British rapper Skepta has released The Fork and Knife, his first album since 2019. The album draws on his experience as the British-born son of Nigerian immigrants and addresses immigration, racism, Brexit and multiculturalism.
Key Facts
The Fork and Knife is Skepta’s sixth album.
Skepta, whose full name is Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr, was born and raised in Tottenham, north London.
His parents immigrated from Nigeria during the country’s civil war.
Skepta said he wanted the album to show what can happen when an immigrant child gets an opportunity.
The album includes Innocent Smile, featuring Chase and Status and Madness singer Suggs.
Skepta said it took six years to make the album and that he wanted to avoid being insensitive.
In 2024, Skepta removed artwork for his single Gas Me Up (Diligent) after allegations that it referenced the Holocaust.
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Paraguay’s Congress impeached President Santiago Peña, and authorities placed him under house arrest as prosecutors investigate alleged illicit enrichment, money laundering and influence-peddling. The crisis followed the suspension of Ueno Bank, which left about 2.9 million customers unable to access their accounts; Vice-President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as president.
Key Facts
Ueno Bank was suspended after authorities found irregularities, freezing the accounts of about 2.9 million people, or roughly 60% of Paraguay’s adult population.
Protests spread across Paraguay, and some involved clashes with police.
Prosecutors opened an investigation into Peña on Thursday and issued an arrest warrant that also includes former Ueno chief executive Carlos Carvallo Spalding.
Peña appointed Spalding to lead Paraguay’s central bank; three months later, Spalding approved Ueno’s conversion into a digital bank.
Peña held about $1 million in shares in a company that later became Ueno Holding and sold them in April 2025.
An estimated $800 million to $860 million in state and pension funds was invested in Ueno.
Vice-President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as Paraguay’s new president after Peña’s impeachment.
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The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating possible fraud involving EU funds for safety and communications upgrades on Spain’s Madrid-Seville high-speed rail line. The probe follows a fatal October 28 crash in Toledo that killed at least 69 people; Spanish rail officials have resigned, and the cause of the crash has not been established in the article.
Key Facts
The EPPO conducted investigative measures at Spain’s railway infrastructure manager, rail safety agency and Court of Auditors.
The investigation concerns possible fraud in EU funding for upgrades to safety, signaling and communications systems on the Madrid-Seville line.
Spain’s railway infrastructure manager, Adif, confirmed the EPPO visit and said it provided requested information.
The October 28 collision in Urda, Toledo province, killed at least 69 people.
The EPPO had opened a separate investigation after a January crash in Adamuz killed 46 people; the article gives no update on that probe.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente resigned, and Adif President Luis Pedro Marco de la Pena also stepped down.
Spain asked the European Union Agency for Railways to assist with the national investigation into the crash.
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Pope Leo began a 12-day trip to South America, with Uruguay as his first stop. The trip follows lung cancer surgery several weeks ago and is expected to cover about 19,000 miles.
Key Facts
Uruguay is the first stop on Pope Leo’s South America trip.
The trip is scheduled to last 12 days.
The itinerary covers roughly 19,000 miles.
Pope Leo underwent lung cancer surgery several weeks before the trip.
CBS News reported on the trip and its itinerary.
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Somali tour guide Sucdi Abdul Fattah Abdul Khader takes visitors around Mogadishu’s beaches, markets, historic sites and food spots to show a side of the city beyond its reputation for conflict. She works with her father and other guides, and uses social media to attract visitors, though safety concerns and low, seasonal demand remain challenges.
Key Facts
Sucdi Abdul Fattah Abdul Khader is 23 and began guiding tours nearly three years ago.
Her tours include Jazeera beach, nearby sand dunes, the fish market and historic parts of Mogadishu.
Visitors can learn about the city’s Indian Ocean trade history and its Ottoman and Italian influences.
Sucdi shares tour videos on TikTok and is considering making content in English.
She says having five tourists a week is considered a success, and visitor numbers are seasonal.
Mogadishu has changed since al-Shabab withdrew from most of the city in 2011 and Somalia established a federal government in 2012.
Somalia’s tourism department reported about 10,000 tourists in 2024, up 50% from 2023.
Visitors continue to ask about safety, while insecurity and the effects of conflict remain part of life in Mogadishu.
