Next James Bond Actor Expected to Be Named Within Weeks Amidst Three-Way Race

The identity of the next actor to play James Bond is expected to be announced within a few weeks, according to reports from OK! Magazine. The publication identifies three primary candidates in the running for the role: Jack Lowden, Jacob Elordi, and Callum Turner. While other outlets such as MovieWeb have suggested that Robert Pattinson is set to take the part, no official confirmation has been issued by the studio or the production team to settle the debate.

The casting news arrives alongside a major expansion of NASA’s Artemis program. The space agency is now recruiting a new generation of astronauts who will live and work on the Moon. NASA states that these selected individuals will help shape humanity’s future in space. The application deadline for the program is December 3. Applicants must be US citizens and hold a master’s degree in a related field, such as science or mathematics, or possess pilot training. Candidates are also required to have three years of related professional experience. This recruitment drive is part of the agency's current efforts to build a lunar base and plan the first crewed missions to Mars.

In Russia, the closure of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta has drawn sharp criticism from international media. The paper’s final issue featured the headline "What will we leave behind?" Moscow had previously designated the newspaper as a foreign agent, a label often used to suppress dissent. In late October, the team received an eviction notice requiring them to vacate the office by November 10. Banks also blocked reader donations, cutting off the editorial team’s primary source of income. The Times described Novaya Gazeta as the last free newspaper in Russia, noting that its closure is widely seen as revenge for its criticism of the invasion of Ukraine.

The newspaper, founded in 1993 with financial support from Mikhail Gorbachev’s Nobel Peace Prize, operated for more than 30 years. Co-founder Dmitry Muratov described the closure as the culmination of a long and violent journey. For three decades, the publication exposed war crimes, political assassinations, and high-level corruption. El País characterized the outlet as a symbol of great Russian journalism. The final issue marks the end of an era for a paper that fearlessly defended human rights in Russia despite the Kremlin’s efforts to stifle independent media.

New data leaks from the Russian state statistics agency have also provided insight into the cost of the war in Ukraine. The Moscow Times reports that the leaked figures indicate more than 450,000 Russians have been killed in the conflict. Russia has not officially disclosed its battlefield losses since September 2022. If these numbers are accurate, the war would be the fourth most common cause of death in the country since 2022. It would also stand as the deadliest conflict the nation has faced since World War II.