Issues

Greece expected to be hit by new heatwave

Temperatures in Greece are expected to rise gradually over the weekend with meteorologists expecting a new heatwave by the weekend which could possibly last through August 15th. The Hellenic National…

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Photo Story: Malta and Sicily from space

A photo taken from from the International Space Station (ISS) of Malta and Sicily by Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and that he posted on his Facebook page. The Sicilian astronaut…

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Suspect arrested in Greece for large-scale document forgery

With the support of Europol, a 50-year old individual was arrested in Greece for large-scale forgery of documents and facilitating illegal immigration. During the action day on 11 July, the…

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Bad weather wreaks havoc in Lecco in Italy

Reports state that 80 people have been evacuated for safety reasons in Casargo, the mountain centre of Lecco province hit by a violent wave of bad weather. There were no…

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Two U.S. senators raise privacy concerns over Facebook’s Messenger Kids

Democratic U.S. senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal have written to Facebook Inc questioning whether there was a “worrying pattern” of poor privacy protection for children using its Messenger Kids…

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Canada hints at penalties for internet firms that allow child exploitation

Internet companies that do not actively combat the online exploitation of children should face financial consequences, Canada’s public safety minister hinted after announcing an increase in police funding to fight…

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Cyprus asks EU help to relocate 5,000 asylum seekers

Cyprus has asked the European Commission to help relocate 5,000 asylum seekers to other EU countries as the island nation struggles to accommodate an influx of migrants. POLITICO reports that in…

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Malta bans entry to Open Arms rescue vessel – Reports

The Government of Malta has banned the Open Arms vessel, of the Proactiva NGO, from entering its territorial waters, TgCom reports. Among the 121 migrants on board there would also…

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July was the warmest month ever recorded worldwide

July this year was the warmest month ever recorded worldwide, satellite data has confirmed. BBC reports that the assessment was carried out by researchers at the EU's Copernicus Climate Change…

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Boat carrying 48 persons arrives in Lampedusa

A boat carrying 48 migrants, including 27 women, three of whom are pregnant, and six minors, arrived on its own steam on the island of Lampedusa on Monday. According to…

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EU border force implicated in migrant abuse

German and British media published reports on Monday that place the European Union border agency Frontex at the scene of illegal activities by national border guards that may have constituted…

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Warning on increasing possible terrorist drone use in attacks

EU Security Commissioner Julian King on Saturday warned about the potential use of drones to carry out terrorist attacks. In an interview with the German newspaper, Welt, which was published online…

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UN warns new wave of terrorist attacks possible before end of year

The United Nations has warned that a recent pause in international terrorist violence may soon end, with a new wave of attacks possible before the end of the year. Specialist…

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Germany wants tougher checks on Swiss border

Germany's interior minister has told Der Spiegel magazine that he is planning to submit a concept for enhanced covert checks and brief searches of travellers along Germany's border with Switzerland. Horst Seehofer's…

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Photo Story: Heavy rain in Berlin

Cars produce fountains on a flooded street during heavy rain in Berlin, Germany. Weather that caused minor flooding in various parts of the German capital. Photo: EPA-EFE/ALEXANDER BECHER

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Open Arms ship rescues more migrants

The Open Arms NGO said Friday that one its ships saved 69 people in the Mediterranean overnight and it called for the vessel to be assigned a port of safety.…

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UN chief warns “these extreme weather events are just the tip of the iceberg. And that iceberg is also rapidly melting.”

