In these years, when climate change dominates much of the public conversation, it is worth looking back and remembering that the planet already experienced, just over two centuries ago, a sudden and devastating climatic upheaval, although of a very different origin than today. It happened in 1816, a year that the chroniclers of the time […]

Pakistan rallies against South Africa to claim 11th place at the World Cup.

The post Pakistan secures best World Cup finish in 20 years appeared first on BOL News.

Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted airports, all owned by Manchester Airports Group, were targeted.

The post Hackers breach data of 8.7m customers at 3 UK airports appeared first on BOL News.

Actor is set to present an award at The Fact Music Awards after about 17 months away from the domestic spotlight.

The post Kim Soo-hyun set to return to South Korean spotlight appeared first on BOL News.

Fancy a novel way of dining out – one that provides a delicious meal while viewing the sights of the “capital of Europe”?

If so, the Tram Experience in Brussels could be just for you.

The Tram Experience is a unique rolling gourmet restaurant set inside a beautifully converted historic STIB-MIVB tram.

Diners enjoy a multi-course meal while slowly cruising through boulevards and scenic neighbourhoods of southern and eastern Brussels (such as Louise, Merode, and the Tram Museum).

Menus are designed by renowned and Michelin-starred Belgian chefs, featuring high-end reinterpretations of local cuisine. Dishes are prepared and served fresh on board.

A new season of the Tram Experience returns this week, on Friday 28 August. The menus for the new season will be created by some of the biggest names in Belgian gastronomy.

Among them are the promising David-Alexandre Bruno (Quartz), who will join Michelin-starred chefs such as Olly Ceulenaere (Publiek*) and Ricarda Grommes (Quadras*).

To mark 100 years of Comme Chez Soi*, three generations of chefs from the country’s most iconic restaurant, will be offering a celebratory menu especially for the occasion.

This season also sees the introduction of a new lunch package designed for large groups.

A spokesman said, “A trip aboard the Tram Experience is an unforgettable culinary experience.

“Whether as a couple, a group of four or a larger party, guests savour a menu created by a renowned chef whilst touring the capital’s most beautiful neighbourhoods.

“It’s the perfect choice for a romantic dinner in Brussels, a unique evening out with friends or an exclusive team-building event.”

The first names in the line up for the new season (running through early 2027) offer a wonderful glimpse of Belgian culinary excellence.

Building on the Tram Experience's popularity, this year visitors will also be able to enjoy a brand new lunch package designed especially for large groups looking to book the whole tram for a private event.

Belgian gastronomy’s leading names take centre stage and a number of iconic figures from the country’s three regions will feature this season.

David-Alexandre Bruno, from Brussels, opens  proceedings. 

At the helm of the Quartz restaurant in Ixelles, chef Bruno captivates diners with cuisine that combines technical precision and elegance. This approach earned him the title of Young Chef of the Year 2026 for Brussels in the latest edition of the Gault & Millau guide.

He has devised the menu that will be served on board the tram until 11 October.

Other renowned chefs have been announced.

Olly Ceulenaere, from Michelin-starred Ghent restaurant Publiek*, will be designing the menu to be served from 2 February to 21 March.

His exciting and unpretentious approach is sure to leave a lasting impression on diners.

From 23 March to 9 May, the spotlight turns to Ricarda Grommes, head chef at another Michelinstarred establishment, the highly acclaimed Quadras* in Saint-Vith.

Famous for her creativity, which draws on influences from a wide range of sources, she will be serving up cuisine as inspired as it is innovative.

The centenary of Comme Chez Soi December and January will also be marked.

A true institution on the Brussels gastronomic scene, the restaurant on place Rouppe has held Michelin stars without interruption for over 70 years.

To celebrate this exceptional anniversary, Pierre Wynants, the “godfather” of Belgian gastronomy, will join forces with his son-in-law and current head chef, Lionel Rigolet, as well as his grandson and future head chef, Loïc Rigolet, to create a unique festive menu.

Every year, the Tram Experience serves around 8,500 guests.

In light of the concept’s growing success, an additional set menu will now be available on weekdays.

In addition to the 6- or 7-course dinner menus, a 4-course lunch menu is being introduced.

This option is exclusively for large groups booking the entire tram for private use.

The menus are prepared on board, with the utmost care, by Thibault Granville (Taste Great) and his team.Bookings are for 2 or 4 people. It is also possible to book the entire tram (36 seats) or a single carriage (16 or 20 seats) for an event or a team-building activity.

