European stocks rose on Wednesday morning after a string of strong corporate results a day earlier, while equities were also boosted by remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In Philadelphia on Tuesday, Powell suggested that another interest rate cut could come later this month in the US.
In Europe, shares in Netherlands-headquartered ASML, which makes equipment used in the production of AI chips, jumped after the company posted promising results on Wednesday.
The shares rose more than 4%, after Europe’s largest company by market value reported third-quarter earnings fuelled by the AI boom. ASML’s stocks have rallied by almost 50% since August.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, French multinational luxury group LVMH said its organic growth re-entered positive territory in the third quarter. The luxury giant’s shares jumped by more than 14% by 13.00 CEST.
The mood in France also shifted on news that the government had significantly improved its chances of surviving a looming no-confidence vote on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu won the much-needed support of the Socialist Party in France’s National Assembly, in exchange for suspending a pension law that raises the retirement age. The CAC 40 in Paris jumped over 2% by 13.00 CEST.
The main European benchmark stock exchanges were also in the green, except for London’s FTSE 100, which lost 0.43%. Meanwhile, the DAX in Frankfurt gained less than 0.1%. Milan’s FTSE MIB was up by 0.36%, Madrid’s Ibex 35 gained 0.71% and the STOXX 600 saw a 0.6% gain.
Gold continued its rally, hitting a high of $4,217 per ounce. Gold has soared over 60% in 2025 as investors seek a safe haven during a period of uncertainty, notably driven by US tariffs and trade tensions.
Global markets are on the rise after the Fed Chair’s words
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled on Tuesday that the Fed is slightly more worried about the job market, raising expectations that the central bank will come through with another rate cut.
“Rising downside risks to employment have shifted our assessment of the balance of risks,” he said at a meeting of the National Association of Business Economics in Philadelphia.
Traders took his words to heart, particularly as the US government shutdown has prevented the release of fresh economic data.
“[Investors were] reading Powell like a haiku — every pause, every syllable weighed for hidden meaning,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
“The message, once decoded, was clear enough: two rate cuts aren’t just a possibility, they’re the main course,” Innes said.
The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in September amid worries that unemployment could worsen.
“Markets have been lifted by the rekindling of rate cut expectations in the US after comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell, which highlighted sluggish hiring were taken as an indication that not one, but two further cuts were very much on the table for 2025,” said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis.
“Buoyed by continued deal-making in the frothy AI sector, investors seem prepared to overlook the growing number of warnings about the potential for a market correction at the moment, but this earnings season will be crucial if that optimism is to continue.”
S&P 500 futures rose 0.64% during the early afternoon in Europe, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.41%. Nasdaq futures were up by 0.79%.
On Tuesday, US markets closed a mixed trading day, with the S&P 500 giving up 0.16% and the Dow climbing 0.44%. The Nasdaq composite dropped 0.76%.
Markets remain volatile as the US and China exchange threats of new trade sanctions and tariffs.
Technology stocks are hypersensitive to trade issues since big chipmakers and other companies rely on China for raw materials and manufacturing. China’s large consumer base is also important for its sales growth.
In other dealings early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil was circling around $58.65 per barrel (€50.43) and Brent crude, the international standard, was traded around $62.24 (€53.52) per barrel.
The US dollar slipped 0.25% against the Japanese yen, while the euro rose 0.19% against the dollar. The British Pound gained 0.35% against the greenback.
A ONE-of-a-kind ice rink will open next month at one of London’s most popular rooftop bars.
Anyone seeking Christmas fun will be able to ice skate at the highest rooftop bar in Peckham, and it has 360-degree views of the London skyline.
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London’s highest ice rink will open in Peckham next monthCredit: ICE at Bussey Rooftop BarThe Bussey Rooftop Bar is bustling in the summer and will transform for winterCredit: Instagram
On top of the Bussey Building in Peckham is a huge rooftop bar – and it is set to be turned into an ice rink for the winter season.
From November 17 until January 1, the Bussey Rooftop Bar area will be transformed into an ice rink with a bar.
On Facebook it said: “Tickets are LIVE for London’s freshest rooftop ice rink! Skate under the stars, then head to our Après Skate Bar for spiked hot chocs, winter spritzes, mulled magic and DJs every Fri & Sat bringing all the feels“.
The Bussey Rooftop Bar will become the Après Skate Bar and transform into a winter lodge – think twinkly lights, outdoor heaters and blankets.
Also on the rooftop, you’ll be able to buy bar snacks and grab stone-baked pizzas.
Tickets for the ice rink are on sale now and cost £14 for adults, £10 per person for family tickets, and £9 for children.
Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor, loves the rooftop bar, she said: “One of my favourite places to go isPeckham, because of its famous rooftop. I’ve spent many a sunny day at the Bussey building, a rooftop on top of a car park.
“It serves amazing pizzas and beers and has fantastic music playing as well. When the sun goes down, make sure to grab afilmat Peckhamplex with £5.99 tickets all day, or Four Quarters, a retro arcade bar.“
The Bussey Building is an old factory around the corner from Peckham Rye that hosts club nights, yoga classes and artists’ spaces.
It’s home toRooftop Film Club, an open-air cinema that shows classic, cult, and new release films during the summertime.
Skaters will be able to enjoy sunset views from the rooftopCredit: AlamyThere will be plenty of food and Christmassy drinks tooCredit: Instagram
The Peckham bar has been included in guides for “Best Outdoor Bars in London” and “Best Rooftop Bars in London.
Some of the regulars are excited to try out the new space, one wrote on Instagram under the skating announcement: “Can’t wait!”
Another added: “Just when I thought bussey couldn’t get better”.
Until recently, no one would have mistaken Arianna Barrios for a wokosa.
The Orange city council member comes from O.C. Republican royalty. Her grandfather, Cruz, was a Mexican immigrant and civil rights pioneer who registered with the GOP in the late 1940s after Democratic leaders wouldn’t help him and other activists fight school segregation against Mexican American students in Orange County. Her second cousin, Steve Ambriz, was a rising GOP star serving on the Orange City Council when he was killed by wrong-way driver in 2006.
The 55-year-old has helped Republicans on policy and handled communications for the Orange County Taxpayers Assn. and the Richard Nixon Foundation. Friendly, smart, quick-witted and a total goodie-goodie, she corrected me last fall when I introduced her to my Chapman University history students as a Republican. To my surprise, the Orange native proclaimed that she has never been a Republican — she started out as a Democrat and is now an independent.
And that’s not the first surprise she’s sprung on me. Her recent rise as one of O.C.’s most vocal politicians opposing President Trump’s deportation machine has been unexpected — and welcome.
She called out her council colleagues in July for not approving a resolution that would have required federal immigration agents to remove their masks and wear IDs within city limits. She connects young activists to legal and financial resources and has participated in neighborhood patrols alerting people that la migra is coming. She has accompanied Orange residents to hearings at Adelanto’s immigration court and hosted a two-part video series for the civic affairs group Orange County Forum on how the U.S. got to this moment in immigration.
Why, Barrios has become so radicalized that she used the hash tag #brownwar throughout the summer and into the fall when posting immigration-related stories on Facebook. That stopped after her husband, an anti-Trump Republican, suggested it was a bit much.
You would expect this of a politician from an O.C. city with a progressive streak, like Santa Ana, Anaheim or even Laguna Woods. But not from Orange, whose city fathers have long cast it as a slice of small-town Americana free from big-city problems or national issues.
And definitely not from Barrios, whose demeanor is usually more baseball mom than strident activist.
“I’ve been asked multiple times, ‘What’s up with Arianna? This is not her,’” said Orange Councilmember Ana Gutierrez, who has seen ICE agents invade her street twice. “Well, when she cares about something, she’s loud.”
Working with Barrios on pro-immigrant actions is “like talking to a young person,” said 20-year-old Chapman student Bianey Chavez, who belongs to a local youth activist group. The two connected at a protest in their hometown’s picturesque Orange Circle. “It’s fresh air for someone of her age and power to be so open-minded and helpful.”
Anaheim Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava, who has known Barrios for over a decade, said she had “never heard Arianna speak on any issue like this in the past. But it’s great. Maybe she just felt empowered at this point. Maybe anger just boiled up in her, and she couldn’t be quiet anymore.”
That’s exactly what happened, Barrios told me over breakfast at a Mexican café in Old Towne.
The immigration raids that have rocked Orange County as hard as L.A. “just hit all of those buttons,” she said. Wearing a blouse decorated with orange poppies, the bespectacled Barrios looked every bit the polite pol that O.C. leaders had taken her to be. “Not only is it just patently unfair, it’s just so wrong. And it’s so inhumane.
“And one of the things that I can’t stand — and one of things I taught my kids — is if you see a kid being bullied, my expectation of you is that you go up to that kid and you go protect them.”
Councilmember Ariana Barrios holds up a vest and hat she bought from Amazon while arguing about the dangers of ICE imposters.
She credits what her father jokes is “an overactive sense of justice” to her grandparents, who ran a corner store in Santa Ana in the 1940s. Barrios Market became a meeting place for the families who helped organize the 1946 lawsuit that ended Mexican-only schools in California.
Their granddaughter didn’t know any of that history until her 20s, because her upbringing in 1980s Orange County was “like a John Hughes movie.”
“We didn’t even really think of ourselves really as, like, Hispanic — I mean, we all were, but it wasn’t the end-all be-all,” Barrios said. “We were all trying to be Valley girls.”
Living in Nacogdoches, Texas, for a few years in the 1990s “woke her up” to anti-Latino racism. But after returning home to find county and state officials passing anti-immigrant laws, she didn’t join the resistance, as many Latinos of that era did. Instead, Barrios focused on starting on her career in communications and later raising two sons.
“I remember even having my own stereotypical thoughts about [illegal immigration], not really understanding what the experience was, how people got here,” she said.
Things began to change as Barrios worked for school districts “making sure that kids had access. I didn’t care about their status.” It became personal once she was appointed to the Rancho Santiago Community College District Board of Trustees in 2011 and met refugees as well as recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which grants a reprieve from deportation to some immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. She hired some at her PR firm.
The council member brought up the 1986 immigration amnesty that Ronald Reagan signed and an unsuccessful 2001 bill co-sponsored by the late U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that would have created a pathway to citizenship for people who came to this country without papers as minors.
“That’s what’s so odd about where we are right now,” Barrios said. “The two biggest programs, to get people to protected status and to legal resident status, came out from under Republicans.”
After winning another four-year term in 2024, Barrios figured she’d spend her time trying to fix Orange’s fiscal crisis, especially because she thought “so much of what [Trump] was promising on immigration was rhetoric.”
An onslaught of federal immigration raids in the L.A. area starting in June made her realize things would be different. What finally sparked her furor was when federal agents handcuffed U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla after he crashed a June news conference featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“All of this garbage about [Noem claiming], ‘I didn’t know who he was and he didn’t identify himself’ was bulls—,” she said. “It was just bulls—. But if you’re willing to do that, you’re willing to do anything. There are no limits.”
She admits to sometimes “los[ing] my cool” while speaking out against Trump and his deportation deluge, arguing it’s necessary to spark change in a place like Orange, which has a long history of anti-Latino sentiment. Within walking distance from her home is a former movie theater where Latinos were forced to sit in the balcony into the 1950s. In 2010, the City Council tried to ban day laborers and voted to support an Arizona law that made it legal for local law enforcement to question people about their immigration status.
It’s history Barrios knows and cites now but that barely registered with her back then.
“If people want to be nasty to me, I can’t stop them,” she said. “But I can try and explain where I’m coming from so that, as I told my sister once, it’s not for the person I’m talking to, it’s [for] everybody who’s watching the fight.”
Her husband — who joined her at a No Kings rally during the summer and will join her this weekend at one she helped organized — feels “nervous” about her newfound advocacy, she said.
But her late grandfather and her father, a Democrat who was the first Latino elected to the Orange Unified school board, wouldn’t have hesitated to protest against Trump’s cruelty, she said. “They wouldn’t even think twice about it.”
Barrios asked for a to-go box for her chorizo and eggs, which she barely touched during our hourlong chat. Then she reached into a cream-colored Kate Spade purse to pull out red cards.
“Know Your Rights,” they read, delineating what people can and can’t do if la migra asks them questions.
“I carry these all the time,” she said, leaving some on the table. “I see people and go, ‘Here you go. Just take some, OK?’”
There are several Nike-sponsored billboards popping up around town featuring Long Beach Poly freshman 800-meter runner Laila Kirk, who is a two-time national AAU champion.
It’s setting the stage for her high school debut this spring for the Jackrabbits.
