Often considered the 'cornerstone' of European integration, the single market now serves 449 million consumers and 31 million active companies, most of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It has delivered substantial economic benefits, ranging between 8 % and 9 % of European Union gross domestic product (GDP). Trade between Member States has risen steadily over the years, and today accounts for an estimated 56 million European jobs. The EU is among the largest trading blocs in the world, representing 15 % of world GDP, compared with the United States at 16 % and China at 19 %. The single market's attractiveness for foreign businesses also serves as an important geopolitical tool, enhancing the EU's influence amid geopolitical shifts. Recent shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have revealed not only the single market's vulnerability in crises, but also the extent to which the EU's competitiveness relies on a well-functioning single market, ensuring unhindered access to the goods, services, and strategic inputs EU supply chains need. Although the single market has generally been a success, recent analyses, including those put forward by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi in 2024, clearly demonstrate that it remains highly fragmented, limiting EU companies' ability to scale up and compete internationally, and preventing EU citizens from reaping the full benefits. For instance, 60 % of the barriers companies face today are of the same type as were already reported 20 years ago. The two reports converge on many points, not least on the need to take rapid action to deepen the single market. Advancing the single market requires action in multiple policy fields, its digital dimension gaining increasing importance in recent years. Ultimately, a well-functioning single market, fit for the green and digital transitions, new technological developments and changing geopolitical realities can be seen as central to the EU's industrial policy. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Jillaroos wingers Julia Robinson and Jakiya Whitfeld get first-half hat-tricks as Australia takes on Papua New Guinea to kick off the Pacific Championships. Later, the Kangaroos take on Tonga. Follow live.

Raanui Daunassans Pomare, descendant de la dernière reine de Tahiti, découvre par hasard un manuscrit original. Il s’agit du recueil de souvenirs familiaux, racontés dans les années 1930 par la souveraine à sa fille, la princesse Takau. L'ouvrage vient d'être édité par Au Vent des Îles et est disponible depuis aujourd'hui au salon Lire en Polynésie.

On Princess Diana 's first ever foreign tour, to Australia and New Zealand , she was just 21 with a ten-month-old Prince William in tow - and faced a barrage of anti-royal sentiment.

Liam Payne had been dropped by his record label Universal Music last week, while his PR resigned earlier this month, as one source said the 31-year-old's solo career was 'crumbling'.

The One Direction star plunged to his death in Argentina from a hotel balcony, sparking a sea of tributes from fans and stars alike.

The new Tuas Port will be the world’s largest fully automated port when it's fully completed in the 2040s, capable of handling 65 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually - almost double of what Singapore’s ports currently handle.  With this capacity, this new port will serve even more of the world’s largest container vessels, shipping alliances, and shipping lines.  Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said during the ground-breaking ceremony for the new PSA Supply Chain Hub (PSCH) on Friday (Oct 18) that with intensifying competition from other major ports, Singapore will have to sharpen its competitive edge to remain the preferred port of call.  The new $647.5 million supply chain hub at Tuas, equipped with advanced robotics and automation systems, is expected to be completed in 2027.

SINGAPORE — A teacher has been fired from a My First Skool pre-school centre in Tampines following a report of alleged inappropriate child management. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) received a report from the pre-school on Sept 26, and told The Straits Times (ST) it is separately looking into feedback from two other parents at the same centre. The centre removed the teacher from care and teaching duties on Sept 24, and her employment was terminated on Sept 27. The exact school location and the parents cannot be named, as it could lead to the identification of the affected child, which is not allowed under the Children and Young Persons Act.

A 17-year-old Singaporean was handed a two-year detention order in September under the Internal Security Act (ISA), said the Internal Security Department (ISD) on Friday (Oct 18).  Investigations revealed that the self-radicalised teen had made plans to conduct a suicide knife attack near Tampines West Community Centre, after making a pledge of alliance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in May. He had chosen the location as it had high footfall and was within a walking distance from his home, and planned to execute the attack on non-Muslims males during the September school holidays.  His plans involved using either a kitchen knife or a pair of scissors from his home as his weapon. To make sure that he could kill or seriously injure his targets, the teen wanted to stab them in the neck, and even practised stabbing motions with the pair of scissors. 

