Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić concedes defeat in fiercely contested parliamentary election
Vučić’s 12-year reign looks to have been ended by record turnout of voters in election provoked by student-led protests Serbia’s veteran leader Aleksandar Vučić has conceded defeat to the student movement, ushering in a seismic political shift after two years of student-led protests gave rise to a fiercely contested parliamentary election. Speaking on Sunday, Vučić cited preliminary results that showed the student-backed protest movement surging ahead. “Based on a stratified sample, it is clear that we lost these elections,” Vučić told supporters at his party headquarters in Belgrade. Continue reading...
‘It’s magic’: scientists rediscover how to make ancient Roman colour-changing glass
Exclusive: Optical engineering that went into 1,600-year-old Lycurgus Cup has baffled experts for centuries The Romans’ proficiency in the art of glass-making has produced some of the wonders of antiquity, but few of their creations better a 1,600-year-old masterpiece which sits in the British Museum. Depending on where a light source is positioned, the Lycurgus Cup changes colour, from jade green under normal lighting to ruby red when lit from behind – an astonishing feat of optical engineering that has confounded historians and glass-makers for centuries. Continue reading...
Lula wins fourth term as Brazil president after historic upset over far-right Flávio Bolsonaro
Leftist incumbent Lula says unprecedented comeback was a ‘defeat for denialism’ as Bolsonaro refuses to accept election result * Lula wins election in stunning comeback – live updates Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, has staged a dramatic election fightback, defeating his far-right opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, to claim a historic fourth term in power. With 100% of votes counted the 80-year-old leftist received 4.4m votes more than Bolsonaro, with a 51.79% share to his 45-year-old rival’s 48.21%. However, soon after Brazil’s electoral authority confirmed Lula’s victory, Bolsonaro refused to concede defeat and asked for the results to be annulled. Continue reading...
Labour urged to plug predicted £400m shortfall in overseas aid funding in 2027
Official forecast indicates shortfall below 0.3% of national income in promised official development assistance The UK is on course to miss its target of spending 0.3% of national income on international aid by an estimated £400m by the end of next year. Calculations from the Center for Global Development (CGD) found the UK was on course for a large shortfall in promised official development assistance at the end of 2027. Continue reading...
Bayeux tapestry becomes pop culture hit as young people more keen to see exhibition than top films
Monzo says 55% of cardholders’ British Museum payments in first hour of latest ticket release were by people under 35 A 1,000-year-old embroidery may be an unusual candidate for a pop culture moment, but young people are seemingly more willing to shell out for tickets for the Bayeux tapestry than spend money on Hollywood blockbusters. In the first hour that the second round of tickets to view the tapestry were available last Wednesday, payments from Monzo cardholders to the British Museum reached £14,100 and were 48 times that of a normal Wednesday morning. More than half (55%) of those buyers were aged under 35. Continue reading...
‘Even my best friend didn’t know’: Usman Khawaja reveals why he kept his rheumatoid arthritis a secret
* Opener played through pain to establish himself as a Test cricketer * ‘I didn’t want anyone to use it against me,’ he says Usman Khawaja has opened up on why he kept the rheumatoid arthritis that threatened his playing future a secret for his entire Test career. The former Test star releases his autobiography, Sabr, on 10 November, which he said he wrote “for people who do love cricket and for those who don’t”. Continue reading...
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