Prosecutors told jurors at Russell Brand’s trial that six women had been haunted for years by alleged sexual offenses and had little to gain by coming forward. Brand denies seven charges involving alleged rape, sexual assault and attempted indecent assault; the trial is continuing.
Key Facts
The trial is taking place at Southwark Crown Court in London.
Brand faces three rape charges, three sexual assault charges and one charge of attempted indecent assault.
Prosecutor Reil Karmy-Jones KC said the six complainants do not know one another and had not sought publicity.
The prosecutor said the women had to relive their experiences during the trial.
Brand’s lawyer, Polly Dyer, told jurors he had pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis in 1995 and received a fine.
Dyer said Brand has no other convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings.
Brand’s wife, Laura, testified that he is a kind person and a wonderful father; the prosecutor said she was not with him during the periods connected to the charges.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis visited North Korea for two days and held talks on restoring political dialogue and normalising relations. Switzerland formally reopened its diplomatic office in Pyongyang, which will operate without an ambassador and report to the Swiss embassy in Beijing.
Key Facts
Cassis’s visit was the first by a Swiss government minister to North Korea in more than 20 years.
He met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and ruling party official Jo Yong Won.
Cassis said the talks covered relations, dialogue and security on the Korean Peninsula and in Eurasia.
Switzerland’s Pyongyang office became operational on October 19 and formally reopened on Thursday.
The office closed in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
North Korea’s state news agency confirmed Cassis’s arrival but did not explain the visit’s purpose.
No report said Cassis met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Cassis traveled to South Korea on Friday for talks on regional security, easing tensions and bilateral ties.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A Manchester jury found Simon Richardson guilty of murdering cyclist and head teacher Michael Mullins, who was hit by Richardson’s car while cycling home. Richardson’s cousin Gabrielle Debotte, who was in the passenger seat, told police she saw the collision and identified him as the driver.
Key Facts
Mullins, 56, was struck by a car on 20 April while cycling home from Stretford Grammar School.
The car dragged Mullins under its wheels for more than a mile, according to the article.
Debotte told her manager she had witnessed the collision and knew who was driving.
Debotte identified her cousin, 35-year-old Simon Richardson, during a police interview at Stretford Police Station.
Richardson was convicted of murder after a two-week trial at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court.
Richardson had been released from prison on 26 March after serving 47 days on remand and receiving a community order for stalking, harassment, threats to damage property and assaulting an emergency worker.
Richardson was driving Debotte from Altrincham to a beauty salon in Lymm when the collision occurred.
Debotte said Richardson drove fast, ignored her warning to slow down and did not brake when she shouted “bike.”
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Spain began a second day of mourning after a high-speed train crash on Wednesday killed 69 people. Some families were still waiting for news about missing relatives and used social media to share photos and descriptions of what they wore.
Key Facts
The crash happened on Wednesday.
The crash killed 69 people.
Spain was observing a second day of mourning on Friday, October 30, 2026.
Some families had not yet received news about missing relatives.
Families posted photos and descriptions of relatives’ clothing on social media to seek information.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak said Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc lost the election because opponents won more seats when Arab parties are included. Barak urged opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to consider partnering with Arab parties and said allegations of Qatari funding may divert attention from an investigation involving Netanyahu’s aides. He also warned that Netanyahu might strike Iran to remain in power; the article presents this as Barak’s claim.
Key Facts
Barak said Netanyahu’s opponents won 67 seats, including Arab parties, compared with 53 for Netanyahu’s right-wing and far-right coalition.
Eisenkot and his allies have ruled out forming a coalition with Arab parties.
Barak said the opposition could reconsider that position and cited Raam leader Mansour Abbas as a potential coalition partner.
Netanyahu’s camp alleged that Qatari funding went to an Arab party and claimed the election was rigged; Qatar denied the funding allegation.
Barak said the funding claim could distract from an investigation into alleged ties between two of Netanyahu’s aides and Qatar.
Barak warned that Netanyahu might strike Iran, possibly after the U.S. midterm elections, to stay in power.
The article reports Barak’s claims and does not independently establish his allegations about Netanyahu’s motives or plans.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Nicole Bibbins Sedaca argues that the United States should press for the release of political prisoners held by autocratic governments. She calls for sanctions and diplomatic pressure to challenge the systemic use of imprisonment, while noting recent prisoner releases.
Key Facts
The article is written by Nicole Bibbins Sedaca.
Sedaca argues that the United States should advocate for political prisoner releases.
The article refers to recent releases of political prisoners but does not identify them.
Sedaca proposes sanctions as a way to pressure autocratic regimes.
Sedaca also proposes diplomatic pressure.
The article describes imprisonment as a systemic practice by autocratic regimes.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Houthi missile and drone attacks on Aden have disrupted daily life and raised fears of a wider conflict, prompting some residents to stockpile supplies and prepare to flee. The attacks come as fighting has intensified elsewhere in Yemen, including a Houthi siege of Taiz and government counteroffensives along the Red Sea coast.
Key Facts
Houthis have claimed attacks on Aden’s international airport, military camps, port and presidential palace.
