Category: World

BRUSSELS/MADRID: The massive power outage that hit the Iberian Peninsula in April is the first known blackout caused by excessive voltage, according to a report from the European network of electricity transmission system operators released on Friday. The report, released ahead of an October 28 legal deadline, focused on the power systems’ condition on the… Continue reading Iberian blackout first known caused by excessive voltage, report says

STOCKHOLM: A Swedish court has ruled that online fast-fashion retailer Shein infringed the copyright of smaller Swedish rival Nelly by using its photographs without permission. The Patent and Market Court found that Shein’s Ireland-based subsidiary Infinite Styles Ecommerce made unauthorised copies of pictures owned by Nelly. The court determined that Infinite Styles Ecommerce used these… Continue reading Shein found guilty of copyright infringement by Swedish court

DAKAR: Mali’s military has prevented approximately 70 fuel trucks from travelling to Allied Gold’s Sadiola mine following an al Qaeda-linked militant blockade on fuel imports to the landlocked country. Two people familiar with the matter confirmed that fuel supplies are dwindling at the remote gold mine located some 650 kilometres from the capital Bamako. Mali’s… Continue reading Mali army holds 70 Allied Gold fuel trucks amid militant blockade

BELGRADE: Three people have died in floods caused by torrential rain at Bulgaria’s Black Sea resort of Elenite. Bulgaria’s news agency BTA reported the fatalities on Friday, with Interior Minister Daniel Mitov confirming the circumstances. One man died when floodwater swept through a building basement where he was located. The other two victims were rescuers… Continue reading Three killed in Bulgaria floods as heavy rain hits Black Sea resort

WASHINGTON/DAKAR/PARIS: Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda will not sign an economic framework this week as expected, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday, in another stumbling block for the Trump administration’s efforts to implement a peace deal and spur Western investment in the region. President Donald Trump is pursuing an ambitious… Continue reading Congo and Rwanda delay economic deal in setback for US peace efforts

WASHINGTON: The United States killed four people in a strike against a vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs just off the coast of Venezuela, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday, at least the fourth such attack in recent weeks. The strike is the latest example of President Donald Trump’s efforts to use U.S. military… Continue reading US conducts new strike on alleged drug vessel near Venezuela coast

TORONTO: Canada has updated its travel advisory for the United States this week with a specific warning for travellers holding passports marked with an “X” gender identifier. The new advisory explicitly states that while Canada issues such passports, it cannot guarantee entry or transit through other countries. Travellers with X gender markers may still be… Continue reading Canada warns X gender passport holders may face US entry issues

BRUSSELS: The European Commission has announced restrictions on the use of PFAS substances, commonly called forever chemicals, in firefighting foams. This move represents a significant step towards the European Union’s broader objective of minimising PFAS usage in consumer products. PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated substances, are persistent environmental contaminants that do not break down naturally.… Continue reading EU restricts ‘forever chemicals’ in firefighting foams to curb pollution

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it has launched a new pilot program to speed up the review process for generic drugs that are tested and manufactured entirely in the United States. The program is designed to encourage companies to invest in domestic drug production and research by offering faster approvals… Continue reading US FDA launches pilot program to fast-track domestic generic drug reviews

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump gave Hamas until Sunday night to agree to his proposal to end Israel’s war in Gaza, warning “all HELL” would break out in the Palestinian enclave if it fails to get on board. After Trump’s latest threat to the militant group, Al Jazeera reported on Friday that Hamas had handed… Continue reading Trump gives Hamas deadline for Gaza deal or warns of consequences

TURIN: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos predicted on Friday that gigawatt-scale data centres will be built in space within the next 10 to 20 years. He stated that continuously available solar energy means these orbital facilities will eventually outperform their terrestrial counterparts. Speaking at the Italian Tech Week in Turin, Bezos also compared the surge in… Continue reading Jeff Bezos predicts gigawatt data centres in space within 20 years

