The 2 billion euros ($2.35 billion) value of the contract is an estimate as negotiations are not complete, Prysmian, the world’s largest cablemaker by sales, said in a statement
International News via Reuters:
Britain’s power transmission owners SP Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission have selected Italy’s Prysmian as the preferred bidder for a proposed link between England and Scotland, the Italian group said on Tuesday.
The 2 billion euros ($2.35 billion) value of the contract is an estimate as negotiations are not complete, Prysmian, the world’s largest cablemaker by sales, said in a statement.
The Eastern Green Link 4 will connect a high voltage direct current cable from Fife in eastern Scotland to Norfolk on the east coast of England via the North Sea.
Prysmian is already involved in the projects Eastern Green Link 1 and 2, also aimed at improving the electrical interconnection of England and Scotland along Britain’s east coast.
($1 = 0.8514 euros)
Reporting by Philippe Leroy Beaulieu in Gdansk; editing by Barbara Lewis
The move will affect about 2,000 of the 4,700 employees who work at the plant, which makes two Peugeot models, the 308 and the 408, and one DS model, the DS7
International News via Reuters:
Stellantis <STLAM.MI> will temporarily halt production at its plant in Mulhouse, in northeastern France, from October 27 to November 2, a union and the carmaker said on Tuesday.
The move will affect about 2,000 of the 4,700 employees who work at the plant, which makes two Peugeot models, the 308 and the 408, and one DS model, the DS7
The company said the step was being taken to adjust the production rate to a “difficult” European market and to manage inventories as efficiently as possible before the end of the year.
Stellantis had previously said it would temporarily halt production at its plants in Poissy, near Paris, and in Pomigliano, close to the Italian town of Naples, from end-September for up to three weeks due to weak market demand in Europe.
Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten
That is the highest rate recorded by the index since January 2024
International News via Reuters:
Irish consumer prices rose 2.7% year-on-year in September from 1.9% a month earlier, a flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices showed on Tuesday.
That is the highest rate recorded by the index since January 2024, but the Central Statistics Office’s Anthony Dawson noted in a statement that the growth was from a low base in September 2024.
Prices fell 0.2% between August and September 2025, the data showed.
Writing by Conor Humphries; editing by Sarah Young
The AI industry is abuzz with speculation about when the technology will overtake human intelligence
International News via Reuters:
Artificial superintelligence may be available by 2030, but its capabilities are only likely to surpass humans in some aspects, the head of one of China’s hottest AI startups said on Tuesday.
The AI industry is abuzz with speculation about when the technology will overtake human intelligence. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicted last week that ASI could arrive by the end of the decade, while SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son speculated last year it could exist by 2035.
Zhang Peng, the CEO of Zhipu AI, said on Tuesday the concept was too vague to pin down to a specific timeline.
SURPASS IN PART, FALL SHORT IN MANY
“People reach different conclusions when discussing this issue,” he said, as the company released its latest large language model, GLM-4.6.
“I think achieving or exceeding human intelligence levels by 2030 might mean surpassing humans in one or several aspects, but likely still falling far short in many areas.”
Founded in 2019 as a Tsinghua University spinoff, Zhipu AI has emerged as a frontrunner in China’s AI race and filed documents in April indicating plans to list on mainland Chinese markets.
In June, it was singled out by OpenAI as a fast-rising rival and characterised as an extension of Beijing’s efforts to push Chinese-developed AI abroad. Zhang said the company was “flattered” but its overseas expansion was “normal business”.
Zhang said overseas revenue had begun gaining traction, but acknowledged the company would not compete directly with U.S. models in consumer subscriptions yet.
However, he said Zhipu AI was competing with companies like OpenAI in serving enterprise clients. The company recently launched a coding subscription plan targeting developers as part of efforts to expand direct-to-consumer revenue streams.
While many AI firms have found it difficult to convince Chinese consumers to pay for AI services, unlike in the United States, Zhang said he believed that could change in a few years, due to growing acceptance of the value of AI and falling prices.
He said the GLM-4.6 model was an upgraded version of GLM-4.5 released in July and had enhanced capabilities in coding, reasoning, writing and agent applications.
($1 = 7.1206 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Liam Mo and Brenda Goh. Editing by Mark Potter
VC, or Vereinigung Cockpit, said in a statement that a vast majority of members voted for a strike, but gave no timeline for the proposed industrial action
International News via Reuters:
Lufthansa faces a strike at its core airline after pilots’ union VC on Tuesday said its members voted in favour of a walkout in a dispute over pensions.
VC, or Vereinigung Cockpit, said in a statement that a vast majority of members voted for a strike, but gave no timeline for the proposed industrial action.
