Discovering Kyparissos this month was really down to social media brainwashing. Obviously, my algorithm favours restaurants, but Kyparissos kept coming up, and I didn’t know the name at all.

After a little research, I realised it was a restaurant I had driven past so many times on my way into Kathikas, but for whatever reason I had never turned into the car park. Upon arrival, the algorithm hype melted into genuine delight. This restaurant revealed a level of cooking that made me grateful I had followed the digital breadcrumbs all the way to its door.

The restaurant is huge, with green taverna chairs matching the tablecloths. The interior on the night we visited was spotlessly clean, and it was definitely too cold and wet to sit in one of the outdoor areas dotted around the restaurant. At the back, as you park your car, you’re greeted by row upon row of vines leading to the restaurant and spectacular views. The menu is extensive, offering all of the Cypriot favourites. A particularly nice touch was the first page, with photos of the four generations involved in the restaurant since it started in 1960, and an explanation of how it all began with their grandfather announcing he would open a taverna after a family barbecue. Wow – how it has grown over the intervening years.

As part of the menu, there was a daily special of spinach pie, so we bypassed the selection of hot and cold small dishes and started with that to share. Complimentary toasted bread splashed with olive oil and herbs was served with gorgeous olives and a very tasty tahini on the side. The spinach pie’s arrival at the table was a lesson in excellent food presentation, and it applied to everything on the menu.

I have never seen a pie look so enticing. They split it into four parts on a chopping board and scattered cherry tomato halves and cheese crumbs over it. Beneath the whisper-thin sheets of filo pastry was a wonderful filling of spinach, soft herbs, and cheese, creating a decadent, savoury, velvety centre. The four of us quickly demolished it.

Choosing our main courses wasn’t easy and took much deliberation.

The first main was Spicy Lamb Meatballs, served over a Greek pitta with the freshest finely cut salad, tzatziki, and fries in a little basket. The meatballs were a winner and captured Kyparissos’ ethos: high-quality, fresh ingredients expertly cooked in the kitchen. The meatballs had real aromatic depth, were bold and indulgent, and were seared to a smoky crust. With the other ingredients on the plate, it offered perfection in textures and flavours.

Two of us decided to try the Souvlaki in both pork and chicken versions, as others had praised it online. The best Souvlaki is all about the purity of fire and the patience to produce it. You want your meat to be kissed by the charcoal, not smothered by it. The Souvlaki at Kyparissos was juicy, tender and a generous portion. Both dishes came with salad, traditional pitta, and homemade fries with tzatziki on the side. Both were the finest examples of this traditional dish.

Our final main course was the Marinated Chicken, which was three pieces of chicken breast. It was crispy where it needed to be and succulent inside. Chicken is always highly attractive when the flavours sink deep into the meat and is richly seasoned. The Kyparissos version had a slow infusion of lemon, garlic, and fragrant herbs, resulting in tender, aromatic chicken with a whisper of smokiness. Everybody at the table was delighted with their choice and individual dish.

Rather embarrassingly, before we could order our pre-selected homemade desserts to share, a plate with four pieces of delectable orange cake was placed in front of us on the house. As we ordered two more desserts to write about, you could see the waiter’s face betraying his thoughts of greedy people! Still, we were glad to share an Anari Surprise and the Kyparissos Chocolate Cake – a word of warning that desserts here are definitely designed to be shared. The Anari dessert was very different to versions we have enjoyed in the past: like little mince pies with a filling of Anari cheese lifted by the strong flavour of Cinnamon. The chocolate cake was light and fluffy, with a velvety, decadent chocolate topping, served with ice cream and cream.

Combined with excellent service throughout the meal and a bottle of the house red from the family vineyard, the whole experience at Kyparissos was superb. A family-run taverna like this deserves every bit of praise. It is the kind of place where the cooking is heartfelt, the flavours are excellent, and every plate feels like it’s been carried from someone’s home kitchen.

I look forward to returning, either to try their full meze, which you just know would be pretty special, or their set menu Sunday lunch, which includes a variety of dishes for €25. Kyparissos is certainly a little piece of gastronomic heaven in the hills.

