Best of luck to the faithful tonight. We’ve all had enough of deception and lies this year...

London Fire Brigade gives fire safety warning for bonfire night Go to official firework displays or take extra care if you run your own events, the brigade says.

As Guy Fawkes Night approaches, the London Fire Brigade is encouraging Londoners to treat fireworks with caution and avoid the risk of injury.

Liechtenstein’s ‘zombie trust’ woes spread to Caribbean Service providers in British Virgin Islands, Bahamas and Cayman Islands warn of unpaid fees and stranded assets

This is fascinating from @mjruehl.bsky.social on how Western sanctions on Russia have led to hundreds of ‘zombie trusts’ in Liechtenstein as all the directors have had to resign
on.ft.com/47TTGTL

Covid jab less likely than virus to cause rare heart issue in children Largest study of its kind shows health risks of refusing vaccination

NEW: Children faced more risk of rare heart problems after Covid-19 infection than they did after taking the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine, a big three-year study of under-18s in England has found.

Important evidence for debates over vaccine safety, particularly in the US.
www.ft.com/content/231d...

Mamdani: "We can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves. After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him."

Zohran smiling on the street

Zohran's campaign was his determination to make New York a city everyone can afford to live in. Huge congratulations!

His success will resonate throughout the world. A story where no one is left behind.

It's time to write that story across England & Wales too.

UK Government logo. Date: 30 October 2025. Large heading: JAMAICA. Subheading in red box: BRITISH NATIONALS. Text: The UK government has chartered a limited number of flights from Jamaica for British nationals who are unable to fly home commercially, following the impact of Hurricane Melissa on the island. All British nationals who have already registered via the Register Your Presence portal will automatically be contacted and provided with a link to the booking portal once airports are open. Red button at bottom: REGISTER YOUR PRESENCE.

The UK Government is arranging flights for British nationals who can’t leave Jamaica on commercial routes.

If you or someone you know hasn’t been able to book a flight home, register your presence now

📞 +1 (876) 936 0700
📞 +44 (0)20 7008 5000

www.register.service.csd.fcdo.gov.uk/jamaica-2025...

arXiv Changes Rules After Getting Spammed With AI-Generated 'Research' Papers Cornell University’s academic paper repository will no longer accept Computer Science papers still under review.

facing a rising tide of AI slop, arXiv is putting its foot down

I’m sorry, huh?

Maldives bans smoking for younger generations Anyone born on or after 1 January 2007 will be banned from using, buying or selling tobacco products in the archipelago.

Maldives bans smoking for anyone born on or after 1 Jan 2007 www.bbc.com/news/article...

‘It is the scariest of times’: Margaret Atwood on defying Trump, banned books – and her score-settling memoir At 86, she’s a literary seer and saint – and queen of the Canadian resistance. So what does the writer make of our dystopian world?

‘Since 1961, Atwood has published an average of a book a year.’
Nice interview with @margaretatwood.bsky.social and although I knew she wrote lots I did not realise how prolific!
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...

“.. Guests were seen mimicking ‘Roaring 20's’ era attire, a period just before the Great Depression that historians note for its staggering income inequity.” 🤡

@usatoday.com
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Murphy does not understand the time change

What he said Part 2: 💯 🎯

Mayor of London getting flu vaccine

I got my flu vaccine this week. I’d encourage all eligible Londoners to get theirs as soon as possible to stay well and strong this winter and be able to enjoy all that London has to offer.

Book through your GP, the NHS app or online ⬇️

nhs.uk/vaccinations...

👌 @orkneylibrary.bsky.social

Big noisy turnout for the TOWER HAMLETS UNITY DEMO - a peaceful, community protest against racism, Islamophobia and the far-right (originally arranged as a counter demo against a UKIP demo, but thankfully that was cancelled)

¡No pasarán! East London is Anti-Fascist!

Metropolitan Police recovers thousands of stolen goods Nine shops are ordered to close and 32 people are arrested in the crackdown on organised shoplifting gangs.

Shoplifting isn’t a victimless crime - it costs businesses, communities and jobs.

With City Hall backing, the Met is cracking down on shoplifting, bringing offenders to justice and keeping Londoners safe.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Last week I joined the London Otters Rowing Club for their LGBT charity Rainbow Races in the Royal Albert Dock which raised over £1000.

Congratulations to the winning crews and all those that took part. Great to give out the prizes with the Newham First Citizen Rohit Dasgupta and support the club.

Good news - more than 150,000 Londoners are getting a pay rise as the London Living Wage increases nearly 7% to £14.80 an hour.

Hardworking Londoners deserve a wage that covers the rising cost of living.

A warning has been issued after fake letters were posted through letterboxes, claiming people would have to house refugees if they flew St George's flag. The letter said that "patriotic" households displaying the country's flag will temporarily house refugees because ‘we know you would be proud to assist your country’.

lol.

With a seemingly bottomless pool of talent in Japan to draw from, why go abroad in search of artists? 👉 ebx.sh/IrGTKe

What List? Get your T-shirt with free UK delivery here >>> buff.ly/E3q6GsY

👏 Mrs Tim’s done it again: The World of Sherlock Holmes (puzzle).

Pentagon to use $130 million donation from anonymous Trump ‘friend’ to pay military members | CNN Politics The Trump administration plans to funnel a $130 million donation from an anonymous ally of President Donald Trump toward paying military service members during the government shutdown, the Defense Dep...

There is a decent chance that this $130 million is not really $130 million, or that someone is going to skim off some of the money, or that whatever amount it is comes from a donor of unsavory morals or intentions
www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/p...

Labours alarmed by the Green surge? So am I.

Fair play for an actual honest headline by the editor of City AM.

Join.greenparty.org.uk