Resident Mohammed Abdul Malik has stockpiled basic goods, prepared his car and set aside fuel in case his family must leave Aden.
Abdul Malik said his family would consider seeking refuge in Shabwa or Hadramout if conditions worsen.
The Houthis launched a major offensive in early September against government-held areas in western Yemen.
The Houthis captured districts in Hodeidah and Taiz provinces, including Mocha and areas near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait.
A government counteroffensive launched in early October made limited gains along the Red Sea coast.
The Houthis have tightened their siege of Taiz after capturing a road linking the city to Aden.
Attacks on Aden’s airport have disrupted flights, with airlines canceling, delaying or diverting services.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Final results in Israel’s wartime election showed no clear winner, with Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp running neck and neck. The result could lead to weeks of negotiations as both sides seek to form a government.
Key Facts
The election took place in Israel during the war in the Middle East.
Final results showed no clear winner.
Gadi Eisenkot leads the opposition bloc.
The opposition bloc and Netanyahu’s camp were closely matched.
The projections indicated a setback for Netanyahu’s coalition.
Neither side had a clear path to power.
Forming a government could take weeks of political negotiations.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Israel’s final election results left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc without a majority, setting up negotiations among parties with sharply different views. Parties need to assemble at least 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset; if government-formation attempts fail, Israel could hold another election early next year.
Key Facts
Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, the main opposition bloc won 48, and Arab-led parties won 19.
The results must be certified and submitted to President Isaac Herzog before he assigns someone to form a government.
Herzog may choose Netanyahu or another person whom party leaders consider best suited to form a government.
Opposition parties face a choice between partnering with Arab-led parties and joining Netanyahu in a unity government.
Netanyahu and his Likud party repeated claims that Arab-led parties had stolen the election, but the claims were unsubstantiated.
Election committee head Noam Sohlberg asked the Shin Bet security agency to investigate possible foreign interference, saying he could not verify the claims.
The election commission said the reported investigation did not affect the final results being submitted to the president.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Senator Chris Murphy accused the Trump administration of contributing to Egypt’s crackdown on independent journalism by waiving human rights conditions on $320 million in military aid. The State Department said it granted the waiver in September because of Egypt’s national security importance and security cooperation with the United States.
Key Facts
Murphy serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and spoke at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
He said the release of the aid and the arrests of journalists were linked.
Egyptian authorities arrested six journalists from the independent fact-checking platform Matsda2sh earlier this month and charged them with belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
A Cairo court ordered the closure of the news website Madr Masa and fined its editor-in-chief, Lina Attalah.
The State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio waived human rights conditions on $320 million in aid on national security grounds.
A September 4 memo cited Egypt’s role in negotiations between the United States and Iran and its assistance following Operation Epic Fury.
The United States provides Egypt about $1.73 billion in military assistance each year, according to the article.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Evacuations and aid deliveries began Friday in Oleshky, a Russian-controlled city in Ukraine’s Kherson region, after a ceasefire took effect earlier in the week. Ukrainian and Russian officials gave different accounts of the crisis and the evacuation arrangements, while Ukrainian officials said some residents feared they might not be allowed to return to Ukrainian-held territory.
Key Facts
Oleshky has been under Russian control since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
The article says a ceasefire brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump began at 3 a.m. local time Tuesday and appeared to hold.
Officials said about 2,000 people, including around 50 children, remained in Oleshky before the evacuation began.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said Ukrainian teams had reached the city and were working under agreements with Russia’s human rights commissioner.
Ukrainian officials said demining around Oleshky had finished, allowing roads into the city to reopen.
Ukraine said it was transporting residents who wanted to leave to Ukrainian-held territory; reports said several hundred people chose to stay.
A Russian-installed Kherson official said temporary accommodation was available in Russia and Russian-occupied areas, including Crimea.
Ukrainian officials said they feared evacuees might not be allowed to return to Ukrainian-held territory.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Archaeologists found personal items, coins, cooking vessels and other objects inside a wooden wardrobe in a Pompeii home. Among them was a child’s charm necklace, called a crepundia, which could help parents keep track of children and identify them.
Key Facts
The wardrobe was found in a home on Via dell’Abbondanza, a busy street in Pompeii.
The objects included tweezers, a glass perfume bottle, an incense burner and a bronze lantern.
The crepundia necklace had more than 20 charms made from different materials and depicting figures including the gods Bes and Mercury.
Archaeologists also found 38 bronze coins, cooking pots and a wooden box with lead weights, which may indicate that a resident was a tradesperson.
Pompeii Archaeological Park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said the money and personal belongings may have been left behind when residents fled the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
The home had been linked to a person named Cornelius Maximus based on inscriptions, and its facade was first excavated in 1912.
Excavations are also underway in the servants’ quarters at the Villa of the Mysteries to learn more about daily life and the household economy.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Israeli forces demolished the homes of two Palestinians accused of carrying out a shooting in Hebron that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others. A military siege imposed on Hebron after the shooting has displaced more than 4,000 residents.
Key Facts
The demolished homes belonged to two Palestinians accused of involvement in the shooting.