Global warming and rising political tensions are dangerous and avoidable, Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters on Thursday, previewing the UN’s upcoming Climate Action Summit, and spotlighting geopolitical hotspots. Briefing the press…

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Salvini accuses Germany of ‘blackmail’ over migration

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini accused Germany on Thursday of "blackmail" in the latest spat between the two countries over migrants rescued at sea. According to German media, Salvini wrote in…

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Salvini bans the Alan Kurdi from entering Italian waters

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has banned the Alan Kurdi rescue ship carrying forty migrants from entering Italian waters. The Alan Kurdi is run by German charity Sea-Eye and…

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Severe flooding brings disruption to parts of England

At least 11 people from a small Cheshire town have been rescued from flood waters as heavy rain fell across parts of the country. Swathes of central, north-west and north-east…

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Japan approves human-animal embryo experiments

Japan has become the first country to allow the birthing of human-animal embryos to create human organs. Experts at the Science Ministry approved a proposal by University of Tokyo researcher Hiromitsu…

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Alan Kurdi heads to Lampedusa with 40 migrants on-board

Migrant rescue ship the ‘Alan Kurdi’, is heading to Lampedusa with 40 migrants on-board that it rescued off the coast of Libya. The ship is heading to Lampedusa as it…

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Potentially habitable ‘super-Earth’ discovered

Astronomers announced that they had discovered the nearest potentially habitable planet outside our solar system. The newfound exoplanet — a so-called super-Earth named GJ 357 d — lies 31 light-years…

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Italy reaches deal with five EU nations over stranded migrants on the ‘Bruno Gregoretti’

Italy announced that it would allow an Italian coastguard ship to finally disembark 116 migrants who were stranded for days in a Sicilian port, ending its latest standoff with the…

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UN report shows 2018 was the worst year on record for children caught up in armed conflict

A new UN report has found that 2018 was the worst year on record for children caught up in armed conflict; the year saw the highest numbers killed or maimed…

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EU seeks volunteer countries to take in migrants stranded at Italian port

Italy is engaged in another standoff with the European Union over migrants in the Mediterranean, refusing to allow 115 Africans to disembark in Sicily. They are on board the Bruno…

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Photo Story: Monsoon rains in Pakistan

People make their way through a flooded road during heavy monsoon rains in Karachi, Pakistan. At least eight people, including an 11-year-old girl, lost their lives due to electrocution as…

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Photo Story: Arctic Wildfires spreading across Alaska and Canada

A handout photo made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows a true-color composite image of smoke from Arctic wildfires spreading across Alaska and Canada, captured by…

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Various parts of Europe hit by severe storms

After an intense heatwave, various parts of Europe were hit by severe storms. In Poland, rough weather conditions effected large parts of the country as Poland’s Met Office (IMGW) issued…

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Massacre by Boko Haram in Nigeria

At least 65 people have lost their lives after suspected Boko Haram militants opened fire on a funeral in Nigeria's north-eastern state of Borno. Gunmen arrived on motorcycles and in…

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Think the heatwave was bad? Climate already hitting key tipping points

As Europe just went through one of the worst heatwaves on record and other parts of the world are suffering adverse effects of the climate, Reuters correspondent Matthew Green writes…

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Photo Story: Over 1,000 train passengers rescued near Mumbai

A handout photo made available by the Indian Navy shows the Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express train stranded, surrounded by rain water near Vangani, on the outskirts of Mumbai, India Indian authorities…

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Senior UN officials call for return to sea rescues, after ‘the worst Mediterranean tragedy of this year

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with the heads of a number of UN agencies, expressed horror at Thursday’s reports that as many as 150 people may be dead after a boat…

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Freak storm in Rome causes death of a woman

A woman lost her life during the night between Saturday and Sunday in Focene, in Fiumicino district of Rome, after her car was caught in a whirlwind so strong that…

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62 bodies recovered from Mediterranean’s worst tragedy this year

Libya's Red Crescent said Friday its rescue workers had recovered the bodies of 62 migrants a day after one of the deadliest shipwrecks this year in the Mediterranean. "Our Red…

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Photo story: The Heatwave across Europe

A handout photo made available by the European Space Agency (ESA) shows a map generated using the Copernicus Sentinel-3's Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer of an extreme heatwave that…

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Italian family disowns 11-year-old autistic son

A centre for people with autism in Trentino in Italy revealed that it was contacted by a court for minors from another part of Italy asking it to take in…

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Photo Story: Austria Railways tests tracks painted in white against heat

