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Seven crew missing after drone attack leaves tanker ablaze off Romania’s coast

A major search and rescue mission is ongoing in treacherous, high-wave conditions off Romania’s Black Sea coast after a pair of drone attacks on commercial chemical tankers left seven crew members unaccounted for, marking the latest escalation in a growing wave of maritime violence targeting shipping in the strategic waterway.

Early Thursday morning, at approximately 07:00 local time, the San Marino-flagged tanker *Wine Trader* — which was traveling empty from Tunisia to Romania, positioned 13 nautical miles east of the Danube River’s Sulina mouth — reported multiple explosions and an out-of-control fire onboard. Naval officials confirmed five crew members have been accounted for, seven remain missing, and four of those recovered are confirmed alive, with rescuers working against dangerous sea conditions to reach them.

Romanian President Nicușor Dan confirmed a second tanker, the *Yara J* flying the flag of the Comoros, was also hit by a drone late Wednesday in the same general area. All crew members aboard the *Yara J* escaped unharmed and managed to extinguish the fire that broke out after the strike, the Romanian government confirmed.

The attacks come on the heels of a similar drone strike targeting merchant shipping further south along neighboring Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast earlier this week. That strike sank one vessel and left 11 crew members missing, prompting Bulgaria to summon Russia’s top diplomatic envoy over the incident, which Bulgarian officials blame Moscow for orchestrating.

Overnight ahead of Thursday’s attack, Romanian defense officials detected a large swarm of Russian drones operating near Ukraine’s Snake Island, just a short distance from the strike site. Russia has publicly acknowledged targeting two cargo vessels carrying what it calls military cargo bound for Ukraine’s Odesa port, though it did not name the ships hit off Romania’s coast.

Moscow has repeatedly stated its campaign of maritime strikes in the Black Sea targets vessels delivering weapons and dual-use military goods to Ukraine, which has been the target of a full-scale Russian invasion since 2022. However, Kyiv and Western allies say Russia is deliberately targeting civilian merchant ships, including vessels carrying grain and other essential humanitarian cargo through the Black Sea, a historically critical global trade route for food exports.

In response to the escalating attacks on NATO allied territory in the Black Sea region, Romanian and Bulgarian leaders are set to discuss whether to trigger Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which allows any alliance member to call for emergency consultations with fellow allies when it believes its territorial integrity or national security is under threat. Dan is scheduled to meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels alongside Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev in the coming days to discuss growing security risks in the region, with talks expected to center on requests for additional defensive equipment to protect civilian shipping transiting the area.

“We want to have all the information about what happened, but there will be a response from the Romanian state,” Dan said in comments to reporters following the attack.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already condemned the escalating maritime violence, saying earlier this week that the Black Sea has become “another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine. This is unacceptable.”

The recent surge in attacks began last week, when two more ships were struck off Bulgaria’s coast. On the same day, Ukraine struck a Russian oil tanker anchored in the Black Sea port of Sochi. Turkey, which has acted as a mediator in the conflict, has called on both Russia and Ukraine to implement a ceasefire in the Black Sea to protect civilian shipping. Moscow has rejected repeated calls from the United States and European Union for a naval truce, blaming Ukraine for starting the cycle of attacks on commercial vessels in the region. Currently, Russian forces occupy approximately 18 percent of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory, more than two years after Putin launched the full-scale invasion.

15 10 月, 2026
Arrests made after couple and two children killed in arson attack

A devastating suspected arson attack on a suburban family home in Waterford, Ireland, has left four people dead and two children fighting for their lives in hospital, with two suspects now in police custody.

Gardaí, the national police service of the Republic of Ireland, confirmed that a man in his 20s and a woman in her 30s have been taken into custody in connection with the deadly incident, which unfolded on Tuesday. Both suspects are currently being detained at a Garda station in the eastern part of the country as investigators carry out ongoing questioning and evidence gathering.

The victims have been named locally as Kim English, Philip English, and their two young sons: 12-year-old Callum and 9-year-old Jayden. The blaze broke out at the family’s property on Birch Avenue, located on the outskirts of Waterford, and the four members of the family could not be saved. Two additional children, who were also inside the home when the fire started, were rescued and rushed to a specialist hospital in Crumlin, Dublin, where they remain in critical condition as of the latest updates.

