Orionid meteor shower to peak in UK skies this week 20. October 2026 (08:31) Clear skies permitting, skygazers could be able to spot as many as 10-20 meteors per hour as the shower peaks this week.(BBC News)
She was harassed for crude remarks about Modi at a Cockroach protest. Now she can’t leave home 20. October 2026 (08:30) After a protest clip went viral, a teenager’s life was torn apart by threats that sent her and her family into hiding. Plus, a book on citizen journalismBefore 24 July, a person I will call R was preoccupied with the ordinary routines of teenage life: experimenting with makeup, grumbling over mathematics homework and hanging out with friends at a tea stall.That month, as the fever of student protests spread across the country, the 15-year-old watched on her phone as young people poured into Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site in Delhi, demanding education reform. She went too. But an 11-second video clip from the protest site, in which she made crude and profane remarks about the prime minister, Narendra Modi, upended her life. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Surprise drop in UK unemployment to 4.7% 20. October 2026 (08:29) ONS data shows rate down from 4.9% but number of job vacancies continues to shrinkBusiness live – news updatesUnemployment in the UK fell unexpectedly in the three months to August, to 4.7% from 4.9%.The Office for National Statistics figures, which provide a backdrop to the budget on 28 October, also showed that the number of payrolled employees rose by 13,000 between August and September, to 30.3m. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
A young life ‘dominated by gambling’: Victorian coroner delivers stinging findings on death of 22-year-old 20. October 2026 (08:29) Online betting was the ‘direct and paramount’ cause behind Kyle Hudson’s decision to take his own life, inquest findsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastKyle Hudson was “a young man brimming with promise”, with a loving and supportive partner, family and friends, and prospects.“It was a near ideal picture – except for the grip that online sports betting had upon him,” the Victorian coroner Paul Lawrie said on Tuesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Unemployment rate dips to 4.7% - but vacancies hit five-year low after Labour was warned soaring cost of doing business 'holding back recruitment'