Ansa news

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 6 - The intense heat is also affecting Germany, where the Robert Koch Institute has released data on June's deaths, which are significantly higher than previously estimated. The heatwave caused 9,600 deaths between June 22 and June 28. During these days, the temperature in the western Saarland region hit 41.3 degrees Celsius, setting a new record for the Federal Republic. (ANSA).

(ANSA-AFP) - BRATISLAVA, AUG 5 - Slovakia on Wednesday recorded an all-time temperature high of 41.4C, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) said in a statement sent to AFP, as a heatwave gripped central Europe. The record was measured in the village of Kamenica nad Hronom in southwestern Slovakia, beating a previous high of 41.3 set in the same village on June 30, 2026, the agency said. (ANSA-AFP).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 5 - Montenegro's Prime Minister, Milojko Spajić, has denied reports of a potential EU repatriation centre in the country. "Regarding media reports about an alleged preliminary list of countries where the EU could establish reception and repatriation centres, I'd like to clarify that Montenegro has not begun negotiations to establish such centres on its territory. The government has not received any official initiative in this regard. If such an initiative is presented, we…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 5 - Croatia celebrates Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, Croatian Veterans Day, and the 31st anniversary of Military-Police Operation Storm with a central ceremony in Knin, according to Croatian public television. Croatian veterans and victims of the Homeland War raised the Croatian flag at the Knin Fortress. Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković praised Storm as a legitimate liberation operation, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced new rights for veterans, and…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 5 - "Once again, we wake up to reports of horrific atrocities committed by Russia in its air strikes against Ukraine. Russia must pay for the destruction it has caused. And we are using the proceeds from the seizure of Russian assets to ensure this happens," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X, emphasising that the EU is making an additional €1.4 billion available to Ukraine. "This will strengthen Ukraine's ongoing resistance to Russia's illegal war," she…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 5 - Russia is attempting to influence the local elections in Germany this fall by posting a series of videos on X that aim to discredit centrist political parties opposed to Moscow. Only the far-right AfD and the BSW, founded by Sahra Wagenknecht, are immune to the propaganda behind the posts, which appear to be produced by German media groups. Security agencies have raised concerns about the interference, having identified several hundred videos of this nature as part of…

(ANSA) - SOFIA, AUG 5 - The Bulgarian Interior Ministry announced in a statement that it has launched an investigation into the incident reported by Italian media and picked up by some Bulgarian media, which claimed that on August 2nd, Bulgarian Skinheads attempted to attack young Italian Jews staying in a hotel. "The investigations have begun even though no official complaint has been received from the victims or their representatives," the press release states. "All necessary measures have been…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, 04 AGO - Even 31 years later, Operation Storm, the military offensive with which Croatian forces in 1995 recaptured the predominantly Serb region of Krajina, which had broken away by force with Belgrade's support after Croatia declared independence in 1991, is still commemorated in opposed ways in the two rival countries, reflecting irreconcilable perspectives and sentiments. Today, August 4, is the Day of Remembrance, or Dan sećanja, in Serbia and Banja Luka, marking the painful…

(ANSA) - VILNIUS, 04 AGO - Lithuania will produce drones for Ukraine on its own territory, Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas announced in an interview with the daily newspaper Verslo Zinios. Kaunas said a ministerial working group is currently developing the legal and logistical framework that will allow defense companies operating in the Baltic country to use Ukrainian technology and significantly expand domestic drone production. The minister said Vilnius and Kyiv will provide financial…

(ANSA) - ROME, 04 AGO - Rome's Jewish Community said Tuesday that a group of Neo-Nazis tried to storm a hotel in Sofia where a group of young Italian Jews are staying. "Our children are not free to travel in Europe without being exposed to violence and verbal aggression from anti-Semites," said Victor Fadlun, the President of Rome's Jewish Community. "A video documents the despicable provocation, with Nazi salutes and shouts of "Sieg Heil!" by a group of skinheads wearing black T-shirts with skulls,…

