seats

Ryanair quietly changes how it allocates seats for passengers who don’t pay extra

Ryanair has made two changes to how passengers check in to their flights with the budget airline, ahead of a planned extension of the window for its airport bag drop services

Ryanair has changed how passengers randomly get allocated seats, and it’s bad news for those who liked to work the system.

The budget airline has made two big changes to how passengers check in. Firstly, check-in can now be done between two and 72 hours before departure, a significant extension of the 24-hour to two-hour window that has been in place until now. This change will be welcomed by passengers, as it means they can check in more at their leisure, possibly reducing the chance they forget and are forced to pay a late check-in fee.

Ryanair charges an airport check-in fee of £55 or €55 per passenger if they fail to check in online up to two hours before their scheduled departure time

The second change will be less welcome. According to people who flew with the airline over the weekend, passengers who opt for random seat allocation at check-in now receive their seat number three hours before departure, rather than at the moment they check-in.

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Canny travellers keen to avoid paying between £3 and £42.50 extra to choose their seat had been checking in as early as possible to see which seat they are allocated. If they are unhappy with what they get, they then have plenty of time to decide whether to pay to choose a seat instead. The new system makes that much harder.

“This is due to new rule changes which aim to reduce the benefit of not paying for a seat, as now you won’t know until the last minute where you are. This also diminishes the old tricks,” Reddit user Transport Enthusiast wrote. Vernacaian added: “You used to be able to pay to change your seat if you didn’t like the one randomly assigned at check-in. Therefore, if your preference is simply ‘I don’t want a middle seat’ it was worth the gamble of not paying for a seat at the time of booking and seeing what was allocated. Now you’ll need to pay in advance for a seat.”

Travel publication Goosed wrote: “Let’s not dance around it, this is a nudge to buy seats. The whole point of paying for a Ryanair seat for most people isn’t legroom; it’s sitting beside the person they’re traveling with. Under the old system, you could take your chances, see the result a day early, and pay only if the dice went against you.

“That safety net is now much thinner. You can still add a paid seat up to two hours before departure, but if your random seat only appears at the three-hour mark, you’ve roughly an hour to react, and that hour is usually spent in a taxi, on a bus to the airport, or stuck in the security queue. Most couples and groups won’t fancy that gamble, so expect more people to pay for seats at the booking stage instead.”

It is not clear whether the new system is in place across all Ryanair routes or is being trialed on some Dublin-to-UK routes. Ryanair has been asked to clarify the situation.

A spokesperson for the airline told the Mirror: “Passengers who choose not to reserve a seat can now check in between 72 hours and two hours before departure, an extension of the previous 24-hour check-in window. Passengers who do not purchase a reserved seat will continue to receive a seat free of charge through random seat allocation. In line with Ryanair’s policy, these seats are assigned after check-in and between 72 hours and two hours prior to departure.

“This change provides customers with greater flexibility by allowing them to check in earlier ahead of their flight, while customers who wish to select a specific seat can continue to reserve one at any stage before departure.”

It’s not the only change Ryanair is making. From tomorrow, the low-cost airline will close its airport bag drop services 60 minutes before scheduled departure, instead of the current 40-minute rule.

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The new ‘no frills’ business class seats with no TVs, privacy doors or reclining seats

BUSINESS class is a rare luxury – a chance for those with deep pockets to sip champagne, lie flat and catch the latest movies at 35,000 feet.

But what if the option to recline was taken away…

A new business class seat has no TV screen and doesn’t recline Source: SoFab – Optimares

As well as the large TV screen… Would you even be left with a business class seat? One airline thinks so.

Trinity Airways’ new business class seat features a sofa-like chair and a wraparound privacy screen… And that is it.

There is no recline option nor a TV screen.

The plane does have WiFi onboard so you can watch films on your own laptop or tablet though.

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This ‘no frills’ seat is the new option on the South Korean budget carrier’s rebranded cabins on its new Airbus A330-900neo jets.

The seat is called SoFab and is despite being around since 2023, Trinity recently adopted the seat and is currently the only airline to have it onboard its planes.

