Paris Conference: Int’l Coalition to Choke Off Terror Financing

A two-day conference in Paris, France, on combating the financing of terror groups, on April 26, 2018. AFP
A two-day conference in Paris, France, on combating the financing of terror groups, on April 26, 2018. AFP
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Paris Conference: Int’l Coalition to Choke Off Terror Financing

A two-day conference in Paris, France, on combating the financing of terror groups, on April 26, 2018. AFP
A two-day conference in Paris, France, on combating the financing of terror groups, on April 26, 2018. AFP

A two-day conference on combating the funding of terror groups held in Paris issued on Thursday a series of recommendations to cut off funds for extremists.

More than 70 countries committed to bolster efforts in the fight against terrorism financing associated with ISIS and al-Qaeda.

Participants vowed to improve international coordination and enhance transparency of financial flows.

In a final declaration, they agreed to "fully criminalize" terror financing through effective and proportionate sanctions "even in the absence of a link to a specific terrorist act."

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the decision of participants at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which brought together around 80 ministers and 500 experts, to form a coalition with the aim of choking off financing for ISIS and al-Qaeda.

He called in his closing statement for more cooperation to deny militant movements the financing they need to carry out attacks.

Macron warned that the militants "use all contemporary forms of financing."

"We have to cut off terrorism at its roots: it feeds on human trafficking, drugs and weapons. There's always an underlying economy," said Macron, urging global "transparency and mobilization."

"We have to cross to a new stage in the fight against ISIS and al-Qaeda."

Macron praised the "No money for terror conference" for committing to improving such measures as sharing intelligence, fighting against anonymous financial transactions and identifying sources of funding.



Eleven Dead, 50 Injured in Bulgarian Motorway Pile-up

A drone view shows emergency services working at the site of a highway pileup that killed several people, near Yambol, Bulgaria, November 10, 2026, in this still image obtained from a video. (Georgi Manev/Nova TV/Handout via Reuters)
A drone view shows emergency services working at the site of a highway pileup that killed several people, near Yambol, Bulgaria, November 10, 2026, in this still image obtained from a video. (Georgi Manev/Nova TV/Handout via Reuters)
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Eleven Dead, 50 Injured in Bulgarian Motorway Pile-up

A drone view shows emergency services working at the site of a highway pileup that killed several people, near Yambol, Bulgaria, November 10, 2026, in this still image obtained from a video. (Georgi Manev/Nova TV/Handout via Reuters)
A drone view shows emergency services working at the site of a highway pileup that killed several people, near Yambol, Bulgaria, November 10, 2026, in this still image obtained from a video. (Georgi Manev/Nova TV/Handout via Reuters)

Eleven people died in a traffic accident involving dozens of vehicles on both sides of a foggy stretch of highway in eastern Bulgaria on Tuesday, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said.

Police, firefighters and ambulance crews rushed to the scene on the A1 road that links the capital Sofia with the eastern city of Burgas. Images ‌on local media ‌showed cars and trucks piled up ‌across ⁠six lanes of ⁠highway, many crushed, overturned, or veered off to the side.

Fifty injured people were transported to hospital, according to the interior ministry.

Radev described the accident as a "tragedy" in a statement during a visit to Bulgaria by European Commission President Ursula von ⁠der Leyen. He said that he ‌had deployed aircraft to evacuate ‌the wounded and planned to visit the scene.

Von ‌der Leyen said she would cut her ‌visit short. "I would like to express my deepest condolences and I would like to pay respects to the rescue teams," von der Leyen said.

Briefing reporters at the ‌site of the accident, General Secretary of the Interior Ministry, Lyubomir Nikolov, ⁠said that fog ⁠was the likely cause of the accident which started with a collision between a bus and a truck on the side of the highway heading towards Burgas.

Chief Inspector Todor Mishinev from the Yambol Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Nova TV that some people were still trapped in their cars.

"Right now, the priority is rescue operations. Once they are completed, the procedural and investigative actions will be carried out," he said.


Train Drivers Strike in Spain After Two Deadly Crashes in a Year

Travelers wait for their train on a platform at Barcelona Sants station in Barcelona, Spain, 10 November 2026. (EPA)
Travelers wait for their train on a platform at Barcelona Sants station in Barcelona, Spain, 10 November 2026. (EPA)
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Train Drivers Strike in Spain After Two Deadly Crashes in a Year

Travelers wait for their train on a platform at Barcelona Sants station in Barcelona, Spain, 10 November 2026. (EPA)
Travelers wait for their train on a platform at Barcelona Sants station in Barcelona, Spain, 10 November 2026. (EPA)

Spanish train drivers went on strike on Tuesday to demand more investment in maintenance and safety following Spain's second fatal rail crash this year, causing widespread travel disruption.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez last week appointed his deputy, Carlos Cuerpo, to provisionally run the Transport Ministry after Oscar Puente resigned over the two crashes on the same high-speed Madrid-Seville line this year that killed 115 people.

About 40% ‌of long- ‌and medium-distance services were cancelled on Tuesday, affecting ‌4,042 ⁠passengers, state train operator ⁠Renfe said, while 90% of services in Madrid's commuter network and 50% of Barcelona's local service were cancelled.

In Leganes, near Madrid, commuters had to take buses to reach the city center. At least five lines on the city's local commuter train network were not operating, and another three had partial service, according to state operator ⁠Cercanias.

In the Catalonia region, operator Rodalies said ‌trains were running late due to ‌non-compliance with requirements for a minimum service. At Masnou station, on the outskirts ‌of Barcelona, just a few people could be seen waiting ‌for the intermittent service.

EARLIER TALKS OVER SAFETY ABANDONED IN APRIL, UNION SAYS

Talks with the government to improve safety on Spain's high-speed network, Europe's most extensive, began after a crash in southern Spain in January that killed ‌46 people, but were abandoned in April, according to the train drivers union.

The second collision last ⁠month occurred ⁠after a controller ordered a train operated by state-owned Renfe to continue following a signal failure even though there was a stationary Iryo-operated train further ahead on the same line, according to Puente.

King Felipe VI and his wife Letizia were set to join relatives of the victims of last month's crash, in which 69 people died, at a funeral in Toledo's cathedral in central Spain later on Tuesday.


Canada Reimposes Sanctions against 11 Iranian Companies

A Canadian flag flies next to the entry to the border crossing at Rainbow Bridge International on February 04, 2025 in Niagara Falls, Canada. (Getty Images via AFP)
A Canadian flag flies next to the entry to the border crossing at Rainbow Bridge International on February 04, 2025 in Niagara Falls, Canada. (Getty Images via AFP)
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Canada Reimposes Sanctions against 11 Iranian Companies

A Canadian flag flies next to the entry to the border crossing at Rainbow Bridge International on February 04, 2025 in Niagara Falls, Canada. (Getty Images via AFP)
A Canadian flag flies next to the entry to the border crossing at Rainbow Bridge International on February 04, 2025 in Niagara Falls, Canada. (Getty Images via AFP)

Canada on Tuesday said it was reimposing sanctions against 11 Iranian companies in the energy and banking sectors for contributing to the Iranian republic's nuclear drive, ballistic missile program or the financing of "malign activities".

The companies, which include the National Iranian Oil Company and leading banks Mellat and Melli, were delisted from Canadian sanctions in 2016. But the measures have now been reimposed "to disrupt Iranian financial networks supporting its nuclear program", the Canadian foreign ministry said in a statement on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Paris.