Merry squishmas: £10 squeezy banana on list of top festive season toys
The Guardian •

Merry squishmas: £10 squeezy banana on list of top festive season toys

Social media-driven craze puts ‘squishies’ up there with evergreen favourites such as Lego and Barbie, Hamleys saysA cartoonish banana so addictively squidgy that it is “really difficult to put down” is tipped to be among the must-have toys this Christmas, according to expert buyers at Hamleys.The £10 “slow-rise, squeezable, sensory” fruit taps into the “squishies” craze that is fuelling a high st...

Houthis say targeted Saudi oil giant Aramco, vow more attacks
France 24 •

Houthis say targeted Saudi oil giant Aramco, vow more attacks

Yemen's Houthis said Wednesday they had targeted facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco, after Saudi officials reported a strike on a building in an area housing the energy giant's operations centre. Powerful explosions meanwhile rattled the Saudi capital, as the coalition fighting the Houthis said it had intercepted a missile fired by the Iran-backed group towards Riyadh.

ASML’s chip equipment sales to China soar 109% despite US export curb push

ASML’s chip equipment sales to China soar 109% despite US export curb push

SCMP •

Dutch semiconductor equipment giant ASML expects China to account for about 20 per cent of its total sales this year, after seeing shipments to the market more than double during the previous quarter despite mounting US pressure for tighter export restrictions on less advanced chipmaking machinery. The company’s sales to China surged 109 per cent in the third quarter compared with the previous thr...

How a new US Army unit could challenge the PLA’s area-denial strategy in a Taiwan conflict

How a new US Army unit could challenge the PLA’s area-denial strategy in a Taiwan conflict

SCMP •

The United States Army has launched a new task force aimed at countering Chinese efforts to block American and allied warships and aircraft in a potential conflict. The 4th Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) – established at Fort Carson, Colorado on October 8 – is the latest addition to a series of specialised formations developed for operations in the western Pacific. Those formations were earlier ac...

Ceuta an 'inalienable' part of Spain, king says on key visit

Ceuta an 'inalienable' part of Spain, king says on key visit

France 24 •

King Felipe VI on Tuesday said Ceuta and Melilla were "an inalienable part" of Spain as he made a landmark visit to the north African territories claimed by neighbouring Morocco. But the monarch, who rarely makes political interventions, emphasised Spain's need to "maintain good neighbourly relations" with Rabat after July's unprecedented migrant surge into Ceuta strained historically delicate tie...

Ukraine accuses SpaceX of crippling military missions as ties with US worsen

Ukraine accuses SpaceX of crippling military missions as ties with US worsen

France 24 •

Ukraine accused Elon Musk's SpaceX on Wednesday of limiting Starlink services, crippling its drones, as Russian missiles knocked out power stations in attacks President Volodymyr Zelensky called "ostentatious disrespect" to Donald Trump. Kyiv's relationship with Washington has taken a sharp turn for the worse since US President Trump abruptly lifted sanctions on Russian diesel last week and public...

Excluding UK from ‘Made in Europe’ law will hurt entire EU car industry, Mercedes boss warns

Excluding UK from ‘Made in Europe’ law will hurt entire EU car industry, Mercedes boss warns

The Guardian •

Ola Källenius says it will ‘weaken the industry on both sides’ ahead of act intended to counter non-EU competition Locking the UK out of the EU’s flagship industrial “Made in Europe” legislation would amount to a “deliberate choice” by EU leaders to “hurt” the car industry across the bloc, the head of Mercedes-Benz has said.Speaking in his capacity as president of the European Automobile Manufactu...

Cornell University bans fraternity parties after alleged gang rape

Cornell University bans fraternity parties after alleged gang rape

France 24 •

Cornell University will ban parties and social events at fraternity houses until the end of the academic year, its president said on Tuesday, responding to the outcry over an alleged ​gang rape on ‌campus in 2024. The measure is the strongest reaction yet from Cornell's leadership to a lawsuit ⁠filed by a former undergraduate, Jane Doe, alleging seven men sexually assaulted her during a party. Ove...

School closures persist in France as protests gain momentum

School closures persist in France as protests gain momentum

France 24 •

Some high schools in France remained closed on Wednesday, a day after tens of thousands of people joined rallies across the country to support protesting students. On Saturday, national demonstrations against the spiralling cost of living are to take place, and unions and student groups see the two protest currents fusing together.