More info

CCTV footage of the April incident captured the moment the nun was forced to the ground from behind, causing her to hit her head on a stone wall before being kicked.

CCTV footage of the April incident captured the moment the nun was forced to the ground from behind, causing her to hit her head on a stone wall before being kicked.

O próximo Passeio Sénior, integrado no projeto “Vida com Ritmo – Programa Mais Vida à Vida”, convida a população sénior do concelho de Olhão a descobrir a história, a cultura e a beleza natural de Portimão e Alvor.

Ao longo de um dia de convívio e descoberta, os participantes terão oportunidade de visitar o Museu de Portimão, instalado nas antigas instalações da Fábrica de Conservas Feu, e conhecer a exposição permanente “Portimão, Território e Identidade”, que dá a conhecer a relação da cidade com o rio Arade, o mar e a indústria conserveira.

Durante a tarde, a visita prossegue pela Ria de Alvor, onde a paisagem natural se cruza com a memória e a tradição piscatória. Entre os pontos de interesse estão a antiga Lota e o histórico Edifício de Socorro a Náufragos, que alberga um barco salva-vidas dos anos 20 do século passado, testemunho da história marítima daquela região.

Dirigido a maiores de 60 anos residentes no concelho de Olhão, o Passeio Sénior realiza-se nas seguintes datas:

– Setembro – 15, 18, 22, 25 e 29;

– Outubro – 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20 e 23.

Inscrições:

– 31 de agosto – Junta de Freguesia de Moncarapacho, sede em Moncarapacho;

– 1 de setembro – Junta de Freguesia de Olhão, sala da sede;

– 2 de setembro – Junta de Freguesia de Pechão, sala da sede;

– 3 de setembro – Junta de Freguesia de Quelfes, sala da Patinha e sala da sede;

– 4 de setembro – Junta de Freguesia de Fuseta, Biblioteca na Fuseta.

Uma oportunidade para sair, conviver, conhecer novos lugares e descobrir o património que nos rodeia.

Once again, anti-semitism is being cynically—and falsely—​​redefined in the press and broader Discourse as “pointing out uncomfortable facts about the nation state of Israel.”

This past weekend, the Israel Crybully Lobby, using a familiar script I’ve detailed before, led a smear campaign against actor Mark Ruffalo because he had the temerity and integrity to note that the family vying to control not only 60 Minutes and CBS News, but CNN and HBO, is a committed and open supporter of Israel and its genocidal military. 

Ruffalo is leading a broad coalition of antitrust activists, creatives, and filmgoers to oppose the pending Skydance Paramount-Warner Brothers Discovery merger and, in doing so, violated an unwritten rule against noting that the father-son duo behind the merger, David and Larry Ellison, are well-documented and open zionist advocates that not only lobby for and support Israel, but “privately” donate to their military. A military that—it’s worth noting—Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, B’Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, OxFam, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and dozens of other humanitarian and human rights organizations have determined is committing genocide in Gaza. Ruffalo also pointed out that the Ellisons’ $400 billion fortune was largely built on military and surveillance technology from Oracle that is used, in part, to surveil, imprison, and kill Palestinians, as well combat opposition to Israel stateside.  

Ruffalo simply noted the open and well-documented ideological commitments that the Ellisons themselves have long championed.

Predictably, the Israel Crybully Lobby and its one-note propaganda organs in the nonprofit and media world responded to these comments by accusing Ruffalo of “antisemitism” and engaging in “tropes”—many of which are not, of course, tropes in any traditional sense, but simply Things That Are Awkward To Mention. Paramount Skydance released a whiney and self-indulgent statement saying “We are, as always, troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked.… Words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid,’ applied to a corporate transaction, aren’t just wrong—they’re a bridge too far.” This statement, and related scandalizing of Ruffalo’s otherwise true and banal comments, were echoed by Hollywood press outlets such as Variety magazine, the Hollywood Reporter, and the Wrap, the latter of which is owned by Sharon Waxman, an open supporter of Israel and its genocide in her own right. Needless to say, the Wrap has been covering this like Watergate, with nonstop breathless headlines, even laughably citing NATO-funded think tanker Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib as a “Leading Palestinian Activist.”