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALTY Cypriot

PRICES Cold Starters from €4.00, Hot Starters from €9.50, Salads from €10.00, Main Dishes from €15.50, Sunday Set Menu €25.00.

WHERE Leoforos Aki Kleanthous. Kathikas, Paphos. Main road up from Peyia.

WHEN Open every day except Wednesday. 1 – 11 pm. Reservations recommended.

CONTACT 99 557 545

The French government is reportedly considering a so-called riot tax that would add the cost of frequent unrest to citizens' insurance bills.

The post France to Impose ‘Riot Tax’ on Insurance to Pay for Damage of Islamo-Leftist Unrest appeared first on Breitbart.

The trouncing of the far right provides a playbook for social and environmental movements in other countries facing elections, including the US, Spain and France

Thank you, Brazil, for demonstrating how the far right can be trounced while protection for the Amazon is strengthened. In a world where nature and democracy appeared to be bleeding out in tandem, voters and forest defenders in this global south powerhouse have shown it is possible to staunch the flow. This should provide much needed inspiration and, more practically, a playbook for social and environmental movements in other countries facing elections, including the US, Spain and France.

The astonishing comeback victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s presidential runoff against his extreme right challenger Flavío Bolsonaro has brought oceans of rapturous supporters on to the streets, while also thrilling conservationists, climate activists and social justice campaigners across the world.

• Dalet Labs, an AI commerce startup, is coming out of stealth mode with a $7 million pre-seed round.
• It's launching a new app called Scene, where you can scroll through shoppable, AI-generated images.
• Read the 5-page pitch deck the startup used to raise capital — months before finalizing its product.

Would you shop from a feed of AI-generated images?

The startup Dalet Labs is betting you will.

The AI-commerce company exclusively told CMO Insider that it raised a $7 million pre-seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and is launching its first product, a shopping app called Scene.

Founded by Omer Bar-Tal in 2025 after he left the AI video startup Runway, Dalet Labs recently came out of stealth mode. The startup raised its pre-seed in late 2025, before finalizing its product road map. In addition to Lightspeed, venture capital firm SV Angel and individual angel investors participated in the round.

Lisa Han, the Lightspeed partner who led the round, said that Bar-Tal has a combination of "video AI research expertise" and a "deep understanding of what consumers want."

Scene, which became available on the Apple App Store in the US on Wednesday, lets people scroll through a feed of shoppable AI-generated images. The app will be invite-only at launch, and isn't yet available on Android. While the images of people or scenes are AI-generated, the products themselves come from real brands across categories like fashion, home decor, and sports.

Bar-Tal envisions Scene as a tool people can turn to when they want to buy something but are still uncertain about exactly what they have in mind. It's similar to scrolling through Pinterest or TikTok in hopes of being inspired to buy something, but Bar-Tal said there's a key difference: You come to Scene to shop, not be entertained.

Bar-Tal sees Scene as a virtual "mall" where users can window-shop, save items to their cart, and make purchases.

Commerce has become an increasingly attractive use case for AI tools like chatbots and agents (including Meta's Muse). However, Bar-Tal argues that AI shopping tools are missing something.

"AI is amazing when you know what you want, but it's really important to actually have an ability to discover and to see things," Bar-Tal said. Agentic commerce, he added, "misses the point in shopping — which is essentially a delightful experience."

As a Scene user scrolls and interacts with products linked in the app, the feed adapts to what type of brands or items the user is interested in. Then, Scene uses AI to generate scenes with people wearing or using those items.

Bar-Tal did not comment on which third-party models Dalet Labs uses.

Bar-Tal said Dalet Labs doesn't see its product as replacing influencers, but rather as "complementary."

"The content here is AI, but it is not aiming to replace creators because we are not aiming to create entertainment," he said.

However, even if Scene isn't competing with influencers for entertaining content, it's still competing with their business model: making money by promoting brands' products and ultimately driving sales.

