Author: By AFP

Saudi Arabia declined an offer to sign Lionel Messi for a short-term stint in the Saudi Pro League before next year’s World Cup, according to a senior sports official. Published Date: 2025-10-30 17:42:33 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

United Nations peacekeepers drive in vehicles of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) past destroyed buildings while patroling in Lebanon’s southern village of Kfar Kila close to the border with Israel on April 6, 2025. [AFP] Israeli troops killed a Lebanese municipal worker on Thursday during a raid on a border village in the south, state media reported. Despite a November 2024 ceasefire with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Israel maintains troops in five areas in southern Lebanon and has kept up regular air strikes, which have recently intensified. “In a grave and unprecedented attack, an Israeli enemy force penetrated…

Boeing reported a $5.4-billion third-quarter loss on Wednesday as massive added costs from the delayed certification of its 777X aircraft weighed down its results. The aviation giant scored a 30-percent jump in revenues to $23.3 billion following much higher commercial plane deliveries compared with the year-ago level. But the performance was marred by a one-time charge of $4.9 billion on the 777X program, which has faced a prolonged certification process with US air officials. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg pointed to the October approval by the Federal Aviation Administration of an increased monthly production rate…

A Tanzanian police officer stops a man accused by electoral officials of attempting to taint the voting process at a polling station in Stone Town on October 29, 2025, during Tanzania’s presidential elections.[AFP] Hundreds protested on Wednesday in Tanzania’s largest city, tearing down banners of President Samia Suluhu Hassan and burning a police station, as the East African country went to the polls in elections where the main challengers have either been jailed or barred from standing. Despite heavy security in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, with tanks stationed around key junctions, an AFP journalist said hundreds of young…

A man rides through flooded waters after the passing of the tropical storm Melissa before becoming a hurricane in Barahona, Dominican Republic, on October 28, 2025. [AFP] Hurricane Melissa picked up strength as it bore down on Cuba, where it is expected to make landfall Wednesday after ripping a path of destruction through Jamaica as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record there, lashing the island nation with brutal winds and torrential rain. The monster storm was still 110 miles (175 kilometers) away from Guantanamo late Tuesday, but “re-strengthening” to a Category 4 hurricane “as it approaches eastern Cuba,”…

US President Donald Trump during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit at the Gyeongju Arts Center in Gyeongju on October 29, 2025. [AFP] President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is “not allowed” to run for a third term, acknowledging the limits laid out in the US Constitution. Trump and his supporters have repeatedly raised the question of a 2028 presidential run for the 79-year-old, drawing concern from his foes and cheers from backers. “I have my highest poll numbers that I’ve ever had, and you know, based on what I read, I guess I’m not allowed to run, so…

Mourners take part in the funeral procession of Yossi Sharabi, who was killed in captivity by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the central Israeli city of Rishon Letzion, on October 27, 2025. [AFP] Gaza’s civil defence agency told AFP Wednesday dozens of Israeli strikes overnight killed at least 50 people in the Palestinian territory, hours after US President Donald Trump said “nothing” would jeopardise the ceasefire agreement he helped broker. The agency said 22 children were among those killed, as well as women and elderly, and that around 200 people were wounded. Civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal described the…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in a state memorial ceremony for the fallen soldiers of the two-year Gaza war at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 16, 2025. [AFP] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ordered the military to carry out intense strikes on the Gaza Strip, after accusing Hamas of violating the US-brokered ceasefire. Minutes later, Hamas said it would delay handing over the remains of another hostage under the terms of the truce deal over what it called Israel’s truce “violations”. “Following security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military to immediately carry…

Myanmar’s retired General Tin Aung San (left) and candidate for the army-backed ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party attends a campaign kick-off event in Naypyidaw on October 28, 2025. [AFP] Parties approved to participate in Myanmar’s junta-organised elections started campaigning on Tuesday, two months ahead of a poll being shunned at home and abroad as a ploy to legitimise military rule. Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, deposing and jailing democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi after her party won the last election by wide margins. The junta has lost…

