A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison for colluding with foreign forces under the national security law. Wong pleaded guilty to charges linked to efforts to seek foreign sanctions and blockades against Beijing; part of his new term will run alongside his current sentence.
Key Facts
Wong is 30 and has been in custody for six years.
The court said two months and two days of the 10-year sentence will run concurrently with his existing sentence.
Prosecutors said Wong and other campaigners, including self-exiled activist Nathan Law, sought foreign sanctions and blockades against Beijing.
The alleged activities took place from July to late November 2020.
Wong pleaded guilty to the latest charges in September.
Wong is already serving a sentence for subversion and had been due for release early next year.
Wong co-founded the student activist group Scholarism in 2011 and the pro-democracy party Demosisto in 2016.
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A BBC investigation found more than 1,650 known asbestos items across the Palace of Westminster and the wider parliamentary estate, about 500 more than in 2021. MPs are being urged to approve a major restoration that could cost up to £40 billion and take 61 years, while parliamentary officials say they are monitoring asbestos and removing it where possible.
Key Facts
Surveys for the planned refurbishment found additional asbestos items.
About 700 asbestos items have been removed from Parliament in the past five years, but the known total has still increased.
Almost 200 identified asbestos items are classed as medium risk under Health and Safety Executive guidance.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee said each year of delay costs taxpayers an estimated £420 million.
Parliamentary authorities say a fully asbestos-free building is not practical without demolition or extensive damage to the building.
Parliament says it has improved asbestos monitoring, introduced awareness training and plans further removal.
Mesothelioma UK supports a national asbestos register and phased removal from public buildings.
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Former Israeli military generals offered help to Palestinian olive farmers in the occupied West Bank. They voiced frustration over violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians harvesting olives.
Key Facts
A group of former Israeli military generals offered assistance to Palestinian olive farmers.
The farmers are in the occupied West Bank.
The generals spoke out about Israeli settler violence against Palestinians harvesting olives.
The article does not specify what form the assistance would take.
The article does not provide details about particular incidents of violence.
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South Africa is counting votes in local municipal council elections after a record 29.2 million people registered. The election is seen as a test for the ANC, which has largely led the country since apartheid ended.
Key Facts
Vote counting is underway across South Africa.
The elections are for local municipal councils.
A record 29.2 million people registered to vote.
The election is viewed as a test for the national ANC party.
The ANC has largely led South Africa since the end of apartheid rule.
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South Korea plans to send maritime patrol aircraft and an explosive ordnance disposal team to waters near the Strait of Hormuz as part of an expanded mission for its Cheonghae anti-piracy unit. Seoul says the mission will protect shipping and energy supplies but will not involve combat or intervention in the US-Iran war.
Key Facts
The planned deployment includes a destroyer, a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, an explosive ordnance disposal team, and unmanned and remotely operated vehicles.
South Korea plans to expand the Cheonghae unit’s operational area from the Gulf of Aden to waters near the Strait of Hormuz.
The defence ministry says the mission will operate independently of allied forces and remain limited to non-combat duties.
The patrol aircraft will not target or monitor Iranian territory, Iranian territorial waters, or the interior of the Strait of Hormuz.
Extending the Cheonghae unit’s authorization beyond the end of the year requires parliamentary approval, Yonhap reported.
The US-Iran war, which began on February 28, has disrupted shipping through the strait, which normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil.
Iran has warned South Korea against contributing to security operations near the waterway.
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The UK has agreed to structured, time-limited talks with affected parties about the transatlantic slave trade and its historical harms, according to a Commonwealth leaders’ statement. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he is open to a formal apology but rules out reparations; Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said talks could finish in about a year.
Key Facts
The Commonwealth meeting’s final communiqué says the UK agreed to inclusive, good-faith talks with affected parties about the slave trade and its historical harms.
Officials said the talks’ timeframe will be agreed later.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband suggested the talks may conclude in around a year.
Asked whether the UK might issue a formal apology by the G20 summit in Manchester next November, Miliband said, “Broadly speaking, yes.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he is open to a formal apology on behalf of the UK but ruled out reparations.
