Author: staff

For millions of children living through conflict, war can mean months or even years away from the classroom. From Ukraine to Sudan and Gaza, schools have been damaged or closed and education systems disrupted. As the world marks the International Day to Protect Education from Attack on 9 September, the latest Education Under Attack report says at least 8,566 attacks on education and incidents involving the military use of schools and universities were recorded in 2024 and 2025. That represents an increase of more than 40% compared with the previous reporting period, with at least 10,600 students, teachers, professors and…

Sweden is stepping up efforts to detect foreign information influence and organised attempts to manipulate political debate ahead of its general election on 13 September, as artificial intelligence (AI) and social media reshape how political information is produced and consumed. “The current security situation, rapid pace of technological developments and experience from other elections in Europe have highlighted a need to increase resilience to foreign malign information influence,” the Swedish government said in a statement ahead of the election. Last week, the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency published a report on a partly AI-powered network of around 1,200 fake accounts on…

Published on 09/09/2026 – 15:00 GMT+2 Are you already dreaming of trips in 2027, but aren’t sure where to go? New data has revealed the top trending destinations for the upcoming year, and it makes for interesting reading. Statistics from Advantage Travel Partnership, a UK-based consortium of independent travel businesses, have tipped Albania as the destination to watch for 2027, thanks in part to its stunning beaches and solid value for money. Further afield, the data showed that Hong Kong, Egypt and Vietnam are likely to be popular next year, too. The findings show that the busy sporting calendar will…

Published on 09/09/2026 – 15:22 GMT+2 The performance by the Cesária Évora Orchestra on Saturday, 12th, is the highlight of the Paraíso festival, which celebrates African culture over two days in the city of Braga. Made up of musicians who accompanied the “Barefoot Diva” in live performances and studio recordings at the height of the Cape Verdean singer’s career, including Teófilo Chantre, composer of many of the songs sung by Cesária Évora, the orchestra backs the voices of Elida Almeida, Lucibela and Ceuzany, regarded as among the greatest voices of Cape Verde. The concert, a tribute to the singer who…

Ils chuchotent à son oreille Autour de Le Pen, il y a aussi tous ces “conseillers informels”, pour reprendre les mots de Philippe Olivier, ceux qui entretiennent un contact direct avec la patronne, fort de décennies de compagnonnage. Ainsi de Bruno Bilde, député du Pas-de-Calais, ami de vingt ans malgré des brouilles régulières. “C’est un spécialiste de la carte électorale, des sondages, des affaires juridiques”, estime Olivier. Le conseiller lepéniste déjà cité le dépeint en vigie, alertant sur un sujet “mal pris” en circonscription, pointant qu’il faudrait “accélérer” sur un autre, pointant une intervention publique d’un élu RN qu’il conviendrait…

Published on 09/09/2026 – 14:21 GMT+2 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz labelled the far-right AfD’s demand for mass “remigration” a form of “ethnic cleansing by skin colour and origin” in a heated parliamentary exchange on Wednesday. Three days after the AfD scored a crushing election victory over his centre-right CDU in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, Merz and AfD co-leader Alice Weidel sharply attacked each other in the assembly. Merz took aim at the Alternative for Germany party’s demand for mass deportations of rejected asylum seekers and people arriving via irregular channels. “The word ‘remigration’ is nothing other than a synonym…

Decorated cows made their way from the Alpine pastures into Gstaad on Saturday for the annual Züglete festival in Switzerland. Families dressed their animals with floral crowns before leading them down the mountain and through the busy town centre. The event marks the traditional move from the summer pastures to their winter farms. Crowds gathered along Gstaad’s promenade to watch several herds pass, while cowbells and alphorns added to the day’s celebrations. The festival also drew visitors from abroad. Two tourists from Melbourne said they had built their European holiday around seeing the Züglete after discovering the event online. The…

Published on 09/09/2026 – 14:04 GMT+2 Qatar’s budget deficit more than doubled to 21.2bn riyals (€5bn) in the second quarter of 2026, the Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday. The deficit stood at 10.3bn riyals (€2.44bn) in the first quarter. Total revenue reached about 25.6bn riyals (€6.06bn), while expenditure amounted to approximately 46.9bn riyals (€11.1bn). On 25 August, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari disputed reports about government spending cuts, saying figures had been taken out of context. He said reported reductions of up to 30% applied only to operating expenses and excluded salaries and capital projects. He described the…

Astronauts, heads of state, as well as major economic players in the space industry are set to unite on Wednesday and Thursday at the international space summit, co-hosted by France and Germany, at Paris’ Grand Palais. Several US companies reportedly withdrew from the event, due to pressure from Washington over support for “EU policy positions.” The summit comes at a strategic crossroads for the European space industry, described by President Emmanuel Macron as an opportunity to “bring Europeans together around a common ambition” and develop a “shared vision of Europe’s place on the map of global space powers by 2035″…

A former tram depot and diesel station dating back to 1912 has been transformed into Uzbekistan’s first permanent centre dedicated to contemporary art. The Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent (CCA), redesigned by Paris-based Studio KO, brings exhibitions, performance, film, research and education under one roof in the Uzbek capital. But its significance extends beyond the creation of another cultural venue in Tashkent. The centre brings artists from Uzbekistan into closer contact with the international contemporary art world, while developing partnerships with major cultural institutions in Europe, the United States and Asia. The centre adds a contemporary dimension to a country…