Author: staff

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…

BRUSSELS — Poland “does not want” allied nuclear weapons stationed on its territory, the country’s Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski said Thursday, despite growing worries of a Russian incursion into NATO territory. “I would like to say very clearly and openly: Poland does not want to have nuclear warheads on its territory,” he told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. “We want to participate in NATO nuclear deterrence, [which] does not mean to have a nuclear warhead on our territory.” Zalewski’s statement is Warsaw’s most categorical statement on the topic. While it has previously expressed skepticism toward hosting nuclear weapons,…

Two people were killed in a “violent incident” at a school near Berlin, local media reported on Thursday, saying an 18-year-old woman student and a 30-year-old man had died. Regional public broadcaster RBB and a local daily said the alarm had been raised at a secondary school in the town of Gosen-Neu Zittau, just outside the German capital. The Märkische Allgemeine newspaper reported online that the man arrested was 19 years old and the ex-boyfriend of the victim. It said the 30-year-old man died while trying to intervene, without specifying whether a weapon was used or whether other people were…

The event is bigger than ever this year, with the entire 233,000-square-metre exhibition space sold out for the first time. More than 1,700 exhibitors from 67 countries and regions are taking part, surpassing last year’s record of 1,568. Major industry names including Xbox, Sega and Nintendo are showcasing new titles and playable demos. Visitors can try games such as Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Mario Kart World, while long queues have formed for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt following the announcement of a new expansion and remaster package, Songs of the Past. The fair also reflects the increasingly international nature of…

For the age-old question of “where’s my train?”, there’s now a new live map for that which tracks rail traffic across France, Spain and Belgium. Launched in August with an initial focus on the three countries, TrainTracker24 lets users browse Europe’s railway network in real time, from how many trains are active, average delay time in minutes, percentage of on-time trains as well as the percentage of cancellations. The map itself can be rotated, zoomed and explored to your heart’s content. Users can filter the map by a country’s train operator, with TrainTracker24 also including data on Eurostar and Italy’s…

At the Rock en Seine festival (source in French), just outside 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 all contribute to the experience of a concert. Visual elements that nonetheless remain inaccessible to blind or partially sighted spectators. For the first time in its history, the festival is this year offering concerts with live audio description. One concert a day on the Grande Scène makes use of the system set up with the Valentin Haüy Association: Miki, Djo, Nick Cave & The…