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Germany's heating bills have tripled since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Germans are facing a 82% increase in heating costs since 2021, when the country decided to cut ties with Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Germany's association of property managers predicts that in 2025, heating a 70 square metre flat with gas will cost 1,180 euros per year, an increase of 15% compared to the previous year.
According to the firm Techem, which analysed data from 100,000 residential buildings, heating costs reached record levels in the last four years, with a cumulative increase of 82% since 2021.
42-year-old Fernando, who lives in Berlin, illustrates this reality: his monthly heating heating bill rose from €140 to €390, amounting to an average annual increase of about 30%.
In Germany, heating is typically included in rent through a monthly advance payment that is adjusted at the end of the year. This system has led to unpleasant surprises for many tenants, who are faced with increasingly high adjustment bills.
According to Eurostat, 13% of German households now spend more than 40% of their income on housing, five percentage points above the European average and second only to Denmark.
From Russian pipelines to Norwegian gas: a costly shift
The energy crisis and subsequent rise in heating costs stems largely from Germany's forced shift in energy suppliers. Before the war in Ukraine, Russia supplied 55% of Germany's gas imports in 2020, mainly via pipelines that ensured a stable and affordable supply.
Andreas Fischer, an energy economist at the Institute for the German Economy (IW), pointed out that "gas has become more expensive... [because] it used to come mainly through pipelines, and then we had a crisis situation".
Today, Norway has become Germany's main supplier, accounting for 48% of gas imports in 2024, followed by the Netherlands (25%) and Belgium (18%).
This transition has proven more costly, not only because of the new supply routes, but also because gas now arrives in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a more expensive alternative compared to pipeline transport.
Fischer remains pessimistic about the immediate future, he does not expect heating to become cheaper in Germany in the short term, despite the government's efforts to boost renewable energy. The majority of German households still depend on gas for heating, leaving them vulnerable to fluctuations in global gas prices.
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Polish to be the most effective language for prompting AI, new study reveals
Out of 26 different languages, Polish proved to be the most effective for prompting artificial intelligence (AI) models, with English only ranking sixth, a study by The University of Maryland (UMD) and Microsoft revealed.
"Our experiment yielded some surprising and unintuitive findings. Firstly, English did not perform best across all models, in fact it came sixth out of 26 languages when long texts were assessed, while Polish proved to be the leading language," the authors of the report wrote.
A team of researchers tested how well several major AI language models, including OpenAI, Google Gemini, Qwen, Llama and DeepSeek, responded to identical inputs in 26 different languages.
The results showed that Polish had an average accuracy of 88% in completing the tasks.
"As the analysis shows, it is the most precise in terms of giving commands to artificial intelligence. Until now, Polish was widely regarded as one of the most difficult languages to learn. As it turns out, humans have trouble with it, but not AI," the Polish Patent Office wrote in a Facebook post.
Interestingly, AI systems demonstrated a strong understanding of Polish, even though the amount of Polish-language data available for training is far smaller than that for English or Chinese.
In comparison, Chinese performed notably poorly, ranking fourth from the bottom out of the 26 languages tested.
The top 10 most effective languages for conversational AI were as follows:
- Polish 88%
- French 87%
- Italian 86%
- Spanish 85%
- Russian 84%
- English 83.9%
- Ukrainian 83.5%
- Portuguese 82%
- German 81%
- Dutch 80%
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Louvre burglary: two new suspects under investigation, three released
Two new people were indicted on Saturday following the burglary of the Louvre museum, a source close to the case told franceinfo.
Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, said a 37-year-old suspect was charged with "organised gang theft" and "criminal conspiracy". The other, a 38-year-old woman, is accused of being an accomplice. They were both incarcerated.
They both denied involvement, the prosecutor said.
Five people were arrested by police on Wednesday in connection with the case, including one tied by DNA. Three have been released without charges, Beccuau said.
"One of them was indeed one of the investigators' targets, and we had him in our sights", she said on French radio network RTL, adding that "DNA traces" had been found at the scene.
