Author: staff
A fleet of small boats evacuated hundreds of tourists from beaches in northern Greece as a forest fire bore down on two popular resorts. Water bombing planes and helicopters and almost 150 firefighters battled the flames spreading across the Halkidiki peninsula south of the city of Thessaloniki, the fire service said. Two injured firefighters were taken to hospital, the service added. Within hours of erupting, the fire bore down on homes around the popular resorts of Siviri and Fourka, which are packed with summer tourists. The region is dominated by flammable pine forests. Greece’s civil protection agency sent evacuation warnings…
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond in this Euronews news bulletin. In just a few minutes, our newsroom brings you the latest news and breaking news across world affairs, business, politics, culture, entertainment and travel, with the context you need to make sense of a fast-moving day. Reported with the independence and the European perspective that define Euronews, this regular round-up gives you a clear and reliable overview of the stories shaping our world right now, wherever you are watching from.
Published on 13/08/2026 – 22:34 GMT+2 Millions of people across Europe, particularly in France, Italy, Spain and the UK, sweltered through a new wave of extreme temperatures on Thursday as the continent’s latest heatwave picked up. More than 135 million people were forecast to face temperatures above 35C, with parts of France soaring past 42C and the UK recording the hottest day of the year. Europe is the fastest-warming continent and in some places is ill-equipped to deal with hot weather. Scientists blame ever hotter and more frequent heatwaves on human-caused climate change. Repeat heatwaves and drought have fuelled a…
Footage released by Russian state television showed President Vladimir Putin aboard the missile cruiser Varyag, the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, watching live‑fire naval exercises and an underwater explosion off Russia’s Far East. He later travelled to one of the archipelago’s four main islands, marking the first visit to the Kurils by a Russian president since Dmitry Medvedev went there in 2010. Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described the visit as “absolutely unacceptable”, saying the islands were an inherent part of Japan. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also summoned Russia’s ambassador in Tokyo to lodge a formal protest, warning that the…
Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev wrote that the Russian state nuclear company was still on schedule with two new reactors at Paks despite Hungary’s change of government in April, which saw Magyar oust Russia-friendly incumbent Viktor Orbán. Concrete preparation for Unit 5 is more than 80 percent complete, he said, while work on Unit 6 is advancing and reactor components are already being manufactured. “We are ready for dialogue,” Likhachev said, adding that Rosatom had received no questions from Hungary’s new government. Magyar challenged that account hours later. Under the original contract, Paks II should have been operating by 2024, he…
Published on 13/08/2026 – 22:06 GMT+2 Two people sustained “serious injuries” and nine more were hurt as a busy commuter train from London derailed on Thursday near the southeast English town of Lewes, emergency services said. “At this stage, we can confirm that two patients have sustained serious injuries and a further nine patients have sustained less serious injuries,” the South East Coast Ambulance Service said in a statement. The ambulance service said there were around 150 passengers on board the train which departed from London Victoria station and veered off the tracks shortly before 4:00 pm local time. Ian…
Published on 13/08/2026 – 21:59 GMT+2 Authorities in Vietnam have announced a major seizure of ivory they say was illegally shipped from Africa, Vietnamese media reported on Thursday. The haul of 221 pieces of elephant ivory weighing 1,193 kilograms was announced and displayed to the media at Quy Nhơn port in the central province of Gia Lai, said reports by the Vietnam News Agency and other news outlets. Vietnam is a major hub for the illicit trade of wildlife, both dead and alive. Much of the contraband is transhipped to China, but there is also demand in Vietnam itself and…
There were hardly any labels that really fit Víctor Coyote, and that was always his best calling card. Born in Tui in 1958, he died this Thursday in a cycling accident, leaving behind a career that began in late-1970s punk and ended, as he approached seventy, without ever having stopped reinventing himself. His musical career took off in 1979 with the founding of Los Coyotes, the band he led alongside Fernando Gilabert and from which he took his stage name. The group emerged from ‘psychobilly’, but soon shifted towards Latin rhythms, becoming pioneers of that sonic crossover in Spain long…
Published on 13/08/2026 – 20:54 GMT+2 The Swedish parliament voted to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14 on Thursday as the right-wing government heads toward a national election, vowing to clamp down on crime. The government had wanted to lower the age at which children could be sent to prison to 13, but it had to withdraw the proposal in June because it could not secure a majority in parliament. Some 281 lawmakers voted in favour of lowering the age to 14, including the opposition Social Democrats, with 66 voting against. The Scandinavian country has been…
By Euronews Persian Published on 13/08/2026 – 14:03 GMT+2 Following the publication of an international statement condemning the use of the death penalty in Iran, a war of words escalated between senior French and Iranian diplomatic officials. Paris played a central role in the international condemnation, accusing Iran of “bloodshed”, while Tehran in turn described France’s position as “blatant hypocrisy”. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot sharply criticised Iran’s actions in a post on X, writing: “Seven months after the widespread atrocities against the Iranian people who rose up to demand justice and dignity, this regime continues its bloodshed by carrying out…