General news

• House prices falling in every Australian capital city for first time in 15 years

  21-10-2026 23:56 via World news | The Guardian
  House prices in Sydney are at a two-year low after falling 4.7% in the September quarter to $1.66m, according to Domain reportGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHouse prices are falling across every capital city for the first time in 15 years and the second time on record, according to figures from Domain’s September Quarter 2026 House Price report.House prices in Sydney are at a two-year low after falling 4.7% in the September quarter, to $1.66m. Continue reading...
  
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• Super Typhoon Champi intensifies into one of the year's most powerful storms

  21-10-2026 23:25 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  Super Typhoon Champi, which is barreling across the western Pacific Ocean, became one of the strongest storms on Earth in 2026 on Wednesday.The tropical cyclone tied April’s Super Typhoon Sinlaku for the strongest 1-minute sustained winds of 2026, at 185 mph, which is equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane.Hurricanes and typhoons are both tropical cyclones with sustained winds of at least 74 mph. “A tropical cyclone is a generic term used by meteorologists to describe a rotating, organized sy
  
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• Putin orders release of jailed American as he meets Trump envoy for Ukraine talks

  21-10-2026 23:23 via World news | The Guardian
  Russia frees Stephen Hubbard after US request while Steve Witkoff praises Putin, wanted by ICC as war criminal, as a ‘humanitarian’US politics live – latest updatesVladimir Putin ordered the release of an American man from a Russian jail as he met Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday for fresh talks on ending the war in Ukraine, amid increasingly close relations between Moscow and Washington.Trump had previously asked Putin to free Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-o
  
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• Orangutans prefer food associated with sounds of laughter, study suggests

  21-10-2026 23:00 via World news | The Guardian
  Apes in study more likely to choose treats linked to sound of peers having fun, suggesting emotions influence learningOrangutans base their food choices on whether others appear to be having a good time, research suggests.Scientists studying captive orangutans have found that when the great apes heard the sound of their peers laughing before they searched a bowl for a tasty treat, they valued the reward more highly. Continue reading...
  
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• Washington orders U.S. embassy staff to leave Saudi Arabia after near-daily Houthi attacks

  21-10-2026 22:34 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  Saudi Arabia has been facing near-daily attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen (Fayez Nureldine)Washington has ordered non-essential US embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, the State Department said on Wednesday, as the kingdom comes under sustained deadly attacks by Yemen's Houthis.It came after a diplomatic source told AFP that "all American staff and their families have been ordered to depart from the US embassy" in the Gulf kingdom. The source added that families
  
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• Amy Acton's estranged mom stars in a GOP attack ad. Their painful history spans decades.

  21-10-2026 22:27 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  A new campaign ad in which the estranged mother of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton argues that her daughter should not be elected as the Buckeye State's next governor has added a new level of controversy to what was already one of the most closely watched races of the midterms.Acton, a Democrat, is running to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. She's facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, a billionaire who ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2024. In the ad, Acton's mother
  
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• ‘Huge moment’: long-awaited extension to Sydney’s metro line to open next week

  21-10-2026 22:01 via World news | The Guardian
  The south-west metro extension will open on Friday 30 October, more than two years after the former T3 heavy rail line closedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA long-awaited extension to Sydney’s metro line will open next week, bringing an end to more than two years of replacement buses for residents in the city’s south-west.In a video shared on Instagram on Thursday morning, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, announced that the south-west metro extension woul
  
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• Who cut Ukraine's Starlink speeds? White House and Musk offer conflicting accounts.

  21-10-2026 21:48 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday pushed back against suggestions that the Trump administration had ordered Elon Musk’s Starlink and its military-grade counterpart, Starshield, to limit Ukraine’s access to the satellite communications networks, saying any such decisions were up to the SpaceX founder — and not the White House.“We cannot direct a private company as to the decisions they make or not make,” Rubio told reporters on an overseas trip in Mumb
  
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• Meta ordered to pay $25 billion after jury finds company liable for deceiving users

  21-10-2026 21:44 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  
  By Diana Novak JonesOct 21 (Reuters) - A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion on Wednesday after a jury found the company had misled consumers in a case arising from allegations that a political consulting firm involved in Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign obtained data from millions of Facebook users without their consent.New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said it was one of ‌the largest, if not the largest, single state verdict against the
  
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• NSW passes ‘human compost’ laws with several MPs saying they will utilise practice after they die

  21-10-2026 21:37 via World news | The Guardian
  Australia-first laws provide a third legal option other than burial and cremation for the treatment of bodiesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSeveral New South Wales MPs say they want their own bodies turned into “human compost” after Australian-first laws were passed allowing the unusual practice.The laws, passed on Wednesday, provide a third legal option other than burial and cremation for the treatment of bodies. Continue reading...
  
