Author: staff

Spain’s Ministry of Defence has agreed to requests from the Balearic Government and will deploy a tactical sub-group at various locations in the Serra de Tramuntana, on the island of Mallorca, in anticipation of the total eclipse that will occur this Wednesday not only over this island but across the Balearic archipelago. These troops will complement the 93 forest firefighters already deployed on the largest island in the archipelago, as well as another 23 in Menorca, 39 in Ibiza and six more in Formentera. The Govern plans to increase aerial surveillance flights, as the weather conditions are raising the risk…

Published on 10/08/2026 – 9:34 GMT+2 To (mis)crib from Professor McGonagall’s rallying cry: “Piertotum Locomotor! Dobby’s grave is threatened!” A £430 million (€502m) over-and-undersea cable project between Britain and Ireland has been rerouted after Harry Potter fans discovered the original plan would have disturbed a shrine to the fictional character Dobby the House Elf. The 190km-Greenlink high-voltage cable, to supply energy from Britain to Ireland, was supposed to be laid between County Wexford in Ireland and Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It’s on that beach where Dobby’s death scene in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part One…

Published on 10/08/2026 – 9:00 GMT+2 Summer is halfway through, but water restrictions are still in place across the bloc. This summer’s record-breaking temperatures are speeding up water evaporation from rivers and lakes, worsening drought conditions. But heat only accelerates a shortage that the EU has built up for decades. Europe relies heavily on water. Electricity cooling uses 33 percent of Europe’s water, agriculture 31 percent, public supply 21 percent, and industry 14 percent, the European Environmental Agency (EEA) reports. To meet these needs, the EU extracts about 200,000 billion cubic metres of water annually, exceeding natural replenishment and depleting…

No one is officially running for president but everyone is campaigning. By the time Democratic voters cast their first ballots in Iowa and New Hampshire in early 2028, the nomination battle may already have been underway for nearly two years. Across America, Democratic governors are leading fundraising events in states that hold early presidential primaries. Senators are publishing memoirs. Cabinet veterans are making carefully choreographed television appearances. Members of Congress are building enormous social media audiences while insisting they are focused entirely on their current jobs. Political action committees are quietly hiring staff. Donors are taking meetings. Pollsters are testing…

Artificial intelligence could transform the economy, the workplace, and even the way we think — but is Britain ready for it? And is Andy Burnham? In the second of Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy’s summer box set conversations, they sit down with POLITICO UK tech editor Isobel Asher Hamilton to look at the choices facing the new prime minister this autumn. Should Britain be building the next OpenAI, or focusing on using AI to revive manufacturing? Can the UK compete with the US and China? And where will the government land on the biggest political battles ahead, from copyright and…

Comic Con Astana, Central Asia’s largest pop culture festival, has transformed Kazakhstan’s capital, bringing together international actors, cosplay enthusiasts, gamers and artists. Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, over the past four days the festival featured hundreds of events across two venues, with Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – best known for playing Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones – among the headline guests. Central Asia’s biggest pop culture festival Moving through Alau Ice Palace, which for four days transforms into a colourful parade of cosplay, it’s hard to know where to look. Mythical creatures, anime heroes, comic book characters and…

Published on 10/08/2026 – 7:43 GMT+2 Oil prices rose in early trading on Monday as market participants weighed mixed signals from the US and Iran, with concerns that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could take longer to materialise. Futures for international benchmark Brent crude for October delivery gained 1.04% to $84.42 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures for September advanced 0.83% to $78.83 a barrel. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards insisted on Sunday that they would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the US complied with a list of demands. Tehran insists on retaining control of…

Summer is holiday season across Europe, yet millions of people still cannot afford to take a week away from home. However, the share of Europeans unable to afford a holiday has fallen significantly. In 2025, 27.5% of the EU’s population aged 16 or older were unable to afford one week of annual holiday away from home. This was 35.2% in 2015, representing a decline of 7.7 percentage points and a significant improvement in holiday affordability. In five countries, the share of people unable to afford a holiday increased over the past decade, although the rise was marginal in some cases.…

In a world that rarely slows down, perhaps the greatest holiday luxury isn’t doing more, but instead opting to be “still”? For many travellers, the idea of truly switching off and simply existing is more daunting than boarding a flight. And that’s where the idea of a “stillcation” comes in. Rather than packing getaways with itineraries of activities, a stillcation prioritises slowing down and being more present. According to tour operator Inghams Walking, the best destinations for this type of intentional travel are the ones where the environment helps the brain truly unwind. Inghams analysed nearly 100 European destinations, ranking…

The European Climate Office Copernicus reports that the average temperature record for the June–July period set in 2022 was overturned by the hot waves plaguing Western Europe this summer. Since it started in May, the intense heat has caused many wildfires, a protracted drought, new national temperature records throughout the region, and thousands of anticipated heat-related deaths. Globally, so far this is the third-hottest year, behind 2024 and 2025, climate statistics show. But 2026 still has time to catch up. There is a growing possibility that by year’s end, 2026 will surpass 2024 as the hottest year on record, or…