Albania's prime minister has revealed plans to establish a microstate within the country's capital, Tirana. The enclave for the Bektashi Muslim minority would be "similar to the Vatican" and act as a "new centre of moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence", Edi Rama told the UN General Assembly in New York. If the plan goes ahead, it would be the smallest sovereign state in the world.

What is the Bektashi Order?
The Bektashi population is Albania's fourth-largest religious group, after Sunni Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Established in the 13th century, the Bektashi Order combines "a loose interpretation of the Quran with mysticism, elements of Turkey's pre-Islamic faiths and devotion to their deceased wise men, known as dervishes", said The New York Times.

The movement was once spread throughout the Ottoman Empire, but when a secular Turkish Republic was established in 1923, the Bektashis moved their base to Tirana. It is from here that the sect's current leader, Edmond Brahimaj, known to followers as Baba Mondi, governs the Bektashi community.

What are the prime minister's plans?
The 27-acre proposed microstate covers the movement's existing compound in a residential district of eastern Tirana. Despite being only a quarter of the size of the Vatican City, it would have its own passports, administration and borders. Only clergy members and administrative staff would live within the microstate, according to AFP.

Although members of the sect have been "subjected to centuries of persecution in Muslim lands", said The New York Times, the new Bektashi state "won’t have an army, border guards or courts". But Baba Mondi has indicated that it "might need a small intelligence service".  

How has the plan been received?
"As often happens in Albania, many experts and the public were completely in the dark about the details of the government's plan," said Deutsche Welle. "For most, the decision came entirely out of the blue."

Baba Mondi called the initiative a "miracle", but others worry that giving a religious group statehood might disrupt sectarian relations in the country. The proposal, said Reporter.al – part of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – "is regarded by political analysts as strange and absurd".

A culture war is brewing around an unlikely candidate: Britain's beloved pubs. "Fun police" ministers are considering "nanny state" measures to reduce harmful drinking, The Telegraph first reported, including "tightening up the hours of operation" of bars and pubs to "boost the nation's health and tackle antisocial behaviour".

The Department of Health and Social Care described the claim that Labour would overhaul 24-hour alcohol licensing hours as "categorically untrue". But Keir Starmer recently unveiled a plan to ban smoking in pub gardens, prompting Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick to post on X: "Why does Starmer hate pubs?"

'Crushing blow for beleaguered boozers'
This "attack on booze" is threatening to "decimate Britain's hospitality industry", said the Daily Mail. Drinkers also "face being clobbered" in a "sin tax raid" as part of the upcoming Budget, said The Sun. There's speculation around a duty price hike, which would be another "crushing blow for beleaguered boozers".

There are even "efforts" to "do away with the pint", a "mainstay of British culture", said The European Conservative. A recent trial in 13 pubs in England found that replacing a pint with a two-thirds measure led to a 10% decrease in beer sold. Health researchers said the study, published in PLOS Medicine, proved that smaller servings could boost the nation's health.

'Contributor to early death'
Britain's boozing may have slowed somewhat, but it's still a problem, said the Mail. In 2022, alcohol-related deaths in Britain soared to "an all-time high". "In England, it is the fifth-largest contributor to early death, disease and disability," said Professor Theresa Marteau, director of the behaviour and health research unit at the University of Cambridge.

That's a burden that the country can ill afford. Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, told ministers that if trends continue then 60% of the NHS budget will be spent on preventable diseases, up from 40% at the moment.

The British pint may well be a "cultural foundation", said The Guardian. "But at 568ml, it is among the largest common beer servings in the world." If we can overcome our "inertia", a small change could have a big impact.

As temperatures drop and our final flush of an Indian summer fades, focus is shifting to warming drinks to lift the spirits. Here is our pick of the best places to pick up a hot chocolate.

The Clifton Observatory's Cafe 360, Bristol
This cafe beside the Clifton Suspension Bridge is the best place for a "hot chocolate connoisseur" to enjoy a drink with a view, said Bristol Live's Ellie Kendall. Try the S'mores flavour – a toasted marshmallow hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream, biscuit crumble, chocolate drops, toasted marshmallow and a Flake.

The Parlour at Fortnum and Mason, London
For hot chocolate in the poshest of surroundings, Fortnum & Mason is as high-falutin' as it gets. Take a seat on the pastel banquettes and choose from dark, milk, or salted caramel and "smother the gloopy treat in whipped cream and chocolate shavings", said Condé Nast Traveller.

Goat Ledge, East Sussex
You can "pimp up" hot chocolates at this colourful cabin cafe right on St Leonards on Sea, said Muddy Stilettos. The options include alcoholic White Russian or Triple Sec versions or, if you're looking for some calm, a shot of CBD.

Luxe, Cirencester
This is the Cotswolds' most "Insta-friendly" cafe, said So Gloucester. Enjoy Terry's Chocolate Orange, Nutella, Biscoff and Kinder Bueno flavours – and don't forget to take a picture of the chocolate work of art next to the pretty pink flower wall.

Hassan Nasrallah: The Godfather
The Times editorial board
Israel's assassination of Hassan Nasrallah has been "greeted" as a "provocative act upsetting the status quo", says The Times. The Hezbollah leader's "gangster's disdain for human life" was "mirrored by a preparedness to take dirty money" from "drugs and diamonds or simply from his paymasters in Iran". Hezbollah and its "sponsors" in Tehran "must respond or face humiliation", but Israel has meanwhile "delivered justice" to "a man undeserving of tears".

Could there be a Tory leadership upset?
Katy Balls in The Spectator
The Tory leadership race is "largely seen" as a two-horse contest between Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick, writes Katy Balls, but "there is a chance that the final two looks rather different". The "quieter but equally important contest" over the next few days is "James Cleverly vs Tom Tugendhat". Whichever of the two survives the next round "has a late night ahead calling all of the fallen candidate's supporters and pleading with them to now get behind them".

The car was the last bastion of the CD and the full-length album. Now they are no more
Tim Dowling in The Guardian
The CD has "suffered its final, fatal blow", writes Tim Dowling. "The last model of car to include a CD player has already been built"  and the road was the last place where the "old rhythms of music-listening were still honoured". You "put in a CD and forgot about it until it was over" and you didn't have to "curate your choices". But now that era has "met an unceremonious end".