Author: staff
Souvenirs are no longer just about postcards and magnets – travellers are now bringing home new skills and hobbies as well. This has been dubbed the ‘skillcation’ travel trend, and it has been gaining serious momentum this year. IHG Hotels & Resorts, in collaboration with Talker Research, surveyed 1,000 Americans and found that nearly half (47%) are interested in taking a skillcation, and remarkably, 68% believe such an experience could be life-changing. Younger travellers are driving the trend, with 41% of Gen Z and Millennials having taken a skillcation – more than double the Baby Boomer rate (16%). Travellers are…
Bathed in the light of the August full moon, archaeological sites, monuments and museums across Greece are once again “dressed up” this year, as part of the established event of the Ministry of Culture, now in its 27th consecutive edition. The celebrations reach their peak today, Friday 28 August 2026, with dozens of cultural venues opening their doors to the public and offering the opportunity for a different kind of night-time visit, with the August moon as a backdrop. The activities are not confined to the night of the full moon, as the programme continues until Sunday 30 August. Concerts,…
In July, the U.N. recorded the highest mortality rates among civilians in Ukraine since March 2022. Russia also reports more civilian deaths caused by Ukrainian attacks, even though, unlike Moscow, Kyiv does not deliberately target civilians but aims to bring the war “where it came from.“ Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal best described the situation when talking to me about the attacks on the energy system last month: “It’s like the 12th round and each boxer hopes their rival will fall first.” While troops on the frontline are largely stuck, with neither side making much progress on the ground,…
Published on 28/08/2026 – 18:17 GMT+2 A Dutch drug addiction and mental health institute warned users on Friday about potentially lethal ecstasy pills shaped to look like the head of US President Donald Trump. The Trimbos Institute said that several of the pills have been handed in recently at a network of centres that test drugs for users before they take them. “Absolutely do not use these pills,” the institute warned. It released a photo of the pills that have a depiction of Trump’s head on one side and on the other side “NL” and “Trump” stamped into the surface…
Around a dozen Israeli activists gathered outside European Union representative offices in east Jerusalem on 28 August, calling on the bloc to take a stronger position on the war in Gaza. Holding placards and chanting through a megaphone, the protesters accused the EU of remaining silent over what they described as war crimes and apartheid. “Silence is complicity,” one activist said, urging European governments to speak out. Among those taking part was activist Louis Frankenthaler, who addressed the gathering through a megaphone. Israeli police monitored the protest, while staff inside the EU offices briefly displayed a sign featuring a heart…
Marking his 100th day in the job, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh told the Kansas City Fed’s symposium in Wyoming that the US economy has strengthened rather than weakened under recent shocks, that the labour market is consistent with full employment, and that inflation remains the central bank’s dominant concern. Warsh declined to say what he would do next month, but he removed most of the arguments against acting and bolstered the ones in favour of a rate hike. “For my part, today I am impressed by the overall performance of the economy, which appears to have strengthened,” Warsh stated.…
Published on 28/08/2026 – 17:00 GMT+2•Updated 17:03 Commercial flights in the EU reached 6.9 million in 2025, an increase of 3.8% compared to the year before, new data has revealed. A report published by Eurostat found that the number of flights in the EU has “risen continuously since 2021”, and by the end of 2025 had “returned to a level similar” to the pre-pandemic figure of seven million recorded in 2019. In 2025, 91.5% were scheduled flights, defined by Eurostat as a “commercial air service operated according to a published timetable or with a regular frequency open to direct booking…
Two men bought tickets to enter Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) before smashing a display case, grabbing a 200-carat platinum and diamond necklace and walking away, police said on Friday. Austrian media said the Van Cleef and Arpels necklace, with 673 precious stones, was worth several million dollars. It is the latest in a series of high-profile heists to hit European museums. Police said the two men did not wear masks, paid to enter the museum and were clearly seen on surveillance cameras in Thursday’s heist. They “smashed a glass display case” with a hammer before “fleeing with the…
The French comments are the clearest overture made to Stockholm since the high-profile failure of a next-generation fighter jet project between France, Germany and Spain, known as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). The decade-long program faltered due to disagreements between France’s Dassault Aviation and Germany’s Airbus Defence and Space, and ultimately collapsed last spring. The competition between Paris and Berlin to attract Stockholm is one of the most closely watched developments in the aerospace sector. POLITICO previously reported that Germany had already reached out to Sweden. The Nordic country’s defense champion Saab makes its own fourth-generation Gripen fighter —…
Published on 28/08/2026 – 17:00 GMT+2•Updated 17:04 Russia continued to send waves of drones towards the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday, repeatedly forcing residents into shelters and disrupting life across the city for a second consecutive day. The attacks followed an extraordinary day of disruption on Thursday, when Kyiv spent almost 15 hours under air-raid warnings, with sirens sounding 13 separate times, according to the Foreign Ministry. “Again and again throughout the day, sirens sounded as Russia launched drones in small groups towards the Ukrainian capital. Each new threat put people at risk and forced them to seek safety,” the…