Global Pulse

标签： Europe

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  • German court sentences young members of right-wing extremist group ‘Last Defense Wave’ to prison

    German court sentences young members of right-wing extremist group ‘Last Defense Wave’ to prison

    In a landmark ruling issued Wednesday, a Hamburg court has handed down prison sentences to eight individuals linked to the far-right extremist terror network “Last Defense Wave,” convicting the group on charges spanning attempted murder, arson, aggravated assault, and participation in a banned terrorist organization. The Hanseatic Higher Regional Court’s verdict concluded that the eight defendants — seven active members and one supporter — had orchestrated multiple violent attacks targeting refugee accommodation and left-wing political hubs across eastern Germany, while also engaging in a violent vigilante practice they called “pedo-hunting,” the unauthorised hunting of people they falsely accused of being child predators.

    All of the offenders were aged between 14 and 21 at the time the crimes were committed, so their trials proceeded under Germany’s juvenile justice framework. Sentences range from 18 months to five years of imprisonment. German national news agency dpa confirmed that the youngest defendant’s 18-month sentence has been suspended, and all Wednesday rulings remain open to appeal, per German legal procedure.

    Court documents and the official indictment lay out a string of planned and carried out attacks dating to early 2024. In January 2024, two group members attempted to ignite a blaze at an asylum seeker shelter in Schmölln, a town in the eastern state of Thuringia, using pyrotechnic devices. The attempt failed to trigger a large fire, but the attackers defaced the building’s exterior with swastikas and anti-immigrant slogans reading “foreigners out.”

    That October, the group carried out a successful arson attack on a cultural center in Altdöbern, located in the neighboring state of Brandenburg. The indictment notes that no occupants were injured in the attack only by pure chance; the entire structure was completely destroyed by the spreading fire. Three additional members had also finalized plans to launch an arson attack on a second asylum shelter in Senftenberg, Brandenburg, but that plot was derailed before it could be executed after a journalism team tipped off law enforcement to the plan.

    The conviction marks the latest development in a broader crackdown on the extremist network: in June of this year, two more teenage suspects were taken into custody in Thuringia on charges of belonging to “Last Defense Wave,” according to dpa’s reporting.

  • Waste workers help find binned €1m lottery ticket in Italy

    Waste workers help find binned €1m lottery ticket in Italy

    In what waste management officials are calling a near-miracle, an anonymous Italian lottery player has reclaimed a €1 million ($1.09 million, £857,158) winning ticket that had been accidentally thrown in the trash — all thanks to the quick work and determined searching of local refuse workers.

    The unusual chain of events unfolded in the small southern Italian town of Bitonto, where the regular lottery player purchased his ticket and stopped to check his numbers at the same shop where he bought it. When the point-of-sale terminal displayed a “non-payable” message, the player assumed he had not won anything and tossed the slip into the shop’s trash bin without a second thought.

    It was not until the player returned home that the misunderstanding came to light: a relative noticed that the player’s go-to set of lucky numbers — 2, 4, 8, 10, and 51 — had been drawn in the latest draw. Stunned by the mistake, the player and his family rushed back to the shop, only to confirm that the discarded ticket had already been collected by a waste collection truck operated by SANB, the local municipal waste management firm.

    Roberto Nicola Toscano, head of SANB, shared details of the frantic recovery operation with local Italian media, explaining that the “non-payable” message that sparked the mistake is a standard terminal notification: it appears when a prize is too large to be paid out directly by a retail location, not when a ticket is worthless.

    Toscano said the player immediately reached out to his company to request help retrieving the ticket, and the team acted fast: they located the collection truck before its load of trash was compacted and sent to the regional landfill. As Toscano told Italian broadcaster TGCOM24, timing was critical to the successful recovery. “Luckily it was a Sunday, otherwise the load would have already ended up in landfill,” he said.