She certainly has lots of ties to track and field.
Her mother, Angelita, ran track at Poly and Washington State. Her father, Lamarr, ran track at Dorsey and Washington State. Her grandmother, Margaret Hemmans-Green, ran track at Manual Arts and El Camino College. Her grandfather, Ted Green, was a long jumper at Manual Arts.
Laila had a best 800 time of 2:07 last spring. She also ran the 400 in 54.72.
Long Beach Poly has a long history of producing outstanding track and field athletes, but few 14-year-olds have appeared on billboards before their first race in high school.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
Riot police used tear gas and water cannons to break up pro-Palestinian protests at Israel’s World Cup qualifier against Italy. Defeat for Israel in the match effectively ended the team’s hopes of automatic qualification.
Dozens of dilapidated stone buildings are all that remain of the once-thriving border village of Martoli, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Nestled in the Johar Valley and surrounded by Himalayan peaks, the most notable being Nanda Devi, once considered the tallest mountain in the world, this village had traded sugar, lentils, spices, and cloth for salt and wool with Tibetans across the border.
The nomadic inhabitants of several villages spent the winter months in the plains gathering goods to be traded with Tibetans in the summer. However, the border was sealed following an armed conflict between India and China in 1962, disrupting life in the high villages and leaving people with little incentive to return.
Kishan Singh, 77, was 14 when he left with his family to settle in the lower village of Thal. He still returns to Martoli every summer to till the land and cultivate buckwheat, strawberries, and black cumin.
His ancestral home has no roof, so he sleeps in a neighbour’s abandoned house during the six months he spends in this village.
“I enjoy being in the mountains and the land here is very fertile,” he says.
In late autumn, he hires mules to transport his harvest to his home in the plains, where he sells it at a modest profit.
The largest of the Johar Valley villages had about 1,500 people at its peak in the early 1960s. Martoli had about 500 residents then, while some of the dozen or so other villages had 10 to 15 homes each.
Now, only three or four people return to Martoli each summer.
A few villagers are returning in summer to the nearby villages of Laspa, Ghanghar, and Rilkot, as they can now travel by vehicle to within a few kilometres (miles) of their villages on a recently built unpaved road.
Among the scattered remnants of earlier stone houses in Martoli, a new guesthouse has appeared to cater for a few trekkers who pass through the village en route to the Nanda Devi Base Camp.
If the ticket you bought is refundable, you will receive the money back.
The cancellation charges, if you incur any, will be deducted from your refund.
A Qatar Airways plane, stationary at an airport.Credit: Alamy
Cancellation charges are applied to cover the transaction costs and to compensate the airline if they fail to resell your place.
If the fare you bought is non-refundable (such as Economy Lite), then you will not receive any money back, though you may be eligible for a refund on unutilised government taxes.
If you cancel within 24 hours of booking (and your flight is at least 7 days away), you are typically eligible for a full refund with no cancellation fee under the airline’s “24-Hour Risk-Free” policy.
How much does it cost to change a Qatar Airways flight?
The cost to change a Qatar Airways flight depends heavily on the type of fare class you bought and your Privilege Club status.
A fixed change fee will be applied to process the transaction, though this may be waived depending on your ticket.
Recent policy updates have introduced a low USD $25 change fee for changes made online for some fares.
However, for basic Economy Lite tickets, the fixed change fee can still be higher, ranging from USD $100 to USD $125.
Platinum and Gold members are often exempt from change fees when modifying their flight more than 24 hours before departure.
If the new flight you choose costs more than the one you had, you must pay the difference to even the amount up.
Brad and Olivia are said to have been working on a plan to save their marriageCredit: Getty Images for Black TapShe consulted a psychic to ask if things ‘will get better’Credit: Getty Images for the NTA’sOlivia admitted this week that she and Brad are going through a rough patchCredit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock
Now it’s been reported Olivia and footballer Bradley, 31, are determined to start putting each other first.
A source said: “Olivia and Bradley have grown up together, it’s been 10 years since they first started dating.
“She will be the first to admit that this year she has put her career first, which Bradley completely supports.
“But for the first time in years, Olivia asked for a week off work, giving her the chance to catch up with her personal life and spend anytime she can, when he’s not training, with Bradley.”
The insider added to the MailOnline: “They’re looking forward to the future and are house hunting for a place closer to London, which should help give them more stability.”
During an episode of her Sunday Roast Reheated podcast, Olivia asked psychic Deborah: “What’s coming in my love life this year, are things going to get better?”
Deborah replied: “It does feel slightly unsettled at the moment but mostly okay for you, a little bit up and downy but it will settle.”
Olivia also had a cryptic response when the psychic predicted children in the “near future”, asking: “Who’s the dad?”
It comes after she confessed that she and Brad are going through a rough period right now.
During an Instagram Q&A, Olivia was asked by a fan why she hadn’t been posting much of him.
She replied: “He’s alive I swear.
“Ten years of us. A lot has changed. Marriage is frikinnn hard (no one wants to say that part out loud) and I’m just not a faker.
“I’m not posting pictures if they don’t reflect our reality. We are doing our thing and if there are any more updates you will be the first to know.”
These three stocks have strong growth opportunities still ahead.
Technology stocks continue to help lead the market higher and remain a great space to find investment ideas. Let’s look at three top tech stocks to buy right now.
1. Nvidia
There has been a lot of news recently around new artificial intelligence (AI) chip challengers, but Nvidia(NVDA -4.33%) remains the company at the forefront of AI infrastructure. The company’s graphic processing units (GPUs) are powering most of the world’s AI workloads today, and that dominance doesn’t look to be slipping anytime soon.
Image source: Getty Images.
Nvidia is much more than a chipmaker. Its edge comes from its CUDA software platform, which it smartly provided for free to universities and research labs that were doing the early work on AI. That led to early AI foundational code being written for its chips and locked in a generation of developers into its ecosystem. Today, the company’s chips, networking, and software work together as one integrated tech stack, giving customers performance advantages.
The company’s huge commitment to partner with OpenAI is another sign that it’s not content to sit back. While other chipmakers have struck deals with OpenAi, Nvidia is the only company getting a significant equity stake in the AI model leader. Together, the two companies will work together to help shape where AI is going.
With demand for AI infrastructure still far outpacing supply, Nvidia’s growth story is nowhere near finished. Nvidia is arguably the most important stock in the market today, and one to own.
2. Alphabet
If there is one company that will challenge Nvidia as an AI leader, it’s Alphabet(GOOGL 0.62%)(GOOG 0.75%). The company has its fingers in multiple aspects of AI, with a unique positioned.
Arguably, no company has as complete of an AI tech stack as Alphabet. Its strength starts with its Gemini large language models (LLMs), which rival those of OpenAI. Meanwhile, the company has developed its own custom AI chips, called tensor processing units (TPUs), that were designed to optimally run its cloud computing infrastructure. The chips are in their 7th generation, and far ahead of most other custom AI chips.
Its software stack, which includes Vertex AI, meanwhile, is top-notch. Alphabet even owns the largest private fiber network in the world, which ensures low latency. Its pending acquisition of cloud cybersecurity company Wiz also adds to its vertical offering.
Right now, this vertical AI integration is helping power revenue growth and operating leverage at Google Cloud. Last quarter, Google Cloud revenue climbed 32% to $13.6 billion, while its operating income more than doubled to $2.8 billion. Meanwhile, it’s using its Gemini model to help power its search and AI chatbot offerings, as well.
Fears that chatbots would eat into Google’s search business have faded as the company blended its Gemini models directly into its core products. Features such as AI Overviews, Circle to Search, and Lens have made search more dynamic, leading to more queries, while its new AI mode lets users easily shift from AI-powered search to a traditional AI chatbot. Alphabet is no longer just playing defense when it comes to search and AI; it’s clearly playing offense, and it is well-positioned to win given its distribution and data advantages.
Alphabet is also making early progress in new areas such as robotaxis through Waymo and in quantum computing, which could eventually open new growth streams. Between search, cloud, and its AI push, Alphabet is a growth stock to buy right now.
3. GitLab
Compared to the two stocks above, GitLab(GTLB 1.11%) is certainly flying under the radar. However, this is a company that has been seeing strong growth. It’s grown its revenue by between 25% to 35% for eight consecutive quarters, including 29% last quarter, and more strong growth could be in store as the company continues to evolve.
GitLab started as a platform for developers to securely write and store code, but has evolved into a full software development lifecycle solution. Its Duo AI agent has the potential to be a big growth driver, as it helps automate repetitive work that eats up most of a developer’s day. Freeing up time to actually write code means more software projects, which drives more demand for GitLab’s tools.
Meanwhile, the company is starting to shift to a hybrid seat-plus-usage pricing model. This could be a huge growth driver for Gitlab, as it lets the company capture more revenue from usage and the increased value its offering is now bringing to its customers. A usage model also counteracts the biggest bear argument against the stock, which is that AI will reduce the number of coders.
That bearish argument has driven the stock to an attractive valuation, with it trading at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 6.5 times 2026 analyst estimates. For a company with approximately 90% gross margins growing revenue near 30%, that’s a huge bargain.
EASYJET has revealed it will be setting up an airport base next year in one of the most popular African cities with Brits – meaning more cheap flights.
The budget airline has announced it will be growing its program from Marrakech in Morocco.
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easyJet is expanding its program with more flights to and from MarrakeshCredit: Alamy Morocco is one of the cheapest countries for Brit to go on holidayCredit: Alamy
While the new routes aren’t currently from the UK, other existing routes will see more flights launched.
easyJet already flies from the UK to Marrakech from eight hubs including Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester London Gatwick, Luton and Southend.
In November, some of these one-way flights are as little as £14.99.
The new easyJet routes are from Hamburg, Lille and Strasbourg to Marrakech and Geneva to Tangier – each route will have twice weekly journeys meaning there will be hundreds of additional flights.
The consumer watchdog analysed the cost of 5,590 package holidays from some of the UK’s biggest tour operators, including Jet2holidays, TUI and easyJet Holidays.
Morocco was one of those places where holidaymakers can get more for their money.
Head of Sun Travel Lisa Minot recently visited the Moroccan city with her familyCredit: Lisa MinotMarrakesh is known for its colourful Medina and marketsCredit: Henryk Sadura
“We were sunbathing on the roof of our riad in the Medina in glorious 22 degree temperatures – and I loved the amazing desert landscapes just 40 minutes from the hustle and bustle of the souks.
“Tourism is booming in the city and while the streets are as colourful and chaotic as ever, the influx of visitors has brought some gorgeous new bars, restaurants and stunning hotels.”
Lisa also suggests visiting popular spots in the city of Marrakech like the Jemaa el-Fnaa square filled with cafes and colourful stalls.
It’s where visitors will see lots of performers from musicians to snakecharmers.
When you get hungry, make sure to visit one of the square’s many food stalls to pick up some maakouda – a traditional potato cake.
In the Kasbah district, you’ll find the Saadian Tombs. It’s a 14th-century site that was discovered in 1917 and the tombs are made from Italian Carrara marble.
For the best views, Lisa says head to Nobu Hotel’s rooftop where you can see the Atlas Mountains.
Of course you can tuck into some great food options too from quality sushi, and sip on a cocktail.
Another reason Morocco is set to be a big destination for next year is thanks to Ryanair.
The other budget airline announced that due to the axing of flights to Spain, the capacity removed from Spanish airports will be reallocated to more competitive European markets, including Morocco.
This means your holiday to Marrakech, or other Moroccan cities could become cheaper than a trip to Tenerife.
From December, as new coat of arms will appear on the front, designed by Prince Charles.
The British passport already changed back in 2020 from burgundy to blue, as well as to be signed in His Majesty’s name after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Burgundy passports and old blue design passports are still valid for use until they expire.
Just make sure to check the start date as a number of people have been caught out by confusing rules introduced post-Brexit.
Days before the Trump administration was supposed to file its response to a California lawsuit challenging its targeting of gender-affirming care providers, attorneys for the U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge to temporarily halt the proceedings.
Given the federal shutdown, they argued, they just didn’t have the lawyers to do the work.
“Department of Justice attorneys and employees of the federal defendants are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in very limited circumstances, including ‘emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property,’” they wrote in their filing Oct. 1, the first day of the shutdown.
The district judge presiding over the case, which California filed in federal court in Massachusetts along with a coalition of other Democrat-led states, agreed, and promptly granted the request.
It was just one example of the now weeks-old federal shutdown grinding to a halt important litigation between California and the Trump administration, in policy battles with major implications for people’s lives.