A Togolese international footballer who broke his neck during a match in China has made an extraordinary recovery and may return to playing in a matter of months Published Date: 2025-10-28 15:07:40 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

gun violence Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of murdering former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pled guilty on October 28, 2025, three years after the assassination in broad daylight shocked the world. [AFP] The gunman accused of killing Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe pleaded guilty Tuesday, three years after the assassination in broad daylight shocked the world. The slaying forced a reckoning in a country with little experience of , and ignited scrutiny of alleged ties between prominent conservative lawmakers and a secretive sect, the Unification Church. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp “Everything is true,” Tetsuya Yamagami said…

US President Donald Trump speaks to journalists from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. [AFP] US President Donald Trump embarks on a major trip to Asia this week with all eyes on a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that has huge implications for the global economy. Trump said Wednesday he was making a “big trip” to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first visit to the region since he returned to the White House in a blaze of tariffs and geopolitical brinkmanship. The highlight will be his talks with Xi in…

US President Donald Trump speaks to journalists from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. [AFP] US President Donald Trump said Thursday he was ending trade talks with Canada over an anti-tariff advertising campaign, a sudden about-face soon after a cordial White House meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney. On his Truth Social network, Trump vented fury at what he called a “fake” ad that he said misquoted former President Ronald Reagan discussing tariff policy. Trump said the campaign — produced by the Canadian province of Ontario to be aired on US television…

German Eurofighters are ready for takeoff at Neuburg Air Base. As part of the “Rapid Pacific 2022” project, which involves some 250 Air Force servicemen and women, as well as four transport aircraft to refuel the fighters in the air, six Eurofighters will take off from the air base for Singapore and then fly on to Australia. [AFP] Women in Australia’s defence forces launched a class action lawsuit Friday, alleging widespread and systematic sexual violence, harassment, and discrimination. The case was served against the Australian government on behalf of women subjected to abuse at any time in 21 years between…

Lionel Messi signs a three-year contract extension with Inter Miami CF, keeping him at the club until 2028. Published Date: 2025-10-23 19:45:15 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Total Energies Petrol (gas) station along State House road,Nairobi.[FILE,Standard] A French court Thursday ruled oil and gas giant TotalEnergies had engaged in “misleading commercial practices” by overstating its climate pledges, in what activists said was the first such ruling worldwide against a major oil company for climate misinformation. The case could set a legal precedent for corporate environmental advertising, which is starting to face tighter regulations in the European Union. In Europe, courts ruled against Dutch airline KLM in 2024 and Germany’s Lufthansa in March for misleading consumers about their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of flying. But ClientEarth, an organisation…

Members of the M23 armed group sit on a pickup truck during a patrol as women carrying fruits walk past a market, following the takeover of the city by the M23 movement in Bukavu on February 18, 2025. [AFP] Africa accounts for roughly 40 percent of the world’s armed conflicts, with some 50 ongoing clashes across the continent, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vice-president told AFP Thursday. The continent is home to roughly 1.4 billion people, and while it contains huge mineral wealth and the world’s most youthful population, many parts of Africa remain mired in poverty…

 Pope Leo XIV during a meeting with Britain’s King Charles III and Britain’s Queen Camilla in The Vatican. [AFP] King Charles III, the head of the Church England, became the first British monarch Thursday to pray publicly with a pope in a Vatican service led by Leo XIV. The ceremony in the Sistine Chapel, broadcast live by the Vatican’s official news service, came during a state visit by the 76-year-old monarch and his wife Queen Camilla. It was the first time a reigning English or British monarch has prayed publicly with a pope since English king Henry VIII broke with…

Nottingham Forest have appointed Sean Dyche as their new head coach on a deal until summer 2027 Published Date: 2025-10-22 09:45:15 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (centre) and members of her cabinet in Tokyo on October 21, 2025. [ AFP] The spouse of Japan’s first woman Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said he hoped to support his wife by being a “stealth husband”, cooking meals for her but staying out of the spotlight, reports said. Former lawmaker Taku Yamamoto spoke a day after Takaichi, a social conservative and Margaret Thatcher admirer, was named as premier having forged a last-minute coalition deal. “Unlike in the West, it is better for a partner to stay out of the spotlight,” Fukui Television reported Yamamoto…

