Month: October 2026

The Portuguese Football Federation handed Cristiano Ronaldo a 30-day suspension and a €255 ($285) fine for walking out of the national team camp, describing the punishment as “adequate and sufficient”. The federation said on Monday that the 40-year-old forward fully admitted the facts underlying the charges in a formal statement submitted on Friday. His admission and clean disciplinary record were taken into account as mitigating circumstances, reducing the punishment. The fine was the maximum permitted under the federation’s rules after those circumstances were considered. Ronaldo can appeal the suspension but…

French authorities set curfews in parts of several cities on Monday, including Paris, Lille and Nice, as they faced pressure over security failings after a weekend of riots and looting stemming ​from nationwide anti-government protests. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu had ruled out a blanket curfew in Paris but not a state of emergency, and had said it was more appropriate for now to ‌apply partial and localised curfews. “My determination to restore order is absolute,” he told reporters. Paris police said they had issued orders barring protests in certain areas…

Oil-rich Alberta was holding a nonbinding referendum on Monday on whether the western province should secede from Canada, ​a debate many believe will not be settled by what is widely expected to be a defeat for the separatist cause. Polls have consistently shown ‌that a majority of Alberta voters oppose splitting from Canada. Economic grievances have fueled the independence campaign in the province, which is home to 5 million people and slightly smaller than Texas but with one-sixth of the US state’s population. The Alberta separatist movement adds to the…

Yemeni government forces have captured new positions in Taiz as they intensify their offensive against Houthi fighters, carrying out 1,164 strikes and neutralising 558 militia members over the past 24 hours, a military spokesperson said. Majed Al Nuzaili, spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, on Monday said government troops had forced Houthi fighters to retreat under heavy air and artillery support as part of Operation Dawn of Yemen. The operations also destroyed or damaged 135 Houthi military vehicles and pieces of equipment, targeting troop concentrations, reinforcements, fortifications and supply routes,…

The car that struck an independent Australian lawmaker outside her office had ​performed a U-turn before hitting her, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, describing the incident as clearly intentional. Helen ‌Haines underwent surgery overnight and remained in critical condition after she was struck by a white Toyota Land Cruiser in Wangaratta, around three hours’ drive northeast of Melbourne, on Monday. Australian media, citing unidentified sources, reported Haines had lost one leg as a result of her injuries and that doctors were working ​to save the other leg. “It’s…

OpenAI is racing to secure investor commitments before rival Anthropic’s expected public market debut in mid-November, in an unusually fast fundraising round that could value the ChatGPT maker at over $1.4 trillion, according to two ​people familiar with the matter. The rapid timetable reflects, in part, a desire to get ahead of Anthropic as the two frontier labs are increasingly tapping into a similar investor base, the ‌people said, adding that OpenAI wants to capitalise on its recent revenue growth after launching new models. SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi-based MGX and…

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met ​with radical Israeli regime prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced ‌visit to Israel on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge. Reuters could not immediately confirm the meeting, but Hegseth said in a social ​media post that he had visited US service members in ​the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the ⁠Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia. The Pentagon declined ​comment, while Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to ​a request for comment. News of Hegseth’s…

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as markets ​weighed an executive order from US President Donald Trump that waived some sanctions and ‌tariffs tied to Russian energy exports, while attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemen kept fears of Middle East supply disruptions in view. Brent crude futures fell 49 cents, or 0.45%, to $109.06 a barrel. ​The US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) contract for November delivery, set to expire on ​Tuesday, eased 0.33% to $103.32. The more-active December contract was down 46 cents, or ⁠0.47%, at $98.08. Brent rose as…