Author: staff
Expansion plans for Scotland’s Caledonian Sleeper service are gathering steam with a working group looking at the possibility of a direct rail link with mainland Europe. An announcement issued on 4 August said that representatives from Transport Scotland, Scottish Rail Holdings and Caledonian Sleeper are spearheading efforts to assess the “technical and commercial viability of extending the sleeper service into the continent”, as well as the potential challenges involved. Stephen Flynn, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, said that there is a commitment to explore the potential of a direct Caledonian Sleeper service to mainland Europe. “The establishment…
U.S. President Donald Trump announced last weekend that Tehran had asked Washington to hold off any attack on Iran due to the pending agreement on the strait. “This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports on July 14 after hostilities between the two countries resumed. The blockade has since become one of the main sticking points in ceasefire negotiations, with Tehran insisting it must be lifted as part of any broader agreement. The strait…
Published on 06/08/2026 – 12:55 GMT+2 North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan on Thursday, Seoul’s military said, after Pyongyang lambasted Tokyo for beefing up its military stance in the Pacific. “Our military detected a short-range ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area of North Korea at around 5:00 pm,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a message to news organisations. The JCS said earlier the missile was launched towards the East Sea, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. Japan’s defence ministry also posted…
Published on 06/08/2026 – 11:49 GMT+2 US President Donald Trump’s government has paid back around $100 billion (€86.6bn) in “Liberation Day” tariffs to a range of businesses through customs officials. This accounts for approximately 60% of all tariffs collected by the administration under this initiative, according to recent court documents from US Customs and Border Protection. Currently, around $165 billion (€143bn) has been collected in “Liberation Day” tariffs, as reported by Financial Times. However, almost $29bn (€25.1bn) worth of potential refunds is still being reviewed by trade authorities, whereas approximately $1.6bn (€1.4bn) has not been processed yet due to importers…
The world’s best cities for Gen Z have just been named by Time Out – and half of those in the top 20 are in Europe. Having surveyed 4,000 local residents aged between 18 and 29 across 150 cities worldwide, Tokyo came out as the number one spot for those born between 1997 and 2012. Residents were asked to rate their overall happiness and joy in everyday experiences, the quality and affordability of restaurants, nightlife and entertainment, walkability, sense of community, and the ease of making new friends. The Japanese capital claimed the highest ranking thanks to its standout scores…
The Met Gala is causing controversy almost a full year before its next event will take place. On 31 July, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute announced its spring 2027 exhibition will celebrate the work of legendary British designer John Galliano. Titled ‘John Galliano: Horizons’, the exhibition will offer a retrospective of his decades-spanning career, while the accompanying Met Gala using Galliano as its theme. But the decision immediately received criticism from across the pop culture world. That’s because, influential as the designer’s time at luxury houses Givenchy and Dior were, he is perhaps best known for antisemiticand racist…
“Of course, we all want to know which foreign powers are involved. But it would be reckless to give credence to any kind of speculation at this point,” he added. Leipzig Airport serves as a strategic hub for NATO, including for military transports to Ukraine. The airport is also international courier service DHL’s largest European air hub and serves as a temporary home for some Ukrainian Antonov aircraft, protecting them from Russian attacks. The armed drone was found just meters away from such a plane, said officials Wednesday. Armin Schuster, minister of the interior for Saxony — where Leipzig is located —…
Published on 06/08/2026 – 11:45 GMT+2 Hungary’s parliament will vote on a new president next Tuesday, but no candidate has yet been nominated for the post. A change of guard in key state positions was one of Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s main promises after his Tisza party won a landslide victory in April’s general election, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power. In July, Magyar’s government used a constitutional amendment to remove the previous president, Tamás Sulyok, whom the prime minister described as an Orbán “puppet”. Shortly afterwards, Magyar offered the role to chess legend and former world champion Judit…
Myanmar’s ex-junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Bangkok on Thursday for his first visit to Thailand as civilian leader, as he seeks a return to the diplomatic fold for his pariah state. As a general, he led a 2021 military coup that ousted democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering a civil war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people on all sides. He was installed as Myanmar’s president in April following stage-managed elections that democracy watchdogs and Western nations called a sham intended to launder the junta’s image. Neighbouring Thailand has since been leading an effort to…
A significant drop in migrant flows towards Greece’s sea borders has been recorded in the first half of 2026, according to figures presented by the Greek minister for maritime affairs, Vassilis Kikilias. As noted in a post on X, total arrivals from Turkey and Libya have fallen by 34% compared with the same period in 2025. Since the beginning of the year, 15,389 arrivals have been recorded, against 23,243 in the same period last year. The steepest decline was seen in migrant flows from Turkey, which are down 59%, while arrivals from Libya showed a smaller decrease of around 4%.…