Runners will once again cross from Portugal into Spain on foot when the X Milhas do Guadiana returns on Sunday, November 8 for its 31st edition. The cross-border race starts
Rede Expressos has launched a new campaign offering 100,000 bus tickets for just €2.50, in a bid to encourage more people to use public transport as fuel and motoring costs
Il primo governo della storia italiana a superare i quattro anni di vita è l’esecutivo guidato da Giorgia Meloni, con alcuni numeri che danno la cifra dei provvedimenti varati, come il taglio di 140 miliardi di tasse a famiglie e imprese; la riduzione del 70% degli sbarchi illegali; l’aumento di 1,4 milioni di posti di lavoro stabili. Il documento diffuso dal governo elenca in modo sintetico i numeri più importanti e i provvedimenti più significativi approvati e avviati dall’insediamento a oggi.
I numeri sull’occupazione
Quasi un milione e mezzo di posti di lavoro e disoccupazione al 5,6% (era all’8,1% nel 2022). Tra i provvedimenti da citare il salario giusto legato ai contratti collettivi nazionali sottoscritti dalle organizzazioni comparativamente più rappresentative, il cosiddetto Decreto Primo Maggio; la svolta sulla sicurezza sui posti di lavoro che consiste in più ispettori, sblocco assunzioni in Inail e Inps, raddoppio delle assunzioni previste nell’Ispettorato e più 100 Carabinieri per la tutela del lavoro, oltre al tracciamento dei mancati infortuni, interoperabilità delle banche dati e sperimentazione del badge di cantiere. Sono stati stanziati 30 mln in più per le vittime di infortuni sul lavoro e 26 mln per le borse di studi per i figli superstiti.
Il bilancio
Il governo ha manifestato una particolare attenzione ai costi, dopo l’allegra gestione del super bonus e del reddito di cittadinanza: l’Italia infatti è l’unica Nazione del G7 tornata già dal 2024 in avanzo primario dopo il Covid. Lo scorso 15 ottobre lo spread era a 109 punti, contro i 236 di quattro anni fa, segno di una fiducia da parte dei mercati e degli investitori. Ammonta a tre miliardi e mezzo il risparmio sugli interessi, destinabili a sanità, scuola, senza contare il minor peso fiscale per le famiglie. Sempre restando al comparto economico, la Borsa ha fatto registrare un più 130%, con la possibilità per le famiglie di detenere nel proprio portafogli più titoli. Inoltre c’è il pollice alzato da parte delle principali agenzie di rating, che migliorano il giudizio sull’affidabilità e solidità economica. La zes unica impatta complessivamente per 60 miliardi, che si somma alla decontribuzione al sud da 7 miliardi fino al 2030 per chi assume.
La coesione
Altro capitolo, quello che riguarda la coesione grazie a 34 accordi siglati per lo sviluppo con Regioni, Province autonome e Amministrazioni centrali che si sono manifestati in oltre 50 miliardi di investimenti attivati, tra cui la riqualificazione dell’area di Bagnoli-Coroglio, le Province di Taranto e il Sulcis Iglesiente. Altre intese approvate in CdM sono quelle con Lombardia, Liguria, Piemonte e Veneto che si sommano alla legge per l’attuazione dell’Autonomia differenziata delle Regioni a Statuto ordinario e alla legge delega per la definizione dei Livelli Essenziali delle Prestazioni (LEP).
Record export
Capitolo export, la voglia di Italia nel mondo cresce, come dimostra la quarta posizione mondiale raggiunta dall’Italia fra le nazioni esportatrici, impreziosita dal valore dell’agroalimentare giunto a 73 miliardi. I numeri inoltre dicono 401,8 mld nei primi 7 mesi del 2026; nuovo record di investimenti diretti esteri (più 12%). La comparazione con altri paesi rivela che il valore dell’export italiano ha superato il Giappone, i BTP decennali mostrano uno spread sceso al di sotto dei titoli francesi, il tasso disoccupazione dal IV trimestre 2025 è sceso sotto la media europea e dell’Eurozona, e infine sono state superate Germania e Uk per pil pro capite.