This campaign failed at shutting up Ruffalo, who defended himself on Twitter/X, where he received an outpouring of support. But more zionist advocacy organizations—always posing as “antisemitism” monitors, such as the Anti-Defamation League, Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Creative Community for Peace, and L.A. Jewish Federation—joined the pile-on. All four groups are openly supportive of Israel and its genocidal military and largely exist to smear Israel critics as antisemites regardless of the tone or nature of the criticism. 

Despite the “antisemitism scandal” playbook being less and less effective, it’s not stopping the Israel Crybully Lobby from using it to discipline Ruffalo and other actors who dare support basic human rights, or in this case, actors who connect Oracle’s obscene wealth with their intimate involvement in the US and Israeli security state. The whole “antisemitism” and “trope” charge is even more absurd since, in context, in addition to Ruffalo simply citing Oracle’s Executive Vice-Chair Safra Catz’s own dystopian words about their “really profoundly scary technologies,” Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is open in his support for not just Israel as some romantic abstraction, but the IDF itself. In 2024, upon announcing his purchase of Paramount, Ellison’s Skydance issued a dressed-up press release in the Jerusalem Post detailing how his buying of Paramount would be good for Israel:

“These two young men [Ellison being one of the men] love Israel, are connected to their Judaism, have Zionist values, and it’s very encouraging to see that in such successful families, the values are passed on to the younger generations. Both quietly donate quite a bit to the State of Israel and the IDF. It is positive news for the Jewish world that Korff and Ellison are the next generation of global Jewish leadership, connected to Israel and holding Zionist values.” 

The piece would go on to note that the “article was written in cooperation with SkyDance” which is another way of saying it’s a touched-up press release issued by Skydance. So here is Ellison using his own company to boast how great his purchase of Paramount would be for Israel (setting aside how funny it is to point out how you “quietly” support a cause in your own company’s press release), thus openly acknowledging that his media properties would reflect Israel’s line. A promise immediately confirmed by Ellison’s first major hire post-Paramount purchase: self-identified “zionist fanatic” Bari Weiss, who he immediately put in charge of all of CBS News. The family patriarch, Larry Ellison, has even deeper ties to Israel: In addition to being the single largest private donor to the IDF, leaked emails revealed last year that in 2015 the elder Ellison vetted then-candidate for President Marco Rubio on behalf of the Israel ambassador to the UN. 

Israel is a nation state, a political entity; zionism is an ideology, a worldview that violently privileges Jewish sovereignty in Palestine. Neither are protected religions, cultures, or identities. Adults have to be able to separate these two things—one being an ethno-religious identity and the other being an ideological choice—when discussing the dispossession, occupation, and mass killing of Palestinians, and how this right-wing worldview dovetails with media ownership, US imperialism, the military state, and free speech suppression in the United States. It is certainly possible to criticize Israel and its supporters while engaging in antisemitic tropes, but Ruffalo did not come remotely close to doing this, and it’s deeply cynical to claim he did without presenting any credible evidence. Instead we just get mindless working of the refs, increasingly hollow pro forma language about “tropes” and “antisemitism,” whining and chauvinist solipsism from deluded rich ideologues high on their own zionist media supply. Ruffalo simply noted the open and well-documented ideological commitments that the Ellisons themselves have long championed. Adults should be able to talk about very rich people’s connections to militaries without everyone reaching for the antisemitism smelling salts. This script—where powerful, wealthy and deeply ideological actors cry and whine and piss and moan about being the victims of racist abuse because someone dares highlight their backing of a nation state and its military—is as dangerous and sleazy as it is tedious and, one can only hope, diminishing in its returns.

In this essay at Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature, writer and professor Samuel Autman reflects on tourism and privilege, especially in a time of xenophobia; traveling as a Black queer American; and the idea of not fully belonging wherever he goes. The sections in Autman’s piece are organized as terms and conditions in a legal agreement, reminding us that when we cross borders, we navigate different cultural and social scenarios, written and unwritten rules, and people who view us as foreign—no matter how at home we might feel.

I found myself asking harder questions about the young men around him, about the relationships, the patronage and the blurred line between generosity and dependency. Mark had paid for many of them to study law, medicine or business. He had even helped one man living in the United States without legal status by paying for him to attend a Spanish-language school.

None of it suggested scandal or anything obviously illegal. But parts of it no longer sat comfortably with me.

It is a mistake to respond to antisemitic accusations, writes Fiamma Nirenstein.

Would responding have served any purpose at the time of the racial laws and the deportations? No. The intention is the same: to eliminate the Jews and their independent state, Israel.

