Zimbabwe’s mining sector earned a record $8.5 billion in export revenue in 2025, with gold and platinum-group metals helping drive the increase. In communities near major platinum operations, residents say roads, schools, water services and local livelihoods have not kept pace with mining activity.
Key Facts
Platinum reached $2,923 an ounce on January 26, according to the World Platinum Investment Council.
Zimbabwe has the world’s second-largest known deposits of platinum-group metals, after South Africa.
Mining accounts for about 75 percent of Zimbabwe’s exports and 14.5 percent of its gross domestic product, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration.
The mining sector’s export earnings rose from $5.9 billion in 2024 to $8.5 billion in 2025, according to the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe’s then-president, John Musekiwa.
Zimplats operates mines, concentrators and processing facilities in the Mhondoro-Ngezi district, on the Great Dyke mineral belt.
A local councillor said some children walk 15 to 25 kilometres to reach Musinambi Secondary School and called for a satellite school in Makwavarara.
Residents near the mining area said that infrastructure and basic services have not kept pace with the area’s growth.
Residents alleged that sewage from the mining area entered the Ngwazani River; the article excerpt does not provide a response from the mining company or verification of the claim.
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A federal judge ruled that Bill Essayli is unlawfully serving as the top U.S. prosecutor for the Central District of California. The order will not take effect until the court decides whether to pause it during the government’s appeal; Essayli said he plans to remain in the role while the case proceeds.
Key Facts
U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright said Essayli is unlawfully serving as a de facto U.S. attorney.
Essayli was appointed acting U.S. attorney by the Trump administration last year.
Federal law limits acting U.S. attorneys’ service to 120 days.
After that 120-day period, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Essayli as first assistant U.S. attorney.
The administration did not appoint another acting U.S. attorney, leaving Essayli as the district’s top prosecutor in practice.
Seabright said Essayli’s appointment resembled one the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had found unlawful in a Nevada case.
Attorney General Todd Blanche later revised Essayli’s designation, but Seabright said the changes did not materially distinguish it from the Nevada appointment.
The ruling will not take effect until the court rules on the government’s request to pause it during an appeal.
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Simon Tisdall argues that President Donald Trump may renew military action against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections, potentially alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He warns that another attack could raise energy prices and disrupt trade, and says diplomacy is needed to prevent wider harm.
Key Facts
The article says Trump reportedly rejected Netanyahu’s push for an attack on Iran this month, partly because of concerns about the midterm elections.
Tisdall argues that Trump’s political calculations may change after the midterm polls close.
The article says Netanyahu may favor renewed conflict to strengthen his position in post-election coalition talks.
The article reports that a renewed assault could target a mountain complex where Iran’s enriched uranium is believed to be stored.
Pentagon officials reportedly say Iran could retaliate against Gulf oil infrastructure and undersea internet cables.
The article warns that attacks or disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab could affect energy supplies, transport and trade.
Tisdall argues that renewed fighting could push oil prices higher and harm consumers worldwide.
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E!’s The Golden Life follows original The Real Housewives of New York City cast members Sonja Morgan, Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Ramona Singer and Kelly Bensimon as they spend time in Palm Beach and the Hamptons. The women say the new series shows their friendships and lives beyond their roles as wives and mothers on RHONY.
Key Facts
The Golden Life features Morgan, de Lesseps, Medley, Singer and Bensimon.
The series follows the women in Palm Beach, Florida, and the Hamptons, New York.
The article describes the cast as being at a stage of life with adult children and, for most, former husbands.
The cast members say they have genuine friendships and rely on one another off camera.
The women say the new series differs from RHONY by focusing on their lives outside the roles of wives and mothers.
Medley has appeared on two seasons of The Traitors and has a book titled I Know a Thing or Two About a Thing or Two coming out.
De Lesseps has developed a cabaret career.
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Hakeem Jeffries could become the first Black speaker of the House if Democrats win control in the midterm elections, according to forecasts cited in the article. The article says that, like recent Republican speakers, he may face pressure from ideological factions within his party as he tries to lead a narrow or divided caucus.
Key Facts
John Boehner resigned as House speaker in 2015 and later described negotiating without reliable support from his own party as difficult.
Paul Ryan faced threats from conservative Republicans before his party lost the House majority in the 2018 midterms.
Kevin McCarthy needed 15 ballots to become speaker in January 2023 and was removed after 269 days.
Eight Republicans joined Democrats in voting to remove McCarthy, the first time the House had ousted a speaker by vote.
After McCarthy’s removal, House Republicans spent three weeks and considered four nominees before choosing Mike Johnson as speaker.
Hakeem Jeffries leads House Democrats and represents Brooklyn, New York.
Jeffries told reporters at an October campaign event in Pennsylvania that Democrats were on the verge of regaining control of the House, while saying they were taking nothing for granted.