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration froze $2.1 billion in Chicago transit funding on Friday, starving another Democratic city of funds as a bid to end the government shutdown failed again in the Senate. On the shutdown’s third day, Trump ramped up pressure on Democrats to end the standoff and agree to a Republican plan… Continue reading US Senate fails to end shutdown as Trump freezes Chicago transit funds

BERLIN: Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said he would raise the matter of anti-drone defences at a Saturday meeting of European interior ministers that had originally been billed as a migration summit. Speaking in Saarbruecken, western Germany the morning after drone sightings forced the closure of Munich airport for several hours, Dobrindt added that more… Continue reading Germany to raise drone defence issue at Munich migration meeting

MANCHESTER: Britain was on heightened alert Friday following an attack outside a Manchester synagogue that killed two people, as police said they may have shot victims as the terrifying assault unfolded. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who visited the scene of the car ramming and stabbing spree in the northwest English city, said security would be… Continue reading UK on ‘high alert’ following synagogue attack

JERUSALEM: Israel on Friday deported four Italian activists, the first of hundreds detained from an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, shortly after the interception of a final boat brought an end to its mission. The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail last month, ferrying politicians and activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg towards Gaza, where the… Continue reading Israel deports first activists from Gaza aid flotilla

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Attorney General has confiscated 42,000 tons of tin sands from miners linked to a corruption case at state tin mining firm PT Timah, state media Antara reported. The tin sands, which may also contain zircon and monazite, were found in four warehouses on the Bangka Island tin hub linked to a convicted tin… Continue reading Indonesia confiscates 42,000 tons of tin sands linked to corruption case

NEW YORK: Taylor Swift is in a sparkling new era. She dropped her 12th studio album on Friday, “The Life of a Showgirl,“ a collection of bouncy pop songs about love, marriage, success — and score-settling. The 35-year-old artist reunited with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback for the hotly anticipated album, and their influence… Continue reading Taylor Swift strides into ‘Showgirl’ era with sparkling new album

GENEVA: Nearly 42,000 people in the Gaza Strip are living with life-changing injuries as a result of the ongoing conflict, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated in its latest update released on Thursday. One in four of these victims are children. According to the report Estimating Trauma Rehabilitation Needs in Gaza, September 2025 Update, life-changing… Continue reading Nearly 42,000 in Gaza suffer life-changing injuries: WHO

ANKARA: The international organisation Global Sumud Flotilla said Friday that nine new ships have now reached the northern coast of Marsa Matruh, Egypt, and are continuing their journey toward the Gaza Strip to challenge Israel’s blockade, Anadolu Ajansi reported. In a statement on X, the flotilla said: “The cumulative global movement must continue… every port,… Continue reading Nine new ships of Global Sumud Flotilla sail toward Gaza to break Israeli blockade

JAKARTA: Indonesia has suspended TikTok’s registration to provide electronic systems after it failed to hand over all data relating to the use of its live stream feature, a government official said on Friday. The suspension could in theory prevent access to TikTok, which has more than 100 million accounts based in Indonesia. Reuters, however, could… Continue reading Indonesia suspends TikTok registration over data sharing failures, ministry says

LONDON: Prince William has said protecting his family was the most important thing for him when his wife Kate and father King Charles became ill, and revealed that he will seek to modernise the monarchy when he becomes sovereign. Speaking to Eugene Levy for the Canadian actor’s TV travel show, the normally guarded British heir… Continue reading UK’s Prince William opens up about family fears and plans to change monarchy

MANCHESTER: British police said on Friday they may have accidentally shot two victims, including one who died, in their attempts to bring under control an attack on a Manchester synagogue during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. In Thursday’s attack two men, Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed after… Continue reading UK police may have accidentally shot dead victim in synagogue attack

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of AI-generated Bollywood videos with 16 million views have been deleted from Google’s YouTube after Reuters reported they were similar to those at the centre of a legal challenge filed by a celebrity couple to protect their rights. Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have asked a New… Continue reading Scores of Bollywood AI videos vanish from YouTube after Reuters story

