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Supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami political party gather to express their solidarity with the Palestinians during an anti-Israel protest in Islamabad on October 9, 2025. [AFP] Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal to free the remaining living hostages, in a major step towards ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe. The agreement, which follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, is to be signed Thursday in Egypt, and calls for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Under the deal,…

For nearly two decades, Fraser-Pryce has captured the hearts of track fans all over the world — the colourful hair, vibrant personality, and explosive prowess on the track. Published Date: 2025-10-09 10:34:09 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Mohamed Salah wants to put a disappointing start to his season with Liverpool behind him on Wednesday and help Egypt beat Djibouti and qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Published Date: 2025-10-08 14:56:36 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

A senior Japan Football Association official has been sentenced to an 18-month suspended jail term in France after viewing images of child sexual abuse during a plane journey Published Date: 2025-10-08 14:48:41 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Former England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes ego and club rivalry prevented the Three Lions from winning international tournaments during his time as a player. Published Date: 2025-10-08 14:45:13 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Member of the European Parliament Emma Fourreau, La France Insoumise – Nouveau Front Populaire’s MP Marie Mesmeur (right) and activists who were aboard vessels from the Gaza-bound aid flotilla at Orly airport, in Paris, on October 7, 2025. [AFP] The organisers of a new Gaza-bound aid flotilla said the Israeli army intercepted at least three of its boats on Wednesday. “Three vessels — Gaza Sunbirds, Alaa Al-Najjar, and Anas Al-Sharif — have been attacked and illegally intercepted by the Israeli military” in the early morning, 220 kilometres (around 140 miles) off the coast of Gaza, the Global Sumud Flotilla said…

Britain’s main opposition Conservative Party, shadow housing secretary, James Cleverly and his life Susannah after attending the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester, north-west England, on October 7, 2025. [AFP] They were an electoral powerhouse, the party of political titans Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and Benjamin Disraeli. But Britain’s once-towering Conservatives end their annual meeting on Wednesday with their very future under threat. The Tories, as they are colloquially known, are languishing in opinion polls and risk being swallowed up by the hard-right Reform UK party. “It is existential,” political scientist Robert Ford said of the crisis gripping the United Kingdom’s…

France’s President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Mayor of Le Havre Edouard Philippe during the 80th anniversary of the World War II liberation of the port city of Le Havre, northern France, on September 12, 2024. [AFP] Emmanuel Macron’s first prime minister on Tuesday urged the cornered French head of state to resign in a shock call that compounded an escalating political crisis. The intervention by Edouard Philippe, Macron’s longest-serving prime minister from 2017 to 2020 and who now heads an allied political party, came as frustration grew even within the president’s own camp over the biggest domestic political crisis of…

France  President Emmanuel Macron. [AFP] Shortly after French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned, following less than a month in the job, President Emmanuel Macron was filmed walking by the River Seine in Paris, deep in conversation on his phone, with only his security detail at a discreet distance. Whom Macron was speaking to and what he was discussing remains unclear. But the image symbolised the political solitude of the president as he faces a dwindling array of options, all of them hazardous. What will Macron, who must step down as president in 2027 after serving the maximum two mandates, do…

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (second left) meets with the Netherlands’ Foreign Minister David van Weel (right) at a hotel in Cairo, on October 7, 2025. [AFP] Israel marks the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack on Tuesday, as Hamas and Israeli negotiators hold indirect talks to end the two-year war in Gaza under a US-proposed peace plan. Two years ago to the day, at the close of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, Hamas-led militants launched a massive assault on Israel, making it the deadliest day in the country’s history. Palestinian fighters breached the Gaza-Israel border, storming southern…

Morocco are the leading scorers among the 53 participating nations with 21 goals, while reigning African champions the Ivory Coast and Tunisia boast the best defences, Published Date: 2025-10-07 11:25:16 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

French centrist party Renaissance’s General Secretary Gabriel Attal during an interview on the “Le 20H” of French television channel TF1, in Boulogne-Billancourt, on October 6, 2025. [AFP] France’s outgoing Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu was on Tuesday due to start a last-ditch effort to rally cross-party support for a cabinet lineup to pull his country out of political deadlock. President Emmanuel Macron tasked Lecornu, 39, with forming a government in early September after parliament toppled his predecessor over an unpopular austerity budget. Lecornu unveiled a new cabinet on Sunday evening but it immediately drew criticism for containing many of the same…

