Author: staff
Voters in eastern England are casting their ballots this Thursday for a by-election triggered triggered by Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform UK party, amid a boycott by mainstream parties. The traditional parties have shunned the contest for the Clacton parliamentary seat — represented by Farage since July 2024 — denouncing his move to resign and launching a new vote as a stunt. As such, Farage’s main rival is a joke candidate called Count Binface alongside 33 other fringe candidates. Polling stations have opened at 7:00 am and will close by 10:00 pm, with counting beginning immediately and a…
The quake, the strongest recorded in Colombia this century, has killed 265 people, injured more than 3,500 and left nearly 500 missing, according to local authorities. Since 10 August, rescue teams have repeatedly used sniffer dogs and called for silence at damaged sites as relatives wait nearby for news of loved ones As the crucial first 72 hours passed, rescue workers and volunteers continued searching through the rubble in Pereira’s worst-hit areas. They described “scene of horror”, with families watching as bodies were recovered after days trapped beneath the debris. The disaster has brought parts of the city to a…
A historic estate address tucked a short walk away from the French Riviera medieval village of Valbonne, known for its charming pastel coloured buildings, cobble streets and central square filled with an array of café tables, is now up for sale and it has some famous former residents. English pop rock band Duran Duran reportedly used Domaine de La Sylviane as a base during the 1980s while recording their third studio album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger. Surrounded by 10 hectares of land which has over 500 olive trees that produce nearly 1,000 litres of oil each year, the property…
Published on 13/08/2026 – 9:32 GMT+2 Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the far-eastern Kuril islands for the first time on Thursday, prompting a “strong” protest by Japan which also claims the territory. Russian-Japanese relations have long been dogged by tensions over the contested islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and seized by the Soviet Union in 1945. The Kremlin posted a video of Putin in the Kuril Islands, with Russian media saying he visited a fish-processing plant where he was given caviar. Putin travelled to the Kurils after visiting the nearby Russian island of Sakhalin, where Russia’s navy…
Lionel Messi rarely shares his private life. Over two decades of his career, the Argentine has kept the media at arm’s length and reserved his emotions for his closest circle. That is why it is striking that, after his father’s death, he chose to publish an open letter on social media in which he appears broken with grief. In the message, addressed directly to Jorge, Messi writes that he does not know how to continue without him. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, I don’t know how to carry on. I just played football and now…
Authorities in Tokyo lashed out at Moscow after a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the disputed island of Iturup on Thursday. The island, also known by its Japanese name Etorofu, lies northeast of Japan — around 100 kilometers from the coast of Hokkaido — in the Kuril Islands chain and is claimed by both Moscow and Tokyo. Like the other disputed islands in the chain, they are administered by Russia. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi wrote on X on Thursday: “Today, I was informed that Russian President Putin visited Iturup Island. The Northern Territories, including Iturup Island, are…
The UK witnessed its best solar eclipse since 1999 on Wednesday, as the Moon passed between the Sun and Earth and partially blocked the Sun from view. In Britain, more than 90% of the Sun was obscured at the peak of the eclipse, drawing crowds across the country. People flocked to hilltop parks and other locations with unobstructed views of the sky to watch the rare spectacle. At Greenwich Park in London, which offers views over the River Thames and central London, the sky turned an eerie grey as the eclipse reached its peak. The Royal Observatory Greenwich captured the…
Europe spends billions of euros every year on card payments, almost all of them processed outside European systems. The vast majority of card purchases go through Visa or Mastercard, two US companies that dominate global payments. For many years, this was considered the price to pay for the efficiency that these US giants offered whenever a card was used to pay for a service or product. EU leaders now see this dependence as a risk that Europe can no longer ignore, given the possibility that this infrastructure could be turned into a geopolitical weapon. This is one of the arguments…
Published on 13/08/2026 – 8:46 GMT+2•Updated 8:55 What newlywed wouldn’t say their marriage was the best night of their lives? Well, American footballer Travis Kelce is certainly no exception after speaking out for the first time about his nuptials with pop star Taylor Swift. The pair tied the knot at New York’s Madison Square Garden in early July in an extremely secretive ceremony and festivities over two days. “I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and, you know, had fun with us,” the Kansas City Chiefs tight-end told a media briefing. “That’s pretty much all I’m taking away from…
As droughts intensify across Europe, causing water shortages, ageing pipes are accelerating the depletion of the bloc’s water supplies. Europe loses 23 percent of its non-revenue water (NRW) to leaks, which is water that’s extracted and treated but never reaches households. NRW levels vary from 6 percent in the Netherlands to 45 percent in Bulgaria, resulting in costly reactive repairs. In 2024 alone, 67 percent of monitored EU properties had leaks, losing 772 million litres of water (equivalent to 300 Olympic-size swimming pools) and costing more than €3 million. Of the 19.3 billion litres monitored in 2025, 1.47 billion (equivalent…