The carrier has faced several labour challenges over recent years as it struggles to cut costs and pursue growth.
On Monday, it unveiled plans to cut 4,000 administrative jobs by 2030 and set higher profitability targets.
Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach and Ludwig Burger, Editing by Friederike Heine, Kirsti Knolle
The BoE has been seeking to increase usage of the facility as it shifts away from a system of excess reserves in Britain’s banking system
International News via Reuters:
Banks borrowed 5.085 billion pounds ($6.84 billion) from the Bank of England at its weekly indexed long-term repo for six-month funds on Tuesday, the greatest amount since March 2020 when there was a surge of demand at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BoE has been seeking to increase usage of the facility as it shifts away from a system of excess reserves in Britain’s banking system and unwinds much of the 875 billion pounds of quantitative easing gilt purchases it bought from 2009 to 2021.
Almost all the funds were secured with the highest grade of collateral, which allows banks to borrow with no surcharge on top of the BoE’s main interest rate.
Last week, the BoE allotted 2.352 billion pounds at the repo.
($1 = 0.7438 pounds)
Reporting by David Milliken; editing by Sarah Young
His words echo a message by ECB President Christine Lagarde, who in June said the euro’s global status needed to be cemented given the global context of trade wars
International News via Reuters:
The European Central Bank should take bold action to make the euro “a trusted global anchor of stability,” ECB policymaker Olli Rehn said on Tuesday.
His words echo a message by ECB President Christine Lagarde, who in June said the euro’s global status needed to be cemented given the global context of trade wars and rising protectionism.
“This calls for a strategic rethink and bold action, so that it can support a healthier rebalancing of the global monetary order,” Rehn said at a monetary policy conference in Helsinki.
Reporting by Anne Kauranen in Helsinki; Editing by Barbara Lewis
Female driver detained on suspicion of driving while impaired
Police Statement:
Police and emergency services responded to reports of a serious road traffic involving a motorcar and a motorcycle on Malabar Road, Sandys, in the vicinity of Boaz Island, around 9:40 PM on Monday, 29 September, 2025.
Preliminary information suggests the vehicles were traveling in opposite directions, when the collision occurred.
Tragically, the male motorcycle rider succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
The female driver of the motor car has been detained on suspicion of impaired driving.
Traffic is currently being diverted around Kitchener Close, while the scene is processed. Motorists are advised to exercise caution when traveling to and from the Dockyard area.
Police are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact Police Constable, Asaph Rawlins on, 717-2123 or via e-mail at arawlins@bps.bm.
Inspired by the so-called “Gen Z” protests in Kenya and Nepal, the three days of demonstrations are the largest the Indian Ocean island has seen in years
International News via Reuters:
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina said on Monday he was dissolving the government following youth-led protests over water and power cuts in which the United Nations says at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured.
Inspired by the so-called “Gen Z” protests in Kenya and Nepal, the three days of demonstrations are the largest the Indian Ocean island has seen in years, and the most serious challenge Rajoelina has faced since his re-election in 2023.
“We acknowledge and apologise if members of the government have not carried out the tasks assigned to them,” Rajoelina said in a televised speech.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the casualties include protesters and bystanders killed by members of the security forces, but also others killed in subsequent widespread violence and looting by individuals and gangs not associated with the protesters.
Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Aaron Ross, Hereward Holland and Alison Williams
Hundreds of worshippers were inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, when the suspect rammed his vehicle into the front doors on Sunday morning
International News via Reuters:
Authorities on Monday called the weekend’s deadly attack on a Michigan church “an act of targeted violence” but said they were still trying to determine precisely why an ex-Marine crashed his pickup truck into the church during a Sunday service, opened fire and set the building ablaze, killing four people.
Hundreds of worshippers were inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, when the suspect rammed his vehicle into the front doors on Sunday morning, officials said. Two victims were shot to death, and two other bodies were discovered hours later in the rubble of the church, which officials said was deliberately set on fire.
Eight victims were wounded, and everyone else has been accounted for, Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said at a news conference on Monday afternoon.
“The FBI is investigating this as an act of targeted violence, and we are continuing to work to determine a motive,” said Reuben Coleman, the acting special agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office.
The suspect in the shooting was identified as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, from the nearby town of Burton. U.S. military records show Sanford was an Iraq War veteran who served in the Marine Corps from 2004 to 2008.
The suspect had been arrested in the past, Renye said, without offering further details.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” program earlier on Monday that she had recently spoken with FBI Director Kash Patel about the attack.
