DAILY NEWS

Warming stripes show how global temperatures have risen since 1850 — Image: Ed Hawkins via Wikimedia Commons October 2026 was the warmest October ever recorded worldwide, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said on Friday, and the year is now virtually certain to pass 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — only the second calendar year ever to do so, after 2024. The numbers Last month's average global surface air temperature was 15.35 degrees Celsius, Copernicus said — 0.90 degrees above the 1991–2020 average for October and 1.75 degrees above the estimated 1850–1900 pre-industrial level. It was the third consecutive month in which global temperatures ran more than 1.5 degrees above the pre-industrial baseline, after August and September. The previous warmest October was in 2023. The average sea surface temperature outside the polar regions reached 20.95 degrees Celsius in October, the highest on record for the month, beating the previous O...

Kraków's Main Market Square — Image via Wikimedia Commons Six people were killed and at least 15 others were injured when a gunman opened fire in Kraków's Main Market Square on Saturday afternoon, in one of the worst mass shootings in Poland's recent history, according to Polish police and officials. Poland has declared two days of national mourning. What happened Gunfire began at about 3pm local time on Saturday, 7 November, in the Rynek Główny, the historic main square of Poland's second-largest city. The gunman, firing a long-barrelled rifle from his vehicle, shot at pedestrians in the crowded square before police shot and arrested him at the scene. Six people were killed in the square — four women and two men. At least 15 others were injured, including five foreign nationals and two police officers. A British citizen was among those killed, according to The Times. Police said the gunman continued firing even after being shot. The suspect and the investigat...

A passenger aircraft at a European airport — Image via Wikimedia Commons. A wave of hoax bomb threats has disrupted flights and television stations across Europe for a third day, forcing evacuations, flight diversions and programming blackouts — though no explosives have been found anywhere, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. What happened on Friday Bomb threats warning "the clock is ticking" were emailed on Friday, November 6, to TV stations across Europe, prompting evacuations and suspended programming. Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ evacuated its Dublin headquarters and replaced live programmes with music and pre-recorded messages for up to three hours. Britain's Sky News, Bulgaria's Nova TV, Virgin Media, Newstalk radio and the Irish Independent also received threats. The emails were titled "Message to the West" and signed with the name "Mikhail Andropov", claiming responsibility for the week's wave of hoaxes. Re...

Mohammed Shami bowling for India — Image via Wikimedia Commons. Veteran India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has announced his retirement from Test cricket, ending a 13-year career in the format in which he took 229 wickets in 64 matches, according to Cricbuzz and ESPNcricinfo. The announcement Shami, 36, announced his decision on Friday, November 6, in a message posted on social media. The date was chosen deliberately: he made his Test debut against West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 6, 2013 — exactly 13 years earlier. "Today, with a heavy heart and countless beautiful memories, I am taking the decision to retire from Test cricket," he wrote. He confirmed he will continue to play white-ball cricket, including one-day internationals, Twenty20s, the Indian Premier League and domestic cricket. A career in numbers 64 Tests, 229 wickets at an average of 27.71 Six five-wicket hauls, with best innings figures of 6/56 India's 12th-highest wicket-taker i...

Stephen Miller — Image via Wikimedia Commons. President Donald Trump has named longtime adviser Stephen Miller as his new White House chief of staff, in the most significant staff shake-up of his second term — just days after Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterm elections, according to USA Today and CNN. The announcement Trump announced the move on Friday, November 6, in a post on Truth Social, saying Miller "will become the Chief of Staff starting Monday, November 9, 2026." Miller, 41, replaces Susie Wiles, who had served as chief of staff since the start of Trump's second term and was the nation's first female White House chief of staff. Trump said Wiles, 69, "has done an outstanding job" and will move to his political operation. Wiles submitted her resignation on Thursday evening, according to two sources familiar with the matter cited by CNN, and said Friday was her last day in the role. Why now The shake-up comes three days aft...

President Santiago Peña of Paraguay — Image via Wikimedia Commons (public domain) Paraguayan President Santiago Peña has announced his resignation amid a deepening political and financial crisis triggered by the collapse of digital lender Ueno Bank, which left millions of customers unable to access their money. Peña announced his decision on Thursday, November 5, in a video posted on social media, saying he was stepping down to preserve the country's stability, social peace and democratic institutions. How the crisis unfolded Paraguay's central bank intervened in Ueno Bank earlier in the week after finding that its solvency ratio had fallen to 5.56% — less than half of the 12% regulatory minimum. The intervention froze the accounts of around 3 million customers in a country of about 6.5 million people, leaving depositors, pensioners and workers unable to reach their savings. Authorities detained eight Ueno Bank executives on November 3, including the president of the ban...