Money matters grabbed the headlines in the UK this week, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his highly anticipated Autumn Statement.
The latest update on the government's spending plans followed a welcome drop in inflation, down to 4.6% in October, that left the Treasury with more fiscal "headroom" than anticipated. But Hunt still surprised many with some bigger-than-expected tax cuts.
Critics warned that the cuts could harm efforts to keep inflation down. And the government's decision to freeze many tax thresholds has pulled more earners into the higher bracket – known as "fiscal drag".
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Over in the US, commentators warned that Joe Biden might count the cost of devoting his time to Thanksgiving events including the annual turkey pardoning ceremony. Some commentators argued that the president should be focusing on his re-election campaign, as Donald Trump steams ahead with his bid to secure the Republican presidential nomination and a second term in the White House.
In shock election news from Argentina, Trump admirer and far-right libertarian Javier Milei was voted in as president of South America's second-largest economy.
The Netherlands was also rocked by a far-right victory, with Geert Wilders's Party for Freedom winning the most seats in the country's parliament after running on an anti-Islam and anti-EU platform. The result has "shaken Dutch politics", said the BBC, "and it will send a shock across Europe too".
To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest developments in the news and other global events, put your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.
1. Joe Biden hosted an early screening of which upcoming film at a Thanksgiving event for US service members and their families?
'Wonka'
'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'
'Migration'
'Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget'
2. A bicorne hat worn by Napoleon Bonaparte sold for how much at a Paris auction this week?
€600,000
€950,000
€1.9 million
€2.1 million
2. Elon Musk's X is suing which organisation for defamation over reports of ads on the platform appearing next to antisemitic posts?
Media Matters
Correct the Record
Snopes
Fox News
4. Cybercriminals demanded £600,000 for data stolen during a ransomware attack on which UK institution?
British Library
The British Museum
Natural History Museum
Imperial War Museum London
5. Novak Djokovic's victory in last weekend's ATP Tour Finals finale brings the Serbian tennis champ's total tally of title wins in the season-ending championship to how much?
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
6. Which pop duo are embroiled in a legal battle after one obtained a restraining order against the other?
Hall & Oates
Simon & Garfunkel
The Righteous Brothers
The White Stripes
7. Who is now CEO of OpenAI following Sam Altman's sacking from the role last week?
Greg Brockman
Mira Murati
Ilya Sutskever
Sam Altman
8. Which American football team claimed victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch this week?
Detroit Lions
San Francisco 49ers
Philadelphia Eagles
Baltimore Ravens
9. The UK's new home secretary was accused of referring to which constituency as a "shithole"?
Stockton North
Birmingham Hodge Hill
Blackpool South
Bishop Auckland
10. A bottle of Macallan 1926 whisky set a new auction record by selling for how much?
£210,000
£620,000
£1.2 million
£2.1 million
1. Wonka
The president and First Lady Jill Biden kicked off the Thanksgiving holiday week with a visit to naval installations in Virginia, where they shared a "friendsgiving" meal with service members and their relatives after welcoming youngsters to a screening of the upcoming film about Roald Dahl's fictional chocolatier Willy Wonka. Introducing the movie, the president told the audience that "I like kids more than adults", and added: "I wish I could stay and watch 'Wonka' with you."
2. €1.9 million
The faded black felt hat, which was valued between €600,000 and €800,000, was the centrepiece of an auction of the 19th century French emperor's belongings. The price surpassed the €1.8 million paid for another of his hats in 2014.
3. Media Matters In a lawsuit filed on Monday, Musk accused the media watchdog of defaming X, formerly known as Twitter, after companies including Apple, IBM and Disney pulled adverts from the platform following reports of antisemitic content. Media Matters, which stood by its reporting, is accused of manipulating algorithms "to bypass safeguards and create images of X's largest advertisers' paid posts adjacent to racist, incendiary content".
4. British Library Ransomware group Rhysida is demanding 20 bitcoin (about £600,000) for internal data stolen from the world's biggest library during a cyberattack. Find out more with The Week Unwrapped podcast.
5. Seven
Djokovic beat home favourite Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in the final in the Italian city of Turin on Sunday. The 36-year-old Serb finishes the year as world No.1 for a record eighth time.
6. Hall & Oates
Daryl Hall is suing his musical partner John Oates and has obtained a restraining order against him as part of the sealed lawsuit. The case between the US duo, who are the most commercially successful duo in the history of pop music, reportedly involves "contract/debt".
7. Sam Altman The OpenAI co-founder was ousted as CEO of the Silicon Valley giant last Friday and was hired by Microsoft the following Monday to lead a new artificial intelligence unit. But after OpenAI employees rallied behind Altman and threatened to resign, the company's board reinstated him to his original post.
8. Philadelphia Eagles After being defeated by the Chiefs at the Super Bowl LVII in February, the Eagles got their revenge on Monday with a 21-17 win.The game marked the ninth time in NFL history that two teams from the previous Super Bowl have faced off the following season.
9. Stockton North Following a question in the Commons about why child poverty rates in the County Durham constituency were so high, James Cleverly was allegedly heard saying: "Because it's a shithole." Cleverly subsequently claimed he had actually said Labour's Alex Cunningham, who asked the question, was a "shit MP".
10. £2.1 million
The rare bottle was expected to sell for a maximum of £1.2 million at the sale at Sotheby's in London on Saturday, but instead smashed the auction record for any bottle of spirit or wine. The previous record was set in 2019, when another of the total 40 bottles of the oldest-ever Macallan vintage sold for £1.5 million at Sotheby's.
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Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.
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