Ukraine asking US, SpaceX and NATO to clarify Starlink limitations

Ukraine asking US, SpaceX and NATO to clarify Starlink limitations

France 24 •

⁠Ukraine is ​in contact ​with the US, SpaceX and NATO to seek ​clarification ‌over ⁠limitations imposed on its access ‌to the Starlink satellite ⁠internet system, a source in the ​country's Defence Ministry ‌said on Wednesday. Ukrainian troops have reported that the Starlink ​connection is being shut off when travelling at ​higher speeds, causing major ​disruption to ​Ukrainian drone operations, m...

Russell Brand was ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator, court told

Russell Brand was ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator, court told

The Guardian •

Comedian faces three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six womenRussell Brand was a ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator who used his celebrity status and force to rape and assault women, a court has heard.The 51-year-old comedian is alleged to have had an “insatiable desire” to get what he wanted and treated women as a means to an end, j...

Yemen conflict escalates as Houthis say seized new strategic area

Yemen conflict escalates as Houthis say seized new strategic area

France 24 •

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen released footage said to show operations in the Taiz governorate. Fighting between the Houthis and forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government, backed by Saudi-Arabia, has escalated dramatically in recent weeks after the Houthis managed to seize a number of strategically important areas, according to reports.

Escalating conflict in Yemen as Houthis say seized new strategic area

Escalating conflict in Yemen as Houthis say seized new strategic area

France 24 •

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen released footage said to show operations in the Taiz governorate. Fighting between the Houthis and forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government, backed by Saudi-Arabia, has escalated dramatically in recent weeks after the Houthis managed to seize a number of strategically important areas, according to reports.

Duane Davis sentenced to minimum 40 years for Tupac killing

Duane Davis sentenced to minimum 40 years for Tupac killing

France 24 •

Duane Davis, the former Los Angeles gang leader who boasted in books and interviews of his involvement in the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, only to deny it when he came to trial, was sentenced to a minimum 40 years in prison on Tuesday. FRANCE 24's Wassim Cornet reports from Los Angeles, United States.

'Dark day for Turkey': Govt takes control of most-watched news channel

'Dark day for Turkey': Govt takes control of most-watched news channel

France 24 •

Police raided Turkey's most-watched news channel, Halk TV, early Wednesday, halting broadcasts and installing a government-appointed administrator in the latest move against pro-opposition media. Halk TV chairman Cafer Mahiroglu condemned the move against the broadcaster's Istanbul headquarters as "a dark day for Turkey", and criticism poured in from the opposition and rights groups.

Nord Stream trial: Russia used pipelines as ‘weapon’, defence says

Nord Stream trial: Russia used pipelines as ‘weapon’, defence says

SCMP •

A lawyer for a Ukrainian accused of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines supplying Russian gas to western Europe said on Wednesday that Moscow used the network to exert political and economic pressure, as the former military officer’s trial opened in Germany. Sergiy Kuznietsov is the first person to go on trial over the 2022 sabotage. The 50-year-old is accused of leading a Ukrainian team of diver...

Ukrainian accused of Nord Stream pipeline sabotage goes on trial in Germany

Ukrainian accused of Nord Stream pipeline sabotage goes on trial in Germany

SCMP •

A Ukrainian man accused of helping to mastermind the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines four years ago went on trial for war crimes in Germany on Wednesday, with his defence calling for the case to be dismissed. The closely watched trial – the first involving one of the alleged perpetrators of the 2022 attacks in the Baltic Sea – opened at the Higher Regional Court in the northern city of Hambur...

Texas prosecutor considering felony charges for ICE agent who ran over man

Texas prosecutor considering felony charges for ICE agent who ran over man

The Guardian •

A conviction on the possible charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon could mean up to 20 years in prisonA Texas prosecutor said he is considering felony assault charges for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who ran over a man following an attempted traffic stop and broke his leg in multiple places.Sean Teare, district attorney for Harris county, said video of the incid...

Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard reunite on the silver screen in thriller 'Karma'

Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard reunite on the silver screen in thriller 'Karma'

France 24 •

This week on arts24, our French film critic Manon Kerjean covers thrillers, history, legend and animation. "Karma" reunites exes Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard on screen for a thriller about a woman fleeing her past and the cult she escaped. "Moulin" follows Resistance hero Jean Moulin's final days in captivity, while "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra" returns for a modern retelling, but do critics buy...