The article links the rise of Republican internal opposition to the Tea Party and the House Freedom Caucus, and describes current Democratic grassroots energy as coming from groups including Democratic Socialists of America.
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The Echo project in Sheffield sells pre-loved clothes, including school uniforms, for as little as 50p. Organisers say it helps families access affordable clothing, reduces waste and gives local people a place to meet and take part in community activities.
Key Facts
The Echo project operates at York House in Manor Top and on City Road in Sheffield.
Manor and Castle Development Trust runs the project with community interest company Uni-Recycle.
The project sells coats, shoes, sportswear and school uniforms.
Some school uniforms cost 50p, including items that may have originally sold for £14.
Organisers say the project aims to make second-hand clothing accessible and reduce clothing sent to landfill.
The trust also offers activities and support including toddler groups, employment help and physical and mental wellbeing services.
The project says affordable sportswear and trainers can help people take part in physical activity.
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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he intends to leave office when his third term ends in April 2030, though the article notes that he has reversed similar statements before. It argues that he may be preparing a succession that preserves the military’s powerful role in Egypt’s political system, amid economic strain and concerns about accountability for his rule.
Key Facts
El-Sisi said at a military academy graduation ceremony that he plans to leave office in April 2030 and that the constitution would not be changed to extend his rule.
El-Sisi previously denied plans to run for president in 2013 and said in 2017 that he would preserve the constitution’s term limits, but he later supported constitutional amendments in 2019.
Egypt’s constitution, as amended in 2019, gives the armed forces a role in protecting the state and what it describes as the people’s rights and freedoms.
Egypt’s debt is reported at 81 percent of gross domestic product, and interest payments exceed combined spending on healthcare, education, wages and subsidies.
The Egyptian pound has lost more than 80 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar since 2014, while cumulative inflation exceeds 460 percent.
El-Sisi came to power after the 2013 coup against President Mohamed Morsi, which was followed by mass killings and the imprisonment of tens of thousands of politicians, activists and journalists.
The article describes speculation that el-Sisi’s announcement could be a bid to seek public support for another term or to head off possible military action, but says a military-shaped succession is more likely.
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Mair Godley, 78, says Reform UK councillor Carl Johnson compared her to a Nazi collaborator after she said she had volunteered to teach English to asylum seekers near Wethersfield, Essex. A draft meeting record says the discussion became heated and Johnson was asked to leave; Godley’s husband has filed a formal complaint with Essex County Council.
Key Facts
The Godleys live near the former Wethersfield military base, where the Home Office houses hundreds of asylum seekers.
At a parish council meeting on 14 October, Nick Godley questioned Johnson about potholes and Operation Vanguard, a private-security patrol scheme.
Mair Godley said she had volunteered to help asylum seekers at the facility learn English.
The couple say Johnson called her help “facilitating the invasion” and compared it to helping Germany during the Second World War.
Johnson also said he did not want to raise his daughter to be raped and murdered by asylum seekers, according to the article.
Draft meeting minutes say the discussion became heated and Johnson was asked to leave to restore order.
Nick Godley filed a formal complaint with Essex County Council, which said it would comment after investigating and finding a breach.
Reform UK and Johnson did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
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Australia’s annual inflation rate rose from 4% to 4.3% in September, with higher fuel prices accounting for much of the increase. Treasurer Jim Chalmers pointed to the Iran conflict and global data-centre investment as external pressures, while a poll found more voters blamed government spending for rising living costs; the Reserve Bank was expected to consider another rate rise.
Key Facts
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that fuel costs rose 9.4% in September.
Petrol and diesel prices were on average 24% higher than a year earlier.
The Reserve Bank’s preferred measure of underlying inflation rose from 3.6% to 3.7% in the year to the September quarter.
In an Essential poll, 31% of voters named government spending as the top cause of rising living costs.
In the same poll, 24% cited overseas events such as the global oil shock, and 19% cited supermarket price gouging.
The poll found that 61% of Australians thought the country was on the wrong track, while 25% thought it was on the right track.
Reserve Bank officials said they were more concerned about inflation becoming entrenched than about rising unemployment, which had reached a five-year high.
The article said another interest rate rise was expected the following Tuesday; it would take the cash rate to 4.85% if delivered.
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Anthropic reported that 50 professional analysts often followed the preferences of AI assistants during a fictional policy task. The company said the results suggest AI can influence expert decisions, but noted that the study used one task and assistants deliberately given a preference.
Key Facts
Anthropic asked 50 professional analysts to assess whether a fictional advisory program for a farming cooperative should be expanded.
Analysts made four choices between defensible options before giving a final policy recommendation.
Anthropic secretly set each AI assistant to favor a particular decision.
Analysts selected options matching their assistant’s preference 86 percent of the time.
