Isabel Allende wins €1m Spanish literary prize under pseudonym 17. October 2026 (15:01) Chilean-American author awarded Premio Planeta for sequel to her 1982 debut novel, The House of the SpiritsThe Chilean-American author Isabel Allende has won Spain’s €1m (£843,000) Premio Planeta, one of the world’s most lucrative literary prizes, under a pseudonym, with a sequel to her celebrated debut novel, The House of the Spirits.Allende, 84, won the 75th edition of the award on Thursday with La hora antes del alba, which returns to the characters of her 1982 novel, a multigenerational family saga set against political upheaval in a country inspired by Chile. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘We’re not playing games’: Parents launch playground protests to fight school field sell-off 17. October 2026 (15:00) School looking to sell piece of open land beloved by people in Devon town to fund refurbishmentsOn Saturdays throughout autumn, residents of Totnes have met at a field on the banks of the River Dart to play ballgames, fly kites or simply sit on the grass and chat.But it hasn’t just been about having fun – this has been a “play protest” aimed at trying to save a beloved piece of open land in the historic Devon market town. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Inside the long, bitter fight over one man’s quest to build the biggest AI datacenter in California 17. October 2026 (15:00) A modern-day prospector promised rural Imperial thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue – but his plan has set off a firestorm of resistanceSebastian Rucci zoomed in on a map in late 2024, looking closely at a large block of brown earth. The barren plot sandwiched between sprawling alfalfa fields and sleepy desert suburbs was exactly what he’d been searching for – the perfect place to realize his dream of building the largest artificial intelligence datacenter in California.The dusty expanse wasn’t an obvious location. It was in the Sonoran desert, just north of the Mexican border, where temperatures regularly rose past 100F (37.8C). Water was scarce in the once-booming agricultural area, which gets its supply from the beleaguered Colorado River. And then, there was the city of Imperial – population 22,000 – to win over. As controversial datacenter projects have sprung up across the US, residents were naturally skeptical of a new, energy-guzzling neighbor. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
SNP members back resolution supporting UK-wide ban on X 17. October 2026 (14:52) The resolution, which also said the SNP should remove itself from the social media platform, was passed overwhelmingly at the party’s conference.(London News)
It's BEER Starmer! Former Prime Minister Keir enjoys a pint or two at luvvies' famous Hampstead pub loved by Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Sam Smith and Liam Gallagher
Disillusioned Iowans could tank GOP's midterm chances as even a die-hard MAGA fan issues a damning snub of Trump-backed Ashley Hinson: 'A lot of them are liars'
Brutal way Katie Zacharia was fired as Trump's hatchet man walked into office mid-interview to tap doomed press sec on the shoulder: 'JD wanted to chat'
Macron is blasted for dancing at a Celine Dion concert with Brigitte as more than 160 are arrested while France burns in riots