British author Samantha Harvey wins Booker with space story

British author Samantha Harvey has won the 2024 Booker Prize award with her novel Orbital, the first book set in space to win the prize. Orbital contemplates the world from a different viewpoint as it follows a team of astronauts in the International Space Station.more

French footballer Wissam Ben Yedder, who defended the colours of AS Monaco until the end of last season, has been sentenced to two years in prison with a suspended sentence for sexual assault. The 34-year-old will also have to pay five thousand euros in compensation to the victim.more

Trust in online banking and web browsing is declining, according to research conducted by SW Research on behalf of Bank Pocztowy. However, despite a 7 per cent drop from last year, Poles still consider online banking to be the safest form of online activity, it added.more

A central London pub has increased the price of drinks in the late evening — saying that customers need to pay for their security. O’Neill’s on Wardour Street, Soho, has added a £2 surcharge on all drinks served after 10pm, meaning that a pint costing £7.40 goes up to £9.40 later in the evening.more

Albania, years ago a closed country ruled by dictatorship, now attracts millions of tourists a year; more and more of them are seeking aesthetic medicine there, i.e. a more beautiful smile or fuller bust, reported the website of N1 TV, which broadcasts in the Balkan countries.more

Scotland national team player Che Adams will not take part in the Nations League matches against Croatia on Friday and Poland on Monday, the BBC has reported. The 28-year-old Torino striker also did not play against the Red and White in September's match in Glasgow, won by the visitors 3-2.more

The UK’s jobs market has shown further signs of cooling after a rise in unemployment in September while pay growth slowed, as business leaders warned the budget could hit hiring demand and lead to higher prices.more

The head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned on Tuesday. The reason is the results of an investigation indicating that Archbishop Welby failed to inform the police about sexual abuse committed years ago by a staff member at a Christian summer camp.more

The NHS will start offering an "improved" stop smoking pill to tens of thousands of people in England who want to quit cigarettes. Varenicline, a daily tablet given over a few months, is as effective as vapes and more effective than nicotine replacement gum or patches, NHS England says. more

The economic policies announced by US President-elect Donald Trump could elevate the exchange rate of the US currency; a strong dollar would in turn affect global trade and finance, stifling growth in other parts of the world, the UK's ‘Economist’ weekly assessed.more

For the third year in a row, Polish women's tennis players will play in the final tournament of the Billie Jean King Cup, but for the first time Iga Swiatek is in the line-up, which significantly increases the chances of a good result. Tomorrow in Malaga, the Polish women's rivals in the first round will be the Spaniards. The Czech women are already waiting for the winners.more

A Ryanair plane en route to Manchester was forced to make aN emergency landing at London Stansted after a man died onboard. The flight from Tirana, Albania, suddenly diverted shortly before 8pm on Sunday, having flown over countries including Switzerland and France.more

Controls will be reintroduced at the Netherlands' land borders on 9 December and will remain in place for six months, the immigration and asylum ministry said yesterday. This is part of the anti-immigration campaign of the government coalition led by Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV), Reuters estimated.more

Former British Armed Forces soldier Daniel Khalife, who has been charged with terrorism and spying for Iran, pleaded guilty yesterday to escaping from prison where he was awaiting trial. This occurred in September 2023 and Khalife was caught after a three-day manhunt.more

McLaren executive director Zak Brown has made a surprising proposal. He has put forward a proposal to designate as many as 28 venues to host grand prix in the Formula One cycle. This year's F1 competition consists of 24 races, a record number in the history of the sport.more

The European Commission yesterday dismissed media reports that it intended to send troops from European countries to Ukraine as part of a US plan to ‘freeze the war’ in the country.more

New data from the Motor Insurers' Bureau shows the worst offending areas for uninsured driving in the UK.more

The Polish national team, who will play without team captain Robert Lewandowski in November's A1 football Nations League group matches against Portugal and Scotland, will have to prove they can play without their leader, according to Portuguese media.more

In the third quarter of 2024, traffic in shopping centers and malls fell by 12.4% compared to the same period in 2023. Declines can be observed in all provinces. The number of unique customers also decreased - by 9.9% y/y.more

Whole cucumbers, white wine and kimchi. Here’s what your London borough orders the most via Deliveroo groceries.more

Copenhagen authorities yesterday announced the launch of a campaign to attract educated Americans who are disappointed by Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.more

A Home Office artificial intelligence tool which proposes enforcement action against adult and child migrants could make it too easy for officials to rubberstamp automated life-changing decisions, campaigners have said.more

Iga Swiatek ended the season in the WTA series in second place with a loss of 1,046 points to the leader Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. Third position was retained by American Coco Gauff, who triumphed at the WTA Finals. Magdalena Fręch dropped from 24th to 25th. Hubert Hurkacz, meanwhile, retained his 16th place in the latest world tennis ranking.more

Top pub and restaurant bosses have warned the chancellor that tax rises in last month's Budget will "unquestionably" cause closures and job losses. In a letter, more than 200 signatories have said the hospitality industry is disproportionately impacted by an "unsustainable" hike in the amount employers pay in National Insurance contributions (NICs).more

