Author: staff

10 years after Brexit, European leaders once again stayed silent through a landmark referendum on EU membership, showing how little Brussels has learned from its own mistakes. On Sunday, EU officials absorbed the news that Icelanders had voted against resuming EU membership negotiations, in a knife-edge referendum that split 52.8% to 47.2%. Their response was muted at best. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made no public statement, leaving an anonymous spokesperson to say only that Brussels had taken “note” of the results. European Council President António Costa was one of the few to break the silence, saying through…

Israeli airstrikes killed at least five Palestinians in Gaza City on Monday, according to hospital officials and rescuers. Two people were killed when a strike hit the entrance of a residential building near the city’s municipal park, while three others died after a drone strike hit a vehicle in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood. The Israeli military said the strikes targeted Hamas militants, without providing further details. The attacks came despite a US-brokered ceasefire agreed in October 2025, which has halted much of the large-scale fighting but has not stopped Israeli strikes in Gaza. Palestinian officials say more than 1,300 people…

Logistics magnate and (formerly) Germany’s richest man, Klaus-Michael Kühne spent his life buying and rescuing companies on the downturn. It was a strategy that led him to build the world’s single most successful air and sea forwarder, Kühne+Nagel. Along the way, he also picked up significant stakes in three other transport giants, including Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world’s biggest container shipping lines, and Lufthansa, Germany’s flag carrier. He also briefly owned a fifth of VTG, Europe’s largest private wagon-hire company, buying in for €160 million in 2016 and selling two years later for €300 million. It turns out he had…

Starmer, who has represented Holborn and St Pancras since 2015, added: “I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely. It’s work I started before I became an MP and it’s work I’m keen to continue after I’m an MP.” His resignation will trigger a by-election — a big electoral test for Andy Burnham, his successor in Downing Street. He follows other former prime ministers, including David Cameron and Tony Blair, in leaving the Commons soon after…

Published on 01/09/2026 – 14:49 GMT+2 Former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday that he would be resigning as a Member of Parliament as he shifts his focus to “international affairs.” In a statement shared on social media, the Labour MP for the central London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras said it was the “right time” to step down and “hand the baton over to a successor.” “It is now time to step aside and focus on other issues: international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast changing world,” Starmer said, adding that that…

Members of a south London Hindu temple gathered for a prayer meeting as 16 members remain missing following a catastrophic flood in the border area between Nepal and Tibet. The group had been on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, a site considered holy by several religions. Among those missing are the parents of 22-year-old Prajval Haldia, who described the loss and uncertainty as deeply painful. Families and fellow worshippers continue to wait for news as search efforts focus on finding those still unaccounted for.

Spain has once again broken tourism records. The country welcomed 58.1 million international tourists between January and July 2026, 4.6% more than in the same period last year. Tourism spending also hit an all-time high, reaching €82.05 billion, up 7.8%. In July alone, Spain received 11.5 million international tourists, 4.6% more year on year. Visitor spending rose even further, by 10.9%, to €18.22 billion, according to Frontur and Egatur figures published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE). UK leads international tourism to Spain The United Kingdom, France and Germany were the main source markets for tourists travelling to Spain between…

The August bank holiday weekend in Britain is often the opportunity for many to take part in unusual activities and this year lived up to expectations. For mud-lovers in Wales, that meant a day spent at the World Bog Snorkelling Championships which celebrated its 40th anniversary in Llanwrtyd Wells. Competitors raced through a peat bog using snorkels, with flippers permitted but conventional swimming strokes banned. The event, which began as a tourism initiative, continues to attract participants and spectators to the rural Welsh town, offering an unusual test of endurance, technique and a right old laugh.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s chief diplomat, announced Tuesday a high-level group made of former political and military leaders who will reflect on how the bloc can defend itself amid a changing U.S. presence. The new body, which will be launched next week, will include prominent figures from the European Union as well as the United Kingdom and Ukraine, she announced at the start of an informal defense ministers’ meeting in Ireland. “Of course NATO remains the cornerstone of our European security. At the same time, the United States is also calling on European allies to assume greater responsibility for our…

Published on 01/09/2026 – 13:32 GMT+2 Norway’s King Haakon VIII pledged an oath of allegiance to the country’s constitution in parliament on Tuesday, an important symbolic step as he takes over at the helm of the Scandinavian country after his late father’s 35-year reign. Haakon became Norway’s monarch when King Harald V died on Friday at 89. He has adopted the motto “All for Norway,” which dates back to his great-grandfather. He was driven the short distance from the royal palace to the Storting, or parliament, in an open car. There, speaker Masud Gharahkhani read the official announcement of Harald’s…