The four other arrests concerned people who could provide information about the burglary, she added, without revealing any further information.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Beccuau revealed that the two people arrested on Saturday evening on suspicion of involvement in the spectacular burglary at the Louvre had "partially admitted their involvement".
Debate over security measures
The "heist of the century" has sparked intense debate over security at the Louvre, the world's most visited art museum.
On Friday, Culture Minister Rachida Dati unveiled the initial conclusions of the investigation by the General Inspectorate of Cultural Affairs, with a highly critical assessment: "chronic, structural underestimation of the risk of intrusion and theft" by the Louvre, "under-equipped security systems", "inappropriate" governance and "totally obsolete" protocols for reacting to theft and intrusion.
Dati said that the alarms had worked during the theft, but acknowledged "security flaws". "We can't go on like this", she insisted, according to Le Figaro.
In response, the Louvre, who has been under pressure following the theft of the crown jewels, will install anti-intrusion and anti-vehicle devices on the public highway before the end of the year, the Culture Minister announced on Friday.
The thieves used a truck-mounted cherry picker to reach a window in the Apollo gallery and ran off with eight crown jewels within minutes.
This week, the French Senate examined the shortcomings in the surveillance system and examined who bears responsibility. Several lawmakers and trade unions questioned whether the minister’s actions represent genuine reform or are mere symbolic gestures.
Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre, previously said that the museum needs physical barriers to prevent vehicles from parking near the most vulnerable display cases.
She also called for a police station to be set up directly within the museum perimetres, to enhance security at a site that attracts more than 8 million visitors a year.
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NASA’s supersonic jet completes first test flight
NASA’s X-59 supersonic jet took its first flight over the California desert this week, marking a major milestone in the effort to revive fast air travel.
Built by NASA and Lockheed Martin, the sleek aircraft is designed to fly faster than sound while producing only a soft “thump” instead of a sonic boom.
The test flight focused on structural integrity and landed safely at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, bringing the dream of quiet supersonic passenger travel closer to reality.
If successful, the new technology could cut flight times between cities like New York and Los Angeles nearly in half, reviving the dream once held by the Concorde of a new era of high-speed commercial travel.
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Latest news bulletin | November 1st, 2025 – Evening
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20 years in the making: the Grand Egyptian Museum officially opens
After 20 years in the making, the billion-dollar Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Cairo opened on Saturday. The GEM is the world's largest museum dedicated to an ancient civilisation, and showcases 50,000 artifacts, including the entire collection of treasures from the tomb of King Tutankhamun, many of which are displayed for the first time.
The president's office praised the GEM as “an exceptional event in the history of human culture and civilization,” and in a post on X, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi applauded the fact that the museum "brings together the genius of ancient Egyptians and the creativity of modern Egyptians".
The museum is expected to attract 5 million visitors annually, Egyptian businessman and member of the GEM'S board of trustees, Sir Mohamed Mansour, said, adding the impact it will have on the country's economy.
Such figures would place the GEM among the world’s leading museums. For comparison, in 2024, the Louvre in Paris welcomed 8.7 million visitors, the British Museum 6.5 million, and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art 5.7 million.
Located right next to the pyramids, the museum incorporates triangular motifs throughout its design. Besides the triangular shape of the building's glass façade, its slanting roof also align with the peak of the pyramids.
From the atrium, an impressive six-story staircase lined with ancient statues leads up to the main galleries and a view of the ancient landmarks.
Besides its exhibition spaces, the museum will also be home to a conference centre, a library, educational facilities, a children's museum, and shops and restaurants.
What's missing from the GEM?
The GEM, which partially opened last year, has 12 main galleries, exhibiting antiquities ranging from prehistoric times to the Roman era.
The museum is celebrated for housing many of Egypt’s priceless artifacts from its ancient civilisation, including a granite colossus of Ramses the Great, an impressive statue that greets visitors as they enter the main hall.
However, some Egyptian ancient relics are notably missing form the GEM, including the Rosetta Stone currently displayed in the British Museum in London, the Dendera Zodiac in the Louvre in Paris, and Nefertiti's bust in Neues Museum of Berlin.
