Author: staff
Serbia marked the second anniversary of the deadly collapse at Novi Sad railway station, as thousands of students and supporters marched through the rain to honour the 16 people killed. The silent procession ended outside the station, where participants laid wreaths and placed red hearts bearing the victims’ names. Others lit candles in their memory. On 1 November 2024, a concrete canopy above the station entrance collapsed in the northern Serbian city, killing 16 people. The tragedy sparked a student-led movement calling for accountability and an investigation into alleged corruption and negligence during the station’s renovation. Thirteen people, including a…
Oil started the week on the back foot, with Brent crude, the global benchmark, trading at around $108.5 a barrel on Monday morning, down roughly 2.8% from its Friday close, as Iranian negotiators held talks in Qatar on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate also fell 3% to under $100 a barrel. However, there were few signs of a breakthrough behind the market move. US President Donald Trump kept military options open, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly pressed him to strike Iran as soon as Americans had voted in Tuesday’s…
Published on 2 November 2026 – 11:25 GMT+1•Updated 11:35 Dozens of Belgian supermarkets have been hit by a cyber attack that saw their refrigerators turned up to 70 degrees Celsius, resulting in €100,000 worth of food being thrown away, according to Belgian media reports on Monday. Some 40 Delhaize supermarkets have been impacted. Carrefour reported that at least 15 supermarkets were affected, while the supermarket chain Spar reported five stores were impacted. Butchery group De Laet en Van Haver also said that their fridges were affected. “We have identified an IT incident affecting the refrigeration systems in several dozen stores.…
As generative AI continues to pollute the internet and advertising, certain luxury houses are betting on human craft when it comes to their Christmas marketing. Call it “effort signaling” all you want; their efforts are to be applauded at a time when cost-cutting initiatives result in mediocre and bar-lowering slop. One luxury brand choosing to celebrate human creativity this year is Italian fashion house Prada, which has swapped AI-generated dross for traditional, hand-drawn illustration for their new Christmas campaign. Combining live-action footage with hand-drawn characters, the ‘Drawing Prada: Animated By Hand’ campaign has enlisted veteran animator John Pomeroy to lead…
Are domestic political battles about to collide with diplomatic challenges for the prime minister? As Andy Burnham jets off to the Caribbean, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood prepares to unveil one of the government’s most contentious policies: a major crackdown on legal migration. A year after the plans were first proposed, Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy look at whether Labour has quashed the internal rebellion and how much influence Angela Rayner has had on the PM’s position. Plus, as the Commonwealth Summit gets underway in Antigua, the prime minister has issues to address on the international front – from potential reparations…
French football star Kylian Mbappé has apologised after comments about a meme depicting him as Chinese leader Mao Zedong sparked a backlash in China. In a video clip, Mbappé was asked about his favourite meme of himself. He replied that it was “a video someone made of a guy … I think he was a Chinese dictator”, before an altered image showed his face on Mao’s body. The controversy has spread across Chinese social media. At least three Chinese companies have terminated brand deals with the footballer, and China’s Foreign Ministry has responded to the incident. In Beijing, some residents…
Published on 2 November 2026 – 10:23 GMT+1 Germany’s digital minister, Karsten Wildberger, has confirmed that members of the Bundestag and the federal government received warnings from Apple that their iPhones may have been targeted by spyware. Speaking on ARD’s Bericht aus Berlin on Sunday, Wildberger said there had been “a notification from Apple that certain devices may have been compromised with so-called spyware”. According to a letter from the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) seen by Wildberger, the alerts began reaching the affected phones on 29 October. They warned that Apple had detected an attack using “mercenary spyware”.…
De Wever had ruled out starting the new year with a temporary budget, which would let the government continue with the same budget as last year’s. Budget talks have been ongoing for weeks, with tensions emerging mostly between the Flemish socialists of Forward and the Francophone center-right Reformist Movement. The former asked for more contributions from the highest incomes, through taxes, while the latter ruled that out and pushed back against a wider reform of value-added tax. There were still “far too many taxes on the table,” David Clarinval, deputy prime minister for the Reformist Movement, told reporters when talks…
Medieval jousting made an unusual comeback in London on Saturday as armoured participants mounted electric bikes and charged at each other in front of hundreds of spectators. The event, held at London Fields ahead of Halloween, replaced traditional horses with battery-powered Lime bikes, bringing a modern twist to the centuries-old sport. Knights dressed in elaborate costumes wielded lances as they attempted to knock their opponents off their bikes, while crowds cheered and celebrated the winners. Participants walked out to rock music before facing off, with the event also featuring medieval-themed costumes, dancing and a crowd saluting the self-proclaimed king, Tommy…
European demand for critical minerals is prompting discussions with Central Asian producers over investment in mining and processing. While European industries are looking for alternative sources of supply, countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan want foreign investment and technology to develop their own manufacturing capabilities. These different priorities were discussed at the International Mining and Metals Forum, held in Tashkent, where industry representatives examined opportunities for commercial cooperation. “Brussels expects not just agreements. It expects development of clear investment partnerships with countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan in the broadest sense,” said Marat Terterov, founder of the Brussels Energy Club, an independent…