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• Elon Musk’s Super Pac spends $500,000 to back New York Republican in midterms

  21-10-2026 20:55 via World news | The Guardian
  Incumbent Mike Lawler is fending off a challenge from Democrat Cait Conley in state’s 17th congressional districtUS politics live – latest updatesElon Musk’s Super Pac has spent more than $500,000 in New York’s highly competitive 17th congressional district race to help Mike Lawler, the Republican incumbent, hold on to his seat.Lawler, a moderate Republican, is fending off a challenge from Democrat Cait Conley in the Hudson valley. It is among the most-watched races that could determine
  
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• Former Tory election candidate suspended over contract killing claims

  21-10-2026 20:13 via World news | The Guardian
  Jack Ross was filmed allegedly discussing with an undercover reporter violent options to deal with enemies A former Conservative election candidate has been suspended from the party after he was seemingly filmed discussing the cost of hiring contract killers and offering to “broker” the services of a far-right activist with alleged paramilitary links.Jack Ross was filmed apparently asking an undercover reporter “What do you want done?” before listing the type of violent options that coul
  
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• No surprise and lasting anger: families of people who died in care homes react to Covid inquiry report

  21-10-2026 20:11 via World news | The Guardian
  Relatives recount distress and loneliness their loved ones went through in pandemic as a result of isolation policy“At the time it felt like a devil’s bargain – it was horrible, but it was what [we thought] we had to do to keep people safe,” says Amy of the “devastating” and “terrifying” restrictions that led to her maternal grandparents being locked down in separate care homes during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.Eva and Eric had been married for more than 60 years whe
  
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• Heidi Levine recounts how Palestinian youths helped save her in settler attack

  21-10-2026 19:59 via World news | The Guardian
  US photojournalist describes ‘protective shield’, vows to return to work in West Bank and criticises Netanyahu comments on incidentThe Washington Post photojournalist who was attacked and seriously injured by Israeli settlers in the West Bank on Friday has described how she was saved with the help of local Palestinians.Heidi Levine sustained four fractured vertebrae, two broken ribs and four puncture wounds when she was knocked to the ground and repeatedly beaten by a crowd of masked settler
  
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• ‘You are a humanitarian also, sir’: the US feeds Putin with lies as Ukraine’s children take cover and die | Andrew Roth

  21-10-2026 19:57 via World news | The Guardian
  Steve Witkoff’s flattery of the Russian leader could be just the start of a mendacious stratagem from a US president who says Moscow ‘has been fine on Ukraine’They say the first casualty of war is truth. For the Trump administration, the road to peace with Russia now encompasses some extraordinary lies.Steve Witkoff delivered one as he sat down with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday, aiming to close the deal on Russia’s land grab in Ukraine with the White House’s strategy of
  
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• JD Vance tells Republicans to 'stop whining' over controversial Ramaswamy ad

  21-10-2026 19:35 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  Vice President JD Vance dismissed criticism over a controversial ad from Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign on Wednesday, slamming Republicans for appearing to care more about playing nice than winning elections.“I have to admit that I'm a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of Americ
  
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• Controversial US-backed vaccine trial in African newborns halted

  21-10-2026 19:18 via World news | The Guardian
  Hepatitis B study in Guinea-Bissau that was to be funded by CDC and that drew global backlash ‘will not move forward’The US-backed hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns that drew global backlash was halted, the lead researcher said on Wednesday.It was “now clear” that the study “will not move forward in Guinea-Bissau”, Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer, a Danish researcher, wrote on LinkedIn, adding, “we were not given the necessary governmental approval.” Continue reading...
  
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• There was little fuss about data centers in the last election. Now they could sway the midterms.

