Author: staff
For some prisoners in Italy, life behind bars has become an unlikely route towards freedom. At Volterra prison, one of Italy’s oldest jails, professional theatre-makers have spent almost four decades working alongside inmates to create ambitious performances that challenge conventional ideas about punishment, rehabilitation and the role of art. The project, known as the “Compagnia della Fortezza”, was founded by director Armando Punzo, who originally entered the prison looking for actors for a theatre company unlike any other. “I wanted to put theatre to the test in a situation where, even if naively, I thought, and I believe it was…
On Monday the prospect of the two warring factions signing a make-up pact seemed to be at an impasse. Farage used a press conference in Westminster to publicly state a new condition for holding discussions with “that party,” as he referred to Restore. Lowe must, he said, kick out Restore’s co-founder — a move Lowe has already rejected. “I’m always happy to meet people and talk to people — within reason,” Farage said when asked by POLITICO what his conditions for entering talks with Lowe would be. “But I do think it’s fair to say that there are one or…
The European Union has condemned Belarus’ decision to designate Euronews as an “extremist” media organisation, saying it forms part of a “broader pattern of repression targeting independent media.” “It is an ongoing effort to restrict freedom of the press,” said Anitta Hipper, the EU’s spokesperson for foreign affairs and security. “The EU shares its solidarity with Euronews.” The comments follow a wave of support for Euronews following last week’s listing from Minsk, including from Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who described the move as a “shameful” attempt to curb press freedom. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola posted on social media…
A powerful earthquake rocked Colombia and other Latin American countries on Monday, shaking buildings in Bogotá and in Quito, Ecuador. The Colombian geological service put the magnitude of the quake at 6.6 while its American counterpart USGS put it at 7.4, with an epicentre 100 km (62 miles) underground in the west of Colombia. It was felt as far away as Panama to the north and prompted building evacuations in Bogotá. This is a developing story and our journalists are working on further updates. Additional sources • AFP
Published on 10/08/2026 – 12:24 GMT+2•Updated 12:27 MySpace, once the most popular social media platform in the world in the mid-2000s, could be returning soon. It comes as many social media users are returning to nostalgic, analog experiences, instead of algorithm-driven ones. The current owners of the platform, Tim and Chris Vanderhook, who also founded Viant Technology, hinted at the potential relaunch in a documentary titled “MySpace”. “We still own MySpace. We are stewards of the MySpace brand at this point and we are going to relaunch MySpace. We’re just waiting for the right time to do it. And if…
Hoi An, with its UNESCO-listed Ancient Town, is on most travellers’ first-time itineraries to Vietnam. And, if you’re planning a visit to the former trading port and need somewhere to stay, you might just want to take a look at NHAAN Resort & Spa Hoi An, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. Newly opened at the start of August, the property is found along the Co Co river in Cam Thanh village, which is best known for its basket boat rides. The gorgeous resort was designed by Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia, with biophilic architecture that’s meant to create an open-air sanctuary…
It’s the scandal rocking the highest spheres of British academia, one involving plagiarism allegations, fantastical claims, and not only the downfall of a supposed prodigy but a scathing indictment of one of the UK’s most prestigious educational institutions. It all centers on Jason Arday, a professor of sociology of education who has resigned from his post at the University of Cambridge after the university launched an inquiry into his “academic qualifications and honorary appointments”. A university statement said: “The University of Cambridge has begun an investigation following new information about Professor Arday’s academic qualifications and honorary appointments. In order to…
In response to the Ceuta crisis, which reignited Europe’s long-running debate on illegal migration, Denmark and Italy had sent a joint letter to the European Commission demanding immediate action at the EU’s external borders. The letter was co-signed by 20 other European heads of state and government. Italy has since been one of the harshest critics of Spain’s left-wing government and its migration policies, with Rome announcing border controls for travelers arriving from Spain on Friday. Meloni and Frederiksen argued that the adverse effects of illegal migration — “rising crime rates, growing pressure on public services, and an erosion of…
Regions home to around 900 million people experienced their hottest July on record in 2026, including in the Sahel, Central America, France and Spain, according to AFP analysis of Copernicus data. Some 33 countries recorded their hottest July since records began, according to a detailed analysis of billions of data points from Copernicus’s ERA5 climate model. Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July on record as climate change fuels an historic summer of heat, drought and wildfires across the region, the EU’s global warming monitor said Monday. 120 million Europeans hit Nearly 120 million Europeans live in regions where July 2026…
Published on 10/08/2026 – 14:37 GMT+2 Floods, landslides and accidents driven by a nine-day downpour equivalent to more than a month’s worth of rain in some areas have killed at least 13 people in the northern Philippines, rescuers said on Monday. The rains, exacerbated by tropical storms, have led to school and government office closures across the main island of Luzon and flooding in the streets of the capital Manila. Four of the deaths occurred in the mountain resort of Baguio, as a rain-drenched mountainside collapsed on several houses, killing four residents, city disaster official Charles Carame told the AFP…