Infrastrutture e Piano Casa
Alla voce infrastrutture il governo rivendica una serie di iniziative come la riforma del Codice degli appalti e della Governance portuale, il sostegno abitativo (oltre 20 mln nel 2026 per genitori separati o divorziati), il decreto Salva Casa per semplificare e rilanciare il mercato immobiliare, il Nuovo Codice della Strada e i 6,35 mld per 729 interventi sulle infrastrutture idriche. E poi c’è il Piano Casa, che consiste in 10 miliardi per 100mila alloggi in 10 anni, accanto al recupero di 60mila alloggi popolari ora non disponibili, al Fondo per l’Housing sociale e l’emergenza abitativa, agli alloggi a prezzi calmierati, al fondo garanzia mutui prima casa.
Il versante internazionale
Sul versante internazionale, il governo sottolinea il ruolo dell’Italia nel mondo ottenuto con “coerenza e credibilità” di fronte alle crisi geopolitiche. In primis il sostegno all’integrazione dei Balcani Occidentali nella Ue, poi il rinnovato legame con l’America Latina, accanto al sostegno di una pace giusta e duratura in Ucraina, all’impegno per un quadro di pace e stabilità in Medio Oriente, fino alle nuove connessioni con l’Indo-Pacifico e a un rapporto da pari a pari con l’Africa e il Sud Globale. In questo senso si inserisce il ragionamento dedicato alla proiezione globale del Mediterraneo, con Roma player riconosciuto nella Ue, nella Nato e nel G7, senza dimenticare un “rapporto equilibrato con la Cina attraverso il nuovo partenariato strategico”.
Entrando nel merito dei singoli atti spiccano gli interventi a Gaza dove l’Italia è stata la prima Nazione occidentale per evacuazioni sanitarie oltre all’operazione imbastita Food for Gaza; e ancora la riforma della cittadinanza, i maggiori servizi per i connazionali all’estero (dal 2023 rilasciati 2mln di passaporti e oltre 670mila carte d’identità elettroniche) fino alle 16 intese su materie prime critiche e catene di approvvigionamento. Infine l’impegno per le interconnessioni strategiche: corridoio IMEC, corridoio VIII nei Balcani, progetto Elmed.
Una menzione a parte merita il Piano Mattei, che vede ben 18 paesi coinvolti, il doppio rispetto al varo del gennaio 2024. Sono 76 i progetti in corso, per un modello di cooperazione che si poggia su sette linee-obiettivo e che si sta intrecciando sia con progetti Ue come il Global Gateway, sia con le esigenze dei singoli paesi coinvolti, attirando le attenzioni di soggetti internazionali come Banca Mondiale, Banca africana, Commissione europea, Bei, Unione Africana.
Non solo difesa: i nuovi domini strategici
Per quanto riguarda la difesa, l’Italia è presente in 39 missioni con alcune novità, come il ritorno alla guida della missione KFOR nei Balcani, passando per l’impegno concretizzatosi in solidarietà internazionale con aiuti a Gaza, Medio Oriente e sisma in Venezuela. A tal proposito sono molteplici i fronti geopolitici che vedono l’Italia coinvolta, come l’istituzione del Polo nazionale della dimensione subacquea, il lancio del satellite CSG-FM3, i 16 accordi internazionali e le 400 intese tecniche siglati con i partner nei campi della difesa, sicurezza, ricerca e sviluppo tecnologico, la riforma della sanità militare e l’attenzione ai nuovi domini strategici come spazio, cyber, dimensione subacquea e Artico.