An handout photo made available by the Austrian Federal Railways (OeBB) shows white paint on railway tracks, at a test area near Bludenz, Austria. The OeBB carried out a first…

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Fear heatwave could cause the ceiling at Notre Dame to collapse

After the massive fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral five months ago, there are fears that the current heat wave may threaten the ailing building. Notre Dame’s already weakened structure…

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Children: The forgotten victims of the Syrian conflict

The BBC carries a heart wrenching story about two sisters caught in an aerial strike that demolished their residence in Ariha, in Idlib. A journalist captured the moment a five-year-old…

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Huge international police operation against Balkan cartel trafficking cocaine around the globe

Law enforcement agencies from across the globe teamed up against a Balkan organised criminal network suspected of large-scale cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe using private planes. The…

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Paris authorities see trees as solution to excessive heat

As Paris goes through record temperatures due to the current heatwave, Paris authorities have been implementing a strategy to use increased vegetation to beat the urban heat effect caused by…

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More records broken across Europe in current heatwave

A dangerously intense heatwave across much of Europe continued to grip most of Western Europe with higher temperatures registered Thursday after already breaking records in several countries this week On…

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Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands recorded their highest ever temperatures

Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have recorded their highest ever temperatures, in a heatwave searing Western Europe. The Belgian town of Kleine Brogel hit 39.9C, the hottest since 1833. The…

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Five Italian cities put on maximum alert due to the heat

The highest level of warning for high temperatures has been issued Wednesday for five Italian cities: Bolzano, Brescia, Florence, Perugia and Turin. The alert issued by the health ministry will…

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Heatwave prompts Belgium’s railways to take special measures

As Europe once more is in the grip of another heatwave, Belgium’s railway authorities are taking no chances: the current heatwave has prompted both Infrabel and the SNCB to take…

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Threat level system in the UK updated to include all forms of terrorism

Changes to the terrorism threat level system come into effect on Tuesday 23rd July in the United Kingdom. The changes, which follow an extensive review into the country’s approach to…

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India’s mission to the moon takes off

India has successfully launched its second lunar mission a week after it halted the scheduled blast-off due to a technical snag. Chandrayaan-2 was launched at 09:13 GMT on Monday from…

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Germany to increase emergency aid for refugees and migrants in Libya

Germany through it’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced that it will be increasing the emergency aid for refugees and migrants in Libya. Foreign Minister Maas said that the situation of…

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SOS Mediterranée resumes migrant rescues off Libya

Humanitarian group SOS Mediterranee announced it has relaunched migrant rescue operations off Libya, seven months after it was forced to abandon efforts using its ship Aquarius. SOS Mediterranee and…

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Photo Story: Wildfires in Greece

Vehicles drive near wildfire raging at Koutsouria area, near Nafplio, Peloponnese, Greece. Reports state 26 firefighters, 12 land vehicles, two aircrafts, and 2 water wagons battled the fire. Photo:…

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Maltese-registered cruise ship rescues over a hundred migrants near Greece

A Maltese-registered cruise ship sailing close to the Greek mainland has rescued more than a hundred migrants, the country's coast guard said on Sunday. The migrants were picked up by the…

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Huge operation tackles central Portugal wildfires

Hundreds of firefighters have spent the day battling wildfires in a forested, mountainous area of central Portugal. Some houses were affected by the fires but Portugal's Civil Protection did not…

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U.S. heat wave breaks records and makes way to storms

The heat wave, which has blanketed about a third of the population of the United States in recent days, is due to recede on Monday in a burst of thunderstorms…

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Elon Musk says SpaceX could beat NASA and land on moon ‘within two years’

As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary from the historic landing on the moon by the astronauts of the Apollo 11, Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of SpaceX, has…

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Spain will give Morocco €30 million to curb irregular immigration

Spain’s acting government will approve a €30 million outlay to fund Morocco’s efforts at curbing irregular immigration into Europe. This direct injection of funds is in addition to the €140…

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When America landed on the moon, the whole world did

As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first landing of man on the moon, an American endeavor that went down in the annals of history. But DW takes…

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