Government settles after challenge by sacked Foreign Office chief over Peter Mandelson vetting

The Independent - Oct 16, 2026

The Government has reached an out-of-court settlement with a senior civil servant who challenged his sacking by Sir Keir Starmer over Lord Peter Mandelson’s security vetting.

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Houthis attack presidential palace complex in Yemen's Aden, PM unharmed, officials say
Oct 16, 2026
Houthis attack presidential palace complex in Yemen's Aden, PM unharmed, officials say

Yemen's Houthis fired missiles at the presidential palace complex in the southern city of Aden on Thursday, killing two security guards, two government officials told Reuters. Yemen's prime minister and cabinet members who were at the Maashiq presidential palace complex were unharmed, Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said, adding that the Houthis had fired five missiles at the complex. The Houthi-run Saba news agency, citing a military official, said the group had targeted a military operations headquarters run by Saudi officers at the complex, as well as weapons depots. Reuters could not independently verify the claims. The Iran-aligned group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the strike on what he described as a Saudi military operations headquarters in Aden was part of the group's declared policy of "targeting Saudi military build-ups wherever they are." Three witnesses had earlier told Reuters they heard loud booms in the vicinity of the palace.

Trump scraps plan to livestream execution after broad backlash
Oct 16, 2026
Trump scraps plan to livestream execution after broad backlash

WASHINGTON — The firing squad execution of a convicted military base shooter will not be livestreamed, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday, canceling a contentious plan by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The move to livestream Nidal Hasan's execution was widely opposed at home and abroad, prompting outrage from both U.S. Democratic and Republican politicians, the Catholic Church and the United Nations. The cancellation is a blow to Hegseth, who is already under fire over the stalemated Iran war and its fallout, which are weighing on Trump's Republican Party ahead of November midterm elections. Hasan "will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. The U.S. president indicated he did not personally oppose the streaming plan, saying it "might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan." But "many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die," Trump said, adding that the execution could still be viewed in person by

Prince Harry and wife Meghan make first joint appearance since UK return
Oct 16, 2026
Prince Harry and wife Meghan make first joint appearance since UK return

NOTTINGHAM, England — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan appeared together in public on Thursday for the first time since they made a surprise return to Britain, revisiting the city where they made their maiden joint official engagement nine years ago. Harry, the younger son of King Charles, and Meghan shocked the monarch and other members of the royal family when they relocated from California to England two months ago with their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. In their first joint public outing since then, the couple returned to Nottingham in central England which they visited in 2017, shortly after it was announced they were getting married. "It’s great to be back," Harry said. "Wonderful and great to be back in Nottingham, too." They began by visiting a recording studio run by a youth and community charity which has received support from a £1.1 million ($1.46 million) donation announced by Harry last year. At their next stop at the Himmah charity, which tackles food poverty, Meghan was reunited with four contributors to a charity cookbook released to raise funds

Fed's Warsh sees US economic tailwinds, mum on rate-path view
Oct 16, 2026
Fed's Warsh sees US economic tailwinds, mum on rate-path view

BANGKOK — Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh voiced optimism on Friday about U.S. economic strength and surprise about how well global economies have been "hanging in there" amid recent geopolitical shocks, despite tighter monetary policy to fight inflation. "I came out of meetings here yesterday and today and it's hard to be in a discussion with central bankers and not compare notes and hear the same thing about the surge in prices," Warsh said. With inflation a "common challenge," he said at the 2026 IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, global central banks undertook "a synchronous tightening in monetary policy in most places around the world, and that means there's no free riders." In the U.S., he said, "We made very clear that we would deliver price stability, and we removed a dose of accommodation about a month ago," in a reference to the Fed's September interest-rate hike. No preview of need for more rate hikes But in keeping with his style since taking the reins as Fed chief in May, he gave no preview about whether he feels more interest-rate hikes will be needed, or when

Teen shooter kills 4 at Oregon elementary school before being shot by witness
Oct 16, 2026
Teen shooter kills 4 at Oregon elementary school before being shot by witness

A 16-year-old shot his way through locked doors to get into an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, killing three children and a teacher. He was then shot by a person at the scene who followed him inside, authorities said. The suspect was found dead inside the school minutes after the shooting was first reported, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said. The three children killed were aged 5, 8 and 11. Another child, 7, and a teacher, 54, were injured and taken to the hospital in critical condition, he said. The first 911 call came just before 1 p.m. from a person in a vehicle outside Silver Rail Elementary who reported being shot at by someone with a long gun, Krantz told reporters. Further 911 calls came from inside the school, and officers arrived on scene within minutes, police spokesperson Sheila Miller said. The attacker, who police identified as a Bend resident, was shot and went down inside the school shortly after officers arrived, she said. Police said they did not know if the shooter knew anyone at the school or whether he had attended. Children were taken by bus to a nearb

Ukraine's resumption of strikes on Russian refineries is 'disgrace', Trump says
Oct 16, 2026
Ukraine's resumption of strikes on Russian refineries is 'disgrace', Trump says