“All they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith, and they are trying to understand more about this, how premeditated it was, how much planning went into it, whether he left a note,” she said, using a common term for the church.
A city council candidate in nearby Burton told the Detroit Free Press that he had spoken with Sanford about a week ago, and that the suspect described members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “the antichrist.”
The candidate, Kris Johns, told the newspaper that the two men did not discuss politics, but that he saw a campaign sign for President Donald Trump on the suspect’s fence. An image from Google Maps also shows a Trump sign at an address listed online as the suspect’s residence.
Separately on Monday, a 21-year-old man was taken into custody after driving his car through a barricade that had been set up near the church. The police chief said authorities were still investigating whether that incident was related to Sunday’s attack.
SPATE OF MASS SHOOTINGS
Grand Blanc Township, a suburb of Flint with a population around 40,000, is about 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Detroit.
The Michigan violence came a month after a gunman fired through the stained-glass windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis, killing two children and wounding 17 other people.
Sunday’s assault marked the 324th mass shooting in the U.S. in 2025, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks shootings in which four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter.
Coincidentally, another 40-year-old Marine veteran who served in Iraq is a suspect in a North Carolina shooting that killed three people and wounded five others less than 14 hours before the Michigan incident.
Police in Southport, North Carolina, accused Nigel Max Edge of firing on a waterfront bar from a boat on Saturday night. Edge has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder, police said.
A federal lawsuit that Edge had filed against the U.S. government and others described him as a decorated Marine who suffered severe wounds, including traumatic brain injury, in Iraq. The lawsuit, which was dismissed, showed Edge was previously known as Sean William DeBevoise before changing his name.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based in Utah, follows the teachings of Jesus but also the prophecies of Joseph Smith, a 19th-century American. It is informally known as the Mormon Church, a term that its leadership discourages.
“Places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of peacemaking, prayer and connection,” Doug Andersen, a church spokesman, said in a statement. “We pray for peace and healing for all involved.”
Reporting by Rebecca Cook in Grand Blanc and Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Writing by Joseph Ax and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Frank McGurty, Bill Berkrot and Nick Zieminski
The holding company, called Dicembre, is owned by Margherita Agnelli’s three children from her first marriage: Elkann and his siblings Lapo and Ginevra
International News via Reuters:
Ferrari and Stellantis chair John Elkann faces a new legal battle with his mother after her lawyers on Monday presented what they said was a previously undisclosed handwritten amendment to the will of her father, the late Gianni Agnelli.
The note, produced during a court hearing in Turin, could raise questions over the ownership of the holding company at the top of Exor, the Agnelli family investment firm led by Elkann that controls sports car maker Ferrari and is the top investor in Fiat-to-Jeep maker Stellantis.
The holding company, called Dicembre, is owned by Margherita Agnelli’s three children from her first marriage: Elkann and his siblings Lapo and Ginevra.
ELKANN’S LAWYERS SAY DOCUMENT IS NOT RELEVANT
Margherita Agnelli is locked in an inheritance dispute with the three of them over Gianni’s estate after his death in 2003.
The handwritten note, dated January 20, 1998, was filed at a hearing on Monday, according to her lawyers, as part of the civil case which she has brought in proceedings that are dividing one of Italy’s best-known families. Reuters has also seen a copy of the note.
In the signed note, Gianni Agnelli stated that his roughly 25% stake in Dicembre should be assigned to his son Edoardo, who subsequently died in 2000. A separate document from 1996 had indicated that the shareholding should go to John Elkann, his grandson – which is what happened.
John Elkann’s legal team said the alleged new document had no bearing on agreements reached in 2004 about Gianni Agnelli’s estate.
The note was found during a separate criminal investigation by the Turin prosecutor’s office into alleged tax evasion that ended this month with Elkann agreeing to a year of community service.
When Gianni Agnelli’s will was opened in February 2003, the heirs had information only relating to the 1996 document, Margherita Agnelli’s lawyers argued.
As a result, Gianni’s widow, Marella Caracciolo donated a 25.37% stake in Dicembre to Elkann, enabling him to gain a majority.
Margherita Agnelli’s lawyers say that their client and Marella Caracciolo should have kept the portion of Dicembre intended for Edoardo.
She inherited 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) after her father died but wants a greater share of the estate for her five children from her second marriage.
“The management of the Agnelli estate was established with the settlement agreement of February 2004, following which Margherita definitively withdrew from Dicembre’s capital,” Elkann’s lawyers said.
($1 = 0.8528 euros)
Reporting by Emilio Parodi. Additional reporting by Giulio Piovaccari. Editing by Keith Weir and Mark Potter
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