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8% of owners at fire-hit Hong Kong estate yet to accept buy-back as deadline nears

About eight per cent of homeowners at the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong have yet to accept the government’s buy-back offer, which is set to expire at the end of this month. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Sunday that 91.9 per cent of owners had submitted acceptance letters, while 65.7 per cent of owners had already signed sale and purchase agreements with the government. Speaki...

Andy Burnham to tour Britain in effort to reconnect government with public

PM expected to announce policies to tackle cost of living and indicate intent to help improve country’s high streetsAndy Burnham is to undertake a national tour this coming week as he aims to improve the government’s connection with the British public during his premiership.The prime minister is expected to announce a set of policies that will help people financially as many struggle with the cost...

Andy Burham to tour Britain in effort to reconnect government with public

PM expected to announce policies to tackle cost of living and indicate intent to help improve country’s high streetsAndy Burnham is to undertake a national tour this coming week the aims to improve the government’s connection with the British public during his premiership.The prime minister is expected to announce a set of policies that will help people financially as many struggle with the cost o...

Matter of pure force: US, Israeli physicists hail China’s glueball discovery as ‘triumph’

The international physics community has hailed a Chinese-led discovery as a “triumph” after researchers presented the strongest evidence yet for the existence of the “glueball” – a mysterious particle made of pure force. On Chinese social media, the conversation centred on whether the research could lead to a Nobel Prize. The announcement was made last week at the International Conference on High ...

Why is Pezeshkian urging an end to Iran’s ‘no war, no peace’ status?

The Iranian president calls for an end to deadlock with the US, declaring it the right moment for a lasting agreement.

Suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan returning to Ireland in high-security operation

The Irish Prison Service bought a bulletproof and bomb-proof van to transport the 49-year-old to court after his extradition from Dubai.

2,000-year-old Roman shipwreck discovered off coast of Sicily

The discovery was made by an underwater fisherman who described it as the "most incredible" in his life.

Latest news bulletin | August 9th, 2026 – Midday

Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this August 9th, 2026 - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.

roman-shipwreck-italy-sicily-ancient-jar-discovered

The discovery was made by an underwater fisherman who described it as the "most incredible" in his life.

China races to develop brain-computer interfaces that can be inserted in 10 minutes

Chinese start-ups and researchers are racing to bring brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to market that can be implanted in just a few minutes, as Beijing pushes to nurture home-grown players in the sector to compete with Elon Musk’s Neuralink. The Chinese devices – which enable patients to control digital technology using their thoughts alone – can be inserted via a vein like a stent, unlike conven...

‘Situation difficult’: Zelensky in Moscow ally Serbia as Russian strikes kill 4 in Ukraine

Libreville grapples with water shortage

Gabon’s capital, Libreville, has been facing severe water shortages for several months, driven by low rainfall, ageing infrastructure and rising demand from a growing population. The government declared a state of emergency earlier this month and called in military engineers for help. But a water distribution plan for affected neighbourhoods has failed to ease the crisis, after private water distr...

Spain's annual flamingo ringing begins

Hundreds of volunteers gathered at Spain’s Fuente de Piedra lake on Saturday for the annual flamingo-ringing initiative. Since the lake became a nature reserve in 1984, more than 200,000 flamingo chicks have hatched there. Each year, environmental authorities and volunteers tag the birds to track their movements across nature reserves in Europe and North Africa. This year, 600 chicks were ringed.

Yemen's Houthis attack kills 11 in Yemen, hit Saudi refinery

Strikes by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Sunday killed at least 11 people in the Yemeni port city of Mokha, says a medical source, after an earlier drone salvo targeted a Saudi oil refinery. Attacks from the armed group have increased since the 2022 truce seems to have been broken last month.

Yemen's Houthis claim attack on Saudi Arabia refinery

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis claim a drone attack on a Red Sea Coast refinery in Saudi Arabia. Attacks from the armed group have increased since the 2022 truce seems to have been broken last month.

FIFA defends its President Infantino amid backlash

FIFA is defending its president, Gianni Infantino, against media allegations that an alleged lover received a six-figure severance payment. The football governing body has strongly criticised what it calls a concerted and ongoing effort to “undermine” FIFA and its president. Infantino is also facing mounting pressure over his role in a proposal to open up the World Cup to private investors. Camill...

Roman shipwreck with hundreds of amphorae found off Sicily

A Roman-era shipwreck has been found off Mazara del Vallo, along with hundreds of amphorae on the seabed. Culture Minister Giuli has hailed the discovery as "extraordinary".

Spain - Italy: Dispute grows over migration between EU countries

The EU says the tit-for-tat border restrictions between Spain and Italy are temporary and will have no lasting impact on the Schengen zone. Spain began checking travellers from Italy in retaliation for similar controls imposed by Rome after a surge of migrants into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta. Madrid says most of those migrants were swiftly returned and has accused Italy of allowing “pe...

It won’t be Trump who kills the ICC

It would be the International Criminal Court’s alleged supporters who refuse to take action to defend it.

Dozens of Nigerians freed after 6 months in Jihadi captivity

In Nigeria, people rescued this week after being held captive by jihadists are speaking out about their ordeal. On Thursday, security forces freed 308 people who had been abducted six months ago in two separate locations in the country’s northwest. The government described it as the largest single-day rescue operation in the country’s history.

Ukraine denies targeting Bulgaria, after drone exploded near a gas pipeline

Ukraine says it did not target Bulgaria after a drone crashed near a gas pipeline in the country on Saturday. Bulgarian authorities said the drone appeared to be a type used by Ukraine’s military. It came down in a field near the Romanian border, not far from the Black Sea, where Russian and Ukrainian forces have been engaged in an intensifying drone war. Nicholas Rushworth has more.

Spain starts border checks on Italy over Ceuta dispute

The EU says the tit-for-tat border restrictions between Spain and Italy are temporary and will have no lasting impact on the Schengen zone. Spain began checking travellers from Italy in retaliation for similar controls imposed by Rome after a surge of migrants into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta. Madrid says most of those migrants were swiftly returned and has accused Italy of allowing “pe...

Home Office ‘error’ leaves Italian man’s wife with no right to stay in UK

Man is told he should not have been granted settled status so he can no longer sponsor Brazilian wife to remainA 33-year-old Italian engineer who has been in London since 2018 has been plunged into a battle with the Home Office after officials told him they made a mistake allowing him to stay in the UK after Brexit.Fabio, who initially came to London to finish his doctorate and who has built a suc...

Where are the Ugandan boxers? Four are latest athletes to vanish after UK sports events

Team manager has ‘no idea’ why they disappeared, after reports one of Commonwealth Games athletes said they intended to claim asylumYears of arduous preparation and training had come to fruition and the pressure was finally lifted. After competing for their country in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, athletes from Uganda were afforded a couple of days’ sightseeing time before catching their plan...

AI push is putting banks at mercy of tech firms, warns Moody’s

Finance sector will gain from the tech but it will need substantial investment and create risks, says rating agencyThe rating agency Moody’s has said the race to adopt AI is putting big banks at the mercy of a small group of Silicon Valley firms, leaving them vulnerable to widespread outages and price gouging by profit-hungry tech bosses.The financial sector’s efforts to integrate AI into day-to-d...