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Retail sales declined in October despite major discounting. Image by Retail Gazette
Business
Retail sales in the UK suffer a downturn

The Office of National Statistics reported that despite major discounting, retail sales in the UK in all main retail sectors except food fell by 0.1 percent in October, and by 0.3 percent if fuel sales are ignored. Chief Economic Advisor to the EY Item Club Howard Archer stated that this was probably due to uncertainties caused by the upcoming Brexit deadline, a stagnating domestic economy, and a volatile global economic environment.

economy business finance retail britain unitedkingdom decline

Thu Nov 14 - TheGuardian
Ancient mummified cat turns out to be a scam. Image via Corbis Steven Vidler
Science
Ancient Egyptian mummified cat puzzles scientists

Researchers recently performed an X-ray analysis of an ancient Egyptian mummified cat at the Museum of Fine Arts in Rennes, France, but were perplexed to find the remains of three felines inside the mummy. They believe the discovery to be evidence of 'ancient scams' run by disingenuous priests. Cats represented deities in ancient Egyptian religion, and scientists say there is more to be learned about how they were treated.

science egypt ancientegypt archaeology cat mummies mummy pyramids

Thu Nov 14 - TheDailyExpress
Mohamed Salah has been ruled out of upcoming matches due to an ankle injury, Image via Reuters
Sports
Salah’s return date uncertain after an ankle injury

Mohamed Salah has been ruled out of upcoming International matches of Egypt due to an ankle injury. Salah hurt left ankle playing for Liverpool against Manchester City last Sunday. He was captured wearing a protective boot in his left foot during the training session of Egypt in Cairo. Liverpool remains unclear about the return date of Salah.

football liverpool soccer injury salah egypt

Thu Nov 14 - SkySports
Oxygen varies unpredictably on the Red Planet according to NASA, image via Getty Images
Science
Startling new data suggests unforeseen variations in oxygen on Mars

The latest data from the Curiosity rover on Mars has befuddled NASA scientists, who state they have no good explanation for large fluctuations in the oxygen levels on Mars. The data was so unbelievable that, at first, scientists' only explanation was faulty instruments. But the data has now been deemed accurate, showing that oxygen and methane levels on Mars vary in unpredictable ways, unlike other atmospheric gases.

nasa mars space science exploration curiosity oxygen astronomy

Thu Nov 14 - TheIndependent
Dwayne Johnson have become the latest victim of a death hoax
Entertainment
“I’m not Dead” Dwayne Johnson posted his Instagram story

The 47-year old actor and wrestler have become the latest victim of a death hoax after fake news headline "BBC: Dwayne The Rock Johnson Dies at 47 after a terrible stunt attempted failed" went viral. But all the rumors disappeared when the actor posted his Instagram story in which he mentioned: "I’m Not Dead".

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Thu Nov 14 - Metro
Former CIA Chief, David Petraeus said that Saudi Arabia is gradually running out of money, Image via Stacey Geiken
Business
Ex-CIA chief says: “Saudi Arabia is gradually running out of money”

Former CIA Chief, David Petraeus told CNBC in an interview that Saudi Arabia is gradually running out of money as they desperately want a successful IPO of state-owned oil company Aramco. He further added that Foreign Investment is crucial for the success of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Vision 2030”. Kingdom expects a budget deficit of $50 billion in 2020.

aramco saudiarabia ipo vision2030 budget

Thu Nov 14 - CNBC
The Witcher has been renewed for another season before the first one even aired, image via Netflix
Entertainment
The Witcher renewed for season 2 by Netflix

Netflix has already renewed 'The Witcher' for a second season even though the first one hasn't even aired. The second season will go into production in 2020 and will be released in 2021. The show stars Henry Cavil and is based on a series of Polish fantasy novels.

streaming netflix witcher season2

Thu Nov 14 - TheWrap
The phone will fold but has no crease, image via Motorola
Technology
Motorola introduces Razr foldable smartphone

Motorola has announced they will be resurrecting the iconic Razr as a foldable smartphone. The phone will be on the market by January 2020 and will cost $1,499 upon launch. Motorola has said that they have complete faith in the durability of the phones Flex View display and that there will be no crease.