  21-10-2026 18:59 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  
  Opposition to data centers, an issue barely on anyone's radar in the 2024 election, has now united voters across the political spectrum. According to a May Gallup poll, more than 70% of Americans are opposed to AI data center construction in their local area. It makes sense when you consider that this midterms cycle is heavily focused on rising living costs. Data centers — facilities that store, process and distribute digital data, and have become more common in the AI era — use up massive
  
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• New Mexico sues Epstein attorney and accountant over sex trafficking cover-up

  21-10-2026 18:43 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s attorney general filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Jeffrey Epstein’s attorney and accountant, accusing them of concealing his sex trafficking operation at a sprawling ranch where the disgraced financier once entertained guests.The lawsuit seeks to stop attorney Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn from accepting any payments from Epstein's estate, estimated at more than $100 million.Indyke worked as Epstein’s attorney for roughly
  
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• Taiwan charges five men over plot to run over comedian for his Xi Jinping jokes

  21-10-2026 18:13 via World news | The Guardian
  Person named ‘K’ from China paid five defendants to injure Huang Yi-hao, New Taipei prosecutors sayTaiwanese prosecutors have charged five men over a plot to ram a car into a comedian who made fun of the Chinese Communist party and Xi Jinping.Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of transnational repression to silence critics on the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to take by force if necessary. Continue reading...
  
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• Indian court orders release of two leaders of Cockroach movement

  21-10-2026 17:26 via World news | The Guardian
  Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka spent a week in jail after defying restrictions on protests in Delhi amid government crackdownAn Indian court has ordered the release of two leaders of India’s Cockroach movement who were jailed last week amid a mounting state crackdown on youth-led protests.The two leaders of the Cockroach Janta party (CJP) movement, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, had spent a week in Delhi’s Tihar jail after being arrested by Delhi police last week. Continue reading...
  
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• Democrats sue Trump over efforts to remove voters from rolls ahead of midterms

  21-10-2026 17:26 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  Democrats have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the Justice Department, alleging that the Trump administration is unlawfully interfering with the midterms by pressuring states to remove voters from their rolls.The complaint, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, cites the Department of Homeland Security's recent demands that states remove alleged noncitizens from their voter rolls. The complaint argues such action is based on "shoddily compiled
  
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• Thousands march in Greece over public education failures as Macron blasts ‘stupid’ commentary on French protests – as it happened

  21-10-2026 17:23 via World news | The Guardian
  Students, teachers and civil servants have shown up in Athens, with demonstrations also in Thessaloniki and other citiesMeanwhile, back to Witkoff’s meeting with Putin in St Petersburg, the US president, Donald Trump, has just welcomed the release of Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen held by Moscow on allegations of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine (11:24).In a post on Truth Social, he said:“Stephen Hubbard, taken four years ago by Russia during the Biden Administration, was just released fro
  
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• Supreme Court won't let Trump enforce transgender inmate policy for now

  21-10-2026 17:22 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court said the administration can't immediately deny gender-affirming care for inmates in federal prisons, a rare loss at the high court for President Donald Trump’s executive orders denying recognition of transgender people.
  The court on Oct. 21 declined to allow the administration’s policy to go into effect before a legal challenge plays out.
  The order did not include an explanation, which is common for actions on emergency requests.Two of the court'
  
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• Poland’s parliament votes to ease abortion ban but faces likely veto from president

  21-10-2026 17:01 via World news | The Guardian
  Measures would remove some penalties for those helping women access abortion but are ‘small-scale step’, say campaignersPoland’s lower house of parliament has approved two bills aimed at loosening a near-total ban on abortions, in what campaigners have described as a “small-scale step” ahead of protests calling on the government to fulfil its promises to overhaul the country’s laws.The new measures, which are likely to be vetoed by Poland’s nationalist president, would remove some
  
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• Cops left the force. They kept tracking people with a powerful camera network.