Unlike most business class seats that recline, have a large – and usually – LED screen and a cosy lie-flat bed, SoFab instead takes it back to basics.

When you do want to sleep, you will have to pull a tab and a cushioned ottoman will slide out, filling the gap between the seat and the footwell to create the long bed.

This means you can sit upright with your legs stretched out or slouch down into the chair, lying across it and the ottoman.

Reports claim that SoFab’s bed is around 25 per cent larger than other business class seats.

Instead, there is a cushion ottoman as a foot rest Source: Trinity Airways
It means the seats are cheaper Source: SoFab – Optimares

In total it stretches, 198cm long (roomy enough for someone who is 6’5 to lie flat) and 102cm wide.

Across the cabin, these seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 layout so that each passenger can directly access the aisle.

Instead of each seat featuring a door, a curved shell wraps around the passenger acting as a privacy screen,

And for the two passengers in the middle of the plane, there is also a privacy divider between them.

Of course, like most seats, there is air conditioning as well as a USB socket.

As for when it comes to meal time, the tray table can also be a side table – which means passengers don’t have to fully collapse the table just to get up and pop to the loo.

And because the seats down have a screen, the plane is cheaper to fly, which also means cheaper tickets.

While Trinity Airways doesn’t fly direct from the UK, a one-way trip from Rome to Seoul for example, costs around £1,296.21 for a business class seat in December.

In comparison, a one-way trip from Rome to Seoul with Korean Air in business class costs around £1,816.96.

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Mamdani’s progressive allies vie for seats in Congress | US Midterm Elections 2026 News

In June, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood before a packed house of voters, rallying support for a new wave of candidates hoping to build on his progressive momentum by winning seats in Congress.

Inside Brooklyn’s historic Kings Theatre, the crowd answered chants of “Abolish ICE”, “Tax the rich” and “Free Palestine” with roaring applause, leaving little if any room for doubt about what the audience wanted from its politicians.

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Within days, all three congressional hopefuls endorsed by Mamdani – Claire Valdez, Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier – had won their Democratic primaries, becoming the party’s candidates in the midterm election.

Lander, the former New York City comptroller, defeated Congressman Dan Goldman in a race in which Israel was the defining issue.

Avila Chevalier, a community organiser, unseated longtime Congressman Adriano Espaillat. Valdez, a lawmaker in the New York State Assembly and member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), won the contest to succeed retiring Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez.

Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier had the backing of New York City’s DSA chapter.

The candidates’ heavily Democratic districts mean they are likely to win congressional seats in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The June Democratic Party primaries effectively served as the main event for voters.

In the final hours before Tuesday’s midterm election, New York City – a place colloquially dubbed the city that never sleeps – is more politically sleepy, with canvassers a bit harder to find than they were in the final stretch before the primaries.

For the three progressive candidates, the past few months have been a test of how to turn bold campaign promises into policy they can actually deliver. The often slow minutiae of daily governance stand in stark contrast to buzzword-laden campaign slogans on the posters and signs galvanising their base of voters.

Unique paths to politics

The three congressional candidates’ platforms overlap on issues like abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ending US military aid to Israel and establishing a public healthcare system dubbed Medicare for All. But their paths into progressive politics differ.

Lander spent years in the New York City government, most recently as comptroller overseeing the city’s finances. After losing to Mamdani in the 2025 Democratic mayoral primary, he backed Mamdani in the election.

But Lander’s congressional campaign against incumbent Goldman brought him national attention, with Israel and Palestine emerging as the defining issue in the race to lead a district with one of the largest Jewish populations in the United States.

Lander has described Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as genocide and its occupation of Palestinian territory as apartheid. He also identifies as a Zionist who embraces pro-Palestinian activism, arguing that the positions are not mutually exclusive. Lander has long supported a two-state solution.

“It’s straightforward that some approach to more shared safety for Israelis and Palestinians and for Jews and Muslims and everybody else here makes more sense,” Lander said. “I also want to be able to listen across those divides and have thoughtful policy debates.”