Forensic post-mortem examinations have already been completed on the four deceased family members, but Gardaí have declined to publicly release the findings of the autopsies, citing operational investigative requirements that prevent the disclosure of sensitive details at this stage of the case.

Investigating officers have issued a public appeal for any member of the community who may have relevant information about what they are describing as a “murderous attack” to come forward to assist with the probe. Specifically, police have asked any drivers who were traveling in the area around the time of the fire and have dash cam footage from that window to share their recordings, as such material could provide critical evidence to help build the case and clarify the sequence of events leading up to the attack.

15 10 月, 2026
‘Utter contempt’ for human life shown in deadly arson attack

The Republic of Ireland is reeling from a devastating act of criminal violence that claimed the lives of an entire family, sparking urgent calls for greater policing resources and action against drug-linked intimidation in the Dáil, Ireland’s national parliament.

On Tuesday, a deliberately set fire tore through a home on Birch Avenue, on the outskirts of Waterford, killing Kim English, her husband Philip English, and their two young sons — 12-year-old Callum and nine-year-old Jayden. Investigators have linked the deadly arson attack to organized crime and intimidation tied to the illegal drug trade, according to reports from Irish public broadcaster RTÉ.

Speaking before the Dáil this week, Sinn Féin parliamentarian David Cullinane delivered a scathing rebuke of the criminal networks behind the attack, saying the killings demonstrated utter contempt for human life. Cullinane emphasized that the terror inflicted on the English family is not an isolated tragedy, noting that other households across Waterford now live in fear that they could be targeted next.

“No family should have to put their children to bed wondering whether someone will set fire to their home,” Cullinane told legislators. “And yet drug gangs and murderous criminals are inflicting precisely that terror on families.”

The Sinn Féin deputy put forward three key demands for the Irish government: first, to guarantee Waterford has all the policing resources it needs to combat drug-linked criminal intimidation; second, to ensure families that report threats receive the full support they require to stay safe; and third, to launch a formal review of how threat reports and requests for protection are currently managed. Cullinane also called on Ireland’s Justice Minister to address the Dáil next week to outline a plan to tackle drug-related intimidation.

Cullinane went on to detail the pattern of violence used by these criminal gangs, saying “They threaten children, they assault people, they burn homes, they murder people and they pursue parents, friends and even neighbours for money. This is not debt collection, it is violent criminality and we need to call it for what it is. Vulnerable families and innocent people need to be protected and live safe.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee, responding on behalf of the Irish government, echoed Cullinane’s condemnation, describing the attack as “appalling and vicious” and extending heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the deceased.

“It was an appalling and vicious attack on a family who should still be with us today,” McEntee told the Dáil. “This is not debt collection, this is violence, criminality. Debt collection is an absolute scourge on our society and I think we all need to commit to work collectively together to try and stamp it out.”

McEntee confirmed that the government would commit any additional resources required to bring those responsible for the Waterford attack to justice, noting that drug-linked intimidation is a widespread problem that affects many communities across Ireland. She encouraged residents who receive threats to reach out directly to An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police service, which maintains a dedicated unit for countering drug-related criminal activity.

Both Cullinane and McEntee publicly commended first responders and hospital medical teams who attended to the scene of the fire for their quick response and efforts to save the family.

In the coming days, the community of Waterford will gather to lay the English family to rest. A funeral mass will be held at 1 p.m. local time on Monday, October 19 at the Sacred Heart Church Parish Centre, followed by burial at Kilbarry Cemetery in Waterford.

15 10 月, 2026
US teenager appears in court over alleged Hindu temple shooting plot

A foiled alleged mass shooting plot targeting a Hindu temple outside Chicago has ended in the arrest of a 19-year-old Illinois man with documented white supremacist extremist beliefs, law enforcement officials confirmed this week.

Alexandros Paporakis, a resident of Palatine, Illinois, made his first court appearance on Wednesday following the weekend arrest, according to CBS News, the BBC’s partner outlet in the United States. He faces two separate criminal charges: one felony count of terrorist threat, and a weapons charge for unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle measuring less than 16 inches in length.