Medical helicopter crashes on California highway. [File, Standard] Three people were in critical condition after a medical helicopter crashed onto a California highway on Monday, US media reported, with local authorities saying emergency crews had closed some traffic lanes. The helicopter crashed just after 7:00 pm (0200 GMT Tuesday) on eastbound Highway 50 in the state capital Sacramento, with flight-tracking data showing it had lifted off from UC Davis Medical Center just minutes before. A pilot, nurse, and paramedic were on board and taken to the hospital after the crash in critical condition, the Sacramento Fire Department was quoted as…

Sanae Takaichi, the newly-elected leader of Japan’s ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party, addresses a press conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on October 4, 2025. [AFP] Japan’s incoming new prime minister Sanae Takaichi has approached an opposition party with a view to expanding the governing coalition to give it a working majority in parliament, reports said Tuesday. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its longstanding junior partner Komeito have been in a minority in the lower and upper chambers since recent elections, making it hard to pass legislation. The conservative Takaichi, 64, became president of the LDP…

Demonstrators during a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in front of the Israeli embassy in Belgrade. [Andrej Isakovic, AFP] Delegations from Hamas, Israel and the United States are due to convene in Egypt for talks on Monday, with President Donald Trump urging negotiators to “move fast” to end the nearly two-year war in Gaza. Both Hamas and Israel have responded positively to Trump’s proposal for an end to the fighting and the release of captives in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Hamas’s lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya was to meet with mediators from Egypt and Qatar in…

Ukrainian rescuers work among the rubble at the site of an air attack in Lapaivka, Lviv region. [Stringer/AFP] Intense Russian strikes Sunday on Ukraine killed five people in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and Lviv in the west and badly damaged energy infrastructure, severing power supplies to tens of thousands. Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as the weather chills. “This Sunday night, Russia launched yet another barrage of missiles and drones against the people of Ukraine, targeting the Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Chernigiv, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Odesa regions,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. Lviv has been the…

US President Donald Trump. [AFP] US President Donald Trump has given Hamas until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, warning the Palestinian militant group faced “all hell” if it did not agree to the terms. The US leader set the deadline — which would fall at 1:00 a.m. Monday in Gaza — after an official for the Islamist movement told AFP earlier on Friday that the group still needed time to study the proposal to end nearly two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory. “If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not…

People gather around the Freedom Flotilla ship “Handala” ahead of the boat’s departure for Gaza at a port in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy, on July 13, 2025. [AFP] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Israeli naval forces Thursday for intercepting a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, as authorities prepared to deport hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists aboard the vessels. The Global Sumud Flotilla of around 45 vessels began its voyage last month, with politicians and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg heading to Gaza, where the United Nations says famine has set in. The Israeli navy has intercepted vessel after vessel at sea…

A demonstrator holds a placard during a rally in solidarity with Palestinians and to condemn the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla by Israeli army, in Istanbul, on October 2, 2025. [AFP] Thousands of people marched through the streets of Barcelona on Thursday to denounce Israel’s interception of a pro-Palestinian aid flotilla bound for Gaza. Columns of demonstrators, many waving Palestinian flags, converged on the central Plaza de les Drassanes from multiple parts of Spain’s second-largest city. Protesters chanted slogans including “Gaza, you are not alone,” “Boycott Israel,” and “Freedom for Palestine.” Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp The Global…

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin gives a speech during the Valdai Discussion Club meeting in Sochi, on October 2, 2025. [AFP[ Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday promised a “significant” response to “Europe’s militarisation”, as he addressed a foreign policy forum in southern Russia. Relations between Russia and the EU spiralled downward after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, leading the bloc to bolster its defence. “We are closely monitoring the rising militarisation of Europe,” he told the forum’s audience, adding: “Retaliatory measures by Russia will not take long. The response to such threats will be very significant.” Follow The Standard channel…

Russian prisoners of war in a bus following an exchange of prisoners at an undisclosed location in Belarus, October 2, 2025. [AFP] Russia and Ukraine exchanged 185 prisoners of war each on Thursday, Moscow and Kyiv said, the latest in a series of swaps that have continued despite the lack of progress towards ending the conflict. Russia’s defence ministry said on Telegram that “185 Russian servicemen have been returned” by Ukraine, adding that 20 civilians were also released as part of the swap. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the exchange, posting pictures of the released Ukrainians, wrapped in national flags,…

