Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

Germany and Belgium look set for finals, while France still has work to do
A rat evades the clutches of Belgium's Thibaut Courtois after running onto the pitch during a UEFA World Cup qualifying match in Cardiff, Wales, on Monday. REUTERS Injury-hit France was held to a 2-2 draw by Iceland in 2026 World Cup qualifying on...

N.Macedonia politicians talk rubbish to woo voters
Something is rotten on the streets of Skopje -- or at least its voters could be forgiven for thinking so. First, there were toxic dump fires that burned for weeks around North Macedonia's capital. Then, dumpsters started overflowing after a sudden...

Shabana Mahmood: 'The UK has lost control of its borders... and its eroding trust'
By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:15 EDT, 14 October 2025 | Updated: 20:17 EDT, 14 October 2025 Failure to bring order to Europe's borders is eroding the public's confidence in politicians, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will...

What can postwar monuments teach us about the role of architecture in shaping nations’ memories?
To encounter a spomenik is to experience design’s ability to foster a state of contemplation. Dotted throughout the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, these concrete or steel memorials are often monumental in scale, brutalist in...

2026 WCQ: Mysterious Rat Disrupts Game As Belgium Beat Wales 4-2
With Halloween right around the corner, Wales and Belgium were given an early fright when their World Cup qualifier was temporarily suspended when a rat ran onto the pitch. After disrupting proceedings shortly after the hour mark on Monday, the...

Moira Salmond legal action against Scottish Government put on hold
The case concerns possible wrongdoing by officials while Ms Sturgeon was First Minister and was frozen when Mr Salmond suffered a fatal heart attack in North Macedonia on October 12 last year. Revealing that the action was expected to restart, the...

Failure to tackle migrant crisis is eroding trust in politicians, Mahmood warns
Failure to grip the migrant crisis is eroding the public’s trust in politicians, Shabana Mahmood is to warn. The Home Secretary will however insist that only through international co-operation can Britain stem the flow of migrants arriving in...

Britain has lost control of its borders, Home Secretary to say as she vows to control small boat crossings
THE HOME Secretary is vowing to crack down on small boat crossings as she is set to speak about how Britain is losing control of its orders. She will talk on Wednesday about the lack of border control in Britain which is ruining trust in...

Home secretary: Britain has lost control of its borders
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our...
Man detained for beating Macedonian in Ljubljana to death
Ljubljana, 8 October - A 20-year-old Ljubljana man has been arrested for allegedly beating a 38-year-old national of North Macedonia to death in the centre of the Slovenian capital last week, reports from the police and the newspaper Dnevnik...

Play It Again Sports Scoreboard - Monday, Oct. 13, 2025
MONDAY, OCTOBER 13 PLAY IT AGAIN SPORTS SCOREBOARD BOYS SOCCER Normal Community West 1, Edwardsville 1 Waterloo Gibault Catholic 1, Breese Central 0 Highland 2, Alton 0 Father McGivney Catholic 3, Collinsville 0 Belleville West 2, Granite City 0...

Border failings in Europe are eroding trust in nation states, warns Mahmood
The failure to bring order to European borders is eroding trust in politicians and the concept of nation states, Shabana Mahmood will warn. As she hosts a meeting of fellow interior ministers to discuss migration routes through the western Balkans...

Enlargement, von der Leyen encourages investment in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Urges governments on reforms
Brussels – Second stop on Ursula von der Leyen‘s Balkan tour. After Albania, yesterday evening (13 October), the President of the European Commission travelled to Montenegro. In Tivat, on the Adriatic coast, she met with the head of state, Jakov...

Air Serbia Resumes Direct Flights Between Belgrade and Toronto After 30 Years
After more than three decades, Air Serbia is resuming direct flights between Belgrade and Toronto, expanding its North American network and providing faster, more convenient connections for passengers and the Serbian diaspora. The service,...

The joy of qualifying belongs to the few, not the powerful
The announcement will come as a bit of a shock in Torshavn. These have been a heady few days in the Faroe Islands. On Thursday, the archipelago’s national team thrashed Montenegro in World Cup qualifying. On Sunday, a late goal from Martin...

Harry Wilson targets home advantage for Wales in World Cup play-offs
Wales’ Harry Wilson reacts during the FIFA World Cup European Qualifying defeat against Belgium. Photo Adam Davy/PA Wire. Harry Wilson says home advantage in the World Cup play-offs is “massive” as Wales aim to improve their chances of reaching...

How rat suspended play and gave Courtois the slip in Belgium's win over Wales
But the home fans were, at least, treated to a moment of lighthearted entertainment as a rodent disrupted the game. The rat entered the field of play just past the hour mark, with the visitors 2-1 up and well on top of proceedings, having carved...

Bellamy concedes Wales 'needed to win' against Belgium in big hit to World Cup hopes
Wales head coach Craig Bellamy conceded his side "needed to win" against Belgium, after they were beaten 4-2 in Cardiff in a significant blow to their hopes of automatic World Cup qualification. "We knew we needed to win, we were here to win,"...

Harry Wilson wants ‘massive’ home advantage for Wales in World Cup play-offs
Harry Wilson says home advantage in the World Cup play-offs is “massive” as Wales aim to improve their chances of reaching next summer’s finals. Welsh hopes of automatic qualification were effectively ended by Belgium’s 4-2 victory in Cardiff on...