Ukraine's resumption of strikes on Russian refineries is a 'disgrace' that keeps global energy prices elevated, U.S. President Donald Trump told the Newsmax news outlet in an interview aired on Thursday. Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that Kyiv was abandoning a ceasefire covering energy sites that Trump had announced, and criticised his willingness to strike deals with Moscow. "All he's doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that's a disgrace," Trump said in the interview, after Ukraine hit a Rosneft refinery southeast of Moscow which helps to supply the Russian capital. "There are a lot of targets you can hit, but when you shoot at diesel refineries where you make, you know, diesel oil, and we need that, and the world needs that, then he's not doing a good service for the world." Russia rained down missile and drone strikes, targeting energy facilities such as power stations, knocking out supply to hundreds of thousands, and Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that Ukraine's patience had run out. Trump's administration

Tesla's new Roadster turns in air with SpaceX thrusters, won't land until 2028
Oct 16, 2026
Tesla's new Roadster turns in air with SpaceX thrusters, won't land until 2028

SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla unveiled a redesigned Roadster powered with rocket-style thrusters on Thursday and said it would start production in 2028, more than a decade after it first showed a next-generation version of its electric sports car. The white two-seater vehicle, developed in collaboration with CEO Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX, drove upside down on a ramp using a suction system, turned in the air and landed using built-in thrusters. Later in the event it used the thrusters to jump over a truck and other vehicles, twisting in the air during the maneuver. Some watchers saw the collaboration as Musk drumming up interest in a merger of the two big companies he controls, an idea he has explored by discussing their overlap. The reveal gives Tesla a showpiece car after years of missed Roadster deadlines, but it comes as the company shifts its focus to self-driving technology and robotics, and days before third-quarter results that analysts say matter more to investors. "It was an engineering flex with no commercial value beyond embarrassing traditional car makers," Gene Munster, ma

Pope's doctors say tests confirm continued improvement in his condition after cancer surgery
Oct 16, 2026
Pope's doctors say tests confirm continued improvement in his condition after cancer surgery

ROME — Doctors said Friday that tests have confirmed the “continued improvement” in Pope Leo XIV’s condition following lung cancer surgery. The 71-year-old Leo presided over Mass, and distributed Communion, in a special chapel set up for him in the Gemelli hospital, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. “His post-operative recovery allows him to carry out his normal daily activities completely on his own,” said the medical update signed by Leo’s personal physician Dr. Luigi Carbone and the head of thoracic surgery at Gemelli, Dr. Stefano Margaritora. Pope Leo XIV’s recovery from lung surgery has progressed so normally that the Vatican on Friday stopped providing morning updates confirming he had woken up and had breakfast, even as questions swirled about what his cancer means for the future of his young pontificate. But in a sign it was all systems go, the Vatican on Friday published the names of journalists whose accreditation requests had been accepted to fly on Leo’s plane with him during his Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. Leo’s ability to make the tr

Thượng tướng Đặng Hồng Đức yêu cầu lực lượng Cảnh vệ không để bị động, bất ngờ
Oct 16, 2026
Thượng tướng Đặng Hồng Đức yêu cầu lực lượng Cảnh vệ không để bị động, bất ngờ

Thượng tướng Đặng Hồng Đức, Thứ trưởng Bộ Công an, yêu cầu đơn vị tăng cường nắm tình hình, phân tích, dự báo và nhận diện từ sớm, từ xa các nguy cơ đe dọa an ninh.

Hai em ruột Shark Thủy giúp sức chiếm đoạt gần 166 tỉ, mỗi người nộp lại 30 triệu
Oct 16, 2026
Hai em ruột Shark Thủy giúp sức chiếm đoạt gần 166 tỉ, mỗi người nộp lại 30 triệu

Trong vụ án lừa đảo hơn 8.459 tỉ đồng tại Tập đoàn Egroup, hai em ruột của Shark Thủy bị cáo buộc giúp sức chiếm đoạt gần 166 tỉ đồng của 137 người. Trong khi số tiền huy động từ nhà đầu tư đã được sử dụng hết, ba anh em mới nộp lại tổng cộng 2,08 tỉ đồng.

Hơn 101 triệu người đã chuyển mã số bảo hiểm xã hội sang số định danh cá nhân
Oct 16, 2026
Hơn 101 triệu người đã chuyển mã số bảo hiểm xã hội sang số định danh cá nhân

Đến ngày 16-10, hơn 101,4 triệu người đã chuyển mã số bảo hiểm xã hội sang số định danh cá nhân, đạt 99,17% tổng số thuộc diện chuyển đổi.

Phụ nữ TP.HCM lan tỏa yêu thương, chung tay xây dựng môi trường sống an toàn
Oct 16, 2026
Phụ nữ TP.HCM lan tỏa yêu thương, chung tay xây dựng môi trường sống an toàn

Hướng đến Ngày Phụ nữ Việt Nam 20-10, các cấp Hội Liên hiệp phụ nữ TP.HCM tổ chức nhiều hoạt động chăm lo hội viên, phụ nữ có hoàn cảnh khó khăn, thúc đẩy bình đẳng giới và lan tỏa những giá trị nhân văn trong cộng đồng.

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