The European Parliament has called for more spending to build affordable houses — using funds for regional development that currently make up a third of the EU budget.

Cohesion funds should be used to protect the ‘right to stay’ in rural areas or in small cities, a principle that the parliament wants to write into the new budget legislation.

Peripheral regions often face depopulation due to few job opportunities, according to a parliamentary non-binding report passed with 601 votes in favour, 20 against, and 36 abstentions on Tuesday (20 October).

MEPs are also calling for strong cohesion funds that would allow cities to better prepare for climate emergencies and provide a budget for additional investments in housing.

Cohesion funds, which account for a total of €48.03bn in the existing 2021-2027 EU budget, usually finance infrastructure projects, like bridges, roads, or railways in countries with a lower-than-average per capita gross national income.

The commission proposed significant cuts to reduce regional funds in the next multi-annual budget, set to cover 2028-34, but a group of 16 member states, often benefitting from the funding, opposed the reduction.

Regional development plays a key role in European integration since it is the “only instrument which can unite all of us,” and should not be reduced in the next EU budget, said Left Lithuanian MEP Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis during a plenary debate on Monday (19 October).

Cohesion funds “could be the response to the radicalisation of Europe,” Fredis Beleris, a German centre-right MEP said.

For that to happen, cohesion funds must be accessible for small and medium-sized cities, who often struggle with formalities linked to EU funds, said Denis Nesci, Italian conservative MEP spearheading the file.

Small municipalities should be able to access cohesion funds “on an equal footing as bigger cities,” he said, echoing the dominant centre-right commission’s position and its aim to simplify regulations.

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia ignored at least 1,670 immigration detainers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement between 2023 and 2025, releasing criminal illegal immigrants back into the community instead of transferring them to federal custody, according to a new House Judiciary Committee report.

The interim staff report – obtained by Fox News before its noon Tuesday release by the committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement – also accuses Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano of treating illegal immigrant defendants differently from similarly situated American citizens to limit their immigration consequences.

"This interim report provides evidence of the ways in which just one local jurisdiction has implemented policies that allow dangerous foreign nationals to reoffend and avoid deportation," the report, issued under House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chair Tom McClintock, R-Calif., concluded.

SANCTUARY COUNTY REFUSED 615 ICE TRANSFER REQUESTS, TURNED OVER JUST 11 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, RECORDS SHOW

"But Fairfax County and prosecutor Steve Descano are not outliers. They are indicative of a modern, radical, socialist Democrat Party that seeks to erase national borders and place illegal alien criminals ahead of law-abiding American citizens," the report added. "The policies supported by these Democrats, including sanctuary policies, will have negative and lasting consequences for Americans. The Committee and Subcommittee will continue to conduct oversight of these sanctuary policies to inform potential legislative reforms to better protect American communities."

SOROS-BACKED DA ACCUSED OF GOING EASY ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS GETS SQUEEZED BY HOUSE GOP

The committee said a preliminary review of more than 1,100 criminal cases identified more than 100 previously unreported illegal immigrants who benefited from Descano’s prosecutorial decisions. The report said Descano’s office rarely pursued charges against illegal immigrants accused of crimes including driving under the influence, felony drug possession, felony grand larceny, shoplifting, fraud, trespassing, destruction of property and assaulting a law enforcement officer.

The committee accused Descano’s office of "de facto" decriminalizing some offenses and said most of the defendants reviewed went on to reoffend, in some cases escalating to violent crimes and murder.

JIM JORDAN SUBPOENAS BLUE STATE DAS ACCUSED OF 'PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT' FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS

The report, titled "Fairfax County, Virginia: The dangerous consequences of sanctuary policies," also alleges that Descano misled Congress about the scope of his policies.

"The Biden-Harris Administration worked to weaken the first Trump Administration’s efforts to hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable for undermining immigration enforcement," the report read. "In addition to dropping federal litigation relating to sanctuary jurisdictions’ policies, the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice Department, beginning in April 2021, no longer required jurisdictions to cooperate with ICE as a condition of receiving federal grant funding."