(ANSA-AFP) - FRANKFURT, 04 AGO - Profit at German aviation group Lufthansa plunged in the second quarter, the firm said Tuesday, as higher jet fuel costs hit earnings. Excluding one-off effects, core profit fell almost 56 percent to 383 million euros ($440 million), Lufthansa said, even as sales rose 10 percent to 11.1 billion euros in the three months to the end of June. Higher fuel prices increased costs by about 750 million euros, the operator of the Swiss, Brussels, Eurowings and Lufthansa airlines…

(ANSA-AFP) - VIENNA, 04 AGO - Austria set a new temperature record on Tuesday with 40.8C measured in Vienna, the national weather agency said. The reading was made in Stammersdorf in the east of the capital, GeoSphere Austria said in a statement, breaking the previous record of 40.5 degrees on August 8, 2013 at Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in eastern Austria. (ANSA-AFP).

(ANSA-AFP) - PRISTINA, 04 AGO - Kosovo authorities confirmed late Monday that the remains of four people were found at a second mass grave in the country's north, as investigations into a suspected 1990s war crime continue. The discovery comes days after the remains of seven people were uncovered at a nearby dig site in the area of Zubin Potok -- with officials believing there could be as many as 23 people buried near surrounding villages. "During excavations conducted in Jabuka, the mortal remains…

(ANSA) - GORIZIA, AUG 3 - Gorizia will host the 21st edition of "Gusti di frontiera," a food and wine festival that will bring the historic center to life from September 24 to 27. The event will feature 17 themed villages and approximately 300 booths, offering specialties from 5 continents and over 50 countries. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend that weekend. The 2026 edition—unveiled this morning at a press conference—features a new visual identity that portrays Gorizia…

(ANSA-AFP) - BELGRADE, 02 AGO - A drought in Serbia which has brought the Danube river to its lowest-ever level is forcing the country to greatly reduce power generation from hydroelectric plants, the country's energy minister said Sunday. The two biggest plants, Djerdap I and Djerdap II, have been reduced to an output just 20 and 30 percent of their respective capacities, Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic told RTS television. The facilities provide around 18 percent of Serbia's electricity generation.…

(ANSA) - TRIESTE, AUG 2 - Two firefighting helicopters collided while battling a forest fire in the Psatha area, west of Athens, according to the fire department. "Search and rescue teams were immediately mobilized to locate and assist the crews," they added. Two pilots who were part of the crew of one of the two aircraft have been rescued and are in good health. However, there has been no contact with the second crew, and search and rescue operations are underway. This is according to the Amna…

(ANSA) - TRIESTE, AUG 2 - The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry will summon the Russian representative in Vilnius after the Lithuanian embassy building in Kyiv was damaged in a massive Russian attack. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budris reported on X that "missiles struck just meters from the Embassy" and that "fortunately, our staff did not suffer." "Russia's campaign of terror against Ukraine continues without limits. There is no sign of any genuine willingness to stop it, to seek peace or…

(ANSA-AFP) - ATENE, AUG 1 - Hundreds of firefighters are trying to contain a fire northeast of Athens to save a coastal resort, while the flames are being fueled by extremely strong winds reaching up to 130 kilometers per hour. The firefighting center said operations are underway in the Porto Germeno area, about 70 kilometers from the Greek capital, in the Viotia region. "The flames have reached the sea; there are certainly some damaged homes," a spokesperson for the center told AFP. The strong…

(ANSA) - MOSCA, AUG 1 - The Lithuanian Embassy is among the buildings damaged during last night's Russian bombardment of Kyiv, which left 9 people dead, according to Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president wrote on social media that 18 buildings, including a school, were hit in the raids across seven districts of the capital. But bombings have also been reported in the regions of Dnipro, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava. "Last night, the Russians launched 35 missiles—27 of them ballistic—and 185…

(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, 31 LUG - Greek Civil Protection on Friday ordered the partial evacuation of part of Haidari, a suburb west of Athens, after a forest fire broke out on a nearby mountain, according to an emergency mobile phone alert. Haidari is located about 11 kilometres (seven miles) west of central Athens. Firefighters said the blaze was burning on a mountain near the suburb. (ANSA-AFP).

