Several Chinese brands have ended or suspended commercial ties with Kylian Mbappé amid online backlash over unverified clips that appear to show him joking about a meme depicting him as a Chinese dictator. Mbappé and the French talk show have not commented, and the brands cited hurt national feelings without explicitly naming the clip.
Key Facts
The clips reportedly show Mbappé calling a meme that places his face on an image resembling Mao Zedong his favorite.
The original interview video is no longer on the show’s YouTube channel, and Mbappé does not name Mao in the reported remarks.
Chinese football forum Dongqiudi drew attention to the remarks on Monday night and called them inappropriate.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said words and actions that hurt Chinese people’s feelings would face opposition.
Dairy company Mengniu and drinks company Dongpeng issued statements opposing actions that hurt or offend Chinese people’s feelings.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV is reportedly suspending La Liga matches, according to the outlet The Paper.
The article says Mbappé is popular in China and has had major commercial endorsements there.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Polls opened in Israel on Tuesday, October 27, in a national election widely viewed as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies. After the vote, a key question is whether the divided opposition, which includes an Arab-Israeli majority bloc, can unite to form a government.
Key Facts
Polls opened in Israel on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
The election is a national vote.
The vote is viewed as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies.
FRANCE 24 reporter Noga Tarnopolsky reported from Jerusalem.
The opposition is described as divided.
The opposition includes an Arab-Israeli majority bloc.
A key post-election question is whether opposition groups can join together to form a government.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A Spotlight on Corruption investigation found that UK officials involved in developing AI datacentre policy met 137 businesses from July 2024 to June 2026, but no environmental groups and only two community groups. The investigation also identified 38 ministers, senior civil servants and advisers who left government for jobs at AI companies between July 2024 and September 2026.
Key Facts
Spotlight on Corruption filed 40 freedom of information requests to 18 government agencies.
The meetings concerned the government’s AI growth zones and datacentre policy.
Nine of the 38 people who left government had worked at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The AI growth zone policy aimed to support large datacentre projects across five UK regions.
The article reports growing local opposition to planned datacentres, including campaigns in Scotland and east London.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Retreating glaciers in Italy’s Dolomites exposed World War I munitions, which the Italian army says it recovered and defused. Experts say the ice loss is linked to global heating and warn that newly exposed explosives can be dangerous to hikers and climbers.
Key Facts
The Italian army’s Julia Alpine brigade recovered and neutralised 250 explosives in the Trentino-Alto Adige region.
The munitions included 18 Italian 75mm artillery shells and 37 French-made Thevetot mortar shells.
Hikers reported several sightings during the summer, mostly near Canal San Bovo in the Primiero Valley.
The weapons date to the White War, fought between Austro-Hungarian and Italian forces from 1915 to 1918.
A University of Bergamo professor said dangerous relics emerge from the ice at the end of each summer, with more found in recent years.
Authorities advise hikers not to touch suspected explosive devices and to report discoveries to police.
A White War museum is scheduled to open in Bormio in June 2027.
Eleven people died when part of the Marmolada glacier broke off in 2022.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The United States, the European Union and 30 countries warned that food security in Sudan is worsening and called for urgent steps to prevent famine. They urged the army and the Rapid Support Forces to allow humanitarian aid, protect aid workers and avoid attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Key Facts
The joint statement was released by the U.S. State Department on Monday.
The signatories called on the parties fighting Sudan’s civil war to remove barriers to humanitarian assistance.
Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have fought since clashes began in April 2023.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 13 million, according to the article.
In June, the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said 5.1 million people in Sudan faced severe hunger.
The statement warned that without immediate action, the number of children suffering severe acute malnutrition could exceed 825,000.
The signatories called for aid access across front lines and borders, including air access to Darfur.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
South Korea’s GDP grew 1 percent in the July–September quarter from the previous quarter, beating the Bank of Korea’s 0.3 percent forecast. Strong exports of semiconductors and other goods, amid demand for AI-related chips, drove growth while private consumption declined.
Key Facts
GDP grew 3.4 percent year-on-year in the July–September quarter, according to advance estimates from the Bank of Korea.
Exports rose 2.3 percent from the previous quarter, led by semiconductors, machinery and electrical equipment.
Investment in facilities rose 4.1 percent, and investment in intellectual property increased 2.3 percent.
