Countries need to help more people with less aid. Here is a blueprint

The Independent - Oct 23, 2026

Humanitarian organisations have a responsibility to demonstrate that money has been spent as promised, and learning from spending it, HRH Infanta Cristina and Antón Leis Garcia write

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Govts, companies take websites offline over PHP vulnerabilities
Oct 23, 2026
Govts, companies take websites offline over PHP vulnerabilities

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

Worldwide drops for AI stocks send Wall Street toward its worst day since July
Oct 23, 2026
Worldwide drops for AI stocks send Wall Street toward its worst day since July

NEW YORK — Drops for stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry are dragging markets down worldwide on Thursday, while oil prices hit their highest levels since May on worries about the war with Iran. The S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent toward its worst day since July, while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.8 percent. The weakness for tech stocks was so overwhelming that it masked strength for the rest of the market, where the majority of U.S. stocks actually rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down only a modest 0.2 percent, or 113 points, as of 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. AI-related stocks have become shaky on worries that their boom may be under threat because of how expensive it’s become to borrow money to build data centers and buy more AI chips. Concerns also remain that their prices shot too high following a yearslong frenzy, even though companies in the industry continue to report growth. Lam Research, whose equipment and services help make semiconductors, reported gains in profit and revenue for the summer that were slightly stronger than analysts expected, for example. Usual

Iran says 7 oil tankers attacked in Strait of Hormuz amid fears of return to war
Oct 23, 2026
Iran says 7 oil tankers attacked in Strait of Hormuz amid fears of return to war

TEL AVIV, Israel — Seven oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz overnight after being hit by Iran or striking naval mines, Tehran said Thursday, a markedly high number as tensions rise over concerns about a return to all-out war. With days before a close election in Israel in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could lose power, and before next month’s U.S. midterm election in which war-linked high prices have sparked voter anger, there are concerns that U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran could resume. “Netanyahu wants to attack Iran, that’s not even a question,” Danny Citrinowicz, a researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies and a former Iran specialist in Israel’s military and intelligence services, told The Associated Press. He accused Israel of rushing into another round with Iran without revamping its strategy. A clear Netanyahu victory in the Oct. 27 election means an attack is almost guaranteed, he said. Main opposition candidates are likely to focus on domestic issues first, but Citrinowicz said he believed the region is on

Almost all coral reef ecosystems face risk of collapse in 50 years, study warns
Oct 23, 2026
Almost all coral reef ecosystems face risk of collapse in 50 years, study warns

The world’s coral reef ecosystems almost all face a high risk of collapse in the next 50 years, mostly due to warming oceans and heat waves, according to a global assessment released Thursday. It's the latest dose of bad news for coral reefs, which are critical sources for seafood and tourism and often serve as buffers from coastal erosion and storms. Sometimes dubbed “rainforests of the sea,” they have some of the world’s richest biodiversity. They support a quarter of marine species as well as coastal communities and businesses. Some 96 percent of shallow-water reef systems are already critically endangered and could disappear by 2075, the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced on the sidelines of a U.N. biodiversity conference in Albania. Most of the world’s famous reef systems — including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Coral Triangle in the Western Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System and the Red Sea coral reefs — are all critically endangered, the highest level of threat. “The risk of coral reef collapse i

Japanese novelist Ryu Murakami dies aged 74
Oct 23, 2026
Japanese novelist Ryu Murakami dies aged 74

TOKYO — Japanese author Ryu Murakami, whose edgy works heavily featured sex and violence and were translated globally, has died, his publisher said Friday. He was 74. "We are deeply and unbearably saddened to learn of the premature death of Ryu Murakami, who spent his career continuously releasing shocking works meant for a younger audience," publisher Gentosha said in a statement Friday. Among the writer's best-known works is his debut "Almost Transparent Blue", which depicted the depravity of youths steeped in drugs and sex and won him one of Japan's most prestigious literary awards in 1976. His 1980 novel, "Coin Locker Babies", featured children abandoned in baggage lockers and their subsequent survival, while the 1997 "In The Miso Soup" portrayed a tourist's plunge into Tokyo's red-light district. "We pray for the peace of Murakami, who raced his way through life as the frontrunner of an era," Gentosha said.

US colleges scale back cooperation with Chinese institutions after Pentagon's push
Oct 23, 2026
US colleges scale back cooperation with Chinese institutions after Pentagon's push

Virginia Tech is accelerating the closure of a joint undergraduate program with China's Xidian University, bringing forward the end of a partnership that it had previously planned to keep running until 2029, according to a university spokesperson and a copy of an official letter reviewed by the South China Morning Post. This decision comes as the Pentagon's push to tighten oversight of US universities' research ties with China has led to more than 80 termination-related actions across 30 American colleges, with some schools scaling back academic partnerships with Chinese institutions. Margaret Ashburn, Virginia Tech's associate director of media relations and deputy spokesperson, shared a copy of the school's letter to the Pentagon and told SCMP that the university had recently decided to accelerate the closure of the joint program with Xidian University. "The program noted in the letter will officially terminate after the current academic year," she said. In the letter, the school said it had previously decided in 2025 to wind down the program and stopped admitting new students, but enr

US bans BYD from air base in Japan over security concern, news report says
Oct 23, 2026
US bans BYD from air base in Japan over security concern, news report says