The shooting killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others.
The shooting took place in Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli forces imposed a military siege on Hebron after the shooting.
The siege has forcibly displaced more than 4,000 residents.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The article outlines expert recommendations for preparing a household emergency kit, following the UK government’s Be Ready campaign. Experts advise keeping first-aid supplies and medicines, a battery or wind-up radio, and other basic provisions at home.
Key Facts
The UK government launched its Be Ready emergency-preparedness campaign in October.
Experts recommend a first-aid kit with sterile dressings, tape, bandages, scissors, tweezers and gloves.
Suggested household medical supplies include a thermometer, paracetamol, ibuprofen, antihistamines, Imodium and rehydration sachets.
The article recommends taking a basic first-aid course; St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross offer courses.
The government advises households to keep a battery-powered or wind-up radio for use if communication channels fail.
Some wind-up radios include a torch and a USB port for charging a phone.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The article reports that actor Patrick Stewart has died at 86. CBS Mornings looks back at his life and career, including his roles in Star Trek and X-Men.
Key Facts
Patrick Stewart has died at 86.
The article describes Stewart as an actor known for Star Trek and X-Men.
CBS Mornings features a retrospective on Stewart's life.
The article does not provide further details about the circumstances of his death.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an investigation into the Metropolitan Police’s failure to share allegations in a 2019 letter about Thomas Markle with relevant overseas law enforcement agencies. The letter’s claims included alleged wrongdoing in the United States, the Philippines and Thailand; Markle denies child sexual abuse allegations now under investigation in the Philippines.
Key Facts
The Met referred its handling of the letter to the IOPC, which decided to launch a formal investigation.
The investigation will examine who decided not to share the claims overseas and whether police procedures were followed.
The Met sent the letter to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2019 but did not share its allegations with foreign law enforcement agencies at the time.
The IOPC will not investigate whether passing the letter to the couple’s office breached data rules.
The Met is now sending details to the FBI and law enforcement agencies in the Philippines and Thailand.
Philippine authorities are examining digital images allegedly found at Markle’s former home; the claims are under investigation.
Markle denies child sexual abuse allegations and denies possessing illegal material, though he has acknowledged paying for sex.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Cost-of-living protests were expected to take place in more than 30 German cities and resume in France on Saturday, Halloween. Authorities planned large police deployments amid concerns about possible violence, while organizers in Germany urged participants to protest peacefully.
Key Facts
The German group Gen Z regelt called for protests demanding more spending on schools, climate protection and housing, and opposing a return to mandatory military service.
More than 160,000 people had registered online as intending to attend the German protests by Friday.
About 10,000 people, mainly pupils, students and parents, were expected to gather at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate; rallies were also planned in Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg.
Berlin police chief Barbara Slowik Meisel said she would deploy 1,500 additional officers and that police had no concrete evidence of planned coordinated looting.
Germany’s federal pupils’ conference distanced itself from the protests, citing the initiative’s unclear organizational structure.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 70,000 police and gendarmes would be deployed across France on Saturday.
Nuñez warned that calls for violent gatherings had appeared on social media and said the main risk might come after the organized cost-of-living demonstrations ended.
The article says student demonstrations in recent weeks had affected Italy, Spain, Portugal, Albania and France.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Netanyahu’s Likud party alleged that Israel’s election was stolen through foreign influence and vote-buying, but Israel’s election authority said there was no basis for claims of systematic interference. Final results left Netanyahu’s bloc without a Knesset majority, while Arab-majority parties won a record number of seats and could affect efforts to form a new government.
Key Facts
Arab-majority parties won 19 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, their highest total ever.
Netanyahu’s bloc fell from 68 seats to 53, according to final results.
The four parties in the main opposition bloc won 48 seats and would need additional support to form a government.
Leaders of the two largest Arab parties said they were willing to help the opposition bloc remove Netanyahu from power.
The Shin Bet opened an investigation into possible foreign influence in the election, but did not specify its scope.
The acting director-general of the Central Elections Committee said there was no basis for claims of systematic election interference.
Qatar denied claims that it funded activities to influence the election.
The results must still be certified and sent to President Isaac Herzog before the new parliament can be sworn in.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will investigate how London’s Metropolitan Police handled a 2019 letter containing allegations about Thomas Markle. The watchdog will examine why the force did not share the letter’s contents with other law enforcement agencies; the Met says it plans to make referrals to overseas authorities.
Key Facts
The Met’s royal protection team received the handwritten letter from Thomas Markle’s first wife, Roslyn Loveless.
Officers gave the letter to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal office in January 2019.
Meghan said the letter contained troubling allegations and influenced her decision not to visit her father or let him meet her children.
The Met voluntarily referred itself to the IOPC, which said an investigation was required.
The IOPC will examine how the Met handled the information and why it was not passed to relevant UK or overseas authorities at the time.
The Met said it expected to refer the information to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies in the coming days.
Authorities in the Philippines are investigating separate allegations involving material reportedly found among Thomas Markle’s possessions.
Thomas Markle has denied the allegations, and his daughter Samantha has called them fake.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