There is no point responding to those who claim on social media that organs are removed from children killed by Jews—an accusation that echoes the ancient blood libel of Jews murdering children for their blood.

Nor is there any point arguing with professors who describe an all-powerful “Israeli lobby” controlling Italian politics.

Who is going to reason with the owner of yet another Swiss hotel that expels Israeli tourists? Or with the thugs who beat up a family on the streets of Athens?

Who will argue with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who, together with the UN General Assembly president, Annalena Baerbock, recently lit a memorial flame for deceased UN personnel, including Imad El Samhouri, a United Nations Relief and Works Agency employee who was also a Hamas terrorist and whose videos invoked death as a shahid?

And who wants to shout themselves hoarse arguing with Hollywood, Turkey, Canada and the rest? Don’t answer them.

In Hollywood, more than 200 figures from the worlds of film, music and culture backed a campaign calling for the release of Marwan Barghouti from an Israeli prison, including actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton. They neglect to mention that Barghouti is serving five life sentences after an Israeli court convicted him in 2004 of five murders and involvement in a string of terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada.

We must stop feeling obliged to argue that Jews are good, that Jews are innocent or that Israel has the right to defend itself. Anyone genuinely interested in the evidence can find it. The facts are available to everyone.

The accusations of colonialism, genocide, racism and systematic cruelty directed at Israel are contradicted by history and by evidence that has been documented and quantified.

Consider the United Nations.

In 2025, the U.N. General Assembly adopted 15 resolutions singling out Israel, compared with 11 concerning all other countries in the world combined, six of them concerning Russia.

That disparity illustrates how politics manufactures hatred of Jews.

Antisemitism today is not simply a matter of prejudice or ignorance. It has become a political instrument. It is used to obtain votes, influence, positions, money and power.

The United Nations exploits it in its alignment with the Third World and Islamic blocs. Turkey and Iran exploit it through Islamism. Political movements exploit hatred of Israel while claiming to champion human rights.

In reality, hatred of Israel has become both a substitute for human rights and their graveyard.

That is why explanations are not enough.

What is required is political struggle: criminal complaints where laws are broken, legislation where protections are inadequate and serious scrutiny of the political and financial interests behind campaigns targeting Israel and Jews.

It also means defending the rights that Israel’s enemies so often disregard: the rights of children, women, gays and political dissidents.

It means defending security, of which Israel remains a guardian.

It means reclaiming universities and political parties from ideologies that have transformed hostility toward Israel into an acceptable political creed.

And it means establishing institutional boundaries for businesses, hotels, media organizations and cultural festivals that discriminate against Israelis or legitimize antisemitism.

Italy has even witnessed a general strike directed against Israel. Nor is there any point arguing with those who describe an all-powerful “Israeli lobby” controlling Italian politics, supposedly headed by none other than Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

This is no longer merely a debate about foreign policy. It is a political war.

The battle against antisemitism cannot be won by endlessly answering every lie. It must be fought where antisemitism now operates: in politics, institutions, universities, international organizations and culture.

The fight against antisemitism can restore the human rights that have been buried beneath the genocidal slogan: “From the river to the sea.”

On the Europe-wide Day of Remembrance of the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes on 23 August, Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen (pictured), and Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection Commissioner Michael McGrath, issued the following statement:

“On 23 August, we commemorate the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, signed in 1939 between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. That pact, and the war and devastation that followed, brought intolerable suffering to millions of people across Europe and beyond. The years that followed were marked by occupation, repression, deportation and violence on a massive scale.

"Today, we honour the memory of all those who have suffered under totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. The pain endured by victims, survivors and their families echoes across generations. Every EU country is now home to a generation that has grown up free from tyranny and oppression. For many, freedom, democracy and peace may appear self-evident, but they are not. They were secured through extraordinary courage, sacrifice, resistance and resilience, and they must never be taken for granted. Remembering the past is therefore not only a duty to those who came before us. It is also a responsibility to future generations.

"This day is a solemn reminder of the consequences of hatred, intolerance and the denial of human dignity. It calls on us to remain vigilant in defending the values on which the European Union is founded: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and fundamental rights. By preserving the memory of the past, we reaffirm our commitment to a Europe built on peace, justice and solidarity.”

The statement is available online.

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a joint venture by CMA CGM S.A. and TotalEnergies S.E., both of France.

The transaction relates primarily to LNG bunkering logistics services.

The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the joint venture will have negligible activities in the European Economic Area and given the companies' limited combined market positions resulting from the proposed transaction. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.12406.