TEL AVIV: The Israeli military intercepted the last boat in an aid flotilla attempting to reach blockaded Gaza on Friday, a day after stopping most of the vessels and detaining some 450 activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg. The organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said the Marinette was intercepted some 42.5 nautical miles (79… Continue reading Israel intercepts last Gaza flotilla boat, begins deportations

LUXEMBOURG: Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Henri officially stepped down in a solemn ceremony Friday, leaving the throne to his son Guillaume who is to be sworn-in later in the day. Wearing a green military uniform topped by a yellow sash, Henri, 70, ended a 25-year reign signing his abdication at the Grand Ducal Palace in the… Continue reading Luxembourg gets new Grand Duke with royal abdication

CANTERBURY: Britain appointed Sarah Mullally as the new Archbishop of Canterbury on Friday, the first time a woman has been named leader of the Church of England in the 1,400 year history of the role. Mullally also becomes the ceromonial head of some 85 million Anglicans worldwide, with the appointment of a woman risking deeper… Continue reading UK names Mullally as first female Archbishop to lead Church of England

SIDOARJO: The death toll in an Indonesian school collapse rose to 10 on Friday, officials said, but dozens were still believed under the rubble without signs of life days after the disaster. Part of the multi-storey boarding school in the town of Sidoarjo, on Indonesia’s island of Java, collapsed suddenly on Monday as students gathered… Continue reading Indonesia school collapse toll rises to 10: rescue officials

ROME: A general strike in Italy in support of the Gaza aid flotilla disrupted trains and threatened more commuter chaos Friday in a second day of demonstrations in Rome. The strike, called by the USB and CFIL unions, follows demonstrations Thursday in several cities across the world, including in Milan and Rome, where some 10,000… Continue reading Strike in Italy over Gaza flotilla strands commuters

BERLIN: The European Union is considering unfreezing assets linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska so Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International can be compensated for damages it was ordered to pay in Russia, EU diplomats said. They said Austria insisted on putting such a provision into the 19th package of sanctions against Moscow now under discussion. A… Continue reading EU mulls unfreezing some sanctioned Russian assets to compensate Raiffeisen Bank, diplomats say

A MASSIVE fire erupted in a jet fuel production unit at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery near Los Angeles on Thursday night, causing big flames and billowing smoke from one of the largest refineries on the U.S. West Coast. No injuries were reported and all workers at the refinery had been accounted for, Chevron spokesperson Allison… Continue reading Massive fire erupts in jet fuel unit at Chevron’s Los Angeles refinery

BERLIN: Germany’s Munich airport restarted flights on Friday after several drone sightings forced its closure overnight, the latest in a string of similar aviation disruptions across Europe. Airports in Denmark, Norway and Poland have recently suspended flights due to unidentified drones, while Romania and Estonia have pointed the finger at Russia, which has brushed off… Continue reading Munich airport resumes flights after drone sightings trigger closure

PARIS: Global food commodity prices dipped in September as declines in sugar and dairy offset a new peak for meat prices, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 128.8 points in September, down from a revised 129.7… Continue reading World food prices dip as falls in sugar and dairy offset new high for meat

WASHINGTON: Apple has removed several applications used for anonymously reporting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent movements from its app store. The removal reportedly followed pressure from the Trump administration regarding safety concerns for officers. These tracking applications had gained significant popularity in recent months amid President Donald Trump’s expanding deportation operations nationwide. Trump administration… Continue reading Apple removes ICE tracking apps from store after US pressure

BANGKOK: A Thai gunman received a life imprisonment sentence on Friday for the murder of a Cambodian opposition politician in Bangkok. French national Lim Kimya, a former opposition lawmaker in Cambodia, was shot dead on January 7 by Ekkalak Paenoi during the ex-MP’s visit to Bangkok with his wife. Cambodian opposition figures have accused the… Continue reading Cambodian ex-MP’s killer gets life sentence in Bangkok court