(ANSA-AFP) - WARSAW, 31 LUG - Poland's foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador following an incursion of a missile into one of its eastern regions a day earlier, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday. "Today, the Polish Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador in connection with the missile that hit Polish territory yesterday," he wrote on X, after the missile left a crater in a field some 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Poland's border with Ukraine. NATO and European leaders on…

(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, JUL 31 - Austria is prepared to temporarily close the Schengen Area borders should developments in Spain result in increased migratory pressure on its territory. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker wrote this on X, describing what is happening in Spain as "a clear warning sign." The head of the Vienna government explained that he is monitoring the situation "very closely" and is in close contact with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Magnus Brunner, Minister for European…

(ANSA) - BUDAPEST, JUL 31 - The Paks nuclear power station (in southern Hungary) has been completely shut down due to a lack of sufficient water in the Danube, the station's management announced. Amidst the widespread drought, the Danube has reached its lowest level ever, and there is not enough water for the reactors' cooling system. The Paks plant supplies almost half of the country's electricity needs. "The situation is very delicate. We do not yet know whether we will be able to get through…

(ANSA-AFP) - FRANKFURT, 30 LUG - German inflation picked up pace in July, provisional data showed Thursday, as energy price growth accelerated. Overall inflation came in at 2.8 percent in July, statistics office Destatis said, up from 2.3 percent in June. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, price growth came in at just 2.4 percent. But energy prices were up 8.3 percent -- a faster rate of growth than in May or June. Energy costs have been volatile amid the collapse of a fragile ceasefire in…

(ANSA-AFP) - FRANKFURT, 30 LUG - Net profit at premium carmaker BMW fell over a third in the second quarter, the firm said Thursday, as intense Chinese competition shakes German automotive giants. Net profit in the three months to the end of June came in at 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion), BMW said, a fall of almost 35 percent on this time last year. That was BMW's lowest quarterly profit since late 2024 when faulty brakes fitted to vehicles ended up costing the carmaker hundreds of millions of…

(ANSA-AFP) - ANKARA, 30 LUG - Turkey has deployed five F-16 fighter jets in Estonia as part of a NATO mission that has been reinforced since Russia invaded Ukraine, the defence ministry said Thursday. The ministry said the five fighter jets would take over from Portuguese counterparts and be at the Amari military base near Tallinn until November 30 "as part of NATO's enhanced air policing mission". "During this mission, our units will contribute to the security of Baltic airspace as part of NATO's…

(ANSA) - BELGRADO, JUL 30 - The District Court of Split, Croatia, has found retired general of the former Yugoslav National Army (JNA), Borislav Djukić, an ethnic Serb, guilty of war crimes against the Croatian civilian population, committed on Croatian territory between August 1991 and May 1992. The former general was sentenced to 16 years in prison, according to reports in Croatian and Serbian media. The indictment filed by the Split County Prosecutor's Office accuses General Djukić of ordering…

(ANSA-AFP) - WARSAW, 30 LUG - A missile that fell in eastern Poland early Thursday was likely Russian, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told journalists. "From the analysis of most of the traces, the recovered fragments point to a Russian KH-101 missile," he said. Polish authorities said Thursday that a 10 metre (33 feet) wide crater had been left by an explosion in an eastern region that occurred as Russia staged new missile attacks on neighbouring Ukraine. Prime Minister Donald Tusk was to head to the…

(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, 30 LUG - Thousands of people were evacuated late on Wednesday as fires threatened a tourist resort on the Greek island of Crete and continued to rage on Thursday, fanned by violent winds, a local official said. "We evacuated (some) 8,000 people" from the resort village of Agia Galini, Maria Lioni, deputy governor of the Rethymno area, told state TV ERT. The evacuations were decided as the fire, which broke out Wednesday and had earlier killed two firefighters, got to within…

(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, 29 LUG - Three firefighters died battling forest blazes in Greece on Wednesday as several other fires broke out around the country, fed by gale-force winds. The fire department said two firefighters had died on the island of Crete "during an operation to contain a rural forest fire." A third firefighter was found unconscious near the Peloponnese port of Gytheio, a fire department spokesman told AFP, with media reports saying he had died of pathological causes. State TV ERT said…