The same day, in the same Massachusetts court, Justice Department attorneys were granted a pause in a lawsuit in which California and other states are challenging mass firings at the U.S. Department of Education, after noting that department funding had been suspended and it didn’t know “when such funding will be restored by Congress.”
The same day in U.S. District Court in Central California, the Trump administration asked for a similar pause in a lawsuit that it had brought against California, challenging the state’s refusal to provide its voter registration rolls to the administration.
Justice Department attorneys wrote that they “greatly regret any disruption caused to the Court and the other litigants,” but needed to pause the proceedings until they were “permitted to resume their usual civil litigation functions.”
Since then, the court in Central California has advised the parties of alternative dispute resolution options and outside groups — including the NAACP — have filed motions to intervene in the case, but no major developments have occurred.
The pauses in litigation — only a portion of those that have occurred in courts across the country — were an example of sweeping, real-world, high-stakes effects of the federal government shutdown that average Americans may not consider when thinking about the shutdown’s impact on their lives.
Federal employees working in safety and other crucial roles — such as air traffic controllers — have remained on the job, even without pay, but many others have been forced to stay home. The Justice Department did not spell out which of its attorneys had been benched by the shutdown, but made clear that some who had been working on the cases in question were no longer doing so.
Federal litigation often takes years to resolve, and brief pauses in proceedings are not uncommon. However, extended disruptions — such as one that could occur if the shutdown drags on — would take a toll, forestalling legal answers in some of the most important policy battles in the country.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, whose office has sued the Trump administration more than 40 times since January, has not challenged every request for a pause by the Trump administration — especially in cases where the status quo favors the state.
However, it has challenged pauses in other cases, with some success.
For example, in that same Massachusetts federal courthouse Oct. 1, Justice Department attorneys asked a judge to temporarily halt proceedings in a case in which California and other states are suing to block the administration’s targeted defunding of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.
Their arguments were the same as in the other cases: Given the shutdown, they didn’t have the attorneys to do the necessary legal work.
In response, attorneys for California and the other states pushed back, noting that the shutdown had not stopped Department of Health and Human Services officials from moving forward with the measure to defund Planned Parenthood — so the states’ residents remained at imminent risk of losing necessary healthcare.
“The risks of irreparable harms are especially high because it is unclear how long the lapse in appropriations will continue, meaning relief may not be available for months at which point numerous health centers will likely be forced to close due to a lack of funds,” the states argued.
On Oct. 8, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani denied the government’s request for a pause, finding that the states’ interest in proceeding with the case “outweighs” the administration’s interest in pausing it.
Talwani’s argument, in part, was that her order denying a pause would provide Justice Department officials the legal authority to continue litigating the case despite the shutdown.
Bonta said in a statement that “Trump owns this shutdown” and “the devastation it’s causing to hardworking everyday Americans,” adding that his office will not let Trump use it to cause even more harm by delaying relief in court cases.
“We’re not letting his Administration use this shutdown as an excuse to continue implementing his unlawful agenda unchecked. Until we get relief for Californians, we’re not backing down — and neither are the courts,” Bonta said. “We can’t wait for Trump to finally let our government reopen before these cases are heard.”
Trump and Republicans in Congress have blamed the shutdown on Democrats.
England’s Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones are bowled by Pakistan’s Diana Baig and Fatima Sana in the second and third over respectively at the Cricket World Cup.
South Korea resumed a project to excavate the remains of soldiers killed at a battle site in the DMZ, its military said Wednesday. The move was intended to help reduce inter-Korean tensions in the heavily militarized DMZ, as seen in 2019. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI | License Photo
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (UPI) — South Korea on Wednesday resumed an excavation project for the remains of soldiers killed in the Korean War at a battle site in the demilitarized zone, its military said, as Seoul looks to improve frosty inter-Korean relations.
“As part of measures to ease military tensions between the South and the North, the Ministry of National Defense has resumed the excavation of remains around White Horse Ridge in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, which was suspended in 2022,” the ministry said in a message to reporters.
“This is an effort to return the remains of soldiers killed in the Korean War to their families … and is a practical measure to transform the DMZ into a zone of peace,” the ministry said.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rehabilitate relations between the two Koreas since he took office in June, with conciliatory gestures such as removing propaganda loudspeakers from border areas.
Lee has also said he would take “proactive and gradual steps” to restore the 2018 inter-Korean military pact that was suspended amid tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang during the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2024.
The pact established buffer zones along the border and included measures such as the removal of some guard posts in the DMZ and the banning of live-fire exercises in certain areas.
In April 2018, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to launch a joint project to retrieve remains of soldiers killed during the Korean War from Arrowhead Ridge, the site of one of the fiercest battles of the 1950-53 Korean War.
However, after the failed 2019 summit in Hanoi between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the North refused to participate.
South Korea began excavation work alone on the site in 2019 and retrieved remains of some 424 soldiers. Seoul later expanded efforts to White Horse Ridge, where teams found the remains of 67 soldiers, but the project was suspended in 2022 amid deteriorating ties with the North.
Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, family sources have told the BBC.
Odinga died on Wednesday while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in India. He collapsed during a morning walk and was taken to Devamatha Hospital, which said he had suffered a cardiac arrest. It said he did not respond to resuscitation measures and was “declared dead at 09:52” local time (04:22 GMT).
In recent weeks, there has been speculation about his health, although family members and political allies had dismissed reports suggesting he was critically ill.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta – a long-time rival – said Odinga’s death had “left a silence that echoes across our nation”.
Other Kenyan politicians and world leaders have been sending their condolences, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described Odinga as a “towering statesman and a cherished friend of India”.
His supporters have been pouring onto the streets to mourn, especially in his political strongholds of western Kenya and parts of Nairobi.
A political mobiliser and towering figure in Kenyan politics, Odinga ran unsuccessfully for the presidency five times. He rejected the results on each occasion, often saying that victory had been stolen from him.
He was vindicated by Kenya’s highest court after the 2017 elections, when it annulled Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory and ordered fresh polls. However, he boycotted the rerun, demanding electoral reforms.
The disputed election of 2007, in which Odinga claimed he was cheated of victory by Mwai Kibaki, led to the biggest crisis in Kenya’s history.
Violence erupted around the country, resulting in 1,200 deaths and about 600,000 people were forced to flee their homes.
To resolve the crisis, a power-sharing agreement was brokered by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, leading to the formation of a unity government in which Odinga became prime minister.
He has often reconciled with the incumbent president after contentious elections.
After his most recent defeat in 2022, he later joined President William Ruto in a so-called broad-based government, which brought several of his allies into key positions.
He defended the move as necessary for national unity, coming in the aftermath of watershed nationwide protests last year that culminated in the storming of parliament. Dozens of protesters were killed in confrontations with security officers.
The Ruto administration backed Odinga’s bid to become chairperson of the African Union Commission, in elections held earlier this year. Despite strong regional support, he lost to Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.
Odinga inspired a passionate and loyal following throughout his political career, especially in western Kenya, where he was from.
His supporters called him “Baba” (Father), “Agwambo” (Act of God), and “Tinga” (Tractor) – drawn from his party’s symbol during the 1997 elections.
He was widely regarded as a master strategist and mass mobiliser, often drawing huge crowds to his political rallies, and he had a deep ability to connect with ordinary people.
He will be remembered for his unwavering fight for democratic freedoms and human rights.
He was a former political prisoner, and holds the record for being Kenya’s longest-serving detainee. His struggle against one-party dictatorship saw him detained twice (from 1982 to 1988 and 1989 to 1991) during the rule of Daniel arap Moi.
He was initially imprisoned for trying to stage a coup in 1982, which propelled him on to the national stage.
About halfway on the long, dusty drive from Las Vegas to Reno, there’s a wide spot in the road known as Tonopah. And along Main Street in Tonopah stands perhaps the creepiest overnight option in all Nevada.
Bold claim, I know. But the Clown Motel is special. Owner Vijay Mehar has taken an old motel and filled it with clowns. Paintings, murals, dools, ceramic figures. Many of them frowning or shrieking.
What guests love, Mehar has learned, is fear, loathing, painted faces, circus vibes and hints of paranormal activity. To be afraid, basically.
“America’s Scariest Motel,” say the brochures by the register. “Let fear run down your spine.”
The 31 guest rooms teem with enough clown imagery to eclipse a Ringling Brothers reunion. The gift shop is vast and troubling. (Clown knife, anyone?)
And then there are the neighbors. The motel stands next to the Old Tonopah Cemetery, most of whose residents perished between 1900 and 1911, often in mining accidents.
Some guests sign up for ghost hunt tours or explore the cemetery after dark. Others settle in with a horror movie, perhaps one of the several made on site, along with countless Youtube videos.
When I visited in late 2024, Mehar said hundreds of people stop by the motel on busy days, mostly focusing on the gift shop and the crowded, dusty shelves of the lobby-adjacent clown museum.
“When we came here, there were 800 or 850 clowns,” Mehar said. “Right now, we have close to 6,000.”
Throughout the motel’s corridors, walls and no-frills guest rooms (rated at 3.5 stars by Yelp and Trip Advisor), the clowns continue against a color scheme of purple, yellow and red, augmented by polka dots of blue and green. Rates start at $99.
If you book Room 222, which highlights Clownvis (Elvis as a clown, basically), the motel warns that you may be awakened in the wee hours by a mysterious “malevolent entity.”
The hotel also advises all guests that, despite monthly pest-control visits, they may encounter “UFI’s (Unwanted Flying Insects),” because rooms open to the outdoors. (This part of Nevada is known for its many Mormon crickets.)
“KPop Demon Hunters” creator Maggie Kang thinks there’s potential for more Huntr/x stories in the future, but only in animation.
In a recent interview with the BBC, the co-director of the Netflix phenomenon said there is nothing officially in the works, but she thinks “there’s definitely more we can do with these characters in this world.” Kang and her co-director Chris Appelhans also assured fans that if another “KPop Demon Hunters” were to happen, “it will be a story that deserves to be a sequel, and it will be something that we want to see.”
Produced by Sony Pictures Animation, the movie follows a popular K-pop girl group whose members use their music and dance moves (and magical powers) to fight demons and protect the world. But Huntr/x’s leader Rumi is keeping a secret from her bandmates Mira and Zoey that could lead to their downfall.
With Hollywood’s current trend of sequels and remakes, it’s easy to believe that “KPop Demon Hunters” could spawn its own franchise. But Kang and Appelhans both insist that a live-action adaptation should be off the table.
“It’s really hard to imagine these characters in a live action world,” Kang told the BBC, pointing to the tone and comedic elements in “KPop.” “It would feel too grounded. So totally it wouldn’t work for me.”
Appelhans agreed that the characters in “KPop Demon Hunters” are best suited for animation and worried a live-action version of them could feel too “stilted.”
“One of the great things about animation is that you make these composites of impossibly great attributes,” Appelhans told the BBC. “Rumi can be this goofy comedian and then singing and doing a spinning back-kick a second later and then free-falling through the sky. The joy of animation is how far you can push and elevate what’s possible.”
For now, it seems that Huntr/x will keep shining only in the medium they were born to be — in animation.
Serve Robotics(SERV -0.55%) develops autonomous last-mile logistics solutions. It has a major deal with Uber Technologies(NYSE: UBER) that will see thousands of its latest robots deployed into the Uber Eats food delivery network. But this is more than just a commercial partnership, because Uber is also one of Serve’s largest shareholders.
Uber acquired a company called Postmates in 2020, and in 2021, it spun Postmates’ robotics division out into a new company that became Serve Robotics. Serve is still relatively small with a market capitalization of just $890 million, but at the time of this writing, its stock has soared by 67% over the past year alone.
Serve has identified an enormous addressable market for its delivery robots, so should investors join Uber and buy the stock?
Image source: Getty Images.
A potential $450 billion opportunity
Existing last-mile logistics networks are quite inefficient, because they rely on cars with human drivers to deliver relatively small commercial loads from restaurants and retail stores. Serve is betting those workloads will increasingly shift to autonomous robots and drones, creating a potential $450 billion opportunity by 2030.
Serve’s latest Gen 3 robots have achieved Level 4 autonomy, meaning they can safely operate on sidewalks in designated areas without any human intervention. This makes them ideal for transporting small food orders, which is why 2,500 restaurants in five U.S. cities have used them to make 100,000 deliveries since 2022.
The Gen 3 robots use Nvidia‘s Jetson Orin platform, which includes all of the computing hardware and artificial intelligence (AI) software they need to operate autonomously. Having such a powerful technology partner will help Serve scale as quickly as possible, which is key to bringing costs down to management’s target of just $1 per delivery. At that point, using robots will be substantially cheaper than using human drivers.