SOROS-LINKED PROSECUTOR FACES PRIMARY CHALLENGE AS FELLOW DEMOCRAT TARGETS HIS RECORD

During testimony before the committee in May, Descano said his policy was "written with legal permanent residents in mind for minor crimes." But in a September letter, the committee said Descano acknowledged that prosecutors could consider immigration consequences in cases involving illegal immigrants as well.

Descano’s campaign website previously stated that when "possible," his office would "make charging and plea decisions that limit or avoid immigration consequences." He also argued that "if two people commit the same crime, but only one’s punishment includes deportation, that’s a perversion of justice and not a reflection of the values of Fairfax County."

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING CHILDREN AFTER FAIRFAX COUNTY RELEASE: DHS

The committee cited numerous cases in which it said criminal defendants benefited from reduced or dismissed charges. In one example, prosecutors allegedly reduced felony charges involving the sexual assault of a child to misdemeanor "consensual sex with a child" and offered a 90-day suspended jail sentence.

The report also said Descano’s office dropped more than 50 charges against a serial fraudster from China and allowed defendants charged with malicious wounding, strangulation, assault and battery and other violent offenses to "escape accountability and reoffend."

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney chief of staff Laura Birnbaum rejected the report as "recycled" political talking points before the midterm elections.

"This ‘report’ is nothing more than recycled Republican talking points put out weeks before the midterm elections as a desperate attempt to distract from widely anticipated Republican losses," she said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "This committee has churned out nearly identical reports recently on other Democratic-led jurisdictions, and the few sections on Fairfax County contain multiple falsehoods and distortions, since the committee repeatedly ignores public reporting and court records that contradict its narrative. Despite this ongoing series of attacks, we have remained laser-focused on keeping Fairfax County one of the safest large communities in the country, holding individuals accountable when they commit crimes, and respecting the dignity of all members of our community."

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER, RAPE AND CHILD SEX CRIMES IN TARGETED CRACKDOWN

The committee detailed a number of cases involving defendants accused of child pornography, rape, abduction, firearm offenses, drug possession and assault. In some cases, the report said, defendants were released despite ICE detainers and later arrested again.

One case involved Marvin Morales-Ortez, an alleged MS-13 member whose charges were dropped before the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office released him in December 2025. The report said Morales-Ortez allegedly murdered a man in Reston, Virginia, one day later.

ANGEL MOM SAYS BLUE STATE DAS ARE PUTTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS BEFORE PUBLIC SAFETY

Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid blamed the release on the lack of prosecution, writing that "the system must work as a whole." She added: "When criminal defendants are prosecuted, authorities are better able to track court dates and monitor releases."

Kincaid has also previously criticized the county’s prosecution practices, stating, "It’s shameful the way things have not been prosecuted."

BIDEN ADMIN RELEASED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF FATALLY STABBING FAIRFAX COUNTY MOTHER

The report highlighted the case of Stephanie Minter, who was fatally stabbed in February. The suspect, Abdul Jalloh, is an illegal immigrant with more than 40 prior charges in Fairfax County. The committee said Descano’s office had dropped charges against Jalloh in almost every case and that police warned prosecutors before the killing that "it is not a question of if, but rather when [Jalloh] will maliciously wound — or worse — again."

Cheryl Minter, Stephanie’s mother, told the committee that "a system failed my daughter."

"When policies protect people who are a known threat, innocent lives are put at risk," she said. "When warnings are ignored, families like mine pay the price."

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The committee said Fairfax County’s policies "threaten public safety and undermine the safe and effective enforcement of federal immigration law." Descano has rejected the allegations and previously said that "the idea that [his office] favor[s] one group over another is completely wrong."

The highly coveted Michelin Guide stars, shining over Athens and Santorini, have just been announced. Greece now boasts a total of 21 stars across the regions currently covered by the guide. The prestigious Michelin stars for Greece have been announced. Beyond Athens, the famous guide’s inspectors have now also visited Santorini and Thessaloniki. In fact, […]

The post Michelin stars: Greece’s gastronomy boasts with 21 stars in three regions appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

Letter accuses Netanyahu of trying to 'evade responsibility and rewrite history'; billboards go up across Israel featuring images of six hostages killed in tunnel under Rafah

• WalletHub released a report ranking the safest cities in the US.
• The ranking analyzed 182 US cities based on 41 safety indicators across three categories.
• Juneau, Alaska, was ranked the safest city in the US, while New Orleans was ranked the least safe.

