The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

This week we are showcasing stories on dark nutrition, Eurovision, Wikipeida, medjool dates, and the slappy man-hug.

French presidential candidate Édouard Philippe designated 'assisted witness' in embezzlement case

Through his lawyer, Philippe welcomed the decision to have been given assisted witness status, which is less serious than being formally investigated. "This confirms that there is nothing to reproach him for in this case," his lawyer told the AFP news agency.

US: Trump hands out sweets as Air Force One soars overhead

Donald and Melania Trump welcomed children in Halloween costumes to the White House on Thursday. The couple handed out sweets, posed for photographs and watched Air Force One fly overhead.

Germany's Merz to relay Asian partners' protectionism concerns to Brussels

SEOUL, Oct 30 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday he would relay to Brussels concerns voiced by key Asian trading partners that the EU's "Made in Europe" initiatives risk becoming a new form of protectionism. "There is a fear that we might be facing a

China's Xi, Swiss president praise trade deal that boosts access

BEIJING, Oct 30 - Chinese President Xi Jinping and Swiss President Guy Parmelin hailed an upgraded trade agreement between the two countries on Friday, which bucks a broader global shift towards protectionism.

Thailand extends activist's jail term to more than 34 years

Tech firms take fresh hit as disappointing earnings fan AI fears

Tech firms were again on the back foot on Friday after another round of disappointing earnings from Wall Street titans, fanned already by deep concerns about the AI investment boom.

Africa: CAF Decides to Return to the Afcon Taking Place Every Two Years

[CAF] The Confédération Africaine de Football ("CAF") Executive Committee ("EXCO") today unanimously decided that the CAF Africa Cup of Nations ("AFCON") will return to taking place every Two Years.

Mohammad Rasoulof, Shahrbanoo Sadat Push Back on Idea of Separate Oscar Category for Exiled Filmmakers as Cate Blanchett’s Displacement Film Fund Hits Tokyo

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof and Iranian-born Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat pushed back on the idea of a standalone Oscar category for exiled filmmakers, speaking at the Tokyo International Film Festival as Cate Blanchett’s Displacement Film Fund gave its first five

Fire pollution killed 3,560 people in Indonesia in September: Report

Pollution from smoke emitted by months of wildfires across Indonesia caused an estimated 3,560 deaths in the vast Southeast Asian archipelago in September, according to a new study.

Halloween in Portugal: from Pão por Deus to Goat and Canhoto, how Portugal celebrates Witches' Day

Carved pumpkins, sinister masks and children knocking on doors. Besides Halloween, "Pão por Deus" survives: in Portugal these are two ways to mark the year's scariest time.

Fire breaks out at Nepal hotel along route to Everest base camp

The cause may have been a cooking gas cylinder explosion, police say.

China conducts combat readiness patrols around disputed shoal in South China Sea

China said that the patrols were a "necessary countermeasure in response to the Philippines' rights-violation and provocative acts".

What Taiwan can teach South Korea about China’s chip tech theft

In November 2023, three engineers left a South Korean semiconductor testing-components company for a Chinese employer offering twice their previous salaries. According to South Korea’s Intellectual Property Office, they allegedly took proprietary probe-card designs, arranged

Cooperation (the fall book list)

Last week’s book list was a success, and I realized that it would work even better with others. Bookstores work precisely because they stack the books right next to each other. Even though each of these authors has a book out this fall, they’re not my competition. Too often, we

2026 science Nobel Prizes: Who are the winners, and is there a gender gap problem? | Password

Password is Euronews Tech Talks’ new monthly series unpacking tech and health tech news from Europe and the world. In this first episode, we discover who the scientists awarded Nobel Prizes are, and whether the award has a gender gap issue.

5 Classic JRPGs with Virtually Perfect Battle Systems

Classic JRPGs have some of the best time-tested battle systems in all of gaming. Here are five classic JRPGs with the best combat.

IDF fears a quick U.S.-led Iran strike campaign will end before Israel achieves its goals

Israeli defense officials doubt a brief air campaign could topple Tehran or halt its nuclear program, warning that Netanyahu's objectives for another war differ sharply from Trump's

Trump Rages as Leaks Reveal How Aides Soothe Him with Midterm Hopium

Donald Trump is in a dark mood about the midterms, reports The New York Times in an epic piece . Numerous administration insiders confide that he’s raging at naysayers and negative press. They’re also leaking that he’s “increasingly cloistered with a small group of acolytes”

From ‘Sh*t Happens’ to an Erotic Photographer Being Confronted by His Daughter: Offbeat Films at Tallinn

A Christmas mystery, 'Fruitcakes: Dawn of Drag,' a Hungarian thriller, films with animalistic titles and a Lithuanian mashup of family drama, the Chinese 'Book of Changes' and retro sci-fi also feature at PÖFF.

Oleshky ceasefire will not bring wider truce with Russia, former Ukrainian PM warns

The first humanitarian operation in years in Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky offers a fragile glimmer of hope for civilians trapped by war, but raises grave concerns over Moscow's true intentions and the fate of those seeking evacuation to Ukrainian-controlled

Drone attack and fire reported at Russia's Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery

According to Rosneft, the Novokuibyshevsk refinery can process around 8.8 million tonnes of crude oil per year and is involved in the production of jet fuel.

Philippines’ China hawk defence chief open to 2028 presidential showdown with V-P Duterte

Gilbert Teodoro has been among the most vocal critics of China’s military buildup in the South China Sea.

