Author: staff

Many of us thought that Bulgaria winning the Eurovision Song Contest would mean the capital, Sofia, would be hosting in 2027. However, it’s now been revealed that Burgas will play host. Far less known internationally, it’s already one of the country’s best-loved seaside escapes and Eurovision’s arrival next May will put its beaches, buzzing waterfront and relaxed summer atmosphere firmly on the international map. While the contest will bring the crowds, there’s plenty here beyond the Eurovision bubble, from long sandy beaches and leafy parks to seafood restaurants, cultural sights and a lively arts scene. Whether you’re heading over for…

PARIS — France’s historically hot summer will end up costing the country €10 billion to €15 billion — the equivalent of as much as 0.5 percent of French gross domestic product — according to an estimate shared by Minister for Ecological Transition Monique Barbut. Barbut said the preliminary estimate, which she advised treating “with great caution,” was based on an extrapolation of heat-related costs compiled by France’s official statistics agency, Insee, in past years. She added that the figure could rise as temperatures remain well above seasonal averages in many French regions. Eighty-five percent of the country was also under…

The leader of Sweden’s Social Democratic Party, Magdalena Andersson, is set to become the country’s next prime minister. But her centre-left credentials won’t make her any less of a “frugal” hardliner in the upcoming EU budget negotiations. The Swedish Social Democratic Party (S) is on course to win the 13 September election, currently polling at 32%, well ahead of the national-conservative Sweden Democrats on 20% and the centre-right Moderate Party of current Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on 17%, according to the latest data. That would make Sweden one of the few EU countries turning towards a progressive government, as centre-left…

Footage filmed in Ukraine’s Odesa region on Thursday 13 August 2026 by the national emergency services shows a severely damaged passenger train locomotive, as firefighters extinguish the flames. A nearby carriage has shattered windows, while passengers board evacuation buses with their luggage. A Russian jet-powered Shahed drone struck the locomotive of the Odesa-Dnipro passenger train in the Berezivka district on Thursday morning, killing the driver and his assistant, Ukrzaliznytsia chairman Oleksandr Pertsovskyi said. A monitoring team had detected the drone and ordered the train to stop near a station, but the drone’s sudden manoeuvre left the crew too little time…

In an opinion published Thursday, the European Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski said that the proposal “creates serious risks, particularly regarding the processing of the personal data of individuals with no established criminal links.” The proposal would allow Europol to retain data on a “vast” number of people with no links to criminal activity “for an extensive and unspecified period of time,” the supervisor warned. The EDPS is the data protection authority that supervises EU institutions including Europol and advises the Commission on the privacy implications of legislative reforms. The privacy watchdog acknowledged that Europe’s security architecture needs to be…

Voters in eastern England are casting their ballots this Thursday for a by-election triggered triggered by Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform UK party, amid a boycott by mainstream parties. The traditional parties have shunned the contest for the Clacton parliamentary seat — represented by Farage since July 2024 — denouncing his move to resign and launching a new vote as a stunt. As such, Farage’s main rival is a joke candidate called Count Binface alongside 33 other fringe candidates. Polling stations have opened at 7:00 am and will close by 10:00 pm, with counting beginning immediately and a…

The quake, the strongest recorded in Colombia this century, has killed 265 people, injured more than 3,500 and left nearly 500 missing, according to local authorities. Since 10 August, rescue teams have repeatedly used sniffer dogs and called for silence at damaged sites as relatives wait nearby for news of loved ones As the crucial first 72 hours passed, rescue workers and volunteers continued searching through the rubble in Pereira’s worst-hit areas. They described “scene of horror”, with families watching as bodies were recovered after days trapped beneath the debris. The disaster has brought parts of the city to a…

A historic estate address tucked a short walk away from the French Riviera medieval village of Valbonne, known for its charming pastel coloured buildings, cobble streets and central square filled with an array of café tables, is now up for sale and it has some famous former residents. English pop rock band Duran Duran reportedly used Domaine de La Sylviane as a base during the 1980s while recording their third studio album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger. Surrounded by 10 hectares of land which has over 500 olive trees that produce nearly 1,000 litres of oil each year, the property…

Published on 13/08/2026 – 9:32 GMT+2 Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the far-eastern Kuril islands for the first time on Thursday, prompting a “strong” protest by Japan which also claims the territory. Russian-Japanese relations have long been dogged by tensions over the contested islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and seized by the Soviet Union in 1945. The Kremlin posted a video of Putin in the Kuril Islands, with Russian media saying he visited a fish-processing plant where he was given caviar. Putin travelled to the Kurils after visiting the nearby Russian island of Sakhalin, where Russia’s navy…

Lionel Messi rarely shares his private life. Over two decades of his career, the Argentine has kept the media at arm’s length and reserved his emotions for his closest circle. That is why it is striking that, after his father’s death, he chose to publish an open letter on social media in which he appears broken with grief. In the message, addressed directly to Jorge, Messi writes that he does not know how to continue without him. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, I don’t know how to carry on. I just played football and now…