smartphone android motorola razr

Thu Nov 14 - TheVerge
TikTok originally started out as Musical.ly, image via Reuters
Business
Mark Zuckerberg has called Tik Tok a threat to democracy, even though he tried to buy its predecessor

Mark Zuckerberg has been on a tirade against TikTok over the last few months, even going so far as to call it a threat to democracy. He made these statements even though he tried to buy Musical.ly, the app that became TikTok, in 2016. According to an insider, Zuckerberg attempted the purchase to break into the Chinese market.

zuckerberg facebook china us tiktok democracy

Thu Nov 14 - BusinessInsider
The World Health Organisation has pre-qualified the vaccine, image via Getty Images
Science
Regulators have approved the world's first Ebola vaccine

Regulators in Europe have approved the first-ever Ebola vaccine and it is immediately going into distribution. The World Health Organisation has prequalified the vaccine, deeming it safe for use globally. According to early reports the vaccine 97.5% effective at preventing the deadly disease. Scientists have been working on this since 2014, ever since the first Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

science health who ebola vaccine

Thu Nov 14 - ARSTechnica
The plague is a highly contagious and possibly fatal disease, image via Getty Images
Politics
Two cases of the pneumonic plague have been confirmed in China

Two people are being treated for the pneumonic plague in a central Beijing hospital. It is currently unknown how they initially came into contact with the disease as the Chinese government did not comment on the matter. The disease is highly contagious so the two patients have been quarantined and measures are being taken to manage the risk of it spreading.

china health plague disease

Thu Nov 14 - ABCNews
Most of these requests were from the US government, image via Getty Images
Politics
Facebook reveals that government requests for user data have reached an all-time high

Facebook has revealed in its biannual transparency report that government requests for user data have reached a new record. Most of these requests were made by the US and two-thirds of those requests involved clauses that specified that Facebook could not notify the user. Facebook also revealed that it complies with 80% of these requests.

facebook privacy data government transparency

Thu Nov 14 - ABCNews
China is on track to launch its Mars Mission in 2020 as they completed a lander test, Image Via Daily Express
Technology
China’s Mission Mars 2020 is on track

Zhang Kejian, Head of China National Space Administration, says that the country is on track to launch its Mars Mission in 2020 as they completed a lander test in northern Hebei province. Zhang Rongqiao, the chief architect of the Chinese Mars Exploration programme says that the journey will take about 7 months. China is catching up with Russia and the United States to become a major space power by 2030

china missionmars mars2020 cnsa

Thu Nov 14 - Reuters
W.H.O is tackling the global insulin shortage, image via Getty Images
Science
W.H.O to bring down insulin prices worldwide

The World Health Organisation has announced that they are beginning testing of generic versions of insulin to encourage more companies to manufacture the drug. For the last 20 years, just three major companies have dominated the insulin market and they have been steadily increasing its price. It is estimated that 40 million people with diabetes cannot afford insulin.

health healthcare who insulin diabetes

Thu Nov 14 - NewYorkTimes
He was wrongfully sentenced to 47 years in prison in 2008
Politics
The man finally granted freedom after spending 11 years in jail for a crime he did not commit

Robert Martinez Jr. was sentenced to 47 years in prison for a series of armed robberies he did not commit. After spending 11 years locked away, he has won his freedom by proving his innocence in court. He was originally convicted without any physical evidence and his multiple appeals were rejected.

crime jail wrongfulconviction justice robbery court

Thu Nov 14 - CNN
These cows survived a mini-tsunami against all odds, image via Rhonda Photography
Entertainment
Cows survive massive hurricane by swimming for miles

Three cows swept away in a mini-tsunami caused by hurricane Dorian in North Caroline, the animals were assumed dead until now. They were found several miles away, leading many to assume that they swam the entire distance. The cows are now be returned to their homes after surviving the disaster against all odds.

cows flood disaster hurricane enviornment naturaldisaster

Thu Nov 14 - BBC
The rights to the films still belong to Sony, image via Marvel
Entertainment
Live action Spider-Man movies won't make it to Disney+

