Russian grain transits Azerbaijan en route to Armenia
A freight train carrying with Russian grain has departed from Bilajari station in Azerbaijan, heading to Armenia via transit routes through Georgia....
More than 100,000 people are expected to take part in France’s “Block Everything” movement on 10 September, broadcaster France Info reported on Thursday. Energy, transport, and defence sectors are likely to be the most affected.
The protest, which began on social media, urges citizens to “block everything” on 10 September in opposition to Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s national budget plan. The movement has gained momentum with support from the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party and originated from a small online group called “Les Essentiels”, which stated:
“On 10 September, we stop everything, not to escape, but to say no.”
Meanwhile, French trade unions have called for a nationwide mobilisation on 18 September to protest Bayrou’s budget proposals.
Rising political tensions
France is experiencing mounting political tensions as Bayrou prepares for a crucial confidence vote in the National Assembly on 8 September. In July, he unveiled a 2026 budget framework aimed at saving nearly €44 billion ($51 billion) to reduce the country’s soaring public debt, which currently stands at 113% of GDP. France also faces one of the EU’s largest budget deficits at 5.8%.
Warning that the country is “on the brink of over-indebtedness,” Bayrou urged lawmakers to choose “responsibility over chaos.” Opposition parties across the spectrum, from the far-left LFI to the far-right National Rally (RN), as well as the Socialists, have vowed to vote against the government.
Budget negotiations have long been a source of political tension. Last year, the failure to agree on the 2025 budget led to the collapse of the Michel Barnier government in December, after left-wing and far-right parties joined forces behind a no-confidence motion.
Catherine O’Hara, the celebrated Canadian actress and comedy legend, has died at the age of 71, her publicist confirmed on Friday. She passed away at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday made public more than three million pages of documents on Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender, including investigative records referencing Donald Trump, tech mogul Elon Musk and Britain’s former Duke of York, Prince Andrew.
The United Nations faces the risk of “imminent financial collapse” because of unpaid contributions, including substantial arrears from the United States, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned.
Vladimir Putin said Russia earned more than $15 billion from defence exports in 2025 and fulfilled all military-technical contracts despite what he described as growing pressure from Western countries.
Explosions shook parts of southern Lebanon on Friday night as Israeli strikes rippled across the Zahrani district, with the blasts travelling toward the coastal city of Sidon.
Israel has reopened Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt in what Israeli media described as a “pilot operation,” marking the first opening of the crossing in two years.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has begun negotiations with European leaders over Greenland and that an agreement is already taking shape.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu has arrived in China for an official visit, where he is due to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss international and regional security issues, Russian state media reported on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington may be able to reach a deal with Cuba, days after he threatened tariffs on any country supplying the island with oil.
Xi Jinping praised China–Algeria co-operation on Saturday following the successful launch of an Algerian remote sensing satellite from northwest China, calling it another milestone in bilateral space ties.
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