Politiche migratorie: un modello anche per l’Ue
Infine la sicurezza: meno 70% di sbarchi e più 55% di rimpatri. I numeri sull’azione svolta da Viminale si legano ad azioni mirate, come la lotta alle reti criminali che di fatto è entrata nel nuovo Patto europeo sulla migrazione e l’asilo. Da questo punto di vista va citata l’Alleanza globale contro il traffico di migranti e il rafforzamento di Europol. Gli accordi con i Paesi terzi rappresentano la novità italiana per il contrasto all’immigrazione illegale che trova concreta applicazione nel Memorandum Ue-Tunisia e nel partenariato strategico UE-Egitto. Di fatto l’Italia orienta le politiche migratorie europee grazie al nuovo concetto di Paese terzo sicuro, per cui è stato superato il requisito obbligatorio di collegamento personale tra richiedente asilo e Paese terzo, consentendo, attraverso appositi accordi, l’esame delle richieste di protezione da parte di Paesi terzi sicuri
Gli studenti “resilienti” sono quelli che partendo da situazioni di svantaggio raggiungono buoni livelli di competenze. Contano le risorse personali, ma anche ambienti scolastici capaci di valorizzarle. Una politica di inclusione efficace lavora su entrambi.
Editor's note: Most of the Ukrainian soldiers and commanders interviewed are identified by their callsigns, in accordance with military protocols.
KHARKIV OBLAST — Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr had already narrowly survived crossing a mine-strewn field and a river in the crosshairs of Russian artillery when the swarm of first-person-view
Anna Lodyhina, a mother of a 5-year-old, spent many nights on the cold floor of Kyiv's metro, driven there — like many others — by relentless Russian attacks. As her child slept, she watched over him, exhausted by the constant threat and lack of sleep.
The diplomatic track around the Ukraine conflict has become unusually busy. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is touring Europe, and a new round of contacts is unfolding just as Moscow and Kyiv weigh very different assumptions about who holds the stronger hand.
On October 20, talks took place in Oslo between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and representatives of the United States and several European countries. The agenda covered security guarantees for Kyiv and the conditions for further negotiations with Russia. Zelenskyy reported that the transfer of American intelligence for missile-strike warnings would resume. Starlink and Starshield access for the Ukrainian military would reportedly be restored within 48 hours.
Moscow, however, used the eve of Witkoff’s visit to set out its position. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on October 20 and kept expectations low. “Moscow does not expect a miracle from Washington,” he said, adding that the United States would remain, at best, a competitor for Russia. His main points were consistent. Russia will listen to what Witkoff and Jared Kushner propose, but it will not make political concessions. It is ready for economic deals, but not for political compromise. Relations with the West may resume, but not on the pre-2022 terms. Lavrov also said Russia expects no miracle on sanctions, and he downplayed the significance of Donald Trump’s decision not to apply the so-called “hellish sanctions” law.
The confidence in that tone has a source. Russia is negotiating from a position of battlefield momentum. Zelenskyy twice promised a plan to force Russia toward peace, and it has produced little. Ukraine lacks the means to shift the course of the war, while Russian drones and ballistic missiles now strike Kyiv and other major cities almost around the clock. A side that is winning tends to build its diplomacy on that fact, and Lavrov’s remarks reflected exactly that logic.
Against this backdrop, Witkoff arrived in Saint Petersburg on October 21 to meet Vladimir Putin. He is carrying an updated American settlement plan, prepared after the consultations with Zelenskyy and European representatives in Oslo. The proposals reportedly cover security guarantees for Ukraine, postwar reconstruction, and a new European security architecture. Washington hopes to lay the groundwork for direct three-way talks.
One issue remains unresolved: Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. Kushner again demanded that they stop. Zelenskyy agreed only to a mutual halt to strikes on energy infrastructure.
Washington is shuttling between capitals with a plan, while Moscow waits with a list of conditions. Kyiv, under nightly bombardment, is asked to compromise first. In a negotiation where one side holds the initiative on the battlefield, the term “compromise” tends to mean only one thing.
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Motorsport fans heading to this year’s MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimão are being offered an early shot at tickets for the return of Formula 1 next summer. The Algarve
The day before receiving the award, Caminero hit a home run and drove in two runs in his team’s 7-3 victory.