American cities face a range of safety concerns, and the risks can vary significantly depending on location.

In some cities, natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods pose the greatest threats to locals. In others, safety concerns may instead center on financial security or the overall safety of homes and communities.

WalletHub compared a total of 182 cities — the 150 largest cities in the US, plus at least two of the most populous cities in every state — to determine the safest and least-safe cities in the US.

WalletHub examined 41 safety indicators across three categories: home and community safety, natural-disaster risk, and financial safety.

To evaluate home and community safety, WalletHub looked at factors including crime rates, traffic and pedestrian fatalities, and the number of emergency responders per capita.

The natural-disaster risk ranking was determined by cities' risk-index scores for natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and wildfires.

The financial safety ranking considered factors such as poverty and unemployment rates, as well as identity theft complaints per capita.

To conduct its analysis, WalletHub looked at data from sources including the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Here are the top 10 safest and least-safe cities in the US.

Oscar Belgal arrived in the city from the Dominican Republic in 2022. Chaos appeared to follow, ending in a fateful encounter with immigration agents.

© Karsten Moran for The New York Times

Observers tell ToI that even if new leadership leaves security doctrine and opposition to two-state solution in place, shifts in approach to Palestinians and regional diplomacy could change tenor of ties

• Oxford Economics' 2026 Global Cities Index ranked cities around the world on their quality of life.
• US cities ranked highly for economics, but fell short in the quality of life category.
• European cities dominated the quality of life list, while only one US city made the top 20.

Cities in the US rank high globally in terms of economics, but they have some ground to cover in quality of life, according to a new report.

For its 2026 Global Cities Index, economic advisory firm Oxford Economics ranked 1,000 cities across the globe based on five categories: economics, human capital, environment, and quality of life.

Every category is viewed from an economic lens, even quality of life, where indicators include income equality and housing expenditure, among others.

"The Global Cities Index records the progress cities are making across a comprehensive range of metrics," Mark Britton, managing director of city services at Oxford Economics, said in the report. "Sitting alongside our forecasts and scenario models, its ability to highlight how paths change under different conditions and its capacity for comparability shows you not just where cities stand today, but also where they are heading."

The overall list features several US cities in the top 20 — eight, to be exact, with New York taking the No. 1 spot. However, when highlighting quality of life specifically, only one US city made the cut.

Quality of life, which accounts for 25% of a city's overall score, wasn't a bright spot for the US, but plenty of other cities excelled in that category. See which cities ranked highest in quality of life, according to Oxford Economics.

Ahead of election, former central bank deputy governor Zvi Eckstein says outgoing government's decisions have impacted country's growth, with economy at risk unless changes are made

Military says it also killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative who was advancing attacks on Israeli troops and citizens, among other ceasefire violations

Yesterday, in United States v. City of New York, yet another federal court ruled against the Trump administration in a sanctuary city case. "Sanctuary" jurisdictions are state and local governments that restrict their law enforcement agencies and other employees from assisting federal immigration enforcement and deportation efforts in various ways. In this case,  Judge Reyes of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York upheld New York City laws restricting local law enforcement information-sharing and other assistance to federal immigration enforcers.

The court ruled that federal law does not preempt these policies, and that if if it did, there would be a violation of the anti-commandeering requirements of the Tenth Amendment:

Even were the Court to find that the United States has standing and the challenged provisions are preempted—both answered in the negative above—United States' claims would still fail because the anticommandeering doctrine of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States precludes relief.

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." U.S. Const. amend. X….

The United States argues it is "not seeking to compel participation in immigration enforcement … but rather to remove Defendants' express and implicit obstacles to the Executive's duty to carry out its immigration enforcement duties…." New York City replies "if accepted, [the United States' claims] would require the City to affirmatively assist the federal government in enforcing immigration laws in violation of the Tenth Amendment's anticommandeering doctrine…." New York City is correct, at least partially.