Scene has a catalog of hundreds of brands and retailers, Bar-Tal said, and is making more partnerships. The company did not share further details on what brands Dalet Labs has already established relationships with.

Bar-Tal said the company is also leveraging affiliate marketing to monetize the app early on, working with affiliate networks to earn from each in-app transaction.

Dalet Labs' Scene is entering a crowded market of apps offering people ways to discover brands and goods, like TikTok's growing Shop presence in the US or Pinterest's visual search prowess. Startups like Doji and Alta have also raised millions on the promise of tech that lets people try on clothes using AI-generated versions of themselves.

How will Dalet Labs get people to download an entirely new app?

Using influencers and social media to promote the app will be a core part of Dalet Labs' user acquisition plan. It also plans to roll out a coupon campaign during the holidays, offering new users discounts on purchases made through the Scene app. Bar-Tal didn't share whether the discounts would be funded by Scene or by brand partners.

The New York-based startup, meanwhile, is using its pre-seed funding to hire more engineers and researchers to build out Scene.

Read the 5-page pitch deck Dalet Labs used to raise its $7 million pre-seed:

The deck starts with background on the technology

Here's what the slide says:

For over half a century, every major shift in computing has been driven by an interface revolution.

The move from terminals to graphical user interfaces (GUIs) transformed computers from expert tools into mass-market products.

The rise of the web and mobile extended that pattern: each new medium made digital interaction more visual, intuitive, and consumable.

Text, by nature, demands active cognitive effort; Visual interfaces go a step further by allowing users to grasp high bandwidth information almost instantly with minimal cognitive effort.

Then it explains Dalet Labs' thesis

Here's what the slide says:

Today, artificial intelligence represents the most profound computing shift since the PC. Yet, paradoxically, our interface to AI remains stuck in the terminal era.

We converse with models through text prompts and receive text streams in return in synchronous manner. Our product thesis is simple and inevitable: AI requires a native GUI.

We believe the GUI to AI will not be code-based, but rather generated by media models.

It then outlines the competition

Here's what the slide says:

The core product of AI consumption platforms is inseparable from their textual chat interfaces.

For example, the OpenAI brand is strictly associated with the chat interface of ChatGPT.

Moreover, by decoupling the user interface from any specific model provider, we can integrate multiple frontier models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or open-source systems) and focus our innovation on the new media generation GUI platform. This modularity becomes increasingly valuable as AI models are commoditized. In addition, their technical stacks are anchored in the code generation paradigm, in contrast to our focus on Media Models.

Finally, it introduces Dalet Labs' founder

Here's what the slide says:

Omer Bar-Tal

• Research experience from Weizmann Institute.

  • Built the first method for editing real-world videos using text
  • Papers in CVPR, ECCV, ICML, ICLR etc.
• Trained video foundation models (Google, Pika, Runway)
• Built creative applications with media models (eg video editing, reference-to-video, etc.)
• Led applied research teams and product launches

Jim Morrison has endured almost unimaginable loss—first his wife and two young children in a plane crash, then his partner and climbing companion Hilaree Nelson in a Himalayan avalanche. But rather than stepping back from danger, he kept pursuing ever more risky objectives, culminating in the first ski descent of Everest’s nearly unclimbable north face via the Super Direct route. This profile explores Morrison’s perseverance and shows how, for some people, a life defined by extreme risk can never be retreated from.

“It was a profound, transformational moment for me to know that when I found Hilaree, she wasn’t in her body,” Morrison told me. “I dug her out of the snow. I held her in my arms. I screamed, and I cried, but it was just her dead body. She was no longer there, and it was as clear as anything has been in my entire lifetime. I had been haunted so much by my wife and my children, and what state they were in when the plane crashed, and how they were recovered. I had been haunted by these visions of their half-burned corpses. Then contrast that with what I went through with Hilaree. There was so much more finality to it.” Morrison had her body cremated in Kathmandu, at a Buddhist temple.

A series of messages published on social media Tuesday morning call for a wave of violent riots across Spain "inspired" by the recent chaotic events in France for Saturday, October 31, local outlets warned.