NEW YORK: Taylor Swift is in a sparkling new era. On Friday, she dropped her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,“ a collection of bouncy pop songs about love, marriage, success — and score-settling. For the hotly anticipated album, the 35-year-old artist reunited with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback, and their influence… Continue reading Taylor Swift releases sparkling new album The Life of a Showgirl

NEW YORK: Sean “Diddy” Combs will be sentenced Friday for his conviction on two prostitution-related counts, crimes prosecutors say deserve more than a decade behind bars as the music mogul seeks “mercy” and a swift release. Following two months of often searing testimony and arguments in the New York federal case, jurors in July rejected… Continue reading Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to be sentenced in New York prostitution case

HANOI: The death toll from Typhoon Bualoi in Vietnam rose above 50, the government said Friday, with more than a dozen people still missing days after the storm triggered widespread flooding. Bualoi slammed into central Vietnam late Sunday with winds of 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour, and lingered over land for almost 12 hours.… Continue reading Typhoon Bualoi death toll in Vietnam rises above 50

STOCKHOLM: Some Nobel Prize winners achieved scientific greatness despite following highly unconventional educational paths rather than traditional academic excellence. Albert Einstein, perhaps the most famous Nobel laureate, was once a mediocre student at Zurich Polytechnic School who frequently skipped classes and finished second-last in his graduation cohort. The young physicist showed such limited promise that… Continue reading Nobel laureates reveal unconventional paths to scientific greatness

PADANG Stadium Perak kini menggunakan rumput jenis Axonopus Putra menggantikan rumput sedia ada jenis cow grass sebagai sebahagian kerja naik taraf yang bermula Jun lepas. Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan Negeri Sandrea Ng Shy Ching berkata spesies rumput baharu itu merupakan hasil penyelidikan Universiti Putra Malaysia dan mendapat kelulusan Kementerian Belia dan Sukan. “Rumput… Continue reading Stadium Perak guna rumput Axonopus Putra ganti cow grass

NEW YORK: Sean “Diddy” Combs, who faces more than two decades in prison following a blockbuster trial that saw the music mogul accused of harrowing crimes, on Thursday asked the judge determining his fate for “mercy” and “another chance.” Following two months of testimony and arguments in the New York federal case, jurors rejected the… Continue reading Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs asks judge for ‘mercy’ ahead of sentencing

NEW YORK: Artificial intelligence, the technology upending nearly every corner of society, is creeping into religion, serving up virtual Jesus and automated sermons — a change drawing mixed reviews from the faithful. Religious chatbots and other faith-based digital tools are growing in number, offering counsel, comfort and spiritual guidance during an age of rapidly transforming… Continue reading People of faith divided as AI enters religion with virtual Jesus

SIDOARJO: The death toll in a school collapse on Indonesia’s main island of Java rose to seven on Friday after two bodies were pulled from the building’s ruins, a rescue official said. Part of the multi-storey boarding school in the town of Sidoarjo collapsed suddenly on Monday as students gathered for afternoon prayers, leaving rescuers… Continue reading Indonesia school collapse death toll rises to seven students

HONG KONG: Tech stocks propelled Tokyo’s Nikkei higher on Friday as most Asian markets advanced amid optimism about US interest rate cuts. Investors maintained positive sentiment heading into the weekend despite ongoing concerns about a partial US government shutdown. Global market rallies this year have been primarily driven by massive corporate investments in artificial intelligence… Continue reading Asian markets rise on tech rally and US rate cut hopes

NANTONG: A Chinese company is preparing to submerge a server pod in the sea off Shanghai as an innovative solution to the energy demands of data centres. Workers at a wharf near the city are completing a large yellow capsule that will house servers underwater. Global reliance on data centres for websites and apps is… Continue reading China trials underwater data centres to cut energy consumption