Author: staff
By AP with Eleanor Butler Published on 05/11/2025 – 16:18 GMT+1 France’s government said on Wednesday that it is suspending access to Shein’s online platform until the company proves that its content conforms with French law, after a controversy over sex dolls with childlike features that were found listed on the fast-fashion giant’s website. The decision, announced in a statement by the Finance Ministry, came on the same day Shein opened its first permanent store in Paris inside one of the city’s most iconic department stores. The opening drew crowds of shoppers as well as protesters, including a small group of…
A report from France’s consumer watchdog put out over the weekend alleged that “sex dolls with childlike appearances” were being sold by Shein. Earlier Wednesday, conservative lawmaker Antoine Vermorel Marques filed a legal complaint, telling daily Le Parisien that he had identified weapons being sold on the website. France’s Economy Minister Roland Lescure, and the Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Serge Papin will issue an “initial progress report” within the next 48 hours, the statement said. Earlier this week, Shein’s executive chairman, Donald Tang, told POLITICO that the firm created an “integrity panel” to review what products are sold…
Published on 05/11/2025 – 15:53 GMT+1 Dozens of flights at Belgium’s main international airport were cancelled early on Wednesday after drone sightings overnight forced it to close temporarily, prompting Prime Minister Bart De Wever to convene a meeting with senior ministers to discuss safety concerns. It was the first time that the airport in Brussels had been shut down by drones. The incident overnight on Wednesday is the latest in a series of unidentified drone flights over the weekend. Prior to the Brussels drone sighting, UAVs were spotted near a military base in Belgium where US nuclear weapons are stored.…
By AP with Eleanor Butler Published on 05/11/2025 – 15:48 GMT+1 British retailer Marks and Spencer saw its half-year profits more than halved as a result of a cyberattack that brought its online business to a grinding halt. In a statement on Wednesday, M&S said its underlying pre-tax profits tumbled 55.4% to £184.1 million (€208.89mn) in the six months to 27 September largely on the back of a 40% collapse in online home and fashion sales after it was forced to halt online orders. Firm food sales helped cushion the blow. M&S had to stop all online sales for around six…
Published on 05/11/2025 – 14:53 GMT+1 The most popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots do not understand that people have personal beliefs that are not always based on facts, a new study shows. The researchers evaluated 24 versions of the large language models (LLMs) behind AI chatbots such as DeepSeek, Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, Meta’s Llama, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, measuring how they responded to over 13,000 questions that tested how well they can tell the difference between a fact and a personal belief which may or may not be true. Humans know the difference between the certainty in a statement like…
Moment of contrition: Lammy insisted he’d already obliged with that request. “In the debate, of course, I said sorry for the anxiety caused whilst Kebatu was at large, and I repeat that.” Who knew a direct question could get a direct answer? Not so fast: The shadow defence secretary made clear Kebatu’s quick capture wasn’t good enough. Cartlidge wanted Lammy, the justice secretary after all, to guarantee that “no other asylum-seeking offender has been accidentally let out of prison” since the mistaken release. Answer, er, came there none. The justice secretary slammed Cartlidge’s former tenure as a justice minister, “who…
After years of relative quiet, fiscal policy is poised to retake centre stage in the eurozone’s economic narrative. As member states unveil their 2026 budget plans, a renewed focus is falling on deficits, debt dynamics, and the sustainability of public finances, metrics that had receded during the European post-pandemic recovery. The International Monetary Fund’s latest Fiscal Monitor forecasts a gradual but persistent deterioration in the eurozone’s fiscal outlook. The region’s aggregate budget deficit is projected to widen from 3.2% of GDP in 2025 to 3.4% in 2026, reaching 3.6% in 2027 and 3.7% by 2030. While deficits above the 3%…
An already chaotic time for travellers in the US could become even worse. As America’s government shutdown hits a record-breaking 36 days, the fallout is spreading from Washington’s halls of power to airports across the country. On Tuesday, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy upped the stakes, declaring that parts of US airspace could be closed due to safety concerns if the deadlock continues. His warning has raised the prospect of unprecedented disruption for millions of passengers entering, leaving or travelling in the country. “If you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos, you will see…
Published on 05/11/2025 – 14:08 GMT+1 A hyperrealistic sculpture depicting Donald Trump nailed to a cross while wearing an orange prison jumpsuit has gone on display at the Basler Kunstmeile in Switzerland, weeks after its debut near Basel Central Station was postponed over fears of public backlash. The sculpture, titled “Saint or Sinner”, is by British artist Mason Storm, who is celebrated for his satirical and often politically charged art. And like Banksy, he cultivates a sense of anonymity by wearing masks and balaclavas. Here, he plays on the dichotomy between a vertical crucifixion and a horizontal execution gurney, leaving…
That plan is not legally binding but sets the direction of EU climate policy for the coming five years. The range is similar to an informal statement that the EU presented at a climate summit in New York in September. Ministers also adopted a legally-binding target for cutting emissions in the EU by 85 percent by 2040. The deal mandates that another 5 percent reduction be achieved by outsourcing pollution cuts abroad through the purchase of international carbon credits. On top of that, governments would be allowed to use credits to outsource another 5 percentage points of their national emissions reduction goals. Ministers also backed a wide-ranging review clause that allows the…