The post Reports: France-Inspired Violent Riots Are Being Urged in Spain for Halloween appeared first on Breitbart.

Two sportspeople have been executed in the past month and at least six more face the same fate, says activist group

Fears are growing for more Iranian athletes facing execution after mountain climber Ali-Sina Mostafavi became the latest in a string to be killed by the regime.

Mostafavi – who documented his ascents of some of the world’s highest peaks, including Mount Everest – was executed on 14 October having been arrested in April after the anti-government protests a few months earlier. His death followed the killing of Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi, a taekwondo athlete, at the start of October, and the mixed martial arts fighter Gholamreza Khani Shakarab, who was hanged in May.

Marine Le Pen could scarcely have chosen a more favourable backdrop for her presidential campaign. A weakened president approaches the exit, demonstrations expose deep public frustration, and scenes of disorder reinforce her central argument: France’s governing establishment has lost control. The cards are all falling in her favour. Whether she can play them successfully remains the question.

Launching her campaign in Orléans, Le Pen promised national renewal and tougher policing. Reuters reported a poll placing her at 32–33.5 per cent, against 17 per cent for Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Those numbers are a snapshot, but they suggest something politically consequential: the candidate once treated as an outsider now occupies the strongest starting position.

Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, increasingly resembles a lame-duck president. Constitutionally unable to seek another consecutive term, he faces a succession contest in which his endorsement may carry limited weight. His admission of failures in anticipating the unrest compounds the damage. A presidency built around authority and personal command is approaching its conclusion with both visibly diminished.

For Le Pen, the advantage is obvious. Every confrontation between police and rioters supplies another opportunity to ask whether the government can perform its most basic duty: protecting the public. Citizens do not need to endorse her entire programme to find that question persuasive. They need only conclude that those already governing have exhausted their answers.

Yet the origins of the demonstrations matter. The Associated Press describes a movement rooted in education funding, rising living costs and inequality. Peaceful protesters cannot reasonably be bundled together with looters. Nor does the reporting establish that these disturbances are an expression of Islamism or Muslim demographic change. Misdiagnosing the crisis would weaken any serious argument for restoring order.

The broader integration debate nevertheless deserves frank treatment. A republic cannot function confidently if its citizens believe that common laws, civic obligations or freedom of expression are negotiable. Governments should confront Islamist intimidation, religious coercion and deliberate separatism wherever evidence establishes them. They should also expect newcomers to learn the language, respect constitutional principles and participate in national life.

Those expectations are legitimate. Treating an entire Muslim population as inherently unintegrated is not. Religious identity alone establishes neither hostility to France nor unwillingness to belong. The useful political distinction is between citizens who uphold democratic rules and individuals or organisations that seek to undermine them. That standard should apply consistently, whatever the religion or ideology involved.

Across Europe, political leaders would be wise to recognise the electoral danger of appearing evasive about integration. Voters seeking enforceable rules should receive practical answers: effective language teaching, access to employment, credible policing and action against extremist networks. When mainstream parties substitute moral lectures for measurable results, they leave an opening for opponents promising clarity and control.

Le Pen’s opportunity is to connect these concerns with a wider sense of abandonment. Disorder, strained services and anxiety about belonging can become parts of one political story: the state demands obedience and taxation but delivers too little security or reassurance. Her opponents will struggle if their response consists principally of explaining why voters should fear her.

But favourable circumstances do not eliminate her weaknesses. Her conviction over European Parliament funds, which she is appealing, sits awkwardly beside a campaign demanding accountability and respect for law. Her promises of spending restraint, lower business taxes and resistance to further retirement-age increases also invite scrutiny. Winning confidence requires explaining how competing commitments can be reconciled.

The challenge for her rivals is therefore substantive. They must demonstrate that public order and legitimate protest can coexist, that integration involves shared duties, and that economic grievances deserve workable remedies. Simply rebuilding an electoral barricade against Le Pen may prove insufficient if voters associate its defenders with the failures that brought France here.

