Author: staff

Two suspects in the jewel heist at the Louvre in Paris have “partially” admitted their participation and are believed to be the men who forced their way into the world’s most visited museum, a Paris prosecutor said on Wednesday. Laure Beccuau told reporters at a news conference that the two face preliminary charges of theft committed by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy and are expected to be held in provisional detention. She did not give details about their comments. It took thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewels valued at €88 million on 19 October after they…

The newly-written law states that “any non-consensual sexual act … constitutes sexual assault.” Consent must be “free and informed,” given for one specific act prior to it taking place, and it must be “revocable,” it adds. Crucially, it is explicitly stated that consent cannot be “inferred solely from the victim’s silence or lack of reaction.” Véronique Riotton, a centrist lawmaker who coauthored the bill and wrote a report on the issue in 2023, told POLITICO that the bill’s passage was a “positive moment” proving that parliament could still move forward on major issues despite the political gridlock currently crippling France.…

Published on 29/10/2025 – 18:06 GMT+1 Russia has conducted a successful test of a new nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone, known as Poseidon, President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday. Describing it as a new weapon “which cannot be intercepted,” Putin said the drone has already been dubbed a “doomsday machine”. Speaking at a Moscow hospital where he met the soldiers wounded in Russia’s war against Ukraine, Putin said the Poseidon drone was tried while running on nuclear power for the first time on Tuesday. He also described it as having “unmatched in speed and depth”. The Russian president said the…

Während Kanzler Friedrich Merz in Ankara landet, richtet sich der Blick in dieser Sonderfolge des Berlin Playbook Updates nach Südosten: Auf den Westbalkan, wo Europa für viele kein vergangener Traum, sondern Zukunft bleibt. Gordon Repinski trifft die Präsidentin des Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, und den albanischen Premierminister Edi Rama – zwei Politiker, die zeigen, dass der europäische Gedanke lebt. Osmani spricht über Kosovos Wunsch nach NATO-Mitgliedschaft und wirft Serbien vor, sich politisch an Russland anzulehnen. Rama erklärt, wie Albanien mit künstlicher Intelligenz Korruption bekämpft – und warum seine digitale Ministerin „Diella“ Symbol einer neuen politischen Kultur ist. Zwei Länder, zwei Wege…

Published on 29/10/2025 – 16:14 GMT+1 North Korea has carried out a successful cruise missile test, its state media has said, as US President Donald Trump visited South Korea for trade talks. Pyongyang fired sea-to-surface missiles, which flew for two hours and hit targets in its western waters on Tuesday, according to the country’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Pak Jong-chon, North Korea’s vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, described it as an important success in its mission to “ceaselessly toughen the nuclear combat posture”. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Seoul and Washington were analysing the…

An agreement designed to further liberalise trade between the EU and Kyiv came into force on Wednesday. It will replace the deal in place since 2016, by expanding tariff-free access for Ukrainian goods and services. However the new agreement has become a political headache for the European Commission, as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia are not lifting bans on Ukrainian agricultural imports. “We are engaging with all the parties to try to find solutions,” Commission deputy chief spokesperson Ariana Podesta said on Tuesday. “We believe (the agreement) is a stable, fair framework, that can be reliable both for the EU and…

Published on 29/10/2025 – 16:45 GMT+1 Nvidia and Uber are partnering to build a fleet of 100,000 robotaxis and autonomous delivery vehicles, the chip giant said at its artificial intelligence (AI) conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Nvidia said the fleet will start rolling out in 2027. Both companies are also working together to develop a data factory to process the vast amounts of data needed to develop autonomous vehicles. “Human robots are still in development, but meanwhile, there’s one robot that is clearly at an inflection point, and it is basically here, and that is a robot on wheels,”…

Published on 29/10/2025 – 16:05 GMT+1 German airline Lufthansa was named the best airline in Europe for the second consecutive year at the World Travel Awards 2025 – widely considered the “Oscars of tourism” – held in Sardinia, Italy last week. It beat other popular European airlines such as KLM Royal Dutch and British Airways for the title of “Europe’s Leading Airline”. Lufthansa has won the title 13 times since the awards started back in 1993, with a continuous winning streak from 2011 to 2016. This year, it also claimed awards for best economy class airline and best airline brand.…

BRUSSELS — The European Union warned Belarus to put a stop to a wave of balloons entering its airspace, though stopped short of blaming the country’s authoritarian government after objections from Hungary. In a statement issued Wednesday by the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, on behalf of all 27 member countries, the EU said it “strongly condemns Belarus’ persistent and provocative actions” after the airborne objects forced Lithuania to close its airports and shut its border with the neighboring nation this week. Dozens of balloons carrying illegally transported cigarettes sparked fears for civil aviation and drew rebuke from Vilnius, which…

Whether it’s painkillers, antibiotics, or diabetes medication, German pharmacies can hardly do without medicines made in China. Many colourful pills and powders come off the production line in China every day and later end up in German stomachs. Three-quarters (76 per cent) of all active ingredients for antibiotics imported to Germany now come from China, according to areportby the pharmaceutical association Pro Generika e. V. Even if medicines are manufactured in India or the United States, the other major players on the global pharmaceutical market still usually contain Chinese ingredients. The example of the diabetes drug Metformin shows China and…