La Liga’s plan to hold a Barcelona match in Miami in December has been called off because of “uncertainty” about the game within Spain, Published Date: 2025-10-22 08:59:30 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the media at a vandalized metro station in Mirpur, after the anti-quota protests, on July 25, 2024. [AFP] A Bangladeshi court remanded in custody on Wednesday 15 high-ranking army officers on charges of enforced disappearances and atrocities committed during the 2024 uprising that toppled the government. It is first time that formal charges have been brought for enforced disappearances in Bangladesh, and the first time so many senior military officials have faced a civilian trial. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp The men, including five generals, are accused of running a secret detention centre…

Harvey Barnes scored twice after coming off the bench to help Newcastle inflict more Champions League pain on Jose Mourinho’s Benfica with a 3-0 win at St. James’ Park. Published Date: 2025-10-22 08:53:25 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Israeli settlers cheer as they wait for the return of freed hostage Avinatan Or in Shiloh in the occupied West Bank on October 21, 2025. [AFP] The top United Nations court will rule Wednesday on Israel’s obligations towards agencies providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, as aid groups scramble to scale up assistance following a ceasefire. Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague have been asked for an “advisory opinion” laying out Israel’s duty to facilitate aid in Gaza. The UN asked the ICJ to clarify Israel’s obligations, as an occupying power, towards UN and other…

Viktor Gyokeres scored twice to end a nine-game goal drought in Arsenal’s demolition of Atletico Madrid as a 4-0 win extended the Gunners’ perfect Champions League start. Published Date: 2025-10-22 08:43:43 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

PSG scored seven and both Barca and PSV Eindhoven hit six in big victories while Arsenal crushed Atletico Madrid 4-0 on a prolific night of Champions League action. Published Date: 2025-10-22 08:39:32 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Demonstrators attend a rally against Peru’s interim President Jose Jeri in Lima on October 15, 2025. [AFP] Peru’s interim President, Jose Jeri, announced a state of emergency in Lima and the neighboring port of Callao on Tuesday, after weeks of anti-government protests over corruption and organized crime. “The state of emergency approved by the Council of Ministers will take effect at midnight on Wednesday and will last for 30 days in Metropolitan Lima and Callao,” Jeri said in an address to the nation broadcast by state television. Under the state of emergency, the government can send the army to patrol…

Gregor Townsend insists his decision to take on an advisory role with Red Bull will help “energise” rather than distract him from his main job of coaching the Scotland national rugby team. Published Date: 2025-10-21 18:19:31 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

US Vice President JD Vance speaks to US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Israel’s ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and Israel’s Justice Minister Yariv Levin upon his arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on October 21, 2025. [AFP] US Vice President JD Vance was in Israel on Tuesday to shore up a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal, as President Donald Trump piled more pressure on Hamas over the agreement he spearheaded. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Tel Aviv, where they met Israeli hostages released by Hamas after two years of captivity in Gaza.…

Vincent Kompany has extended his contract as coach of Bayern Munich by two years until 2029, the Bundesliga champions announced on Tuesday. Published Date: 2025-10-21 18:06:26 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

US President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 20, 2025. [AFP] British consumer goods giant Unilever has postponed a demerger of its ice cream business, saying Tuesday that the US government shutdown meant a New York listing could not be approved. The new standalone firm, The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which includes also the Ben & Jerry’s brand, had been on track to begin operating by mid-November. Unilever said Tuesday it remained “confident of implementing the demerger” this year, saying the delay was “a result of the ongoing US federal government…

France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy leaves his residence to present himself to La Sante Prison for incarceration on a five-year prison sentence, in Paris, on October 21, 2025. [AFP] Nicolas Sarkozy entered the Elysee Palace in 2007 boasting hyperactive energy and a vision to transform France, but lost office after just one term. The ex-president has now gone to prison in a spectacular downfall. The outspoken right-wing politician had pledged to stay in the margins following his electoral defeat, famously quipping: “You won’t hear about me anymore”. This promise has proved hard to keep, given his third marriage to superstar…