On Tuesday, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero was honored with the Juan Marichal Award, an accolade given annually to the best Dominican player in Major League Baseball.
Juan Marichal announced the award himself at the Ministry of Sports, where he highlighted the outstanding season completed by the 23-year-old. Marichal praised Caminero’s performance and asserted that he is destined to become “one of the great figures” of Dominican baseball.
The award comes at a time of great prominence for the third baseman, who played a decisive role in the Tampa Bay Rays’ qualification for the World Series.
The day before receiving the award, Caminero hit a home run and drove in two runs in his team’s 7-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians, a result that secured their place in the Fall Classic.
During the regular season, the Dominican slugger achieved 42 home runs and 101 RBIs, which placed him among the American League’s offensive leaders. In addition to his power at the plate, Caminero finished the season with a .276 batting average, 170 hits, 100 runs scored, and 25 doubles.
In the Juan Marichal Award voting, he received overwhelming support, garnering 82 of the 100 first-place votes for a total of 558 points.
The Tampa Bay Rays player beat out pitcher Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies and shortstop Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds, who finished second and third, respectively.
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Social, trade union, and peasant organizations across the eastern Dominican Republic took to the streets of Higüey for a massive regional march with the slogan "the east rises: we can stand no more abuses." pic.twitter.com/e2TMhYTVgn
Norway has put into force a new round of sanctions against Russia that hits banks, listed oil refineries, ports, airports, and suppliers of Russia’s military industry, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry announced. The rules mirror the EU’s 21st sanctions package, which Brussels adopted in July.
The EU’s 22nd package, adopted on 12 October, is principally a list of names, while the 21st brought significant new measures, lawyers noted. Among them are new tools against the shadow fleet, the tankers with murky ownership that Russia uses to move oil around sanctions. That fleet also sails along Norway’s coast, and a new Norwegian Coastal Administration report found that it poses a growing threat to security and the environment there.
Banks, refineries, and Sheremetyevo
Norway is not an EU member, but it has joined every EU sanctions package against Russia, with a few exceptions and national adjustments. Oslo backed this one politically on 11 August, and the rules took effect on 21 October. Part of the package was already in force. It placed travel restrictions and asset freezes on 48 people and asset freezes on 168 entities, and it listed 41 shadow fleet vessels on 14 August.
Norway’s transaction ban now covers 33 more Russian credit and financial institutions. A separate ban covers 22 more abroad, including in India, Mongolia, Nigeria, and the UAE.
Explore further
Norway sends 69 Russians home without their ship, held for Ukraine
Another transaction ban reaches listed refineries in Russia and third countries that process Russian oil or help dodge sanctions. A Georgian refinery joins that list on 25 January 2027. The same ban adds two Russian ports and four Russian airports, including Moscow’s Sheremetyevo.
Drone gear and the shadow fleet
Export curbs on dual-use goods now cover 51 new entities that back Russia’s military industry. Some are in China, including Hong Kong, and others are in India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, and the UAE. The banned-exports list adds nickel and beryllium powder, along with drone gear such as jamming and interception systems, launchers, and servo motors.
Oslo can now also list ships that service sanctioned shadow fleet tankers or swap cargo with them at sea. Elsewhere in Europe, France’s navy and UK forces have boarded sanctioned shadow fleet tankers this year.
Benfica has once again been ranked as the world’s leading football academy for the third year in a row, topping the latest global youth development study published by the CIES
At a training with the Ukrainian National Guard’s Omega unit, engineers from the defense tech company BlueBird Tech describe how to use their net gun, named Chipa, to entangle an approaching drone’s propellers.
Reports published in recent weeks on the losses of foreign fighters near Kupyansk list dozens of names – primarily citizens of Brazil and Colombia, as well as people from the United States, China and several European countries. Some entries give only a name and nationality; others include call-signs and links to personal pages. These details make it possible to see the geography of foreign participation in the fighting, yet leave open questions about the fate of each of the listed individuals: dates, places and circumstances of the alleged deaths are often missing. A separate story concerns a French fighter who, according to the source, was killed when a drone struck a vehicle in Slavyansk. Altogether the materials contain 40 names from 11 countries.