The Belgian federal government has nominated Hans Kluge (pictured) for the position of Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

“I am very honoured by the trust Belgium has placed in me and am grateful for the opportunity to take on this important responsibility,” Kluge said on X. “Serving the WHO has been the greatest privilege of my professional life.”

Kluge has served as WHO Regional Director for Europe since 2020 and began a second term in February 2025. Under WHO rules, he will step aside as WHO/Europe Director while campaigning for the role, a process that involves lobbying member states, NGOs and the organisation's largest funders.

Tried and tested
After qualifying as a doctor in Belgium, he began his international career with Médecins Sans Frontières in conflict settings in Liberia and Somalia. He subsequently coordinated tuberculosis programmes in Siberian prisons and across the former Soviet Union.

Kluge joined WHO in 1999, initially working on tuberculosis and HIV in...

Entre novos lugares, sabores e muitos momentos de convívio, cerca de 600 são-brasenses com mais de 60 anos viveram, ao longo dos meses de julho e agosto, mais uma edição dos “Passeios Seniores”, iniciativa promovida do Município de São Brás de Alportel que este ano teve Setúbal como destino.

Durante os passeios, os participantes têm tido oportunidade de conhecer alguns dos espaços que marcam a identidade da região de Setúbal. O programa incluiu visitas ao Convento de Jesus e à sua Igreja, ao Mercado do Livramento, à Leiveira Azulejos de Azeitão e à Fábrica das Tortas de Azeitão, complementadas pela degustação de sabores da gastronomia tradicional local.

Mais do que uma viagem, os “Passeios Seniores” afirmam-se como um momento de encontro e de convívio, proporcionando aos participantes a oportunidade de sair da rotina, conhecer novos lugares e, sobretudo, desfrutar de bons momentos em companhia.

Para a presidente da Câmara Municipal, Marlene Guerreiro: “os Passeios Seniores são um momento alto da estratégia de promoção do envelhecimento ativo, um adubo para a vida, uma oportunidade para sair da rotina, conhecer novos lugares, criar memórias e, sobretudo, viver bons momentos em companhia, o que é fundamental para a promoção da saúde física e mental. É muito gratificante ver a adesão dos nossos seniores e perceber como esta iniciativa é importante para promover o convívio e o bem-estar”.

A iniciativa integra a estratégia do Município de São Brás de Alportel dirigida à população sénior, contribuindo para a promoção do bem-estar, da socialização, do envelhecimento ativo e da qualidade de vida dos cidadãos mais experientes do concelho.

Com esta iniciativa, o Município reforça a aposta numa comunidade, onde envelhecer com qualidade significa viver com dignidade, continuar a descobrir, participar e viver novas experiências.

Portuguese President António José Seguro has officially signed into law a bill banning face-concealing attire in public spaces, with the move seen targeting the full-face Islamic veils like the burqa and niqab.

Addressing the national debate, President Seguro framed the decision around human interaction, stating: “The face should be considered a central element of human identity and communication.” 

However, the former Socialist Party leader acknowledged the controversial nature of the ban, recognizing it as a matter of significant cultural and social sensitivity.

The law was largely backed by the country’s right-wing politicians and labeled the “burqa law” by Portuguese media. It passed parliament in July with the votes of right-wing parties, with the left firmly in opposition.

The new legal framework strictly limits garments designed to hide one’s identity in public spaces. It also penalizes forcing individuals to cover their faces based on gender, religion, or age.

Violators face financial penalties ranging from €150 to €3,000. There are, however, some exceptions. Wearing items that cover the face, such as medical masks, professional/artistic gear, and extreme weather wear, are all examples of exceptions under the law.

The post Full-face veils banned in Portugal after president signs ‘burqa law’ appeared first on Remix News.

As Festas em Honra de Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, que decorreram entre os dias 13 e 17 de agosto, ficaram marcadas pela presença de milhares de pessoas e por um programa recheado de iniciativas religiosas, musicais e culturais, sem esquecer as tradições do território.

O primeiro dia, a 13 de agosto, iniciou os festejos com uma missa na Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, em Castro Marim, seguida de uma Procissão das Velas pelas várias artérias da vila.

A 14 de agosto iniciaram-se as celebrações na Zona Envolvente à Casa do Sal, com a abertura da Mostra de Artesanato, um baile com Hugo Madeira e Ângelo Correia e ainda um espetáculo do grupo de dança ARUTLA.

