Broadcast timeline
Sky News Today
Saturday 17 October 2026 · 16:00 BST · 30m · 4 stories · 15 annotated moments · 21 of 30 min on news stories (69%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
More than 270 people were reported arrested as French police clashed with protesters in Paris and demonstrations took place across France. The protests began with students angry at school budgets and appeared to spread into wider anger about the cost of living. Live pictures showed riot officers firing tear gas towards protesters, who threw missiles back. The French Interior Ministry was reported as saying 160 arrests had been recorded across the country earlier and later 272 nationwide, with marches in main cities including 20,000 people in Lyon, 20,000 in Nantes and 10,000 in Rennes, and trouble in Grenoble, Pau, Montpellier, Toulouse, Valence and Avignon. French journalist Agnes Poirier described improvised demonstrations with infiltrators including far-left provocateurs and black blocs, ransacking and a volatile situation, and said the situation was made more unstable by forthcoming presidential elections.
Scotland's First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney used a conference speech to make his pitch for another Scottish independence vote, saying the stars were aligning and claiming support for independence stood at 54% in one poll. He pointed to the SNP's fifth successive Holyrood election win in May and said the Westminster parties were weak and panicking. He also announced a 30 million pound fund to help communities fight the threat of racism and the far-right, and said Scottish law would be changed to make abuse or harassment based on misogyny a specific offence. The Prime Minister offered to work with the Scottish government on more devolution but said power should move away from Holyrood closer to local communities. Sky's political correspondent said a second referendum would require the UK government to grant it, and reported that Andy Burnham had insisted he would not be the last leader of the Union.
Ukraine's president criticised Donald Trump for pausing a raft of sanctions against Russia, after the US president announced he was stopping a package that would have imposed tariffs on Russian goods and penalties for buying Russian oil and gas, saying it was in America's national interest. Volodymyr Zelensky said on X that the move only encouraged Russia to keep attacking, that Russia was trying to cause a blackout in Ukraine before winter and leave millions without electricity and heating, and that pressure was needed. Meanwhile the UK is preparing for a potential peacekeeping mission in Ukraine if a ceasefire were agreed, with British forces joining troops from France and Germany for drills in Poland. Military analyst Rob Clark said the exercises were a logistical and low-level training activity, but questioned what the mission would be and said the UK's armed forces were stretched, with morale low and training paused for six months due to budget restrictions, and needed more funding and rearmament.
- 1:23
- 1:23
Claim Macron calls for calm amid nationwide French protests
French police fired tear gas at protesters in Paris.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 1:23-1:39
- 1:23
Claim Macron calls for calm amid nationwide French protests
Protests across France led to clashes in Paris and arrests, with the French Interior Ministry initially reporting 160 arrests and an updated figure of 272 nationwide, alongside turnouts of 20,000 in Lyon, 20,000 in Nantes and 10,000 in Rennes.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 1:23-1:39
- 1:57
Claim Macron calls for calm amid nationwide French protests
Arrests were reported across France during the protests, with figures ranging from about 160 to more than 420.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 1:57-2:06
- 1:57
Claim Macron calls for calm amid nationwide French protests
Protests across France led to clashes in Paris and arrests, with the French Interior Ministry initially reporting 160 arrests and an updated figure of 272 nationwide, alongside turnouts of 20,000 in Lyon, 20,000 in Nantes and 10,000 in Rennes.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 1:57-2:06
- 8:59
Claim Macron calls for calm amid nationwide French protests
Thousands of demonstrators gathered across France in a day of action.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 8:59-9:19
- 8:59
Claim Macron calls for calm amid nationwide French protests
Protests across France led to clashes in Paris and arrests, with the French Interior Ministry initially reporting 160 arrests and an updated figure of 272 nationwide, alongside turnouts of 20,000 in Lyon, 20,000 in Nantes and 10,000 in Rennes.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 8:59-9:19
- 10:29
- 11:03
Charged quote Swinney says independence is 'very close' as SNP conference closes
Edinburgh Cardiff and Belfast every first minister now supports our nation's right to self-determination in Westminster Unionists are united in their panic You might see there's panic on the streets of London. I hear there's panic on the streets of Manchester, too Support for independence is now leading in poll after poll and this morning
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 11:03-11:06
- 11:07
Charged quote Swinney says independence is 'very close' as SNP conference closes
Edinburgh Cardiff and Belfast every first minister now supports our nation's right to self-determination in Westminster Unionists are united in their panic You might see there's panic on the streets of London. I hear there's panic on the streets of Manchester, too Support for independence is now leading in poll after poll and this morning support for independence stands at
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 11:07-11:18
- 15:02
- 15:10
Claim Trump blocks new US sanctions on Russia amid Zelensky warning
Trump paused or blocked new sanctions on Russia, citing national interest; the measures targeted energy and defence sectors, Putin and other senior officials and were due to take effect after being signed into law to pressure Moscow over the Ukraine war.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 15:10-15:22
- 15:10
Claim Trump blocks new US sanctions on Russia amid Zelensky warning
Trump paused or blocked new sanctions on Russia, citing national interest; the measures targeted energy and defence sectors, Putin and other senior officials and were due to take effect after being signed into law to pressure Moscow over the Ukraine war.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 15:10-15:22
- 15:10
Claim Trump blocks new US sanctions on Russia amid Zelensky warning
Trump paused or blocked new sanctions on Russia, citing national interest; the measures targeted energy and defence sectors, Putin and other senior officials and were due to take effect after being signed into law to pressure Moscow over the Ukraine war.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 15:10-15:22
- 15:15
Contested quote Trump blocks new US sanctions on Russia amid Zelensky warning
Against Russia the US president announced last night that he was stopping a package of measures Which would have imposed tariffs on Russian goods and imposed penalties for buying its oil and gas saying it was in America's national interest Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has now criticized that decision saying it only encourages Russia to keep attacking his country
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 15:15-15:22
- 15:22
Claim Trump blocks new US sanctions on Russia amid Zelensky warning
Zelensky said the decision to disregard the sanctions would encourage Putin to keep attacking Ukraine.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 15:22-15:30
- 18:58 ~4 min without annotations
- 22:39
- 22:39
Claim Daniel Dubois defends WBO heavyweight title against Fabio Wardley
Dubois is defending the WBO title he won in the first fight in May.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 22:39-22:46
- 23:11
Claim Daniel Dubois defends WBO heavyweight title against Fabio Wardley
Dubois is defending the WBO title he won in the first fight in May.
Sky News, Sky News Today, 17 October 2026, 23:11-23:21
- 25:56 ~4 min without annotations
Source: Sky News, "Sky News Today", Saturday 17 October 2026. Transcript excerpts and stills are shown only to support the analysis annotated alongside them. Search-result excerpts are distinct from the editorial annotations — see our copyright basis. The full broadcast is not reproduced.