Ansa news

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 14 - Fires continue to burn in Carnia, on the Amariana and Cozzarel mountains, north of Udine in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. Following the activation of the cross-border protocol with the Republic of Slovenia, three Slovenian Air Tractor Fire Boss aircraft, as well as two ground liaison officers and a two-person drone team, are now operational. The state-owned Canadair aircraft, which had been flying earlier this morning, was grounded due to dense smoke, which prevented…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 14 - According to preliminary data available to Frontex, irregular border crossings into the European Union decreased by 37% in the first seven months of 2026 compared to the same period the previous year, with approximately 61 000 detections recorded at the EU's external borders. In the Western Balkans, 4,910 irregular border crossings (6,673) were detected, down 26%. According to the data currently available, most major migratory routes saw fewer crossings than in 2025.…

(ANSA-AFP) - RIGA, AUG 14 - NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace, the country's defence ministry confirmed Friday, followed by an announcement from the military. The interception came against a backdrop of heightened concern in Europe over unauthorised drone activity, as the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on more than four years. NATO "fighter jets have successfully shot down a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that had entered Latvia as a result of Russian electromagnetic…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 14 - Slovenia's GDP grew by 5.0% in real terms in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, according to the national statistical office in Ljubljana. Growth accelerated further than in the first quarter, when it stood at 3.2%, according to revised figures. The year-on-year GDP growth rate in the first half of the year was 4.1% in real terms, according to the Statistics Office. (ANSA).

(ANSA-AFP) - SARAJEVO, AUG 14 - Croatian wildfires forced hundreds of people to flee from a small tourist town on the country's Adriatic coast, as firefighters battled Friday to contain the rapidly expanding blaze. More than 150 firefighters were deployed to Lokva Rogoznica, where flames quickly swept through surrounding pine forests and vegetation, before moving into residential areas and destroying homes and vehicles, local media reported. The fire is the latest to break out in Croatia which is…

(ANSA) - ROMA, 14 AGO - L'Ucraina e la Polonia stanno finalizzando i negoziati per il trasferimento di vecchi caccia sovietici MiG-29 in cambio di un lotto di droni e delle più recenti tecnologie per la loro produzione; i velivoli potrebbero essere spediti nelle prossime settimane. La notizia, ripresa dalla Ukrainska Pravda, è riportata dalla testata polacca Wirtualna Polska, con riferimento a fonti delle forze armate e del ministero della Difesa di Varsavia. Secondo quanto riportato, dopo una…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 13 - Gas storage levels in Germany are falling, remaining below 48% in mid-August, whereas the EU is above 59% and Italy is nearly 78%. According to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, an association of European transmission network operators, German stocks fell by 0.9% yesterday, to 47.28% at 116.52 TWh, down from 65.45% at 161.44 TWh a year earlier. This situation caused European inventories to fall by 0.01%, to 59.32% at 670.43 TWh, down from 72.64% at 820.99 TWh the previous…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 13 - Fires are raging on the outskirts of Albania's capital, Tirana, with large areas ablaze since last night. Numerous civil defence, firefighting, and army units are battling the fires. There is no immediate report, but two military helicopters have been dispatched to the affected areas. The situation in Kruja, about 30 kilometres north of the capital, is critical, with fires threatening several homes. There are also two other helicopters on the scene. In the last 24 hours,…