What happens to the brain when you eat peanuts daily? New study reveals striking results

Does eating peanuts every day help to maintain memory as we get older?

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado calls for new elections

Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado returns to push for new elections while interim leader Delcy Rodríguez signals that pressure for a democratic transition is felt.

‘Look what I brought home for you’: GOP embraces earmark revival as Election Day looms

Republican lawmakers in the country’s tightest races are bragging about “bringing home the bacon” to a sour electorate.

GOP lawmakers start contemplating a diminished Donald Trump

A Election Day “shellacking,” one GOP lawmaker said, will have the president “looking for our help more than we’d be looking for his.”

Mexico: world's tallest Catrina unveiled for Día de Muertos in Mexico City

A 33.4-metre Catrina has broken a Guinness World Record in Mexico City. Towering over the Zócalo, the giant skeleton is surrounded by thousands of marigolds ahead of Day of the Dead celebrations.

‘Don’t panic’ about the Philippines? The peso says otherwise

TOKYO – Nothing unsettles investors quite like being told not to panic. Yet as the peso trades near all-time lows, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offers that reassurance, urging Filipinos to stay calm even as financial markets signal the opposite. The peso’s 8.1%

‘Godspeed, Captain’: Heartfelt tributes pour in for Sir Patrick Stewart

Tributes have poured in following the death of British actor Patrick Stewart, celebrated for his decades-long Shakespearean stage career and iconic roles in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises.

Annecy Winner ‘The Violinist’ Found Its Italian Co-Producers at Tokyo Market, Director Ervin Han Tells Anime Co-Production Panel

A meeting at TIFFCOM in 2023 brought Italian co-producers to “The Violinist,” the animated feature that went on to win the top prize at France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival this year, Singaporean filmmaker Ervin Han told a panel at the Tokyo market. Han,

What we know about Binance's $6.3bn hack

BBC business reporter Archana Shukla explains more about what is suspected to be the largest hack in history.

Week in wildlife: a fishing anhinga, a northern nutcracker and cuddling seals

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Watch 150 Classic Horror and Suspense Films Free Online: Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Carnival of Souls, Night of the Living Dead & More

From roughly the mid-nineteen-fifties through the mid-nineteen-seventies, the availability of airtime on American television stations exceeded their capacity to fill it with high-quality original programming. This was especially true in the hours when relatively few viewers

34 Years Later, Hobbes' Wisest 'Calvin and Hobbes' Line Is Still a Perfect Comic Strip Quote

And if I laugh at any mortal thing, 'tis that I may not weep

Jamie Dornan Boards ‘Nostalgie,’ Starring Aidan Gillen as Washed-up Pop Star, as Executive Producer (Exclusive)

Kathryn Ferguson’s IFTA-winning short film features original music by Bastille’s Dan Smith and cinematography by two-time Oscar nominee Robbie Ryan.

Yorkshire Water boss resigns after firm downgraded

Nicola Shaw, who has led the company since 2022, will step down in January, it is announced.

DR Congo: MSF celebrates Ebola patient discharges in Ituri province

Dancing and singing erupted at an Ebola treatment centre in DR Congo as the last patients were discharged. For the first time since May, the MSF-run facility has no confirmed cases under treatment, although the wider outbreak continues.

Human rights lawyer couple sentenced to 10 years' prison in Pakistan

Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha were charged over an incident in 2024, when England's cricket team was touring Pakistan.

Qatari mediators return to Tehran to push for US-Iran deal, official says

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of efforts to reach a deal between the US and Iran, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters. The mediation talks have been coordinated with the US, the official said. Qatar presented a draft peace

How video game remakes tap the power of nostalgia

Video games are good at triggering nostalgia, a key reason why classic games keep getting remade.

Taiwanese Feature ‘Uncle’ Wins Top Prize at Tokyo Gap-Financing Market Awards

Taiwanese project “Uncle,” directed by Yen Hao-hsuan, won the Tokyo Project Award on Friday at the seventh Tokyo Gap-Financing Market (TGFM) in Tokyo. “Uncle” had already picked up the Asian Gen-Z Award earlier in the ceremony. Prizes went to a handful of the 24 projects

'I made the wrong decision,' Hyrox athlete who soiled herself in race tells BBC

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Joanna Wietrzyk says her determination to win the Hyrox race in September had clouded her judgement.

‘A living hell’: The occupied town of Oleshky captures the world’s attention — including Melania Trump’s

Hello, and happy Friday. My name is Angela Skujins. On today’s agenda: the horrors of a Russian-captured community, EU-Canada affairs throw up more questions than answers, and hefty fines for angry Albanian protesters. Let’s go.

Netanyahu bloc first but without majority as Arab parties hold balance of power in Israel election

The result means Israel is now set to face a lengthy and likely tricky period of negotiations as party leaders work to form a government.

Some of Africa’s most profitable banks are running on thin capital

By posting strong returns on their equity, AFG, Attijariwafa Bank and Ecobank lead their peers across the continent. But this success often rests on a limited capital base, leaving their balance sheets more vulnerable to shocks.

How Kenyans got caught in $130m US ghost student scam

The alleged scheme used stolen identities to claim US student aid, with Kenyans among those charged.

Knot for eating: Welcome to the Italian restaurant where every meal is knitted

From fluffy tiramisu to puffy ravioli, the food is as delicious as it is deceptive at 'Kate's Knitalian' — an immersive new art exhibition in London.