Millions of customers’ genetic and personal information exposed in 2023, including more than 855,000 Californians
California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, on Monday announced the state will receive a $6m settlement payment in 23andMe’s bankruptcy, resolving California’s legal claims related to a 2023 data breach that exposed 6.9 million customers’ genetic and other personal information.
California had unsuccessfully tried to block the $305m sale of 23andMe assets to TTAM Research Institute, a non-profit controlled by the 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki. The state had argued that the bankruptcy sale violated California’s Genetic Information Privacy Act, and it had said consumers did not give express consent to the sale.
CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour will leave next year, after 43 years with the network, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Monday.
The news channel has recently come under the ownership of Skydance, whose Chief Executive Officer David Ellison has faced criticism over his stewardship of CBS News.
“After thinking carefully for several months … I’ve decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years,” Amanpour said in a video statement, joking that it was “longer than many marriages”.
She added that her daily show on CNN would conclude at the end of this year, but that she would continue hosting ‘Amanpour’ once a week through to June 2027.
Thanking her TV crew and colleagues, Amanpour highlighted that it was the “teams and the camaraderie we built that counts so much”.
Amanpour, whose first major assignment was covering the first Gulf War, went on to report on conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iran.
Skydance, formerly Paramount Skydance, completed its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery earlier this month, bringing CNN and CBS News under one roof.
CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss kept their roles, with both reporting to Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
Lawmakers have criticised Ellison for tailoring news coverage at CBS News to favour US President Donald Trump.
Russia's oil exports through its Northern Sea Route (NSR) in 2026 have already exceeded last year's by nearly 50%, with some 20 million barrels shipped to Asia from the start of navigation in July to mid-October, traders said and data showed.
Paul Mackenzie and his church set up sect that ordered followers to starve themselves and their children, say prosecutors
A Kenyan court has found the starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and about 30 others guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult in one of the world’s worst cult-related disasters in recent history.
Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after police received a tipoff, and weeks later authorities began uncovering bodies in shallow graves in the Shakahola forest near the coast in south-eastern Kenya.
Alberta is holding a non-binding referendum on Monday to ask residents if they want to remain part of Canada, marking the first time the oil-rich province has ever put the question of separation to the public.
Polls have consistently shown that most Albertans — around 70 per cent — want to stay in Canada, with roughly a quarter of residents supporting an independent Alberta.
What will residents be asked?
There are 10 questions, each with its own colour-coded ballot. The last ballot voters see is question 10, on whether Alberta should remain a Canadian province or start the legal process required to hold a binding referendum on separation.
A simple majority in favour of separation could trigger that process. There are nine other nonbinding questions about immigration, access to provincial services including education, social care and healthcare and voter identification requirements.
Supporters of Alberta separating from Canada hold a banner and flags during a rally in May. — AFP/File
Why is Alberta having this referendum?
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in May it was time to have a vote, understand the will of Albertans on this subject, and move on, when she announced the government would add a question on separation.
Smith’s decision followed months of campaigning by a small but vocal group of separatists, who argue Alberta’s energy wealth is subsidising poorer parts of the country and that bureaucracy in Ottawa has stifled the province’s economy.
Some members of the group had backed Smith’s candidacy for premier. Smith says she voted for Alberta to remain in Canada during advance polling, according to a video she posted on social media on Wednesday.
Have there been previous separatist referendums in Canada?
Yes, but not in Alberta. The majority French-speaking province of Quebec has had two referendums, in 1980 and 1995. Quebecers voted to remain in Canada both times, but by the slimmest of margins in 1995.
The separatist Parti Quebecois (PQ) won a provincial election earlier this month and has pledged to hold a third referendum, but only after US President Donald Trump has left office and if the party holds a majority.
The PQ was elected with a minority government on October 5, meaning it will rely on smaller parties to pass legislation.
Canada is a federation of 10 provinces and three territories. While Ottawa is responsible for matters of national interest, such as defence, trade and foreign policy, the provinces and territories hold significant power over medical care, education and land rights.
When will the results be known?
Polls are scheduled to close at 8pm on Monday (0200 GMT on Tuesday). Elections Alberta says it will count ballots by hand and that the question on separation will be counted first.
It will publish results on the Elections Alberta website as they are received, and unofficial results are expected within 48 hours after voting ends.
What happens if most Albertans vote to start the process of leaving Canada?
Smith has said she will respect the result and quickly begin the process to hold a legally binding referendum. But separation would not happen imminently. After the 1995 Quebec referendum, Canada’s Parliament passed the Clarity Act in 2000, which says talks about secession can only be triggered if there is a clear majority from the public, without specifying the necessary threshold.
The act also states provinces and territories have no unilateral right to leave Canada and that a constitutional amendment negotiated by provincial, territorial and federal governments is required.
A supporter of the pro-Canada group Forever Canadian participates in an event, one day before the non-binding referendum on separation from Canada, in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada on October 18, 2026. — Reuters
First Nations groups have objected to the idea of an independent Alberta, as their land treaties with Canada predate Alberta’s entry into Confederation.
In May, an Alberta court judge ruled the province’s chief electoral officer was wrong to allow separatists to collect signatures requesting a referendum, because the process should have prompted a consultation with Indigenous peoples whose rights might be violated by separation. Alberta has appealed the decision.
What has PM Carney said about the referendum?
Carney, who was largely raised in Alberta, has previously said the best place for Alberta is in Canada and that the country cannot succeed if it’s divided. He released a video on Canadian Thanksgiving, October 12, saying national unity is critical as Canada fights threats from abroad, including a trade war with the US. Carney has campaigned for Alberta to remain in Canada.
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could hold a three-way meeting on the sidelines of next month’s APEC summit in China and that a potential meeting had come up in talks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented after being asked about a report in The Wall Street Journal which said that Putin had proposed such a meeting to discuss how to end the conflict in Ukraine.
“Given that all three heads of state may potentially take part in the summit in China, the subject of such a hypothetical meeting was indeed raised. It was raised, but no specific proposals or agreements were discussed or put forward by anyone, either regarding the meeting itself or the possible agenda and content of that meeting,” said Peskov.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha criticised the idea of such a summit.
“A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, the US, and Russia could help end the war sooner. A trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, China, and the US would do only the opposite: encourage Putin to continue this war,” he said on X.
Peskov, who told reporters on a daily conference call that the US was continuing its mediation efforts to resolve the conflict and that Russia appreciated those efforts, said it was obvious that Ukraine would need to be involved in any final peace deal.
“Of course, a final settlement is impossible without the participation of someone in Kyiv who is prepared to take responsibility,” he said.
The last US-mediated peace talks took place in February before the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran. Ukraine and Russia remain as far apart as ever when it comes to the terms of any possible peace deal.
By Ana Isabel Martinez and Sarah Morland MEXICO CITY, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Mexico’s president said on Thursday a drastic reduction in the protected area for the near-extinct vaquita marina, the world’s...
ANKARA, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Turkey will take some of the diesel Russia is supplying to global markets under its agreement with US President Donald Trump, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on...
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