Serve has a contract with Uber Eats to deploy 2,000 robots across Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta, and Chicago before the end of 2025. The company rolled out its 1,000th robot on Oct. 6, meaning its capacity will double in just the next few months.
But it won’t stop there, because last week Serve announced a new multiyear deal with DoorDash, which operates the largest food delivery network in the U.S. The two companies are yet to provide firm numbers, so it’s unclear how many more robots Serve will have to deploy.
Scaling a robotics business is not cheap
Despite its status as a publicly traded company, Serve is still very much a start-up. Its revenue tends to be quite lumpy, which is typical when a product is in the early stages of commercialization. The company brought in just $642,000 in revenue during the second quarter of 2025 (ended June 30), which is a tiny amount relative to its $890 million market cap.
But Serve’s business could scale extremely quickly. Management thinks the company will generate up to $80 million in annual revenue once all 2,000 Gen 3 robots are up and running, which bodes well for 2026. Wall Street predicts Serve will generate $3.6 million in total revenue this year (according to Yahoo! Finance), so $80 million would be a monumental jump.
But so far, the road to commercialization has been paved with substantial losses. Serve lost $33.7 million on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis during the first half of 2025, so it’s on track to exceed its 2024 loss of $39.2 million by a very wide margin. The company spent $16 million on research and development alone during the first half of this year, so based on its minuscule revenues, its losses are no surprise.
Serve had $183 million in cash on hand as of June 30, and it raised a further $100 million from investors in October, so it has enough cushion to sustain its losses for the next few years (assuming they don’t materially increase). However, if the company doesn’t chart a pathway to profitability by then, it might have to raise even more money, which will dilute existing shareholders.
As a result, there is a lot riding on the successful commercialization of Serve’s 2,000 Gen 3 robots.
Serve stock trades at a sky-high valuation, but is it a buy?
Serve stock is extremely expensive right now. Its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is a mind-boggling 486, making it substantially more expensive than any other major AI stock. Palantir Technologies, which also trades at a sky-high valuation, looks cheap by comparison because its P/S ratio is 128. For some further perspective, Nvidia stock has a P/S ratio of just 27.
With that said, if we assume Serve will generate around $80 million in revenue next year, its forward P/S ratio is just 11. In other words, it almost looks like a bargain.
But investors can’t always rely on management’s guidance, especially in this case because it assumes a perfectly smooth transition to commercialization for the Gen 3 robot. As with any new product, there will probably be bumps in the road, and we simply don’t know if it will scale successfully.
As a result, investors might be better off waiting a few more quarters to see if the rollout of the robots actually translates into as much tangible revenue as management expects. If it doesn’t, Serve stock could suffer a sharp correction because of its current valuation.
The top travel trends of 2026 have been revealed including “Fan Voyage”, “Hotel Hop” and “Salvaged Stays” according to a new report.
The Unpack ‘26 report, released by Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, polled 24,000 respondents across 18 countries and found a growing number of people booking trips specifically to see local immersive experiences.
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The top travel trends of 2026 have been revealedCredit: SWNS
“Fan Voyage” journeys see travel combined with unique, regional sporting activities, according to Expedia, including Sumo Wrestling in Japan or curling in Canada.
While people on a “Salvaged Stay” aim to mix historical architecture with modern amenities, checking into upcycled retreats such as former schoolhouses, train stations, and banks.
As a result, Hotels.com has seen an increase in searches for these types of stay – for example, Bodmin Jail Hotel, in Cornwall, is up by 110 per cent.
And this part of the group also found 59 per cent of British millennial travellers are making every trip count by booking multiple hotels within a single destination.
This emerging trend – dubbed Hotel Hop – is driven by travellers’ desire to explore different neighbourhoods (58 per cent) and keep trips varied (52 per cent).
Expedia also released its 2026 Destinations of the Year list powered by real-time data from millions of daily visitors to its site and app.
Six of these hotspots also meet the criteria for the brand’s new Smart Travel Health Check, a first-in-travel framework, inspired by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
It recognises destinations that offer meaningful travel experiences and proactively manage tourism in a sustainable way, helping to ease the strain on the world’s most overvisited cities.
And the top spots included Big Sky in Montana, USA, Okinawa in Japan, Hobart in Australia and Savoie in France, which has seen a 51 per cent search increase.
Ariane Gorin, CEO of Expedia Group, said: “Some of my most unforgettable travel moments come from immersing myself in local cultures, supporting local economies, and exploring less-travelled destinations.
“We have a responsibility to shape the future of travel: one that’s smarter, more sustainable, and deeply respectful of the places we go.”
Christopher Imbsen, vice president policy at WTTC, added: “Expedia’s Smart Travel Health Check is an innovative initiative that reflects the urgent need to embrace responsible growth models that safeguard communities, protect cultural and natural heritage, and ensure the long-term resilience of destinations.”
Research conducted on behalf of the Vrbo arm of the company found trips in 2026 are fuelled by 91 per cent who are seeking getaways focused on reading, relaxation, and quality time with loved ones.
As #BookTok continues to dominate social media, interest in literary-themed travels, ‘Readaways’ is also surging with Pinterest searches for “book club retreat ideas” up 265 per cent.
Top Holiday Trends for 2026
Fan Voyage (Expedia) – combining travel with unique sporting activities
Salvaged Stays (Hotels.com) – looking for hotels with unique architecture but up-to-date amenities
Hotel Hop (Hotels.com) – Trips featuring more than one venue to stay in
Readaways (Vrbo) – Getaways based on reading-related terms like ‘reading retreat’
Farm Charm (Vrbo) – Trips based on terms like ‘farm’ or ‘homestead’ for a cosy escape
Set-Jetting Forecast (Expedia) – Trips based on TV shows and movies
And reading-related terms in the holiday let company’s guest reviews have nearly tripled.
The slow travel movement is gaining ground, with 84 per cent of travellers expressing interest in staying on or near a farm.
They are searching for starlit skies over busy city lights in 2026.
Set-Jetting is back – and bigger than ever – with interest in travelling to destinations inspired by TV shows and movies accelerating.
And 53 per cent of global travellers say their desire to take a set-jetting trip has increased in the past year.
With The White Lotus’s next location in France still to be officially confirmed, the 2026 Set-Jetting Forecast reveals the next wave of cinematic escapes – including Tuscany, Italy inspired by Jay Kelly and Yorkshire, inspired by Wuthering Heights and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers haven’t so much beaten opponents this postseason as they have worn them down. A lineup that underperformed for much of the summer has been relentless, resourceful and unstoppable in the fall.
And deep. Did we mention deep? Because while the Dodgers have stars at the top of that lineup, it’s been the players at the bottom who have done the most damage.
Tuesday’s 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series is the most recent example of that. The Brewers managed to keep Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in check, only to see Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman, Kiké Hernández and Andy Pages knock them down repeatedly, combining for seven hits, three runs and three RBIs to give the Dodgers a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series which resumes Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
And that’s been a trend all postseason: The sixth through ninth hitters in the Dodgers lineup are slashing .302/.391/.448 with 14 RBIs and a playoff-best 35 hits in eight games. The top five hitters in the order are batting .235.
Tommy Edman celebrates after hitting a ground-rule double in the fourth inning against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS on Tuesday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“It’s just that trust and belief we have in each other that if you don’t get the job done, the guy behind you is going to do it,” said Kiké Hernández, whose two hits Tuesday raised his postseason average to a team-high .379. Hernández has also scored a playoff-high seven runs.
“We know that, one through nine, we have the best and deepest lineup in the league.”
And the hits have been important ones, with Teoscar Hernández tying the score with his second-inning home run and Andy Pages, banished to the bottom of the order after managing just a single in his first 27 postseason at-bats, untying it three batters later by doubling in Kiké Hernández.
“I was just looking for a pitch in the zone that I could hit well,” Pages, who drove a 1-1 change-up into the right-field corner, said in Spanish. “Obviously it was really important. It put the team ahead. But more important was that I was able to make good contact.”
Making contact and putting the ball in play has been a hallmark of the bottom half of the Dodgers’ lineup — and it’s probably a big factor in its success. Even with his struggles, Pages has struck out just six times in eight games; leadoff hitter Ohtani has fanned more that twice as often.
“Any time you can create traffic, especially in the postseason, it puts a lot of pressure on the opposing pitchers,” Max Muncy said. “And any time you can get guys on base, it just amplifies that and they’re more liable to make mistakes.”
“From the beginning,” Teoscar Hernández added, “it’s putting pressure on the other side. We still have to go there and get our job done.”
The postseason spotlight is one Kiké Hernández and Edman have thrived under before. Hernández is batting .330 in his last seven postseason series with the Dodgers, almost 100 points better than his career regular-season average. And Edman, who matched Hernández with two hits Tuesday, was named MVP of the NLCS last season after hitting .407 in the Dodgers’ victory over the Mets.
“Those guys, they were made for this moment,” Teoscar Hernández, who leads all postseason players with 10 RBIs. “Kiké, I know he’s doesn’t get a lot of opportunities in the regular season, but he knows what he can do.”
“He was a player who was born for this moment,” Pages added of Kiké Hernández. “He’s demonstrated that. And he keeps doing it.”
Another key to doing well in the postseason, Teoscar Hernández said, is not paying attention to it. Each game, he said, offers another chance for success or failure and in the playoffs, each game — and each at-bat — is magnified.
So it’s all about what you’ve done lately. Play the game, celebrate the victory or mourn the defeat, then flush it and get ready to do it all over again.
“I know we have big names in our lineup. We have really good players,” he said. “But at the same time, we still have to go there and get our job done. It’s not because we had a good lineup that we score a lot of runs. We go there with confidence, with a plan and the just try to execute.”
If they can do that two more times at home this week, the Dodgers can end the Brewers season and give themselves a week’s rest before returning to the World Series for the second time in as many years.
“We’re good. We’re really good,” said Kiké Hernández, who is one of the reasons for that. “The experience, the trust that we have in each other, that if we’re down in the game early, we’re going to find a way to come back and tie it or take the lead.
“We’re 2-0 in the NLCS, but the goal is to win a World Series, not to win two games on the road. And as we’re still playing the Milwaukee Brewers, we’re going to focus on them and take it one day at a time. We haven’t really accomplished anything yet.”
But when they do, expect the accomplishment to come from the bottom up.
Gold hits fresh record, European stock markets rise after Fed comments
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European stocks rose on Wednesday morning after a string of strong corporate results a day earlier, while equities were also boosted by remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In Philadelphia on Tuesday, Powell suggested that another interest rate cut could come later this month in the US.
In Europe, shares in Netherlands-headquartered ASML, which makes equipment used in the production of AI chips, jumped after the company posted promising results on Wednesday.
The shares rose more than 4%, after Europe’s largest company by market value reported third-quarter earnings fuelled by the AI boom. ASML’s stocks have rallied by almost 50% since August.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, French multinational luxury group LVMH said its organic growth re-entered positive territory in the third quarter. The luxury giant’s shares jumped by more than 14% by 13.00 CEST.
The mood in France also shifted on news that the government had significantly improved its chances of surviving a looming no-confidence vote on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu won the much-needed support of the Socialist Party in France’s National Assembly, in exchange for suspending a pension law that raises the retirement age. The CAC 40 in Paris jumped over 2% by 13.00 CEST.
The main European benchmark stock exchanges were also in the green, except for London’s FTSE 100, which lost 0.43%. Meanwhile, the DAX in Frankfurt gained less than 0.1%. Milan’s FTSE MIB was up by 0.36%, Madrid’s Ibex 35 gained 0.71% and the STOXX 600 saw a 0.6% gain.
Gold continued its rally, hitting a high of $4,217 per ounce. Gold has soared over 60% in 2025 as investors seek a safe haven during a period of uncertainty, notably driven by US tariffs and trade tensions.
Global markets are on the rise after the Fed Chair’s words
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled on Tuesday that the Fed is slightly more worried about the job market, raising expectations that the central bank will come through with another rate cut.
“Rising downside risks to employment have shifted our assessment of the balance of risks,” he said at a meeting of the National Association of Business Economics in Philadelphia.
Traders took his words to heart, particularly as the US government shutdown has prevented the release of fresh economic data.
“[Investors were] reading Powell like a haiku — every pause, every syllable weighed for hidden meaning,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
“The message, once decoded, was clear enough: two rate cuts aren’t just a possibility, they’re the main course,” Innes said.
The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in September amid worries that unemployment could worsen.
“Markets have been lifted by the rekindling of rate cut expectations in the US after comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell, which highlighted sluggish hiring were taken as an indication that not one, but two further cuts were very much on the table for 2025,” said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis.