Someone moved the UK's oldest satellite and there appears to be no record of exactly who, when or why. Launched in 1969, just a few months after humans first set foot on the Moon, Skynet-1A was put high above Africa's east coast to relay communications for British forces.more

Barcelona, with Robert Lewandowski playing the entire match, succumbed to Real Sociedad San Sebastian 0:1 away in the 13th round of the Spanish football league. It did not fire a single shot on target. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny, who was again a substitute, is still waiting for his debut.more

Ryanair’s profits have dropped by nearly a fifth, as lower peak-season fares met higher costs that the airline blamed partly on problems at Boeing. Summer fares were down by an average 7% as Ryanair cut prices to keep its planes full, carrying 9% more passengers from April to September this year than last.more

A family has paid tribute to their son who has been killed in Ukraine, saying they "begged him not to go" but he wanted to help. Callum Tindal-Draper's family said they were informed by the 4th International Legion that the 22-year-old from Cornwall had been killed in action while the foreign volunteer platoon defended an observation point on 5 November.more

We expect that diseases such as West Nile virus, or others transmitted by mosquitoes, will be encountered more and more frequently in our environment,' noted biologist and parasitologist, Professor Maciej Grzybek. He pointed out that the health system must be prepared to act.more

US tennis player Taylor Fritz won over Russia's Daniil Medvedev 6:4, 6:3, while world ranking leader Italy's Jannik Sinner defeated Australia's Alex de Minaura 6:3, 6:4 on the first day of the season-ending ATP Finals tournament in Turin.more

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet with the country's President Emmanuel Macron in France today. They will discuss plans to strengthen Ukraine ahead of US President Donald Trump taking office, British media reported.more

This date has become popular, perpetuated and is known in the West as Veteran's Day, the end of the World War,’ is how Dr Artur Kuprianis of the IPN's Branch Historical Research Office in Łódź talks about the timing of the celebration of the anniversary of Poland's regaining of independence.more

People have been urged to isolate at home for five days if they contract a contagious illness as a new variant is sweeping across the country - driving cases up 16% in two weeks. Rates of the winter vomiting bug norovirus have surged and the UK Health Security Agency says a Japanese variant known as Kawasaki is responsible for 70% of cases.more

Throughout the year, approximately 700 tons of St. Martin's croissants are sold, of which today it will be approximately 350-400 tons - informed Stanisław Butka, senior of the Guild of Confectioners and Bakers in Poznań.more

Chelsea drew 1-1 at home with Arsenal in the London derby in the 11th round of the English Premier League. Although the Blues moved up to third and the Gunners to fourth in the table, their gap to leaders Liverpool increased to nine points.more

Despite being relatively unknown, the quiet 'village' in North London is very well linked by the Underground...more

The archaeological site of Pompeii in southern Italy will be limited to 20,000 visitors per day, its management announced. The rules will apply from November 15, and were decided after a record summer when the number of tourists reached 36,000 per day.more

Yesterday, the annual general meeting of members of this Polish institution was held at the Polish Social and Cultural Centre in London. During the many hours of the meeting, a new president was elected, a representative of the "new Polonia" - Marcin Kalinowski, who for two years held the position of director of building management at POSK.more

NatWest's mobile banking app has crashed, leaving customers locked out of their accounts during the weekend. More than 1,000 customers have reported problems on outage tracker Down Detector as they scramble to access their money. more

A man was left in the sea for 19 hours after falling from a cargo ship before he was rescued by two fisherman. The man was treated at hospital after he was taken to shore.more

The Princess of Wales has taken a significant step in her gradual return to public royal duties by attending the Festival of Remembrance. Joined by the Prince of Wales and the King, her presence at the Royal British Legion event comes after William spoke candidly of how 2024 has been “brutal” and “probably been the hardest year in my life”, with his wife and his father both diagnosed with cancer.more

Coco Gauff showed supreme determination to come back from a set and a break down against Zheng Qinwen to win the season-ending WTA Finals. In an enthralling encounter that lasted just over three hours, the American beat the Olympic champion 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in Saudi Arabia.more

The European Commission has informed Chinese platform Temu that an EU investigation has uncovered practices on the site that violate EU consumer law, such as fake discounts and false product reviews. Temu has a month to inform the Commission how it intends to remedy the irregularities.more

Engineers have found a bottle with a 132-year-old message deep inside the walls of a lighthouse in the south of Scotland. The bottle was found inside the Corsewall Lighthouse at the most northerly point of the Rhins of Galloway.more

A former adviser to President-elect Donald Trump says the incoming administration will focus on achieving peace in Ukraine rather than enabling the country to gain back territory occupied by Russia. Bryan Lanza, who worked on Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, told the BBC the incoming administration would ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his version of a realistic vision for peace.more

Real Madrid players at the Estadio Stantiago Bernabeu, thanks in part to a hat-trick by Brazilian Vinicius Junior, won 4-0 against Osasuna Pamplona in the 13th round of the Spanish top league. However, the "royal" paid for it with injuries to his compatriots - winger Rodrygo and defender Eder Militao.more