Arsenal edged past Hull to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League on Saturday 7 November, France 24 reported, while City slumped again.
The Young Global Citizen Daily
Sunday 08 November 2026 · No. 181
Top Story Oil Routes
Iran Says Indian Ships Can Cross the Strait of Hormuz
Iran Says Indian Ships Can Use the Strait
The narrow sea lane carries oil that India relies on, but ships there are still being hit and the US blockade is still in place.
Picture a narrow sea lane between Iran and Oman that carries oil India depends on. That is the Strait of Hormuz. This week an Iranian lawmaker, Amir Hayat Moqaddam, said vessels from India, China, Iraq and Qatar are allowed to cross it. Iran has effectively kept the strait shut since early in a war that began on 28 February.
Here is what India has at stake. The data firm Kpler counted 10.23 million barrels a day of Gulf crude moving through the strait in October. India received 13 percent of that oil, and China about 42 percent. Moqaddam said Indian and Chinese ships would pay Tehran a fee to cross, while Qatari ships would not.
Permission from Iran does not settle everything. The US says its naval blockade covers every vessel entering or leaving Iranian ports, and nobody has said whether Washington accepts the exemptions. More than 120 commercial ships have been hit in the region since the war began, and October was the worst month.
Talks are running alongside the danger. Qatar's prime minister urged the US and Iran not to wait for a 'perfect moment' to make a deal, and President Trump said 'we've made a lot of progress' without giving details. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said he spoke with 12 foreign ministers in 48 hours. An analyst at IG Group said the exemptions change little for oil markets for now.
Much oil travels through a narrow sea lane called the Strait of Hormuz. An Iranian lawmaker said ships from India, China, Iraq and Qatar can pass.
India received 13 percent of the Gulf oil that crossed the strait in October. Iran says it will charge Indian and Chinese ships a fee. Qatari ships pass free.
But ships are still being hit, and more than 120 have been struck since the war began. The US also has a blockade, which stops ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
World Science
Octopuses Squeeze Through Tight Holes One Arm at a Time
How Octopuses Fit Through Small Holes
A study filmed seven octopuses fitting through holes in boxes and found a step-by-step method.
An octopus is soft, but it does have a rigid part: cartilage around its brain. Researchers wanted to see how that part affects the holes an octopus can fit through. They measured the distance between each octopus's eyes as a stand-in for the size of its most rigid cartilage.
The team tested three common octopuses and four Mayan octopuses. They gave each animal acrylic boxes with holes slightly smaller or larger than that eye-to-eye measurement. The study appeared in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
For the wider holes, the octopuses followed three steps in a few seconds. First they pushed one or two arms through. Then they threaded a couple more through. Last, they used the arms already outside to pull the head and the remaining arms after them.
The narrower holes needed four steps. Common octopuses first pushed all their arms through, then squeezed the head and the bulbous mantle through.
Mayan octopuses behaved differently. They were more cautious and usually ignored the narrower hole instead of trying to fit. One possible reason is that they live in sandy, rocky areas and rarely need to squeeze through holes.
The team hopes the findings will inspire soft robots that can change shape to reach tight spaces. Current hole-fitting robots tend to be snake-shaped. Robyn Crook of San Francisco State University, who was not involved, suggested that slits or tubes may call for different strategies than round holes.
Scientists tested three common octopuses and four Mayan octopuses. They gave each one a box with a hole.
For a wider hole, the octopus pushed one or two arms through first. Then it pushed a few more and pulled its head through. This took a few seconds.
For a narrower hole, common octopuses pushed all their arms through, then squeezed the head and body. Mayan octopuses usually ignored it.
Scientists hope this will help build soft robots that can reach tight spaces.
🗺️ Where in the world?
For grown-ups: sources
India Voter Lists
Thousands Rally in Delhi Over a Voter-List Revision
Rally in Delhi Over Voter Lists
Opposition leaders want the chief election commissioner to resign; the Election Commission denies favouring any party.
A voter list is the register of who may vote, and in India it is checked and revised by the Election Commission. On Sunday 1 November, thousands of people rallied in New Delhi demanding that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led the demonstration.
The argument is about numbers. The revision removed more than 130 million names from voter lists. Opposition parties say this hit Muslims and other minorities hardest.
The Election Commission answers that it does not favour any party, and says voters whose names were wrongly removed may register again. The BJP accuses opposition parties of undermining democracy, while Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda called the rally a 'carefully orchestrated drama'.
Al Jazeera described near-daily protests since late September. India's next general election is due in 2029.
A voter list shows who can vote. In India, the Election Commission checks and revises it.
The latest revision removed more than 130 million names. On 1 November, thousands rallied in New Delhi to ask the chief election commissioner to resign.
The Election Commission says it does not favour any party. It says people wrongly removed may register again. The next general election is due in 2029.
🗺️ Where in the world?
Did you know?
Israel's parliament has 120 seats, so a government needs 61 of them to have a majority.
United States Pay and Prices
Pay Rises 3.1% a Year, but Prices Are Rising Faster
Pay Is Rising Slower Than Prices
A strong jobs report did not end the squeeze on family budgets.
PAY VS PRICES Yearly rise, percent
A family's budget depends on two numbers: what workers are paid and what things cost. Average hourly earnings in the US rose 3.1% over the past year, slightly more than the month before. Inflation, the rise in prices, reached 3.7% in September, so most workers are seeing real wage losses.
Fuel is a big reason. Gasoline was up about 34% from a year earlier. Fuel prices are one reason living costs bite in both countries.
The hiring news was good. Employers added 165,000 jobs in October, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. Analysts had expected 65,000 new jobs.
The Federal Reserve is watching. It raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point in September, the first rise in over three years, to a range of 3.75 to 4%, and held it in late October. The next decision is set for 8 and 9 December.
Workers in the US now earn 3.1% more than a year ago. But prices rose 3.7% in September.
That means the same paycheck buys less. Gasoline is up about 34% over the year.
Still, employers added 165,000 jobs in October. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. That is the share of people looking for work who cannot find it, and it fell from 4.2% in September.
🗺️ Where in the world?
Sport
Arsenal extend Premier League lead
In brief
More news
- Israel: President Isaac Herzog asked former army chief Gadi Eisenkot to try to form a government, which needs 61 of the 120 seats in parliament.
- France: student unions said about 250,000 people joined protests on Saturday over living costs, while the Interior Ministry counted about 146,000.
New words
Words from this issue
- Blockade
- Stopping ships from entering or leaving a place. Today: the US says its blockade applies to all vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports.
- Transit fee
- A payment for passing through a place. Today: Iran's lawmaker said it will collect transit fees from Indian and Chinese ships.
- Unemployment rate
- The share of people looking for work who cannot find it. Today: the US unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in October.
- Revision
- A careful change made to a list or text. Today: a revision removed more than 130 million names from India's voter lists.
You read today's paper! 🎉
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