Today we'll be discussing some of the biggest stories, including Ukraine's retreat and Germany's alarm over gas supplies, as well as what last night's means for Boris Johnson, but first the conservatives' double by-election defeat.

Boris Johnson's worst dreams have come true. Overnight, the conservatives lost both by-elections. Labour reclaimed Wakefield, while the Liberal Democrats overturned a massive 24,000 vote majority to take Tiverton and Honeton. Result in Wakefield wasn't that much of a surprise. Wakefield represents a true red wall seat, with Labour holding the seat for four decades prior to the 2019 election. Tiverton and Hunterton, on the other hand, came as a bit of a surprise given the sheer size of the Conservative majority in 2019. Problem is that both are incredibly bad news for Johnson. The conservative party chair, Oliver Dowden, resigned, stressing that our supporters are distressed and disappointed by recent events and I share their feelings. We cannot carry on with business as usual. Somebody must take responsibility. Ouch.

After a valiant fight, Ukrainian forces in the key eastern city of Savannah Donetsk have been ordered to withdraw, according to the governor of the Luhansk oblast, Sir Haidai. According to Ukrainian TV this morning, Haidai remarked that remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled for months just doesn't make sense. This comes after the city's entire infrastructure was completely destroyed, with, according to Haidai, some ninety percent of houses shelled, eighty percent of which are now critically damaged. According to Ukrainian officials, there are some eight thousand civilians in the city who cannot be safely evacuated. Savannah Donetsk represents one of the last significant Ukrainian positions in the Luhansk region. The other major one is that of neighboring Lesiansk, which is already subjected to renewed and intense shelling. Forces were ordered to partially retreat at the beginning of the month to more advantageous pre-prepared positions.

Australia's new prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will visit Paris next week, seeking to reset his country's relations with France. Their relations deteriorated last year after the former Australian government scrapped a multi-billion dollar deal with a French company to build 12 submarines. Instead, Australia signed the ORCA deal with the UK and US to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. Mr. Albanese said we do need to reset. We've already had very constructive discussions and acknowledged France's position as a key power in the Pacific region. Earlier in the month, the prime minister said Australia had agreed to a fair and equitable settlement of over 500 million in compensation for the French company.

Germany has moved one step closer to rationing gas after Russia reduced deliveries of natural gas via the Nordstrom One pipeline, described as an economic attack by Germany's economy minister, Robert Harbeck, who warned that gas storage targets for the winter are at risk. The government has triggered the second stage of its three-tier emergency gas plan, moving from the early warning phase to the alarm phase. It involves a number of measures to encourage industry to use less gas in order to save supplies for the winter. The government chose not to trigger a clause that would allow utility companies to pass on soaring costs to customers. If the level gets raised again to stage three, the emergency phase, then the state intervenes and can ration the supply of gas to industry in order to make sure households and critical institutions are still supplied.

The United States Senate passed one of the most significant gun control bills in three decades today. New controls ask states to conduct more stringent checks on younger people who may want to purchase a firearm, so that's those younger than 21. Additionally, it tries to take guns out of the hands of people considered a threat. This includes closing the boyfriend loophole, which blocks sales to those convicted of abusing unmarried intimate partners. The most surprising part of this bill was the fact that 15 Republicans joined the Democrats in voting for the change, resulting in a 65-33 vote in favor. This was a real show of bipartisanship on an issue that is often politicized. The bill isn't yet law, but it will pass through the House of Representatives, which must also approve it before President Biden signs it.