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Paraguay's Senate voted to impeach President Santiago Peña after the collapse of Ueno Bank, and he was placed under house arrest. Vice-President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as interim president, while prosecutors prepared to question Peña over alleged financial and misconduct offenses.
Key Facts
The Senate voted 44 to 0 to impeach Peña, with one senator absent.
Senate President Basilio Núñez said Peña was found guilty of dereliction of duty.
Peña had offered to resign the day before the impeachment vote.
The article says Peña held shares in the company that owned Ueno Bank until last year; he has denied wrongdoing.
The charges allege conflicts of interest, interference with regulatory oversight, diversion of pension funds, and a cover-up involving the central bank.
Prosecutors planned to question Peña over alleged breach of trust, influence peddling, and misappropriation of funds.
The article says about three million depositors could not access their savings and pensions after the bank was seized by Paraguay's central bank.
Alliana said he would serve as interim president until 2028 and promised compensation for people affected by the financial collapse.
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Australian former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith appeared in an October social media collaboration between his apparel brand, Epic 1 Two, and Zero Limits Supplements. The company had earlier promoted a pre-workout product called “war crimes”; Roberts-Smith is not shown endorsing or using that product, and he is awaiting trial on war crimes charges that he denies.
Key Facts
Zero Limits Supplements is co-owned by fitness coach and podcaster Chris Katelaris, who also uses the name “Big Chocky.”
Zero Limits promoted a pre-workout supplement named “war crimes,” with the flavor “kill or capture cola.”
The product’s label showed a hooded captive and a masked figure in military-style clothing, with an Australian flag in the room.
Roberts-Smith praised a different Zero Limits product in an Instagram story and appeared on the company’s podcast.
Roberts-Smith was arrested in April and charged with five counts of war crime murder tied to alleged incidents in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2012; he denies the charges.
In a separate civil defamation case, a federal court found, using the balance-of-probabilities standard, that Roberts-Smith murdered unarmed Afghan civilians.
Zero Limits and Katelaris did not answer specific questions from the news outlet; their statements promoted the products and an upcoming campaign.
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Pope Leo XIV arrived in Uruguay to begin a 12-day tour of South America. The article says the tour marks his return to the region after lung surgery last month.
Key Facts
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Uruguay.
The tour will last 12 days.
The tour includes Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
The tour marks his return to South America.
The article says he underwent lung surgery last month.
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Saturday newspaper front pages feature Thomas Markle’s charge in the United States and Russell Brand’s conviction in the United Kingdom. The papers also report on two ongoing rape investigations involving Brand, a possible increase in youth employment spending, and other business and political stories.
Key Facts
The U.S. Department of Justice said Thomas Markle appeared in court on Friday charged with one count of possessing indecent images of children.
Markle has previously denied allegations that he possessed child sexual abuse images.
The FBI searched two Los Angeles storage units rented by Markle for almost 20 years, according to the Daily Mirror.
Russell Brand’s conviction on rape and sexual assault charges features on several newspaper front pages.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley told the BBC that two rape investigations involving Brand are ongoing and said he would not be surprised if more people came forward.
The Daily Telegraph reported that a review of youth unemployment and inactivity is expected to urge the prime minister to spend up to £6 billion more on helping people return to work.
The Financial Times reported that AI company Anthropic is proceeding with a planned November listing, citing multiple investors.
The Financial Times also reported that spending in London’s West End rose 15% in the first six days after Oxford Street was pedestrianised.
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A 2015 flood in Lancaster caused a power outage that disrupted heating, water, transport, shops and communications for 61,500 people. The incident informs plans for a possible “Black Sky” event, including government advice to prepare for disruptions and a BBC emergency radio service designed to operate for at least three days without resupply.
Key Facts
The River Lune flooded at 22:45 on 5 December 2015, and the electricity supply to 61,500 people in Lancaster failed.
Some water supplies began to fail because they relied on electric pumps; the railway station, petrol stations and shops also closed, and most cash machines stopped working.
Copper-wire landlines and FM radio were among the communication systems that continued to work.
A report on the Lancaster outage described a local commercial radio station using an emergency generator and a landline to share information.
UK resilience discussions have focused on being able to withstand a Black Sky event for at least 72 hours.
The government’s Be Ready campaign encourages people to prepare for emergencies, although it says there is no specific threat to the electricity grid.