The investigation was triggered by two of Paporakis’ co-workers at the local Taco Bell where he was employed, who contacted Palatine police on Sunday to report alarming statements and messages the suspect had shared. Prosecutors told the court that Paporakis reached out to one co-worker by phone to complain that his weapon had jammed, then followed up the call with digital messages that included images of an AR-style rifle, photos that showed the gun failing to fire when the trigger was pulled, and a picture of himself wearing a tactical vest. Prior to that, Paporakis had already made his extremist views known at work, prosecutors added: he openly identified as a white supremacist while on the job, and repeatedly made derogatory, hateful remarks about people from non-white racial backgrounds.

Over the weekend before the arrest, prosecutors allege Paporakis told another co-worker that he was planning an attack at a Hindu temple located in Aurora, a Chicago suburb, and stated that the upcoming Sunday would be “a special day” — a clear reference to the planned attack.

When law enforcement executed a search warrant at Paporakis’ Palatine home, they uncovered a large cache of weapons and tactical equipment: the short-barreled rifle in question, multiple loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition for the rifle, and full body armor, Palatine Police Chief William Nord confirmed. Working alongside FBI agents, officers also seized and analyzed Paporakis’ digital devices and communication records. On those devices, they found a written manifesto in which Paporakis openly affirmed his white supremacist identity, laid out his violent hatred for non-white people, and laid out detailed plans to carry out a mass shooting, Nord said.

While law enforcement has confirmed the alleged plot referenced a local Hindu temple, officials noted that a specific exact target location has not yet been definitively confirmed, and the investigation remains active as of Wednesday.

Local elected officials have condemned the alleged plot, stressing the need for collective action against violent racial extremism. “Every American deserves to live and worship without fear, and we must stand together against hatred in all its forms,” said Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi in a public Facebook statement, adding that he was horrified by the planned attack.

15 10 月, 2026
SA chief pledges review over ‘disappointing’ Test crowds

Top-tier Test cricket, billed as one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the southern hemisphere cricket calendar, has hit a major stumbling block in South Africa after alarmingly low turnout for the opening Test of a three-match series against Australia in Durban.

Even with two of the world’s top-ranked sides – reigning World Test champions South Africa and the world’s number one Test team Australia – taking the field across five days of play, total attendance across the entire match barely crept under 20,000. For context, a concurrent South African Premier Division Cup final between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns held across the same city pulled in more than 50,000 spectators, highlighting the stark gap in public draw between the two biggest sports in the country.

Heinrich Strydom, chief executive of the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union, the governing body that hosts matches at the Durban ground, has publicly acknowledged the scale of the disappointment and announced a full internal review to identify the root causes of the low turnout. “A Test match of this quality deserved greater support in the stands. This is something we will reflect on through a thorough internal review,” Strydom said in a statement following the match. “We need to listen to our supporters, reconnect with our communities and continue to find ways to make Test cricket more accessible, engaging and appealing. Test cricket is part of our sporting heritage and its future depends on all of us.”

Strydom added that while organizers recognize cricket fans face increasing competing demands for both their limited leisure time and discretionary income, the governing body needs a clearer understanding of what drives fans’ decisions to skip live matches – and what changes can be made to position Test cricket as a must-attend live experience. Declining attendance at Test matches is not an issue unique to South Africa; global audiences for the five-day format have shrunk steadily over the past two decades, with particularly steep drops in South Africa and the West Indies. The question of long-term financial sustainability for traditional Test cricket has become an increasingly urgent topic of discussion among global cricket governing bodies in recent years.

On the field, Australia claimed a convincing 214-run victory in the first Test, putting them in a position to seal the series with a win in the second Test, which kicks off Sunday in Gqeberha. The Australian tour marks the first time the side has returned to South Africa since the 2018 sandpaper ball-tampering scandal that disrupted cricketing relations between the two nations.