“Buoyed by continued deal-making in the frothy AI sector, investors seem prepared to overlook the growing number of warnings about the potential for a market correction at the moment, but this earnings season will be crucial if that optimism is to continue.”
S&P 500 futures rose 0.64% during the early afternoon in Europe, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.41%. Nasdaq futures were up by 0.79%.
On Tuesday, US markets closed a mixed trading day, with the S&P 500 giving up 0.16% and the Dow climbing 0.44%. The Nasdaq composite dropped 0.76%.
Markets remain volatile as the US and China exchange threats of new trade sanctions and tariffs.
Technology stocks are hypersensitive to trade issues since big chipmakers and other companies rely on China for raw materials and manufacturing. China’s large consumer base is also important for its sales growth.
In other dealings early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil was circling around $58.65 per barrel (€50.43) and Brent crude, the international standard, was traded around $62.24 (€53.52) per barrel.
The US dollar slipped 0.25% against the Japanese yen, while the euro rose 0.19% against the dollar. The British Pound gained 0.35% against the greenback.
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UK’s highest ice skating rink is opening next month – with 360-degree rooftop views and boozy hot chocolates
A ONE-of-a-kind ice rink will open next month at one of London’s most popular rooftop bars.
Anyone seeking Christmas fun will be able to ice skate at the highest rooftop bar in Peckham, and it has 360-degree views of the London skyline.
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On top of the Bussey Building in Peckham is a huge rooftop bar – and it is set to be turned into an ice rink for the winter season.
From November 17 until January 1, the Bussey Rooftop Bar area will be transformed into an ice rink with a bar.
On Facebook it said: “Tickets are LIVE for London’s freshest rooftop ice rink! Skate under the stars, then head to our Après Skate Bar for spiked hot chocs, winter spritzes, mulled magic and DJs every Fri & Sat bringing all the feels“.
The Bussey Rooftop Bar will become the Après Skate Bar and transform into a winter lodge – think twinkly lights, outdoor heaters and blankets.
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Also on the rooftop, you’ll be able to buy bar snacks and grab stone-baked pizzas.
Tickets for the ice rink are on sale now and cost £14 for adults, £10 per person for family tickets, and £9 for children.
Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor, loves the rooftop bar, she said: “One of my favourite places to go is Peckham, because of its famous rooftop. I’ve spent many a sunny day at the Bussey building, a rooftop on top of a car park.
“It serves amazing pizzas and beers and has fantastic music playing as well. When the sun goes down, make sure to grab a film at Peckhamplex with £5.99 tickets all day, or Four Quarters, a retro arcade bar.“
The Bussey Building is an old factory around the corner from Peckham Rye that hosts club nights, yoga classes and artists’ spaces.
It’s home to Rooftop Film Club, an open-air cinema that shows classic, cult, and new release films during the summertime.
The Peckham bar has been included in guides for “Best Outdoor Bars in London” and “Best Rooftop Bars in London.
Some of the regulars are excited to try out the new space, one wrote on Instagram under the skating announcement: “Can’t wait!”
Another added: “Just when I thought bussey couldn’t get better”.
To feel even more Christmassy, and for free, check out the dates that the biggest light displays will light up London.
Oxford Street just announced it will be turning on its classic white stars on Monday November 3.
On Carnaby Street, the lights in the heart of Soho will go on from Thursday November 6.
Pretty Covent Garden will be adorned with Christmas trees, baubles, bells and a sleigh from Wednesday November 12, 2025.
Of course there’s the giant 55-foot Christmas tree too with fake snow which has daily flurries on the hour between 12PM and 9PM.
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I went from council flat to winning £4m house… But this is why I’m selling up
BOTTOMS UP
Wetherspoons reveals opening dates of 5 new pubs starting next week
And here are the best affordable Christmas days out & festive fun events across the UK – either free or under £10.
Plus, for more rooftop bars, one travel writer found her top five in the city.
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One of OC’s loudest pro-immigrant politicians is one of the unlikeliest
Until recently, no one would have mistaken Arianna Barrios for a wokosa.
The Orange city council member comes from O.C. Republican royalty. Her grandfather, Cruz, was a Mexican immigrant and civil rights pioneer who registered with the GOP in the late 1940s after Democratic leaders wouldn’t help him and other activists fight school segregation against Mexican American students in Orange County. Her second cousin, Steve Ambriz, was a rising GOP star serving on the Orange City Council when he was killed by wrong-way driver in 2006.
The 55-year-old has helped Republicans on policy and handled communications for the Orange County Taxpayers Assn. and the Richard Nixon Foundation. Friendly, smart, quick-witted and a total goodie-goodie, she corrected me last fall when I introduced her to my Chapman University history students as a Republican. To my surprise, the Orange native proclaimed that she has never been a Republican — she started out as a Democrat and is now an independent.
And that’s not the first surprise she’s sprung on me. Her recent rise as one of O.C.’s most vocal politicians opposing President Trump’s deportation machine has been unexpected — and welcome.
She called out her council colleagues in July for not approving a resolution that would have required federal immigration agents to remove their masks and wear IDs within city limits. She connects young activists to legal and financial resources and has participated in neighborhood patrols alerting people that la migra is coming. She has accompanied Orange residents to hearings at Adelanto’s immigration court and hosted a two-part video series for the civic affairs group Orange County Forum on how the U.S. got to this moment in immigration.
Why, Barrios has become so radicalized that she used the hash tag #brownwar throughout the summer and into the fall when posting immigration-related stories on Facebook. That stopped after her husband, an anti-Trump Republican, suggested it was a bit much.
You would expect this of a politician from an O.C. city with a progressive streak, like Santa Ana, Anaheim or even Laguna Woods. But not from Orange, whose city fathers have long cast it as a slice of small-town Americana free from big-city problems or national issues.
And definitely not from Barrios, whose demeanor is usually more baseball mom than strident activist.
“I’ve been asked multiple times, ‘What’s up with Arianna? This is not her,’” said Orange Councilmember Ana Gutierrez, who has seen ICE agents invade her street twice. “Well, when she cares about something, she’s loud.”
Working with Barrios on pro-immigrant actions is “like talking to a young person,” said 20-year-old Chapman student Bianey Chavez, who belongs to a local youth activist group. The two connected at a protest in their hometown’s picturesque Orange Circle. “It’s fresh air for someone of her age and power to be so open-minded and helpful.”
Anaheim Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava, who has known Barrios for over a decade, said she had “never heard Arianna speak on any issue like this in the past. But it’s great. Maybe she just felt empowered at this point. Maybe anger just boiled up in her, and she couldn’t be quiet anymore.”
That’s exactly what happened, Barrios told me over breakfast at a Mexican café in Old Towne.
The immigration raids that have rocked Orange County as hard as L.A. “just hit all of those buttons,” she said. Wearing a blouse decorated with orange poppies, the bespectacled Barrios looked every bit the polite pol that O.C. leaders had taken her to be. “Not only is it just patently unfair, it’s just so wrong. And it’s so inhumane.
“And one of the things that I can’t stand — and one of things I taught my kids — is if you see a kid being bullied, my expectation of you is that you go up to that kid and you go protect them.”
Councilmember Ariana Barrios holds up a vest and hat she bought from Amazon while arguing about the dangers of ICE imposters.
She credits what her father jokes is “an overactive sense of justice” to her grandparents, who ran a corner store in Santa Ana in the 1940s. Barrios Market became a meeting place for the families who helped organize the 1946 lawsuit that ended Mexican-only schools in California.
Their granddaughter didn’t know any of that history until her 20s, because her upbringing in 1980s Orange County was “like a John Hughes movie.”
“We didn’t even really think of ourselves really as, like, Hispanic — I mean, we all were, but it wasn’t the end-all be-all,” Barrios said. “We were all trying to be Valley girls.”
Living in Nacogdoches, Texas, for a few years in the 1990s “woke her up” to anti-Latino racism. But after returning home to find county and state officials passing anti-immigrant laws, she didn’t join the resistance, as many Latinos of that era did. Instead, Barrios focused on starting on her career in communications and later raising two sons.
“I remember even having my own stereotypical thoughts about [illegal immigration], not really understanding what the experience was, how people got here,” she said.
Things began to change as Barrios worked for school districts “making sure that kids had access. I didn’t care about their status.” It became personal once she was appointed to the Rancho Santiago Community College District Board of Trustees in 2011 and met refugees as well as recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which grants a reprieve from deportation to some immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. She hired some at her PR firm.
The council member brought up the 1986 immigration amnesty that Ronald Reagan signed and an unsuccessful 2001 bill co-sponsored by the late U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that would have created a pathway to citizenship for people who came to this country without papers as minors.
“That’s what’s so odd about where we are right now,” Barrios said. “The two biggest programs, to get people to protected status and to legal resident status, came out from under Republicans.”
After winning another four-year term in 2024, Barrios figured she’d spend her time trying to fix Orange’s fiscal crisis, especially because she thought “so much of what [Trump] was promising on immigration was rhetoric.”
An onslaught of federal immigration raids in the L.A. area starting in June made her realize things would be different. What finally sparked her furor was when federal agents handcuffed U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla after he crashed a June news conference featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“All of this garbage about [Noem claiming], ‘I didn’t know who he was and he didn’t identify himself’ was bulls—,” she said. “It was just bulls—. But if you’re willing to do that, you’re willing to do anything. There are no limits.”
She admits to sometimes “los[ing] my cool” while speaking out against Trump and his deportation deluge, arguing it’s necessary to spark change in a place like Orange, which has a long history of anti-Latino sentiment. Within walking distance from her home is a former movie theater where Latinos were forced to sit in the balcony into the 1950s. In 2010, the City Council tried to ban day laborers and voted to support an Arizona law that made it legal for local law enforcement to question people about their immigration status.
It’s history Barrios knows and cites now but that barely registered with her back then.
“If people want to be nasty to me, I can’t stop them,” she said. “But I can try and explain where I’m coming from so that, as I told my sister once, it’s not for the person I’m talking to, it’s [for] everybody who’s watching the fight.”
Her husband — who joined her at a No Kings rally during the summer and will join her this weekend at one she helped organized — feels “nervous” about her newfound advocacy, she said.
But her late grandfather and her father, a Democrat who was the first Latino elected to the Orange Unified school board, wouldn’t have hesitated to protest against Trump’s cruelty, she said. “They wouldn’t even think twice about it.”
Barrios asked for a to-go box for her chorizo and eggs, which she barely touched during our hourlong chat. Then she reached into a cream-colored Kate Spade purse to pull out red cards.
“Know Your Rights,” they read, delineating what people can and can’t do if la migra asks them questions.
“I carry these all the time,” she said, leaving some on the table. “I see people and go, ‘Here you go. Just take some, OK?’”
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Prep talk: Long Beach Poly freshman track star Laila Kirk receives billboard
There are several Nike-sponsored billboards popping up around town featuring Long Beach Poly freshman 800-meter runner Laila Kirk, who is a two-time national AAU champion.
It’s setting the stage for her high school debut this spring for the Jackrabbits.
She certainly has lots of ties to track and field.
Her mother, Angelita, ran track at Poly and Washington State. Her father, Lamarr, ran track at Dorsey and Washington State. Her grandmother, Margaret Hemmans-Green, ran track at Manual Arts and El Camino College. Her grandfather, Ted Green, was a long jumper at Manual Arts.
Laila had a best 800 time of 2:07 last spring. She also ran the 400 in 54.72.
Long Beach Poly has a long history of producing outstanding track and field athletes, but few 14-year-olds have appeared on billboards before their first race in high school.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
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Police break up pro-Palestine protests during Italy-Israel qualifier | Israel-Palestine conflict
Riot police used tear gas and water cannons to break up pro-Palestinian protests at Israel’s World Cup qualifier against Italy. Defeat for Israel in the match effectively ended the team’s hopes of automatic qualification.
Published On 15 Oct 202515 Oct 2025
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India’s Himalayan villages slowly reviving decades after conflict | In Pictures News
Published On 15 Oct 202515 Oct 2025
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Dozens of dilapidated stone buildings are all that remain of the once-thriving border village of Martoli, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Nestled in the Johar Valley and surrounded by Himalayan peaks, the most notable being Nanda Devi, once considered the tallest mountain in the world, this village had traded sugar, lentils, spices, and cloth for salt and wool with Tibetans across the border.
The nomadic inhabitants of several villages spent the winter months in the plains gathering goods to be traded with Tibetans in the summer. However, the border was sealed following an armed conflict between India and China in 1962, disrupting life in the high villages and leaving people with little incentive to return.
