Author: staff

Aerial shots show grape pickers moving through vineyards in Tours-sur-Marne as crews harvest under soaring temperatures. Heatwave forces early start and smaller crews Driven by recent heatwaves, this year’s Champagne grape harvest is kicking off earlier than ever. In Tours-sur-Marne, near Épernay, winegrower Ophélie Lapie-Lamiable is starting five days ahead of schedule. She is tackling the work with just half her usual crew as seasonal workers cut summer holidays short. Ripening accelerates across the region The accelerated ripening has disrupted schedules for growers and seasonal workers alike. Teams move faster to bring in fruit before quality drops under the heat.

Summer crowds will soon be fading, but the autumn travel bargain isn’t quite as guaranteed as it once was. New data from Expedia shows that hotel prices are rising in some destinations this autumn but, in better news, other parts of Europe get noticeably less expensive once peak season ends. From the Algarve and Greek islands to emerging hotspots in the Balkans, here are the European destinations where travellers can still find an autumn deal, plus the places seeing the biggest surge in interest. Across much of the UK, Expedia data reveals that hotel prices are actually higher in the…

Der Raketenterror gegen Kiew und andere Teile der Ukraine bringt Wladimir Putin militärisch keine Geländegewinne, zielt aber auf die Zermürbung der Zivilbevölkerung. Rixa Fürsen bespricht mit dem Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsexperten Nico Lange die Lage nach der russischen Frühjahrsoffensive 2026. Lange kritisiert die zögerliche europäische Militärhilfe und das Fehlen strategischer Luftverteidigung scharf. Um Angriffe nachhaltig zu stoppen, müsse die Ukraine russische Rüstungsfabriken und Lieferketten mit Waffen wie dem Taurus gezielt ausschalten können. Auch bei Rufen nach Diplomatie warnt er vor Naivität: Erfolgreiche Verhandlungen seien nur durch harten wirtschaftlichen und militärischen Druck möglich. Wirksame Hebel wären etwa ein umfassender Stopp für Schengen-Visa…

Published on 18/08/2026 – 17:39 GMT+2 The European Commission confirmed on Tuesday that all people illegally remaining in Ceuta would be returned following the massive migrant influx that took place in late July. “The priority is now for the Spanish and for the Moroccan authorities to maintain control of the situation and to ensure a swift return of all those who illegally remain in Ceuta”, European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert said Tuesday at a press briefing. Lammert stressed that returns are covered by EU law, adding that they are regulated under “the return directive” and soon the “EU return regulation”.…

Published on 18/08/2026 – 16:51 GMT+2•Updated 16:54 Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed his Belgian counterpart Maxime Prevot to Kyiv on Tuesday, with the pair forced to meet in a bomb shelter as an air alert rang out across the capital. “Due to Russian drones attacking our capital, we held our talks underground in the @MFA_Ukraine bomb shelter—a daily reality for millions of Ukrainians, shared by our Belgian guests today,” Sybiha wrote in a post on X, sharing images of the two ministers sitting in a cramped, windowless room. Air raid sirens have become a familiar sound in Kyiv, which…

Where are the best destinations to travel if you’re looking for a leisure getaway? New research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) suggests Italy, Spain, Türkiye and France are drawing the strongest demand worldwide. The WTTC’s economic impact report points to the continent’s leisure travel spending growing by 3.7% this year, outpacing the 3.1% global average. Countries earmarked to have the continent’s strongest growth included Italy, which is expected to have a 4.7% increase in leisure travel spending, followed by Spain, Türkiye and France at 4.3%, 4.1% and 2.6%, respectively. This comes after a strong 2025, when global…

“All politicians are, you know, receiving these pressures and these challenges, but I did everything right,” Burnham said during a visit to Wolverhampton. “There was a minimal exchange of information of zero consequence, and it was quickly reported,” he added. “I realized that this needed to be reported, and I did so. So I handled it in the right way,” he also said. The incident has raised questions about potential national security vulnerabilities when it comes to the communications of senior politicians. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting was among three Cabinet ministers whose numbers were found online by POLITICO on Monday.…

Published on 18/08/2026 – 15:16 GMT+2•Updated 15:18 Eight non-EU countries have agreed to align themselves with the European Union’s latest sanctions against Belarus due to Minsk’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, and Ukraine will ensure that their national policies conform to the measures adopted by the EU Council on July 23, the bloc announced on Tuesday. The EU welcomed their decision. The sanctions expand restrictions on goods and technology that could enhance Belarus’s military, technological, defense, or security capabilities. Additionally, they impose further limitations on imports of goods that…

A landmark trial against Meta opened on Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California, in what Kentucky’s attorney general has called the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history. The case could reshape how Facebook and Instagram operate and how social media is experienced more broadly. Who is suing Meta, and why The trial is being litigated by four states — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — representing a wider coalition of 29 states that first filed the lawsuit in 2023, following a multi-state investigation into Meta’s safety practices. The four states were selected to argue the case at…

The remains of an ancient Roman bridge have resurfaced from the Tiber as water levels in Rome fall sharply after weeks without rain. The bridge, traditionally known as Pons Neronis, or Nero’s bridge, is located near St Peter’s Basilica. Archaeologists say the structure may actually be older than Emperor Nero’s reign. Antonella Bonini, an archaeologist at Rome’s cultural heritage superintendence, explains the history of the bridge: “The bridge passes near the villa of Agrippina, the circus of Caligula and then the circus of Nero and traditionally takes the name of Nero, because objectively Nero is the most famous person linked…