Construction investment grew 0.7 percent, while private consumption fell 0.2 percent.
South Korea’s finance minister projected 2026 growth of 3.4 to 3.6 percent, which would be the strongest expansion since 2011, excluding the pandemic period.
SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics together hold about 80 percent of the global high-bandwidth memory market and 60 percent of the dynamic random-access memory market.
South Korean exports in September rose 83.5 percent year-on-year to $120.9 billion, with chips accounting for nearly half of shipments.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The article examines whether Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first Budget will improve life in his Makerfield constituency, where residents face high living costs and community groups struggle to fund basic needs. Residents and local representatives say they want support that helps households and small businesses, while a community centre has received £20 million in Pride in Place funding over 10 years.
Key Facts
Platt Bridge Community Centre is run by volunteers and serves about 500 people, offering activities, a food bank and a warm space.
The centre recently raised thousands of pounds for a new roof.
Makerfield is described as one of the most deprived parts of Wigan.
Think tank IPPR North representative Zoe Billingham said the Budget will have to balance household cost pressures with wider economic challenges.
Platt Bridge and nearby Spring View have been awarded £20 million over 10 years through Pride in Place funding.
The government has announced a £2 bus fare cap, removal of VAT on domestic electricity bills and business rates relief for pubs and live music venues.
Sophie Lowe, a mother of a two-year-old, said rising petrol costs led her to leave a job in Merseyside for work closer to home.
The article says Burnham has admitted that existing cost-of-living measures are not enough and has hinted at further Budget support.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
First-time buyers in the West Midlands say rent, rising living costs and home prices make it difficult to save for a deposit. Ahead of the UK Budget, the government is expected to give more details about a proposed scheme offering eligible buyers 2.5% deposits and government-backed equity loans for new-build homes.
Key Facts
Pre Ramteke pays about £900 a month in rent before bills.
Ramteke estimates it could take three to four years to save a deposit for a typical three-bedroom home.
The average rate on a new five-year fixed mortgage deal has reached 6%, its highest level in three years.
Estate agent Zunara Tariq said many buyers struggle to save while managing rising living costs.
Self-employed electrician Tyne Steele said unexpected costs, such as car repairs, can reduce savings.
The proposed Your First Home scheme is expected to offer eligible first-time buyers 2.5% deposits and government-backed equity loans for new-build homes.
The article says the government is expected to provide further details of the scheme in this week's Budget.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Israelis are voting in a closely contested election, with polls placing incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu near neck and neck with Gadi Eisenkot. Neither political bloc is projected to win the 61 seats needed for a majority, so forming a government may require extended coalition talks.
Key Facts
Eisenkot leads the newly formed Yashar Party and is the main figure in the bloc seeking to remove Netanyahu from power.
Netanyahu is seeking to return to office through an alliance with far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties in his current coalition.
The opposition has criticized Netanyahu over the security failure before the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, which killed nearly 1,200 people and saw 251 people taken to Gaza as hostages.
Opposition leaders have called for an independent inquiry into the attacks; Netanyahu has opposed that proposal, saying the inquiry would be biased against him.
Netanyahu faces a corruption trial, whose charges he denies, and is pursuing proposed judicial reforms that previously prompted mass protests.
About 70,000 Israelis reportedly returned from abroad to vote, and about half a million people are voting for the first time.
Israel has two Arab party blocs; most leading Jewish parties have ruled out working with them.
Israeli broadcasters are scheduled to publish exit polls at 22:00 local time on Tuesday, though the article notes that exit polls can vary from final results.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will join Poh Ling Yeow as a special guest co-host on the 2027 season of Junior MasterChef Australia, Channel 10 confirmed. Meghan said she enjoys cooking with her children and looks forward to seeing what the young contestants make.
Key Facts
Meghan appeared as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia last year.
Paramount ANZ said Meghan’s guest-judge appearance drew the show’s largest Sunday audience since 2023.
Network 10 did not tell the BBC whether Meghan will be paid for co-hosting Junior MasterChef Australia.
Meghan and Prince Harry visited Australia for four days in April.
Meghan’s Netflix lifestyle and cookery show, With Love, Meghan, ran for two series and a Christmas special.
Meghan launched the lifestyle brand As Ever, which ended its partnership with Netflix in March.
