Berlin is being blackmailed by hackers who were able to compromise city systems and steal data earlier this month, its mayor has said. Kai Wegner said officials would not cave in to the ransom demand, which came on Thursday evening. He did not say how much was being sought, though …

At noon, the Norwegian Armed Forces honoured Harald with a funeral salute of 21 shots from Akershus Fortress in central Oslo. Later on Friday, a procession left the chapel at Rikshospitalet, where Harald died, and headed to the palace. Norway has declared a period of national mourning until the day …

The socialist-led government of Pedro Sánchez has appealed for calm and accused Vivas’s People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox of stoking the tensions. José María Figaredo, a member of Congress for Vox, is being investigated for a possible hate crime after saying, soon after the migrants’ arrival, that they …

Drug dealing is happening in plain sight here. Only five minutes after I arrive, I witness a transaction. A buyer walks up to the seller, shakes their hand, and walks away with the drugs. Crack has become widely consumed amongst the poorest in this area of Brussels. “Things have changed …

Oslo’s Mayor Anne Lindboe has cancelled her own wedding because of the death of Norway’s King Harald V. The wedding with her fiance Pål Sandvid was planned for Friday but was postponed after the king died early on the same day, her political adviser confirmed to the BBC. “It’s hard …

But in recent times, Haakon’s family has come under increasingly heavy public scrutiny and criticism. Marius Borg Høiby’s rape conviction hangs over the family. One of women was raped on Haakon’s estate at Skaugum outside Oslo. Høiby has always been treated as one of the family, although the royal house …

When Crown Prince Haakon married Mette-Marit in 2001, the king and queen welcomed her four-year-old son from a previous relationship. Marius Borg Høiby was treated as one of the family, but the royal house later stressed he was never a royal. The king’s daughter Princess Märtha Louise initially married a …

The National Institute for Origin and Quality (INAO), which regulates France’s labels of origin, has also approved temporary changes to the rules for other protected produce because of the effects of the summer heat. Products that will benefit include some types of Calvados and cider from Normandy, Crémant d’Alsace fizzy …

A massive influx of jellyfish has led to the partial shutdown of a nuclear reactor in northern France. Two of Gravelines nuclear power station’s six units were shut down on Wednesday and Thursday because of the presence of jellyfish in the seawater filtration system, which is used for cooling, Électricité …

The Bosnian Serb commander led a campaign of ethnic cleansing during the Bosnian conflict. BBC News

King Harald V of Norway is in an “extremely serious” condition in hospital, the country’s royal household has said. His wife, Queen Sonja, and his son, Crown Prince Haakon, have cancelled all royal engagements and they have gathered at his bedside at Oslo University Hospital with other members of the …

The AfD has consistently rejected allegations of extremism or comparisons to National Socialism. In 2024 there were renewed calls to ban the party, after it emerged that senior figures – including Ulrich Siegmund – were among those at a gathering attended by Austrian far-right activist, Martin Sellner. Sellner has a …

A Frankfurt Airport worker has died of malaria after a rare outbreak led to six employees contracting the serious infection spread by mosquitoes. It is believed the mosquitoes arrived at Germany’s busiest airport on a plane, according to German public health officials. The remaining five infected individuals are receiving medical …

The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Ratcliffe has met Russia’s intelligence services during his visit to Moscow, the Kremlin has said. Ratcliffe travelled to the Russian capital on Tuesday in a rare and unannounced visit. “There were contacts with the intelligence services,” Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, …

A French court has for the first time recognised cosmic radiation as a factor in the breast cancer of a long-serving flight attendant. Sophie Lainault, a 59 year-old former stewardess on Air France, sought to have her cancer recognised as an occupational disease, brought on by conditions at work. This …

“Fill up quickly and move on,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov warns drivers in Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv. Two petrol stations in the city in Ukraine’s north-east were hit by Russian drones on Monday, which local officials say wounded two people. In another attack on a petrol station outside the city …

“Fill up quickly and move on,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov warns drivers in Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv. Two petrol stations in the city in Ukraine’s north-east were hit by Russian drones on Monday, which local officials say wounded two people. In another attack on a petrol station outside the city …

The Spanish government has apologised to the people of Ceuta for the migrant crisis that has affected the city for weeks and it has unveiled plans to overhaul the country’s immigration laws. “I want to apologise to all those who may have felt, or who even still feel, abandoned or …

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned that those responsible for drone attacks and other hostile acts against Germany, including a recent case at Leipzig Airport, would “pay a price”. Merz said the incident showed Germany was “facing a very real threat” and was increasingly becoming a target. On 4 August, …

Kavala, 68, became a symbol of a government crackdown on civil society in Turkey following his arrest in October 2017. He and others were accused of orchestrating and financing anti-government protests in 2013, which started in Istanbul’s Gezi park before spreading across Turkey. The demonstrations posed the first serious challenge …