Or at least anything that they do get on with is done so poorly that it ends up having to be done again by someone else.

[VOA] Yaounde, Cameroon -- Civilians in Chad say many businesses are at a standstill since an internet outage that began Tuesday morning.

The One Direction star plunged to his death in Argentina from a hotel balcony, sparking a sea of tributes from fans and stars alike.

Alexey Pavlovsky noted that the Australian government was «driven by the anti-Russian grand strategy of the West»

It is reported that the capsized vessel is the Grigory Lovtsov cargo ship, which was transporting crushed stone and sand

Earlier, the movement said in its communique that its fighters had killed at least 55 Israeli soldiers and officers and injured more than 500 others in fighting in Lebanon since the beginning of October

It is reported that the defeated now want to move on to a victory plan

It is reported that the Ukrainian armed forces lost many fighters on this section of the line of engagement

The EU-Seychelles Partnership Dialogue has concluded with a firm commitment to continue collaboration in critical areas for the island nation such as the fight against the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, according to a joint statement from the two parties. The EU further confirmed an additional grant to be allocated to Seychelles for the extension and modernisation of Port Victoria, a project supported under a Team Europe approach to the amount of €77 million. The first Partnership Dialogue, as provided for under the Samoa Agreement between the two parties, took place on Thursday in Victoria, Seychelles, co-chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Seychelles, Sylvestre Radegonde, and the Ambassador of the European Union to Seychelles,Oskar Benedikt. This was the first partnership dialogue held under the new Samoa Agreement between the EU and Seychelles. It took place at the Eden Bleu Hotel, with the participation of nine members of the EU, the EU Investment Bank, eight ministers from Seychelles, and representatives from local agencies. According to Radegonde, who co-chaired the event, this dialogue will shape the partnership between the EU and the Organisation of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) over the next twenty years. Minister Radegonde co-chaired the event. (Foreign Affairs Department) Photo License: CC-BY  He added that it is a crucial framework for building a sustainable, peaceful, and inclusive future. «Seychelles sees the EU as a key partner in promoting sustainable development, regional stability and Blue Economy initiatives within the Indian Ocean Commission. Through increased collaboration on maritime safety, climate resilience and sustainable fisheries, we aim to strengthen regional prosperity while protecting our marine resources,» said Radegonde. Meanwhile, Benedikt said that in an ever-changing world, mutually fruitful cooperation is not an option but that it is a must. «We have to work together, join efforts and put solidarity at the top of our agenda. As we strive to secure the future of the forthcoming generations, let us work together to give them a healthy, fairer and safer planet where everyone can live in peace, free from any form of violence. We will continue to stand for multilateralism and a rules-based order with the UN Charter and international law at its core,» he added. Benedikt said the EU has an ongoing constructive partnership with Seychelles in economic development, security, climate change and environment as well as governance and human rights. Benedikt said that in an ever-changing world, mutually fruitful cooperation is not an option but it is a must. (Foreign Affairs Department) Photo License: CC-BY  «In all these areas, our cooperation with various stakeholders in Seychelles is effective and is delivering concrete results to the benefit of populations in Seychelles and beyond. I look forward to scaling up our partnership to address current challenges and prepare for the future ones,» he stated. Security was one of the subjects covered in the dialogue and both sides recalled their steadfast commitment to addressing maritime threats in the region, building on the operations of the two regional centres based in Seychelles and Madagascar and their solid alliances with regional and international organisations. Both sides also welcomed the signature of the new EU-funded Safe Seas Africa programme in July 2024, to scale up their action for regional maritime security building on the achievements of the Maritime Security Programme (MASE).   On the subject of the economy, Seychelles and the EU highlighted the importance of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement and the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in support of their solid trade relations and a dynamic fisheries sector. On climate and environment, the EU commended Seychelles' vision to develop a circular economy and was ready to assist as part of the new bilateral cooperation programme - ENSEL. Seychelles called for further efforts to be undertaken at the international level to scale up funding for climate crisis mitigation and that the same level of importance should be placed to halt the loss of biodiversity as it is being placed towards climate action. Consequently, Seychelles called for a wider commitment of the EU member states to support the implementation of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) and amplify the efforts to accelerate the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund. On governance, the EU confirmed that work is ongoing with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to provide Seychelles with the necessary support to implement necessary reforms for the supplementary review scheduled in 2025. Seychelles welcomed the EU's support. Underlining the importance of gender equality, the EU congratulated Seychelles on the appointment of the first female Commissioner of the Seychelles Prison Service and the island nation's action to promote the rights of LGBTIQ people.