Following their disappointing opening defeat, South Africa’s coaching staff have made significant changes to their squad for the second Test, adding hard-hitting batsman Matthew Breetzke at the expense of out-of-form Tristan Stubbs, who notched scores of 32 and 1 in Durban. Wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne retains his spot in the squad but will step back from wicketkeeping duties, with Ryan Rickelton set to take over gloves. Breetzke and uncapped batsman Marques Ackerman are expected to slot into the top order in place of Stubbs and Verreynne.

Breetzke, 27, earned the nickname “Aussie agitator” earlier in the tour after he drew the ire of Australian players when he took a single after a throw rebounded off his body during a one-day international, where he scored a century. South Africa head coach Shukri Konrad admitted Breetzke’s competitive temperament was a key factor in his call-up. “The attitude and character that Matt brings and has, I think that will go a long way,” Conrad said. While Breetzke has only notched 14 runs across three innings in two previous Test appearances and has not played a first-class match since February, he has posted an exceptional average of nearly 59 across 17 ODI matches to start his international limited-overs career.

South Africa face a must-win (or at minimum must-draw) match in Gqeberha to avoid having the series decided with one match still left to play. The 214-run loss was the first defeat for the Proteas in captain Temba Bavuma’s 13 matches leading the side. Pace bowler Kagiso Rabada, who missed the first Test while recovering from a hamstring injury, is widely expected to rejoin the starting line-up for the second Test.

For Australia, coaching staff are facing selection questions of their own as key players return from injury. Cameron Green (abdominal injury) and Josh Inglis (broken finger) were forced to miss the first Test, opening up a spot for Nic Maddinson – who played his first Test in 10 years, after 19 months out of first-class cricket while receiving treatment for testicular cancer. Maddinson’s inclusion forced Matthew Renshaw to move down to the number five batting spot, where he delivered a career-best performance, scoring 190 in the first innings and 82 in the second, while also picking up two wickets with his off-spin.

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed Green is progressing well in his recovery, while Inglis has resumed batting practice. If one or both players are cleared fit for selection, Maddinson is likely to be dropped from the starting eleven, with Renshaw moving back up to open the batting.

15 10 月, 2026
Popular Nigerian gospel singer Toluwanisings dies aged 41

The family of one of Nigeria’s most celebrated gospel music artists, Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji — professionally known by his stage name Toluwanisings — has confirmed his passing. In an official statement shared to the late singer’s official Instagram account, the family confirmed that Toluwanisings passed away in the early hours of Wednesday, October 14, at the age of 41.

As the family enters this period of grief, they have issued a heartfelt appeal to the artist’s global fanbase, asking supporters to hold Toluwanisings’ wife, young children, and extended family in their thoughts and prayers. The statement also noted that details of funeral and burial arrangements will be released to the public at a later date once the family has finalized plans.

Toluwanisings’ death comes just several months after he survived a serious road accident that he was involved in alongside several members of his touring band. No official cause of death has been released to the public as of yet.

When initial unconfirmed reports of the singer’s passing began circulating on social media earlier this week, thousands of his fans were thrown into shock and widespread panic. That anxiety only lifted once the Bolaji family issued their official confirmation to put an end to swirling rumors.

Across social platforms, fans have remembered Toluwanisings for his distinctive warm vocal tone and high-energy praise worship performances that regularly invited full crowd participation, turning ordinary concerts into immersive communal experiences. Over his decades-long career, he built a loyal following across Nigeria and beyond through hit gospel tracks including *Unreserved Praise*, *A Very Big God*, *Onibuore*, *E Lagbara*, and *Owo Re Meji Meji*.

In the wake of the official announcement, tributes have continued to flood in from fellow entertainment figures, industry colleagues, and fans alike. Notable public figures have shared their condolences, including prominent Nigerian lawyer Pelumi Olajengbesi and popular comedian Woli Agba, both of whom previously called for public prayers for the artist before his passing was confirmed.

Additional reporting on African news and culture is available at BBCAfrica.com. Audiences can follow BBC Africa’s coverage on Twitter at @BBCAfrica, Facebook at BBC Africa, and Instagram at @bbcafrica.

