- Scientists rebuild the face of 400-year-old Polish ‘vampire’ Zosia NBC News
- Archaeologists reconstruct face of 400-year-old "vampire" buried with iron sickle across her neck CBS News
- Exhuming Dracula’s Ancestors: What Vampires Reveal About Our Latent Fears Literary Hub
- ‘Real-life vampire’ considered so dangerous she was padlocked inside grave with a sickle at her neck: archaeologists Yahoo! Voices
- 'Vampire' returns from the dead: Scientists in Poland rebuild the face of 400-year-old woman Sky News
Hamas rejects proposal for 30-day Gaza ceasefire – Semafor
- Hamas rejects proposal for 30-day Gaza ceasefire Semafor
- Israeli Strike in Iran Should Mark End of Tit For Tat Between Two Nations Department of Defense
- U.S. Officials Try to Advance Israel’s Cease-Fire Talks With Hezbollah and Hamas The New York Times
- Hamas rejects any hostage deal that doesn’t end war, despite mediators’ efforts The Times of Israel
- Hamas rejects ceasefire proposal that would keep Israeli troops in Gaza Middle East Eye
Rachel Reeves may have to find more money to fix public services, says IFS
Institute for Fiscal Studies says budget allows for rise in public service spending this year and next, but not thereafter
Rachel Reeves could be forced to find more money to fix public services after her budget made a start at reversing the “unrealistic” and irresponsible spending plans of the Conservatives, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said.
Britain’s leading experts on the government’s finances said the chancellor’s tax measures on Wednesday had allowed for a substantial short-term increase in public service spending this year and next, but not thereafter.
Continue reading...Final recount confirms Georgia ruling party victory, says electoral commission
EU and US demand investigation as opposition and pro-European president cry foul
Officials in Georgia said a partial recount confirmed the ruling party had won its disputed election, while a global research and data firm called the official results reported by the electoral commission “statistically impossible”.
The pro-western opposition on Thursday repeated its earlier assertions that the parliamentary vote had been “stolen” by the ruling Georgian Dream party and it refused to recognise the results, plunging the Caucasus country into uncertainty.
Continue reading...Lloyds shareholders could take £1bn hit over car finance crisis
Analysts forecast bank will have to halve £2bn buyback plan, as ex-boss of City regulator blames watchdog for crisis
Lloyds Banking Group could give almost £1bn less to shareholders this year as a result of the car finance crisis, analysts have said, as the City regulator’s former boss blamed the watchdog for the chaos.
The estimated size of a multibillion-pound compensation bill for motor lenders has grown after a shock court of appeal ruling last Friday, which said customers could not consent to motor loans that involved “secret commission” payments to brokers and car dealerships.
Continue reading...Trail of destruction after Spanish floods
At least 158 people were killed following flash floods in southern Spain.
Ed Davey: care sector will be ‘pushed to brink’ by national insurance hike and should be exempt
Lib Dem leader says rise in employer’s contribution risks worsening NHS crisis
The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to exempt the social care sector from the increase in national insurance in Labour’s budget, as an organisation representing many smaller care providers warned that the impact would be substantial.
In the biggest fiscal measures of Wednesday’s budget, raising an additional £25bn a year by the end of the parliament, Rachel Reeves announced an increase of 1.2 percentage points on the national insurance paid by employers, with the salary threshold at which this begins falling from £9,100 a year to £5,000.
Continue reading...Gaza paramedic realises woman killed in air attack is his mother
‘This is my mother!’ A paramedic responding to an Israeli strike on a Camp in Gaza realises his mom was killed.
Why were the floods in Spain so bad? A visual guide
Scores of people have died as country is hit by deadliest floods in decades
At least 150 people have died in Spain after torrential rains triggered the country’s deadliest floods in decades, unleashing a deluge of muddy water that turned village streets into rivers, destroyed homes and swept away bridges, railways tracks and cars.
An unknown number of people remain missing, while thousands of others are without electricity or phone service. The majority of those killed were in the coastal region of Valencia, where the state-run agency said that nearly a year’s worth of rain had fallen in just eight hours.
Continue reading...Budget 2024: what the UK papers said about Rachel Reeves’ statement
Headlines featured numerous ‘nightmare’ allusions for budget delivered the day before Halloween
After Rachel Reeves‘ first budget as chancellor, which included £40bn in tax rises, newspaper headlines in the UK featured “nightmare” and “horror show” allusions as it came a day before Halloween.