Two weeks before Tuesday’s election, Israeli forces detained Lander in the occupied West Bank while he was volunteering to help with the olive harvest. Israeli authorities have since revoked his travel documents for a planned return visit.

“The main story I come home with is not the story of my detention or the revocation of my travel authorisation,” Lander said. “The main story that I come with is the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank, which I just saw with my own eyes.”

Lander has also long called for ICE to be abolished, including during President Donald Trump’s first term in office.

Pro-Palestinian activism 

Avila Chevalier’s political rise was similarly shaped by immigration and Palestinian rights, though she has taken a more uncompromising approach.

After interning at a youth organisation in Nablus in the occupied West Bank in 2014, she returned to the US and became an advocate for Palestinian communities.

Her “Babies Not Bombs” platform calls for redirecting military spending, including aid to Israel, towards domestic priorities such as childcare and healthcare.

“It’s important for us to see our budgets as moral documents,” Avila Chevalier told Al Jazeera. “Our resources should be going towards the things that make our lives dignified and make our communities thrive – not towards war, not towards ICE or things that are harming our communities.”

Valdez, meanwhile, came to progressive politics through the labour movement. A former union-organiser-turned-state-assemblymember, she supports stronger labour protections, including federal legislation such as the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act to make union organising easier.

Valdez also backs national rent control and a government-run healthcare system to provide wider healthcare access than the country’s private-sector insurance model.

“Public programmes and entitlements have been under attack by the right,” Valdez told Al Jazeera as she exited a polling location in her district on the first day of early voting. “I think not just clawing those back but really advancing a vision for what those things should be will be top priorities.”

Abolishing ICE and ending military aid to Israel are lofty, ambitious goals, and neither is likely to be achieved without navigating competing interests in Congress and the White House. With the balance of congressional power potentially shifting towards Democrats in the midterms, the newcomers will have to decide which priorities to pursue first.

That means looking for more immediate wins comparable to Mamdani’s move to fill 200,000 potholes when he took office as mayor, according to progressive political strategist Nomiki Konst.

“[Get] on the same page about an issue that we all agree on and leverage that in the Democratic Congress because there’s no better time than the beginning,” Konst told Al Jazeera.

For Lander, one such measure is banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks.

“Maybe that restores a little bit of trust,” Lander said. “People say that’s gross that members of Congress trade stocks. At least this new Congress is doing something, you know, to show me they’re not just all in it for themselves.”

Lander also sees an opportunity to restore enhanced government subsidies that expired at the end of 2025, raising premiums for many people who buy their private-sector insurance plans individually.

“We can say we’re not going to pass a budget that doesn’t do that and force Republicans to vote one way or the other and see what Trump does,” Lander said.

For Avila Chevalier, an early priority would be her “Babies Not Bombs” agenda, redirecting funding towards domestic needs. Valdez wants to pass the PRO Act.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sets a precedent

The three would not be the first progressive New Yorkers to enter Congress promising major change.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her legislative seat in 2018 by defeating longtime incumbent Joe Crowley. Since then, she has occasionally worked with Republicans on shared priorities.

In 2025, Ocasio-Cortez introduced legislation with Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent, echoing a proposal from Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri.

The question, Konst says, is whether Mamdani’s endorsed candidates can turn ideological commitments into legislative results. Doing so will require compromise, including setting aside some priorities to advance others.

Avila Chevalier is under the microscope after calling for New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to resign over a man being shot in his car by ICE while his child was in the backseat. Avila Chevalier said she was later shoved to the ground by New York City police officers during protests following the shooting.

Mamdani reportedly appointed Tisch on the recommendation of Governor Kathy Hochul, whose support was important to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. An Atlantic magazine report suggested that her endorsement of Mamdani, whose more progressive platform included universal childcare and government-operated grocery stores, hinged on Tisch’s appointment.

“Everybody wants to have their agenda passed, right? I think being really thoughtful about when to hold fire, when to fire, when to be bold, when to hold back, and when to say what you feel so you’ll get the most support,” Konst said.