France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy leaves his residence to present himself to La Sante Prison for incarceration on a five-year prison sentence after being convicted of criminal conspiracy on October 21, 2025. [AFP] France’s ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy became the first former head of an EU state to be jailed on Tuesday, proclaiming his innocence as he entered a Paris prison. France’s right-wing leader from 2007 to 2012 was found guilty last month of seeking to acquire funding from Moamer Kadhafi’s Libya for the campaign that saw him elected. AFP journalists saw the 70-year-old — who has appealed the verdict –…

The news will come as a welcome boost for PSG coach Luis Enrique, whose side has been struggling with injuries this season. Published Date: 2025-10-21 11:52:28 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

The Rojiblancos visit to last season’s semi-finalists Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday is a fine opportunity to test their mettle. Published Date: 2025-10-21 11:03:44 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

The 2-1 win ensured that United earned theirs first back-to-back victories in the Premier League since Amorim took charge nearly a year ago. Published Date: 2025-10-21 10:50:50 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Sanae Takaichi, newly elected Japan’s Prime Minister. [AFP] Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who admires Margaret Thatcher, became Japan’s first woman prime minister on Tuesday, but analysts say her rise does not necessarily signal a feminist victory. Instead, the 64-year-old, who won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership this month, has positioned herself as a hardliner focused on defence and economic security. After forging a last-minute coalition deal, Takaichi was appointed by parliament on Tuesday as the country’s first woman head of government and Japan’s fifth leader in as many years. Voters have been deserting the long-dominant LDP in…

James, a four-time NBA champion and the leagues all-time leading scorer, heads into an unprecedented 23rd season admitting time is winding down on his glittering career. Published Date: 2025-10-21 10:38:08 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

A two-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, will own the NBA record for highest career earnings at $598.2 million, overtaking LeBron James’s $583.9 million. Published Date: 2025-10-21 10:25:43 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Boosted by cutting Piastri’s advantage to 40 points with five Grands Prix remaining, including two more sprint races, a buoyant Verstappen called for Red Bull to maintain their momentum. Published Date: 2025-10-21 09:40:19 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

The Amazon logo is displayed outside of an Amazon Fresh grocery store in Torrance, California, on July 29, 2025.[AFP] Many popular internet services, from streaming platforms to messaging services and some banks, went offline for hours on Monday due to an outage in Amazon’s crucial cloud network. The disruption affected streaming platforms, including Amazon’s Prime Video service and Disney+, as well as Perplexity AI, the Fortnite game, Airbnb, Snapchat and Duolingo. Mobile telephone services and messaging apps Signal and Whatsapp were also affected in Europe, according to Downdetector, a website monitoring internet problems. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp Some…

Britain’s Prince Andrew, Duke of York leaves after attending for the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in eastern England, on December 25, 2023. [AFP] The UK’s Prince Andrew on Friday renounced his title of Duke of York under pressure from his brother King Charles, amid further revelations about his ties to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “I will… no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me,” Andrew, 65, said in a bombshell announcement. He said his decision came after discussions with the head of state, King…

A basin is placed under a tap connected to a mesh of pipes drawing water from various sources, as locals suffer from high salinity in the local water supply, in the village of al-Mashab in the marshes north of Basra in southern Iraq at sunset on September 13, 2025. [AFP] Iraqi farmer Umm Ali has watched her poultry die as salinity levels in the country’s south hit record highs, rendering already scarce water unfit for human consumption and killing livestock. “We used to drink, wash and cook with water from the river, but now it’s hurting us,” said Umm Ali,…

Three of the four bodies of Israeli hostages in Gaza returned by Hamas late on october 14 have been identified, according to their families following forensic confirmation of their identities. [AFP] The World Health Organization has warned that infectious diseases are “spiralling out of control” in the Gaza Strip, with only 13 of the Palestinian territory’s 36 hospitals even partially functioning. “Whether meningitis… diarrhoea, respiratory illnesses, we’re talking about a mammoth amount of work,” Hanan Balkhy, regional director for the United Nations’ health body, told AFP in Cairo. A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has raised hopes of life-saving…