The BBC plans to use about 100 staff in an emergency radio studio with communications independent of the internet and supplies for at least three days.
The BBC service would broadcast prepared government messages, including guidance on drinking water and disposing of toilet waste without flushing.
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Pedro Alliana was sworn in as Paraguay’s president after the Senate removed Santiago Peña from office over a scandal linked to the collapse of Ueno Bank. Prosecutors said they would seek Peña’s arrest on suspicion of breaching the public trust and other crimes; reports said he was detained at home.
Key Facts
The Senate voted 44 to 0 to remove Peña, with one senator abstaining.
Alliana had served as vice president under Peña since 2023.
Paraguay’s central bank said Ueno Bank fell below legal solvency standards and took control of the lender.
Ueno’s collapse left millions of customers without access to accounts and pension payments.
Ueno had nearly three million customers and was Paraguay’s fifth-largest bank by deposits.
Peña was identified as a shareholder in Ueno’s parent company in 2023 and said he sold his shares in early 2025.
The Chamber of Deputies voted 78 to 0 to impeach Peña before the Senate removed him.
Prosecutors also sought an arrest warrant for former central bank chief Carlos Carvallo, who had resigned earlier in the week.
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New Zealand held the final day of voting in a closely contested general election, with voters focused on the cost of living and the economy. Polls suggested the governing National Party and opposition Labour Party were tied, and neither was expected to win enough seats to govern alone.
Key Facts
Polling stations opened at 9am Saturday and were scheduled to close at 7pm.
Voting began on October 26; more than 1.6 million of nearly 3.8 million voters had cast ballots by the end of Thursday.
New Zealand law bars political comments and election-related messages during a 19-hour period on election day.
Violations of the election-day restrictions can result in fines of up to 20,000 New Zealand dollars.
National pledged to balance the budget while expanding the national pension scheme; Labour promised cheaper healthcare and transport.
The Electoral Commission aimed to release preliminary results from 95 percent of polling stations by election night.
The final result, including overseas ballots, was expected by November 27.
New Zealand uses a mixed-member proportional voting system in which voters choose both a local candidate and a political party.
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A man in his 20s survived after a knife passed through his right eye and into his brain. Surgeons removed the knife and his damaged eye; he recovered quickly, and temporary weakness on his right side resolved within two days.
Key Facts
The man arrived at a UK hospital conscious and able to speak and move all four limbs.
Scans showed the knife crossed the right eye socket and passed through parts of the brain, while apparently avoiding major nerve pathways and the left internal carotid artery.
Doctors sedated and intubated him because they feared he might pull out the knife.
Surgeons opened part of his skull and used a careful pull-and-see approach to remove the blade.
Doctors removed his right eye because its damage was too extensive to repair.
He was taken off the breathing tube the day after surgery, and temporary right-side weakness resolved within two days.
He developed no infections or seizures, according to the case report published in BMJ Case Reports.
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Afeef Ahmed won the 2026 New South Wales Premier’s Spelling Bee after spelling “immemorial” correctly. The competition drew 34 primary school finalists from about 200,000 students across 1,070 public schools; the article excerpt ends while the contest to decide the runner-up is still underway.
Key Facts
The state final took place in a theatre in western Sydney on Friday.
The 34 finalists had won online regional finals in August.
Contestants first faced words they could practise, then unfamiliar words in sudden-death rounds.
Five finalists had reached the state final three times, including former junior champion Wafiq Ayyash.
Afeef Ahmed won after correctly spelling “immemorial.”
Bobby Ivaneza was eliminated after misspelling “unserviceable.”
Alesha Kahfandi, Caroline Wang and Maximilian Lumley also missed words in the round that established Ahmed as the winner.
The excerpt ends during the contest to determine the runner-up.
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Steven Beattie, 37, is set to graduate from the University of Dundee Medical School in June after spending his teenage years in and out of Polmont young offenders’ institution. He says he changed direction by setting goals to leave Glasgow, stop drinking and avoid people who got into trouble, then worked through college courses to qualify for medical school.
Key Facts
Beattie first went to Polmont at 16 after crashing a stolen car while drunk.
He returned to the institution several times over the next four years as his involvement in gangs and violence grew.
Beattie says losing access to his television while isolated in custody gave him time to think about his future.
He left school at 15 and says caring for his parents affected his attendance and school performance.