  21-10-2026 16:24 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  When Andrae Wright left his job as an investigator at the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office in 2021, he handed in his gun and badge. But he kept something powerful: his log-in credentials for Flock, a police tool he used to search a vast network of roadside cameras tracking the locations of passing cars. In the five years after leaving the force, Wright searched the system more than 60 times without being stopped by anyone at the Georgia sheriff’s office, according to a statement by
  
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• Besieged Yemeni city on verge of ‘unmanageable’ crisis, aid workers warn

  21-10-2026 16:24 via World news | The Guardian
  Water and fresh food running out in Taiz as fighting intensifies and Houthi advance cuts off most supply routesThe humanitarian crisis in the besieged Yemeni city of Taiz is becoming unmanageable as the city runs out of water, fuel and fresh food, Oxfam aid workers in the country have warned.Iran-allied Houthi forces have largely encircled the city of more than 900,000 people, cutting it off from most supply routes. This week, heavy fighting has raged around the city’s old airport, causing ext
  
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• Trump considers moving reporters out of the White House after 100 years

  21-10-2026 16:22 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  
  President Trump has discussed the possibility of moving the White House press corps to another building, according to two people close to the president — a move that could escalate Mr. Trump's clashes with news organizations over coverage and access.Outside allies of the president have pushed the idea in recent weeks, including former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, one source told CBS News.No final decisions have been made, according to both sources.The discussions were first reported by T
  
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• Ramaswamy doubles down on ad of Acton's estranged mother with $4 million buy

  21-10-2026 16:22 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is doubling down on a controversial ad featuring his opponent's estranged mother with a $4 million buy.The ad, which leaked Oct. 19, features the estranged mother of Democratic candidate Amy Acton accusing the candidate of lying about her upbringing. Acton hasn't spoken to her mother since 1978, when her stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was accused of sexually abusing her as a child.Acton's brother, Philip Stearns, and court records reviewed by the s
  
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• Israeli military detain US and UK volunteers in West Bank including Democratic NY politician Brad Lander

  21-10-2026 16:08 via World news | The Guardian
  About 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers held near Nahalin in West Bank and taken to police stationThe Israeli military has detained about 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers helping Palestinians harvest olives near Bethlehem, including the New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, several rabbis and Israel’s former deputy attorney general.“I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis and volunteers,” Lander posted from a bus taking him to a police statio
  
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• Majority of Australians who report penicillin allergy not truly allergic

  21-10-2026 16:00 via World news | The Guardian
  Peak body for immunologists changes guidelines as evidence shows up to 90% of those reporting allergy don’t have oneGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe majority of Australians who report a penicillin allergy are not truly allergic, prompting the peak body for immunologists to change its guidelines in a bid to reduce hospital stays and tackle antimicrobial resistance.Penicillin, one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics in Australia, was thought to cause allergi
  
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• Severely ill ICE detainees face imminent deportation to unknown African states, advocates say

  21-10-2026 15:40 via World news | The Guardian
  Flights to third countries where the detainees have no ties are scheduled as early as Wednesday, relatives detailSend us your questions about immigration and the midtermsRelatives of gravely ill detainees at two Florida immigration jails say authorities are about to deport their loved ones to unknown countries in Africa despite worsening medical conditions.Flights are scheduled as early as Wednesday, according to the families and the immigration advocacy group the Workers Circle, which has been
  
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• Detained American Stephen Hubbard released by Russia as Witkoff meets Putin

  21-10-2026 15:14 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  
  President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Russia on Wednesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and oversee the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan who had been in Russian detention since 2022.Witkoff landed in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Wednesday morning, a Kremlin aide confirmed, ahead of the planned meeting with Putin.Trump's envoy thanked Putin for freeing Hubbard, according to a readout of the meeting publishe
  
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• DOJ watchdog won't investigate handling of Reflecting Pool case, lawyers say

  21-10-2026 15:00 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Justice's inspector general has declined to investigate the handling of the criminal case against a former Olympian cleared of accusations that he intentionally damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to a letter Wednesday from the man's lawyers.The internal watchdog told David Hearn's lawyers that the allegations of professional misconduct that they made fall outside its jurisdiction and are instead within the purview of the department's
  
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• Social Security corrects millions of records. Could your benefits be affected?

  21-10-2026 14:59 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) said Tuesday that it has corrected millions of records associated with nearly 15% of active Social Security numbers (SSN), which it said was part of an effort to prevent fraud. The agency called it the "most comprehensive SSN record clean-up" in its 91-year history, and said it had added 17 million missing dates of death to its records and updated citizenship information for about 25 million records. It is also working to correct another 8.
  
