According to the jury chaired by Smiljan Radić, the finalist projects are exemplary contributions to the future of European architecture, demonstrating how the discipline can respond simultaneously to specific local conditions and broader social, cultural, and environmental challenges. The selected works range from interventions in former industrial sites, small villages, and peripheral urban areas to carefully calibrated projects within larger cities.
When I left New York for Madrid, starting a new life with my then boyfriend, I was definitely looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses. Despite being the daughter of migrants from the Caribbean, it seemed like a relatively easy choice to settle into undocumented status once my tourist visa expired, all in the name of love and adventure. I understood that my US passport conferred many privileges that would buoy me.
The procession consists of 120 floats, including 'persiflage floats' satirical, mocking floats that are the centerpiece of the event. As usual, some of the world's major politicians will be symbolically roasted. Float builders use the occasion to make movable works of art that are humorous yet scathing critiques that are often social or political in nature. Parade director Marc Michelske presented some of the Cologne Festival Committee's float themes in the lead-up to this year's Carnival.
Ukraine, Russia, and the United States are set to begin the second day of talks in Abu Dhabi, aiming to end Moscow's full-scale invasion, which has lasted nearly four years. The first day of trilateral talks in the Emirati capital concluded on Wednesday with Kyiv describing the negotiations as "substantive and productive," though there was no apparent breakthrough. The main stumbling block in the negotiations is the fate of the territory in eastern Ukraine.
The European Union is considering imposing an outright maritime ban on services needed to ship Russian oil, such as insurance and transportation, as part of a new sanctions package marking four years of Russia's war.
Gold recorded its second consecutive recovery session and is currently trading around USD 4,970 per ounce, indicating that dip-buying demand remains present after the sharp sell-off that previously pushed prices down toward USD 4,400 per ounce. The current price action suggests that market sentiment has gradually stabilized, as investors begin to reassess the recent decline as being relatively rapid and driven more by technical factors rather than a fundamental deterioration in underlying conditions.
The swish of feet on clay and sand has a soothing, rhythmic feel, as wrestlers at a sumo stable in Tokyo propel themselves across the ring, their bodies low, eyes fixed on an imaginary foe. But by the time their morning training ends an hour later, all but one of the rikishi are bathed in sweat, gulping lungfuls of air, their strength waning with every shove.
According to the Norwegian daily VG, Mette-Marit told Epstein that you tickle my brain in one message and called him soft hearted and such a sweetheart in others. In 2012, Mette-Marit told Epstein he was very charming and asked if it was inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15 yr old sons wallpaper?
The government is preparing a series of measures including a social media ban for under-16s, the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, said, promising to protect children from the digital wild west and hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content. Sanchez said on Tuesday that urgent action was needed because social media was a failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated.
A Hungarian court has jailed a German anti-fascist activist for eight years for attacking participants at a far-right rally in Budapest. Maja T, 25, was sentenced on Wednesday after being convicted of involvement in violence ahead of the annual Day of Honour commemoration in Budapest. The event is one of the biggest neo-Nazi rallies in Europe. The defendant was accused of attempted aggravated bodily harm causing life-threatening injuries and assault committed as part of a criminal organisation.
On Wednesday (February 4, 2026), Maja T.*, an anti-fascist activist from the eastern German city of Jena (Thuringia), was found guilty by a court in Hungary of having attacked and seriously injured several suspected right-wing extremists in Budapest in February 2023. The attacks had apparently been directed at individuals thought to have participated in the annual "Day of Honor" rally of neo-Nazis from all over Europe, held in the Hungarian capital.
I woke up this morning in Ukraine to the familiar sound of air-raid alerts and the less familiar feeling that reality is being rewritten somewhere far away. Overnight, the New York Post reported that Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin had "kept his word" on a ceasefire. Yesterday, from the ground here in Ukraine, I wrote the complete opposite, and like Witkoff's recent comments to Trump, which only confirmed what I'd already reported, that claim feels completely detached from what people here are actually living through.
Italy has another path. It is older, quieter, and designed for people who can live on passive income rather than a job. It is the Elective Residence Visa, called residenza elettiva in Italian. As of February 2026, the rules still center on three pillars, stable non-employment income, suitable housing in Italy, and private health insurance. There is no work permitted on this status, not even remote work for a foreign company. For the right profile, that tradeoff is exactly the point.
"London's FTSE 100 has scaled fresh heights as its defensive qualities shine once again in an uncertain world. "Investors are grappling with the fallout from a tech sell-off and are assessing deteriorating relations between the US and Iran. The Footsie hit fresh record levels in early trade, as investors sought solace in its constituents with mining, utilities and energy stocks making gains.
The climax of the new 12-team competition, which will be held every two years and replaces traditional tours, will be held at Twickenham at the end of November with two matches on Friday, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Six Nations form guide: how the 2026 contenders are shaping up The six Tests pit the sixth-place finisher in the northern hemisphere pool against the sixth in the southern hemisphere pool, the fifth against the fifth and so on, culminating in the first against the first.
X will not attend despite calls for it to face questioning about its AI tool Grok, which has been accused of generating images of sexual abuse, including that of children The Taoiseach has labelled the decision by X not to attend a communications committee hearing as as "concerning" and "disrespectful". Representatives from Meta, TikTok and Google are to appear in front of the Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport today.
Boss of national broadcaster says the pay cap will stay despite Claire Byrne's departure He does not believe the 'paperwork is that onerous' for staff following RTÉ's rules on external activities He says he disagrees with Claire Byrne's comments that there is a 'nervousness in RTÉ, editorially' He also says water has passed under the bridge with Ryan Tubridy and does not rule out his return
Musk's scathing attack on PM Pedro Sanchez comes after he announces strict new regulations for social media platforms. Tech billionaire and owner of X, Elon Musk, has dubbed socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez a tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain for introducing new social media curbs for children under the age of 16. Musk's comments on Tuesday came in response to an announcement by the Spanish prime minister that Madrid would introduce new changes to the country's social media laws.
Named to be the European version of the US Green Card, the blue cards can be obtained in all EU countries, except in Denmark and Ireland, which have opted out. Blue Cards can be requested by non-EU citizens with a university degree or an equivalent qualification and who have a job offer and a salary meeting the threshold set by the EU country of expected residence.
After months of mounting pressure on independent media, academic institutions and NGOs, Serbia's ruling majority has turned its attention to the judiciary. In an expedited procedure, without public debate or consultations and bypassing established legislative standards, the Serbian parliament last week adopted a package of amendments to core judicial laws that critics say threatens the independence of the country's judiciary.
Brussels would be willing to discuss closer trade ties with the UK, including the possibility of cooperation on a customs union, a senior European commissioner has said, signalling the clearest openness yet from the EU to re-engage with Britain.Speaking to the BBC after high-level talks in London, Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for Economy, said the EU was "ready to engage with an open mind" if the UK wanted to explore deeper economic alignment.