Analysts who had formed a preference changed their decision 60 percent of the time when the AI disagreed.
When explaining their decisions, 77 percent of analysts used arguments from their AI assistant, while 15 percent credited AI as the source of their thinking.
Anthropic said the study had limitations, including its use of a single task and assistants deliberately given a preference.
The researchers said oversight should examine how decisions are made and help experts state their assumptions and values.
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Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost Brazil’s presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, landed in the United States, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The U.S. State Department said it would allow Bolsonaro and his family to enter and issue them visas; Brazilian authorities had been investigating whether he left the country.
Key Facts
Lula defeated Flávio Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential runoff on Sunday.
Two sources told ABC News that Bolsonaro landed in the United States.
A senior State Department official said the United States would allow Bolsonaro and his family to enter and issue them visas.
Brazilian authorities said they did not know Bolsonaro’s whereabouts and were investigating whether he had left for the United States.
Brazilian authorities are investigating Bolsonaro in connection with a sports betting case and a probe into a film about his father, Jair Bolsonaro.
Two U.S. officials said the Trump administration had tracked Bolsonaro’s plans and expected him to leave Brazil for the United States.
Trump said Brazil’s election looked rigged, but the article reported no evidence supporting that claim.
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U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said he intends to appoint a special master to examine how the Justice Department compiled a list of about 20,000 California voters it says may be noncitizens. He did not rule on the department’s request to block the state from counting ballots linked to the list, and said he expects to issue a ruling on the case’s next steps by October 28.
Key Facts
The Justice Department sued California over roughly 20,000 registered voters it alleges are likely noncitizens.
The department asked the court to stop California from counting ballots associated with the list in the November 3 midterm election.
Carter said he intends to appoint a special master to review how the department created the list.
The judge did not rule on the Justice Department’s request for a temporary restraining order at Tuesday’s hearing.
Carter described the requested change to California’s election process as monumental.
State officials and other opponents argued that the lawsuit could disrupt ballot counting and intrude on state control of elections.
Carter urged that threats against state and county election workers stop immediately.
A federal appeals court declined on Monday to order California to set aside the ballots, sending the matter back to the district court.
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A Talent for Murder stars Helen Mirren as crime novelist Patricia Highsmith and Alden Ehrenreich as a young editor who asks her to write another Tom Ripley novel. The actors discuss Highsmith’s relationship with Ripley, her writing and the process of researching her life for the psychological thriller.
Key Facts
Helen Mirren portrays a fictionalized Patricia Highsmith, author of the Tom Ripley series.
Alden Ehrenreich plays Edward, a young editor who seeks to persuade Highsmith to write another Ripley book.
The film follows the tense exchanges between Highsmith and Edward as they question each other’s motives.
Ehrenreich describes Edward as a fictional character who learns from the Ripley story.
The article says Highsmith’s diaries confirmed her romantic relationships with women.
Mirren and Ehrenreich said they researched Highsmith while preparing for the film.
Mirren said the Ripley stories continue to reveal new elements to readers across generations.
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A survey of 1,115 U.S. adults who shop at least every few weeks found that many have changed their purchases because of companies’ political positions. Researchers and marketing experts said the findings show reported behavior and intentions, but do not establish that politics outweighs factors such as price and quality.
Key Facts
The online survey was conducted October 7 by SmartCustomer and Goods Unite Us.
Fifty-one percent of respondents said they stopped buying from a company because of its political stance in the past year.
Forty-seven percent said they bought from a company specifically to support its political position; 83 percent of this group also reported boycotting a company.
Thirty-nine percent said they intended to align their spending more closely with their political beliefs.
Sixty-four percent of Democratic-leaning respondents reported a political boycott, compared with 47 percent of Republican-leaning respondents and 32 percent of respondents who leaned toward neither party.
Sixty percent of respondents in households earning at least $100,000 reported a boycott, compared with 35 percent in households earning under $50,000.
A 2024 survey found that 30 percent reported boycotting a brand over politics, but its respondents had to be at least 21; the 2026 survey included adults 18 and older.
Marketing professor Timothy Calkins cautioned that reported intentions do not prove politics outweighs product quality and price in actual purchases.
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President Donald Trump and Texas Senate candidate James Talarico held competing rallies in Texas on Tuesday, one week before the midterm elections. Trump held events in Corpus Christi and Lubbock to support candidates.
Key Facts
Trump held two rallies in Texas on Tuesday.
The rallies took place in Corpus Christi and Lubbock.
The events came one week before the midterm elections.
The article describes Trump and Talarico as presenting competing visions.
The trip was Trump's fourth visit to Texas to support candidates.
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Independent retailers on UK high streets face rising costs, online competition and changing customer habits. Birmingham photography shop owner Surpreet Suri says rent, taxes, wages and supplies have made his current location difficult to afford, despite a loyal customer base.