But Avila Chevalier said she is willing to work with anyone to advance her priorities.

“There is always something that two people can agree on. And that’s where I plan on starting because I think organising is about meeting people where they’re at,” Avila Chevalier said.

“There are so many folks who really want to see healthcare transformed in this country, who really want to see a moratorium on data [centres]. That is a bipartisan issue for so many.”

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Two competitive L.A. City Council seats are on the Nov. 3 ballot

Voters will elect two new Los Angeles City Council members on Tuesday, one representing the San Fernando Valley, the other South Los Angeles.

In the 3rd District, businessman Tim Gaspar and longtime local government employee Barri Worth Girvan are vying to replace Bob Blumenfield, who is termed out. The district includes Canoga Park, Reseda, Tarzana, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills.

In Council District 9, residents are preparing for a historic shift: No matter who wins, the district will elect a Latino council member for the first time since 1963.

The South L.A. district has long been represented by a Black council member, but over the last few decades it has undergone a demographic shift and today is about 80% Latino. Councilmember Curren Price also has termed out. Estuardo Mazariegos, co-director of the L.A. chapter of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, and Jose Ugarte, who previously served as a deputy chief of staff to Price, are vying for the seat.

District 3

Gaspar led the June primary with 46.1% of the vote compared to Worth Girvan, who secured 42.5%. Both candidates have spent the last few weeks of the campaign knocking on doors and making their case to voters, saying major issues like public safety and cleanliness are common concerns.

Gaspar, who founded an insurance agency in the Valley that he sold in 2021, would bring a pro-business perspective to City Hall, and among his top priorities would be eliminating “red tape” to stimulate small businesses in the region.

“We need somebody who’s going to come to the table with different ideas,” Gaspar said. “If we keep doing the same thing as before, we’re going to keep getting the same results.”

Worth Girvan, who worked as L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s district director for three years before running, would use her experience in the public sector to advocate for the West Valley.

“I am fortunate to have experience at every level of government,” she said. “That’s going to allow me to leverage relationships and know how to work together across jurisdictions to get things done.”

The race has been filled with accusations. Two weeks ago, Worth Girvan’s campaign published an ad featuring Christina Rackohn, a former employee whose family company merged with Gaspar’s insurance company, who alleged he created a hostile work environment.

Worth Girvan also filed an ethics complaint against Gaspar with the City Ethics Commission in October, alleging he failed to report more than $150,000 in personal and business expenditures related to his campaign and violated the city’s matching fund rules.

Gaspar called the allegations about creating a hostile working environment and violating campaign finance violations “lies.” He said he is focused on campaigning in the final week before the election.

Gaspar said Worth Girvan is a career politician who will only maintain the status quo.

“If she ends up getting elected, she’s going to have the same ideas and the same ways of addressing these issues as what got us into this mess in the first place,” he said.

On homelessness, Gaspar has criticized the city’s Inside Safe program and said a housing-first approach doesn’t work. He praised the anticamping zone law but believes the city should be tougher against encampments.

Worth Girvan supports Inside Safe but wants more permanent housing built instead of relying on interim housing. She would expand the city’s CIRCLE program, which provides 24/7 unarmed mobile response for nonviolent calls involving homeless individuals, to the West Valley.

In fundraising, Gaspar reported bringing in nearly $600,000 during the runoff campaign including matching funds, compared with about $287,000 for Worth Girvan.

District 9

Both Mazariegos and Ugarte share many similarities, including having arrived to the U.S. from Latin America as children and growing up undocumented. Both spent years working as community organizers, but now they diverge on issues such as policing and homeless policies.

Mazariegos and Ugarte were nearly evenly matched in fundraising, with both raising about $350,000 for the runoff in contributions and matching funds. Ugarte placed first in the June primary in a crowded field against five others, winning 39% of the vote. Mazariegos, who has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America‘s L.A. chapter, came in second with about 26%.

Ugarte’s campaign has received more than $1 million in support from independent expenditures, committees that can receive unlimited donations but cannot coordinate with a candidate’s campaign. Airbnb, Uber and the California Apartment Assn. are among the groups supporting Ugarte.

