Author: staff

The event is bigger than ever this year, with the entire 233,000-square-metre exhibition space sold out for the first time. More than 1,700 exhibitors from 67 countries and regions are taking part, surpassing last year’s record of 1,568. Major industry names including Xbox, Sega and Nintendo are showcasing new titles and playable demos. Visitors can try games such as Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Mario Kart World, while long queues have formed for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt following the announcement of a new expansion and remaster package, Songs of the Past. The fair also reflects the increasingly international nature of…

For the age-old question of “where’s my train?”, there’s now a new live map for that which tracks rail traffic across France, Spain and Belgium. Launched in August with an initial focus on the three countries, TrainTracker24 lets users browse Europe’s railway network in real time, from how many trains are active, average delay time in minutes, percentage of on-time trains as well as the percentage of cancellations. The map itself can be rotated, zoomed and explored to your heart’s content. Users can filter the map by a country’s train operator, with TrainTracker24 also including data on Eurostar and Italy’s…

At the Rock en Seine festival (source in French), just outside Paris, music is not experienced only through the ears. The lights, the artists’ gestures, the way they move around, their expressions and the audience’s reactions all contribute to the experience of a concert. Visual elements that nonetheless remain inaccessible to blind or partially sighted spectators. For the first time in its history, the festival is this year offering concerts with live audio description. One concert a day on the Grande Scène makes use of the system set up with the Valentin Haüy Association: Miki, Djo, Nick Cave & The…

Die sich verschlechternde Sicherheitslage in Libyen erschwert allerdings die Bemühungen des Landes, sich als zuverlässiger Lieferant für Europa zu positionieren. Der Schmuggel von Kraftstoff durch Banden und Milizen hat die Fördermengen des Landes in den letzten Jahren beeinträchtigt, und politische Gruppen nehmen zunehmend die Energieinfrastruktur ins Visier. Anfang dieses Monats griffen Drohnen ein Kraftwerk und eine wichtige Raffinerie in Zawiya in der Nähe von Tripolis an, dem Sitz der international anerkannten Regierung im Westen des Landes, was zu großflächigen Stromausfällen führte. In derselben Woche kam ein hochrangiger Geheimdienstmitarbeiter bei einem Autobombenanschlag ums Leben. Auf die Frage, wie das Land angesichts…

Published on 27/08/2026 – 16:46 GMT+2 UK asylum applications fell by more than a fifth annually, government figures showed on Thursday, as ministers grapple with the politically contentious issue and reducing record-high recent numbers alongside asylum spending. A total of 85,891 people applied for asylum in Britain in the 12 months to the end of June, down 21% year-on-year and the lowest total since the year to June 2022, according to interior ministry statistics. Migrants who had crossed the English Channel in small boats, a highly controversial route that has fuelled the rise of the UK far right, accounted for…

In Sumy, strikes hit a residential area, sparking fires that damaged homes and commercial buildings. Emergency crews were deployed to three locations as residents surveyed the damage. In Odesa, firefighters tackled several fires after what regional officials described as a large-scale attack lasting more than seven hours. A 16-storey residential building was among the structures damaged, along with a private house, garage, educational facilities, vehicles and a grain elevator. Ukraine’s Air Force said its defences had shot down or suppressed 233 Russian targets during the overnight barrage, including 258 attack drones, two Oniks anti-ship missiles and several Iskander-M and KN-23…

The Villena Treasure, one of the most valuable Bronze Age goldwork collections in Europe, was stolen in the early hours of this morning from the Villena Museum (MUVI) in Alicante. In barely four minutes, intruders slipped past the museum’s night-time security and made off with much of its main draw: 59 pieces of gold, silver, iron and amber, dated to the Late Bronze Age. They also stole three crowns of the Virgin and Child held by the museum. The Civil Guard and local police are investigating the theft, which, according to initial evidence, appears to have been carried out in…

The Commission has proposed a budget of almost €2 trillion. Germany and five allies — Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden — are calling for cuts of several hundred billion euros. Italy and Spain are leading a separate group seeking a larger budget. The size of the budget will determine how much money the EU can put behind von der Leyen’s economic agenda, including investment in strategic industries, energy and artificial intelligence — sectors she says are essential to reducing Europe’s dependence. “With over €450 billion from the European Competitiveness Fund and the Horizon Europe program, we will support…

Police arrested the head of the Polish Olympic Committee on Thursday on suspicion that he took bribes from a crypto trader in return for sponsorship deals, officials said. Radosław Piesiewicz, who is considered close to Poland’s nationalist right, is suspected of receiving kickbacks from Zondacrypto, which the government accuses of having links to nationalist opposition groups, organised crime and Russian intelligence services. “Radosław Piesiewicz has been arrested,” Poland’s Sports Minister Jakub Rudnicki confirmed in a post on X. “Such a person should never have been president of the Polish Olympic Committee…Piesiewicz has discredited Polish Olympics,” he added. Interior Minister Marcin…

With just over two months to go before the US’s midterm elections, Democrats face a problem that goes beyond the familiar question of how to beat President Donald Trump: they are still arguing over what the Democratic Party should actually stand for. The divide between progressives and moderates has been visible throughout this year’s primary season. But in recent weeks, it has become harder to dismiss as an internal family quarrel. Progressive insurgents have scored a series of significant victories, while establishment Democrats have responded with growing anxiety about whether candidates identified with the left can win in November –…