15 10 月, 2026
Obama says drift towards extremism ‘not inevitable’

Former U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a stark yet hopeful address to a crowd of more than 12,000 attendees at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro Monday, as part of his three-city speaking tour across the United Kingdom. In conversation with British journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera, the 44th U.S. president reflected on his time in the White House, unpacked the growing political and social rifts reshaping the modern world, and pushed back against the narrative that a global slide toward extremism is unavoidable.

Obama recalled that during his historic 2008 presidential campaign, when social media and digital connectivity were just beginning to go mainstream, he viewed these emerging technologies as a powerful force for good. Tools that could mobilize grassroots movements for democracy, human rights and collective action, he once believed, would open new avenues for marginalized voices to be heard. That optimism, he argued, was not entirely misplaced—but it overlooked a critical flaw in how these platforms have evolved in the years since.

Today, Obama explained, the business models of major online platforms prioritize content that taps into humanity’s most primal emotional impulses: anger, fear, resentment, and the paranoia that external groups are threatening one’s way of life. “The reptilian side of our brain really gets attracted to anger, fear, resentment and the sense that someone is out to get you,” he told the packed venue. “So a lot of social media and a lot of our information is informed around that.” This algorithmic focus on divisive content, he argued, is a core driver of the record political polarization and rising populism seen across Western democracies and beyond. He added that the constant flood of outrage-driven content creates an unhealthy “information diet” for the public, leaving many young people particularly discouraged about the future of politics.

Looking ahead, Obama raised urgent alarms about the emerging threat of artificial intelligence, warning that increasingly sophisticated AI tools will make it even harder for the public to distinguish factual information from deliberate misinformation. This erosion of shared basic facts, he stressed, poses a fundamental threat to the functioning of democratic systems.

The former president drew a historical parallel to post-World War II efforts to regulate harmful propaganda, noting that after Hitler’s use of misinformation to incite violence and seize power, governments in the U.S. and Europe put guardrails in place to hold bad actors accountable for spreading dangerous lies. Today, he argued, global leaders have failed to update that framework for the digital age, choosing inaction over targeted regulation.

Obama emphasized that governments and tech actors must strike a critical balance between protecting the principle of free speech and putting guardrails in place to prevent the spread of harmful disinformation. New mechanisms and institutional frameworks, he said, are needed to support robust, respectful debate while helping the public separate fact from fiction.

He also touched on a repeating cycle of collective amnesia that plagues modern societies: over time, populations forget the lessons of past conflicts and prejudice, and begin normalizing harmful rhetoric that scapegoats marginalized groups including immigrants, Jewish people, Black people and LGBTQ+ people. What starts as “just talk” or edgy humor gradually erodes public tolerance, opening the door to far more dangerous outcomes, he warned.

Despite his stark warnings about the risks facing the modern world, Obama closed his remarks on a note of deliberate hope. When asked whether he still stands by the famous Martin Luther King Jr. quote about the moral universe bending toward justice, Obama reaffirmed his belief in the idea, framing hope not as passive optimism but as an active, intentional choice that people must make. “It is a decision about how do we face and embrace this finite amount of time we have on the planet,” he said. While progress is never guaranteed, Obama argued that acting on the belief that change is possible leads to incremental improvement over time. The world faces unprecedented challenges, he acknowledged, but fighting to build a better future remains a cause worth fighting for.

15 10 月, 2026
Two dead in Istanbul after heaviest rainfall in 84 years, governor says

Deadly flash flooding triggered by the heaviest rainfall Istanbul has seen in 84 years has left two people dead and hundreds displaced, according to a report from BBC Turkish. City officials have declared emergency measures, including school closures and targeted administrative leave for vulnerable workers, as the region braces for continued severe weather.

The two fatalities were identified as a 14-year-old boy and a 34-year-old man. The teenager was electrocuted after stepping into a waterlogged puddle, and the Istanbul governorship has launched an official investigation into his death. The man died after slipping on a flooded road and striking his head against the pavement. Multiple districts across the sprawling Istanbul metropolitan area, home to more than 16 million people, have reported significant damage. In Sariyer district, an underground shopping center car park was entirely inundated, leaving dozens of vehicles submerged. Other parts of the city have reported collapsed road sections and a local river that overflowed its banks, leaving cars trapped in standing water in multiple neighborhoods.