    The truck was diverted to a dedicated secured search site, where a team of SANB workers began the painstaking process of sifting through thousands of kilograms of mixed waste to find the small paper ticket. After two full days of methodical searching, a waste worker finally spotted the ticket tucked in a torn bag filled with other discarded non-winning tickets on Tuesday morning. Toscano told news agency Ansa that the winning ticket was one of the only intact slips in the bag, despite being buried under a mountain of refuse.

    Per a pre-search agreement, the winner will cover all costs associated with the recovery operation, after signing a formal declaration agreeing to cover related expenses before the search began. In a delightful side note, the good fortune even rubbed off on the recovery team: Toscano and his colleagues bought a scratch card as a lighthearted joke mid-search, and ended up winning €50 (£43) themselves. Toscano summed up the entire event simply: “This story is nothing short of miraculous.”

  • Russian drone factory director badly injured in car explosion

    Russian drone factory director badly injured in car explosion

    A brazen car bombing has left the head of a key Russian military drone supplier critically injured, marking the latest in a string of high-profile attacks on Russian defense-linked figures amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, multiple Russian state news outlets reported Wednesday.

    Vladimir Tkachuk, director of Uraldronzavod, was rushed to intensive care after the blast that hit his vehicle late Tuesday in Bolshoy Istok, a small settlement located just on the outskirts of Yekaterinburg. The industrial city sits roughly 870 miles east of Moscow in the Ural Mountains, and stands as Russia’s fourth-largest urban center and a critical hub for the country’s defense manufacturing sector. As of Wednesday afternoon, Russian law enforcement and national security officials had not released additional details about the nature of the explosion, nor named any possible persons of interest in the attack. No official statement on the incident has been issued by government authorities.

    A small-business entrepreneur turned defense industrial leader, Tkachuk built a team of local engineers to develop and mass-produce the Upyr – translated to “Ghoul” in English – a low-cost first-person view (FPV) drone designed for frontline military use. Russian military personnel have publicly praised the Upyr platform for its strong resistance to electronic jamming, a key vulnerability that has taken many other cheap FPV drones out of commission in battlefield conditions.

    Wednesday’s news of the attack comes just days after a deadly bombing at a high-end restaurant in central Moscow that killed five people and injured 19 more. The incident at the Balzi Rossi restaurant, a popular dining spot frequented by Moscow’s expatriate Italian community, occurred Saturday, and Russian officials quickly pointed fingers at Kyiv. In a Monday statement, the Russian Embassy in Rome called the bombing a deliberate act of intimidation targeting the Italian community in Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry reposted the embassy’s claim publicly, but Russia’s domestic security agencies have not officially identified any suspects or confirmed a motive for the attack. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin labeled the bombing a “brutal terrorist act” in his public remarks, but also declined to name a responsible party.

    Multiple independent and state-aligned Russian media outlets have circulated unconfirmed claims that the restaurant bombing was targeted at a senior Russian military commander celebrating a birthday at the venue. Many of these reports name Col.-Gen. Alexander Chaiko, who led Russia’s failed 2022 assault on Kyiv and was recently appointed head of Russia’s aerospace forces, as the intended target. To date, these claims have not been verified by independent third parties.

    Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian officials have repeatedly blamed Ukrainian intelligence and security services for a wave of bombings, assassination attempts, and other attacks targeting senior military figures and defense industry leaders across Russian territory. Ukrainian officials have rarely claimed direct responsibility for such attacks inside Russia, though many have not denied involvement.

  • Suspect in Greek suitcase murder of Scottish aid worker appears in court

    Suspect in Greek suitcase murder of Scottish aid worker appears in court

    ATHENS, Greece — In a high-profile cross-border investigation that has drawn international law enforcement support, a migrant suspect charged with the murder and robbery of Scottish aid worker Elisabeth Jane Ross was formally escorted by Greek police to an Athens courtroom on Wednesday. The case unfolded after Ross, a 38-year-old aid worker, arrived in the Greek capital to meet with close friends, but was killed shortly after her arrival. Her remains were found concealed inside a large suitcase inside an unused, abandoned building in the city on July 18, days after she had been reported missing.