Disney has announced that it has no plans to bring the live-action spiderman films to their new streaming platform. Since the rights to the films still belong to Sony, even though Disney co-produced them, Disney cannot put them on the platform. Although fans will still be able to see the animated spiderman shows on the site.

disney sony marvel superhero disneyplus spiderman

Wed Nov 13 - TheVerge
Ricky Gervais will be hosting the Golden Globes for the fifth time, image via Getty Images
Entertainment
Ricky Gervais to be Golden Globes host for the last time

Ricky Gervais has announced that he will once again be hosting the Golden Globes. He has said that this will be his fifth and last time hosting the globes. Most award shows have now switched to being completely hostless but the Golden Globes have not made this change just yet.

goldenglobes awards rickygervais comedian host

Wed Nov 13 - Deadline
Trump's impeachment inquiry is having its first public hearing, image via Reuters
Politics
Trump impeachment inquiry goes public

The impeachment inquiry of US President Donald Trump is having its first public hearing. The committee will be hearing from top Ukrainian diplomats regarding Trump's abuse of power to convince the Ukrainian government to open investigations into his political opponents. Trump has denied all such accusations. The hearings will now be televised.

america trump impeachment us government donaldtrump ukraine public

Wed Nov 13 - Aljazeera
Much of the famous city is underwater, image via Shutterstock
Science
Venice mayor blames climate change for the catastrophic flood

Venice is experiencing severe flooding after a storm swept through Italy on Tuesday. The water levels in the region have not been this high in the last 50 years and the city's mayor has said this is because of climate change. Venice will be testing new flood barrier technology in 2021 to prevent this from happening again.

climatechange venice flood disaster italy

Wed Nov 13 - BBC
It is currently unknown what killed these birds, image via Hindustan Times
Politics
1,000 birds found dead under mysterious circumstances in Rajasthan

More than 1,000 migratory birds were found dead at Rajasthan's Sambhar Salt Lake earlier this week. The forest department is currently investigating the matter and has been unable to determine the cause of this mass death. So far they have not detected any signs of bird flu. Some scientists suspect that water pollution may be the cause.

india birds pollution waterpollution rajasthan

Wed Nov 13 - TheWeatherChannel
Facebook has said that the bug is harmless
Technology
A bug has allowed Facebook to access iPhone cameras as users scroll through their feed

Due to a system bug, the Facebook app sometimes turns on the phone camera without notifying the user. A Facebook spokesman has said that the bug is harmless and will be patched out as soon as possible, he also clarified that no footage has been captured or uploaded due to this bug.

facebook apple privacy camera iphone

Wed Nov 13 - Guardian
Students in Hong Kong clash with the police once again, image via AFP
Politics
Protesters in Hong Kong come out armed with bows and arrows

Protests in Hong Kong continue as students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong clash with police once again. Many protesters were armed with petrol bombs and some armed themselves with bows and arrows that they stole from the university sports center. Students placed barricades all over the campus to stop the police from entering.

protest violence hongkong riot revolution bowandarrow

Wed Nov 13 - Guardian
Memorials such as this one are popping up all over the country, image via Kathy Willens
Politics
Violent hate crime reaches the highest point in 16 years in the US

According to a new report by the FBI, violent hate crime has reached the highest levels it has been in 16 years. There have been surges in crimes against Latino and Trans people over the last year while the violence against Muslims and African Americans has gone down. Some have linked this change to the anti-LGBT and anti-Latino rhetoric of the Trump administration.

crime us racism hatecrime islamophobia

Wed Nov 13 - Guardian
Tesla has said that Brexit has created too much uncertainty in Britain, image via Tesla
Politics
Tesla to move gigafactory to Germany due to Brexit

Tesla Ceo, Elon Musk, has announced that the company will be building its first European factory in Germany instead of the UK. He went on to say that the reason for this change is all the uncertainty caused by Brexit. The factory is expected to be completed and in operation by 2021.

tesla brexit uk cars factory germany britain

Wed Nov 13 - Guardian