Mazariegos has criticized the companies supporting Ugarte’s candidacy, accusing them of attempting to displace low-income residents by pouring money into the election.

“They’re trying to displace our community. That’s what this fight is all about,” Mazariegos said. “I know this is a righteous campaign and a righteous cause with the people, alongside the people. Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo.” Only the people can save the people.

Ugarte said he has never met with Airbnb officials but would take a call from any group to figure out what is going to best benefit South L.A., including prioritizing protecting renters.

“I’d open my eyes and see what’s going to benefit South L.A.,” he said. “I want to focus on making South Central clean, safe and affordable.”

While both would defend immigrants, they diverge on issues such as the police budget. Ugarte supports Mayor Karen Bass’ goal of restoring the L.A. Police Department to 9,500 officers, while Mazariegos supports increasing oversight of the department’s budget and reducing its budget to fund other departments, including Recreation and Parks and the Bureau of Street Services.

Ugarte supports enforcing Municipal Ordinance 41.18, which prohibits camps near schools, daycare centers and other “sensitive” areas as a tool to clear homeless encampments. Mazariegos has said all the ordinance does is shuffle people around, and instead the focus should be on addressing addiction and mental health issues.

Mazariegos has been endorsed by Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, City Controller Kenneth Mejia, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), United Teachers Los Angeles, L.A. Forward and several labor unions.

Ugarte has been endorsed by the L.A. County Democratic Party, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Action Fund, Rep. Sydney Kamlager Dove, the late Dolores Huerta and Councilmember Tim McOsker.

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Netflix viewers are ‘glued to seats’ watching true-crime documentary in one sitting

A Netflix documentary has been described as ‘disturbing’ and ‘jaw-dropping’ by viewers, who say it’s ‘impossible to turn off’. Give it a go if you’re struggling to find something to watch

Everyone with a Netflix subscription knows how overwhelming it can be to find something good to watch. And sometimes, they give up altogether, heading to bed without ever making it past the title screen.

But one user claims there’s no need to waste precious time searching on this occasion, as he’s got the ideal documentary recommendation – and believes everyone will soon be discussing it. EccyReviews, who watches and critiques films and television programmes across his social media channels, is encouraging Netflix subscribers to give Tell Me Who I Am a watch.

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What’s the plot?

The 2019 documentary chronicles the story of Alex Lewis, who suffered memory loss after an accident.

Its IMDb description reads: “Alex Lewis trusts his twin brother, Marcus, to tell him about his past only to discover that he’s hiding a dark secret about their childhood.”

Speaking about the documentary, EccyReviews said: “You’re going to be running to Netflix to go and watch this documentary because it is one of the most insane stories you will ever hear.

“Everyone I know who’s seen this documentary cannot stop talking about it. The documentary I’m talking about is called Tell Me Who I Am.

“It follows a young man who after a motorcycle accident, wakes up to find he has lost his complete memory.

“He doesn’t know who his brother is, who his father is or even his own mother. And when he returns home he knows that there is something strange going on in his house.

“After years and years of never really speaking about his past, he meets up with his brother across this table to find out his entire backstory.

“Now it is genuinely disturbing, emotional and jaw dropping once you hear what happened to him. And honestly, if you haven’t seen this documentary you are massively missing out. So get it on your watch list right now.”

Where to watch Tell Me Who I Am?

The documentary is available to stream on Netflix in a single viewing, with a runtime of one hour and 26 minutes.

If you’re more in to reading, the book is also available to purchase, having become a Sunday Times bestseller.

What do people say?

Commenting on the recommendation, one TikTok user said: “I don’t have the patience to watch full documentaries, but this actually had me glued to the tele, it’s so disturbing because it’s true, I’ll ask the question for everyone, would you have told him?”

Another added: “What an incredible story. Heartbreaking. An incredible watch.”

A third user said: “Watched this before and highly recommend… it’s so upsetting in parts but will keep you hooked.”