Le Ministre de l'Intérieur et de la Sécurité Hermann Immongault a reçu le jeudi 17 octobre 2024, le Rapport Général des activités de terrain de la Commission Nationale de Campagne de Sensibilisation Populaire pour le Référendum Constitutionnel de 2024. Remis par son Président, le Pr.Télésphore Ondo, ce rapport décrit les activités qui se sont déroulées dans les 52 Communes et 48 départements du pays, ainsi que dans 16 pays à l'étranger où vivent les Gabonais. Environs 80.000 (...) - POLITIQUE / SUJET_ECRIT_MAISON

ST GEORGE’S College’s GreenCycle Solutions took first place in the Junior Achievement Company of Entrepreneurs (JACE) Programme, spearheaded by Junior Achievement Jamaica, in their bid to educate students about work readiness, entrepreneurship and...

GROWING UP in a family of entrepreneurs undoubtedly influenced the life choices of group executive chairman of the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC), Dr Winston Adams, ultimately leading him to a career in educational entrepreneurship...

IT WAS an ordinary day at work for Lyttleton ‘Tanny’ Shirley when he received news that would forever change his life. He received a call from Ambassador Sandra Grant Griffiths notifying him that he is to receive the Order of Jamaica (OJ) for his...

WITH AN infectious spirit and inspirational passion for service, Kedesha Campbell Rochester leaves a lasting first impression on those afforded the good fortune of meeting her. Rochester, who heads the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Management...

THE HUNT for the four fugitives wanted for the murder of two infantrymen of the Royal Hampshire Regiment took a gruesome turn on Saturday, June 25, 1960, when the body of three Rastafarians were found buried in one grave, near where the Rastafarian...

In a bid to quell rising anxiety among motorists regarding fuel availability, the National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) has issued a strong assurance that the country possesses sufficient fuel stocks to meet demand. This statement comes after reports of fuel shortages in several regions, particularly the Southern Region, sparked concerns about potential scarcity. The […] The post NOCMA reassures motorists amid fuel supply concerns appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi.

Minister of Agriculture Sam Dalitso Kawale on Thursday handed over state-of-the-art tractors and a Scania truck worth K1 billion, funded by the Agricultural Commercialization Project (AGCOM). The equipment will significantly boost productivity for local cooperatives. During the handover ceremony, Minister Kawale emphasized that these modern tractors will enable farmers to prepare their land efficiently, reducing […] The post Agricultural Transformation: Minister Hands Over Modern Tractors and Truck to Salima Cooperatives appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi.

In a recent turn of events, Alfred Gangata, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice president for the Central Region, has firmly denied authorship of a letter that purportedly threatened human rights activist and lawyer Alexious Kamangila. The controversy has reignited discussions about the dynamics of political discourse in Malawi, particularly concerning freedom of expression and […] The post DPP Vice President Gangata disowns alleged intimidation letter: “I am a law-abiding citizen.” appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi.

Eleven (11) women claiming to be victims of Magistrate Diana Kamwangala Mangwana have penned the Chief Justice, Rezine Mzikamanda, asking him to take a disciplinary action on the magistrate whom they are accusing of engaging in corrupt practices. Mangwana serves at the Child Justice Court in Lilongwe where the disgruntled women allege she is soliciting […] The post Women accuse fellow woman Magistrate Diana Mangwana of being corrupt, reports her to Chief Justice appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi.

