Germany target of 'intensive' espionage, Merz says after suspected Russian spy arrest

Pasay City to enforce partial lockdown for Asean Summit

MANILA, Philippines — The Pasay City government announced that it will implement a partial lockdown starting Saturday, Oct. 24, ahead of the 2026 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Leaders’ Summit in November. In an advisory, the local government said it would temporarily ban public activities, events, fun runs, and other outdoor gatherings around the

'This is despicable': Amy Acton responds to Ohio attack ad featuring her estranged mother

Her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy is airing the ad featuring her mother, whose husband was charged with sexual abuse in her childhood.

PH may appeal possible death sentence for Filipino in Laos drug bust

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine authorities will likely ask the Laotian government to commute any death sentence imposed on a Filipino arrested in connection with the seizure of a private aircraft loaded with half a ton of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officer Ross Jonathan Galicia said Thursday. Galicia, chief of the NBI’s

North Dakota farmer to earn $5,250 a year for turning erosion-prone land into grassland

In North Dakota, a retired farmer is turning erosion-susceptible farmland into lush grassland to secure annual earnings. Through a state conservation program, he anticipates earning $5,250 over five years. This initiative encourages farmers to repurpose unproductive land, benefiting wildlife and soil health. With interest exceeding available funds, discussions are underway to seek federal assistance to enhance the program's impact on farm income and conservation.

Hawaii coral study finds reef sounds help larvae settle on coated structures

French authorities seek to ban or curb fresh protests

PARIS — French authorities on Thursday imposed bans or restrictions on fresh protests springing up in the wake of demonstrations last weekend that degenerated into the country's worst street violence in years. President Emmanuel Macron said after chairing a meeting of key ministers and intelligence officials that curfews and other security measures would be imposed, including bans on "groups without legitimacy" holding protests. "The priority is a return to calm," he said, adding that he would chair a defence council meeting of key ministers on Friday to decide "the next steps" for new nationwide demonstrations called for Saturday and afterwards. The worst of the violence, Macron said, "was led by organised ultra-left groups aiming to bring down the republic," that he accused of "sedition." Officials are still reeling from the clashes, widespread looting and vandalism of public buildings that broke out on October 17, on the margins of mass demonstrations of more than half a million people against the surging cost of living. Macron's government has admitted police lost control, and candi

Govts, companies take websites offline over PHP flaws

Several government, school and hospital websites across Europe and beyond were taken offline on Wednesday as organizations rushed to protect themselves from two critical security flaws in PHP, a programming language that powers a large share of the internet. Cybersecurity agencies across the world warned that organizations unable to apply fixes in time should consider taking affected sites offline. PHP's developers said a set of new updates fixing two previously identified critical vulnerabilities was available. Here are some major websites and services taken offline or otherwise affected: Germany A spokesperson for the German digital ministry said on Wednesday the federal IT service provider ITZBund had taken several websites offline due to the discovery of PHP vulnerabilities. The temporary deactivation was purely preventive and no security incidents were known to have occurred, the spokesperson said. France The Interior Ministry said it had temporarily taken offline the websites of prefectures, which are local government administrative offices, while awaiting a security fix for the PHP

Magnitude 7 earthquake strikes China's Tibet

An earthquake of magnitude 7 struck China's southwestern region of Tibet at around 10:33 p.m. (1433 GMT) on Thursday, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties or damage. The epicentre was in a high-altitude county in Nagqu, northern Tibet, at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), and the average elevation within 5 km of the epicentre is about 4,864 metres, CENC data showed. The quake, the strongest to hit China since January 2024, was clearly felt in the local area, CENC said. The epicentre was around 400 km from the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. In 2010, a magnitude 7.1 tremor struck Yushu, around 280 km away in neighbouring Qinghai province, killing at least 2,698 people and leaving nearly 300 people missing.

S. Korea repatriates aid worker from Ukraine over safety

South Korea's international aid agency has decided to bring back one of its two staff members from its office in Ukraine's capital on safety grounds, the Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday. Kyiv has come under increasingly heavy Russian drone and missile attacks in recent weeks, more than 4-1/2 years after Moscow's invasion of its neighbour. South Korea has also been caught up in a diplomatic dispute with Ukraine and withdrew its ambassador this month after accusing Kyiv of breaching a confidentiality agreement over the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to the South. The decision by the Korea International Cooperation Agency to repatriate the aid agency staff member was made after a safety meeting, Yonhap said in its report. It cited an official from the agency who did not mention the dispute over the prisoners of war. The other staff member would stay in Kyiv, it added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the UN General Assembly in September that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to the South. He said the men had been sent there after be

Oil hits 5-month high as Houthi attacks stoke supply fears

NEW YORK — Oil prices climbed about 2 percent to a five-month high on Thursday after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concerns of further disruption to energy supplies from the key exporting region. Brent futures rose $2.42, or 2.2 percent, to $111.24 a barrel at 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.14, or 1.2 percent, to $98.29. That drove Brent into technically overbought territory for a third time in a week and set for its highest close since May 18. Saudi Aramco has told staff to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf near Bahrain, Reuters reported, as fighting between the world's largest crude exporter and Yemen's Houthis intensifies. Clashes between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen's internationally recognised government have raged since the Iran-aligned group pushed towards Bab el-Mandeb, a shipping chokepoint at the Red Sea's mouth. "Reports of Middle East crude oil exports exceeding pre-conflict levels are more than countered by attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthi strikes on Sa

No more taking out the trash at your Airbnb

PARIS — The days of having to take out the trash or wash the dishes before leaving an Airbnb are numbered as the short-term rental platform is tightening rules on what conditions hosts may impose on guests. "Our rules regarding accommodations allow travelers to receive guidelines from hosts; however, our community has let us know that they can be confusing, restrictive, and difficult to manage," Airbnb said Thursday to AFP. New rules published this week that will apply to reservations made from November 20 will seek to reduce that confusion. In particular the new rules will generally prohibit hosts from asking guests "to complete tasks that require significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner, including stripping the bed, taking trash offsite, or washing and putting away dishes." Hosts can still ask guests to put dirty dishes in the sink or separate trash and recyclables. Hosts will also no longer be able to impose fines or penalties on guests, who instead must seek compensation for any damage from insurance provided through Airbnb.

French justice minister says 217 people jailed over riots

PARIS — French courts have jailed 217 people after convicting them in fast-track trials linked to last weekend's rioting, the justice minister said Thursday, hailing the judiciary's "extremely firm" response. Speaking outside the Fleury-Merogis prison on the outskirts of Paris, Gerald Darmanin said 2,700 people had been detained since Saturday. More than 1,000 of them had appeared in court, he said, of whom "217 people have been imprisoned... and this figure is continuing to rise a lot." Darmanin told reporters that of the 217 sent to jail "half had no criminal record," adding that "in general these are men aged between 18 to 25." "This shows that prosecutors and judges are imprisoning people who, until now, were not known to the judiciary and are first offenders. It shows that the decisions of the judiciary are being applied in an extremely firm way." Darmanin has vowed to oversee expedited trials to rapidly clear the backlog of cases and to serve as a deterrent. New protests over grievances including the rising cost of living are planned this weekend. But he has faced criticism from so