    Authorities were able to identify the suspect after reviewing extensive street surveillance footage captured near the site where Ross’s body was discovered. The footage clearly captured an unidentified man moving a large, dark-colored suitcase through the area near the abandoned structure, which helped investigators narrow their search and locate the suspect. The accused, who has not been publicly named under Greek legal regulations that protect the identity of defendants before trial, was taken into custody by Greek police this past Sunday.

    Multiple international law enforcement agencies contributed to the investigative work on the case: the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, Police Scotland, and American law enforcement authorities all collaborated with Greek investigators to advance the probe. Greek public service broadcaster ERT has published additional unconfirmed reports that the suspect was born in Afghanistan and had been training and building a professional boxing career based in Athens, though Greek law enforcement officials have not yet officially confirmed these biographical details to the public.

    Following Wednesday’s initial court appearance, judicial officials granted the suspect a 24-hour period to organize and prepare his legal defense. He is scheduled to return to the Athens court for a second hearing on Thursday as the legal process moves forward.

  • Australian airline Jetstar will charge passengers to use the overhead lockers for their bags

    Australian airline Jetstar will charge passengers to use the overhead lockers for their bags

    Australian budget airline Jetstar is set to shake up regional air travel with a groundbreaking policy change that will charge passengers for using overhead cabin compartments for carry-on luggage, a first for the Australian aviation market. Scheduled to take effect in February 2027, the new rule brings Jetstar into line with low-cost carriers across the United States and Europe that have long adopted similar fee structures for cabin storage.

    The policy shift was born from widespread customer and staff feedback identifying overcrowded overhead lockers and gate-side bag weight checks as among the most stressful parts of the air travel experience, the airline confirmed in an official statement released Wednesday. Under the new framework, passengers will still be able to bring one small personal item — such as a purse, laptop sleeve, or compact backpack — that fits under the seat in front of them at no extra cost. This small underseat item will also see its existing 7-kilogram weight limit eliminated entirely to simplify boarding procedures.

    For travelers opting to use an overhead compartment, one-way fees will start at 25 Australian dollars, equal to roughly 18 U.S. dollars, with final pricing adjusted based on the length and route of the flight. Bags stored in overhead lockers will have a maximum weight limit of 10 kilograms, and gate-side weight checks for carry-on items will be scrapped entirely under the new system, cutting down on boarding delays and crowding at departure gates.

    Jetstar Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Tully explained that the restructuring is designed to address longstanding passenger frustrations during the boarding process while improving operational efficiency. “By giving customers an underseat bag with the option to add Priority Carry-on, we can make better use of overhead locker space, streamline boarding and help more flights depart on time,” Tully said, adding that the model lets passengers pay only for the extra services they choose to use.

    Like many airlines globally, Australian and New Zealand carriers have spent years unbundling ticket costs, introducing separate fees for checked luggage, seat selection, in-flight dining, and entertainment. But industry analysts note that Jetstar’s new overhead locker fee is an unprecedented move in the Australian market, one that is already expected to draw pushback from local travelers.

    Sharon Petersen, CEO of aviation industry watchdog AirlineRatings.com, noted that the change will likely ruffle widespread criticism because Australian passengers have long held higher expectations for inclusive air travel. “For such a long time they lived in a bubble of full-service options only,” Petersen explained. She also pointed out that Jetstar’s base fares remain significantly higher than those of European low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and Wizz Air that already charge for overhead locker access. This gap, she said, stems from Australia’s less competitive aviation market, as well as far higher operating costs for wages, taxes, and infrastructure that drive up baseline ticket prices across the country.

  • Flights at German airport disrupted after suspect objects sighted

    Flights at German airport disrupted after suspect objects sighted

    BERLIN – Operations at Leipzig/Halle Airport, one of Germany’s most critical air cargo hubs, were thrown into disarray overnight following two separate security incidents: an unconfirmed sighting of an unidentified flying object in the area and the discovery of a suspicious object near one of the facility’s runways, local law enforcement confirmed Wednesday.