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Inside Jet2’s new ‘business class only’ plane with just 76 seats, extra legroom and fancy dining

JET2 is launching a fancy new plane with sleek seats and loads of legroom.

The airline’s new VIP plane will be used for charter customers with a total of 76 seats which are all business class.

Jet2 flight crew stand in the aisle of the newly configured VIP business class aircraft.
Jet2 has launched a fancy new business class plane Credit: Jet2

Each seat has a minimum leg room of 42 inches – compared to the average 30 inches in an economy seat.

Each seat features a black leather-like fabric with wide armrests and collapsible tray tables.

Images also suggest that a foot rest raises from the seat.

Passengers can also expect higher levels of comfort across the cabin as well as upgraded catering, with pictures showing champagne served alongside meals.

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The Boeing 737-800NG is based at Liverpool John Lennon Airport and will be used for sports, music and entertainment event groups.

It marks the first plane the airline has configured an aircraft with a business class layout – usual layouts have 189 seats.

Interior of Jet2's new VIP configured aircraft, showing rows of black leather business class seats with a bottle of champagne and food on a tray table.
There are 76 business class seats onboard with premium dining Credit: Jet2

The airline is currently accepting bookings on the plane for the winter season.

Trevor Caplis, Head of Charter & Airline Sales at Jet2, said: “This is the first time that we have featured a dedicated business class specification on our aircraft, so this is an incredibly exciting development for charter customers.

“The feedback from charter customers who have flown on it has been exceptional, with the premium feel, space and comfort onboard really shining through.

“This luxurious cabin environment, alongside the award-winning Jet2 customer service, looks set to be a huge hit with charter clients this winter.”



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Arab parties could win 18 seats in Israeli elections, exit polls suggest | Israel Election 2026 News

Record-breaking voter turnout in Palestinian-Israeli communities around 80 percent, early indications show.

Israel’s Arab parties are projected to win 18 seats in the Israeli parliament, exit polls indicate, after voting among Palestinian citizens of Israel surged to their highest levels in decades.

Exit polling data from Tuesday’s vote suggested that the leading Arab-led parties, the Joint List and Ra’am, are set to hold a record number of seats in the 120-member Knesset. Updated exit polling indicated that the opposition bloc led by former Israeli military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party and the bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party were tied at 51 seats each.

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Early indications put voter turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel at around 80 percent, historic numbers that break 1999 records, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Tuesday.

The leader of Ra’am, or the United Arab List, Mansour Abbas, said he hopes the final election results will allow the anti-Netanyahu bloc, including his party, to win the 61 seats required to form a government.

“With the numbers we have now, there is no government,” Abbas told Israel’s Channel 12.

Abbas, whose Ra’am party currently holds five seats in the Knesset and joined the coalition that governed Israel from 2021 to 2022, added that both main blocs reached out to his party before and after the election.

‘Arabs can’t be kept outside’

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli ambassador, said creating a government might prove difficult for parties such as Eisenkot’s – which earlier exit polls had put narrowly ahead – because they promised not to form coalitions with Arab parties during the campaign.

“There’s a price to pay,” Pinkas said, because the “Arabs can’t be kept outside and only being considered and co-opted when you need their votes”.

He added that the Arab-led lists will make demands that a Jewish-led coalition government may not support.

Netanyahu and his far-right coalition made last-ditch efforts on Tuesday to get their supporters to the polls, warning of surging voter turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel, a tactic Arab politicians denounced as racist and inflammatory.

Cars flying Netanyahu’s Likud party flags drove through Jerusalem blaring the Islamic call to prayer and urging supporters to cast their ballots because “Arabs are voting”, witnesses said.

In social media posts, the embattled prime minister highlighted long queues at polling stations in Arab communities and published an image that he said showed Arab voters, including women wearing the niqab, a veil that covers the lower half of the face, waiting to vote.

“If we don’t wake up now, we’ll find ourselves with a government of Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi,” he said, referring to two leading Palestinian members of the Knesset.