King Charles III said the transatlantic slave trade still casts a shadow over Commonwealth members and expressed profound sorrow about it.
Commonwealth leaders met in Antigua and Barbuda.
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El Salvador has sent more than 2,000 troops and military equipment to Haiti after four Salvadoran aviation technicians disappeared in a gang ambush on October 18. Haitian police later found the burned vehicle used by the men, but their whereabouts remain unknown; the deployment has also raised questions about oversight and the use of force.
Key Facts
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele posted videos of Salvadoran soldiers patrolling in Haiti and said they were helping Haitians confront gangs.
Haitian police found the burned remains of a truck believed to have been used by the four missing Salvadoran technicians in Croix-des-Bouquets.
Police found the vehicle during a joint operation with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force and Salvadoran troops.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said about 200 Salvadoran soldiers fall under the Gang Suppression Force’s jurisdiction.
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime said foreign forces were operating under Haitian authority and were supporting, not replacing, the state.
Gang leader Wilson Joseph told the Associated Press that he had asked the UN secretary-general for an opportunity to hold dialogue and said he was concerned about civilian deaths.
Haiti delayed the first round of national elections from December 13, 2026, to July 18, 2027; the second round is scheduled for October 4, 2027.
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Pope Leo XIV hosted Bob Dylan at the Apostolic Palace in Rome on Wednesday, during Dylan’s Italian tour. The brief meeting included gifts, and Dylan is scheduled to perform in Rome on Thursday.
Key Facts
Dylan and Pope Leo XIV are both from the U.S. Midwest.
Leo gave Dylan a rosary, and Dylan gave Leo a copy of his autobiography, *Chronicles: Volume One*.
Dylan, 85, is touring Italy with his *Rough and Rowdy Ways* tour.
Dylan is scheduled to perform at Rome’s Palazzo dello Sport on Thursday.
Leo quoted Dylan’s unreleased anti-nuclear song “Go Away You Bomb” in the preface to a book about peace.
Dylan previously met Pope John Paul II in Bologna in 1997 and performed four songs at an event attended by about 300,000 young people.
John Paul II quoted Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” in a sermon at the 1997 event.
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Israeli President Isaac Herzog accepted the certified results of the October 27 parliamentary election and began consulting party leaders about who should form the next government. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc has a majority, while election officials said they found no evidence that fraud affected the result.
Key Facts
Netanyahu’s coalition won 53 seats and Eisenkot’s bloc won 48 in the 120-seat parliament; 61 seats are needed for a majority.
Arab-led parties Ra’am and the Joint List won 19 seats combined, a record for the parties.
Ra’am said it would recommend Eisenkot, bringing his expected support to 56 lawmakers, according to Ynet.
The Joint List had not announced its position; its 11 seats could give Eisenkot a majority if it supports him.
A faction holding four seats within United Torah Judaism said it would recommend neither candidate, citing a dispute over military-service exemptions for Haredi men.
Israel’s elections commission said it found no evidence of irregularities that compromised the election or affected its results.
After consultations, Herzog will choose a candidate to try to form a government. The nominee will have 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension.
If neither candidate forms a government, Israel could hold another election early next year.
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Former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon testified in his double murder trial in the New South Wales Supreme Court. He denied the charges and alleged that a former supervisor made homophobic remarks while they worked together.
Key Facts
A 15-person jury is hearing the case in the New South Wales Supreme Court.
Lamarre-Condon is accused of fatally shooting Jesse Baird and Luke Davies on 19 February 2024.
Prosecutors allege the shootings happened at Baird’s home in Paddington, Sydney.
Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two murder charges and aggravated break and enter.
He is the first defence witness to testify in the trial.
Lamarre-Condon told the court that a former supervisor made homophobic remarks.
He alleged the supervisor used an anti-gay slur while responding to a domestic violence report.
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Beau Lamarre-Condon began giving evidence for his defence in a double-murder trial at the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney. He denies murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies; his defence says the men were shot during separate struggles and that Lamarre-Condon later disposed of their bodies after panicking.