Lando Norris says that Max Verstappen is now “genuinely a challenger” as the 2025 Formula One championship enters the final laps of the season. Published Date: 2025-10-02 16:05:56 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

This handout artist’s impression released on October 2, 2025 shows Cha 1107-7626, a rogue planet located about 620 light-years away about 5-10 times more massive than Jupiter and doesn’t orbit a star. [AFP A mysterious “rogue” planet has been observed gobbling six billion tonnes of gas and dust a second — an unprecedented rate that blurs the line between planets and stars, astronomers said Thursday. Unlike Earth and other planets in our solar system which orbit the Sun, rogue planets float freely through the universe untethered to a star. Scientists estimate there could be trillions of rogue planets in our…

Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo were recalled to the Brazil squad by coach Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday for upcoming friendlies against South Korea and Japan. Published Date: 2025-10-02 12:52:23 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick insisted his team must learn how to defend better after conceding a last-gasp winner against Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain. Published Date: 2025-10-02 12:47:03 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Erling Haaland said Manchester City must show more energy to end their miserable run on the road in the Champions League after twice blowing the lead in draw at Monaco. Published Date: 2025-10-02 12:36:15 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) answers questions while childhood cancer survivors and their families gather in the Oval Office at the White House on September 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. [AFP] US President Donald Trump has made it clear he wants the Nobel Peace Prize when it is announced next week but experts predict he has little chance against those toiling on forgotten causes outside the limelight. The prestigious prize will be announced on Friday, October 10 but before that, Trump’s assault on science is likely to stir debate when the laureates for the medicine prize are revealed on Monday,…

British anthropologist Jane Goodall holds a baby Cariblanco monkey in Santiago, on November 23, 2013. [Hector Tetamal, AFP] British primatologist Jane Goodall, who transformed the study of chimpanzees and became one of the world’s most prominent wildlife advocates, has died at the age of 91, her institute announced Wednesday. Goodall “passed away due to natural causes” while in California on a speaking tour of the United States, the Jane Goodall Institute said in a statement on social media. “Dr Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural…

His resurgence will be put to the test at the Singapore Grand Prix this week as the Red Bull driver tries to turn the Formula One world championship into a three-horse race. Published Date: 2025-10-01 15:29:30 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Liverpool started the season with seven straight wins as they threatened to sweep all before them but consecutive defeats underscore pressing issues that Arne Slot must address. Published Date: 2025-10-01 15:26:18 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said Rodri will need much more time to find his top form after struggling with fitness problems on his return from a serious knee injury. Published Date: 2025-10-01 11:12:57 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Jose Mourinho insisted fond memories of his time at Chelsea were not enough to satisfy him after Benfica were beaten 1-0 on his return to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. Published Date: 2025-10-01 11:01:46 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Yamal has made over 100 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 27 goals, and winning two LaLiga titles since his debut at 15 in 2023. Published Date: 2025-10-01 10:58:13 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Saliba, 24, had been expected to extend his stay at the Emirates despite earlier reported interest from Real Madrid. Published Date: 2025-09-30 13:56:35 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

The United Nations Security Council holds a meeting on the “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” at UN headquarters in New York on September 23, 2025. [AFP] The United Nations Security Council will vote on Tuesday on whether to beef up a UN-backed security mission in gang-dominated Haiti into a full-fledged force with troops. Currently just 1,000 police officers, mostly from Kenya, are deployed in Haiti under the Multinational Security Mission (MSS) to support the overwhelmed Haitian police in their fight against rampant gang violence. But the mission, which was approved in 2023, has had deeply…

US President Donald Trump (right) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a joint news conference in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on September 29, 2025. [AFP] YouTube has agreed to pay $22 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump after the company suspended his account over the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, according to a court filing Monday. The online video platform, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, is the latest Big Tech firm to settle with Trump after he lodged legal cases challenging his broad deplatforming after…

Anne-Marie Lim (centre), widow of former Cambodian opposition lawmaker Lim Kimya who was shot dead in Bangkok, holds his portrait before the first witness hearing in the trial at the Criminal Court in Bangkok on September 30, 2025. [AFP] An alleged gunman went on trial Tuesday in Bangkok over the murder of a Cambodian opposition politician whose widow called for a full accounting of who was behind the killing. French national 73-year-old Lim Kimya, a former opposition lawmaker in Cambodia, was shot dead on January 7 by a motorcyclist as the ex-MP arrived in the Thai capital. A Thai citizen,…