The Financial Times’ front page featured a picture of smiling Reeves headlined “Reeves unveils £40bn budget tax rise”. The paper reported the chancellor’s aims of fixing public services, and the “broken” finances, saying businesses and the wealthy would “bear bulk” of the “heaviest fiscal burden” in a generation.
Continue reading...Business leaders keep quiet on Trump – what are they saying in private?
Experts say top chief executives are treading a fine line to avoid any backlash in the event of a Trump victory
After the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, America’s business leaders came out strongly in their criticism of Donald Trump. Now – as the Harris campaign brands Trump a “fascist” and Trump threatens retribution against “the enemy within” – there appears to be a conspiracy of silence.
In fact, as the nation heads to the polls in an election that is too close to call, some of America’s most powerful chief executive appear to be cozying up to Trump again.
Continue reading...The Wildly Entertaining Tale of How Día de los Muertos Got Its Iconic Sugar Skulls – Fodor’s Travel
- The Wildly Entertaining Tale of How Día de los Muertos Got Its Iconic Sugar Skulls Fodor's Travel
- Pets join Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, as Fido and Tiger get their own altars The Associated Press
- 12 ‘megaofrendas’ to visit during Day of the Dead weekend in Mexico Mexico News Daily
- Political protest is deeply embedded in Day of the Dead, a crossover U.S. tradition USA TODAY
- US residents travel to Mexico to visit their dead WWLP.com
What is Diwali, the Festival of Lights? – The Associated Press
- What is Diwali, the Festival of Lights? The Associated Press
- Happy Diwali 2024: 50+ wishes, images, SMS, greetings, WhatsApp and Facebook status to share on Deepawali Hindustan Times
- What is Diwali and why is it celebrated? What to know about the Hindu festival of lights USA TODAY
- Happy Diwali 2024: November 1 Lakshmi Puja timings and 60+ best wishes, WhatsApp messages to share with your loved ones Business Today
- Indians celebrate Diwali by lighting a record number of clay lamps The Associated Press
Six dead as boat carrying Rohingya fleeing Myanmar arrives in Indonesia
Ninety-six Rohingya refugees, including seven children, are stranded on Sumatra island after escaping on a rickety boat.
The great British cheese heist: Who stole $390,000 of cheddar?
Some of the 'best cheddar cheese in the world' has been stolen from a distributor in London - but who dunnit and how?
US election: EU wants Kamala Harris in the White House – DW (English)
- US election: EU wants Kamala Harris in the White House DW (English)
- It’s not just Democrats who fear a Trump victory – it would be a disaster for Europe too The Guardian
- It doesn’t matter if Trump or Harris win. Europe has already lost. POLITICO Europe
- America’s European allies face challenging times, whoever wins the presidential election The Associated Press
- Trump or Harris? MEP surrogates take sides Euronews
India’s coach Gambhir blames flat wickets, T20s for poor Test batting
'The more T20 cricket is played, the less people start defending,' Gambhir says after his team's home series loss.
Ohtani-mania sweeps LA as Dodgers go on to win World Series
Ohtani fandom has boosted tourism in Los Angeles and more Japanese-language tours of Dodgers Stadium
North Korea missile test reaches record height and duration, says Japan
Test of apparent ICBM theoretically capable of striking US mainland comes amid warnings over North Korean troops in Ukraine
North Korea has test launched a long-range missile theoretically capable of striking the US mainland in another display of defiance by the regime amid growing warnings over its troops’ participation in the war in Ukraine.
US officials said they believed Thursday’s launch was that of an intercontinental ballistic missile [ICBM] but did not say how they had reached that assessment. Japan’s defence minister, Gen Nakatani, said the missile had flown higher and for longer than others tested by North Korea.
Continue reading...Saudi Arabia World Cup bid report accused of ‘whitewashing’ rights abuses
Law firm AS&H Clifford Chance failed to include alleged abuse of migrant workers in assessment for Fifa 2034 bid, say rights groups
A report by the Saudi arm of a global law firm on Saudi Arabia’s 2034 Fifa World Cup bid has “whitewashed” the Gulf kingdom’s record of exploiting and suppressing the rights of migrant workers, rights groups have claimed.
AS&H Clifford Chance was commissioned to independently assess the human rights implications of the bid, but the report “contains no substantive discussion of extensive and relevant abuses in Saudi Arabia”, according to a statement released by 11 organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
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