Key Facts
Lamarre-Condon, 31, is accused of shooting Baird and Davies with his police service weapon at Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024.
He has pleaded not guilty to two murder charges and one charge of aggravated break and enter.
He was the first defence witness and testified before a 15-person jury.
The prosecution called more than 50 witnesses during the first seven weeks of the trial.
Prosecutors presented hours of CCTV footage and pages of social media messages.
The defence has said the shootings happened during two separate struggles in which Lamarre-Condon acted in self-defence.
Defence lawyer John Stratton SC said Lamarre-Condon cleaned up the scene and disposed of the bodies because he panicked.
Justice Natalie Adams is overseeing the trial.
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British Columbia authorities said more than one grizzly bear may have been involved in an attack that relatives say killed a mother and daughter near Bella Coola. Search teams found the second body on Tuesday, a day after they found the first remains.
Key Facts
The incident occurred near Bella Coola on British Columbia’s central coast.
Relatives said the victims were a mother and daughter who died in a bear attack.
The Conservation Officer Service said multiple grizzlies may have been involved.
Inspector Jeff Tyre said the second body was found Tuesday afternoon.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police and conservation officers searched for the second person.
Authorities found the first remains on Monday.
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President Donald Trump said the Iran war hurt Republicans in the midterm elections, but he has not said how he will end it. His options include resuming strikes, negotiating a deal, or maintaining a naval blockade and sanctions while waiting for Iran to negotiate.
Key Facts
Trump said Vice President JD Vance's view that the war contributed to the Republican losses was largely true, citing higher gas prices.
Trump said the United States could not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and that he would act again if necessary.
Vance publicly blamed the war for the midterm defeat and said the U.S. relationship with Israel had also become a political liability.
The article reports that Vance and other senior officials had urged Trump to seek a deal with Iran.
The U.S. military is preparing for a possible return to major combat operations and has sent additional assets to the region, according to U.S. officials.
Qatari mediators are seeking U.S. and Iranian backing for a draft agreement that could avert renewed fighting and restart direct talks.
Iranian official Mohsen Rezaei described the Republican election losses as a political defeat for Trump and said Americans were paying for the war.
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Police said Hubert Aiwanger, 55, a senior Bavarian politician, was found dead in a Berlin hotel on Wednesday. Authorities opened an investigation to establish the cause and circumstances of his death and to rule out third-party involvement; they had not announced a cause.
Key Facts
Police found Aiwanger in a hotel room in Berlin-Mitte, according to a police statement.
Aiwanger was Bavaria’s economy minister and led the Free Voters party’s Bavarian branch.
He was in Berlin for the opening of a party office but missed the event after reportedly feeling unwell.
Bavaria’s state premier, Markus Söder, called his death a tragedy and expressed sympathy for Aiwanger’s family.
The Free Voters became part of Bavaria’s state government in 2018, in coalition with the Christian Social Union.
Aiwanger faced controversy in 2023 over an antisemitic pamphlet reportedly written when he was a teenager; he denied writing it and apologized over the affair.
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Laura Sides learned that she inherited the gene linked to the rare early-onset dementia that affected her father. At 43, she says she is waiting to see whether symptoms begin near the age doctors predicted, while taking part in medical trials and running a food business.
Key Facts
Sides’s father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in his 40s.
A doctor told Sides she had a 50% chance of inheriting the condition.
In 2013, a specialist said a genetic test could determine with 99.999% certainty whether she had inherited the gene.
Sides decided to take the test after entering her 30s and completing six months of genetic counselling.
The test confirmed that she had inherited the gene; doctors predicted her decline might begin at age 46 to 48.
Sides is now 43 and says she is waiting for symptoms to appear.
She has taken part in medical trials and owns a cafe, restaurant and catering business with two friends.
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Guinea-Bissau cancelled a proposed US-funded trial that would have tested the effects of giving newborns a hepatitis B vaccine at birth. The study planned to give the vaccine to half of 14,000 babies and withhold it from the rest, drawing criticism from the WHO and others because the vaccine is recommended to protect newborns.