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) arrive for a press conference in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC on September 29, 2025. [AFP] President Donald Trump said Monday that he had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s backing for a wide-ranging Gaza peace plan that would bring an immediate ceasefire. The plan, which Trump has circulated to Arab leaders, was released after Trump met Netanyahu in Washington. Trump told a press conference that Netanyahu had agreed to the plan, which calls for an immediate ceasefire, followed by disarmament of Hamas and Israeli…

Lewis Hamilton has revealed he made the “hardest decision” of his life to put his 12-year-old bulldog Roscoe to sleep. Published Date: 2025-09-29 19:51:48 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin inspects the “Zapad-2025” (West-2025) joint Russian-Belarusian military drills at a training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast on September 16, 2025. [AFP] Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday called up 135,000 men for routine military service, the country’s biggest autumn conscription drive since 2016. Russia calls up men aged between 18 and 30 for compulsory military service each spring and autumn. Conscripts are expected to serve for a year at a military base inside Russia, not to fight in Ukraine, although there have been reports…

Palestinians check the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on September 28, 2025. [AFP] US President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday for high-stakes talks aimed at pushing an elusive Gaza peace plan over the line. Trump says a deal to end the nearly two-year war in Gaza, free hostages held by Hamas and disarm the Palestinian militant group is effectively done following talks with Arab leaders last week. He teased a possible breakthrough on Sunday, saying on…

Igor Dodon, the leader of Socialist Party, addresses protesters in front of the Central Electoral Commission, alleging electoral fraud, in Chisinau, Moldova on September 28, 2025. [AFP] Moldova’s ruling pro-EU party won parliamentary elections with the backing of more than half of voters, according to near-complete results on Monday for polls overshadowed by accusations of Russian interference in the ex-Soviet country. The small European Union candidate nation, which borders Ukraine and has a pro-Russia breakaway region, has long been divided over whether to move closer with Brussels or maintain Soviet-era relations with Moscow. Sunday’s elections were seen as crucial for…

Israeli security forces gather at the scene of a reported ramming attack at the Jit junction, west of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on September 28, 2025. [AFP] Pressure is building on Germany to join steps to sanction Israel over the Gaza war, sparking heated debate in a country that has long been at pains to atone for the Holocaust. Berlin, a steadfast supporter of Israel in the post-World War II era, has grown increasingly isolated as many of its Western allies have recognised a Palestinian state. While they have universally condemned the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas…

A woman casts her ballot in the parliamentary elections, in Chisinau on September 28, 2025. [AFP] Moldovans were voting on Sunday in parliamentary elections that could see the country neighbouring Ukraine swerve from its pro-European path towards Moscow, with the government and the EU accusing Russia of “deeply interfering”. Moldova, a European Union candidate country, has long been divided over closer ties with Brussels or maintaining Soviet-era relations with Moscow. Most surveys ahead of the vote showed the pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), in power since 2021, in the lead. But analysts say the race is far from…

Ukrainian law enforcement officers at the site of an air attack at an undisclosed location in the Kyiv region, on September 28, 2025. [AFP] Ukraine said Sunday that Russia pounded the country with “hundreds” of drones and missiles overnight, killing at least four people in the capital alone, as neighbouring Poland scrambled jets to secure its airspace. The attacks came after Russia warned NATO against taking sterner action in response to alleged incursions into airspace covered by the military alliance. The barrage also followed the revelation by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Kyiv had received a US-made Patriot air defence…

US President Donald Trump exits Air Force One in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on September 26, 2025. [AFP] Iran on Sunday condemned as “unjustifiable” the reinstatement of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear programme, after the collapse of talks with Western powers and Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear sites. The measures, which bar dealings linked to the Islamic republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile activities, took effect overnight after Western powers triggered the so-called “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 nuclear accord. “The reactivation of annulled resolutions is legally baseless and unjustifiable… all countries must refrain from recognising this illegal…

Manchester United have lost three of their six Premier League games this season, winning just twice, and are languishing in 13th place. Published Date: 2025-09-27 19:29:48 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Caption Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose government has championed Hamas, said Friday he backed any ceasefire in Gaza after US President Donald Trump voiced optimism for a deal. “Any agreement that can stop this tragedy, that can save lives and stop women and children suffering from hunger, we would support wholeheartedly,” Pezeshkian told reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Pezeshkian voiced horror over Israel’s relentless campaign in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. “How can human beings behave like this?” he said. “I am a doctor and even some images I cannot see.” Follow…

