Author: Press Room
Published on 24/08/2026 – 8:00 GMT+2•Updated 9:22 Maritime security is no longer just about guarding ports and shipping lanes. It’s about protecting what’s invisible: the cables and energy pipelines on the seabed. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Underwater networks carry 99 percent of the world’s data, enable communication and trillions of financial transactions, and power entire nations’ energy supplies. A single cable cut or damage caused by drones, cyberattacks, or traditional military attacks can disrupt the security and economic stability of entire continents. Europe faced multiple undersea infrastructure incidents, such as the Nord Stream explosion in 2022 and Balticconnector sabotage in 2023. Concerns…
Four Syrian families have been at the centre of the work of “Taskforce Clan” in Germany’s eastern state of Saxony, according to the head of the unit. While cases of so-called clan crime currently remain at a consistently high level, the threat has increased particularly in the Leipzig area, according to the Chief Detective Superintendent. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) in Saxony warns of increasing activity by criminal family clans, mostly of Syrian origin. According to the authority, between 700-1,000 people in Saxony currently belong to Syrian clans, a spokesperson for the LKA told the news…
Around 80 percent of global trade travels by ship, while most of the EU’s imports and exports arrive or leave by sea. Meanwhile, more than 95 percent of international digital communications pass through submarine fibre-optic cables stretching across the ocean floor, alongside pipelines that transport much of the world’s oil and gas. Damage to these networks—whether through sabotage, drones, unmanned underwater vehicles or conventional military attacks—could disrupt supply chains, financial systems and energy security almost overnight. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT As a result, maritime defence is increasingly focused not only on warships and submarines but also on surveillance, autonomous technologies and the…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 22:42 GMT+2 Saudi Arabia will invest €6 billion into building three theme parks close to Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sealed the deal for the project during an official visit to the French capital, where they also discussed “major economic and strategic issues” as well as key regional matters, per the Élysée. In a post on X, Macron hailed the “extraordinary announcement,” saying the parks would become a “new global destination” and would create 22,000 jobs. The parks are set to be constructed…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 9:54 GMT+2•Updated 12:55 The European Union has approved Ukraine’s next defence spending envelope of €6.1 billion for defence procurement as part of the bloc’s €90 billion loan programme, the EU executive announced Monday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the statement the defence funding aims to supply Kyiv with air and missile defence systems, missiles, ammunition and radars. “As Russia intensifies its attacks, we are stepping up to help Ukraine protect its people and defend its skies,” she said. “Europe stands with Ukraine and we will deliver what it needs, when…
By Laure Valentin with AFP Published on 24/08/2026 – 17:38 GMT+2•Updated 18:09 Usually peaceful, the Deux Alpes resort found itself at the centre of controversy a few days ago after a video went viral on social media in which a shopkeeper, leaning on the counter of her refreshment stall, can be heard telling an Orthodox Jewish man: “The Jewish community, there are too many of you. At some point it gets on people’s nerves.” ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT An investigation has been opened following the incident. But it has cast a chill over the resort, which every summer, for decades, has welcomed Orthodox Jewish families.…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 18:18 GMT+2 The Danish government will compensate 13 people who were victims of abuse at a care home during their youth, Denmark’s Ministry of Social Affairs said on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The 13 individuals, whose identities have not been disclosed, filed a complaint in March against the state over the abuse they suffered at Solgarden, which included sexual abuse. The victims are set to receive a payout of 300,000 Kroner, the ministry said in a statement. According to the department, between 1949 and 1976, personal accounts and its files showed “serious and systemic failings during the…
Bitcoin is back in the spotlight after a week-long rally pushed the cryptocurrency above $79,000, with gains of more than 20% in just a few days. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The rally has been driven by fresh flows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, expectations of greater liquidity in the United States, a more favourable climate for cryptocurrencies in Washington and a squeeze on traders betting against Bitcoin. But there is a distinctly Italian twist to the story. While Bitcoin returns to centre stage, Italy’s richest man is someone who built his fortune at the heart of the crypto economy. At 62, Giancarlo Devasini,…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 15:36 GMT+2 UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Britain must be “bolder” in seeking to rebuild relations with the European Union, according to his office. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Burnham made the comments during a meeting with European Council President António Costa on board a train to Kyiv on Sunday evening. The pair travelled to the Ukrainian capital to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day on Monday. “The UK had to be bolder in terms of getting closer to the bloc,” Burnham told Costa during the journey, a Downing Street spokeswoman said. “That included building on the close defence…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 12:59 GMT+2 Sweden will form a commission seeking to prevent attacks on schools, its government said on Monday, days after a 17-year-old girl was killed and three people wounded by a sword-wielding assailant at a high school. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The attack on the school in the small town of Fagersta on Friday was the latest of several deadly incidents at educational institutions over the last decade. Minister for Education and Integration Simona Mohamsson told a press conference on Monday that the government would be appointing a school attack commission “that will propose new measures to prevent…