Kishan Singh, 77, was 14 when he left with his family to settle in the lower village of Thal. He still returns to Martoli every summer to till the land and cultivate buckwheat, strawberries, and black cumin.
His ancestral home has no roof, so he sleeps in a neighbour’s abandoned house during the six months he spends in this village.
“I enjoy being in the mountains and the land here is very fertile,” he says.
In late autumn, he hires mules to transport his harvest to his home in the plains, where he sells it at a modest profit.
The largest of the Johar Valley villages had about 1,500 people at its peak in the early 1960s. Martoli had about 500 residents then, while some of the dozen or so other villages had 10 to 15 homes each.
Now, only three or four people return to Martoli each summer.
A few villagers are returning in summer to the nearby villages of Laspa, Ghanghar, and Rilkot, as they can now travel by vehicle to within a few kilometres (miles) of their villages on a recently built unpaved road.
Among the scattered remnants of earlier stone houses in Martoli, a new guesthouse has appeared to cater for a few trekkers who pass through the village en route to the Nanda Devi Base Camp.
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How do you cancel a Qatar Airways flight?
HAVE you booked with Qatar Airways and now realised you can’t make it? Not to worry, we’ve got you covered.
Well, here is what you need to know about cancelling flights with Qatar Airways.
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How do you cancel a Qatar Airways flight?
You have many options on how you can cancel your Qatar Airways flight.
Qatar Airways has a mobile app that allows you to manage your booking and cancel it if you want to.
Or else, you can retrieve your booking through the Manage Trip page and cancel it through there.
You’ll have to insert your booking reference or e-ticket number and the last name of the lead passenger to find you booking.
They also offer you the option of contacting them yourself and speaking with a member of their team to assist you in the cancellation.
To get in touch, either call 330 912 7415 or log in to your account and use the Live chat to speak with one of their agents.
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Will I get my money back for the flight?
If the ticket you bought is refundable, you will receive the money back.
The cancellation charges, if you incur any, will be deducted from your refund.
Cancellation charges are applied to cover the transaction costs and to compensate the airline if they fail to resell your place.
If the fare you bought is non-refundable (such as Economy Lite), then you will not receive any money back, though you may be eligible for a refund on unutilised government taxes.
If you cancel within 24 hours of booking (and your flight is at least 7 days away), you are typically eligible for a full refund with no cancellation fee under the airline’s “24-Hour Risk-Free” policy.
How much does it cost to change a Qatar Airways flight?
The cost to change a Qatar Airways flight depends heavily on the type of fare class you bought and your Privilege Club status.
A fixed change fee will be applied to process the transaction, though this may be waived depending on your ticket.
Recent policy updates have introduced a low USD $25 change fee for changes made online for some fares.
However, for basic Economy Lite tickets, the fixed change fee can still be higher, ranging from USD $100 to USD $125.
Platinum and Gold members are often exempt from change fees when modifying their flight more than 24 hours before departure.
If the new flight you choose costs more than the one you had, you must pay the difference to even the amount up.
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You cannot choose a ticket that will cost less than the one you have now. If you do, you will not be refunded the difference in fare.
Just in case, we also thought about letting you know what to do if you ever have to cancel a flight with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic or Emirates.
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Inside Olivia Attwood’s plan to ‘save marriage’ to Bradley Dack after Pete Wicks pics
OLIVIA Attwood and Bradley Dack are working to ‘save their marriage’ after she confessed they’re going through a rough patch.
The presenter, 34, this week consulted a psychic and asked if things “will get better” in her relationship.
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Now it’s been reported Olivia and footballer Bradley, 31, are determined to start putting each other first.
A source said: “Olivia and Bradley have grown up together, it’s been 10 years since they first started dating.
“She will be the first to admit that this year she has put her career first, which Bradley completely supports.
“But for the first time in years, Olivia asked for a week off work, giving her the chance to catch up with her personal life and spend anytime she can, when he’s not training, with Bradley.”
liv and learn
Olivia Attwood reveals her marriage is ‘unsettled’ as she consults a psychic
The insider added to the MailOnline: “They’re looking forward to the future and are house hunting for a place closer to London, which should help give them more stability.”
Olivia and Brad tied the knot in 2023 but their marriage was thrown into the spotlight this summer after cosy photos emerged of her on holiday with pal Pete Wicks.
During an episode of her Sunday Roast Reheated podcast, Olivia asked psychic Deborah: “What’s coming in my love life this year, are things going to get better?”
Deborah replied: “It does feel slightly unsettled at the moment but mostly okay for you, a little bit up and downy but it will settle.”
Olivia also had a cryptic response when the psychic predicted children in the “near future”, asking: “Who’s the dad?”
It comes after she confessed that she and Brad are going through a rough period right now.
During an Instagram Q&A, Olivia was asked by a fan why she hadn’t been posting much of him.
She replied: “He’s alive I swear.
“Ten years of us. A lot has changed. Marriage is frikinnn hard (no one wants to say that part out loud) and I’m just not a faker.
“I’m not posting pictures if they don’t reflect our reality. We are doing our thing and if there are any more updates you will be the first to know.”
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What Are 3 Great Tech Stocks to Buy Right Now?
These three stocks have strong growth opportunities still ahead.
Technology stocks continue to help lead the market higher and remain a great space to find investment ideas. Let’s look at three top tech stocks to buy right now.
1. Nvidia
There has been a lot of news recently around new artificial intelligence (AI) chip challengers, but Nvidia (NVDA -4.33%) remains the company at the forefront of AI infrastructure. The company’s graphic processing units (GPUs) are powering most of the world’s AI workloads today, and that dominance doesn’t look to be slipping anytime soon.
Image source: Getty Images.
Nvidia is much more than a chipmaker. Its edge comes from its CUDA software platform, which it smartly provided for free to universities and research labs that were doing the early work on AI. That led to early AI foundational code being written for its chips and locked in a generation of developers into its ecosystem. Today, the company’s chips, networking, and software work together as one integrated tech stack, giving customers performance advantages.
The company’s huge commitment to partner with OpenAI is another sign that it’s not content to sit back. While other chipmakers have struck deals with OpenAi, Nvidia is the only company getting a significant equity stake in the AI model leader. Together, the two companies will work together to help shape where AI is going.
With demand for AI infrastructure still far outpacing supply, Nvidia’s growth story is nowhere near finished. Nvidia is arguably the most important stock in the market today, and one to own.
2. Alphabet
If there is one company that will challenge Nvidia as an AI leader, it’s Alphabet (GOOGL 0.62%) (GOOG 0.75%). The company has its fingers in multiple aspects of AI, with a unique positioned.
Arguably, no company has as complete of an AI tech stack as Alphabet. Its strength starts with its Gemini large language models (LLMs), which rival those of OpenAI. Meanwhile, the company has developed its own custom AI chips, called tensor processing units (TPUs), that were designed to optimally run its cloud computing infrastructure. The chips are in their 7th generation, and far ahead of most other custom AI chips.
Its software stack, which includes Vertex AI, meanwhile, is top-notch. Alphabet even owns the largest private fiber network in the world, which ensures low latency. Its pending acquisition of cloud cybersecurity company Wiz also adds to its vertical offering.
Right now, this vertical AI integration is helping power revenue growth and operating leverage at Google Cloud. Last quarter, Google Cloud revenue climbed 32% to $13.6 billion, while its operating income more than doubled to $2.8 billion. Meanwhile, it’s using its Gemini model to help power its search and AI chatbot offerings, as well.
Fears that chatbots would eat into Google’s search business have faded as the company blended its Gemini models directly into its core products. Features such as AI Overviews, Circle to Search, and Lens have made search more dynamic, leading to more queries, while its new AI mode lets users easily shift from AI-powered search to a traditional AI chatbot. Alphabet is no longer just playing defense when it comes to search and AI; it’s clearly playing offense, and it is well-positioned to win given its distribution and data advantages.
Alphabet is also making early progress in new areas such as robotaxis through Waymo and in quantum computing, which could eventually open new growth streams. Between search, cloud, and its AI push, Alphabet is a growth stock to buy right now.
3. GitLab
Compared to the two stocks above, GitLab (GTLB 1.11%) is certainly flying under the radar. However, this is a company that has been seeing strong growth. It’s grown its revenue by between 25% to 35% for eight consecutive quarters, including 29% last quarter, and more strong growth could be in store as the company continues to evolve.
GitLab started as a platform for developers to securely write and store code, but has evolved into a full software development lifecycle solution. Its Duo AI agent has the potential to be a big growth driver, as it helps automate repetitive work that eats up most of a developer’s day. Freeing up time to actually write code means more software projects, which drives more demand for GitLab’s tools.
Meanwhile, the company is starting to shift to a hybrid seat-plus-usage pricing model. This could be a huge growth driver for Gitlab, as it lets the company capture more revenue from usage and the increased value its offering is now bringing to its customers. A usage model also counteracts the biggest bear argument against the stock, which is that AI will reduce the number of coders.
That bearish argument has driven the stock to an attractive valuation, with it trading at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 6.5 times 2026 analyst estimates. For a company with approximately 90% gross margins growing revenue near 30%, that’s a huge bargain.
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EasyJet launches more flights to one of Africa’s cheapest holiday destinations
EASYJET has revealed it will be setting up an airport base next year in one of the most popular African cities with Brits – meaning more cheap flights.
The budget airline has announced it will be growing its program from Marrakech in Morocco.
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While the new routes aren’t currently from the UK, other existing routes will see more flights launched.
easyJet already flies from the UK to Marrakech from eight hubs including Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester London Gatwick, Luton and Southend.
In November, some of these one-way flights are as little as £14.99.
The new easyJet routes are from Hamburg, Lille and Strasbourg to Marrakech and Geneva to Tangier – each route will have twice weekly journeys meaning there will be hundreds of additional flights.
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The new additional flights brings the number of easyJet to Morocco routes to 46.
Kenton Jarvis, CEO of easyJet, added that Morocco is a “key market” for the airline as it’s their “fastest growing market outside Europe“.
Earlier this year, Which? revealed Morocco to be one of the cheapest holiday destinations.
The consumer watchdog analysed the cost of 5,590 package holidays from some of the UK’s biggest tour operators, including Jet2holidays, TUI and easyJet Holidays.
Morocco was one of those places where holidaymakers can get more for their money.
Lisa Minot, Head of Sun Travel, filled us in on her recent trip to the Moroccan city. She said: “I’ve just returned from a wonderful long weekend in Marrakech and the city is as exciting as ever.
“We were sunbathing on the roof of our riad in the Medina in glorious 22 degree temperatures – and I loved the amazing desert landscapes just 40 minutes from the hustle and bustle of the souks.
“Tourism is booming in the city and while the streets are as colourful and chaotic as ever, the influx of visitors has brought some gorgeous new bars, restaurants and stunning hotels.”
Lisa also suggests visiting popular spots in the city of Marrakech like the Jemaa el-Fnaa square filled with cafes and colourful stalls.
It’s where visitors will see lots of performers from musicians to snakecharmers.
When you get hungry, make sure to visit one of the square’s many food stalls to pick up some maakouda – a traditional potato cake.
In the Kasbah district, you’ll find the Saadian Tombs. It’s a 14th-century site that was discovered in 1917 and the tombs are made from Italian Carrara marble.
For the best views, Lisa says head to Nobu Hotel’s rooftop where you can see the Atlas Mountains.
Of course you can tuck into some great food options too from quality sushi, and sip on a cocktail.
Another reason Morocco is set to be a big destination for next year is thanks to Ryanair.
The other budget airline announced that due to the axing of flights to Spain, the capacity removed from Spanish airports will be reallocated to more competitive European markets, including Morocco.
This means your holiday to Marrakech, or other Moroccan cities could become cheaper than a trip to Tenerife.
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Read more on another African city right by the sea that feels ‘more like Europe’ – but tourists always miss it.
Plus, for more of the best holiday destinations our travel team predicts will be HUGE in 2026 – thanks to cheap hotels, flights and pints.
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World’s strongest passports revealed – and UK hits record low in more than a DECADE
THE strongest passports in the world have been revealed and it is bad news for Brits.
According to the Henley Passport Index, the UK passport has dropped to eighth place – it’s lowest in a decade.
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The study analyses 199 different passports, looking at how many destinations they can travel to without needing a visa.
Coming out on top is Singapore, with visa-free access to 193 countries.
This was followed by South Korea (190), and Japan (189).
Germany was the highest ranked European country, with 188 countries open to travel.
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The UK (184 countries) joined other European countries in eighth place such as Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Estonia, as well as the UAE.