Thomas Markle denies allegations of child sexual abuse.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Representative Randy Fine said people who lied on immigration forms to obtain U.S. citizenship should be denaturalized and deported. Asked whether that standard should apply to Melania Trump and Elon Musk, he said he did not know their circumstances and knew of no allegations against them.
Key Facts
Fine is a Florida Republican.
Melania Trump was born in Slovenia and became a U.S. citizen in 2006, according to the White House.
Elon Musk was born in South Africa and became a U.S. citizen through naturalization in 2002, according to his biographer Walter Isaacson.
Fine called for reviewing the cases of people naturalized since 1990 and said Representative Ilhan Omar should be the first examined.
Federal agents searched Omar’s Washington-area home on October 12 as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation, according to the Justice Department.
Omar has not been charged in connection with the investigation.
The Associated Press reported that federal authorities issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some of Omar’s relatives.
Omar has denied allegations that she married her former husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to help him enter the United States.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data recorded 188,421 deaths in 2025. Dementia caused 19,019 deaths, more than 10% of the total, while asthma deaths reached their highest level in a decade.
Key Facts
Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, was the leading cause of death in Australia for the second year in a row.
Ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, lung cancer and chronic respiratory disease were also among the leading causes of death in 2025.
An estimated 446,500 Australians live with dementia, and 1.7 million people are involved in their care.
Asthma caused 484 deaths in 2025, compared with 478 in 2024; women accounted for almost two-thirds of asthma deaths.
Drug-induced deaths rose to 2,063 in 2025 from 2,007 in 2024, with opioids and benzodiazepines the most common drug classes involved.
The ABS reported substantial growth in deaths after stimulant use, including methamphetamine.
Suicide was the leading cause of premature death for males and females; men accounted for almost three-quarters of these deaths.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese conceded that he was wrong to tell Parliament a A$6 million grant to Marrickville Golf Club would fund work to stop raw sewage entering the Cooks River. Officials said sewerage work was not part of the federal grant, which is under scrutiny as part of a A$560 million grants scheme.
Key Facts
The grant went to Marrickville Golf Club in Albanese’s Sydney electorate.
Infrastructure department assistant secretary Jacinta McDonald told a Senate hearing that sewerage was not part of the grant.
Albanese had previously told Parliament that the funding would help stop raw sewage entering the Cooks River during floods.
Albanese acknowledged that his statement about the grant funding sewerage work was incorrect.
He said the project could include clubhouse improvements, stormwater harvesting, a new toilet and landscaping.
Albanese said the New South Wales government had committed to addressing sewerage infrastructure at the club.
Transparency advocates have questioned the A$560 million invitation-only grants scheme, saying it largely funded projects promised at the 2025 election in Labor-held seats.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
At least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two attacks on October 20 and 24 in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, according to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The church said more than 20 people were seriously injured and 20 homes were burned; no group has claimed responsibility.
Key Facts
Fourteen people were killed in Gora Silingo, in Merti district, on October 20.
Forty-six people were killed in Tereta, Chole and Birbo villages, in Shirka district, on October 24.
Both districts are in the Arsi Zone of central Oromia.
The church called for stronger civilian protection and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
Oromia’s regional government pledged to pursue those responsible.
A local official reportedly accused a rebel alliance that includes the Oromo Liberation Army, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility; the OLA has previously denied attacking civilians.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council reported that at least 432 civilians and four local militia members were killed in targeted attacks across East Arsi between 2021–22 and June 1 of this year.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Israeli forces imposed a lockdown and carried out raids and demolitions in the Hebron area after two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three at a checkpoint. Residents and local sources reported thousands displaced, hundreds of homes searched and many arrests, while restrictions and sieges also affected other West Bank communities.
Key Facts
The shooting took place at a checkpoint on Hebron’s northern entrance on Friday; the two gunmen were killed afterward.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Hebron isolated and said troops would search homes in the gunmen’s neighbourhood.
Hebron Municipality data cited by Wafa said at least 3,171 Palestinians from 488 families had been displaced by Monday.
Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin said forces searched more than 500 homes, arrested more than 70 people and closed 128 gates and 120 checkpoints.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said those displaced included 127 infants, 81 pregnant women and 26 people with disabilities.
The article reported demolitions of a three-apartment building and several businesses in Farsh al-Hawa.
