Author: staff

One of the new Hungarian government’s key pledges was to recover state assets and financial instruments that have been unlawfully managed or have gone missing and to prevent further abuses. To this end, a special authority is being set up; its head was elected on Friday by secret ballot, with 145 votes for Anna Unger. At the same time, the institution’s deputy head, Katalin Tasnádi, was appointed as deputy president in charge of investigations. The institution will be run by a five-member leadership, three of whom will be responsible for specific areas of expertise, making it possible to involve the…

If CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s secret trip to Moscow was intended to calm fears of a confrontation between Russia and NATO, it appears to have achieved almost the opposite. His sudden arrival in the Russian capital this week triggered days of speculation over what intelligence could have prompted Washington to dispatch its spy chief to deliver a message to Moscow and whether the Baltic states should be worried. US media reported that Ratcliffe warned Russia against attacking NATO members, particularly Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, amid intelligence assessments that Moscow could seek to test the alliance as its war in Ukraine…

Published on 28/08/2026 – 15:30 GMT+2 The Beznau nuclear power plant in Switzerland, which was shut down multiple times over the last two months due to summer heatwaves, is fully operational again, Swiss energy company Axpo said on Friday. Axpo said the second reactor at the Beznau plant in northern Switzerland, Europe’s oldest nuclear power plant still in operation, went back online on Thursday. The heatwaves that hit Europe sent temperatures soaring in the Aare River, which the site uses for cooling. Reactor 1 has been back in operation since 21 August and Axpo said it had now reconnected the…

Algeria is assessing the aftermath of deadly wildfires in the north-east that have killed at least 12 people and injured dozens. Footage filmed by an Instagram user in Agbala village, Jijel province, on 26 August shows flames surrounding a home as firefighters battle to contain the blaze. Separate footage released by Algeria’s Civil Protection Service on 27 August shows firefighters tackling wildfires across Jijel as residents watch flames sweep across a mountainside. In Bordj Tahar, one of the worst-hit areas of Jijel, residents returned to homes and farmland badly damaged by the fires as workers began restoring electricity. Around 400…

The Hellenic Air Force was immediately put on alert after a Turkish unmanned aircraft (UAV) was detected entering the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) and violating Greek national airspace. It is reported that the Turkish drone flew over the wider sea area between Samothraki and Lemnos, triggering the immediate activation of established surveillance and interception procedures. The Greek response was swift. A pair of F-16 fighter jets from the Air Force took off, tasked with locating, identifying and intercepting the Turkish UAV. The scramble of the Greek aircraft highlights Athens’ operational readiness in the face of any activity that breaches…

Published on 28/08/2026 – 16:20 GMT+2 Cambodia said on Friday it had closed more than 700 online scam centres in a crackdown over the past year, detaining nearly 30,000 suspects including a clutch of senior government officials. The Southeast Asian country has emerged as a hub for crime syndicates running fake romantic relationship and cryptocurrency investment schemes in which scammers, some willing, others trafficked, defraud internet users around the world. But under pressure from several countries including the United States and China, Cambodian authorities say they are cracking down on the industry. A government statement said on Friday authorities had…

The settlement focuses on limiting access to the app at certain times as a default setting, and in many of these areas, teens or parents will be able to switch from these settings to less restrictive ones. Senior Commission officials have previously criticized Meta’s parental controls for their complexity. But Meta will only give users the option to turn off the features most closely associated with engagement maximization, like autoplay and personalized feeds, instead of making them the default for every child, said Francesca Pisanu, senior policy officer at child rights group Eurochild. “The U.S. settlement establishes a combination of…

European monarchs and world leaders paid tribute to Norway’s King Harald on Friday, after the royal palace announced his death at the age of 89. Harald was the continent’s oldest reigning monarch. His son Haakon automatically succeeded him to the throne. Here are some of the main tributes from across the continent and further afield. Danish and Swedish monarchs The kings of Denmark and Sweden called Harald an “extraordinary” leader and good friend who unified his country. “Both as head of state and a successful athlete, he was an outstanding representative of his country. He gave ‘All for Norway’,” Sweden’s…

Norway is mourning King Harald V after the monarch died aged 89 at Oslo University Hospital’s Rikshospitalet at 6:35 a.m. local time on Friday, according to the Royal Palace. Hundreds of people gathered outside the palace to lay flowers and wreaths, while church bells rang across the country at noon. The Norwegian Royal Standard was flown at half-mast as officials and members of the public paid tribute to a king who had reigned for more than three decades. Harald became king in January 1991 following the death of his father, King Olav V. His reign spanned a period of strong…

The ministry pointed to mounting evidence of serious injuries from e-scooter accidents. “International studies, medical and accident statistics all point in the same direction,” it said, with head and brain injuries particularly common in severe and fatal crashes involving electric scooters. Belgium only permits e-scooters with a maximum speed of 25 km/h on public roads. The new mandate targets models capable of going between 20 and 25 km/h. The Brussels government recently reversed its decision to ban shared e-scooters from its streets as of September 2026, allowing them to circulate until the end of the year. Belgium previously tightened e-scooter…