Founder of First Capital Bank (FCB), Hitesh Anadkat, together with shareholder based in Kenya, Rasik Kantaria, have personally met the shortfall of K74 million of the budget of K210 million which Beit Cure International hospital targeted in its fundraising dinner towards life-changing children’s orthopedic surgeries. On top of this, FCB also contributed K50 million towards […] The post Anadkat family, FCB shareholder Kantaria supports Beit Cure with K74m  appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi.

Thousands of delegates from around the world are descending on Colombia for a summit on halting humankind's rapacious destruction of nature, with host city Cali on high alert after threats from guerrilla groups. The high-stakes UN biodiversity gathering is set to start Monday under the protection of some 11,000 Colombian police and soldiers, aided by UN and US security personnel. About 12,000 delegates including 140 government ministers and seven heads of state are due to attend the world's biggest nature protection conference, held every two years. The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will run to November 1. Themed «Peace with Nature,» it has the urgent task of coming up with monitoring and funding mechanisms to ensure that 23 UN targets agreed in 2022 to «halt and reverse» species destruction can be met by 2030. Colombia's EMC left-wing guerrilla group has cast a shadow over the event by warning foreign delegations to stay away. The group issued the threat after being targeted by military raids in the southwest Cauca department, where the group is accused of engaging in drug trafficking and illegal mining. Cali is the closest big city to EMC-controlled territory. President Gustavo Petro has insisted security for the COP16 is «guaranteed,» and Cali's mayor Alejandro Eder also has assured that the city is «ready» for the event. - Natural system 'in peril' - The delegates have their work cut out for them. There are just five years left to achieve the UN goal of placing 30 percent of land and sea areas under protection by 2030. So far, only 29 of 196 countries signed up to the UN biodiversity convention have submitted national strategies by the COP16 deadline, and funding is falling far short. A report Thursday by a group of non-governmental organizations revealed that just 2.8 percent of the world's oceans were protected «effectively.» At current rates, the figure would not reach 10 percent by 2030. The IPBES inter-governmental science and policy body says three-quarters of Earth's land surface has been significantly altered since 1970 and 66 percent of oceans degraded. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which keeps a red list of threatened animals and plants, more than a quarter of assessed species are threatened with extinction. «Our system is in peril,» WWF's senior director of global policy and advocacy, Lin Li, told AFP ahead of the talks. «The system that is... supporting us as a human species, which is the natural system, ecological systems, are being attacked.» To try to reverse the trend, the so-called Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in 2022 lists 23 ambitious targets for 2030. They include restoring 30 percent of degraded ecosystems, stopping destructive farm subsidies, reducing pesticide use and tackling invasive species. COP16 will assess progress made towards the targets, which also include rich countries forking out $20 billion per year by 2025, rising to $30 billion by 2030, to help the developing world -- which hosts most of the world's biodiversity -- save its ecosystems. «We are hoping to hear a lot more pledges at this COP,» IUCN senior program manager for conservation action Dao Nguyen told AFP. «If there are none, it's going to be quite a deflated COP.» A key goal of the meeting is to agree on a mechanism for sharing the profits and other benefits of genetic information taken from plants and animals, for medicine for example, with the communities they come from. Host Colombia is one of the most biodiverse in the world, and Petro has made environmental protection a priority. But the country has struggled to extricate itself from six decades of armed conflict between leftist guerrillas such as the EMC, right-wing paramilitaries, drug gangs, and the state. © Agence France-Presse

Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was ousted from office on Thursday after being impeached in an unprecedented political saga that has gripped the nation. In a historic move, the Senate voted to impeach Gachagua on five of 11 charges, after a similar motion was overwhelmingly approved by the lower house National Assembly last week. The vote capped a day of high drama which saw the embattled 59-year-old known as «Riggy G» fail to testify in his defence after being admitted to hospital with severe chest pains. He is the first deputy president to be sacked in this manner since impeachment was introduced in Kenya's revised 2010 constitution. His downfall is the culmination of a bitter falling out with President William Ruto, who he helped win a 2022 election by rallying support from the vote-rich Mount Kenya region. «The Senate has resolved to remove from office, by impeachment, his excellency Rigathi Gachagua, the deputy president of the Republic of Kenya,» Senate speaker Amason Kingi said after the vote. «Accordingly his excellency Rigathi Gachagua ceases to hold office.» Gachagua was found guilty on charges of «gross violation» of the constitution, including threatening judges and practising ethnically divisive politics, but cleared of others including corruption and money-laundering. Gachagua had denied all allegations against him as «nonsensical» and «outrageous» and claimed he was being treated like a «spent cartridge». - Lawyers walk out - The process has created a mood of political uncertainty in a country regarded as a stable democracy in the volatile East Africa region. While his fate was being determined in parliament, Gachagua underwent tests in hospital in the Nairobi suburb of Karen. «He came in with a lot of chest pain,» Karen Hospital's chief cardiologist Dan Gikonyo told reporters, adding that Gachagua was in a stable condition but would remain in hospital for at least 48-72 hours. The Senate's decision not to postpone its hearing after Gachagua fell ill prompted his lawyers to walk out in protest. They argued that he had a constitutional right to testify in his defence. No criminal proceedings have been launched against him, and Gachagua could fight his impeachment in the courts now the parliamentary process is completed. The 349-member National Assembly had voted by an overwelming 282 votes on October 8 to impeach him, more than the two-thirds required. Unlike the process in the lower house, where MPs delivered their verdict on the entire motion, senators needed to back just one charge, by at least two-thirds of the votes, for the impeachment to succeed. The Senate trial went ahead after Gachagua failed in multiple court challenges to halt the process, the last one just hours before the Senate trial began on Wednesday. Ruto had not made any public comment on the impeachment, but Gachagua has said the process could not have gone ahead without his boss's blessing. «This is what we call political deceit, conmanship and betrayal,» Gachagua had said of the process, insisting that it violated the will of Kenyans who voted for the Ruto-Gachagua ticket in the 2022 election. - 'Maintain peace' - Ruto has 14 days to choose a new deputy, but could nominate someone as early as Friday. Among the names of possible successors floated by the Kenyan media are Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki, Foreign Minister and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and a county governor, Anne Waiguru. A powerful businessman from Kenya's biggest tribe, the Kikuyu, Gachagua had weathered previous corruption scandals to become deputy leader as Ruto's running mate in the tightly fought 2022 election. But in recent weeks, he had complained of being sidelined by the president, while also being accused of supporting youth-led anti-government protests that broke out in June. Political tensions have run high since the sometimes deadly demonstrations erupted over unpopular tax hikes, exposing divisions in the top echelons of power and the ruling party. Addressing churchgoers in his central Kenya sstronghold on Sunday, Gachagua had nevertheless called on his supporters to remain calm. «Let's preach and maintain peace irrespective of the outcome. Kenya is our country,» he said. © Agence France-Presse

MOGADISHU (Xinhua) -- A UN relief agency said Thursday that humanitarian access incidents decreased by 18.6 percent to 57 incidents in the third quarter of the year, compared with 70 in the previous quarter.

ANKARA - The chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened Thursday to strike Israel again in response to any Israeli military action against Tehran.

Kenya's senate voted to dismiss Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from office by impeachment on five out of 11 charges levelled against him on Thursday, in an unprecedented move that risks pushing the country towards a political crisis.

Jeudi 17 octobre est la journée mondiale du don d'organes et de la greffe. En Polynésie, faute de moyens, seule la greffe de rein est possible et ce, depuis octobre 2013. À ce jour, 164 greffes ont été réalisées et 110 personnes sont toujours en attente. Corinne Terorohauepa est nouvellement inscrite sur la liste et nous parle de sa polykystose rénale avec laquelle elle vit depuis 24 ans.