Author: Press Room
The owner of the Swiss bar ravaged by a deadly New Year fire is in pre-trial detention, accused of domestic abuse against his wife and co-owner of the establishment, media reported on Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti have been the focus of intense scrutiny since the fire ripped though their bar Le Constellation, in the Crans-Montana ski resort in the early hours of 1 January. The blaze killed 41 people, most of them teenagers, injuring 115 other people. The Morettis are among 16 people facing criminal investigation in the case. They face charges including manslaughter by…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 7:41 GMT+2 A leading aid group said on Monday that migrants crossing the Mediterranean and rescue ships that help them face increasing levels of threat and harassment from Libyan groups. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Thousands of people have died crossing from Africa to Europe and SOS Méditerranée is leading part of a network of ships and planes that monitor these waters. The group said that the central Mediterranean was becoming “increasingly hostile,” which it said was bolstered by “the expansion of European cooperation with Libyan actors regarding migration deterrence.” SOS Méditerranée said that on at least seven occasions…
More than 10,000 people marched in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, on Sunday in a protest against human-made climate change, weeks ahead of a 13 September general election where the issue is top among Swedish voters’ concerns. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The protest comes as experts in Sweden and abroad have warned that the government’s climate policy jeopardises the country’s emissions-cutting goals, to reduce CO₂ emissions from transport by 70 percent from 2010 levels by 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045. Organised by youth and sporting groups, unions, rural associations and rights groups, the rally in the Swedish capital included Sweden’s…
Published on 23/08/2026 – 14:27 GMT+2•Updated 15:31 European Central Bank (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde could be set to take charge of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at some point in 2027, a Swiss newspaper has reported. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) reported over the weekend that Lagarde had been referred to as a “putative candidate” for the position of WEF president during a board meeting near Geneva earlier this week. Lagarde, who is on the WEF’s Board of Trustees, has thanked fellow board members for their confidence in her and said she is “ready to serve,” the outlet…
Published on 23/08/2026 – 15:35 GMT+2 Rising tensions between Italy and the main European Union countries over the implementation of the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Ireland has become the seventh member state to call for asylum seekers to be returned to the countries of first entry and for strict compliance with the rules on secondary movements. The most heated confrontation remains with Germany. While Berlin is pushing for readmissions of so-called ‘Dublin cases’ – migrants who arrived in one member state and then moved to another without having lodged an asylum application – Italy is…
By Sonja Issel Published on 23/08/2026 – 15:39 GMT+2 In Sydney, final preparations are under way for next weekend’s marathon. As the runners get ready for the race, it is the finisher medal that is unexpectedly attracting international attention. The reason: between the landmarks of the Australian metropolis, what appears to be a German football stadium has ended up on the medal. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The medal’s design is actually meant to reflect the marathon course. “Those who look closely will discover the story of the course in the details,” the organisers wrote on their official social media account. But it is…
Published on 23/08/2026 – 11:59 GMT+2•Updated 12:00 Europe continues to struggle with the consequences of extreme weather, with Serbia, Bosnia, Spain, and Poland all facing severe conditions. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In Serbia, the EU has sent helicopters and firefighters to support local crews battling a blaze that has engulfed more than 1,600 hectares of vegetation in the Deliblatska Pescara nature reserve, 60 kilometres east of Belgrade. The effort is also being assisted by a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 water bomber deployed since Thursday, alongside several Serbian army helicopters. “The situation is extremely difficult,” says Ivica Dacic, Serbia’s Interior Minister, adding that “more…
By Serge Duchêne Published on 23/08/2026 – 12:46 GMT+2•Updated 13:25 The former commentator turned politician, Raphaël Glucksmann, was due to announce on Sunday evening that he will run in next year’s French presidential election, joining an already crowded field of contenders, including within the left itself. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT At 46, this former essayist and MEP, who heads the centre-left party Place publique, was expected to make his bid official in a prime-time interview on the TF1 television channel. It was also on TF1 that, on 26 May, the 46-year-old MEP announced that he was giving himself three months “to criss-cross the…
Published on 23/08/2026 – 8:10 GMT+2 Six EU countries are intensifying calls for a bloc-wide windfall tax on oil companies as profits surge amid the war in the Middle East, according to a draft letter seen by AFP on Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The finance ministers of Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, and Portugal, along with Spain’s economy minister, sent a joint letter to Ireland’s finance minister, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. The ministers urged that a levy be added to the agenda for next month’s meeting of EU finance chiefs in Dublin. “Oil companies are enjoying overall profitability and…
A total of 18 migrants were buried on Friday in the Muslim cemetery in Ceuta, three weeks after the border crisis that left more than 90 people dead and led to more than 72,000 people entering the autonomous city from Morocco. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The bodies, all of them men, were laid to rest without having been identified. Their graves are marked only with numbers to allow possible identification later if relatives come forward to claim them, interim cemetery director Said Mohammed told AP. During the burial, a Muslim cleric recited prayers while funeral workers placed the bodies, wrapped in white…