Author: staff

EU farmers received lower prices for their products on average in the second quarter of 2026, while the prices of supplies used in agriculture increased, according to Eurostat. Agricultural output prices fell by 5.8% compared with the same period in 2025, the statistics office said. It was the third consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline. Meanwhile, average prices for goods and services consumed in agriculture, such as energy, fertilisers and animal feed rose by 4.7%. Ministers for agriculture, who met on 28 September, highlighted high production costs, particularly for fertilisers and energy, alongside lower output prices and pressure on farmers’ profit…

Published on 02/10/2026 – 18:40 GMT+2 The Ebola outbreak, officially detected in mid-May, has hit unstable regions in the vast central African country where armed clashes and violence, alongside a critical lack of resources, have hindered the health response to the deadly virus in recent days. According to the latest official data, there have been 4,018 fatalities from 8,300 cases, with 2,162 people recovering, giving a fatality rate to date of 48.4 percent. Also recorded have been four deaths among six cases in North Kivu province in the northeast in areas controlled by the anti-government group M23, the Kigali-backed group…

The announcement comes after several rounds of emergency talks between European governments over how to respond to the U.S. pressure, with France proposing a release of 100 million barrels of European oil and diesel earlier Friday. The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. While G7 countries participated in a release of 400 million barrels of oil earlier this year led by the International Energy Agency, many of the barrels released never made it to market because they were unable to compete with cheaper U.S. crude that has recently flooded the bloc, according to a…

Published on 02/10/2026 – 16:44 GMT+2 Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened the West that he would use “all weapons” in its arsenal — including nuclear — if Kaliningrad were attacked. Putin comments came as tensions mounted over Kaliningrad — Russia’s heavily militarised territory that borders Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. “If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation… then, of course, the question of the Russian Federation deploying all types of weapons at our country’s disposal will inevitably and immediately be on the agenda. This is inevitable,” Putin said at the annual Valdai forum. In recent…

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…