Residents described continuing restrictions and sieges in communities including Wadi al-Rakheem, Umm Safa and Madama.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Residents and businesses in Surrey say high housing, food, energy and operating costs are putting pressure on household budgets and hospitality businesses. Ahead of the Chancellor’s budget, people interviewed by BBC Radio Surrey called for lower food and business costs and more support for families and local businesses.
Key Facts
Surrey has average house prices of about £500,000 and high rents, according to the article.
Thames Side Brewery owner Andy Hayward said hospitality businesses are struggling and called for lower business rates and VAT on hospitality.
Hayward said live music helps attract customers to his pub and brewery in Staines.
Lucy, a mother of two from Banstead, said she relies on a local food pantry and wants ministers to reduce food prices.
Jo Burton from Hersham said food and school uniforms have become more expensive.
James Stevenson said his household runs out of money before the end of each month despite budgeting and keeping costs low.
The Walton Charity says 68% of people in poverty in Elmbridge are in working households.
The Treasury said the government had removed VAT from electricity bills, extended the 5p fuel duty cut, and frozen rail fares and prescription charges.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
President Donald Trump faces a gap between economic indicators and how many voters feel about the cost of living, echoing a challenge Joe Biden faced in 2024. U.S. growth and employment remain relatively strong, but prices are still high and have risen faster than average hourly earnings over the past year.
Key Facts
The article reports U.S. economic growth of 2.2% and an unemployment rate of 4.2%.
It says the stock market is near record highs.
Consumer prices rose 3.7% over the past year, while average hourly earnings rose 3%.
Trump promised during the 2024 campaign to bring prices down quickly.
The article links current higher energy prices to the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran and says some Trump trade and immigration policies have also affected prices.
White House spokesman Matthew Middleton said the administration's economic agenda had blunted what he called Biden's inflation crisis.
Pollster Celinda Lake said voters often understand falling inflation to mean that prices return to earlier levels, while economists mean that prices rise more slowly.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Israelis are voting in the country’s first election since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. The closely contested race pits Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against centrist challenger Gadi Eisenkot, with security, accountability and Israel’s political direction central to the campaign.
Key Facts
The election is taking place after three years of regional wars that followed the October 7 attack.
The latest published polls showed Netanyahu and Eisenkot running neck and neck.
About 7.3 million people are eligible to vote, including more than half a million first-time young voters.
Netanyahu has served as prime minister for more than 19 years across multiple terms.
Netanyahu campaigned on his security record and his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu’s coalition includes far-right nationalist parties whose influence has grown.
Opposition parties criticize Netanyahu’s support for exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox religious students, as the military faces personnel shortages.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Some UK retailers reported sharp increases in sales of emergency supplies after Defence Secretary Wes Streeting urged people to keep basic goods at home. The government advice cited items such as water, tinned food, torches and phone chargers to prepare for disruptions including cyber attacks and extreme weather.
Key Facts
Iceland said sales of tinned products rose 40% over the weekend and reported strong bottled-water sales.
Robert Dyas reported a 160% increase in radio sales compared with the previous week.
Maplin said radio sales rose 92%, torch sales rose 284% and power-bank sales rose 106% after the government announcement, compared with the same period in the previous month.
Streeting’s October 22 advice included three litres of water per person per day, tinned goods, baby food, battery-powered torches and mobile-phone charging packs.
Independent online retailer Sgt Prepper’s said its sales increased tenfold after the government’s Be Ready campaign began.
Preppers Shop UK’s founder reported a 650% increase in sales after the announcement.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at a Republican campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that 500 million Arabs do not produce science, win major prizes, or produce literature. Nobel Prize records cited in the article include Arab recipients in science, literature, and peace. Kennedy spoke amid a Michigan Senate race dispute over Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood; El-Sayed has denied ties and disavowed the group.
Key Facts
Kennedy made the remarks at a Republican campaign rally in Grand Rapids on Monday.
He was discussing the Muslim Brotherhood after referencing Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
Rogers and his allies have sought to link Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood.
El-Sayed has denied ties to the group and publicly disavowed it.
Egyptian scientist Ahmed Zewail won the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Yemeni journalist and activist Tawakkol Karman shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.
Kennedy also visited Corewell Health to promote an initiative on hospital food and nutrition education.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