Key Facts
The trial was planned at the Bandim Health Project, a research centre in Guinea-Bissau.
Researchers planned to enroll 14,000 newborns, with half receiving the vaccine shortly after birth.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded the University of Southern Denmark $1.6 million for the study in December 2025.
The WHO said withholding a vaccine proven to protect newborns raised an ethical concern.
Guinea-Bissau vaccinates children against hepatitis B at six weeks, although the WHO recommends a birth dose.
Nearly one-fifth of Guinea-Bissau's population is infected with hepatitis B, according to the article.
The government prohibited hepatitis B vaccine trials involving children in January and asked the Africa CDC to help assess the study.
Police seized a batch of vaccines from the research centre at the centre of the dispute.
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UK health charities are taking a larger role in patient care, including services that the NHS may not be able to provide. Supporters say charitable funding helps patients, while critics warn that charities can end up filling gaps in stretched public services and that wealthier communities may benefit more.
Key Facts
Dementia UK funds virtual clinics that support more than 100 patients and family members each week.
The clinic began during the Covid pandemic and continued because demand remained strong.
Charities work in areas including dementia, children's care, mental health and cancer services.
Some charities have formal NHS contracts, while others work alongside NHS services.
The article says the NHS in England spends nearly £2 billion a year buying services from not-for-profit and voluntary organisations.
Cancer charities are estimated to raise more than £1 billion a year.
The article says more than 220 NHS charities are attached to hospitals or community services and raises the history of public concern about healthcare depending on charity.
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A review of youth employment led by former Labour minister Alan Milburn is expected to recommend government-backed jobs and flexible work arrangements for disabled and chronically ill people aged 16 to 24. The proposals aim to address barriers to work through wage subsidies, skills support and jobs designed around individual abilities.
Key Facts
The Milburn review is due to report this month.
About one million young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training, a group known as Neets.
Disabled or unwell young people make up 45% of Neets and are three times as likely to be Neet as their non-disabled peers.
The review is expected to recommend a Danish-style flexi-job scheme, with adjustable hours and government wage top-ups.
It will also propose job carving, which divides tasks from one role into separate jobs suited to different workers.
Nearly half of 24-year-old Neets have never worked, according to the article.
Milburn has suggested redirecting some of the £4 billion spent each year on disability benefits for young people toward employment and training support.
The proposals may face opposition from campaigners and Labour MPs concerned that benefit cuts could increase poverty.
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Former SAS officer George Simm has denied that the unit carried out shoot-to-kill missions during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. He described a 1988 ambush near Omagh in which three IRA members were killed, and criticized the UK government’s proposed legislation on the conflict’s legacy, while the government says the bill includes safeguards for veterans.
Key Facts
Simm served with the SAS in Northern Ireland during the 1970s and 1980s and says he took part in hundreds of operations.
He said the SAS arrested more people than it killed, though there are no official figures for killings carried out by the unit.
Simm commanded the SAS unit involved in the 1988 Drumnakilly ambush near Omagh, where three IRA members were killed.
The three men were Gerard Harte, Martin Harte and Brian Mullan, who, according to the article, planned to kill an off-duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
Simm said the IRA members fired at soldiers during the ambush and that the soldiers opened fire after one man ran around the truck.
Simm criticized the UK government’s proposed Troubles legacy legislation, saying it abandoned veterans.
The Northern Ireland Office said the proposed bill includes safeguards for veterans and requires consideration of the Army’s operational context and orders.
The Troubles lasted about 30 years and caused more than 3,500 deaths.
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Iranian officials welcomed the results of the U.S. midterm elections, describing the vote as a rejection of war. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he accepted last week’s election results and would consult party leaders about forming a new government. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched more than 300 drones overnight.
Key Facts
Iranian officials welcomed the results of the U.S. midterm elections.
Iranian officials characterized the vote as a rejection of war.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he accepted the results of last week’s election.
Herzog said he would consult party leaders on forming a new government.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched more than 300 drones overnight.
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