Author: staff
Seven countries in Europe — Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Spain and the U.K. — have reported gastrointestinal issues in infants that had consumed formula. However, investigations are still ongoing to establish whether these cases are linked to the formula products. The agencies cautioned that linking common symptoms to the toxin “can be challenging.” The assessment comes after large scale recalls began in December of last year, when cereulide was found in formula products containing an ingredient supplied by a Chinese based producer. Even more products were pulled off shelves in February following an EFSA assessment on safe levels of…
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and US officials announced the launch of a joint Uzbekistan–US investment platform during meetings in Washington. Mirziyoyev travelled to the US capital at the invitation of President Donald Trump to attend the inaugural summit of the Board of Peace, the US leader’s diplomatic initiative focused on Gaza. Uzbekistan signed the body’s founding declaration earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Economic cooperation between the two countries has expanded in recent years. Bilateral trade exceeded $1 billion (€850mn) last year, and almost 340 US companies operate in Uzbekistan. A three-year Economic Cooperation Programme worth…
By Una Hajdari & AP Published on 19/02/2026 – 13:43 GMT+1 The popular US online reseller has agreed to buy second-hand fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for about $1.2 billion (€1.0bn) in cash, the companies said in statements on Wednesday. The deal comes as used clothing grows in popularity, with shoppers looking for unique items that cost less than new ones and help keep unwanted clothes out of landfills. In a statement, eBay chief executive Jamie Iannone said the acquisition would help the company reach a younger demographic. “We are confident that as part of eBay, Depop will be even more well-positioned for…
NEW DELHI — French President Emmanuel Macron said the country’s political extremes must “put their houses in order” after the killing of a far-right activist over the weekend. “There is no space in France for movements that adopt or legitimize violence,” Macron told reporters during a trip to India. The activist, 23-year-old Quentin Deranque, died after receiving blows to the head during a fight outside a conference featuring left-wing MEP Rima Hassan at a university in Lyon, France’s third-largest city. This story is being updated.
By Romain Goguelin with AFP Published on 19/02/2026 – 13:04 GMT+1 Météo-France maintained red alerts for flooding in four departments in southwestern France on Wednesday as Storm Pedro brought further heavy rain to already saturated ground. Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, Maine-et-Loire and Charente-Maritime remained on the highest alert level. Around 20 other departments along the Atlantic coast were under orange alert for wind, waves and storm surge flooding. France’s national flood monitoring service reported soil moisture had reached its highest level since records began in 1959. The country has experienced 35 consecutive days of rain, the longest uninterrupted period on record. Around 1,700 people have…
World and technology leaders are gathering in India for the annual global AI summit, which aims to establish a unified framework for artificial intelligence (AI) governance and international cooperation. But given that last year’s AI summit in Paris highlighted fragmentation amongst countries in how the technology should be regulated to keep the technology safe, it is unclear what, if anything, will be pledged. Here is what world and tech leaders have said so far at the AI Impact summit in New Delhi. Emmanuel Macron: Protecting against ‘Digital abuse’ The French President vowed to protect children from “digital abuse” during France’s…
Published on 19/02/2026 – 12:03 GMT+1 The White House has made its feelings perfectly clear regarding Bruce Springsteen, calling one of the world’s best-selling artists a “loser” in a raging new statement. The veteran rocker, a longtime critic of Donald Trump and his administration, recently announced the US leg of his upcoming and politically charged tour, ‘The Land Of Hopes And Dreams’, which launches in Minneapolis on 31 March. Springsteen will play 19 arena shows, with the first few dates landing in cities heavily targeted by ICE: Minneapolis is followed by Portland (3 April) and Los Angeles (7 & 9…
Ministers had already put the British Indian Ocean Territory (Sovereignty and Constitutional Arrangements) Bill on hold at the 11th-hour last month after the president called the deal — which Britain believed it had squared with Washington — an “act of GREAT STUPIDITY.” They feared a Conservative “wrecking” amendment could succeed amid intense lobbying to overturn the agreement. The deal, which gives Mauritius control of former British imperial possession, was intended to shore up the use of a U.S.-U.K. military base on Diego Garcia through a lease agreement, while shielding the U.K. from international legal action over the islands’ fate. The…
North Korea staged a display of multiple rocket launchers outside the Workers’ Party congress venue in Pyongyang, state media said. Leader Kim Jong Un attended the event on Wednesday and was shown standing beside one of the vehicles as it drove around the site in Pyongyang. KCNA said Kim told officials the congress would outline plans to strengthen self-reliant defence capabilities. State television also showed Kim breaking ground on a new housing project in the capital. The images have not been independently verified.
LONDON — British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the BBC reported Thursday. The former prince has faced multiple allegations over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has denied any wrongdoing. “As part of the investigation, we have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk,” a statement from Thames Valley Police said. “The man remains in police custody at this time.” British police do not routinely name those arrested as…