Author: staff
Europe has grappled with a growing number of airspace violations and sabotage attempts in recent weeks, as tensions with Russia continue to rise over its full-scale war in Ukraine. In August, U.S. intelligence reports warned that Moscow was planning a limited assault on a NATO country in the coming years. Dragone, the chair of NATO’s military committee, said the alliance’s generals on Saturday did not discuss the latest warnings but argued NATO had “4,000 pages” of military plans ready for protecting its eastern flank, starting from scenarios involving a “minimal crisis or interference [on] our soil.” NATO allies agreed on…
Tehran saw two very different scenes unfold at the same time on Friday, as in one part of the city, many women raced a marathon without a headscarf, and in another part, a regime military display took place with thousands of women in hijab showing their loyalty with machine guns in their hands. The state-organised rally brought together 300,000 supporters of the Islamic Republic. The “Jan-Fada” (Self-Sacrificers) marched from Imam Hossein Square toward central Tehran. Among these, the image of a woman in a full chador with a baby wrapped in a keffiyeh perched behind a machine gun stood out…
A large plume of black smoke was seen near Riyadh’s main airport on Saturday after an overnight air raid alert, amid an escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Reuters footage showed black smoke rising and flames near Riyadh’s King Khalid airport, while residents told AFP they heard explosions before Saudi’s civil defense issued an all-clear on Saturday morning.Flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 rated the airport at Level 5 on its disruption index, indicating a very high likelihood of delays or cancellations. Saudi authorities have not commented on the reported incident. The Saudi ministry of defense and Riyadh’s airport authorities…
Published on 19/09/2026 – 15:12 GMT+2•Updated 15:21 By late morning, it was clear: the Wiesn was back. Decorated horse-drawn carriages, brass bands and festival hosts made their way towards the Theresienwiese, while growing crowds gathered around the fairground. Munich had dressed up for the occasion, and apparently nobody intended to worry about details such as calories, footwear or the weather forecast – not least because Bavaria was enjoying glorious sunshine and temperatures just above 20 degrees Celsius. The Theresienwiese was already filling up earlier in the day. At around 10:35 a.m., the traditional procession of the Wiesn landlords got under…
Published on 19/09/2026 – 15:53 GMT+2 Residents of the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh reported seeing flames and black smoke at the city’s King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, hours after local authorities issued an air raid alert. Video footage circulating on social media appears to show a towering column of smoke rising from the airport, which flight tracking site Flightradar24 says is experiencing “major problems.” A journalist for the AFP news agency also reported seeing firefighters working to extinguish a burning fuel truck close to the site. Saudi Civil Defense had sent an alert to residents in several parts of…
Published on 19/09/2026 – 14:48 GMT+2 More than 2,000 migrants in Ceuta had to return to the beaches after there was not enough space to accommodate them at a new facility located in the autonomous city’s port. Thousands of migrants had been moved from the territory’s Trampolín and Benítez beaches on Friday morning, escorted by officers from Spain’s Civil Guard and National Police towards the new temporary reception centre, which is designed to accommodate 1,700 people. However, there were over 4,000 people coming from the beaches, meaning many had to return after the new camp filled up. According to government…
More than 1,000 cases of sexual violence recorded since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 involve victims as young as 4 and as old as 82 in a “shocking pattern of torture, intimidation and coercion,” according to the report published on Friday by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “I am deeply alarmed by the prevalence of these abhorrent acts documented in our report, and fear that they are almost certainly continuing amid the unceasing violence we are witnessing every day in Ukraine,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.…
Germany will lower tax on petrol and diesel by 17 cents per liter in a relief package worth €2.5 billion, the German government announced Friday. “Those who rely on their cars every day are reaching their financial limits. … The relief package of €2.5 billion is no small sum in times of strained budgets,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. The tax discount is to be implemented next month. The measure, brokered between Germany’s federal and state governments, is part of the package promised by Merz as fuel prices continue to climb in response to the war in Iran and the…
By Dimitri Kavalerov Published on 19/09/2026 – 7:00 GMT+2 Russians fearing a new military mobilisation are leaving the country in advance of possible restrictions on departure, according to the anti-war project Ark, after requests for emergency assistance and emigration advice from Russia have nearly octupled since the start of the summer. The surge coincides with Russia’s State Duma elections, which began on Friday and run through Sunday. Kremlin critics and several Western governments have accused Moscow of planning to announce a new call-up to beef up its troops in its ongoing all-out war in Ukraine after the vote concludes, allowing an…
Published on 19/09/2026 – 13:10 GMT+2 Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least 11 people and injured dozens more over the past day, according to local authorities. In Kharkiv Oblast in northeastern Ukraine, five people were killed and 15 were injured in Russian attacks, governor Oleh Syniehubov reported, adding that Russian forces had fired two missiles, five guided aerial bombs, and almost 60 drones at targets across the region. Strikes reportedly hit the villages of Lypkuvativka, Velykyi Burluk, and Slatyne, as well as the cities of Kharkiv and Balakliia, among other locations. Two people were also killed and five were…