Egyptologists and Egyptians have long called for the return of the prominent artifacts, and the opening of the GEM has once again reignited demands for their return.
Two decades in the making
World leaders, including monarchs, heads of states and governments, attended the grand opening ceremony in the Egyptian capital on Saturday.
"All of us as Egyptians are witnessing today a unique and exceptional event, literally, which is the opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum," Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said during a press conference.
"This dream that we all imagined and we all wondered whether it was going to happen and we are going to see it executed and witness this great day," he added.
Construction of the megaproject began in 2005 during the presidency of Hosni Mubarak. The project was designed to replace the more modest Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo and aims to boost Egypt's tourism industry and overall economy.
The project was commissioned by Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and was delivered by Belgian construction company Besix, in joint venture with Egypt's Orascom Construction.
However, the completion of the museum faced several delays.
In an interview with Belgian news outlet VRT, Besix project leader Joris de Kinder explained that the project’s complex design, political turmoil during and following the 2011 Arab Spring, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza all contributed to the setbacks.
The museum was already partially opened in October last year, with its grand opening initially planned in July. The ceremony, however, was pushed back due to a 12-day war between Israel and Iran that erupted in June.
The public can book their visit to the institution from 4 November, as the museum will be open daily from 9AM until 6PM. The entrance fee for adult foreign visitors will be 1,450 Egyptian pounds (€27).
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SNAP: US food aid cuts leave pantries bracing for growing demand
With the US food assistance program known as SNAP coming to an end, food pantries across New York are preparing for rising demand.
At Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen in Manhattan, volunteers distribute meals and groceries to hundreds who depend on the aid.
Many low-income families and seniors fear they won’t be able to buy essentials once the benefits stop.
Community organizers warn the cuts could worsen food insecurity, especially in already vulnerable neighborhoods.
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Ukraine's Secret Service reveals number of strike targeting Russian oil refineries and pipelines
Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) revealed its latest attacks on Saturday targeting Russian oil infrastructure, from refineries to pipelines, as Kyiv looks to intensify its counteroffensives against the sector it says funds the Kremlin's invasion.
The attacks are part of the Ukrainian army's tactic of "bringing the war home to ordinary Russians", without endangering civilian lives.
It aims to target sectors and industries which would affect ordinary Russian civilians, such as the energy used to power and heat their homes, or disrupting flight operations at airports via using drones.
It is an effort to incite pressure from within against Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks and end his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, well into its fourth year.
Following an operation carried out on Friday by the HUR of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, three sections of the Koltsevoye oil pipeline in the Moscow capital region, "which supplied the Russian occupation army", were destroyed, the Ukrainian special services reported in an official statement.
"The anti-drone device and the "protection" of the enemy installation by paramilitary guards proved ineffective: the three sections through which the attacker was transporting petrol, diesel and paraffin exploded simultaneously and successfully; the pipeline was put out of service," said the statement.
The main Koltsevoye pipeline is 400 kilometres long. The fuel transported by this pipeline comes from refineries across various regions, including Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow.
The Koltsevoye pipeline is responsible for pumping up to 3 million tonnes of paraffin, 2.8 million tonnes of diesel and around 1.6 million tonnes of petrol annually, making it one of the Kremlin's largest and most integral energy delivery infrastructure.
Ukrainian drones engulf Moscow
Kyiv is continuing to launch barrages of drones both for offensive and disruptive missions into Russia.
The Russian Defence Ministry said that its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 98 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory late on Friday.
According to the ministry, the majority of them - 45 drones - were shot down over the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine. But Ukrainian attacks were also carried out in the regions of Samara, Moscow, Tula and elsewhere.
The governor of the western Russian Tula region, Dmitry Milyaev, announced that a drone had fallen in Tula without causing any injuries or material damage.
Russia launches more than 200 drones
Russian attacks are also continuing to pummel Ukraine as Moscow continues to strike its neighbour daily, resisting global calls, championed by US President Donald Trump, to halt attacks and come to the negotiating table to broker an immediate and lasting peace.