O grande destaque desta noite foi um grandioso concerto de Ana Bacalhau, vocalista dos Deolinda, que apresentou um espetáculo em nome próprio, a celebrar a música portuguesa.

O dia principal destas festas assinalou-se a 15 de agosto, começando com o Hastear da Bandeira Nacional no edifício dos Paços do Concelho, com a participação da Banda Musical Castromarinense.

Na tarde desse mesmo dia, decorreu a Recitação do Terço e uma missa solene na Igreja de Castro Marim, seguida do ponto alto das celebrações: a Procissão em Honra de Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, o evento religioso com mais impacto no concelho, que atraiu uma multidão em nome da fé.

Nessa noite, o recinto da Mostra de Artesanato acolheu uma atuação de André Filipe Duo, seguido de um grande espetáculo protagonizado pelos portugueses The Gift, com a icónica Sónia Tavares na voz, que apresentaram os maiores êxitos de uma das bandas com mais sucesso a nível nacional.

A noite terminou com a performance do projeto Time Travel, assinado por Possessivo e DJ Karussa, que utilizando a nostalgia e a sua energia, recordaram grandes músicas do passado e do presente.

O dia 16 de agosto foi dedicado à juventude, com uma tarde repleta de atividades como insufláveis radicais, jogos lúdicos e uma zona de animação, que antecipou o lançamento do Orçamento Participativo Jovem. Para terminar a tarde, decorreu uma Color Party com a atuação do DJ TuXx.

Já na noite de domingo, subiu ao palco a dupla Só Nós Dois, antecedendo a um grande espetáculo do alentejano Buba Espinho. A encerrar, a música eletrónica tomou conta do recinto pelas mãos da DJ Joana Faria.

As Festas em Honra de Nossa Senhora dos Mártires terminaram na segunda-feira, dia 17 de agosto, com o habitual concerto de verão da Banda Musical Castromarinense.

O evento foi organizado pelo Município de Castro Marim, em parceria com a Junta de Freguesia e a Paróquia de São Tiago.

In 2025, the EU produced 3.44 billion litres of ice cream, representing a 1.9% increase compared with 2024 (3.38 billion litres).

Germany remained the top producer of ice cream in the EU, with 608 million litres in 2025. Italy (549 million litres) and France (525 million litres) followed at the top. The list of main producers also included Spain (457 million litres) and Belgium (274 million litres). 

Compared with 2024, all of these 5 EU countries registered an increase in production; +10% for Italy, +6% for Belgium, +4% for France, +2% for Spain and +0.2% for Germany.

Click to enlarge

Source dataset: DS-059367

France: top exporter of ice cream in the EU 

In 2025, EU countries exported 289.8 million kg of ice cream to non-EU countries and imported 77.8 million kg. Exports increased by 10% compared with 2024 (+26 million kg), while imports rose by 12% (+8.5 million kg).

As in previous years, France was the largest ice cream exporter in the EU, exporting 59.1 million kg of ice cream to non-EU countries in 2025. This represented a fifth of the total extra-EU ice cream exports (20%). France was followed by Italy (55.2 million kg of ice cream; 19% of EU ice cream exports), Belgium (34.5 million kg; 12%), Germany (29.9 million kg; 10%), and the Netherlands (26.5 million kg; 9%).

Click to enlarge

Source dataset: DS-045409

For more information

• Thematic section on prodcom – statistics by product
• Database on prodcom – statistics by product
• Thematic section on international trade in goods
• Database on international trade in goods

Methodological notes 

• Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta: exempt from providing data on production due to their economic sizes.
• Production ranking is based on available and non-confidential data. Sold production quantities are confidential for Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden.
• In this news article, production of ice cream is expressed in litres, while imports and exports are expressed in kg.

A Ukrainian national suspected of involvement in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines has been detained in Croatia and faces extradition to Germany, according to an announcement from the German Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe.

On the morning of Aug. 19, 2026, local police executing a European arrest warrant in the coastal city of Pula arrested the man, identified under German privacy rules as Vladimir Z., also referred to in some reports as Volodymyr Z.

The warrant had been issued by an investigating judge at Germany’s Federal Court of Justice on June 3, 2024. Prosecutors describe Vladimir Z. as a trained scuba diver who is strongly suspected of jointly causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage, and the destruction of buildings and structures.

