While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Nov 1, 2026
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Police detaining a demonstrator in Berlin, Germany, on Oct 31.
PHOTO: REUTERS
German police, protesters clash after ‘Gen Z’ demos
German police and protesters clashed across the country on Oct 31 following massive youth-led protests, with the authorities using water cannon and pepper spray as masked demonstrators hurled fireworks, stones and bottles.
Several police officers were injured in the violence after tens of thousands joined protests nationwide that were organised by the group “GenZ regelt!” (Gen Z has got this!).
The demonstrations, inspired by similar movements in France and Italy calling for political elites to heed the concerns of the younger generation, were largely peaceful during the day.
But tensions peaked in the evening as some groups of protesters refused to disperse.
Clashes as hundreds of thousands protest in France
PHOTO: EPA
Clashes erupted in Paris and other French cities on Oct 31 after hundreds of thousands of people staged a third weekend of protests against soaring living costs.
Hundreds of people were arrested as police fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse rioters on the sidelines of the demonstrations, where regular protesters marched in Halloween costumes.
While Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the marches had been largely orderly, he denounced the disorder, including an incident in Paris where a police officer was struck by a Molotov cocktail.
Forced to eat grass, Oleshky evacuees welcome truce
PHOTO: AFP
Evacuees from Oleshky, a bombed-out city in Russian-occupied Ukraine, told AFP that residents had to eat grass and dogs to survive and that their rescue following a humanitarian truce was a “blessing”.
US First Lady Melania Trump announced the truce on Oct 23, saying the city was “on the brink of disaster”.
Ukrainian and Russian officials visited the city together on Oct 30, delivering aid and evacuating those who wanted to leave in a rare show of cooperation between the warring sides.
UN demands probe into employee’s death in Houthi custody
PHOTOS: @ERYANIM/X
The United Nations on Oct 31 condemned the “heartbreaking” death of one of its employees in Yemen under custody of the Houthis and demanded an urgent inquiry.
Mohammad al-Shami, a staff member of the UN Human Rights Office in Yemen, had been “arbitrarily held” by the Houthis since June 2024, the organisation said in a statement.
It cited his family as saying he had died more than a month ago, but that his relatives had only been recently informed.
Chelsea defeat pushes Carrick closer to Man Utd exit
PHOTO: ACTION IMAGES
Michael Carrick’s stay of execution as Manchester United boss may not last long after his team imploded in a 2-0 English Premier League loss at Chelsea on Oct 31.
The visitors wasted a string of chances to take the lead at Stamford Bridge before Morgan Rogers waltzed through the heart of the United defence to open the scoring on 50 minutes.
Lisandro Martinez then ruined any chance of a revival from Carrick’s men with two quick-fire yellow cards, the second of which also conceded a penalty converted by Cole Palmer.