‘Liberland’: Breakaway Balkans micronation dreams of crypto future
Libertarian supporters of self-declared independent island in the heart of Europe pin their hopes on a crypto-based future, but unstable technology paints an uneasy future for the micronation. ADAM SMITH, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Updated: Russia hits Ukrainian port facilities, Kyiv reports front-line progress
Updated: 10:30am (AEST)Kyiv, UkraineReuters Ukrainian officials said Russia struck Ukrainian port infrastructure and grain storage facilities on Tuesday, but also reported some progress on the front lines in the three-month old counter-offensive by its forces. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke of “good details” from the front without further explanation and said Ukraine clearly understood where to […]
Russia strikes Ukraine’s Danube port, driving up global grain prices
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Russia attacked Ukraine’s main inland port across the Danube River from Romania on Wednesday, sending global food prices higher as it ramped up its use of force to prevent Ukraine from exporting grain. The drone attacks destroyed buildings in the port of Izmail and halted ships as they prepared to arrive there to […]
Christmas gifts come by boat to isolated Romanian Danube Delta villages
CA Rosetti, Romania Reuters For the elderly living in remote villages in the Danube Delta, one of the world’s largest wetlands, winter is a time of isolation. This year, they are also struggling to cope with a shortage of firewood and rising food prices. So, days before Christmas, Romanian coast guard officers braced against icy […]
Europe’s drought exposes ancient stones, World War II ships as waters fall
Reuters Weeks of baking drought across Europe have seen water levels in rivers and lakes fall to levels few can remember, exposing long-submerged treasures – and some unwanted hazards. In Spain, suffering its worst drought in decades, archaeologists have been delighted by the emergence of a prehistoric stone circle dubbed the “Spanish Stonehenge” that is […]
StrangeSights: A castle of clay; playing chess underwater; and, Roman-era boat sails Danube
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
With bells and flowers, Hungary marks anniversary of Danube boat disaster
Budapest, HungaryReuters With the tolling of a bell and a wreath lowered into the water, Hungary marked the second anniversary on Saturday of a Budapest boat accident which killed 27 people, mostly South Korean tourists, in the worst river accident on the Danube in decades. The 135 metre Swiss river cruiser Viking Sigyn hit a […]