubs this week voted against a move to stop members drafting in players on temporary deals from associated clubs – those who share owners – which had been interpreted as a bid to thwart the Magpies, who had been linked with a January move for Al-Hilal’s Ruben Neves. Newcastle are 80 per cent owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which also has controlling stakes in four Saudi Pro League clubs including Neves’ employers, and the decision means in theory that they could sign loan deals to bolster their squad in the midst of an injury crisis. Howe said: “I found it a bit strange that the focus has been solely on us. Every club has a right to vote how they want to vote and it hasn’t gone through so it’s not just about us. “It was a Premier League vote – we’re not the only club involved in that vote. I think the majority of clubs in the Premier League own other clubs around the world, so it’s not solely on us, I don’t think. “Newcastle as a club had a view. We voted our way in the way we’re allowed to and the vote came out on the side that it did. “Just from my dealings with it, we’re very relaxed on it. It’s not the be-all and end-all for us.” It's not the be-all and end-all for us Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe Howe’s squad has been ravaged by injuries and suspension in recent weeks but midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is available for Saturday’s home clash with Chelsea after serving a one-match ban, as is Kieran Trippier after leaving the England squad for personal reasons. Striker Alexander Isak is close to a return from a groin injury, but Howe is still without the likes of Dan Burn, Sven Botman, Sean Longstaff, Sandro Tonali, Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes and Callum Wilson. Asked if he would consider signing a player from a Saudi club in January, Howe said: “It’s not even in our thoughts at this moment in time. “It would only be a reaction to the injuries that we have and whether we need to recruit because the majority of our players would be back in January. At this moment in time, we don’t know.” Howe put the final touches to his preparations for the Chelsea game having watched back his side’s 2-0 defeat at former club Bournemouth on their last outing no fewer than five times in a bid to address what went wrong. He did so with £55million summer signing Tonali, who is serving a 10-month ban for breaching betting rules, showing just how much of a miss he will be on the training pitch. Howe said: “You wouldn’t know from our training sessions that he’s unavailable to play and it’s probably been the best we have seen him in training. I’d love to see him when he comes back into the team because I think he will be a huge player for us.” Read More Manchester United ‘identify candidates’ for Raphael Varane successor Dallas Cowboys cruise to Thanksgiving win over Washington Commanders Jack Draper suffers opening-rubber defeat as Serbia seize control at Davis Cup Man Utd forward Rasmus Hojlund in race to be fit to face Everton Ben Curry has career goal of playing for England alongside twin brother Tom ‘Grass ceiling’ facing black footballers highlighted by new diversity data

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Britain could deploy military instructors to Ukraine and even play a more active role in the Black Sea where Russia has targeted cargo ships, defence minister Grant Shapps has said. Mr Shapps – who took over the defence portfolio from Ben Wallace last month – said he has spoken with Army chiefs about the UK moving “more training” into Ukraine and stepping up defence production there. “I was talking today about eventually getting the training brought closer and actually into Ukraine as well,” he said in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph. “Particularly in the west of the country, I think the opportunity now is to bring more things in country, and not just training. We’re seeing BAE, for example, move into manufacturing in [the] country,” the defence secretary said. “I’m keen to see other British companies do their bit as well by doing the same thing.” The UK and its allies have till date steered clear of formal military presence inside Ukraine to prevent a direct conflict with Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now in its 20th month. The UK has trained more than 20,000 recruits from Ukraine since the start of 2022, but Nato members have avoided training programmes in the besieged country to avoid the risk of personnel being drawn into combat with Russia. Mr Shapps said he spoke to president Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday and hinted Britain could play a more active role in the Black Sea, where Russia has targeted cargo ships. “Britain is a naval nation so we can help and we can advise, particularly since the water is international water,” he said. “It’s important we don’t allow a situation to establish by default that somehow international shipping isn’t allowed in that water. There’s a lot of places where Britain can help advise,” he told the newspaper. This comes shortly after Mr Zelensky said he wants to turn his country’s defence industry into a “large military hub” by partnering with Western weapons manufacturers to increase arms supplies for its counteroffensive against Russia. One of Ukraine’s strongest allies against the continuing Russian invasion, London has spent £2.3bn on supporting Mr Zelensky’s war efforts between April 2022 and March 2023, according to former defence secretary Ben Wallace’s statement in July. Mr Wallace had said it put the UK only second to the US in terms of international donors of military aid to Ukraine, which is currently involved in counteroffensive skirmishes as it looks to retake its territory. “The delivery and provision of aid is dynamic and fast moving, responding to the priority needs of the armed forces of Ukraine,” he had said. He had also confirmed the success of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles in June and told the parliament that the weapons were already having a “significant impact on the battlefield”. Britain has already donated at least five million anti-personnel weapons, including mortars and grenades, along with 1,500 anti-air weapons and 100 launchers. The Ministry of Defence listed 12,000 ballistic vests and 80,000 helmets as having been supplied in July. A total of £4m had been spent on spare parts, tools and support kits for Kyiv’s military. Read More Ukraine aid left out of government funding package, raising questions about future US support Ukraine-Russia war - live: Moscow could annex more Ukrainian regions, says Medvedev ‘Keep an eye on Crimea’: Ukraine’s costly battlefield gains ‘prelude battle to retake peninsula’ Confident of Poland continuing Ukraine military support despite strained ties, Nato chief says Putin marks anniversary of annexation of Ukrainian regions as drones attack overnight

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