A worker places finished jeans in a trolley inside the United Aryan textile factory at the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Nairobi on February 4, 2025. [AFP] A Kenyan factory making jeans for US stores will start firing hundreds of workers this week as American lawmakers failed to renew Africa’s duty-free access in time, its boss said Friday. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been a cornerstone of trade relations for 25 years, allowing the United States to buy billions of dollars of duty-free cars, clothes and other items from select African countries each year. .fade-out-overlay { position:…

President Donald Trump said Thursday he would consider moving 2026 World Cup games from US cities he regards as a security risk. Published Date: 2025-09-26 09:46:09 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Inter Miami’s former Barcelona and Spain star Sergio Busquets said Thursday he will retire from football at the end of the 2025 Major League Soccer season. Published Date: 2025-09-26 09:39:37 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, DC, on September 25, 2025. [AFP] US President Donald Trump’s administration dramatically raised the stakes Thursday in a clash over a possible government funding shutdown, telling federal agencies to prepare for new mass firings if it goes ahead. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) warned in a memo that it would go beyond the usual practice of temporary furloughs during previous shutdowns, where Congress cannot agree on spending plans. Republican Trump is in a…

Displaced Palestinians move with their belongings southwards on a road in the Nuseirat refugee camp area in the central Gaza Strip on September 23, 2025. [AFP] Three children play with sand and pebbles among the tombstones in a southern Gaza cemetery, while a teenage boy, barefoot, carries two buckets of water through the graveyard before vanishing into a tent. These macabre scenes are a daily reality for some displaced Palestinians, who, unable to find shelter elsewhere, have resorted to pitching tents in a cemetery in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. “We had no other choice,” said Randa Musleh…

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka. [Courtesy] Japan’s international aid agency said Thursday it will cancel a friendship exchange programme with African nations after false beliefs spread that it would open the door to waves of migrants. The Japan International Cooperation Agency said it would scrap the “JICA Africa Hometown” initiative, which was designed to foster cultural and social exchanges between four African countries and as many regional Japanese cities. But the announcement triggered a flood of emails and phone calls to the participating cities from anxious people who believed the programme was a new immigration policy. Local officials became so overwhelmed…

England captain Zoe Aldcroft believes it is “our time now” as her side bid to end more than a decade of Women’s Rugby World Cup heartache in Saturday’s final against Canada. Published Date: 2025-09-25 15:49:57 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy after the verdict in his trial for illegal campaign financing from Libya for his successful 2007 presidential bid, at the Tribunal de Paris courthouse in Paris, on September 25, 2025. [AFP] A Paris court on Thursday sentenced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to five years and ordered him to go to prison after finding him guilty of criminal conspiracy over accusations the late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi helped fund his victorious 2007 presidential run. The court ordered that Sarkozy should be placed in custody at a later date, with prosecutors given one month to inform…

Spotify on Thursday unveiled several measures to encourage artists and publishers to be more transparent about their use of artificial intelligence, as well as to limit certain abuses. The Swedish platform is recommending that musicians and producers comply with a new standard developed by the Digital Data Exchange (DDEX), a consortium of leading media companies, music licensing organizations, digital service providers and technology firms that develops standards for the creative industries. Since the beginning of the year, DDEX has allowed tracks to be labeled as entirely, partially, or not at all created with AI in their descriptions. Follow The Standard…

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen speaks during the “Climate Summit 2025” on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City on September 24, 2025. [AFP] The European Union criticised China’s targets for cutting planet-warming gases Thursday, saying they fell “well short” of what the bloc thought was “both achievable and necessary” for the world’s top polluter. Beijing announced its first-ever absolute climate targets at a UN summit on Wednesday, pledging to reduce economy-wide emissions by 7-10 percent by 2035 relative to the year of the country’s peak emissions, believed to…

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a video speech to the United Nations Climate Summit 2025 held in New York on Sept. 24, 2025. [AFP China vowed Wednesday to cut its emissions by 7–10 percent over the next decade, a cautious commitment to climate action from the world’s top polluter, as the United States doubles down on fossil fuels and Europe falters. The pledge, delivered via video by President Xi Jinping to a  UN climate summit where some 120 nations will outline plans to curb global warming, comes as disasters intensify worldwide — from catastrophic floods in Pakistan to raging wildfires…

