Council Directive 2011/64/EU, known as the Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD), entered into force in 2011 with two main objectives: to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and provide a high level of public health protection. More than ten years after its adoption, the directive is no longer fit for purpose. The European Commission's 2020 evaluation highlights several key issues regarding the TTD's effectiveness, and recommends updating it to address emerging tobacco products, such as e cigarettes. As part of the EU's Beating Cancer Plan, the Commission suggested revising the TTD to achieve the target of a tobacco-free generation by 2040. In July 2025, the Commission presented its proposal for a revision of the TTD, focusing on three main aspects: i) increasing the EU's minimum tax rate to address disparities between Member States; ii) extending the directive's scope to new products, such as e cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, which would make them subject to new minimum taxes; and iii) strengthening controls on raw tobacco to prevent diversion to illicit markets. This implementation appraisal (IA) analyses the existing legal framework and outlines its core components. It also examines the key findings of the 2020 evaluation and the main features of the Commission proposal for revision of the TTD. Finally, it considers the European Parliament's position, the written questions submitted by its Members and the views of a sample of relevant stakeholders, including institutional bodies. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

At no point in more than 30 years have Armenia and Azerbaijan been closer to achieving lasting peace, and yet the so far bumpy road to peace continues to appear vulnerable to domestic and external factors. On 8 August 2025, in Washington DC, the leaders of both countries signed a Joint Declaration committing to achieve peace and initialled a 17-article peace agreement, the product of months of closed-doors and exclusively bilateral negotiations between the two countries. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in conflict over Nagorno Karabakh since the end of the Cold War, in the longest-running conflict in the post-Soviet space. Two bloody war episodes, in the 1990s and in 2020, have alternated with periods of frozen conflict over three decades, leaving behind more than 30 000 casualties, over a million displaced people from both sides, and a long list of seemingly inextricable mutual grievances running deep in both countries' societies. Decades of international mediation, within the OSCE Minsk group, then in parallel strands under the aegis of Russia, the EU and the US, ended abruptly in September 2023, with Azerbaijan's lightning military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, leading within days to the dissolution of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and to the forced exodus of some 100 000 ethnic Armenians. In the dangerous security vacuum created after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which altered the power balance in the region and discredited the role of Russia as security guarantor and peace broker, fears over a third war intensified. Against all odds, after months of exclusively bilateral negotiations, both parties announced in March 2025 that they had agreed on a draft peace treaty, establishing the basis for future peaceful mutual relations but leaving aside contentious issues, such as border delimitation and connectivity. However, the announcement came with Azerbaijan's precondition, ahead of the final signature, of removing from the preamble of the Armenian constitution a reference that Azerbaijan considered to be an implicit territorial claim. The seemingly impossible task for Armenia, where a constitutional change must be approved by popular referendum, appeared to put the peace process in limbo sine die. The 8 August Washington Summit gave a decisive new impetus to the process, although Azerbaijan maintains its precondition regarding what it sees as necessary changes to the Armenian constitution. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Earlier, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov informed Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin that testing of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile had been successfully completed

«Any initiative implemented without Moscow's participation is eventually thwarted,» Siyamand Kacmaz said

North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Son Hui hailed the warm atmosphere during the Beijing talks in early September

The meeting took place in the Kremlin Senate

BRICS is the association of countries «building up relations based on mutual respect and adherence to the consensus principle,» Alexey Overchuk said

Annie Kilner, a model and influencer, and Sophie Haynes, former partner of convicted criminal Gregory Bell, are joint directors and owners of the company Demure Diamonds Ltd.

Vile comments about her appearance, personal attacks on her character and even death threats; over the course of her tenure as head judge on Strictly, Shirley Ballas has seen it all.

The 2000 Arta peace process held in Djibouti, is hailed as a milestone event for it laid the foundation for a new political dispensation in Somalia. Under the tutelage of H.E. President Ismail Omar Guelleh, the Arta Peace and subsequent 2008 Djibouti Peace Accord helped reset Somalia on the right path, averting perpetual collapse while initiating the transitional governance structure and institutionalizing the subsequent federal order. In Omar Guelleh, Somalia can count on a fraternal, visionary statesman committed to the development of the Somali security architecture and establishment of the institution-building processes that underpin its nascent democracy and its people’s gradual march towards peace, development and social prosperity.

Germany’s decline is becoming “dramatic” after years of flat GDP and failed recovery efforts, ifo chief Clemens Fuest has warned Read Full Article at RT.com

A new digital innovation has hit the Malawian market — Antchito, a mobile application developed by local tech firm Virtual Tech, has officially launched to help employers manage domestic workers, shop attendants, and casual laborers with ease, transparency, and confidence. The app also caters to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that lack formal systems for […] The post Antchito App Launches in Malawi to Protect Employers and Simplify Workforce Management appeared first on Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi.

TEHRAN – A delegation of senior managers in the pharmaceutical and medical equipment industries, led by Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarqandi, is participating in the eighth edition of the Global Health Exhibition, running from October 27 to 30 at Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center, Saudi Arabia.