(ANSA-AFP) - BUCHAREST, AUG 13 - Romania began Thursday the complete shutdown of its only nuclear plant after water levels in the Danube, used to cool the site, fell to a record low, the national nuclear energy company said. Nuclearelectrica already shut down last month one of the two reactors at the Cernavoda power plant, which usually generates a fifth of the Eastern European country's total electricity. The second needed to shut as well "due to the significant and ongoing drop in the water level…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 12 - Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Greece are in advanced talks to establish a repatriation centre for Uganda. Anadolu reports this, citing Greek media Kathimerini and diplomatic sources. "The facility is expected to be capable of accommodating migrants transferred from Europe by 2027." "The ministers in charge of migration policies from the five countries are expected to meet in Copenhagen on September 4th to assess the status of negotiations." (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 12 - NATO allies met this morning at the North Atlantic Council to discuss recent airspace violations in Poland and Romania, as well as drone incidents, according to an Alliance statement. The 32 allies expressed their "full solidarity" and "support" for the Allies involved. The allies emphasised that Russia is "fully accountable for the airspace violations, which are dangerous and unacceptable and demonstrate Russia's increasing risk appetite." (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 12 - "We are somewhat surprised by the uproar on the issue and the disagreements" with Rome, said the German Interior Ministry spokeswoman in response to a question about Germany's expulsions to Italy under the Dublin agreement. "This is because Germany and Italy have been working well together on migration issues and the implementation of the common asylum system for some time: in autumn 2025, we signed bilateral agreements with Italy and Greece establishing that the Dublin…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 12 - Estonia has received its first payment of €351.6 million from Safe, the European defence loan facility. The European Commission announced the payment, stating that it represents 15% of the total €2.3 billion allocated to Tallinn. According to Brussels, the pre-financing will enable Estonia to "accelerate priority defence investments, strengthen resilience, and modernise its military capabilities," which aligns with common European goals. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 12 - According to final estimates from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), inflation in Germany, as measured by the annual change in the consumer price index, will be 2.8% in July 2026. The rate accelerated from 2.3% in June to 2.6% in May 2026. Only in April did inflation rise slightly, to 2.9%. "Energy prices continued to rise at an above-average rate, and thus remained the primary driver of inflation. The increase in energy prices was much more pronounced than in…

(ANSA) - GORIZIA, AUG 11 - From August 27 to 30, the Etnos cultural association will present the 54th edition of the World Folklore Festival in Gorizia. Once again this year, the event will bring together audiences and the traditions of distant peoples. The 50th edition of the Folk Traditions Congress and the 59th International Folklore Parade will take place during the same period. The program, presented today in the town hall park, kicks off on Thursday, August 27, in Piazza della Vittoria with…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 11 - "We are closely monitoring the security of electricity supply due to the drought and low water levels in rivers, whether in Hungary, Romania, or the Southeastern European region. The overall situation with water levels is critical, but it is secure and stable," a European Commission spokesperson said during the daily press briefing. "Individual transmission operators manage supply security, and they have the majority of the details. We are therefore coordinating with…

(ANSA-AFP) - BUDAPEST, AUG 11 - Hungarian lawmakers on Tuesday approved former supreme court chief Andras Baka, a critic of Viktor Orban who was fired during the ex-premier's time in power, as the country's next president. Parliament elected Baka as head of state with 140 votes in favour and six votes against as pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar pushes to loosen his predecessor Orban's lingering hold over state institutions. (ANSA-AFP).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 11 - Germany is preparing to transform its intelligence services, transitioning from a system designed primarily for information gathering to a network of real operational agents capable of both defence and offence, as well as offensive cyber missions. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt gave Bild online a detailed preview of the bill, which will be submitted to Friedrich Merz's cabinet in the coming days. He has been on the front lines for days, attempting to contain the…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 11 - Romania may shut down a second reactor at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant due to the Danube river's continued decline. The site may be shut down within the next 48 hours due to the gradual decline in the river's water level, making it increasingly difficult for the cooling pumps to operate safely, international media reported, citing local sources. The plant's first reactor had to be turned off at the end of July. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 11 - According to Eurostat, as of June 30, 4.41 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine were granted temporary protection status in the European Union, an increase of 24,380 (+0.6%) from the end of May. Germany continues to host the most people, with 1,286,230, or 29.2% of the EU total, followed by Poland (961,170, 21.8%) and the Czech Republic (390,810, 8.9%). In Italy, 51,105 people have received temporary protection. (ANSA).

