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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Six-year-old Elliot English died on Friday at a Dublin hospital, weeks after he was critically injured in a suspected arson attack on his family home in County Waterford. His parents and two siblings died in the 13 October fire; another injured child remains in hospital.
Key Facts
The fire took place at a home on Birch Avenue, on the outskirts of Waterford, on 13 October.
Elliot English died at Children's Health Ireland hospital in Crumlin, Dublin.
His parents, Kim and Philip English, and siblings Callum, 12, and Jayden, 9, died in the fire.
A second child who was critically injured remains in hospital.
Irish police opened a multiple murder investigation after the fire.
People arrested in connection with the attack were released without charge.
Hundreds of people attended a prayer vigil in the days after the attack.
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Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie was sentenced to 200 years in prison for the deaths of 190 children who starved after he ordered them to do so. The report also covers concerns in South Africa that new data centres could strain water and electricity supplies, and Senegal’s celebration of the Youth Olympic Games.
Key Facts
Paul Mackenzie was sentenced to 200 years in prison.
The sentence concerns the deaths of 190 children by starvation.
The report says Mackenzie ordered the children to starve.
Activists in South Africa warn that new data centres could add pressure to strained water supplies.
Activists also warn that the data centres could add pressure to strained electricity supplies.
Senegal is celebrating the spirit of sport at the Youth Olympic Games.
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Irish officials said a series of bomb hoaxes targeting media outlets and airlines across Europe may be part of a coordinated disruption campaign. Threats sent by email affected dozens of commercial flights, and staff at Ireland’s RTÉ broadcaster evacuated its premises.
Key Facts
Irish government officials said the threats were likely part of a coordinated campaign.
Dozens of commercial flights received bomb threats by email.
RTÉ staff evacuated the broadcaster’s premises on the morning of November 6.
Several Italian airlines also reported receiving threats.
A message claimed to come from a Russian extremist group called the Fighters of the Male State.
The group denied involvement.
The threats were described as more specific than typical hoaxes.
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Pope Leo XIV arrived in Uruguay on November 6 to begin a 12-day visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. He said he felt well after recent lung cancer surgery and plans to meet political leaders and communities, including prisoners and people living in poverty.
Key Facts
Leo’s tour began in Uruguay and is scheduled to include Argentina and Peru.
The pope spent nearly two decades in Peru as a missionary and holds Peruvian and U.S. citizenship.
Leo said doctors had cleared him to travel after his lung cancer surgery three weeks earlier.
In Uruguay, Leo is scheduled to meet President Yamandú Orsi and receive the keys to Montevideo.
Uruguay deployed about 5,000 police officers and 1,000 soldiers for the visit.
The article says public events in the Uruguayan cities of Paysandú and Florida drew strong interest, with Mass tickets quickly running out.
Leo said he voted by mail in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, making him the first pope known to have voted in a political election.
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