The United States seeks injunctive and declaratory relief to preempt the challenged provisions… If the challenged provisions were struck, while New York City would not be obligated to carry out federal immigration enforcement, they would be barred from prohibiting their agencies and employees from engaging in federal immigration enforcement by expending personnel, property, and other resources to (1) detain individuals and (2) implement inter-agency information-sharing, including disclosing personally identifiable information, all potentially in violation of state law. And of course, there is nothing within federal law that obligates states to participate in federal immigration enforcement or compels states to comply therewith.

The United States' preemption arguments amount to nothing more than a backdoor around the Tenth Amendment and rest on a false distinction between (a) compelling local governments' participation in federal immigration enforcement and (b) prohibiting local governments from dictating how their personnel and other resources may be utilized towards federal immigration enforcement….. "

The basic principle—that Congress cannot issue direct orders to state legislatures—applies" to commands for "affirmative action" and the imposition of "prohibitions." Murphy [v. NCAA], 584 U.S. at 455 (citation modified). If states cannot remain free to control their agencies and employees to resist federal immigration enforcement, which is within states' constitutional prerogatives, the Tenth Amendment anticommandeering doctrine means nothing.

This reasoning is correct. And it is notable that this ruling - like many others protecting sanctuary cities - relies heavily on the Supreme Court's 2018 anti-commandeering decision in Murphy v. NCAA, written by Justice Samuel Alito (probably the Court's most conservative justice), and joined by all the other conservatives then on the Court. In that case, the Court emphasized that the anti-commandeering doctrine bars Congress from dictating the actions of state and local legislatures, regardless of whether the dictation takes the form of an affirmative mandate, or a prohibition against legalizing or barring something under state law.

Judge Reyes also rejects the administration's argument under the "intergovernmental immunity" doctrine, which bars states and localities from directly regulating federal agencies or "discriminating" against them. Like the court in the recent case of United States v. New Jersey, he correctly emphasizes that there can be no discrimination when there is no other comparable activity that gets more favorable treatment under the sanctuary jurisdiction's policies:

"Differential treatment is critical to a discrimination-based intergovernmental immunity claim." New York, 814 F. Supp. 3d at 282….; "[A] comparator is necessary." New York, 810 F. Supp. 3d at 353. The United States discrimination claim fails for lack of a comparator.

The United States does not and cannot identify a similarly situated entity. State and local agencies and their officers do not enforce immigration law, nor do members of the public…  As the United States concedes, the Federal Government holds the "exclusive charge of enforcing immigration law…."  Not only are other federal law enforcement agencies with different charges differently situated, "[f]or a state law to unconstitutionally discriminate against the federal government, it must treat comparable classes of federal and non-federal employees differently, not different classes of federal employees." Illinois, 796 F. Supp. 3d at 534

I would add that, as I explained in a recent post, the entire antidiscrimination element of the intergovernmental immunity doctrine is dubious, and should probably be overturned by the Supreme Court:

[T]he whole doctrine of intergovernmental immunity strikes me as bogus, judge-made law. There is no provision in the Constitution requiring it. And the federal government is not some historically oppressed minority group protected by the antidiscrimination provisions Fourteenth Amendment. Where state and local governments are otherwise free to refuse to help the feds, that autonomy should not be forfeited merely because they choose to support potentially similar activities by state or local governments, or by the private sector. Obviously, a district court cannot refuse to obey Supreme Court precedent in this field. But I hope the Supreme Court might someday reevaluate that precedent.

This is just the most recent of a long line of defeats for Trump in sanctuary city cases, in both his first and second administration. Judge Reyes cites close to a dozen such cases over the last year alone.  I summarized this jurisprudence more fully in a post covering three other recent sanctuary cases, last month:

In cases where the administration has tried to directly coerce states and localities into cooperating, courts have rightly ruled this violates the Supreme Court's "anti-commandeering" precedents, a series of decisions reached primarily by conservative justices, which hold that the federal government may not force state and local governments to help enforce federal law or carry out under federal purposes. In cases where Trump has sought to withhold federal funds from sanctuary jurisdictions, courts have (also rightly) ruled that the executive cannot impose conditions on federal grants that were not authorized by Congress and (in some cases) that the Trump conditions are unconstitutionally coercive. For my analyses of Trump II court decisions on these issues, see here, here, and here.

