Top News Stories –

JK Rowling dismisses Harry Potter fan theories about time travel and werewolves –
JK Rowling has shut-down a theory that one of the Harry Potter characters was a time traveller. The author responded to fans who claimed they had put together evidence about Ronald Weasley being a time travelling Dumbledore. On Twitter, she said that this theory is “false.” Also, referring to the idea that Draco Malfoy could be a werewolf, she tweeted: “I’ve never seen that one before. Draco definitely isn’t a werewolf (and Snape’s not a vampire).” [BBC Newsbeat]
J. K. Rowling

Denis Healey dies aged 98 –
Denis Healey, a towering figure in the Labour Party and perhaps the most recognisable politician for a generation, has died. His family said the 98-year-old died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday morning at his home in Sussex after a short illness. The retired Labour politician, often described as “the best prime minister the party never had”, served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 under the premierships of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. [Daily Telegraph]
Denis Healey in 1974

England out of Rugby World Cup as Australia win 33-13 –
England are out of the World Cup after being torn apart by a superb Australia display at a stunned Twickenham. Two converted first-half tries and four penalties from Wallaby fly-half Bernard Foley in a virtuoso display brought a richly deserved win on a black night for England’s men in white. The result means both Australia and Wales are into the quarter-finals. It is the first time that a host nation has gone out at the group stage of the tournament. And to complete their humiliation, it is also the first time England have failed to make the knockout stages. [BBC]

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SPECTRE – Final Trailer (Official)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian Civil War, Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War
  • The Pentagon is reportedly weighing the option of using military force to protect the U.S.-backed rebels fighting the Assad regime. The Pentagon’s own reports show that most of the rebels sympathize, hand over weapons and money or even outright join extremist groups such as ISIL or the Al-Nusra Front (Fox News)
  • British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon says only 5 percent of Russia’s airstrikes in Syria have targeted Islamic State extremists. Instead other Syrian rebel groups, including the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, have been attacked. “Our evidence indicates they are dropping unguided munitions in civilian areas, killing civilians,” Fallon added. (Voice of America) (Reuters)
• War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
  • A prolonged series of American military airstrikes hit a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) hospital in Kunduz, killing twelve staff members and at least seven patients, including three children, with 37 seriously injured and many more people still missing. (MSF) (Washington Post) (Reuters)
• Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
  • ISIS claims responsibility for the killing of a 65-year old Japanese citizen in Bangladesh. This comes after the recent murder of an Italian, Cesare Tavella, in Bangladesh which was also claimed by ISIS. (Al Arabiya)

Disasters and accidents

• Hurricane Joaquin
  • As Hurricane Joaquin, still a Category 3 storm, heads northeast, a Tropical Storm Warning and a Hurricane Watch are in effect for Bermuda. Winds will begin to strengthen early Saturday with thunderstorms and more significant showers around midnight. Joaquin should turn toward the north-northeast Sunday and pass around 125 nautical miles (232 kilometres; 144 miles) west of Bermuda that evening. (WCVB5 Boston) (NHC) (Bermuda Royal Gazette)
  • Joaquin’s eastward turn away from the United States could send the storm across the Atlantic Ocean toward the United Kingdom. Current weather models predict Joaquin, powered by the jet stream, will reach the British Isles on the October 10 weekend.(Daily Mail) (Daily Express)
• Two people are killed, including an eight-year-old boy, after a double-decker bus crashed into a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Coventry city centre; six others were also seriously hurt including the bus driver according to West Midlands Police. (BBC)

Sport

• 2015 Rugby World Cup
  • England become the first host nation and first former finalist to be knocked out of the Rugby World Cup during the group stages following their defeat to Australia. (BBC)

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