Consumer confidence in the euro area fell 0.8 points in October from the previous month, according to a flash estimate of the consumer confidence indicator released on Thursday by the European Commission.

The leading indicator, which can predict consumer spending, also measures consumer confidence in economic activity and now stands at minus 4.8 points.

Markets had expected the figure to decline to minus 5 points from its September level of minus 4.

In the EU, consumer confidence fell this month by 0.9 points from the previous month to minus 6.1 points.

The market estimate for the figure had been minus 6.4 points, while it had stood at minus 5.2 in September.

"The indicator remains close to or above its pre-pandemic level in both regions," the European Commission said./aa

British football side Newcastle United asked fans on Wednesday to stop wearing "traditional Arabic clothing" and "Middle East-inspired head coverings" at its matches.

In guidelines published on the club's official website, Newcastle United said it was "kindly asking" supporters to refrain from wearing traditional Arabic clothing or Middle East-inspired head coverings at matches if they would not ordinarily wear such attire.

It added that none in the club's new ownership group had in any way been offended by "the attire of the fans who chose to celebrate in this way," which it said was seen as a gesture of "positive and welcoming" intent.

"However, there remains the possibility that dressing this way is culturally inappropriate and risks causing offence to others," it said, adding that "all visitors to the club are, as always, encouraged to wear whatever is the norm for their own culture or religion."

Some supporters of Newcastle were recently seen at its stadium, St. James' Park, wearing head coverings and robes after the announcement of the club's takeover led by the Public Investment Fund -- Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund./aa

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - At least 782 kidnappings were recorded in Haiti in 2021, almost as many as the 796 that was reported in 2020, according to a Port-au-Prince-based human rights group.

The Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights (CARDH) said at least 119 people were kidnapped in the first half of October, “an increase compared to September,” it said.

The latest abduction occurred Oct. 16 when an armed group kidnapped 17 American missionaries, including a Canadian, from the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries that was visiting an orphanage when their bus was seized in Ganthier in Port-au-Prince.

The Haitian gang known as 400 Mawozo is demanding $1 million each for their release, said Minister of Justice Liszt Quitel.

He said FBI agents are assisting with the investigation.

The gang is one of Haiti’s oldest and most dangerous with a long history of murder, kidnapping and extortion.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Haitians protested growing criminality on Tuesday.

Demonstrations paralyzed stores, schools and public transportation.

The humanitarian situation has worsened since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in June. Tensions are rising amid criminal gang violence, shortages of fuel, increases in food prices and a political vacuum that has plunged Haitians into deep uncertainty about the future.

The crisis has also become a problem for countries in the region that are receiving a large inflow of migrants.

Thousands of Haitians are fleeing poverty and political turmoil and risking their lives on dangerous journeys through Latin America in hopes of reaching the US./aa

The US Federal Reserve on Thursday banned its officials from purchasing individual securities, restricting them from active trading in light of a recent scandal.

The new set of rules will prohibit staff from purchasing individual stocks, holding investments in individual bonds and agency securities, and entering into derivatives, the central bank said in a statement.

The rules will increase the timeliness of reporting and public disclosure by Fed policymakers and senior officials who will be required to provide 45 days' advance notice for purchases and sales of securities, obtain prior approval for such transactions, and hold their investments for at least a year.

In addition, no purchases or sales will be allowed during periods of heightened financial market stress, said the rules.

Senior Fed officials will be limited to purchasing only diversified investment vehicles, such as mutual funds.

Also, presidents of the Fed are now required to publicly disclose their financial transactions within 30 days.

"These tough new rules raise the bar high in order to assure the public we serve that all of our senior officials maintain a single-minded focus on the public mission of the Federal Reserve," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in the statement.

The move comes amid a scandal in which several Fed officials were reported in recent weeks to have bought and sold stocks at a time when the bank was adjusting policies to improve the pandemic-hit markets.

During the pandemic, the Fed lowered interest rates to near-zero, and bought more than $4 trillion worth of assets to support the American economy in order to provide liquidity for the markets.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan announced on Sept. 27 their early retirement as they had bought corporate bonds and stocks from some of the largest US companies during the pandemic.