After leaving Polmont, he started a personal training business and saved money to move away from Glasgow.
An access course at Glasgow Kelvin College helped him study physiology at the University of Glasgow before entering medical school.
Beattie hopes to specialise in surgery, neurology or emergency medicine.
He is also an award-winning mixed martial arts fighter known as “Doctor Beatdown.”
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Armed police responded after a car on the A48 in Morriston, Swansea, was found damaged in a way consistent with gunfire. A 41-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy have been arrested on suspicion of separate offences as police continue their investigation.
Key Facts
South Wales Police said the car was damaged in a way consistent with a firearm being discharged.
The incident happened on Friday in the Morriston area of Swansea.
A 41-year-old man from Llansamlet was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
A 16-year-old boy, also from Llansamlet, was arrested on suspicion of affray.
Police declared a critical incident and said the investigation was ongoing.
Road closures were in place, and residents were asked to avoid the area.
Morriston Town AFC cancelled a planned firework display.
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Vice President JD Vance has taken a leading role in indirect U.S.-Iran talks aimed at restoring a ceasefire and restarting nuclear negotiations. Qatar and Pakistan are helping mediate, and officials report slow progress, though a proposed technical meeting has not yet happened; President Donald Trump has said he is allowing diplomacy to continue while the U.S. military remains ready to strike if ordered.
Key Facts
Vance has spoken almost daily with Qatari and Pakistani mediators about negotiations with Iran, according to sources familiar with the talks.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner are also involved in the diplomatic effort.
Vance and mediators have discussed a possible working-level technical meeting between the U.S. and Iran, but it has not taken place.
Two weeks ago, Vance wrote to Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei proposing a return to direct negotiations.
Iranian officials said Vance’s letter helped build momentum for restarting negotiations.
Vance led U.S. negotiating efforts at an April summit in Islamabad and later at direct talks in Switzerland, according to the article.
Trump spoke with Qatar’s emir on Friday about Qatar’s efforts to bridge differences between Washington and Tehran.
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Windward tracked three Iran-linked sanctioned tankers and an Iranian fishing boat near undersea internet cables in the Gulf of Oman during October, the Financial Times reported. The vessel movements and periods with location transponders switched off have raised concern that Iran could target the cables, but the reported activity does not establish that an attack is planned. Iranian officials have threatened the cables amid escalating tensions with the United States and Israel.
Key Facts
Windward used vessel-tracking data and satellite images to monitor the ships near cable routes.
Two sanctioned tankers reportedly spent days drifting over cable corridors and carried no commercial cargo.
Some ships switched off their automatic identification system transponders, which normally broadcast their locations and other information.
Six active subsea cables cross the Strait of Hormuz, and two more cables have segments under construction in the region.
Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar rely entirely on subsea telecommunications connections through the Strait of Hormuz to connect with the outside world.
About one-third of India's westbound internet traffic travels through the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.
An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson warned on October 20 about seven major cables running through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials had previously threatened to impose fees on internet cables owned by US technology companies and other operators.
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A 35-year-old man has been charged with the murder of 39-year-old Carrie Mullane, who has been missing since arriving in Enniskillen on 10 October 2026. He is also charged with preventing the lawful burial of a corpse and is due to appear in court by video link on 7 November.
Key Facts
Mullane travelled from Limerick to Enniskillen on 10 October 2026.
Police charged a 35-year-old man with her murder.
The man also faces a charge of preventing the lawful burial of a corpse.
He is due to appear by video link before Dungannon Magistrates' Court on 7 November.
Police searched several locations in County Fermanagh on Friday, including Lough Erne.
Officers recovered a small boat and a camper van for examination.
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Archaeologists say evidence from a monumental tomb in Siberia suggests people used cannabis for its mind-altering effects at least 2,800 years ago. If confirmed, the finding would push back the earliest known evidence of psychoactive cannabis use by at least 300 years compared with evidence from neighboring China.
Key Facts
The study reports evidence from a monumental tomb in Siberia.
Researchers found cannabis seeds and preserved hair, according to the article’s headline.
The findings suggest cannabis was used for psychoactive purposes at least 2,800 years ago.
The researchers describe this as the earliest known evidence of cannabis use to get high.
The proposed date is at least 300 years earlier than previously known use in neighboring China.
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