Former BND chief accuses both Duda and Zelensky of involvement in Nord Stream sabotage

According to the prosecutor’s statement, Vladimir Z. belonged to a group centered around separately prosecuted Ukrainian national Serhii K.

In September 2022, the group is alleged to have planted explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm. Vladimir Z. is said to have taken part in the necessary dives.

The team departed from Rostock, Germany, aboard a sailing yacht that intermediaries had rented from a German company using falsified identification documents. The explosives detonated on Sept. 26, 2022, causing extensive damage to both pipelines.

Upon extradition from Croatia, Vladimir Z. is expected to appear before the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice. German authorities are actively pursuing the transfer.

This marks the second major arrest in the long-running German investigation. In June and July 2026, prosecutors filed an indictment against Serhii K., a former Ukrainian army officer, before the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg. He faces charges including co-perpetration of a war crime through an attack on civilian objects, causing an explosion, destroying infrastructure, and disrupting public services.

Prosecutors allege that Serhii K. acted on behalf of Ukrainian state entities, helping to plan and lead an operation aimed at permanently disrupting Russian gas deliveries and denying Moscow revenue that could fund its military campaign. Both K. and Ukrainian officials, including former army commander Valery Zaluzhny, have denied the claims.

Z. had previously been the subject of an extradition request in Poland. In October 2025, the District Court in Warsaw refused to hand him over to German authorities, lifted his pre-trial detention, and ordered his immediate release.

The Nord Stream explosions remain one of the most consequential acts of infrastructure sabotage in recent European history. Two of the three operational strands of Nord Stream 1 and one of the two strands of Nord Stream 2 were ruptured. The second Nord Stream 2 line, with an annual capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters, had never entered service. At the time, Russia had already curtailed deliveries through Nord Stream 1 amid sanctions and technical disputes, while European governments accused Moscow of weaponizing energy supplies. Russia has repeatedly pressed Germany to activate the remaining capacity.

German investigators continue to treat the case as a matter of domestic jurisdiction because the pipelines terminate in Germany and their destruction affected the country’s energy security. Media reports, including those from Der Spiegel, have long described the operation as originating with Ukrainian actors.

Some accounts have suggested that U.S. intelligence, including the CIA, was aware of early planning discussions and did not initially object, even examining technical aspects. However, there has been no official confirmation of any American role in preparing or executing the sabotage, and such claims remain unproven.

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A Ministra da Cultura, Juventude e Desporto, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, esteve na segunda-feira, dia 17 de agosto, em Altura, para ficar a conhecer de perto os programas juvenis “Férias 5.0”, “Jovens pelo Ambiente” e “Férias Ativas” e os seus respetivos resultados, apoiados pelo Ministério e promovidos por associação de jovens e Município.

Na sede da associação juvenil Young Link, na antiga Escola Primária de Altura, a ministra esteve próxima dos jovens e ficou a saber mais acerca do programa “Férias 5.0”, que faz parte das “Férias Ativas de Verão” do Município de Castro Marim.

As “Férias 5.0” são uma aposta ganha deste programa, que junta as crianças, os jovens e a tecnologia, em parceria com o Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude e a associação Young Link, pretendendo integrar as áreas prioritárias tecnológico-científicas, com o objetivo de oferecer uma experiência geracional às crianças e jovens entre os 6 e os 10 anos, em vertente tecnológica de ocupação de tempos livres.

Esta iniciativa aborda temáticas como robótica, programação, inteligência artificial e comunicação digital, além de atividades alternativas como visitas e jogos.

No mesmo local, a Ministra da Cultura, Juventude e Desporto interagiu com os participantes do programa “Jovens pelo Ambiente”, que convida os mais novos a trabalharem no sentido crítico e a participarem ativamente na valorização do espaço público e preservação ambiental, através de atividades como a limpeza urbana ou a salinicultura, tendo entregado os seus certificados.

Margarida Balseiro Lopes assistiu ainda a uma aula de folclore com participantes das “Férias Ativas de Verão” do Município de Castro Marim, promovida pela Associação Cultural Amendoeiras em Flor, que promove as tradições do território junto dos mais novos.

Na antiga Escola Primária de Altura, foi ainda demonstrada outra atividade das “Férias Ativas de Verão” do Município de Castro Marim, que consistia na pintura de um mural, com a assinatura dos jovens do concelho.

Esta visita contou ainda com a participação do presidente do Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude, Ricardo Gonçalves, do vice-presidente, Paulo Santos, e ainda do diretor regional, Ricardo Pinto.