Most of Europe including France, Spain and Portugal all ranked higher than the UK.
It is also the first time the US has dropped out of the top 10, now in 12th place.
The UK was once in first place back in 2015, tying with Germany.
However, the strength of the British passport has since dropped over the years.
The weakest passports include Afghanistan which has access to just 24 countries, followed by Syria (26) and Iraq (29).
The design of the UK passport is also changing later this year.
From December, as new coat of arms will appear on the front, designed by Prince Charles.
The British passport already changed back in 2020 from burgundy to blue, as well as to be signed in His Majesty’s name after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Burgundy passports and old blue design passports are still valid for use until they expire.
Just make sure to check the start date as a number of people have been caught out by confusing rules introduced post-Brexit.
Here is everything you need to know about your passport dates.
World’s Strongest Passport – top 10
1. Singapore (193)
2. South Korea (190)
3. Japan (189)
4. Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland (188)
5. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands (187)
6. Greece, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden (186)
7. Australia, Czech Republic, Malta, Poland (185)
8. Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (184)
9. Canada (183)
10. Latvia, Liechtenstein (182)
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Federal shutdown stalls California’s legal battles with Trump
Days before the Trump administration was supposed to file its response to a California lawsuit challenging its targeting of gender-affirming care providers, attorneys for the U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge to temporarily halt the proceedings.
Given the federal shutdown, they argued, they just didn’t have the lawyers to do the work.
“Department of Justice attorneys and employees of the federal defendants are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in very limited circumstances, including ‘emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property,’” they wrote in their filing Oct. 1, the first day of the shutdown.
The district judge presiding over the case, which California filed in federal court in Massachusetts along with a coalition of other Democrat-led states, agreed, and promptly granted the request.
It was just one example of the now weeks-old federal shutdown grinding to a halt important litigation between California and the Trump administration, in policy battles with major implications for people’s lives.
The same day, in the same Massachusetts court, Justice Department attorneys were granted a pause in a lawsuit in which California and other states are challenging mass firings at the U.S. Department of Education, after noting that department funding had been suspended and it didn’t know “when such funding will be restored by Congress.”
The same day in U.S. District Court in Central California, the Trump administration asked for a similar pause in a lawsuit that it had brought against California, challenging the state’s refusal to provide its voter registration rolls to the administration.
Justice Department attorneys wrote that they “greatly regret any disruption caused to the Court and the other litigants,” but needed to pause the proceedings until they were “permitted to resume their usual civil litigation functions.”
Since then, the court in Central California has advised the parties of alternative dispute resolution options and outside groups — including the NAACP — have filed motions to intervene in the case, but no major developments have occurred.
The pauses in litigation — only a portion of those that have occurred in courts across the country — were an example of sweeping, real-world, high-stakes effects of the federal government shutdown that average Americans may not consider when thinking about the shutdown’s impact on their lives.
Federal employees working in safety and other crucial roles — such as air traffic controllers — have remained on the job, even without pay, but many others have been forced to stay home. The Justice Department did not spell out which of its attorneys had been benched by the shutdown, but made clear that some who had been working on the cases in question were no longer doing so.
Federal litigation often takes years to resolve, and brief pauses in proceedings are not uncommon. However, extended disruptions — such as one that could occur if the shutdown drags on — would take a toll, forestalling legal answers in some of the most important policy battles in the country.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, whose office has sued the Trump administration more than 40 times since January, has not challenged every request for a pause by the Trump administration — especially in cases where the status quo favors the state.
However, it has challenged pauses in other cases, with some success.
For example, in that same Massachusetts federal courthouse Oct. 1, Justice Department attorneys asked a judge to temporarily halt proceedings in a case in which California and other states are suing to block the administration’s targeted defunding of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.
Their arguments were the same as in the other cases: Given the shutdown, they didn’t have the attorneys to do the necessary legal work.
In response, attorneys for California and the other states pushed back, noting that the shutdown had not stopped Department of Health and Human Services officials from moving forward with the measure to defund Planned Parenthood — so the states’ residents remained at imminent risk of losing necessary healthcare.
“The risks of irreparable harms are especially high because it is unclear how long the lapse in appropriations will continue, meaning relief may not be available for months at which point numerous health centers will likely be forced to close due to a lack of funds,” the states argued.
On Oct. 8, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani denied the government’s request for a pause, finding that the states’ interest in proceeding with the case “outweighs” the administration’s interest in pausing it.
Talwani’s argument, in part, was that her order denying a pause would provide Justice Department officials the legal authority to continue litigating the case despite the shutdown.
Bonta said in a statement that “Trump owns this shutdown” and “the devastation it’s causing to hardworking everyday Americans,” adding that his office will not let Trump use it to cause even more harm by delaying relief in court cases.
“We’re not letting his Administration use this shutdown as an excuse to continue implementing his unlawful agenda unchecked. Until we get relief for Californians, we’re not backing down — and neither are the courts,” Bonta said. “We can’t wait for Trump to finally let our government reopen before these cases are heard.”
Trump and Republicans in Congress have blamed the shutdown on Democrats.
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'Two brilliant deliveries' – Beaumont and Jones out early
England’s Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones are bowled by Pakistan’s Diana Baig and Fatima Sana in the second and third over respectively at the Cricket World Cup.
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South Korea resumes excavation of war remains at DMZ battle site
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (UPI) — South Korea on Wednesday resumed an excavation project for the remains of soldiers killed in the Korean War at a battle site in the demilitarized zone, its military said, as Seoul looks to improve frosty inter-Korean relations.
“As part of measures to ease military tensions between the South and the North, the Ministry of National Defense has resumed the excavation of remains around White Horse Ridge in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, which was suspended in 2022,” the ministry said in a message to reporters.
“This is an effort to return the remains of soldiers killed in the Korean War to their families … and is a practical measure to transform the DMZ into a zone of peace,” the ministry said.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rehabilitate relations between the two Koreas since he took office in June, with conciliatory gestures such as removing propaganda loudspeakers from border areas.
Lee has also said he would take “proactive and gradual steps” to restore the 2018 inter-Korean military pact that was suspended amid tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang during the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2024.
The pact established buffer zones along the border and included measures such as the removal of some guard posts in the DMZ and the banning of live-fire exercises in certain areas.
In April 2018, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to launch a joint project to retrieve remains of soldiers killed during the Korean War from Arrowhead Ridge, the site of one of the fiercest battles of the 1950-53 Korean War.
However, after the failed 2019 summit in Hanoi between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the North refused to participate.
South Korea began excavation work alone on the site in 2019 and retrieved remains of some 424 soldiers. Seoul later expanded efforts to White Horse Ridge, where teams found the remains of 67 soldiers, but the project was suspended in 2022 amid deteriorating ties with the North.
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Kenyan opposition figure dies at 80
Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, family sources have told the BBC.
Odinga died on Wednesday while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in India. He collapsed during a morning walk and was taken to Devamatha Hospital, which said he had suffered a cardiac arrest. It said he did not respond to resuscitation measures and was “declared dead at 09:52” local time (04:22 GMT).
In recent weeks, there has been speculation about his health, although family members and political allies had dismissed reports suggesting he was critically ill.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta – a long-time rival – said Odinga’s death had “left a silence that echoes across our nation”.
Other Kenyan politicians and world leaders have been sending their condolences, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described Odinga as a “towering statesman and a cherished friend of India”.
His supporters have been pouring onto the streets to mourn, especially in his political strongholds of western Kenya and parts of Nairobi.
A political mobiliser and towering figure in Kenyan politics, Odinga ran unsuccessfully for the presidency five times. He rejected the results on each occasion, often saying that victory had been stolen from him.
He was vindicated by Kenya’s highest court after the 2017 elections, when it annulled Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory and ordered fresh polls. However, he boycotted the rerun, demanding electoral reforms.
The disputed election of 2007, in which Odinga claimed he was cheated of victory by Mwai Kibaki, led to the biggest crisis in Kenya’s history.
Violence erupted around the country, resulting in 1,200 deaths and about 600,000 people were forced to flee their homes.
To resolve the crisis, a power-sharing agreement was brokered by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, leading to the formation of a unity government in which Odinga became prime minister.
He has often reconciled with the incumbent president after contentious elections.
After his most recent defeat in 2022, he later joined President William Ruto in a so-called broad-based government, which brought several of his allies into key positions.
He defended the move as necessary for national unity, coming in the aftermath of watershed nationwide protests last year that culminated in the storming of parliament. Dozens of protesters were killed in confrontations with security officers.
The Ruto administration backed Odinga’s bid to become chairperson of the African Union Commission, in elections held earlier this year. Despite strong regional support, he lost to Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.
Odinga inspired a passionate and loyal following throughout his political career, especially in western Kenya, where he was from.
His supporters called him “Baba” (Father), “Agwambo” (Act of God), and “Tinga” (Tractor) – drawn from his party’s symbol during the 1997 elections.
He was widely regarded as a master strategist and mass mobiliser, often drawing huge crowds to his political rallies, and he had a deep ability to connect with ordinary people.
He will be remembered for his unwavering fight for democratic freedoms and human rights.
He was a former political prisoner, and holds the record for being Kenya’s longest-serving detainee. His struggle against one-party dictatorship saw him detained twice (from 1982 to 1988 and 1989 to 1991) during the rule of Daniel arap Moi.
He was initially imprisoned for trying to stage a coup in 1982, which propelled him on to the national stage.
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We’re still rattled after visiting these 13 haunted hotels (mostly) across California
Bold claim, I know. But the Clown Motel is special. Owner Vijay Mehar has taken an old motel and filled it with clowns. Paintings, murals, dools, ceramic figures. Many of them frowning or shrieking.
What guests love, Mehar has learned, is fear, loathing, painted faces, circus vibes and hints of paranormal activity. To be afraid, basically.
“America’s Scariest Motel,” say the brochures by the register. “Let fear run down your spine.”
The 31 guest rooms teem with enough clown imagery to eclipse a Ringling Brothers reunion. The gift shop is vast and troubling. (Clown knife, anyone?)
And then there are the neighbors. The motel stands next to the Old Tonopah Cemetery, most of whose residents perished between 1900 and 1911, often in mining accidents.
Some guests sign up for ghost hunt tours or explore the cemetery after dark. Others settle in with a horror movie, perhaps one of the several made on site, along with countless Youtube videos.
When I visited in late 2024, Mehar said hundreds of people stop by the motel on busy days, mostly focusing on the gift shop and the crowded, dusty shelves of the lobby-adjacent clown museum.
“When we came here, there were 800 or 850 clowns,” Mehar said. “Right now, we have close to 6,000.”
Throughout the motel’s corridors, walls and no-frills guest rooms (rated at 3.5 stars by Yelp and Trip Advisor), the clowns continue against a color scheme of purple, yellow and red, augmented by polka dots of blue and green. Rates start at $99.
If you book Room 222, which highlights Clownvis (Elvis as a clown, basically), the motel warns that you may be awakened in the wee hours by a mysterious “malevolent entity.”
The hotel also advises all guests that, despite monthly pest-control visits, they may encounter “UFI’s (Unwanted Flying Insects),” because rooms open to the outdoors. (This part of Nevada is known for its many Mormon crickets.)
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‘KPop Demon Hunters’ creator: Live-action remake wouldn’t work
“KPop Demon Hunters” creator Maggie Kang thinks there’s potential for more Huntr/x stories in the future, but only in animation.
In a recent interview with the BBC, the co-director of the Netflix phenomenon said there is nothing officially in the works, but she thinks “there’s definitely more we can do with these characters in this world.” Kang and her co-director Chris Appelhans also assured fans that if another “KPop Demon Hunters” were to happen, “it will be a story that deserves to be a sequel, and it will be something that we want to see.”
Produced by Sony Pictures Animation, the movie follows a popular K-pop girl group whose members use their music and dance moves (and magical powers) to fight demons and protect the world. But Huntr/x’s leader Rumi is keeping a secret from her bandmates Mira and Zoey that could lead to their downfall.
Since its June debut, “KPop Demon Hunters” and its catchy soundtrack have smashed numerous records on Netflix as well as the Billboard charts. The movie’s massive popularity led to a limited theatrical run for sing-along screenings as well as live performances of its songs.
With Hollywood’s current trend of sequels and remakes, it’s easy to believe that “KPop Demon Hunters” could spawn its own franchise. But Kang and Appelhans both insist that a live-action adaptation should be off the table.
“It’s really hard to imagine these characters in a live action world,” Kang told the BBC, pointing to the tone and comedic elements in “KPop.” “It would feel too grounded. So totally it wouldn’t work for me.”