As of Thursday, local officials confirmed that 595 stranded residents have been rescued and evacuated to safe shelters. More than 8,000 emergency response workers have been deployed across the city to assist with rescues, clear floodwaters, and repair damaged infrastructure. Istanbul Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan announced that metro operating hours have been extended to 2:00 a.m. local time to accommodate residents, and urged the public to use public transportation instead of private vehicles to reduce congestion and risk for travelers. “I urge all our citizens to remain vigilant against the expected heavy rain and storm, particularly during nighttime hours,” Aslan shared in a post on X.

Istanbul Governor Davut Gül has advised residents to stay indoors unless travel is absolutely essential. According to Turkish Interior Ministry data, some parts of the city have already received rainfall equal to one-seventh of the city’s average annual precipitation, with more rain forecast in the coming days. In response to the ongoing weather emergency, all schools in Istanbul were ordered closed for Thursday and Friday. The Interior Ministry has also issued flood warnings for several other neighboring Turkish provinces.

Adminstrative leave has been authorized for at-risk public sector workers to reduce unnecessary travel and risk: the policy applies to disabled employees, pregnant workers, military veterans, and female public sector employees who have children under the age of 8. Employees working in critical emergency sectors including healthcare, public safety, and rainwater drainage are exempt from the leave order.

The flooding has also disrupted air travel to Istanbul, with BBC Turkish reporting that 46 commercial aircraft were unable to land at the city’s major airports Thursday due to poor weather conditions and unsafe infrastructure.

15 10 月, 2026
Brazil’s Congress approves shorter working week in win for Lula

In a historic move that marks the most significant expansion of Brazilian workers’ rights since the country’s return to democracy in 1988, Brazil’s Congress has formally approved a constitutional amendment that will reduce the standard workweek from 44 to 40 hours, guaranteeing full pay for all employees alongside a mandatory two-day weekend. Championed by left-wing incumbent presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the reform’s passage comes less than two weeks before the country’s high-stakes October 25 presidential runoff election, opening up new political dynamics in the tight race.

After the amendment cleared the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil’s lower legislative house, back in May, senators delivered a landslide endorsement of the policy on Wednesday, approving it by a 75-1 vote. The vote followed weeks of public pressure and pro-reform rallies held by national trade unions, with polling consistently showing broad public support for the change. A nationwide survey found nearly 70% of Brazilian adults back the shorter workweek, a level of popularity that prompted a last-minute policy shift from right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Flávio Bolsonaro, who currently holds a Senate seat and led the first round of voting with 47% of the vote compared to Lula’s 45.2% (neither candidate hit the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff), had previously opposed the amendment, dismissing it as “opportunistic” political pandering to working-class voters from his rival. He also argued that work schedule arrangements should be left to negotiations between employers and individual employees, rather than enshrined as a constitutional right. However, facing overwhelming public support for the reform, Flávio Bolsonaro reversed his position ahead of the final vote, announcing he would back the change. “Most Brazilian workers want to see the end of the six-day workweek, so I’m going to vote in favour of ending it,” he explained Tuesday ahead of the vote.

Lula quickly dismissed Bolsonaro’s reversal as “electoral opportunism” while celebrating the amendment’s passage, framing the reform as a transformative win for working people across the country. “It means more time to live, rest, be with family, watch your children grow up, look after yourself and enjoy life,” Lula wrote on social media following the vote. Lula’s backers believe the reform, which is projected to deliver improved working conditions to more than 30 million Brazilian workers, will give his campaign a critical boost in the closing days of the runoff race as he seeks to close the narrow gap with his rival.

The policy has not been without its critics, who have warned that shorter working hours will drive up production costs for businesses, with those added expenses eventually passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices that could fuel existing inflationary pressure in the Brazilian economy. But supporters of the reform push back against these concerns, arguing that a two-day weekend will allow workers to rest more fully, translating to higher productivity and better output during working hours that offsets any added costs. Parent advocacy groups were also among the notable backers of the change, highlighting the benefits of increased family time for working parents.