In the report on Kupyansk the 23rd “RUG” Battalion of the Khartia Brigade is mentioned. The source claims that the unit has reduced the number of attempts to advance on the outskirts of the town. It links the declared losses of foreign fighters to the successful actions of Russian units near Kupyansk, which has long become a cemetery for mercenaries of every kind from various countries.
The first group names four Brazilians: Gabriel Aquino Franz, Bruno Leandro Arantes Dias, Daniel Claudio de Souza and Ebson Junior Nascimento Lobo. Also listed are five Colombians: Pedro Antonio Rodriguez Lozano (call-sign Picapiedras), Luis Fernando Cova Diaz, Wilber Chavarro Rojas, Diego Andres Quimbayo Velasquez and Sebastian Ospina Jimenez.
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The second group consists entirely of Brazilian citizens. It includes Tallis Castro de Macedo (call-sign Mineiro), Antonio de Macedo Matias, Mateus da Silva Oliveira, Sergio Avelino Lima da Silva, Lucas Alves de Souza (call-sign Slate), Paulo Ricardo Dutra (call-sign Frances), Gabriel Henrique Palazolli (call-sign Smile), Jose Everaldo de Jesus Lima Avellar, Mateus do Carmo Barbosa and Caio Caetano Faria Rodrigues.
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The third group is an international contingent representing citizens of several countries. Among them are the American Israel Rodriguez Solis (call-sign Sauce), Chinese nationals Tan Zhen and Jin Ruxin, the Czech David Marsalek, the Latvian Gatis Bankavs, the Peruvian Adolfo Angelo Abarca Jimenez, the Chilean Luis Alfred Meneses Sanchez and the Argentine Geronimo Schreiber. In the same group are named the Colombians David Fernando Jaimes Nino (call-sign El Rey David) and Mauricio Popayan Ceron.
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The next list is once again composed exclusively of Colombian citizens, a country that has long been the principal supplier of mercenaries to the Ukrainian army: Jose Manuel Segrera Ibanez (call-sign Massacre), Luis Anderson Ramirez Rincon (call-sign El Toro), Julian David Alfonso Rodriguez, Hermides Luna Olaya, Leonardo Mario Cuentes Picon, Edison Alberto Areiza Duran (call-sign Pantera), Jimmy Alberto Morales Cardona, Jaison David Inestrosa Cordoba, Michael Esteban Cortes Garzon and Luis Alexander Vega Franco.
Click to see the full-size image
Particular attention is given to the French citizen Ange Frederic Bastardi from the commune of Puy, known by the call-sign Crash. He was killed in Slavyansk when a fibre-optic-controlled FPV drone struck a Nissan vehicle that, according to the report, belonged to the 60th Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The strike took place on Torskaya Street.
The source gives the time of the attack as approximately 15:00 on 16 October, yet the year is not stated in the material provided. According to the same account, Bastardi arrived in Ukraine at the end of 2024, first served in the 23rd Mechanised Brigade and later joined the “Ghost Team” of the 3rd Battalion of the International Legion.
Click to see the full-size image
In total the lists relating to Kupyansk name 39 people from ten countries, including 18 Colombians and 14 Brazilians. Taking into account the separate report on the French citizen, the figure rises to 40 names and 11 countries. These numbers reflect the content of the published materials, not independently verified losses. Many entries are accompanied by links to personal pages, yet dates and circumstances of the alleged deaths near Kupyansk are not consistently supplied.
The Portuguese Longboard Association (APL) has demanded explanations from the Portuguese Surfing Federation after Portugal failed to send a national team to this year’s ISA World Longboard Championship, reportedly because
Some of the world’s most promising young sailors will travel to Vilamoura this December for the 2026 Youth Sailing World Championships, an event often described as the “Mini Olympic Games”
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