ONE of the best airlines in the world has revealed their brand new cabins – with better seats in economy.

Cathay Pacific was named the fifth best airline in the world earlier this year in the SkyTrax Awards.

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It also won World’s Best Economy this year, as well as World’s Cleanest Airline.

Cathay Group CEO Ronald Lam saying they were “extremely encouraged” after moving up from the top 10 to the top five for being one of the top airlines.

And launching this month are new cabins on their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

The economy cabin is being “refreshed” with new seat covers as well as improved ergonomics.

The inflight entertainment interface has been improved, while the headrests are now flexible.

Premium Economy upgrades include padded footrests, leather headrests and 12.6 inch 4K screens.

The privacy features have been improved with “wings” and dividers between the seats.

Reading lights, cocktail tables and extra storage are also part of the new designs.

The premium economy passengers also get their own bathrooms on the flight, with touchless flush, taps and bins.

And Cathay Pacific is rolling out their Aria Suite in business class.

The “crown jewel” of business class, new suite doors have been introduced for the first time.

The doors are similar to ones on other airlines such as Qatar Airways and British Airways.

The suites also have 24 inch TV screens, wireless charging and fancy suede walls and wool seats.

There are even new storage designs which have cabinets and drawers, with headphone hooks, drink trays and personal mirrors.

Brits can fly with Cathay Pacific on flights from London Heathrow and Manchester to Hong Kong.

Flights start from £670 return, taking around 11 hours.

Another airline recently revealed their new cabin designs.

Delta connects the UK to the US with flights from London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Edinburgh.

What is it like to go to Hong Kong?

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Cathay Pacific connects the UK to Hong Kong – and the Sun’s Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey visited.

“Hong Kong is a great stopover destination between trips to Australia and New Zealand.

“It’s easy to get around — the Metro is simpler than the London Underground and you can even hop on a “ding ding,” one of the many double-decker trams.

“There are amazing bars to choose from – Ozone is the the highest rooftop bar in the world while the Quinary was named one of the best bars in Asia.

“Escape the city for a day to Sai Kung, an hour away and called the “back garden of Hong Kong” although even reminded me of Hawaii.

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“If you want to stay, then the most famous is the country’s oldest hotel, The Peninsula.

“Dating back to 1928 and dubbed the Grand Dame of the East, it has since opened a hotel in London.”

Being introduced on their Boeing 757 planes, improvements are being rolled out in economy, premium economy and business class.

And we went to see what to expect from British Airways’ mega £7billion makeover of the entire airline – here’s what you can expect.

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Check out Investing strategies for your 20s.

For months, Israel has portrayed the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as holed up in the militant group’s fortified tunnel network under Gaza, shielding himself from Israeli bombs.

But when many Palestinians in the strip watched the Israeli drone footage of Sinwar’s killing, they saw the Hamas chief above ground, dressed in military fatigues and with one arm partially severed, using his remaining hand to attack the drone with the only weapon he had — a stick.

“Even people who were angry about Hamas, when they saw . . . he had been killed during clashes and not hiding in a tunnel, as Israel was always claiming, they felt sorry and sad for him,” said Mohammed Sobeh, speaking from Khan Younis in Gaza.

“Sinwar’s death will raise his popularity.” 

Many Gazans blame the Hamas chief for inciting Israel’s wrath with the October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel, according to Israeli officials, and triggered the devastating Gaza war. They say Sinwar provoked Israel into unleashing the greatest catastrophe on Palestinians since 1948. 

Israel’s assault has killed about 42,500 people in Gaza, according to health authorities in the shattered strip, which is now stalked by the threat of famine and disease.

But the footage of Sinwar’s final moments on Thursday looked to many in Gaza like a defiant last stand against Israel, eclipsing some of the criticism he faced from Palestinians. 

Since Sinwar’s killing, “what I’ve heard and seen is that, again, most of the Palestinians in Gaza have a lot of respect for him,” said Mkhaimar Abusada, associate professor of political science at Gaza’s Al-Azhar University, now visiting scholar at Northwestern University in Illinois, US. 

“They think he just died fighting in the frontline of the battle against Israel, like many other Hamas fighters,” he said. “Criticism of Sinwar just disappeared completely today.” 

Arabic social media has been filled with praise from Hamas supporters for the ruthless militant leader. “Sinwar was martyred on the ground of Rafah in the heart of the battle,” Youssef Issa Abu Medhat said. “He was not pulled from the tunnels. He was not arrested in his underwear.”

Abbas Araghchi, foreign minister of Iran, which supports Hamas, said on X that Sinwar “bravely fought to the very end on the battlefield”. “His fate — beautifully pictured in his last image — is not a deterrent but a source of inspiration for resistance fighters across the region,” he wrote, adding a still image of Sinwar from the drone video.

The reaction in Israel to the dramatic news of Sinwar’s death, which included the grainy drone footage and a graphic image of the Hamas leader’s lifeless body amid the ruins of a bombed-out house, was sharply different.

Across the country, a sense of jubilation broke out over news that the architect of the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust had been killed. Israeli authorities were also quick to emphasise that no hostages seized by Hamas on October 7 were in the area or harmed.

On the streets and in messages shared on WhatsApp and other platforms, the dominant emotion was one of satisfaction that Israel had “brought justice” to its biggest nemesis, as defence minister Yoav Gallant put it.