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• Why has Lord's dug up its pitch and what comes next?

  21-10-2026 13:48 via BBC News
  
  After years of comment, Lord's has dug up one of its pitches for the first time in more than 25 years. Why the drastic action and what next?
  
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• Student who murdered university housemate jailed for life

  21-10-2026 13:45 via BBC News
  
  Jamie Collins, 21, was ambushed and killed in the garden of the home he shared with his killer.
  
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• Shark trapped for a month in South Korean canal is finally freed

  21-10-2026 13:41 via World news | The Guardian
  Bukang-i successfully guided out after month in which it drew 1.6m visitors and was watched over by YouTubersIn South Korea, they call them jagyeongdan, a word whose meaning sits somewhere between vigilante group and neighbourhood watch. Each night they put on hi-vis vests, picked up their selfie sticks and gathered around the harbour in Busan to keep watch over an unlikely charge: a stranded shark affectionately known as Bukang-i.On Wednesday, after more than a month in the canal and at the thi
  
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• F1 races to return to standard distance in 2028

  21-10-2026 13:41 via BBC News
  
  Formula 1 grands prix will return to their standard distance in 2028 after the maximum length was shortened for next season.
  
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• US citizen Stephen Hubbard freed by Russia as Trump envoy meets Putin

  21-10-2026 13:39 via BBC News
  
  The 74-year-old former teacher has been released without any "swap" required, Trump says.
  
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• Teenage boy guilty of trying to murder girl, 15, in school

  21-10-2026 13:34 via BBC News
  
  The school went into lockdown and parents gathered at the gates as they waited for news about their children.
  
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• Student who murdered uni housemate jailed for life

  21-10-2026 13:34 via BBC News
  
  Jamie Collins, 21, was ambushed and killed in the garden of the home he shared with his killer.
  
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• Masked teenager found guilty of trying to murder 15-year-old schoolgirl

  21-10-2026 13:34 via BBC News
  
  The school went into lockdown and parents gathered at the gates as they waited for news about their children.
  
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• Nvidia reveals plans to build AI data centers in 14 days instead of 6 months

  21-10-2026 13:30 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  
  Nvidia (NVDA) wants to reduce the time it takes for its customers to start generating revenue from its AI systems.At its GTC event in Berlin on Wednesday, the company unveiled its DSX POD, a reference design for an AI data center packed into a box about the size of a standard shipping container.Data center construction can take months, if not years, to get up and running. And because they don't start generating revenue until they begin processing AI tokens, the longer a data center takes to come
  
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• Pieces of Halley's comet will be visible in all 50 states — if the moon doesn't get in the way

  21-10-2026 13:22 via Yahoo.com/news Top Stories
  An annual meteor spectacle is peaking this week as Earth sweeps through a trail of cosmic crumbs left behind by Halley’s comet.The Orionid, one of the two major meteor showers left by Halley, the most famous comet in the sky, will streak into Earth’s atmosphere at around 148,000 mph this week, and it will be possible for viewers to spot 20 meteors per hour in peak viewing conditions. The celestial event, which occurs every October, is named after the constellation Orion and will
  
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• Hackers steal children's data after company used 'Password1' to protect old account

  21-10-2026 12:56 via BBC News
  
  The data watchdog reprimanded Ogi Networks Limited and Data Cymru after the 2024 ransomware attack.
  
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• Allen reveals mental health clinic stay before return

  21-10-2026 12:56 via BBC News
  
  Mark Allen says he is working to "turn things around" and reveals he spent time in a mental health clinic before returning to snooker.
  
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• Amber warning issued as Storm Austen threatens UK with strong winds and heavy rain

  21-10-2026 12:55 via BBC News
  
  The deep area of low pressure is expected to move close to the south of the UK early on Friday with south-west England set to bear the brunt.
  
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• US citizen Stephen Hubbard freed by Russia and 'on his way home', Trump says

  21-10-2026 12:52 via BBC News
  
  The former teacher has been released without any "swap" required, according to the president.
  
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• Author Helen Fielding launches award to find the next Bridget Jones's Diary

  21-10-2026 12:45 via BBC News
  
  The Bridget Jones Prize will go to the author of the funniest 1,000-word diary-style piece of writing.
  
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