PSG star Achraf Hakimi, who is being investigated over an alleged rape, said he has “peace of mind” and expects to be cleared of the accusations. Published Date: 2025-09-25 13:25:18 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

France’s ex-president Sarkozy convicted in Libya trial. [AFP] A Paris court on Thursday convicted former French president Nicolas Sarkozy on charges of criminal conspiracy but acquitted him of corruption and accepting illegal campaign financing in his trial into accusations that late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi helped fund his victorious 2007 presidential run. The trial is the latest in a string of legal troubles for the right-wing ex-leader, 70, who denies the charges. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, has already been convicted in two separate cases and stripped of France’s highest honour. Judge Nathalie Gavarino said Sarkozy, as…

Barcelona star Lamine Yamal will be driven to greater heights after being beaten to the Ballon d’Or by Ousmane Dembele, the club’s coach Hansi Flick said Wednesday. Published Date: 2025-09-24 16:01:43 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank says England captain Harry Kane is welcome to return to the north London club if he ever leaves Bayern Munich. Published Date: 2025-09-24 15:51:35 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

French police arrested 101 Roma fans, some with weapons, in Nice on Tuesday, a day before the teams were due to meet in the Europa League, the local prefecture announced. Published Date: 2025-09-24 15:27:43 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Hugo Ekitike has apologised to Liverpool fans after he was sent off for removing his shirt following his late League Cup winner against Southampton. Published Date: 2025-09-24 13:12:41 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

People walk past toppled barriers in Lei Yue Mun after Super Typhoon Ragasa hit Hong Kong on September 24, 2025. [AFP] Fierce winds, pounding rain and high seas battered Hong Kong on Wednesday as Super Typhoon Ragasa headed into southern China after causing a lake burst that killed at least 14 people in Taiwan. The Chinese finance hub saw scores of fallen trees and flooding in multiple neighbourhoods, with the storm surge smashing the glass doors of an upscale hotel and flooding its lobby, according to footage circulated online. Ragasa is churning away from Hong Kong gradually around noon (0400…

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the United Nations Security Council ministerial meeting on Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York on September 23, 2025. [AFP] Ahead of Moldova’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, deepfake videos and unsubstantiated accusations targeting pro-EU President Maia Sandu are spreading online, with analysts warning the country has become Moscow’s “testing ground” for information warfare in Europe. The vote is seen as crucial in deciding whether the EU candidate country of some 2.5 million people will deepen its ties with the bloc or drift back towards Moscow, from which it gained independence in 1991. Most polls so…

A vehicle on the edge of a hole in the ground after a road collapsed near a hospital in Bangkok on September 24, 2025. [AFP] A portion of a busy road in Thailand’s capital caved in early Wednesday, leaving a hole dozens of meters deep in front of a main hospital and forcing people nearby to evacuate. Just outside a local police station and Vajira Hospital in a residential district of Bangkok, a roughly 50-meter (160-foot) hole pulled down power lines and exposed a burst pipe gushing water, AFP journalists saw. Dozens of police and city officials cordoned off the…

US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (R) on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 23, 2025. [AFP] US President Donald Trump blasted the United Nations and Europe on his return to the world body Tuesday, warning that Western countries were “going to hell” because of migration and calling climate change a “con job.” In a blistering speech during his first UN General Assembly appearance since his White House comeback, Trump also accused the world body of failing to help him as he tried to…

This illustration picture shows the US multinational technology and Internet-related services company Google logo behind a European flag on February 14, 2020 in Brussels. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) The European Union on Tuesday demanded Big Tech players including Apple and Google explain what action they are taking against financial scams online, as Brussels seeks to show it is not shying away from enforcing its rules. The European Commission sent a request for information under the Digital Services Act to the companies, including Microsoft and Booking, “on how they make sure that their services are not being misused by…

With U.S. President Donald Trump on board, the Marine One presidential helicopter sprays water from the East River as it lands at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport on September 22, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) US authorities charged a man who shone a laser pointer at the presidential helicopter as it departed the White House with President Trump aboard, according to a court filing Monday. A Secret Service officer saw Jacob Samuel Winkler, 33, shine a red laser beam from the sidewalk outside the White House grounds,…

