Author: staff
In the late 1980s, however, things began to shift. While Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev pursued reformist policies, Ceaușescu tried to block any contagion. He had become an obsolete leftover of the Stalinist era, and Romanians grew weary of the insane cult of personality surrounding him and his wife. As his dictatorship grew increasingly erratic, many in the bureaucracy considered Iliescu as a possible alternative to “dynastic Communism.” In December 1989, popular uprisings erupted across the country, first in the western city of Timișoara, then in Bucharest. But this was not a velvet revolution. Amid a military crackdown, the army and…
By Una Hajdari with AP Published on 06/08/2025 – 19:02 GMT+2 President Donald Trump on Wednesday hit India with an extra 25% tariff over its Russian oil deals, bringing total US tariffs on the ally to a steep 50%. Currently, Brazil is the only other country to face a 50% import tax on all its products across the board. This does not include the steel, aluminium and copper tariffs, also at 50%, levied on every single country in the world apart from the UK. The tariffs would go into effect 21 days after the signing of the order, meaning that both India and…
By Euronews with AP Published on 06/08/2025 – 18:16 GMT+2 WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts that were “linked to criminal scam” centres targeting people online around that world, its parent company Meta said. The account deletions, which Meta said took place over the first six months of the year, arrive as part of wider company efforts to crack down on scams. In a Tuesday announcement, Meta said it was also rolling new tools on WhatsApp to help people spot scams, including a new safety overview that the platform will show when someone who is not in a user’s contacts adds them…
Ruchniewicz is a historian and the director of the Pilecki Institute, a research center focused on the fate of Poles who experienced authoritarianism and totalitarianism in the 20th century. The institute said that the article about the seminar by the Rzeczpospolita newspaper contained ““numerous slanders and untruths” and that no meeting leading to the return of items to Germany was planned. However, the story caused an outcry from the opposition nationalist Law and Justice party, which demanded that the government fire Ruchniewicz. Knut Abraham, Ruchniewicz’s German counterpart, said on Wednesday he was surprised by the Polish action. “I was in Warsaw…
The number of customers in the European Union and the United Kingdom on online gambling platforms reached 38.6 million last year, representing a 19% increase from the 32.5 million recorded in 2023, according to the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA). While this is an upward trend over the past five years, the number of people looking for help to stop gambling addiction across Europe has also increased. Data from The Lancet from 2024 claims that 54.7 million men worldwide experienced gambling disorders or problematic gambling, compared to 25.3 million women. Gambling can lead to serious harms to health, including…
If confirmed, Ruginienė would lead the formation of a new cabinet following the collapse of Paluckas’ government after only eight months in office. Under Lithuanian law, once nominated by the president and approved by parliament, the prime minister-designate must present a cabinet approved by the president and submit the government’s program to the Seimas within 15 days. The government receives a mandate to govern if a majority of MPs present vote in favor of its program. In the run-up to the LSDP’s decision, Ruginienė’s name was floated alongside two other potential candidates: Deputy Speaker of the Seimas Juozas Olekas and…
The fire, which broke out on Tuesday, is still advancing and has crossed 15 communes in the Corbières massif, where pine forests and low vegetation continue to burn. An elderly woman was found dead in her home in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse. Nine people have been injured, including one in a critical condition. Nearly 1,900 firefighters and 500 vehicles have been deployed, with the full national fleet of water bombers mobilised to contain the fires. Residents are urged to stay indoors unless ordered to evacuate.
ChatGPT will tell 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, instruct them on how to conceal eating disorders, and even compose a heartbreaking suicide letter to their parents if asked, according to new research from a watchdog group. The Associated Press reviewed more than three hours of interactions between ChatGPT and researchers posing as vulnerable teens. The chatbot typically provided warnings against risky activity but went on to deliver startlingly detailed and personalised plans for drug use, calorie-restricted diets, or self-injury. The researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate also repeated their inquiries on a large scale, classifying more…
The saga has dragged on for most of this year, starting with a February court ruling that handed Dodik a one‑year prison sentence — likely to be swapped with a monetary fine — for defying the Constitutional Court and encouraging separatist activity. But it’s the political ban that could shake up EU candidate Bosnia’s future, and that of the wider region. Local authorities issued an arrest warrant for Dodik in March, and in April, he bolted to Moscow to meet up with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Widely viewed as Putin’s top Balkan ally, Dodik has openly wielded Kremlin influence to…
Published on 06/08/2025 – 14:39 GMT+2 The Dutch data protection authority has called upon the government of the Netherlands to condemn new Israeli privacy requirements for aid organisations wanting to work in Palestinian territories, claiming they breach the EU’s data protection rules. In a statement published on Wednesday, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP) said that as of September the Israeli government demands that all organisations providing aid must complete a comprehensive registration which includes providing personal data about employees, their parents and children. The AP was asked to look into the issue by an unnamed aid group. “The aid organisations must also provide…