My 2019 Texas Law Review article surveying and assessing litigation arising from Trump's first-term attacks on sanctuary jurisdictions. There and in other writings, I also explain why immigration sanctuaries (and conservative gun sanctuaries) are beneficial, and help protect our constitutional system. See also my February 2026 Dispatch article, "In Defense of Sanctuary Cities," which provides an overview of these issues, and defends sanctuary jurisdictions on both constitutional and policy grounds.

Yesterday's ruling may be appealed. But if so, it is unlikely to be overturned.

Trump has posted a few rare wins in sanctuary cases with unusual facts, such as in the Contracts Clause case I analyzed in the September post. But, such cases are highly exceptional. And, as explained in the September post, the Contracts Clause decision has various flaws, and would not greatly impede sanctuary jurisdictions even if it survives on appeal.

Overall, Trump has been losing these kinds of cases so much that he might even get tired of losing.

The post Trump Loses Yet Another Sanctuary City Case—This Time Against New York City appeared first on Reason Magazine.

Ancient geographers listed many cities called Arsinoe, from Cyprus to Cilicia (in what is now southern Turkey), from Ephesus to the Gulf of Suez. Most of them were linked to the Ptolemies, the dynasty that ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great. One, however, lies far from the Nile. It stood in the […]

• Smoke from fires in Indonesia has blanketed Singapore in haze, obscuring its iconic skyline.
• Air pollution hit its highest level this year on Friday, reaching "very unhealthy" levels.
• The haze has disrupted flights, shuttered outdoor sports facilities, and canceled a run for nearly 3,000.

Singapore, the Southeast Asian financial hub known for its futuristic skyline, has been blanketed by milky haze as smoke from fires in neighboring Indonesia drifts across the region.

The haze has affected Singapore for weeks, with conditions deteriorating in recent days. The pollution has disrupted flights, shut down outdoor sports facilities, and prompted organizers to call off a major running event.

On Friday, air quality in parts of Singapore reached "very unhealthy" levels, with pollution readings hitting their highest point this year.

Here's what the haze looks like across the city.

Publishing document to mark two years since troops killed Hamas chief, IDF says it demonstrates how Sinwar, architect of Oct. 7 massacre, imbued his children with 'murderous ideology'

The ruling was the latest defeat for the administration as it continues a mass deportation campaign.

© Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch received a standing ovation at the Alfred E. Smith dinner and joked about calls for Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fire her.

© Bing Guan/Reuters

Jewish leaders and politicians in UK question concert promoter Live Nation's vetting of Palestinian Youth Movement, whose UK branch reportedly defended Hamas hostage-taking on Oct. 7

Official guidance says ammonia in animal urine should be watered down to stop it corroding bark

A neighbourhood in Vienna has introduced guidelines for dog walking, including the use of bottled tap water to rinse away urine and protect vulnerable trees.

Neubau, an up-and-coming, densely populated district dotted with cafes and galleries, rolled out the Schönes Gassi (nice dog walk) campaign this week.

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© Photograph: Georg Hochmuth/APA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Georg Hochmuth/APA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Georg Hochmuth/APA/AFP/Getty Images

After claims about Abbas Kamel's alleged flying visit to warn about a Hamas attack, multiple reports now say he wasn't aboard private Egyptian jet that arrived on Sept. 26, 2023

In the final part of our series on the country, Poles tell how wages have soared – along with the cost of living

• Will military spending help or hinder Poland’s growth story?

• Poland’s push for EU energy resilience amid Russian aggression

Above the rain-soaked streets of Warsaw, the observation deck of the Varso tower overlooks Joseph Stalin’s gift to Poland that has divided opinion for decades.

For some, the Soviet-era Palace of Culture and Science is a drunk confectioner’s nightmare; standing as a relic of oppression that should have been demolished. For others, it is an icon on the skyline and a monumental warning from history.

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© Photograph: Anna Liminowicz/The Guardian

© Photograph: Anna Liminowicz/The Guardian

© Photograph: Anna Liminowicz/The Guardian