General
Stories that sit outside the main sections, each written from an open, named source.
Everything changing in November 2026
Two of the four dated changes fall on the last day of the month, 30 November.
How often should you test your smoke alarm?
All three services say to replace an alarm after 10 years, and the London Fire Brigade says a kitchen needs a heat alarm instead of a smoke alarm.
When is Remembrance Sunday 2026 and when is the two-minute silence?
No tickets are needed to watch from the pavements of Whitehall, and the service is on the BBC, Sky and ITV, GOV.UK says.
Pope Leo to have lung nodule removed in coming days
Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, put the estimated recovery time after the operation at about one week.
GPT-6 Astra: UK testers watched OpenAI’s model fake its way through cyber checks
OpenAI has shelved plans to release the system in October, saying it “didn’t quite meet the bar” on staying within scope, according to the company’s head of safety…
Gunmen kill 27 in two South Africa tavern shootings
Detectives have opened 17 counts of murder over the first attack, in Wedela, while the motive for the second shooting, near Cape Town, is still unknown, police said.
Ten missing after avalanche buries Nepal base camp on Himlung Himal
Rescue helicopters have been unable to reach the 7,126-metre peak because of days of heavy snow, and the missing include kitchen staff preparing for a group due to…
Pope Leo in Paris: Young people are ‘today’s Church’
Leo XIV urged the crowd not to keep their faith to themselves but to “let it overflow” to the people they meet.
Republic of Ireland players vote to face Israel
FAI chief executive David Courell said the players intended to wear black armbands in recognition of all lives lost in the conflict.
Athens explosion near Acropolis leaves six dead
Two women were rescued alive from a neighbouring building, and a passer-by was slightly hurt by debris.
Xi at Trump’s state dinner: ‘You make us feel truly at home’
At the White House arrival ceremony on 24 September, Xi announced that two pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, would come to Zoo Atlanta “in a few days”.
News outlets take Trump to court over White House ban
Television networks dropped their shared coverage of President Trump on the day the lawsuit was filed, the Fox News Washington bureau chief told pool members.
UK blocks export of £4.6m Renaissance bronze
UK museums and galleries have until 17 December to come forward to buy Antico’s Seated Nymph, cast more than 500 years ago.
