UK's GDP falls in October: official data

The monthly gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Kingdom (UK) fell by 0.1 percent month on month in October, according to official data released on Friday.

This is the second consecutive month that the UK economy has shrunk after its GDP fell 0.1 percent month on month in September, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

According to the ONS, decline in production output in UK's manufacturing and mining industries in October was the main reason for the GDP drop.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said on Friday that the figures this month were "disappointing", while the government has put in place policies to deliver long-term economic growth.

The 9th Jilin Ice and Snow Industry International Expo opened in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province on Thursday, bringing together 420 enterprises and exhibitors from 32 countries.

Themed "New Consumption of Ice and Snow: A Common Future," the five-day expo features an exhibition area of over 60,000 square meters, presenting tourism promotion activities alongside local intangible cultural heritage. Three thematic pavilions at the event offer a comprehensive selection of ice-snow equipment, winter sports, and cultural tourism products.

A special immersion zone provides visitors with experiences in various ice-snow consumption scenarios, while a large fair alongside the expo offers the fun of shopping for both domestic and international products related to ice-snow activities.

"This self-driving intelligent car is an unmanned rescue vehicle for ice-snow scenarios that we developed in cooperation with the College of Automotive Engineering of Jilin University," said Zhu Jianming, an exhibitor.

Leveraging the expo as a platform to show the vitality and prospects of Jilin's ice-snow industry, the province will issue coupons worth a total of 100 million yuan (about 14 million U.S. dollars) during the event to boost ice-snow consumption, along with discounts offered by the exhibitors.