For now, momentum belongs to her. Macron looks depleted; the streets convey insecurity; the establishment struggles to offer a convincing successor or a persuasive account of renewal. None of this guarantees a Le Pen presidency. It does mean that her opponents can no longer rely on her reputation to defeat her. They must recover the public’s confidence in their own capacity to govern. Otherwise, France’s crisis may become her decisive electoral advantage.

Le Pen Sets Out €140bn Spending-Cut Plan as French Debt Dominates 2027 Race

Romania has formed a new government after six months of political deadlock, with parliament approving a minority administration led by independent diplomat Luca Niculescu on Tuesday, 20 October. The vote brings an end to repeated failed attempts to establish an executive, although the new prime minister faces considerable uncertainty over his government’s parliamentary support.

Niculescu secured 280 votes in favour and 58 against, comfortably exceeding the 233 required for confirmation. His ministers were sworn in before President Nicuşor Dan at the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest later that evening, formally ending the prolonged government formation process.

The new administration comprises 18 ministers, including two delegated ministers. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) controls the majority of portfolios, while independent specialists hold several important positions, including finance and foreign affairs.

A government built on temporary parliamentary support

The appointment represents a political success for President Dan, who nominated Niculescu on 5 October following three unsuccessful attempts to assemble a functioning government.

EU Today reported earlier this month on Niculescu’s nomination, which followed the collapse of previous negotiations and growing pressure on Romania’s political institutions.

The new cabinet is heavily dependent on agreements between parties that have frequently disagreed over economic policy and public spending. Although the parliamentary vote demonstrated sufficient support for its installation, the arrangement does not provide the government with a permanent majority.

The National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) supported the investiture while remaining outside the administration.

The arrangement gives Niculescu an opportunity to govern, but each major legislative proposal will require continued cooperation between parties with competing priorities.

The Social Democrats, who hold 11 of the ministerial positions, will exercise substantial influence over domestic policy, particularly decisions involving public-sector spending, welfare and taxation.

Budget deficit presents immediate challenge

Romania’s public finances represent the government’s most urgent problem.

The previous administration, led by Ilie Bolojan, collapsed in May following unpopular austerity measures. Political opposition to fiscal consolidation has complicated efforts to stabilise the budget and meet Romania’s commitments under the European Union’s fiscal framework.

Niculescu has indicated that addressing the deficit will be an immediate priority. Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare, appointed as an independent, faces the task of establishing a credible budget programme without provoking another parliamentary crisis.

The choices are politically difficult. Spending reductions risk resistance from public-sector employees and households already affected by higher living costs, while substantial tax increases could place further pressure on businesses and consumption.

Failure to establish a credible fiscal programme would prolong uncertainty over Romania’s borrowing requirements and its ability to comply with European budgetary obligations.

Brussels has a direct interest in the outcome. Romania remains subject to EU fiscal oversight, and the European Commission will assess whether the new administration’s financial plans are consistent with the country’s obligations.

The government’s credibility will depend on whether its parliamentary supporters are prepared to approve the measures that fiscal consolidation requires.

European funds and political credibility

The change of government also comes at a sensitive moment in Romania’s relationship with European institutions.

Romania has faced scrutiny over reforms linked to the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, particularly legislation concerning public integrity and institutional accountability.

EU Today previously examined the European Commission’s assessment of Romania’s integrity legislation and its implications for recovery funding.

Although the EU recovery programme reached its principal implementation deadline in August, outstanding assessments and financial decisions continue to carry consequences for national budgets.

A functioning government is therefore important not only for domestic legislation but also for negotiations with Brussels over fiscal commitments, investment and the wider EU budget.

Romania must also address longer-term weaknesses in public administration, infrastructure financing and the implementation of European legislation.

Political stability remains uncertain

Niculescu takes office against the background of Romania’s unusually turbulent political history since the annulment of the 2024 presidential election amid allegations of Russian interference.

The subsequent institutional disputes damaged confidence in the political system and contributed to the fragmentation of parliamentary support.

Opposition parties, including the nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), are positioned to challenge the government’s legitimacy and economic measures as the administration begins work.