TEHRAN – Over 1,100 technology experts from 16 countries, namely Pakistan, Oman, Russia, Vietnam, Turkey, Tunisia, Iraq, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, India, Lebanon, Indonesia, Romania, Algeria, and the Netherlands, plus Iran, are competing in the final phase of the second International Tech Olympics which kicked off in Tehran on Monday and will run till October 30.

TEHRAN – With the financial support of the Government of Japan, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a cooperation document, aiming to help revive the drying Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran.

Djibouti’s parliament has removed the constitutional age ceiling for presidential candidates, opening the door for Ismail Omar Guelleh to seek a sixth term despite being 77 years old.

Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali Police Force, particularly officers operating from the Hodan Police Station in Mogadishu, arrested a suspect on Sunday who was allegedly involved in the illegal trade of the drug known as hashish.

Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation announced on Sunday that Somali Airlines will resume operations by the end of this year.

Air connection between the two Asian neighbors has been restored after a five-year hiatus as ties improve Read Full Article at RT.com

Four people have been killed in protests in Cameroon as tensions rise ahead of the October 12 presidential election results Read Full Article at RT.com

Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) has detained two Ukrainian nationals accused of spying on behalf of a foreign intelligence service Read Full Article at RT.com

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has called the EU’s ETS2 carbon trading scheme “nonsense” that will hurt ordinary citizens Read Full Article at RT.com

The Rapid Support Forces says it now fully controls the Sudanese Army’s Sixth Infantry Division in North Darfur Read Full Article at RT.com

A motorcyclist escaping from a traffic police check hit a pedestrian on a sidewalk in Hougang, subsequently abandoning the bike and fleeing on foot.The incident occurred near Block 137 Lorong Ah Soo at about 1.15pm on Oct 21, reported Shin Min Daily News.A resident told the Chinese daily that she saw an overturned motorcycle lying on the pavement connecting the Tai Keng Gardens estate to the Lorong Ah Soo flats.«I saw at least 20 police officers, some of whom were armed. The atmosphere was very tense,» she described.Another resident surnamed Ye said he had to take a detour from his usual jogging route as the area was cordoned off by police.According to Stomp, at least eight police vehicles and an ambulance were seen at the open car park near Block 137 Lorong Ah Soo.The police said in response to media queries that a traffic police officer patrolling along Upper Paya Lebar Road had stopped the motorist for a check.Instead of complying, the motorcyclist sped off, leading to a chase that saw the motorcyclist colliding into a male pedestrian at a footpath along Tai Keng Gardens.

A Singapore-registered container vessel collided with a Chinese-registered vessel off Guangzhou, China, on Saturday (Oct 25).The Chinese vessel sank and two of the 15 crew members are missing.In a statement issued on Sunday (Oct 26), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the collision occurred at around 8 pm, and it involved the Singapore-registered container vessel WAN HAI A17 and the Chinese-registered vessel HAI LI 5.According to Wan Hai Lines, the Singapore-registered vessel remains in stable condition with all 23 crew members safe, and no pollution reported, MPA said.Chinese authorities are conducting search and rescue operation for the missing crew, the authority said. The Singapore-registered vessel is currently being held in port to assist Chinese authorities with investigations.

Lawyer Darren Tan recently visited the site of his first arrest which set him on the arduous road to recovery from drug abuse and a successful careerIn a Facebook video shared by the Central Narcotics Bureau on Monday (Oct 27), the 46-year-old, who is now deputy managing director at Invictus Law Corporation, shared his inspirational story.He said he joined a gang at age 14, and started taking drugs around the same time — something he said gave him self-confidence.The law first caught up with him some 30 years ago during a gang “settlement talk” at a coffee shop in Block 212 Hougang Street 21.«Suddenly we were surrounded by police officers. Weapons and drugs were found in the cars,» said Tan, adding that he later tested positive for drugs.Even before his arrest, his appearance already had the telltale signs of addiction.«I was on drugs 24/7. When I was heavily hooked on meth, my body essentially degenerated,» he said."I was very, very thin because I didn’t have to eat. When I stood up, my eyes were open but I couldn’t see anything.

A developer that had been facing the potential of more than $30 million in fines from Ontario’s Home Construction Regulatory Authority has had all counts against it dropped. Briarwood Development Group was accused of coercing buyers into paying more for homes they'd already signed agreements for.

The Canadian Environmental Law Association is recommending that all cities pass bylaws to make it mandatory for property owners to replace lead pipes on their side of the property line. Hamilton has a bylaw aimed at preventing partial lead service-line replacements, and some Quebec and Saskatchewan have similar rules. Here's what people in Thunder Bay, Ont., have to say about the idea as the city faces a $350-million class-action lawsuit.

The sale of foreign currency on the domestic market with October 23, 2025, settlement amounted to $120.6 mln

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Choe Son Hui was holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

US president Donald Trump said earlier that Washington saw no need to develop extra long-range missiles in an arms race with Moscow because the US had a nuclear submarine

Dmitry Peskov also declined to comment on how the American concept aligns with Russia’s vision for security guarantees and the earlier Istanbul agreements

Choe Son Hui is in Russia on a working visit