Author: staff

Ukraine has launched a major investigation into alleged large-scale corruption in the country’s energy sector, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) announced. “The activities of a high-level criminal organisation have been documented,” the agency said in a statement on Monday. According to the NABU, which is conducting the probe in cooperation with the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), the group involved “set up a major corruption scheme to control key state-owned enterprises,” including Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear energy agency. The anti-corruption bureau reported that the group was collecting bribes from Energoatom contractors, amounting to 10-15% of each contract’s value. “In fact,…

Japanese multinational investment company SoftBank said it had sold its remaining stake in Nvidia for $5.83 billion (€5bn) as it pivots towards AI investments. SoftBank also reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the three months to 30 September, posting a net profit of ¥2.5 trillion (€14bn), more than double the ¥1.18 trillion (€6.6bn) recorded a year earlier. The jump was fuelled by gains in its Vision Fund portfolio, which benefited from soaring valuations of AI-related firms, suggesting that its renewed focus on artificial intelligence is beginning to pay off after years of uneven returns. Revenue at the Japanese company also grew, helped…

We are becoming a planet of urbanites, even here in the Amazon rainforest there are nearly 22 million people living in cities like Belém, so it’s crucial to combine preservation with sustainable and inclusive development for those communities. Across Brazil and around the world, cities are already facing up to this challenge. They are greening streets, serving sustainable and nutritious lunches to school children, keeping the most vulnerable safe from heat and floods, designing urban areas that meet the needs of people — not cars — and creating good green jobs for all.  Every country has its story of floods,…

Tropical Storm Fung-Wong is approaching Taiwan after weakening from a typhoon, but authorities warn it still carries strong winds and heavy rain. The storm was located southwest of the island on Tuesday morning, with sustained winds near 108 kph and stronger gusts. A land warning is in place for Kaohsiung, Pingtung and the Hengchun Peninsula, where residents have been urged to prepare for flooding and rough seas. Schools and offices in several counties have closed, and more than 3,000 people have been evacuated from high-risk areas. Emergency teams are especially concerned about landslides in the south and east, where rainfall…

Published on 11/11/2025 – 14:53 GMT+1 Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated actress Sally Kirkland has died aged 84. The beloved American actress’ death comes a day after it was announced that she had entered hospice care in Palm Springs, California. According to her GoFundMe page, Kirkland had suffered several major falls over the past year, all while living with dementia. Her representative, Michael Greene, told TMZ she had died this morning. Best known for her eponymous performance in 1987’s Anna, for which she earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and an Academy Award nomination, Kirkland also…

“By convening in Ukraine, we will send a clear and united political message that the future of Ukraine lies within the EU,” the message reads. Plans for the Lviv meeting come as Brussels struggles to deliver on pledges of direct support for Ukraine, with a proposal to back a €140 billion loan using frozen Russian assets still stalled over Belgian objections. Kyiv secured candidate status as a prospective member of the bloc in 2022 and has carried out wide-ranging economic, judicial and anti-corruption reforms even as Russia’s war rages across the country. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has vowed…

Published on 11/11/2025 – 15:18 GMT+1 A Turkish military cargo plane crashed in Georgia near the border with Azerbaijan on Tuesday, authorities from all three countries confirmed. The C-130 plane had taken off from Azerbaijan and was on its way back to Turkey when it crashed, Turkey’s defence ministry said on X. It was not clear how many crew members were on board. Video footage aired on news outlets appeared to show the aircraft spiralling down and leaving a trail of white smoke. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan indicated there were casualties but gave no further details. Erdoğan said he…

China is the world’s largest polluter by total annual emissions. The country, which is heavily reliant on coal for energy, makes up 30 per cent of global emissions. A new analysis finds that the country’s emissions have now been flat or falling for 18 months. What does the report show? The recent analysis, conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and published on Carbon Brief, finds the country is actually well on its way to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis found that starting from March 2024, emissionswere either flat or falling. And even as…

Scandinavia is a perennially popular winter destination, enticing tourists with frosted landscapes, traditional activities like dog-sledging, and hygge, the ultimate culture of cosiness. Plus, while Scandinavia is a reliably good place to see the Northern Lights, the celestial phenomenon will be particularly intense this winter amid a peak in solar activity. According to transport booking website Omio, Google searches for ‘winter holiday’ have risen by 145 per cent in the last three months, with ‘Stockholm holidays’ surging 322 per cent and ‘Copenhagen holidays’ up 27 per cent. Scandinavia is one of Europe’s most expensive destinations, but choosing the right transport…

“Its journalists select and manipulate facts, as well as censor information that does not align with their partisan editorial stance.” The corporation has come under fire after a leaked internal memo alleged bias in its coverage, which is supposed to remain impartial, of the U.S. president, the Middle East, and transgender issues. The U.S. president’s lawyers have given the corporation until Friday to “retract” any “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” about him. Russia’s London outpost on Tuesday accused the BBC of “systemic flaws … where ideological dogma has replaced journalistic ethics” and claimed it had overseen years of “biased reporting” and “double standards” in…