Author: staff

High school students in Paris, Toulouse and Lille have staged fresh demonstrations and blockades to demand better resources for schools. Footage from 1 October 2026 shows pupils gathering outside Henri IV and Lamartine high schools in Paris, burning bins and clashing with police in Toulouse, and smashing bus shelters while facing tear gas in Lille as the protest movement spreads across France. Across the country, pupils denounce underfunding, unsafe buildings and teacher shortages while facing a heavy police presence. Students and staff warn that the mobilisation is unlikely to stop until their demands are met.

Becoming a digital nomad is a goal for many remote workers, but the hoops you have to jump through to achieve it vary from place to place. Bureaucracy can be a beast in any country, but certain destinations are making it easier for those who want to set up shop abroad. Now, we know exactly which places are doing so thanks to Holafly’s Digital Nomad Friction Index 2026. The eSIM company analysed 17 popular digital nomad destinations, looking at factors such as visa complexity, banking access, healthcare, connectivity, cost of living and disruption risk, in order to create an overall…

In 2026, on 4 October, the day dedicated to Saint Francis, became a national holiday. In Assisi the celebrations are entering their peak in these very days and the epicentre will be the Upper Basilica. At 23:59 on Saturday 3 October the bells will ring out in celebration, marking the start of the official ceremonies. From this year, 4 October has once again become a national holiday to celebrate the universal values of peace, fraternity, solidarity and respect for the environment embodied by Saint Francis of Assisi. On Sunday, the first national holiday dedicated to the saint, the ceremony will…

“We therefore believe that the overall funding for Cohesion Policy and the CAP must be preserved in the next MFF,” the seventeen countries wrote in the letter to Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin seen by POLITICO. The signatories include Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Romanian President Nicușor Dan coordinated the initiative and will host an informal meeting of those countries in the margins of the next European Council on Oct. 15 and 16. The Multiannual Financial Framework, or MFF, finances everything from farmers’…

Published on 02/10/2026 – 16:48 GMT+2•Updated 16:53 G7 countries have agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves over four months in a coordinated effort to bring down soaring energy prices, with a particular focus on diesel. The release will be coordinated by the International Energy Agency (IEA), with a substantial amount of diesel to be made available within the first 20 days, according to a G7 statement. French President Emmanuel Macron, who currently holds the G7 presidency, said the countries had agreed to act together to ease pressure on energy prices. “We will implement…

Healthcare workers in Butembo, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, are using a mobile laboratory to test samples from suspected Ebola cases. Technicians work inside the trucks, where a negative-pressure system helps protect staff and the surrounding environment. The facility can be moved to other locations if an outbreak requires it, allowing testing to be carried out closer to affected communities. The mobile unit has also cut the time needed for diagnosis. Doctors say results that once took up to 72 hours can now be available within 24 hours, and in some cases as quickly as six hours. Faster testing helps…

Published on 02/10/2026 – 16:50 GMT+2 The outer planets of the solar system will be thrown into chaos roughly a billion years after the Sun dies, a new study has found, cutting their expected life span a billion-fold. Previous estimates put the stability of the giant planets’ orbits at around a quintillion years, far longer than the current age of the universe. Researchers at California’s Institute of Technology (Caltech) were investigating how the sun’s slow death would impact the outer planets including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. It was also previously believed by many scientists, including Isaac Newton, that the…

As legendary watering holes go, Dukes Bar is right up there. Known for its martinis, which are said to be what inspired Ian Fleming to create James Bond’s signature beverage order, the saloon has welcomed some very famous guests, and even royalty, over the years. The hotel the bar is in – Dukes London at 35 St James’s Place – is currently undergoing renovations, and now we have a rough reopening date: Q2 of 2027, when it will become Dukes London, Minor Reserve Collection. The 85-key property in the UK capital is being transformed by Russell Sage Studio, and will…

Über die Ergebnisse der Reise sprechen die EU-Staats- und Regierungschefs am 15. und 16. Oktober bei ihrem EU-Gipfel in Brüssel. Die EU droht damit, den Zugang chinesischer Unternehmen zum Binnenmarkt einzuschränken, sollten die Gespräche scheitern. Die EU und China verhandeln seit Juni. Die Staats- und Regierungschefs der EU haben erklärt, sie wollten die große Menge chinesischer Importe und das hohe Handelsdefizit mit China, nicht länger hinnehmen. „Ich glaube, unsere chinesischen Partner haben verstanden, dass dies direkte Auswirkungen auf die Zukunft bedeutender europäischer Unternehmen hat – buchstäblich Tausende von Arbeitsplätzen“, berichtete Šefčovič. „Und auch auf das soziale Gefüge und das Sozialmodell,…

Spain’s parliament on Friday rejected two housing decree-laws promoted by the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, aimed at tackling a housing crisis that has spurred nationwide protests. The two votes are a heavy political blow to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and went ahead as hundreds of protesters gathered outside parliament. These rejections, delivered in a voice vote, represent a parliamentary setback for the executive and came after a sitting marked by last-minute negotiations and uncertainty over the support of its parliamentary partners. Sánchez spoke for a few minutes before the vote to urge MPs to “do the right thing…