Author: Press Room

Italy faces summer’s most intense heatwave with 45°C highs

By&nbspEuronews Published on 27/08/2026 – 15:27 GMT+2 The fifth extreme heatwave of the summer has arrived in Italy at the end of August, following a brief spell of unsettled weather that helped bring temperatures down. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to forecasts, it will not last long, with high temperatures between 27 and 29 August, but it is expected to be the most intense heatwave of the season. Driven by an African anticyclone, which could also bring Saharan dust, the stifling heat will be concentrated in southern and central Italy, with temperatures reaching 8-10°C above average. On Thursday, three cities are already…

Read More
Is Spain facing another major earthquake? A geologist tells Euronews about the risks

More than 1,000 earthquakes in just 10 days, two of them of magnitude 4.8. The seismic sequence that began on 14 August in Granada has once again raised a question that goes far beyond Andalusia: could Spain soon be hit by a major earthquake? ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT By 24 August, the National Geographic Institute (IGN) had recorded 1,075 tremors which were felt by the population. The two largest, with a magnitude of 4.8, were very shallow and were felt in more than 500 localities, from Andalusia to parts of Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha and even the Madrid region. Spain has far more…

Read More
Von der Leyen turns up pressure on China over trade deficit

Published on 27/08/2026 – 14:10 GMT+2 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that if negotiations to reduce the record-high trade deficit with China did not produce a breakthrough, the EU should make use of all its trade defence mechanisms. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Tensions have remained high between Brussels and Beijing since the talks were launched last June. Over the summer, China moved to ban Chinese firms from participating in EU antitrust probes, while the Commission has continued opening trade defence investigations into the suspected dumping of Chinese products into the European market. “Dialogue with China remains necessary.…

Read More
Ceuta faces second night of tense protests: government and media in the crosshairs

Ceuta has faced its second consecutive night of protests over the migration crisis, and social tensions continue to rise. Tuesday’s demonstrations against the alleged plan by the government to house migrants in the Coronel Fiscer barracks were followed on Wednesday by a new wave of protests that ended with barricades, rubber bullets fired by police and blockades on the streets around the port. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Both days share a common denominator that is starting to repeat itself as the crisis persists: the press covering the situation has also become a target of criticism. Two nights, two TV crews harassed On…

Read More
Fidesz weighs a future without Orbán and even dissolution after historic defeat

Hungary’s Fidesz party is facing an existential crisis following its dramatic defeat in the country’s April elections, in which Péter Magyar’s Tisza party unseated Viktor Orbán after 16 years of governing with a supermajority. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Having been a key driver of Hungary’s democratic transition at the end of the 1980s and then a vehicle for Orbán’s nationalist, eurosceptic transformation of the country since 2010, Fidesz has since struggled to adapt to Hungary’s new political reality. Tisza commands nearly 70% support in opinion polls, while Fidesz’s own rating has fallen below 20%. Several leading figures have left politics altogether since…

Read More
Polls too close to call in Iceland’s pivotal EU membership referendum

Published on 27/08/2026 – 11:04 GMT+2 Iceland’s referendum on whether to restart EU accession negotiations is heading for a knife-edge result, the latest polls show, with the gap between “yes” and “no” narrowing sharply ahead of Saturday’s vote. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Maskína, a polling and market research company, says its survey of voting intentions for the high-stakes referendum put the “Yes” camp ahead on 51.3% and “No” on 48.7%. Previous polls have consistently shown a lead for the pro-accession camp, but also a steady closing of the gap. In earlier surveys commissioned by the Icelandic news outlet Vísir, Maskína put the…

Read More
Norway’s King Harald in ‘extremely serious’ condition, palace confirms

Published on 27/08/2026 – 10:15 GMT+2 Norway’s 89-year-old King Harald is in an “extremely serious” condition after his health deteriorated while being treated in hospital for a blood disorder, the royal palace said on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “His Majesty the King’s health condition is extremely serious,” the palace said in a statement, without providing further details. Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon, who is acting as regent during his father’s illness, have cancelled all royal engagements, while Norwegian media reported that members of the royal family were at the king’s bedside. Europe’s oldest reigning monarch has been in Oslo University…

Read More
Which EU countries invest more in maritime defence and why?

Europe’s militaries are pouring money into the sea. EU defence expenditure rose to €418 billion in 2025, a 20 percent increase from the previous year, and is projected to reach €454 billion in 2026, equivalent to 2.4 percent of GDP. Maritime defence is one of the fastest-growing sectors. Production of naval vehicles and equipment across the bloc has reached €117.8 billion since 2016, with output hitting €13.7 billion in 2025 alone. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Who’s building Europe’s navies On paper, four countries dominate that output. France, Germany, Italy and Spain account for 87 percent of the EU’s maritime defence industrial base…

Read More
Zelenskyy awards Elon Musk Ukraine’s ‘Order of Freedom’ despite years of criticism

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded tech billionaire Elon Musk the Order of Freedom, one of Ukraine’s most prestigious state honours, months after the SpaceX founder worked with Kyiv to block Russia’s illegal use of Starlink — a move that disrupted Moscow’s battlefield communications and helped slow the Russian advance. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The decree, published on Ukraine’s presidential website on Wednesday, cited Musk’s “outstanding personal merits in protecting human life and freedom” and his contribution to relations between Ukraine and the US. The award marks a striking turn in the complicated relationship between Musk, Ukraine and the country’s leadership, as Kyiv…

Read More
Authorities in Greece issue code red wildfire alert for Ionian islands

The Ionian Islands region was placed under a Code Red alert on Wednesday, as a very high risk of wildfires (Category 4) is forecast. The decision was taken by the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Under the alert, the National Civil Protection Mechanism is fully activated, deploying the necessary personnel, equipment and resources required to prepare for imminent threat, respond to emergencies and manage the consequences of any destructive event. Short-term recovery, relief and support measures are also activated to help mitigate the impact of the disaster. A high wildfire risk (Category 3) is forecast for…

Read More