Author: DW

A Hungarian firm, BAC Consulting, has been linked to the thousands of pagers that exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people and leaving nearly 3,000 wounded. The name of the Budapest-based firm first cropped up in a statement by a Taiwanese manufacturer, Gold Apollo, whose label appeared on the devices. Gold Apollo said it did not manufacture the devices and that they were made by its Hungarian partner, BAC Consulting. “The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it,” Gold Apollo founder and president Hsu Ching-kuang told reporters at the company’s offices…

With the stunning Sagrada Familia basilica, whimsical Parc Guell, and the historic old town, it’s no surprise that Barcelona is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. In 2023, 15.6 million holidaymakers visited the Spanish city. Yet such high tourist numbers have seriously affected the city, as locals struggle to find affordable accommodation because apartments are transformed into vacation rentals. “This is the biggest problem in our city,” Mayor Jaume Collboni said at a June press conference. He then caused a sensation by announcing that the city would no longer renew vacation rental licenses and also not grant any new…

Lithium-ion batteries can catch fire or explode, but in the attack on pagers in Lebanon, the devices are more likely to have been hacked.

Londoners walking from the underground station to the Powerleague football pitches in Shoreditch pass a makeshift bedroom under a railway bridge: a damp mattress, an empty wooden crate and scraps of cardboard strewn across the concrete. It’s one of countless signs of street homelessness in the shadows of the financial center of one of the world’s richest cities. On those small football pitches, a young team are being put through their paces, with their Scottish coach barking out instructions and encouragement. They all wear red shirts with “England” emblazoned across the front. But these aren’t replicas of the Euro 2024 finalists, this is…

The EU said on Wednesday that it planned to withhold €200 million ($222 million) in funds earmarked for Hungary. It said that Budapest had failed to pay an equivalent fine for violating international asylum rules.The European Court of Justice (ECJ) fined Hungary for violating asylum rulesImage: Patrick Scheiber/imago What do we know about the withheld funds? In June, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) fined Hungary for failing to comply with a 2020 ruling on upholding international procedures for asylum-seekers. A deadline to settle the penalty expired on Tuesday. “That means that the commission is in accordance to the applicable…

Colombia’s government has halted peace talks with the leftist rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN) following an attack on a military base which left two soldiers dead and more than two dozen injured. “Today the peace process is on hold. Its viability is severely diminished and its continuation can only go ahead with an unequivocal demonstration of peace by the ELN,” government negotiators said on social media platform X on Wednesday. The attack — blamed on the ELN — occurred on Tuesday in a rural part of Colombia’s Arauca province, near the border with Venezuela. Officials said the attackers detonated explosives in a…

Lebanon has been rocked by a second wave of blasts, this time linked to hand-held radios, as reports have emerged that solar energy systems have exploded in several areas as well.Multiple reports have come in from Lebanon saying that communication devices, thought to be hand-held radios, have exploded across the country’s south, and in the southern suburbs of the capital. Reuters cited a security source and a witness as saying the devices were used by Hezbollah.Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported explosions in multiple areas of Lebanon, which were said to be the result of the radios detonating.Middle East latest: Fresh…

A Hungarian firm, BAC Consulting, has been linked to the thousands of pagers that exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people and leaving nearly 3,000 wounded. The name of the Budapest-based firm first cropped up in a statement by a Taiwanese manufacturer, Gold Apollo, whose label appeared on the devices. Gold Apollo said it did not manufacture the devices and that they were made by its Hungarian partner, BAC Consulting. “The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it,” Gold Apollo founder and president Hsu Ching-kuang told reporters at the company’s offices…

When the 11 dancers of the Cottbus Piccolo Theater youth dance company whirl across the stage, the energy is electric. The theater piece “Move On Move Over”  revolves around the topics of time, war and migration. For the theater’s director Reinhard Drogla, the production is the highlight of the upcoming season. “Young people are our hope,” he says. There are many reasons to stay optimistic, despite the political situation in the country as voters’ turn towards the far-right populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in much of former East Germany. Located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Berlin, Cottbus is a medium-sized…

The first half of September 2024 saw devastating floods in Nigeria, Myanmar, the Czech Republic, Budapest and other parts Central Europe after heavy rainfall. In August, floods hit Bangladesh and left more than 500,000 people without clean water, sanitation, dry clothes and other basics like medication. With experts tending to attribute these extreme weather events to climate change, governments and communities are looking towards mitigation and adaptation strategies. For instance, investment in grey infrastructure projects, using concrete and steel, and natural green initiatives could help to prevent the very worst impacts of more frequent and severe flood events. Storm Boris: Torrential rains hit EuropeTo…