Overall voter turnout was also historic, reaching its highest level since 1999 with 77.7 percent casting ballots in Tuesday’s election, the Central Elections Committee reported. Palestinian citizens of Israel make up about 21 percent of the country’s population of 10 million and have traditionally voted at lower rates than Jewish Israelis.

‘Existential moment’

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, called the election “an existential moment for Palestinian-Israelis”.

She noted the record turnout among what has emerged as a key voting bloc, which drew “even [voters] who would usually boycott elections, who didn’t believe it would amount to any kind of influence, that it would change their reality, that it would alter the systemic discrimination that they face”.

The Knesset has passed more than 100 laws discriminating against Palestinian citizens of Israel, who also face discrimination in receiving state funds, Odeh said.

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European train to launch business class style plane seats and tickets start from £55

FANCY travelling through Europe in the comfort of your own private cabin rather than a cramped plane? This new sleeper train might be the answer.

Nox Mobility is launching next year as an alternative to short-haul flights – and they’re pretty cheap too.

Nox Mobility is launching a sleeper train service next year Credit: Nox Mobility
The suites are private for each passenger Credit: Nox Mobility

The sleeper train will launch in March next year with its first journey between Hamburg and Munich with stops in Bremen and Augsburg.

The inaugural run will leave Hamburg at 9.22pm and arrive at 8.14am – there will go in each direction three times per week.

Tickets are affordable too with one-way fares starting from €65 (£55).

Rather than regular train carriages, inside will be Nox Suites – a private area for each passenger with a seat that opens into a lounge to work or unwind.

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Inside is also a two-metre-long bed, storage, charging ports and a window to gaze out of.

There’s also no restaurant carriage on Nox Mobility, however you can pre-order meals to be served in your cabin and breakfast is available as an optional add-on.

On Nox, children under the age of four are allowed to travel for free with an adult passenger. 

It also teased future rooms which are actually private cabins.

The Single Loft has a seat and desk for the day with a bed for during the night.

The Double Loft is the most spacious room with a 170cm wide bed, two seats and a panoramic window to take in the views.

The first route is between Hamburg and Munichnoxmobility.com/en Credit: Nox Mobility
Collage of travel items including a plane, sunscreen, passport, suitcase, and plane tickets, advertising The Sun's travel Instagram account.

The Double Vista has ‘two seats by day and two beds by night’ in a private room with a full window.

It also hopes to launch more journeys later on to cities like Stockholm, Vienna, Amsterdam, Toulouse, Barcelona all the way to Reggio di Calabria in Italy.

In fact by 2035 it aims to connect 100 European cities.

Thibault Constant, co-founder of Nox said: “Sleeping while a train gets you across Europe is a great concept. But today people have to share their cabins with strangers, beds are tight, and it’s often more expensive than air travel.

“We want to change that and make night trains an essential part of European travel.”

It later hopes to expand its network to the likes of Sweden and Italy Credit: Nox Mobility



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Ryanair to axe 1.1million seats from two European airports with UK flights affected

RYANAIR is axing 20 routes from two European airports this winter – including one route from a city in the UK.

The airline has said the increase in aviation tax has resulted in the cancellation of over one million seats.

From its winter 2026/2027 schedule, Ryanair will no longer fly certain routes to and from Brussels South Charleroi and Brussels Airport at Zaventem.

It will be withdrawing six of its aircraft from the two bases and relocating them to other European airports.

The UK that will be affected is between Newcastle and Brussels Charleroi.

Looking at its website, the route remans on sale up until January 22.

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The last outgoing flight is from Newcastle at 4.25pm with fares starting from £21.99.

The last inbound flight from Brussels to Newcastle is at 7.30pm with prices from £214.99.

At Brussels Airport in Zaventem, The Brussels Times reported that the only Ryanair route that will remain will be to Dublin.

By January 2027, the price of aviation tax will have risen by 50 percent going from €2 (£1.68) in January 2025 to €7 (£5.87) in January 2027.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary called the measure a “failed and stupid initiative.”

According to reports, eight routes will be discontinued from Brussels Airport in Zaventem.