    The first report of an airborne object near the airport came in just minutes before midnight, prompting immediate safety protocols that forced multiple inbound and outbound flights to reroute. Among the diverted aircraft was at least one commercial passenger plane, according to initial law enforcement updates. Following the sighting, crews located a second, stationary unknown object in the vicinity of the airport’s southern runway, triggering an explosive ordnance response.

    Authorities dispatched a specialized bomb disposal robot to conduct a thorough inspection of the suspicious object near the runway. As of Wednesday’s public statement, police have not released additional details about the nature of either the sighted flying object or the discovered suspicious item.

    While operations using the airport’s remaining open runway resumed shortly before 2 a.m. after the initial security lockdown, the southern runway remained fully closed to all air traffic through Wednesday morning, leaving ongoing disruptions to cargo and passenger schedules at the major transport hub.

  • Russian missile and drone barrage in Ukrainian capital region kills at least 15

    Russian missile and drone barrage in Ukrainian capital region kills at least 15

    On the overnight period leading into Wednesday, a new wave of Russian missile and drone attacks targeting Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and its adjacent suburban regions left at least 15 civilians dead and 42 more injured, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service confirmed in an official statement. The assault marks the most recent installment of a steady string of large-scale ballistic missile strikes that Moscow has launched with growing regularity across Ukraine throughout the summer months.

    Ukraine’s defense capabilities face a critical gap in defending against these repeated barrages: the country currently holds only a limited stock of interceptor missiles for its U.S.-manufactured Patriot air defense systems, the only weaponry in Kyiv’s arsenal capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missiles. This shortage has left Ukrainian forces unable to fully stop large coordinated attack volleys like the one carried out this week, even as Ukraine has ramped up its own deep cross-border strikes targeting Russian oil refineries and key domestic energy infrastructure in recent weeks.

    Across the broader Kyiv Oblast surrounding the capital city, 14 of the total fatalities were recorded, with another 27 people sustaining injuries. Multiple large fires broke out across the region’s Brovary, Bucha and Fastiv districts following the strikes. In Brovary, massive blazes consumed large commercial warehouses, with additional large warehouse fires breaking out in the neighboring villages of Velyka Dymerka, Kvitneve and Peremoha. Emergency response teams in Fastiv District successfully extinguished a blaze that broke out at an industrial enterprise that had ignited among parked vehicles. In Bucha District, fire crews contained a warehouse fire in the village of Chaiky after first extinguishing a separate blaze at a logistics hub in Sofiivska Borshchahivka.

    Within Kyiv city limits, the strikes claimed one additional life and left 15 residents wounded, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. Responders have already fully extinguished all fires sparked by the attacks across the capital’s Obolonskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Holosiivskyi and Desnianskyi districts.

    Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy focusing on defense technology development, framed the assault as a sign that the ongoing war of attrition between the two nations has shifted into a new, more destructive phase. Speaking in a public post to Facebook, Beskrestnov noted that Russian forces are now targeting all types of civilian and infrastructure sites without distinction. “The enemy is attacking everything indiscriminately — retail warehouses, food storage facilities, logistics hubs, enterprises, building materials warehouses,” he wrote.

  • This organ will play one composition until 2640. It’s redefining how slowly music can be played

    This organ will play one composition until 2640. It’s redefining how slowly music can be played

    In the medieval ruins-turned-arts space of Burchardi Church in Halberstadt, eastern Germany, an extraordinary experimental art project that redefines the boundaries of musical performance continues its glacial journey. Nearly 25 years after the first note resonated through the stone walls, the world’s slowest ongoing concert has hit a rare milestone: a manual chord change that brings the 639-year performance to roughly 4% completion.

    The ambitious initiative, known as the John Cage Organ Project Halberstadt, stages John Cage’s iconic experimental composition *ORGAN²/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible)*, a work that demands the piece be played as slowly and softly as the interpreters choose. While project planning began in 2000, the performance officially launched on September 5, 2001, what would have been the avant-garde American composer’s 89th birthday, opening with a 17-month silent pause that stretched all the way to February 5, 2003, when the first chord finally echoed through the church. This week’s chord shift, which added an A4 pipe to expand the harmony from seven notes to eight, marks only the 17th sound adjustment in the work’s more than two-decade history. The next change is already scheduled for October 5, 2027, when an E4 pipe will be removed to alter the chord once again.