US bans BYD from air base in Japan over security concern, news report says The US armed forces have banned Chinese carmaker BYD's EVs from an air base in Japan due to security concerns, South Korea's Yonhap news reported on Friday, after Washington put the company on a list of enterprises it believes are aiding China's military. The following are details of the measure. * The concern stems from the use of cameras and sensors mounted on the vehicles that the US believes could collect and leak sensitive security related information from the base, Yonhap said, citing US military officials stationed in Japan. * US military officials in Japan could not immediately be reached for confirmation. BYD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. * The Kadena Air Base in Okinawa will turn around BYD cars starting on Monday, Yonhap said. Vehicles used by base personnel, contractors, commercial entities and taxis will be affected without exception, Yonhap said. * In June, the US added BYD along with e-commerce company Alibaba, internet company Baidu and automaker NIO to a list of companies it

Taiwan shuts down ahead of Typhoon Champi, hundreds of flights canceled
Oct 23, 2026
Taiwan shuts down ahead of Typhoon Champi, hundreds of flights canceled

YILAN, Taiwan — Almost all of Taiwan shut down on Friday ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Champi, which is forecast to bring strong winds and torrential rain, and though the storm is weakening it could still make direct landfall on the island. At one point a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi was still packing gusts of around 191 kph (119 mph) near its center, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA). The storm was about 320 kilometers (198 miles) east of Taiwan's southern tip, the CWA said. The storm's forecast track shows it will pass just off northeastern Taiwan, turn north toward the Chinese coast and eventually move into southern Japan. One person was killed and 94 were injured in Taiwan, where the government said almost 1,300 people had been evacuated from mountainous areas. CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng told Reuters that landfall could not be ruled out if it "stalls, loops, or wobbles from side to side" on approach to Taiwan. "The storm's wind radius is quite large, among the bigger ones in recent years," Liu said. "If th

New York votes to ban Central Park horse carriages after decades of debate
Oct 23, 2026
New York votes to ban Central Park horse carriages after decades of debate

NEW YORK — New York's city council on Thursday voted to ban horse-drawn carriages in Central Park, signaling the end of a tourist ritual that's been subject to years of heated debate. Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who must sign the measure into law, had previously voiced support for such a ban but has also expressed concerns regarding protections for workers in the industry. If the mayor signs it, the ban will go into effect in June of 2028. The lead-up is meant to help the approximately 150 active carriage drives find new employment, city council speaker Julie Menin told journalists ahead of the vote. The Transport Workers Union representing those laborers have vowed court action. Legislative battles over the fate of the cultural tradition that's nearly as old as Central Park itself have been ongoing for nearly two decades. Critics say the animals suffer, pointing to deadly collapses and dangerous escapes, while advocates point to the jobs they create and the heritage they uphold. The bill includes a provision for exploring potential compensation for license holders, Menin said. It mandates that

Airbnb guests no longer have to wash the dishes or strip the beds at checkout
Oct 23, 2026
Airbnb guests no longer have to wash the dishes or strip the beds at checkout

Airbnb guests can say goodbye to checkout chores like washing dishes, stripping beds and taking out the trash under a new policy announced this week. The short-term rental platform's new rules limit hosts to “reasonable” checkout requests beginning on Nov. 20. Guests can still be asked to leave dishes in the sink, gather used towels and sort trash and recycling, but hosts generally cannot require chores typically handled by professional cleaners. “Remember to think like a guest and keep in mind what you’d find unreasonable,” Airbnb tells hosts in a video announcing the new policy. Checkout chores have been a recurring point of contention for Airbnb guests, particularly when they’re also paying cleaning fees . The company has previously acknowledged that those fees can create different expectations between hosts and travelers. Airbnb said exceptions may apply in certain circumstances, such as requiring guests to put trash in animal-proof containers in areas with bears. Hosts must now also disclose all house rules and requests in a designated section of their listing before gues

Europe's killer heat this summer claims 50,000 lives. Climate change blamed for two-thirds of deaths
Oct 23, 2026
Europe's killer heat this summer claims 50,000 lives. Climate change blamed for two-thirds of deaths

WASHINGTON — Blistering record heat in Europe this summer helped kill more than 50,000 people, with nearly two-thirds of that death toll blamed on human-caused climate change, a new study found. Researchers modeled heat-related deaths for different age groups in 854 European cities during repeated heat waves in June, July and August and found that 50,391 people died from warmer temperatures, and of those, 32,619 died because of the extra heat caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas, according to a study in an upcoming issue of Nature Health . That's 71 percent higher than the previous deadliest summer, which was 29,480 in 2022, according to the same researchers, who produced a study earlier this month tracking yearly summer heat-related deaths in those European cities. And this summer's death figures are underestimates because they don't count a deadly heat wave in May and they only look at deaths in those 854 cities, which are about 40 percent of Europe's population, study authors said. About one-third of the deaths were from June 17 to July 1, a particularly intense heat wave whe

Powerful earthquake in China's Tibet collapses hundreds of homes and kills at least 16 people
Oct 23, 2026
Powerful earthquake in China's Tibet collapses hundreds of homes and kills at least 16 people

BEIJING — A magnitude 7 earthquake hit China's Tibet region on Thursday evening, killing at least 16 people, injuring 54 and collapsing hundreds of homes in the northern regional city of Nagqu, official media said. Search and rescue efforts continued following the collapse of at least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds, the Nagqu media office said, citing city government officials. More than 1,600 people from the local county were deployed for rescue efforts. Supplies including 1,000 prefabricated housing units, around 3,000 tents and folding beds, as well as flashlights and winter clothing arrived in the region. China’s official news agency Xinhua said on Friday that communication in part of the region has been down. Local railway authorities have taken emergency actions to halt trains passing through the region. The earthquake also caused rockfalls that have forced local authorities to close a section of National Highway 317, allowing only emergency, rescue and official support vehicles through as crews worked to clear debris, according to Xinhua. Intermittent snows are expected in th

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