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More than 1.1million seats will be affected by the cancellation Credit: AFP
The exterior of Newcastle International Airport on a bright day, showing the main entrance, signage, and people outside with luggage.
The Newcastle to Brussels South Charleroi Airport route is set to be axed Credit: Getty
Collage of travel items including a plane, sunscreen, passport, suitcase, and plane tickets, advertising The Sun's travel Instagram account.

Meanwhile, 12 routes will be cut from Brussels South Charleroi Airport.

This comes after Ryanair recently announced it would be cancelling all flights to Bremen in Germany.

Currently, Ryanair offers daily flights from London Stansted to Bremen for as little as £15.

But in a new announcement, these will come to an end in April 2027.

On the Ryanair website, it appears tickets for the final flights to Bremen are scheduled for March 27, 2027.



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Ryanair to cut 500,000 seats as route to European airport axed early next year

Ryanair services daily direct flights on the route for just £15 but from April next year, layovers will now be required for those wanting to fly to fly from the UK to this city

Ryanair plans to cut all flights to a European airport next year. From April 2027, Europe’s biggest budget airline will no longer fly to Bremen in Germany.

This will axe around 500,000 seats. At present, Ryanair services daily flights on the route from London Stansted to Bremen for just £15. The airline’s website appears to have tickets for the final flights to Bremen scheduled for March 27, 2027.

Layovers will now be required for those wanting to fly to Bremen from the UK, as there will be no direct links after Ryanair stops providing flights on this route.

Ryanair previously announced it would be cancelling 24 routes to and from Germany, cutting 800,000 seats in total. Nine airports will be affected by the decision, affecting major cities and popular with tourist spots:

  • Berlin
  • Hamburg
  • Memmingen
  • Baden-Württemberg
  • Cologne
  • Frankfurt-Hahn
  • Dortmund
  • Dresden
  • Leipzig

Earlier this year Ryanair said it will be reducing its flight schedule to and from Berlin by 50 per cent.

CEO Eddie Wilson subsequently said that Germany’s aviation market is “broken”. He also said it “needs an urgent fix.”

“As a result of these high government taxes/fees (the highest in Europe), and Lufthansa’s high-fare monopoly, German citizens/visitors now pay the highest air fares in Europe,” Mr Wilson said.

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Ryanair to axe all flights to European city affecting 500,000 seats

RYANAIR is cancelled all flights to a European airport next year, – which works out to half a million seats.

As of early 2027, the airline will no longer fly to the German city of Bremen.

Ryanair has announced it is axing all flights to and from Bremen in Germany Credit: Alamy
The city currently has a direct route from London Stansted which will end in April 2027 Credit: Alamy

Currently, Ryanair offers daily flights from London Stansted to Bremen for as little as £15.

But in a new announcement, these will come to an end in April 2027.

On the Ryanair website, it appears tickets for the final flights to Bremen are scheduled for March 27, 2027.

The German city is known for its maritime history and gothic look that some often say looks ‘fairytale-like’.

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With Ryanair withdrawing the route, there will be no direct links to Bremen from the UK.

Those wanting to visit the German city will have to take stopover flights which can take over double the time.

The shortest is with KLM, which has a stopover in Amsterdam and takes three hours and 20minutes.

Last year, Ryanair announced it would be dropping 24 routes to and from Germany, cutting nearly 800,000 seats in total.

It was revealed that nine airports would be affected, along with the plans of those wanting a winter break, and including major cities that are popular with tourists.

These are:

  • Berlin
  • Hamburg
  • Memmingen
  • Baden-Württemberg
  • Cologne
  • Frankfurt-Hahn
  • Dortmund
  • Dresden
  • Leipzig
Bremen has been compared to a ‘fairytale’ by visitors Credit: Alamy

In April of this year, the airline confirmed it would be reducing its flight schedule to and from Berlin by 50 per cent.

Ryanair’s CEO Eddie Wilson said back in August: “Germany’s air travel market is broken and needs an urgent fix.

“As a result of these high government taxes/fees (the highest in Europe), and Lufthansa’s high-fare monopoly, German citizens/visitors now pay the highest air fares in Europe.”



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