The Israeli military also offered a different interpretation of Sinwar’s final moments, portraying him as injured and alone, holding 40,000 shekels in cash and a pack of Mentos candy.

“Sinwar died while beaten, persecuted and on the run — he didn’t die as a commander, but as someone who only cared for himself,” Gallant said, adding that this sent a “clear message” to Israel’s other enemies as well as the Gazan people.

The killing of Sinwar, and the assassination by Israel of many of Hamas’s other leaders, creates a power vacuum in the militant group.

Abusada said Hamas would probably struggle to replace Sinwar, while also pointing out that Israel had killed many of its previous leaders and cautioning that his death was unlikely to cause the group to collapse.

“This isn’t going to put an end to Hamas or Palestinian resistance against Israel,” he said.

But for many in Gaza, the overwhelming feeling at Sinwar’s death is neither jubilation nor grief, but simply exhaustion. 

“I thought I would feel happy if Sinwar was killed,” said Mohammad Nafiz, a 28-year-old in Khan Younis. Instead, he added, “it feels mixed and weird”.

Sinwar’s death comes after a year of carnage in Gaza, where a renewed Israeli offensive in the north of the territory over the past two weeks has killed dozens of people every day. Israeli human rights groups say the Israeli military appears to be implementing a plan to lay siege to northern Gaza and starve out its remaining inhabitants, which Israel denies. 

“People in Gaza’s greatest concern is stopping the war,” said a 42-year-old man in northern Gaza, who asked not to be named. 

“As for the assassination of Sinwar and other Palestinian leaders, it’s expected,” he added. “This doesn’t surprise us as Palestinians. All we care about is ending the war.” 

Additional reporting by Malaika Kanaaneh Tapper

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SPOTTING this iconic Christmas character on a 50p coin could make it worth 21 times its face value.

Each year, The Royal Mint releases a 50p coin featuring Raymond Briggs’ beloved festive character, The Snowman.

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Over the past seven years, the UK’s official producer of coins has released a new 50p featuring the cartoon.

Since 2018, around 700,000 Snowman coins have been snapped up by collectors worldwide, making it a firm favourite amongst collectors.

Its latest design has already been released and features The Snowman putting a star on top of the Christmas tree.

The coins won’t be entering general circulation, meaning you will have to buy one from The Royal Mint website.

But coin collection professionals at Change Checker have said that previous editions of the 50p can sell for a pretty penny on sites such as eBay.

For example, the Royal Mint’s 2018 edition of The Snowman coin, which features the iconic image of him flying in the sky, sold for £10.50 this Ocotber.

The 2019 edition, depicting the lovable cartoon as he comes to life, sold for £10.99 this month also.

A full breakdown of how much each sold for on eBay this month can be seen below.

• 2018 – £10.50
• 2019 -£10.99
• 2020 -£9.57
• 2021 – £8.99
• 2022 -£8.94
• 2023 -£8.99

Experts at Change Checker said: “The Snowman 50ps can fetch a pretty penny on the secondary market, with the 2018 and 2019 editions selling for up to 21 times their face value. “

“If this data is anything to go by, the 2024 The Snowma 50p is sure to be popular with collectors.”

However, it is important to remember that a coin is only worth how much a buyer is willing to pay for it.

So if you are keen to flog one of your pieces online you should keep that in mind.

Character coins are a fan favourite amongst collectors.

You may have seen recently The Royal Mint released a 50p coin featuring the Gruffalo to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its books.

The Sun recently rounded up a full list of quirky rare coins that could be worth £356, which you can check out here.

How much can I buy the new Snowman coin for?

You can purchase the Snowman coins from The Royal Mint website.

Prices start from £12 for a brilliant uncirculated coin and £25 for a colour version, all the way up to £1,220 for a gold proof coin.

Collectors are also already listing the coins on eBay.

At the moment you can find one of the brilliant uncirculated 50p coins listed for £9.49 and the coloured version for £14.99.

Also listed on the bidding site is a silver-proof coin for £109.50.

You should bear in mind that if you can still buy the coin directly from The Royal Mint website then it is unlikely you will get much more for it on eBay.

Usually, collectors buy these limited edition coins in the hope that they will go up in value as there is only a certain number of them available, but this is not always the case.

How to spot rare coins and banknotes

Rare coins and notes hiding down the back of your sofa could sell for hundreds of pounds.

If you are lucky enough to find a rare £10 note you might be able to sell it for multiple times its face value.

You can spot rare notes by keeping an eye out for the serial numbers.

These numbers can be found on the side with the Monarch’s face, just under the value £10 in the corner of the note.

Also if you have a serial number on your note that is quite quirky you could cash in thousands.

For example, one seller bagged £3,600 after spotting a specific serial number relating to the year Jane Austen was born on one of their notes.

You can check if your notes are worth anything on eBay, just tick “completed and sold items” and filter by the highest value.

It will give you an idea of what people are willing to pay for some notes.

But do bear in mind that yours is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.

This is also the case for coins, you can determine how rare your coin is by looking a the latest scarcity index.

The next step is to take a look at what has been recently sold on eBay.

Experts from Change Checker recommend looking at “sold listings” to be sure that the coin has sold for the specified amount rather than just been listed.

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