UK - Last night, King Charles sensationally stripped Andrew of his Prince title and is throwing him out of the Royal Lodge after paying 'a peppercorn rent' for decades - effectively banishing the disgraced ex-duke from royal life for good. Charles has been left 'consistently embarrassed' by his brother's actions, it was claimed by the King's former biographer and close confidant Jonathan Dimbleby. The broadcasting veteran was left in 'no doubt' that the monarch has been 'consistently embarrassed, frustrated by and angry about' his brother's behaviour, he told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme. Today, the ex-Duke of York wakes up as commoner Andrew Mountbatten Windsor - and ministers have suggested that, as an 'ordinary member of the public', he could be less protected from, for example, demands to testify in the US. When contacted by the Daily Mail, the Metropolitan Police did not rule out a possible prosecution.

QATAR - Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, said on Wednesday that Hamas violated the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal when it attacked a group of Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, killing one of them. “Yesterday’s event was honestly something that [was] very disappointing and frustrating for us to see that it’s happening, and we were trying to contain it, and we mobilized right away after this, and in full coordination with the United States, and we have seen that the US also is committed to the deal,” al-Thani said at a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York City on Wednesday. The Qatari prime minister firmly stated that the attack was “a violation by the Palestinian party,” although he came up short of accusing Hamas by name.

SUDAN - East African nation has been torn apart by rival generals who were once allies. The war in Sudan began in April 2023, when allies General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo turned on each other. They had seized power together in a 2021 coup that derailed Sudan’s fragile transition to democracy. Their alliance collapsed over a plan to hand power to civilians and merge the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with the national army. General Burhan, head of the army, pushed for rapid integration under army command. Lieutenant General Dagalo, known as Hemedti, resisted, fearing a loss of autonomy and control over his vast military and financial networks. What began as a power struggle between two generals has since spiralled into what the United Nations has called “the world’s largest humanitarian crisis”. The conflict has uprooted about 12 million people from their homes, killed more than 150,000, and triggered famine across several regions.

USA - The physical silver market just flashed a red alert. As silver expert David Morgan revealed, a desperate shortage in London triggered a staggering 29 million ounce drain from COMEX vaults in a single month — one of the most acute stresses in years. While Morgan says the immediate "panic has subsided," he warns this was a critical lesson. The system runs on razor-thin inventories, a paper paradigm perpetually on the brink. The underlying issue of a "world running short of metal" remains completely unresolved. This was merely a preview. The day of reckoning, when the physical market finally seizes control from the paper manipulators, is not a question of if, but when. The squeeze was a tremor before the real earthquake.

USA - The phrase has echoed in schools across the country. From California to Maine, Montana to Texas, teachers have heard little else for months. Viral videos show wild celebrations among teenagers when the words are called out at fast food restaurants, sports arenas or in rap songs. In fact the term “six-seven” is devoid of any tangible meaning. But that has not stopped Dictionary.com from declaring the phrase its word of the year, in recognition of it being “part inside joke, part social signal and part performance”. Not everyone has been so enthusiastic about the phrase, which has been widely dismissed as “brain rot” or digital content deemed trivial and damaging to the mind.

ALASKA - A 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck the southern coast of Alaska hours after Air Force One stopped in nearby Anchorage to refuel. The quake struck about 110 miles south of the major city, which is home to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The US Geological Survey (USGS) rated the quake a V on its intensity scale, meaning the quake had moderate shaking with very light damage. Earthquakes are common in southern Alaska, which is located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" — an active fault line known for seismic activity and volcanic eruptions that literally rings the Pacific Ocean.

USA - The US president said Washington must respond to rival powers ‘on an equal basis’. Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to immediately begin testing of the US nuclear arsenal on Thursday, hours after Russia announced it had tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone. Mr Trump made the announcement as he travelled to his high-stakes summit with China’s Xi Jinping. “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. That process will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

RUSSIA - Russia has successfully tested a nuclear-powered super-torpedo designed to create radioactive tsunamis and wipe out coastal cities. On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin confirmed a successful test of the Poseidon days after a trial of the new Burevestnik cruise missile, which was followed by nuclear launch drills. Donald Trump, who has recently toughened his stance towards Russia, said the tests were “not appropriate” and that Putin should focus more on ending the war in Ukraine. But Putin appears to have brushed off the US president’s comments, confirming the test over tea and cakes with Russian soldiers at a hospital in Moscow.

ISRAEL - To understand the context of Israel’s airstrike on Hamas yesterday, you need to understand the most important point about the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which resulted in the return of the remaining living hostages. That point is that the ceasefire is just that and only that: a ceasefire agreement. Although it has the potential to become something more than a ceasefire agreement – a fully-fledged peace deal, and even a roadmap to a new accommodation between Israel and the Palestinians – it is not yet that. Not even remotely so, despite Trump’s remarkable achievement in getting us this far. As of now, Hamas is unwilling even to adhere to the terms of the ceasefire. The same is as true now as it was before the ceasefire agreement: if Hamas hands over the rest of the bodies the Israelis will stop. The future of the ceasefire is in Hamas’ hands.

USA - The US Department of Agriculture has posted a notice on its website saying federal food aid will not go out November 1, raising the stakes for families nationwide as the government shutdown drags on. The shutdown, which began October 1, is now the second-longest on record. While the Republican administration took steps leading up to the shutdown to ensure SNAP benefits were paid this month, the cutoff would expand the impact of the impasse to a wider swath of Americans — and some of those most in need — unless a political resolution is found in just a few days.