Many people cannot access basic needs due to extreme poverty caused by unemployment. [Photo: Courtesy] Nearly 80 percent of the world’s poorest, or about 900 million people, are directly exposed to climate hazards exacerbated by global warming, bearing a “double and deeply unequal burden,” the United Nations warned Friday. “No one is immune to the increasingly frequent and stronger climate change effects like droughts, floods, heat waves, and air pollution, but it’s the poorest among us who are facing the harshest impact,” Haoliang Xu, acting administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, told AFP in a statement. According to an…

Afghan workers remove debris from a house, which was damaged after an air strike during cross-border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Kabul on October 16, 2025. [AFP] Abdul Rahim surveys the rubble that was his home in Kabul, where he lived with six family members. A gaping hole in the living room reveals only charred belongings and debris, while blackened teddy bears and makeup lie in what once was a bedroom. The explosion at his home was one of four that hit the Afghan capital within a week, as unusually intense violence broke out with Pakistan — then suddenly…

US President Donald Trump (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. [AFP] The Kremlin said on Thursday it would “immediately” start preparing a summit between Russian and US presidents after Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump held an “extremely frank and trustful” phone call. Their call took place as diplomatic efforts in the Ukraine peace settlement have been waning over the past two months, after a Putin-Trump summit in Alaska on August 15 failed to produce any substantial results. “It has been agreed that representatives of the two countries will immediately…

South Africa, Ivory Coast and Senegal all won convincingly on Tuesday to fill the last three automatic places reserved for Africa at the 2026 World Cup. Published Date: 2025-10-15 11:25:55 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

The death toll from flooding in central and eastern Mexico has risen to at least 64. [File, Standard] The death toll from flooding in central and eastern Mexico has risen sharply to at least 64, with another 65 still missing, authorities said Monday. The flooding, caused by intense rainfall, was focused mostly in the Veracruz, Hidalgo and Puebla states, said Laura Velazquez, the head of Mexico’s civil defense authorities. The toll rose by 17 from just 12 hours earlier, indicating the still unfolding scale of the disaster. The floods sent overflowing rivers through entire villages, triggered landslides and swept away…

Former Tanzania Ambassador Humprey Polepole, and a government critic who has been missing. [Sourced] The family of a former Tanzanian ambassador-turned-government-critic filed a petition in court on Thursday to demand information on his whereabouts after saying he was abducted from his home. Humphrey Polepole resigned in July as ambassador to Cuba and released a damning letter of resignation in which he criticised increasing authoritarianism in Tanzania. The government has cracked down on critics and opponents ahead of elections on October 29, in which President Samia Suluhu Hassan is seeking re-election. Polepole’s family on Monday accused police of taking the ex-diplomat…

People embrace near a fountain turned to a memorial in Tel Aviv for Israelis killed during and in the two years since the 2023 attacks by Palestinian militants, and those who remain hostages in Gaza, on the second anniversary of the attacks on October 7, 2025. [AFP] Gaza’s civil defence agency said more than 50 bodies were recovered from the wreckage and brought to hospitals across the territory Friday after Israel declared a ceasefire and started pulling back troops. Mohammed al-Mughayyir, an official within the rescue force that operates under Hamas authority, said at least 55 bodies had been retrieved.…

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored twice to help Egypt beat Djibouti 3-0 in Casablanca on Wednesday and qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Published Date: 2025-10-09 17:46:38 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Palestinian children celebrate in Khan Yunis on October 9, 2025, following news of a new Gaza ceasefire deal. [AFP] Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed on a ceasefire deal to free hostages held in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Here is what we know so far about the agreement, reached in indirect talks in Egypt: Hostage, prisoner releases  Israel said the final draft of the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage-release deal had been signed by all parties. Follow The Standard channel on WhatsApp Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said the ceasefire…

Foreign Christian pilgrims and other supporters of a ceasefire deal march through the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem as they celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot on October 9, 2025.[AFP] The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday welcomed the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and said it was ready to flood Gaza with desperately-needed food. News that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire “is a huge relief”, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X. The agreement follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald…

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…