Powell also owned municipal bonds worth $1.25-$2.5 million purchased before 2019, but they were held by him during the pandemic./aa

Over 650 people have been sickened with salmonella across the US in an outbreak linked to onions imported from Mexico, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC counted 652 infections and 129 hospitalizations in data last updated Wednesday. No one has died in the outbreak, which has been detected in 37 states.

The source appears to be fresh whole red, white and yellow onions imported from Chihuahua, Mexico and distributed by ProSource Inc., said the CDC. The onions were last imported Aug. 27 but can last up to three months in storage, ProSource told the health authority.

The CDC is urging companies to refrain from selling onions imported from Chihuahua and to check storage containers for any onions from the Mexican state and dispose of any found.

People who contract salmonella poisoning typically have diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps with recovery taking up to one week.

Texas and Oklahoma are the states hardest hit by the outbreak with up to 160 cases in each state, according to CDC data./aa

Russian private military companies could be active in Mali, President Vladimir Putin admitted on Thursday.

Such contractors could be serving in roles connected to guarding mining operations, Putin said at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the resort city of Sochi in southern Russia.

"This is a private business, private interests, related to -- among other things -- the extraction of energy resources and other resources -- gold, gems," he said.

The president stressed that as private companies, private military companies do not represent the interests of the Russian state and are not deployed by Russian authorities.

If their activities contradict the interests of Russia as a state, however, Russian officials will take action.

Russia, US move forward on Geneva decisions

Turning to Russia-US relations, Putin said a summit in Geneva with US President Joe Biden earlier this year had been "productive" and boosted impetus towards normalization.

"Though the set of issues we agreed on (in Geneva) is small, we're still on the right track. These are today's most important issues and in general, the administration on the American side and Russia on the other side are fulfilling their plans and moving forward on this path," he said on the meeting held in June.

Putin added that he had the impression that Washington aimed to build and revive relations in some important areas.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that a new meeting between the Russian and US leaders could take place by the end of the year.

Thawing Armenia-Turkey relations

Addressing the settlement last year of the conflict for the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Putin said that despite all obstacles, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had managed to stop the bloodshed.

"It is necessary to create conditions for a long-term settlement in the region as a whole, which can be created if the parties accept the agreements on Karabakh as long-term, to be able to assess the benefits of peace," he said.

Putin underlined that both sides would benefit from the peace, with Azerbaijan now able to have normal connections with its exclave Nakhchivan and Armenia profiting from building economic relations.

"Armenia is interested in establishing normal economic activity, including with Azerbaijan, to unfreeze its relations with Turkey, to give them a modern character," he said.

The main point will be to create a situation of security and build relationships between Armenia and Azerbaijan in a positive way, he added.

Another important thing, said Putin, will be to settle the situation on the border, adding that this would be impossible without Russia.

Liberation of Karabakh

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces, and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the nearly three-decade occupation.

On Nov. 10 last year, the two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement to end the fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.

On Jan. 11, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region. It included the establishment of a trilateral working group on Karabakh.

The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces withdrew in line with the agreement.

Prior to this victory, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory had been under illegal occupation for nearly 30 years./aa

An Afghan detainee who was held for 14 years at the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will soon be released after a federal judge ruled his detention was illegal.

Asadullah Haroon Gul, 40, was captured in 2007 as part of the US’ war in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Gul was a member of a paramilitary group allied with al-Qaeda, but he was never charged with a crime and the group, Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG), reached a peace agreement with Afghanistan's US-backed government in 2016.

Prosecutors argued that Gul's ties to al-Qaeda and terrorism ran deeper than just his association with HIG and his detention was justified.

But his defense was bolstered by a finding by a board of review made up of members of the US national intelligence. That board ruled this year that Gul does not pose a significant threat to national security.

Separately, the US determined that transferring Gul from Guantanamo Bay did not pose a security risk and the Afghanistan government, prior to its collapse in August, had also argued for Gul's release, saying that his continued detention was bad for US-Afghanistan relations.

Additionally, his defense team argued that he was a prisoner of war and should have been released upon the announcement that the US was ending the war in Afghanistan.

US District Judge Amit Mehta of Washington D.C. made the final ruling on Gul's release this week, although he did not announce the basis for his decision.

Gul's attorney Tara Plochocki said in a statement that the ruling, "was a landmark victory for the rule of law and a much-needed reminder to the US government that there are limits on what it may do in the name of national security."