Appelhans agreed that the characters in “KPop Demon Hunters” are best suited for animation and worried a live-action version of them could feel too “stilted.”
“One of the great things about animation is that you make these composites of impossibly great attributes,” Appelhans told the BBC. “Rumi can be this goofy comedian and then singing and doing a spinning back-kick a second later and then free-falling through the sky. The joy of animation is how far you can push and elevate what’s possible.”
For now, it seems that Huntr/x will keep shining only in the medium they were born to be — in animation.
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Uber Is Backing This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock That Soared 67% Over the Past Year. Should You?
Serve Robotics (SERV -0.55%) develops autonomous last-mile logistics solutions. It has a major deal with Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) that will see thousands of its latest robots deployed into the Uber Eats food delivery network. But this is more than just a commercial partnership, because Uber is also one of Serve’s largest shareholders.
Uber acquired a company called Postmates in 2020, and in 2021, it spun Postmates’ robotics division out into a new company that became Serve Robotics. Serve is still relatively small with a market capitalization of just $890 million, but at the time of this writing, its stock has soared by 67% over the past year alone.
Serve has identified an enormous addressable market for its delivery robots, so should investors join Uber and buy the stock?
Image source: Getty Images.
A potential $450 billion opportunity
Existing last-mile logistics networks are quite inefficient, because they rely on cars with human drivers to deliver relatively small commercial loads from restaurants and retail stores. Serve is betting those workloads will increasingly shift to autonomous robots and drones, creating a potential $450 billion opportunity by 2030.
Serve’s latest Gen 3 robots have achieved Level 4 autonomy, meaning they can safely operate on sidewalks in designated areas without any human intervention. This makes them ideal for transporting small food orders, which is why 2,500 restaurants in five U.S. cities have used them to make 100,000 deliveries since 2022.
The Gen 3 robots use Nvidia‘s Jetson Orin platform, which includes all of the computing hardware and artificial intelligence (AI) software they need to operate autonomously. Having such a powerful technology partner will help Serve scale as quickly as possible, which is key to bringing costs down to management’s target of just $1 per delivery. At that point, using robots will be substantially cheaper than using human drivers.
Serve has a contract with Uber Eats to deploy 2,000 robots across Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta, and Chicago before the end of 2025. The company rolled out its 1,000th robot on Oct. 6, meaning its capacity will double in just the next few months.
But it won’t stop there, because last week Serve announced a new multiyear deal with DoorDash, which operates the largest food delivery network in the U.S. The two companies are yet to provide firm numbers, so it’s unclear how many more robots Serve will have to deploy.
Scaling a robotics business is not cheap
Despite its status as a publicly traded company, Serve is still very much a start-up. Its revenue tends to be quite lumpy, which is typical when a product is in the early stages of commercialization. The company brought in just $642,000 in revenue during the second quarter of 2025 (ended June 30), which is a tiny amount relative to its $890 million market cap.
But Serve’s business could scale extremely quickly. Management thinks the company will generate up to $80 million in annual revenue once all 2,000 Gen 3 robots are up and running, which bodes well for 2026. Wall Street predicts Serve will generate $3.6 million in total revenue this year (according to Yahoo! Finance), so $80 million would be a monumental jump.
But so far, the road to commercialization has been paved with substantial losses. Serve lost $33.7 million on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis during the first half of 2025, so it’s on track to exceed its 2024 loss of $39.2 million by a very wide margin. The company spent $16 million on research and development alone during the first half of this year, so based on its minuscule revenues, its losses are no surprise.
Serve had $183 million in cash on hand as of June 30, and it raised a further $100 million from investors in October, so it has enough cushion to sustain its losses for the next few years (assuming they don’t materially increase). However, if the company doesn’t chart a pathway to profitability by then, it might have to raise even more money, which will dilute existing shareholders.
As a result, there is a lot riding on the successful commercialization of Serve’s 2,000 Gen 3 robots.
Serve stock trades at a sky-high valuation, but is it a buy?
Serve stock is extremely expensive right now. Its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is a mind-boggling 486, making it substantially more expensive than any other major AI stock. Palantir Technologies, which also trades at a sky-high valuation, looks cheap by comparison because its P/S ratio is 128. For some further perspective, Nvidia stock has a P/S ratio of just 27.
SERV PS Ratio data by YCharts
With that said, if we assume Serve will generate around $80 million in revenue next year, its forward P/S ratio is just 11. In other words, it almost looks like a bargain.
But investors can’t always rely on management’s guidance, especially in this case because it assumes a perfectly smooth transition to commercialization for the Gen 3 robot. As with any new product, there will probably be bumps in the road, and we simply don’t know if it will scale successfully.
As a result, investors might be better off waiting a few more quarters to see if the rollout of the robots actually translates into as much tangible revenue as management expects. If it doesn’t, Serve stock could suffer a sharp correction because of its current valuation.
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The top travel trends of 2026 are ‘Fan Voyage’, ‘Hotel Hop’ and ‘Salvaged Stays’
The top travel trends of 2026 have been revealed including “Fan Voyage”, “Hotel Hop” and “Salvaged Stays” according to a new report.
The Unpack ‘26 report, released by Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, polled 24,000 respondents across 18 countries and found a growing number of people booking trips specifically to see local immersive experiences.
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“Fan Voyage” journeys see travel combined with unique, regional sporting activities, according to Expedia, including Sumo Wrestling in Japan or curling in Canada.
While people on a “Salvaged Stay” aim to mix historical architecture with modern amenities, checking into upcycled retreats such as former schoolhouses, train stations, and banks.
As a result, Hotels.com has seen an increase in searches for these types of stay – for example, Bodmin Jail Hotel, in Cornwall, is up by 110 per cent.
And this part of the group also found 59 per cent of British millennial travellers are making every trip count by booking multiple hotels within a single destination.
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This emerging trend – dubbed Hotel Hop – is driven by travellers’ desire to explore different neighbourhoods (58 per cent) and keep trips varied (52 per cent).
Expedia also released its 2026 Destinations of the Year list powered by real-time data from millions of daily visitors to its site and app.
Six of these hotspots also meet the criteria for the brand’s new Smart Travel Health Check, a first-in-travel framework, inspired by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
It recognises destinations that offer meaningful travel experiences and proactively manage tourism in a sustainable way, helping to ease the strain on the world’s most overvisited cities.
And the top spots included Big Sky in Montana, USA, Okinawa in Japan, Hobart in Australia and Savoie in France, which has seen a 51 per cent search increase.
Ariane Gorin, CEO of Expedia Group, said: “Some of my most unforgettable travel moments come from immersing myself in local cultures, supporting local economies, and exploring less-travelled destinations.
“We have a responsibility to shape the future of travel: one that’s smarter, more sustainable, and deeply respectful of the places we go.”
Christopher Imbsen, vice president policy at WTTC, added: “Expedia’s Smart Travel Health Check is an innovative initiative that reflects the urgent need to embrace responsible growth models that safeguard communities, protect cultural and natural heritage, and ensure the long-term resilience of destinations.”
Research conducted on behalf of the Vrbo arm of the company found trips in 2026 are fuelled by 91 per cent who are seeking getaways focused on reading, relaxation, and quality time with loved ones.
As #BookTok continues to dominate social media, interest in literary-themed travels, ‘Readaways’ is also surging with Pinterest searches for “book club retreat ideas” up 265 per cent.
Top Holiday Trends for 2026
Fan Voyage (Expedia) – combining travel with unique sporting activities
Salvaged Stays (Hotels.com) – looking for hotels with unique architecture but up-to-date amenities
Hotel Hop (Hotels.com) – Trips featuring more than one venue to stay in
Readaways (Vrbo) – Getaways based on reading-related terms like ‘reading retreat’
Farm Charm (Vrbo) – Trips based on terms like ‘farm’ or ‘homestead’ for a cosy escape
Set-Jetting Forecast (Expedia) – Trips based on TV shows and movies
And reading-related terms in the holiday let company’s guest reviews have nearly tripled.
The slow travel movement is gaining ground, with 84 per cent of travellers expressing interest in staying on or near a farm.
They are searching for starlit skies over busy city lights in 2026.
Set-Jetting is back – and bigger than ever – with interest in travelling to destinations inspired by TV shows and movies accelerating.
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And 53 per cent of global travellers say their desire to take a set-jetting trip has increased in the past year.
With The White Lotus’s next location in France still to be officially confirmed, the 2026 Set-Jetting Forecast reveals the next wave of cinematic escapes – including Tuscany, Italy inspired by Jay Kelly and Yorkshire, inspired by Wuthering Heights and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
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In this postseason, Dodgers’ offense starts from the bottom
MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers haven’t so much beaten opponents this postseason as they have worn them down. A lineup that underperformed for much of the summer has been relentless, resourceful and unstoppable in the fall.
And deep. Did we mention deep? Because while the Dodgers have stars at the top of that lineup, it’s been the players at the bottom who have done the most damage.
Tuesday’s 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series is the most recent example of that. The Brewers managed to keep Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in check, only to see Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman, Kiké Hernández and Andy Pages knock them down repeatedly, combining for seven hits, three runs and three RBIs to give the Dodgers a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series which resumes Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
And that’s been a trend all postseason: The sixth through ninth hitters in the Dodgers lineup are slashing .302/.391/.448 with 14 RBIs and a playoff-best 35 hits in eight games. The top five hitters in the order are batting .235.
Tommy Edman celebrates after hitting a ground-rule double in the fourth inning against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS on Tuesday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“It’s just that trust and belief we have in each other that if you don’t get the job done, the guy behind you is going to do it,” said Kiké Hernández, whose two hits Tuesday raised his postseason average to a team-high .379. Hernández has also scored a playoff-high seven runs.
“We know that, one through nine, we have the best and deepest lineup in the league.”
And the hits have been important ones, with Teoscar Hernández tying the score with his second-inning home run and Andy Pages, banished to the bottom of the order after managing just a single in his first 27 postseason at-bats, untying it three batters later by doubling in Kiké Hernández.
“I was just looking for a pitch in the zone that I could hit well,” Pages, who drove a 1-1 change-up into the right-field corner, said in Spanish. “Obviously it was really important. It put the team ahead. But more important was that I was able to make good contact.”
Making contact and putting the ball in play has been a hallmark of the bottom half of the Dodgers’ lineup — and it’s probably a big factor in its success. Even with his struggles, Pages has struck out just six times in eight games; leadoff hitter Ohtani has fanned more that twice as often.
“Any time you can create traffic, especially in the postseason, it puts a lot of pressure on the opposing pitchers,” Max Muncy said. “And any time you can get guys on base, it just amplifies that and they’re more liable to make mistakes.”
“From the beginning,” Teoscar Hernández added, “it’s putting pressure on the other side. We still have to go there and get our job done.”
The postseason spotlight is one Kiké Hernández and Edman have thrived under before. Hernández is batting .330 in his last seven postseason series with the Dodgers, almost 100 points better than his career regular-season average. And Edman, who matched Hernández with two hits Tuesday, was named MVP of the NLCS last season after hitting .407 in the Dodgers’ victory over the Mets.
“Those guys, they were made for this moment,” Teoscar Hernández, who leads all postseason players with 10 RBIs. “Kiké, I know he’s doesn’t get a lot of opportunities in the regular season, but he knows what he can do.”
“He was a player who was born for this moment,” Pages added of Kiké Hernández. “He’s demonstrated that. And he keeps doing it.”
Another key to doing well in the postseason, Teoscar Hernández said, is not paying attention to it. Each game, he said, offers another chance for success or failure and in the playoffs, each game — and each at-bat — is magnified.
So it’s all about what you’ve done lately. Play the game, celebrate the victory or mourn the defeat, then flush it and get ready to do it all over again.
“I know we have big names in our lineup. We have really good players,” he said. “But at the same time, we still have to go there and get our job done. It’s not because we had a good lineup that we score a lot of runs. We go there with confidence, with a plan and the just try to execute.”
If they can do that two more times at home this week, the Dodgers can end the Brewers season and give themselves a week’s rest before returning to the World Series for the second time in as many years.
“We’re good. We’re really good,” said Kiké Hernández, who is one of the reasons for that. “The experience, the trust that we have in each other, that if we’re down in the game early, we’re going to find a way to come back and tie it or take the lead.
“We’re 2-0 in the NLCS, but the goal is to win a World Series, not to win two games on the road. And as we’re still playing the Milwaukee Brewers, we’re going to focus on them and take it one day at a time. We haven’t really accomplished anything yet.”
But when they do, expect the accomplishment to come from the bottom up.
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