Key Facts
Suri’s father started the family photography business in Birmingham about 40 years ago, and it once had four locations.
The business now has one shop in Kings Heath, and Suri is considering moving to reduce costs.
Suri says he pays himself less than the UK minimum wage and lives month to month.
He says refilling one professional printer with ink costs about 2,000 pounds.
Online retailers account for 28 percent of UK retail sales.
Nearly 14 percent of UK high street retail units are estimated to be vacant.
Independent retailers face costs including rent, business rates, VAT, wages, energy and specialist materials.
The UK government’s budget is due on Wednesday, with possible business-rates relief for smaller businesses in focus.
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Australia’s House of Representatives passed a digital duty of care bill that would set safety rules for social media, games, apps and chatbots. The bill includes a proposed ban on AI chatbot conduct that simulates emotional intimacy and encourages children to depend on a chatbot instead of human relationships; it now goes to the Senate.
Key Facts
The bill would require covered platforms to provide a safe online environment and protect users from specified harmful content.
The government accepted an amendment covering chatbot conduct that simulates emotional intimacy and fosters a child’s dependence on the chatbot in place of human relationships.
The communications minister said content promoting misogyny, terrorism, suicide, self-harm and eating disorders could fall under the proposed rules.
Social media platforms would have to offer users an accessible, easy-to-use and prominent option to turn off algorithms and suggested content.
The Coalition and One Nation voted against the bill in the House, while the Greens support it.
The bill will be debated in the Senate, where a Greens inquiry is due to report in late November.
The Greens want stronger penalties and a right for Australians to bring private legal action against platforms.
Independent MP Sophie Scamps proposed giving the telecommunications industry ombudsman a role in handling complaints about big tech, but the article does not say Labor accepted the proposal.
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Two major unions have withdrawn support for Victoria’s Labor government ahead of the November 2026 state election. The Australian Services Union is running ads criticizing Premier Ben Carroll and will not canvass for Labor, while the Electrical Trades Union has canceled its planned statewide campaign and redirected funds toward preparing for a construction royal commission.
Key Facts
The Australian Services Union says it will not door-knock for Labor in the weeks before the election.
The ASU’s ads accuse Ben Carroll and Labor of lying over the government’s decision not to lift a cap on council rates.
The ASU says it had an agreement with former premier Jacinta Allan to lift the cap, but Carroll scrapped the plan after taking over as premier.
The ASU ads are scheduled to run online in several electorates, including Carroll’s seat of Niddrie and seats held by senior Labor figures.
The Electrical Trades Union’s state council resolved not to run a third-party campaign for Labor at the 2026 election.
The ETU said it would use campaign resources to prepare for and defend the union and its members in the construction royal commission.
The ETU resolution cited polling that it commissioned, which predicted Labor would win 25 seats, 10 fewer than an earlier forecast.
A Victorian government spokesperson said Carroll was fighting for working people and criticized the Liberal–One Nation coalition.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel needs a right-wing government and warned against relying on Arab parties to form a coalition. Early election projections showed Likud leading as the largest party, but neither Likud’s bloc nor the opposing alliance appeared likely to secure a governing majority.
Key Facts
With more than half of ballots counted, projections put Netanyahu’s bloc at 56 seats and Gadi Eisenkot’s alliance at 49.
Israeli Channels 12 and 13 projected Likud to win 27 seats, compared with 21 for Eisenkot’s Yashar party.
Netanyahu said final results would take another one or two days to emerge.
Netanyahu cited Israeli military operations and security zones in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria as achievements of his current term, which began in 2022.
Netanyahu said Israel had an opportunity to work with U.S. President Donald Trump to address what he called the threat from Iran.
Analysts said the party seeking to form a government may need an uncomfortable coalition agreement, while opposition voters would oppose a deal with Netanyahu’s coalition.
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Villa Vie Residences suspended the Villa Vie Odyssey’s around-the-world voyage in Cambodia, citing soaring fuel costs. The operator said it was arranging disembarkation and temporary housing for passengers while it spends 60 days on restructuring and recapitalisation; it said no outcome is assured.
Key Facts
The ship left Belfast in October 2024 on a planned 3.5-year voyage covering nearly 150 countries.
The operator said fuel costs per cabin in parts of Asia had risen to as much as $8,000 per month, from $1,800.
The company said it had slowed the itinerary and spent more time in port to reduce fuel use, but those steps were not enough to offset higher costs.
The nearly 200-metre ship can carry up to 650 passengers.
Bloomberg reported, citing the operator’s founder, that around 200 passengers were on board when they were told to disembark in Cambodia.
The voyage was more than 750 days underway when the operator announced its suspension.
Cabin residencies cost between $120,000 and $440,000, and rentals start at $3,500 per month.
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