Gul's victory represents the first successful petition for release by a Guantanamo Bay detainee in 10 years. After his release, there will be just one Afghan remaining at the camp, out of the 219 originally sent there following the US invasion./aa

The Vikings landed in Newfoundland, Canada 1,000 years ago, beating explorer Christopher Columbus to North America by about five centuries, according to a report published Thursday by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

A new analytical process allowed scientists to date three rings on tree limbs and stumps that had been downed with iron blades, and the study, published in the Journal Nature, proves the Vikings arrived and established a settlement in 1021. While their arrival before Columbus has long been known - the remnants of the settlement on the northern tip of Newfoundland and Labrador province at L'Anse aux Meadows is a popular tourist attraction.

While it has long been known the Vikings were the first Europeans in North America, the study marks the first time that the exact date of the landing can be identified. It is somewhat complicated, but using atmospheric radiocarbon symbol allowed scientists to confidently confirm the date of the "exact felling of the tree." It involved the analysis of a solar storm that hit the Earth with a large shot of radiation in 992 AD.

"The association of these (tree wood) pieces with the Norse(men) is based on detailed research previously conducted by Parks Canada," according to the study.

The Newfoundland and Labrador settlement is a world heritage site and is the only known such Viking landing site in North America, or as it was referred to by early explorers as the New World.

The settlement features eight hollowed-out land hills with wood doors and interiors to shelter the Vikings. But the weather on the northwest tip of the Atlantic Ocean is wet and cold even in the summer months.

The province has kept the area as close to the original details of the settlement as possible and there is a museum along with a large 10-foot bronze statue of Viking explorer Leif Ericson, donated by the Leif Ericson foundation of Seattle, Washington. It stands about 150 feet from the settlement and is reputed to be the spot where the great Norse explorer and his crew landed./agencies

Eighty-one militiamen have been killed by the Democratic Republic of Congo Army since the beginning of October, according to UN radio on Thursday.

It said that 63 were captured and 26 weapons have been recovered during operations launched against the coalition of CODECO and FPIC militias around Lipri, Ngongo, Petsi and Ritsi -- about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Bunia.

Army spokesman Lieut. Jules Ngongo said the army is pursuing the militiamen who are on the run.

“The fighting is also taking place in the villages of Bambu and Kilo, more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Bunia,” said Ngongo. “More than five villages that were occupied by these militiamen are now under the control of the national army which continues to hunt down these armed groups.”

He said the militiamen have taken refuge Nyangaray, 26 kilometers (16 miles) from their defeat.

UN radio said local area chief Claude Mateso hailed the army for a job well done.

The army recently started operations to eliminate militias that have for years attacked villages and looted property./agencies

A booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was found to be 95.6% effective against COVID-19, the companies announced on Thursday.

The result is from a large Phase 3 trial “with more than 10,000 participants 16 years of age and older” that was conducted “during a period when Delta was the prevalent strain.”

“In the trial, a booster dose administered to individuals who previously received the Pfizer-BioNTech primary two-dose series restored vaccine protection against COVID-19 to the high levels achieved after the second dose, showing a relative vaccine efficacy of 95.6% when compared to those who did not receive a booster,” read a joint statement.

Some 55.5% of the participants were between 16 and 55 years, while 23.3% were 65 years and older.

They randomly received a 30-microgram vaccine dose or a placebo, with the median time between a person’s second dose and the booster or placebo being approximately 11 months.

“Symptomatic COVID-19 occurrence was measured from at least 7 days after booster or placebo, with a median follow-up of 2.5 months. During the study period, there were 5 cases of COVID-19 in the boosted group, and 109 cases in the non-boosted group,” the statement said.

The efficacy was consistent irrespective of age, sex, race, ethnicity, or comorbid conditions, it added.

Ugur Sahin, cofounder of BioNTech, said the data supports “evidence suggesting that a booster dose of our vaccine can help protect a broad population of people from this virus and its variants.”

“Based on these findings we believe that, in addition to broad global access to vaccines for everyone, booster vaccinations could play an important role in sustaining pandemic containment and a return to normalcy,” he said.

The companies now plan to submit detailed results from the trial for peer-reviewed publication and share data with the US Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency, and other regulatory agencies around the world as soon as possible, the statement added./agencies