“The president of Spain’s Valencia region, Carlos Mazón, has resigned after months of pressure over his handling of flash floods last year. A total of 229 people died in towns in the Valencia region on 29 October 2024, with a further eight dying in neighbouring regions, in Spain’s worst natural disaster for decades. Many in Valencia blamed Mazón for the scale of the tragedy because of how he and his government responded that day. It emerged that the regional president had spent nearly four hours in a restaurant with a journalist, Maribel Vilaplana, while the floodwater was wreaking havoc and he did not attend emergency meetings during much of the day. Mazón’s government also failed to issue an emergency alert to the phones of Valencia residents warning them of the floods and providing advice until after 20:00, by which times dozens of people had already died.” (11/03/25)
“Populist Czech billionaire Andrej Babis'[s] ANO party signed a coalition deal with fringe right-wing allies on Monday, moving closer to regaining power after winning a vote on promises of hiking spending and opposing EU climate and migration policies. Babis'[s] return to power with the fringe allies will strengthen the populist, anti-immigration and national sovereignty camp within the European Union that could weaken backing for Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion. Babis, 71, served as prime minister from 2017-2021. He is joining forces with the Motorists party, which is sceptical about climate change, and the SPD party, which is against the EU and NATO. He has said he wants to form a government by mid-December.” (11/03/25)
“A Mexican mayor who was outspoken in his opposition to drug cartels and pushed for hardline laws against trafficking was killed in a shooting at a Day of the Dead celebration this weekend. Before his death, Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo had been critical of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for what he saw as a lack of effort in combating cartels. His city lies in Michoacán State, which suffers from particularly high levels of cartel violence. … State officials say Manzo was shot seven times on Saturday night during a Day of the Dead vigil. He died of his wounds in a nearby hospital.” (11/03/25)
“OpenAI has signed a deal to buy $38 billion worth of capacity from Amazon Web Services, its first contract with the leader in cloud infrastructure and the latest sign that the $500 billion artificial intelligence startup is no longer reliant on Microsoft. Under the agreement announced on Monday, OpenAI will immediately begin running workloads on AWS infrastructure, tapping hundreds of thousands of Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) in the U.S., with plans to expand capacity in the coming years. Amazon stock climbed about 5% following the news.” (11/03/25)
“Two men who had acquired high-powered weapons and practiced at gun ranges were scouting LGBTQ+ bars in suburban Detroit for a possible attack, authorities said Monday in filing terrorism-related charges against the pair. Momed Ali, Majed Mahmoud and co-conspirators were inspired by the Islamic State group’s extremism, according to a 72-page criminal complaint unsealed in federal court. Investigators say a minor, identified only as Person 1, was deeply involved in the discussions. … FBI agents had surveilled them for weeks, even using a camera on a pole outside a Dearborn house, according to the court filing. Investigators also got access to encrypted chats and other conversations and scoured social media posts. Ali and Mahmoud were charged with receiving and transferring guns and ammunition for terrorism.” (11/03/25)
“Immigrant rights protesters documented federal agents in Los Angeles wearing Halloween costumes while patrolling the city this week, including a mask from a horror movie and a mask related to a violent internet myth. Harbor Area Peace Patrols, a community group that has been protesting and documenting federal immigration activity in Los Angeles, spotted the activity earlier this week as officers left Terminal Island, a frequent staging ground for federal agents near the Port of Los Angeles. LA Taco, a local media outlet, first reported on the sightings. The Department of Homeland Security did not deny the reports when asked by SFGATE. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement: ‘Happy Halloween!’ Maya Suzuki Daniels, an organizer with Harbor Peace Patrols, said they saw officers wearing a ‘Chucky’ mask on Tuesday.” (11/03/25)
“A powerful, 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 500 others, a health official said, adding that the numbers could increase. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake’s epicenter was located 22 kilometers (14 miles) west-southwest of the town of Khulm, and that it struck at 12:59 a.m. at a depth of 28 kilometers (17 miles). Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, said 534 injured people and 20 bodies had been brought to hospitals in Balkh and Samangan provinces. Rescuers were on the scene and the figures were changing, he added.” (11/03/25)
“Firefighters worked to rescue a worker trapped for hours beneath the rubble of a medieval tower that partially collapsed during an ongoing 6.9 million euro (nearly $8 million) renovation in the heart of Italy’s capital on Monday, critically injuring another worker. Rescuers faced a complex task as the structure continued to give way as they tried to get near the trapped worker, who officials said was alive, through a first-floor window, forcing their retreat on telescopic aerial ladders in a cloud of smoke. Another approach on two ladders was also aborted, and a drone sent up in their stead. As dusk approached, firefighters lifted on a crane used giant tubes to suck rubble out of the second-floor window. They continued the work into the night. Rome’s top law enforcement official, Prefect Lamberto Giannini, said there were ‘signs of life’ from the trapped worker, and that firefighters had managed to give him some protective cover during an earlier rescue attempt.” (11/03/25)
“Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn into office on Monday for her first elected term after winning a landslide victory in an election that set off deadly protests across the country. Hassan, who came to power in 2021 following the death in office of her predecessor, was declared the winner of last week’s election with 97.66 percent of the vote. … Hassan, 65, ran against only candidates from minor parties after her main challengers from the two biggest opposition parties were disqualified from the race. Violent protests erupted during last Wednesday’s voting …. As Hassan was inaugurated on Monday an internet blackout was still in place. The main opposition party said hundreds of people had been killed in the protests, while the UN human rights office said credible reports indicated at least 10 people were killed in three cities.” (11/03/25)
“The military commander who has ruled Guinea since a coup four years ago has entered the presidential race, breaking an earlier promise to hand power to a civilian government. Col Mamadi Doumbouya submitted his candidacy at the Supreme Court on Monday, flanked by soldiers and wearing black sunglasses. He did not make any public comment. Two of Guinea’s biggest opposition parties — RPG Arc en Ciel and UFDG — have been excluded from December’s contest. This has raised concerns about the election’s credibility. Guineans had reacted with shock last month when it was announced that presidential candidates would need to pay a deposit of 875m Guinean francs ($100,000; £75,000) to contest the election.” (11/03/25)
