Author: staff

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit was held in Bishkek on 1 September, bringing together the leaders of its ten member states. Kyrgyzstan, which chaired the organisation in 2025–2026, hosted the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State. Addressing the summit, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated Kyrgyzstan on hosting the SCO’s 25th anniversary summit and highlighted another milestone for the region, as Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan mark 35 years of independence this year. According to the Kazakh president, the SCO has come a long way since its beginnings as the “Shanghai Five”, evolving into a major international organisation spanning…

Published on 03/09/2026 – 11:02 GMT+2•Updated 11:11 Norwegian officials seized the Russian state-owned ship named “Professor Molchanov” on Wednesday at the port of Barentsburg in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. The authorities acted on an application from Ukraine’s state energy company, Naftogaz, which is pursuing compensation for energy assets Russia expropriated when it illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. The seizure followed an order from the Norwegian Nord-Troms and Senja District Court issued on Monday. Svalbard’s governor, Lars Fause, whose office carried out the operation as the local enforcement authority, said the vessel may not leave its current location. Passengers who…

Published on 03/09/2026 – 15:00 GMT+2 Nvidia has announced its acquisition of Hugging Face, the platform that has become the default home for open-source artificial intelligence development, for $12.93bn (€11.1bn), the chipmaker’s chief executive Jensen Huang announced on Wednesday. The deal brings together two companies that sit at opposite ends of the AI supply chain but have grown increasingly dependent on each other. Nvidia makes the graphics processing units that train and run almost every major AI model in use today, giving it enormous leverage over the hardware side of the industry. Hugging Face, by contrast, has built its influence…

Published on 03/09/2026 – 14:37 GMT+2•Updated 14:42 Gloria Steinem will be remembered as a hugely influential icon of America’s feminist movement. The internationally recognised journalist, author and feminist activist was one of the most famous voices of the US’ women’s movement. She dedicated her life to causes such as reproductive freedom, the legalisation of abortion, domestic violence prevention, equal rights and pay for women, as well as the fight for political gender equality. Following thenews of her death at age 92, here are some of her most powerful, insightful and witty quotes. RIP Gloria Steinem 1934 – 2026

The suspect had recently arrived by train from France. He was not brandishing the rifle inside the station, according to reports. Investigators are still working to establish why he was carrying the weapon. Gare du Midi, Belgium’s main international rail gateway, has long struggled with crime and insecurity. Around 3,500 offenses were recorded there annually between 2018 and 2022 — roughly as many as across stations in 13 major Flemish cities combined. Theft, extortion and drug-related offenses were among the most common. The arrest comes after another burst of gun violence around southern Brussels. Several shootings hit nearby Saint-Gilles in…

The ongoing migration crisis in the Spanish territory of Ceuta, which borders Morocco, continues to fuel misinformation online. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said research by the EU’s diplomatic service indicated that Russian and Israeli networks were responsible for the explosion of fake social media posts, telling Cadena Ser radio on Monday that “the international far right” was also to blame for them, as it always uses migration to “attack not just Spain, but also Europe”. Both Russia and Israel have denied the claims. More than 72,000 people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta in just two…

Ghaniana coffin makers craft elaborate wooden caskets shaped like shoes, guitars and microphones, turning funerals into a final reflection of the deceased’s life. This footage shows carpenters sanding, painting and finishing the unusual designs before a guitar-shaped coffin is taken to a funeral and later lowered into a grave. The tradition is particularly associated with Ga communities around Ghana’s capital, Accra. Customers often choose a shape linked to the loved one’s work, interests or passions. Coffin makers say the designs reflect a belief that people continue what they did during their lifetime in the afterlife.

Uber is cutting about 10% of its global workforce as it removes management layers, reduces the number of small teams and brings more employees back to the office. The company says the move will generate savings that it plans to reinvest in growth and innovation. It also wants to invest more in drivers, couriers and merchants, expand its core businesses and develop autonomous rides. “A leaner organisation will mean clearer ownership, faster decisions, and more time spent building rather than coordinating,” chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi told employees on Wednesday. The company had about 34,000 employees at the end of 2025,…

Our priorities when choosing a hotel are incredibly personal. For some, it’s all about locations, location, location. Others won’t accept anything but five-star luxury. And there are even some who decide where to lay their head for the night based on the breakfast reviews. With the rise of social media, there are plenty of us who make their decision purely on aesthetics – and if that’s you, you might just want to read on to discover the world’s most beautiful hotels. The new ranking, compiled by Time Out and based on visits by the magazine’s hotel experts, features some of…

“And I just can’t look, it’s killing meeeeee…” It’s the song you’ve heard played everywhere from student nights and festivals to weddings and divorce parties. Once those opening lines come out of a speaker, you’re guaranteed to find someone getting involved, drunkenly belting out the lyrics with their arms outstretched, truly feeling like they are coming out of their cage… Originally released in 2003 – and subsequently re-released the following year – ‘Mr. Brightside’ by American rockers The Killers was the lead single from the band’s debut album ‘Hot Fuss’. Chronicling the true story of frontman Brandon Flowers finding his…