Ukrainian air defence units say at least 223 drones were launched into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, with around 140 of them Iranian-made Shahed strike drones. A number of missiles, including ballistic missiles, were also fired into Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces added that they were able to successfully thwart 206 of them aerially before reaching their targets. 17 drones did however strike their targets across seven regions, according to the Ukrainian air force.
At least one person was killed and more than a dozen others were injured, in a Russian missile strike on Mykolaiv, according to Vitaly Kim, head of the regional military administration. Among the injured was a child, who sustained moderate wounds and is being treated by medical professionals.
Initial reports suggest that the strike was carried out by an Iskander ballistic missile equipped with a cluster munition warhead. The attack caused damage to a petrol station and civilian vehicles.
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Celebrities dress up for Heidi Klum’s annual Halloween party
Celebrities turned out in full costume for Heidi Klum’s famous Halloween party in New York.
The supermodel, known for her extravagant looks, transformed into Medusa with green scales and a crown of writhing snakes, while her husband Tom Kaulitz appeared as a man turned to stone.
Among the other guests were Darren Criss as Shrek, Maye Musk as Cruella de Vil and Ariana Madix as Lady Gaga. Klum spent 10 hours preparing her look, continuing her reign as the queen of Halloween.
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Drone interrupts flight operations at Berlin Airport for two hours
Flight operations at Berlin's Brandenburg Airport, coded 'BER', were interrupted for around two hours late on Friday due to a drone sighting in its airspace. This was confirmed to German media outlets by a spokesperson for the airport.
A witness had reported a drone at around 8 pm local time. The police then deployed several emergency services and a helicopter. The northern runway was initially closed. According to the Brandenburg police, a patrol car crew also confirmed the sighting. The trail of the unidentified aircraft later disappeared.
Following further tip-offs, the Federal Aviation Office also became involved in the investigation. The police helicopter remained in operation until late in the evening.
In neighbouring Belgium, several drones were also observed over the Kleine Brogel air base, which will be home to the recently acquired US-made F-35 fighter jets, prompting an investigation.
Several aircraft diverted
All flight operations at BER were suspended between 8 pm until shortly before 10 pm. Several arriving aircraft had to be diverted; four landed in Dresden, four in Leipzig and three others in Hamburg.
The flights affected were arriving from popular destinations like Stockholm, Antalya and Helsinki.
Berlin Airport received special authorisation for take-offs and landings in order to deal with the backlog. Aircraft were allowed to take off until around 1 am and land until 4 am. This is an exception to the normal ban on night flights between midnight and 5 am.
"Airport operations started as normal this morning," said a spokesperson for the airport to German media outlets on Saturday. "There are no longer any restrictions for travellers," they added.
'Wake-up call in terms of security policy'
The airport association ADV called for consequences for Friday evening's violation. The closure of the capital's airport for several hours was a "wake-up call in terms of security policy", said ADV Managing Director Ralph Beisel.
"When take-offs and landings are stopped and numerous aircraft have to be diverted to other airports, it is not only flight operations that come to a standstill, passenger confidence in the safety of air traffic also suffers."
Beisel emphasised that the state must significantly improve drone detection and defence.
"Airports must not be left alone here. Drone detection and defence are sovereign tasks of the state and must be tackled comprehensively and consistently," he noted.
Not an isolated case at BER
Drone overflights are no longer a rarity in German airspace. According to German Air Traffic Control (DFS), five obstructions caused by drones have already been recorded at Berlin Airport this year. In 2023, there were over 15, and 20 in 2022.
DFS has observed a total of 144 incidents throughout Germany so far this year, 35 of which were in the vicinity of Frankfurt Airport alone.
The unidentified drones are sighted particularly frequently over airports, but also over military installations and transport routes. It is not yet clear how many of these incidents are the result of targeted espionage.
The majority of observations are made by pilots or discovered by air traffic control officers. Around 90 per cent of the reported incidents occur in the vicinity of larger airports, said the DFS in a recent interview with Euronews.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, of the Christian Social Union party (CSU), announced plans to speed up drone defence throughout the country.
The aim is to pool expertise between the federal and state governments, develop new defence technologies and more closely interlink police and military systems.
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