Author: staff
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he would rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” in the United States, as his trade dispute with Canada intensifies. The Republican president signed an executive order directing the US agency responsible for geographic names to update the lake’s name. The order applies only in the United States, meaning Trump cannot require Canada to adopt the new name. The move echoes Trump’s decision last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”. Trump signed the order at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, with a large map of the Great…
For years, small parcels from China have been flooding European letterboxes. Clothes, accessories, gadgets and everyday items ordered on Shein, Temu or AliExpress were arriving directly at consumers’ homes, often for just a few euros. A system, an invasion for some, that the European Union is now starting to seriously rein in. Since 1 July, parcels worth less than or equal to 150 euros have been subject to a flat customs duty of 3 euros per product category. Until now, these small consignments were exempt from customs duties. And the impact has been swift. According to French customs figures cited…
The news was also reported by Reuters, citing a U.N. official. Known as the “Butcher of Bosnia”, Mladić led the Bosnian Serb army, which turned eastern Bosnia into the site of the worst crimes during the Yugoslav disintegration wars of the 1990s. Thousands of people, mainly Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats, were murdered, tortured and displaced by his armed forces with the goal of creating an ethnically pure territory for Serbs. Mladić went into hiding after the end of the Bosnian War in 1995 and remained a fugitive for nearly 16 years. He was arrested by Serbian authorities in 2011 and…
After a summer of record heatwaves, devastating wildfires and drought, environmental researchers are urging European Union countries to step up efforts to restore ecosystems ahead of a 1 September deadline while flagging a €65 billion annual shortfall in the bloc’s nature restoration funds. EU capitals have just days left to submit their draft nature restoration plans to the European Commission, as mandated by the bloc’s Nature Restoration Regulation. The appeal comes after Spain and France lost thousands of hectares to raging wildfires and Hungary and Romania had to shut down part of their nuclear power plants as water levels in…
Published on 27/08/2026 – 18:50 GMT+2 Piracy off the Horn of Africa has reached its highest levels since 2013, according to an analysis by the AFP news agency based on data from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). At least 15 attacks were reported since the start of the year, according to reports from the IMO’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System analysed by AFP. The reports cover incidents since 1994 in the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean within 2,000 kilometres of Somalia. The region had recorded no more than a handful of pirate attacks a year…
At the Rock en Seine festival (source in French), on the outskirts of Paris, music is not experienced only through the ears. The lights, the artists’ gestures, the way they move around, their expressions and the audience’s reactions also form part of the concert experience. Yet these visual elements remain out of reach for blind and partially sighted spectators. For the first time in its history, the festival is offering live audio-described concerts this year. One show a day, on the Main Stage, benefits from the scheme set up with the Valentin Haüy Association: Miki, Djo, Nick Cave & The…
Une ONG affirme que les tanneries italiennes contrôlées par le groupe de luxe français cherchent à obtenir des exemptions à la législation européenne sur la déforestation, tout en important des peaux liées à la disparition de forêts paraguayennes. Apr 27 10 mins read
Published on 27/08/2026 – 18:07 GMT+2 The European Commissioners from Eastern Flank countries have urged Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to take urgent action over growing Russian threats to the Baltic states, including by creating a new high-level coordinator for the region. The proposed coordinator would provide a single point of contact for affected countries, coordinate EU efforts across different policy areas and signal stronger backing for the region. The call comes amid growing concern among Nordic and eastern European countries bordering Russia — the EU’s so-called Eastern Flank — that Moscow could escalate its war in Ukraine, with…
Published on 27/08/2026 – 18:22 GMT+2 Malaysia has finalised the first phase of a voluntary repatriation programme involving eligible Myanmar nationals, with almost 1,500 individuals expected to return home on 29 September, the government said on Thursday. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in July that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 members of the persecuted Rohingya minority, in a rare repatriation push that has prompted concern from rights groups. Malaysia hosts more than 215,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UN refugee agency, including more than 126,000 Rohingya from Myanmar, its largest refugee community. “The first phase of…
The European Space Agency (ESA) has begun signing the first contracts for its European Launcher Challenge (ELC), the programme with which Europe is trying to stop relying on foreign launchers to place satellites in orbit. Among the companies selected is PLD Space, the Elche-based firm that in 2023 launched its MIURA 1 demonstrator rocket on a suborbital flight. The contract, worth 158.9 million euros and funded mainly by Spain with a German contribution, makes it one of the key pillars of the future European launcher ecosystem. The funding will not be paid out in a single instalment, but will be…