    The 639-year timeline, set to conclude on September 4, 2640, was not chosen arbitrarily. According to Anneli Borgmann, chair of the project’s board of trustees, the duration was selected as a tribute to the world’s oldest playable historic organ, which was constructed in Halberstadt in 1361 — exactly 639 years before the project was first organized in 2000. The organ itself, powered by a continuous electric blower system to sustain unbroken sound, has been engineered for extreme longevity. Master organ builder Johannes Hüfken, who crafted the new A4 pipe installed this month, confirms that all components are built to survive at least another 500 years, ensuring the performance can outlive multiple generations of stewards.

    What began as a radical experimental art concept has also reshaped the Burchardi Church itself. Before the project launched, the structure sat largely in ruins, but funds raised for the initiative paid for a new roof and critical structural repairs, saving the historic site for future generations. For visitors, the experience is unlike any traditional concert: the sustained chord resonates through the entire empty stone sanctuary, and shifting just a few feet dramatically alters how the sound is perceived, leading Jeffrey Lependorf, executive director of the New York-based John Cage Trust, to observe: “I think it really is the organ playing the church and not the other way around.” Lependorf, who has followed the project for years, says the deep, sustained vibrations of the organ are felt across the entire body, creating an immersive experience that cannot be replicated in modern performance settings.

    Beyond its artistic innovation, the project acts as a provocative meditation on intergenerational responsibility and long-term thinking, a reminder to plan for futures far beyond any single person’s lifetime. “This John Cage project is a good example of thinking ahead for the next generation — thinking outside the box, beyond the completely normal and traditional,” Hüfken noted. Curators and stewards regularly grapple with questions that stretch centuries into the future: Will the church still stand when the final chord sounds in 2640? Will Halberstadt, a city that has already survived two world wars, endure the accelerating impacts of climate change? To lock in access for the final performance, the project has already begun selling inheritable “final tickets” for the 2640 closing event, priced at 2,640 euros (approximately $3,045) apiece, that can be passed down through families for more than six centuries.

  • Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv kills one and injures others

    Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv kills one and injures others

    A new wave of coordinated Russian strikes combining ballistic missiles and drones has targeted Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and its surrounding suburbs, leaving at least one civilian dead and 12 others wounded, local Ukrainian officials confirmed Wednesday. The assault marks another escalation in Russia’s increasingly frequent attacks on the Kyiv area in recent weeks, extending air raid warnings across the region for more than an hour as multiple waves of projectiles hit population centers and infrastructure.

  • Watch: Moment passenger train crashes into trailer carrying straw bales

    Watch: Moment passenger train crashes into trailer carrying straw bales

    Shocking newly released surveillance footage has captured the split-second moment a passenger train collided with a road trailer loaded with straw bales in Poland, after the vehicle’s intoxicated driver ignored falling safety barriers and stopped directly on active railway tracks.

    Polish railway officials have confirmed details of the alarming incident, which unfolded when automatic crossing barriers began lowering to block road access ahead of the oncoming train. Against standard safety protocols and clear visual warnings, the driver of the heavy road trailer pulled onto the crossing and brought his vehicle to a halt directly on the train’s path, leaving the train crew with no time to avert a crash.

    The collision, captured by crossing security cameras, shows the train striking the trailer at full operational speed, scattering the large straw bales across the tracks and causing significant damage to the front of the passenger train. Emergency services responded quickly to the scene to assess casualties and clear the debris that disrupted regional rail services for several hours.

    Initial investigations launched by railway police have confirmed that the trailer driver tested positive for alcohol intoxication, confirming early reports from railway authorities about the cause of the preventable incident. No serious injuries have been reported among train passengers, though several people were treated for shock following the crash. The incident has reignited public discussion in Poland about level crossing safety and the risks posed by impaired driving near critical rail infrastructure.