Romania’s strategic importance extends beyond its domestic political difficulties. As an EU and NATO member bordering Ukraine and Moldova, it plays a substantial role in Black Sea security, military logistics and regional infrastructure.

Prolonged instability in Bucharest has therefore affected a country whose decisions carry consequences for European security and cross-border economic cooperation.

For the new prime minister, the immediate objective is to translate Tuesday’s parliamentary majority into support for legislation. His first serious test will come when the cabinet presents the fiscal measures that its supporters have so far struggled to agree upon.

The parliamentary vote has ended Romania’s government formation crisis. It has not resolved the disagreements that produced it.

Protests rarely remain confined to the grievances that first bring people into the streets. When the citizens believe their concerns are being ignored, a grievance over a particular policy or administrative decision can evolve into a broader challenge to the political authority. Consequently, what begins as a demand for correction becomes a question of accountability. […]

The post In Delhi or Paris, restoring order cannot replace public trust appeared first on Asia Times.

What began as a student protest over deteriorating schools has developed into a nationwide revolt against economic hardship, political paralysis and declining public services. With the 2027 presidential election approaching, the violence has exposed problems that neither the government nor its principal opponents have convincing plans to resolve.

France’s latest wave of unrest has developed into one of the most serious domestic crises of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. More than 550,000 people participated in demonstrations on 17 October, according to official estimates, before violence spread through Paris and other major cities. Shops were looted, police confronted rioters, and the historic town hall in Limoges was largely destroyed by fire.

The scale of the destruction prompted emergency government consultations and a televised presidential address. Macron promised to prosecute those responsible, while stopping short of declaring a state of emergency. Yet the immediate security challenge conceals a more difficult political question: why have protests that began with relatively specific demands over education become a confrontation involving such different sections of French society?

From school protests to a national revolt

The movement originated among secondary-school students demanding better facilities, more teachers and improvements in educational standards. Their complaints subsequently attracted trade unions, workers, farmers and elements of the Gilets Jaunes, the Yellow Vest movement that challenged Macron’s government in 2018.

The resulting coalition has no coherent political programme. Students protesting overcrowded classrooms share demonstrations with workers concerned about purchasing power and motorists angered by fuel prices. Their interests are not necessarily compatible, but they reflect a common dissatisfaction with the government’s ability to deliver functioning public services while containing living costs.

This distinction matters. The presence of masked rioters and organised groups engaged in violence does not establish that the hundreds of thousands who demonstrated peacefully supported their actions. Equally, the destruction of public buildings, attacks on police and widespread looting raise legitimate questions about the state’s capacity to maintain public order.

The economic problem behind the protests

At the centre of the discontent lies a structural problem that successive French governments have struggled to confront: the distribution of public expenditure between an ageing population and the services required by younger generations.

A French government budget assessment published in October revealed that pension obligations accounted for approximately 32 per cent of the education ministry’s budget, including €28.5 billion in pension expenditure. These obligations restrict the resources available for other departmental priorities.

France nevertheless remains a substantial spender on education. According to official figures, expenditure reached €199.2 billion in 2025, equivalent to 6.7 per cent of GDP. However, after inflation, the annual increase was only 0.1 per cent.

The issue is therefore not simply how much France spends, but how efficiently resources are allocated and whether expenditure meets changing educational needs.

The OECD’s 2025 PISA assessment found that French pupils’ performance in mathematics and reading had declined compared with 2022. Results were among the country’s lowest recorded, although broadly comparable with the OECD average.

These figures give the student protests a significance extending beyond the immediate condition of classrooms. They raise questions about France’s longer-term economic competitiveness and its capacity to provide younger generations with opportunities comparable to those enjoyed by their predecessors.

The limits of Macron’s reform programme

Macron entered office in 2017 promising to modernise the French economy and overcome the traditional division between left and right. Nearly a decade later, his administration faces a fragmented parliament, constrained public finances and growing resistance to further structural reforms.

The suspension of his pension reform illustrated the difficulty. Raising the retirement age was intended to reduce pressure on the pension system, but parliamentary opposition forced the government to defer the measure until after the presidential election.