The shorter workweek will be rolled out in a phased transition to give businesses time to adjust. After a two-month grace period, the standard workweek will first be reduced to 42 hours, before dropping to the final 40-hour benchmark at a later date. The full rollout is expected to take more than a year to complete, but many workers who stand to benefit are already celebrating the change. For Luciana de Almeida, a 36-year-old single mother and supermarket cashier working six-day weeks in Rio de Janeiro, the reform will be life-changing. Almeida, who currently only gets one day off a week that is almost entirely consumed by housework, said she has missed out on critical time with her three children. “My body, and my mind in particular, are very tired,” she told BBC Brasil. “I need time with my daughters, have some leisure time, or even just some time resting at home.”

15 10 月, 2026
Actor Imran Khan ordered to leave India after participating in protest

A high-profile Bollywood actor has found himself at the center of a growing political controversy in India after authorities ordered him to leave the country by the end of October, following his participation in a youth-led demonstration demanding sweeping electoral reforms. Imran Khan, the American-born nephew of legendary Bollywood star Aamir Khan, holds an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, a status that grants people of Indian descent visa-free travel and long-term residency in the country, but bars them from voting or running for public office. The order comes after Khan was briefly detained by Mumbai police on October 10 while joining a mass protest at the city’s August Kranti Maidan, organized by the GenZ-driven Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The CJP movement has spent days holding demonstrations across India, calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over unproven allegations of systemic vote fraud — claims India’s national election commission has repeatedly denied. In an official statement released Thursday, police confirmed that the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) had served Khan a notice alleging he violated domestic laws by joining the protest, noting that the actor is not an Indian citizen. The complaint that triggered legal action against Khan was filed by Kirit Somaiya, a senior leader of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who accused the actor of being part of a deliberate conspiracy to destabilize the country and spread public anarchy. Khan has not directly responded to Somaiya’s conspiracy allegations, but he spoke publicly to reporters shortly after his detention to defend his right to participate in the demonstration. “I don’t have personal demands. I’m here as a person who lives in this city,” he told reporters, adding, “I’m here to see why freedom of movement is being restricted, why people’s voices are being suppressed.” He also clarified that he attended the protest as an individual, not as a representative of any political or activist group. After his brief detention, Khan shared a lighthearted photo of himself inside a police detention van on his personal Instagram page, captioned “Apparently I’m going for a drive.” The post quickly went viral, earning more than two million likes from his social media followers. Khan’s legal team has announced plans to immediately challenge the deportation order at the Bombay High Court, arguing that no existing Indian law or OCI cardholder regulation explicitly bars non-citizen residents from participating in peaceful public protests. The petition filed against the Mumbai police notice calls the government action “drastic,” according to reports from India’s leading national news agency Press Trust of India. The controversy unfolds as Khan makes a highly anticipated return to acting this year, more than a decade after he stepped back from the Bollywood industry. His new project, a Netflix original film titled *Adhure Hum Adhure Tum*, marks his first lead role since his breakout 2008 hit romantic comedy *Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na*. Khan first entered the public eye as a child actor in the late 1980s and early 1990s, appearing in iconic Bollywood films including 1988’s *Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak* and 1992’s *Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar*, before making his lead debut in 2008. He went on to star in a string of popular films over the following years, including *I Hate Luv Storys*, *Mere Brother Ki Dulhan* and *Delhi Belly*. The CJP-led protest movement has gained significant traction across India in recent weeks, particularly among young voters, ahead of crucial upcoming state elections. Over the weekend, thousands of demonstrators marched in Delhi, Mumbai and other major urban centers to back the CJP’s demands for election commission leadership changes. On Monday, senior leaders of India’s main opposition parties — including Congress Party MP Rahul Gandhi — led a mass protest march from Delhi’s central Connaught Place district to the country’s Supreme Court. Earlier this week, two top CJP leaders were arrested on allegations of trespassing at a Delhi protest site, and were subsequently sentenced to five days in jail. The movement has already announced plans for another mass demonstration in the national capital Friday evening, as pressure for electoral reform continues to build.

15 10 月, 2026