Author: staff

Residents of Palangkaraya, on the Indonesian island of Borneo, are struggling to cope with weeks of toxic haze caused by wildfires, which has taken a toll on their health, livelihoods and education. Sifra, a 29-year-old homemaker, says she, her husband and their children have been coughing for almost a month, with smoke entering their home. For Melsi, a 40-year-old street vendor, the haze has brought a sharp drop in sales as the cost of goods continues to rise. “Ever since this haze set in, things have been really bad,” she said, fighting back tears. Her main hope is for the…

French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stern warning on Wednesday in Doha about the Gulf’s fragile security situation, urging “extreme caution” to avoid escalating tensions that could reignite conflict, after talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. At the end of his two-day state visit to Qatar, Macron told the media that “no one can ignore that we are in a period that despite everything can lead to tensions: elections in Israel, the midterm elections in the United States, and so during this time efforts and initiatives must be doubled to avoid that these tensions don’t result…

“The Commission remains committed to ensure that Meta’s practices fully comply with all applicable obligations under EU law, including competition rules and the Digital Markets Act,” Commission spokesperson Ricardo Cardoso told POLITICO, referring to the EU’s rulebook for Big Tech. He said Brussels was aware of both Meta’s changes and publishers’ concerns. The U.K. competition watchdog has moved as well. British publishers have complained to the Competition and Markets Authority that Meta is so dominant they are compelled to accept its terms.  The watchdog’s chief, Sarah Cardell, told British lawmakers on Tuesday that it had asked Meta to explain the…

Published on 21/10/2026 – 21:20 GMT+2 Colombian police have seized 7.6 tonnes of cocaine bound for the Netherlands at the port of Cartagena, President Abelardo de la Espriella announced on Tuesday. “The National Police has just achieved the largest cocaine seizure in the port of Cartagena in the last 10 years,” he wrote on X. According to Colombia’s National Police, the drugs were hidden in powdered panela, an unrefined cane sugar, and were found by its anti-narcotics directorate in an operation coordinated with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). De la Espriella said security forces had seized 132 tonnes of…

Nearly 2,000 years after Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii in volcanic ash, one of the ancient Roman city’s grandest homes is getting a new lease of life. The House of Marcus Fabius Rufus, a lavish four-storey residence believed to have belonged to a wealthy Roman magistrate, is undergoing a €1.46 million restoration to preserve its elaborate frescoes and decorated interiors. The work follows structural stabilisation and excavation efforts completed between 2021 and 2023.

Quant à Jean-Pierre Raffarin, il dispose toujours d’un véhicule fourni par le Quai d’Orsay, au titre d’une “mission officielle temporaire et non rémunérée quant aux relations sino-françaises”, avait-il expliqué à l’AFP, après que celui-ci a été impliqué dans un accident à Paris en juin. Cette réforme devrait faire économiser quelques centaines de milliers d’euros à l’Etat, plus que jamais en quête d’économies. L’enveloppe devrait rester stable par la suite : “La prévision pour 2027 est proche de celle de 2026”, écrit Marie-Christine Dalloz. Pour rappel, les anciens Premiers ministres bénéficient d’un secrétariat particulier pendant dix ans après la fin de…

Yemeni government forces and allied Popular Resistance fighters clashed with Houthi fighters on the western outskirts of Taiz on Wednesday, 21 October, near the city’s old airport and Jabal Han mountain. The internationally recognised government said its forces repelled the attack, while reporting air strikes on Houthi positions, vehicles and a missile launchpad west, south and east of the city. Footage showed a government tank firing towards Houthi positions as gunfire echoed across the area. The fighting comes as Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, faces mounting pressure from Houthi forces, which have largely encircled it and cut key supply routes, including…

Weidel made the comments during a visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where she unveiled her opposition AfD party’s EU program at an event organized by the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations group. The party aims to shrink the Commission, turn the European Parliament into an assembly of delegates appointed by national parliaments, and seek an opt-out for Germany from EU policies it can’t reform to its liking — potentially including an exit from the Schengen border-free travel area, she told reporters. During an event following the press conference, Polish MEP Tobiasz Bocheński from the right-wing European Conservatives and…

Students, teachers and public-sector workers marched through central Athens on Wednesday, demanding more funding for education, smaller classes, better facilities and affordable student housing. Aerial footage showed crowds filling major streets as protesters made their way from the University of Athens towards the Greek Parliament. Some banners written in French reflected the Greek protesters’ solidarity with, and inspiration from, recent student demonstrations in France. Organisers presented the march as part of a broader European movement calling for better-funded education, affordable housing and relief from rising living costs. Police officers, including riot police carrying shields, accompanied the march and blocked nearby…

Published on 21/10/2026 – 14:54 GMT+2 Angolan-Portuguese rapper and singer IAMDDB has accused Israel’s government-run social media account of “stealing” her identity in an AI-generated propaganda video. The now-deleted clip was shared across Israel’s official social media profiles and featured a woman bearing a striking resemblance to the Manchester-based musician, reciting lyrics such as: “Colonisers? Say the name. Jews from Judea, it’s in the damn name, same Hebrew letters, same culture, same prayers remain.” According to the Manchester Evening News, the AI-generated video was created by Israeli-born, New Jersey-based video director Eyal Be, and was captioned: “‘GO BACK WHERE YOU…