The underlying financial pressures have not disappeared. Nor can they be resolved easily through additional spending when public debt, borrowing costs and budgetary obligations already restrict the government’s room for manoeuvre.

This creates an uncomfortable political reality: the state is expected to provide better services, greater purchasing-power protection and stronger security, while the available resources remain limited.

Can the opposition benefit?

The unrest comes approximately six months before the presidential election, with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed competing to establish themselves as alternatives to Macron’s political centre.

Le Pen has sought to combine support for economic grievances with demands for tougher policing. That position may attract voters concerned by the violence, but it also exposes tensions within a movement that previously supported the Yellow Vest protests.

Mélenchon faces a different difficulty. Supporting demonstrations against government policy is consistent with his political programme, but the involvement of violent groups risks shifting public attention from social demands towards questions of security.

A recent presidential opinion poll even suggested that Le Pen and Mélenchon could contest the final round, illustrating the weakening position of more conventional political alternatives.

Neither, however, can escape the fiscal constraints that have frustrated Macron’s government. A change of president would not automatically provide the resources required to expand public services, reform pensions and reduce the deficit simultaneously.

A wider problem for France and Europe

President Donald Trump has attributed the French unrest to immigration, although the movement’s documented origins lie principally in education, living costs and dissatisfaction with public services. Without established evidence about those responsible for individual acts of violence, broader claims about the demonstrators’ backgrounds remain speculative.

For the European Union, France’s instability carries consequences beyond its domestic political debate. France is central to European defence, fiscal negotiations and support for Ukraine. Sustained political paralysis would complicate its ability to negotiate and implement decisions requiring substantial public expenditure.

The immediate task for Macron’s government is to restore security without allowing the legitimate grievances of peaceful demonstrators to disappear from political consideration. The more difficult task will fall to whoever enters the Élysée in 2027.

France’s crisis is not simply a repetition of the Yellow Vest movement. It reflects a growing conflict over public resources, expectations of the state and the ability of established political institutions to reconcile competing demands.

The violence may subside, but the economic contradictions that brought such different groups onto the streets will remain. The presidential election will determine who inherits them, rather than whether they exist.

O ator americano Michael Forest, conhecido por interpretar o deus grego Apolo na série “Jornada nas Estrelas”, morreu aos 97 anos, na última quarta-feira. A causa da morte não foi informada.

Ele nasceu Gerald Michael Charlebois em Dakota do Norte, nos Estados Unidos, em 1929, e vivia numa instituição de repouso para idosos em Nevada nos últimos anos. A morte foi confirmada por um amigo numa publicação no Facebook.

Forest era conhecido como um homem de porte atlético e tinha um currículo extenso como ator coadjuvante no cinema e televisão, que iniciou na década de 1950.

Carreira no cinema e na televisão

Além de participações em séries e novelas que inclui ainda “Além da Imaginação” e “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, atuou em diversos filmes do ator e diretor Roger Corman e emprestou a voz a projetos de animação, animes e videogames.

Como dublador, participou de títulos como “Power Rangers” e “World of Warcraft”. Ele era fluente em italiano e dublou centenas de filmes nos anos em que morou em Roma, além de atuar em produções de outros países da Europa.

Entre seus inúmeros papéis, estão particapações em “A Besta da Caverna Assombrada”, “Atlas” e “Náufrago”.

Vida pessoal

Forest foi casado com a atriz Diane Hale por 52 anos, até a morte dela, em 2022. Não há informações se eles tiveram filhos juntos.

The post Morre Michael Forest, ator de “Jornada nas Estrelas”, aos 97 anos appeared first on Diário da Manhã - O Jornal do leitor Inteligente.

A 41-year-old woman has been arrested in Athens on suspicion of attempting to poison her ex-husband, a military doctor, with atropine. According to media, the man had installed security cameras at his apartment in Peristeri suburb of western Athens. Monitoring the cameras remotely, he allegedly saw his ex-wife who had keys entered the apartment and […]

The post Woman arrested for poisoning ex husband with atropine appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.