(ANSA-AFP) - PRISTINA, AUG 11 - NATO's peacekeeping mission in Kosovo said Monday that it was reducing its presence at key security sites -- a Serbian Orthodox monastery and a Mitrovica bridge -- for the first time since the 1990s war. "The NATO-led KFOR mission has begun the integration of Kosovo Police personnel into KFOR's security architecture at the Visoki Decani Monastery," the mission said. "KFOR remains the first responder for the security of Visoki Decani," the statement added. KFOR also…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 10 - Slovenian National Assembly President Zoran Stevanović has exchanged messages with the speaker of the Russian parliament, according to his Truth party. Stevanović plans to visit Moscow once he receives an invitation. This is the first time Russian and Slovenian parliamentary speakers have spoken since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, according to Slovenian news agency STA. Stevanović expressed interest in visiting Russia prior to and after the March general election,…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 10 - A police officer chastised an Italian tourist for sunbathing topless, despite the fact that tanning without a bikini is not explicitly prohibited in the country. According to the Trieste newspaper Il Piccolo, it occurred at the end of July in Umag, Croatia, when a police officer approached an Italian woman on vacation and lectured her for no reason, despite the fact that topless sunbathing is not prohibited in Croatia. The woman responded to the officer by asking what…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 10 - The Ceuta crisis appears to have reopened Pandora's box on immigration, which had been dormant in Europe for a few months. The outcomes are now unpredictable. And the situation in Italy is becoming significantly more complicated, with the possibility of a ripple even in the coalition between Giorgia Meloni and Friedrich Merz, which is one of the most solid in Europe. Indeed, the new Migration Pact, which took effect on June 12, addresses more than just external borders…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, AUG 10 - Chancellor Christian Stocker, a member of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), has been the source of ongoing controversy in Austria. Last week, at a citizens' meeting in Salzburg, he stated that he does not consider childcare to be unpaid work. "I wouldn't consider childcare a job," Stocker said in response to a question about balancing family and work. The Chancellor went on to say that he had never thot of his own children as a "calculation," wondering…

(ANSA-AFP) - PRISTINA, AUG 9 - The Kosovo Parliament was suspended today after an opposition lawmaker threw eggs at interim Prime Minister Albin Kurti, while a prolonged political crisis threatens to trigger new early elections. Europe's youngest democracy has held three elections in less than two years, with successive parliaments resulting from deep political divisions. Kurti, who has been engaged for days in negotiations with opposition parties over the appointment of a new president, attempted…

(ANSA) - ROMA, AUG 9 - Berlin Reopens the Migrant Front: "They Will Be Deported to Italy." This is reported by *La Repubblica* on its website. According to the newspaper, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, under pressure from polls showing the AfD on the rise, has decided to take a hard line on migrants, particularly toward Italy. On August 19, the first asylum seeker will be turned away in Italy. She is a 22-year-old Somali woman named Abdirisaq Warsame, who arrived in Germany in March. Under the…

(ANSA) - VILNIUS, AUG 9 - "Eighteen years ago, Russia launched a war against Georgia that led to the occupation of 20% of its national territory. This served as a warning to all of Europe, which is now being confirmed by Russia's continued aggression against Ukraine." Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna made this statement in a press release. Similar sentiments were expressed by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys, who urged the allies not to forget Georgia. "Together with our international…

(ANSA-AFP) - BELGRADE, AUG 8 - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that his war-torn country was left "with virtually no intact thermal power plants" because of Russian strikes as it braced itself for another winter of the invasion. "We also spoke about the challenges Ukraine faces this winter, when we are left with virtually no intact thermal power plants because of Russian strikes, when Russian missiles are aimed precisely at making the lives of Ukrainians unbearable," Zelensky…

(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, AUG 8 - A drone that entered Bulgaria from neighbouring Romania on Saturday exploded near the border between the two countries and the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, which links Turkey to Ukraine, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced. "The drone exploded in the immediate vicinity of the Kardam border crossing with Romania," near the Black Sea in the country's northeast, "1,000 metres from the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline's compressor station. There were no casualties," Radev…