Author: Press Room

Published on 21/08/2026 – 8:38 GMT+2•Updated 8:44 A border crossing with Moldova in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region was damaged by Russian drones overnight, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in a statement on Friday morning. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Traffic through the Tabaky checkpoint has been suspended and diverted to other crossings, the border service said on Telegram. Moldovan authorities in Chișinău have been informed, the statement added. The announcement comes a day after a Romanian F-16 fighter jet destroyed an explosive-laden maritime drone close to Europe’s largest offshore gas project, hours after another drone entered the NATO member’s airspace…

Germany registered a record of around 14,000 heat-related deaths this summer as Europe struggled through a series of punishing heatwaves, official data showed on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Around 9,600 of those deaths were recorded in one week in late June when Germany baked in temperatures of over 40C, according to the Robert Koch Institute. The heatwaves and drought have fuelled a historically hot summer in Europe, contributing to a spike in heat-related mortality in the worst-hit countries. Spain’s public health institute registered nearly 4,500 heat-related deaths since 1 June, figures showed on Thursday and French health authorities said they had…

Published on 20/08/2026 – 18:24 GMT+2 In Saxony-Anhalt, the interior ministry is aware of around 80 cases and across Germany, there are said to be hundreds of such incidents of Ukrainian troops deserting after completing their military training. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The federal government has not yet published any official nationwide statistics. Nor are any publicly confirmed figures currently available from other states. Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, around 29,000 Ukrainian soldiers have undergone training in Germany, according to the Bundeswehr. The training takes place at numerous sites. The soldiers learn, among other things, how to handle…

The intensifying use of drones against civilians and humanitarian workers is a dangerous obstacle for aid operations in Ukraine, the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Fletcher spoke to the Associated Press news agency in an interview after a visit to the southern city of Kherson, where he witnessed how communities are coping while living under the constant threat of Russian drone strikes. Fletcher described the visit to Kherson, split by the Dnipro River which acts as an active front line, as “quite chilling.” Russian forces occupy the eastern bank, while Ukrainian forces hold the western…

Published on 20/08/2026 – 15:58 GMT+2 Belgium’s largest wildfire in a century was brought “under control” on Thursday after a seven-day fight involving hundreds of firefighters in the boggy terrain of the High Fens nature reserve. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “At this stage, the fire is now under control in its entirety and should no longer spread,” barring a major change in weather conditions or other unforeseen factors, the local governor’s office said. The High Fens fire mushroomed over the weekend to half the size of Manhattan, charring a huge expanse of peatland, pine trees and hiking trails. Firefighters wrestled “numerous flare-ups”…

Published on 20/08/2026 – 14:30 GMT+2•Updated 15:00 Six years after stepping back as working royals, Harry and Meghan are set to return to the UK within weeks with their two children, who are expected to start school in September, according to British media. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The family plans to live in a private residence outside London while keeping their homes in California and Portugal. Meghan is expected to continue running her As Ever company from the UK, while Harry will focus more on his UK-based charities. Why Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal life The Duke and Duchess of…

Published on 20/08/2026 – 12:09 GMT+2 Romania scrambled NATO fighter jets after a drone entered its airspace during a major Russian missile and drone attack on neighbouring Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Romania’s Defence Ministry said military radar detected a group of aerial targets close to the Ukrainian border, north of the eastern county of Tulcea, at 02:23 local time on Thursday. Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets in Romania as part of NATO’s air policing mission were scrambled to monitor the situation, while a Romanian IAR-330 SOCAT military helicopter was sent on a reconnaissance mission. Authorities also issued an alert to people…

Published on 20/08/2026 – 12:29 GMT+2 Russia deployed Banderol munitions in its overnight large-scale attack on Ukraine on Thursday, in what has become Moscow’s growing use of a low-cost weapon designed to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Ukraine’s Air Force said the Banderols were intercepted during a barrage that also included cruise missiles and Shahed-type drones. First recorded in Ukraine in spring 2025, the Banderol has become an increasingly common weapon of Russian attacks. Also known as the S8000, it is a small jet-powered loitering munition that combines features of a cruise missile and a jet-powered attack drone. It…

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired deputy chief of staff Iryna Mudra on Wednesday, as anti-corruption investigators launched a major probe targeting an alleged criminal organisation involving senior officials linked to the president’s office. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Apart from Mudra, the suspects include a current member of parliament, a former lawmaker and the chief executive and head of supervisory board of a state-owned bank, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU). The description of the bank officials appears to refer to Sense Bank. Investigators allege that the group helped launder around €3 million (150 million Ukrainian hryvnia) that had been posted as…

EU lawmakers are increasingly giving in to the influence of the tobacco lobby. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to Transparency International’s Integrity Watch database, meetings between tobacco industry representatives and MEPs have increased by 57%, rising from an average of 14.7 meetings per month to 23 by June 2026. The database, which compiles self-declared meetings published by the European Parliament, shows that tobacco companies and affiliated organisations have consistently lobbied lawmakers on issues ranging from vaping and heated tobacco to taxation and tobacco control. The tobacco industry has become one of the most powerful and well-funded corporate lobbying forces in Brussels as…