Dembele, 28, edged out Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal to succeed Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri, who took the trophy in 2024. Published Date: 2025-09-23 10:34:51 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

US television host Jimmy Kimmel arrives for “An Evening With Jimmy Kimmel” at the Roosevelt hotel in Hollywood on August 7, 2019. (Photo by Chris Delmas / AFP) Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show, which was abruptly pulled from the air last week after the US government threatened broadcasters, will be back on Tuesday, Disney announced Monday. The sudden suspension by ABC, which is owned by Disney, came after conservative complaints about comments Kimmel had made in the wake of the shooting of Christian activist Charlie Kirk. “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to…

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (right) and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas at 10 Downing Street in London on September 8, 2025. [AFP] Britain, Australia and Canada on Sunday recognised a Palestinian state in a seismic shift in decades of western foreign policy, triggering swift Israeli anger. Portugal was also to recognise Palestinian statehood later Sunday, as Israel came under huge international pressure over the war in Gaza triggered almost two years ago by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. “Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises…

Kenyas Lilian Odira clinches 800m gold at World Championships in Tokyo in 1:54.62, breaking the 1:54.68 record set by Jarmila Kratochvílová in 1983. Published Date: 2025-09-21 13:53:13 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Kenyans Sabastian Sawe and Rosemary Wanjiru won the men’s and women’s editions of the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, both breaking through for the first time in the German capital. Published Date: 2025-09-21 13:14:58 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi added the world crown to his laurels with a hard-fought victory in the men’s 800m in Tokyo. Published Date: 2025-09-20 16:42:04 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Beatrice Chebet produced a devastating burst of speed to edge teammate Faith Kipyegon for victory in the women’s 5,000m in Tokyo Published Date: 2025-09-20 15:54:35 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Elephants eat jackfruit leaves at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala on February 16, 2025. [AFP] Sri Lanka’s High Court sentenced an elephant keeper to 15 years in prison on Friday, in a landmark case involving trafficking of wildlife protected by strict environmental laws. The three-judge court in Colombo found Niraj Roshan guilty on two counts of keeping a stolen baby elephant and falsifying records to show he had obtained it legitimately. The verdict, which includes a fine equivalent to $68,600 and the elephant’s confiscation, comes six years after the case first went to court. “This is the first case…

The United Nations Security Council will vote on Friday on reimposing deep economic sanctions on Iran over its resurgent nuclear program.[AFP] The United Nations Security Council will vote on Friday on reimposing deep economic sanctions on Iran over its resurgent nuclear program. Britain, France and Germany — signatories to a 2015 deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) intended to stop Tehran obtaining nuclear weapons — allege that Iran has broken its promises under the treaty. Diplomatic sources said the resolution before the Security Council was unlikely to get the nine votes needed to uphold the status quo…

Kenya are hoping legend Faith Kipyegon and Emmanuel Wanyonyi deliver two gold medals on the penultimate day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday. Published Date: 2025-09-19 10:01:43 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Former Barcelona presidents that payments the club made to a former refereeing chief during their time at the helm were not corrupt. Published Date: 2025-09-19 09:57:12 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

An appellate court in Buenos Aires has indicted Maradona’s former lawyer, Matias Morla, and two of his assistants for suspected fraudulent handling of the player’s assets. Published Date: 2025-09-19 09:49:30 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Mourinho will soon face reunions against former sides Chelsea and Porto, in the Champions League on September 30 and in the Primeira Liga on October 5 respectively. Published Date: 2025-09-18 18:33:25 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Lyles claimed bronze in Sunday’s 100m in Tokyo and immediately turned his attention to the 200m, which he called his “bread and butter”. Published Date: 2025-09-18 16:08:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet, who have won world titles in the 1,500 and 10,000m in Tokyo this week, will face off in the 5,000m for the chance of a championships double. Published Date: 2025-09-18 14:59:27 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

From left: Britain’s Queen Camilla, King Charles III, US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on September 17, 2025, [AFP] Armed with signs and shouting slogans, thousands of anti-Donald Trump protesters descended on central London on Wednesday to decry the US president’s unprecedented second state visit to the UK. London’s Metropolitan Police estimated that there were around 5,000 people at the protest, which culminated in a rally in front of parliament. With Trump receiving the red-carpet treatment at Windsor Castle, around 22 miles (35 kilometres) west of London, demonstrators marched in the heart…

Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Published Date: 2025-09-18 00:00:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Portugal’s Isaac Nader outsprinted Briton Jake Wightman to claim a surprise gold in the men’s 1,500 metres at the world championships on Wednesday. Published Date: 2025-09-17 17:27:09 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Growth in global innovation funding has fallen to its lowest rate since 2010, UN projections showed Tuesday, as high inflation eats into research and development spending and as venture capital deals slump. In its annual ranking of the world’s most innovative economies, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) placed Switzerland at the top of the list for the 15th consecutive year. Sweden and the United States retained their second and third place positions for the third year running, while China edged its way one spot higher and into the top 10. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp But while the…

Several dozens of people protest with rainbow flags outside the Hungarian embassy in Oslo against the ban of Pride parades in Hungary, on March 28, 2025. [AFP] Intersex people are increasingly facing violence and harassment, the EU rights agency said on Wednesday, adding levels were “alarming” as disinformation “campaigns” target them. The EU’s rights agency (FRA) published its second report following an online survey of 1,920 intersex people in 30 EU and Western Balkan countries in 2023. “Intersex people in the EU experience alarming levels of exclusion, discrimination and violence,” FRA director Sirpa Rautio said, calling for “an urgent response”.…

Faith Kipyegon produced a trademark devastating last lap to win an unprecedented fourth world women’s 1,500 metres title in Tokyo on Tuesday. Published Date: 2025-09-16 16:34:19 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Japan political party to install AI leader. [Courtesy] An upstart Japanese political party said Tuesday it will install an artificial intelligence as leader after its maverick founder quit following a disastrous showing in recent elections. The Path to Rebirth party, which was launched in January by Shinji Ishimaru, a former mayor of a small city in western Japan, does not have a policy platform and its members are free to set their own agendas. Ishimaru unexpectedly came second in the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election thanks to a successful online campaign but he quit the party after it failed to pick…

The defendant Sulaiman A covers his face with a folder in the courtroom of the Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart-Stammheim, southwestern Germany, on September 16, 2025, for his trial verdict for murdering a police officer in a jihadist-motivated attack. [File, Standard] An Afghan man was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for a jihadist stabbing spree in Germany  last year that killed a police officer and left five people wounded. The 26-year-old, only partially named as Sulaiman A. and found to be an adherent of the Islamic State group, committed the knife attack in May 2024 in the western…

France repatriates 3 women, 10 children from Syrian camps. [Courtesy] France on Tuesday repatriated three women and 10 children from Syrian prisons for alleged jihadists, anti-terror prosecutors said — a move that remains divisive a decade after the 2015 attacks in Paris. More than five years after the Islamic State group’s territorial defeat in the region, tens of thousands of people are still held in Kurdish-run camps and prisons in northeastern Syria — many with alleged or perceived links to IS. The women are aged between 18 and 34. Two of them have been taken into police custody, while the…

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2025. [AFP] President Donald Trump will likely meet Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky next week and still hopes to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday. Trump has repeatedly threatened sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not compromise. But he has not followed through even as Russia ramps up attacks, frustrating Ukraine. Trump has had “multiple calls with Putin, multiple meetings with Zelensky, including probably…

US President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters after signing a Presidential Memorandum in the Oval Office, in Washington, DC, on September 15, 2025.  [AFP] US President Donald Trump said Monday that he is bringing a $15 billion “defamation and libel lawsuit” against the New York Times. “The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding the lawsuit was being brought in Florida. AFP has contacted the New York Times for comment. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp Trump…

US President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters after signing a Presidential Memorandum in the Oval Office, in Washington, DC, on September 15, 2025.  [AFP] US President Donald Trump said Monday that he is bringing a $15 billion “defamation and libel lawsuit” against the New York Times. “The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding the lawsuit was being brought in Florida. AFP has contacted the New York Times for comment. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp Trump…

Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk speaks in front of the newly unveiled all-electric battery-powered Tesla’s Cybertruck with shattered windows at Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, California, on November 21, 2019.  (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP) CEO Elon Musk bought about $1 billion worth of shares in Tesla, according to a regulatory filing, sending the share price up six percent on Monday. According to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the billionaire, who also owns social media platform X and space company SpaceX, on Friday acquired 2.57 million shares at prices ranging from $371 to $396.…

Elon Musk buys $1 billion in Tesla shares Published Date: 2025-09-15 19:16:55 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard