Voters in northern England cast ballots Thursday in a local poll seen as a key test of the ruling Labour party's ability to fend off growing support for the hard right and leftists, as the country's traditional two-party system splinters.
What began as a quiet meetup of Pokemon enthusiasts at a US store ended with an armed robbery in which masked men held the group at gunpoint to steal more than $100,000 in trading cards.
The killing of the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) by Mexican authorities on Sunday sparked widespread violence, with gang members opening fire on soldiers and setting up burning roadblocks in various parts of the country.
- Argentina, Uruguay ratify EU-South America trade deal
- UK supermarket suspends mackerel sales in 'stand against overfishing'
Politics
Iran and the United States made "significant progress" in talks in Switzerland on Thursday, Oman's foreign minister said, at the end of the latest round of negotiations to avert a war between the longtime foes.
February 26, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Appeal court drops rape trial for ex-France striker Ben Yedder
Boulevard
February 26, 2026
The European Commission affirmed Thursday that member states can tap EU funds to pay for safe abortions in answer to a million-strong petition, but stopped short of steps to actively facilitate access across the bloc.
February 26, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton will face "a lot of questions" Thursday from a congressional committee investigating the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, its Republican chair said.
February 26, 2026
Fresh downpours have brought more flooding, landslides and fear to southeastern Brazil where rescuers were still looking for 14 missing people Thursday after a rainstorm that left 54 people dead.
February 26, 2026
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was flying to Asia on Thursday for a three-country tour with a first stop in India, where he hopes to double trade to offset the damage of his country's fracturing relations with the United States.
February 26, 2026
Sports
Opener Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya hit blistering fifties as India reached 256-4 against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup Super Eights on Thursday, the second highest total in the history of the tournament.
February 26, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Livewire Irish wing James Lowe will play no further part in the Six Nations it was announced on Thursday owing to the groin injury he suffered early on in last weekend's 42-21 thrashing of England.
Cuba vowed Thursday to defend against "terrorist and mercenary" attacks after reporting it had killed four gunmen on a US-registered boat -- a bloody incident that added to deepening tensions between Havana and Washington.
Two swastikas have been found spray-painted on buildings in a Paris suburb that served as a World War II transit camp for some 63,000 Jews deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Pressure is mounting on Sri Lanka's captain, coach and the selection panel to step down after the co-hosts' feeble exit from the T20 World Cup with a match to spare.
February 26, 2026
Economy
Stock markets traded mixed on Thursday as investors digested company earnings, including better-than-forecast results from chip titan Nvidia.
February 26, 2026
RECENT NEWS
As little Heidrun celebrates her second birthday today, she is still waiting for something that should be a matter of course in a constitutional state: a place in an inclusive daycare centre with individual assistance. Her parents have been fighting for this right for over a year and have now filed disciplinary complaints, criminal charges and petitions. What they are experiencing in Potsdam (Federal state of Brandenburg) is, according to citizens, ‘the pitiful face of an administration that ignores laws and cold-heartedly abandons the weakest members of society, children with severe disabilities’.Back in January 2025, representatives of the Children, Youth and Family Department of the state capital Potsdam (Germany) acknowledged in writing that Heidrun needs special support due to her severe disability – since birth, the toddler has suffered from a KBG gene defect (100 per cent severe disability with care level 4 and, among other things, the designation ‘H’ = ‘helpless’ and ‘aG’ = ‘exceptionally mobility impaired’).
There were scenes of "utter chaos" when thousands of women and children related to suspected Islamic State jihadists escaped a camp in Syria last month following the sudden withdrawal of Kurdish forces, witnesses have told AFP.
Three years after Greece's deadliest-ever train crash, the mother of one of the tragedy's 57 victims told AFP she hopes her new political party will force the country's governing elite to accept responsibility.
There is no proven link between the "uniquely colourful and crusty" speeches of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte and the murders he is accused of, his defence lawyer told the International Criminal Court on Thursday.
February 26, 2026
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