A court on Wednesday ordered August Hanning, Germany’s former foreign intelligence chief, to remain in pretrial detention after his arrest on suspicion of espionage and treason. A former deputy was also arrested, allegedly for giving him secret files. The case is described as one of Germany’s biggest security breaches.

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The arrest of former BND chief August Hanning and ex-chief-of-staff Manfred D. could seriously damage Germany’s intelligence ties with allies, analysts warn. Prosecutors accuse Manfred D. of selling Hanning about 2,000 highly classified documents over 12 years, including partner-agency material on Iran’s nuclear program, Russia’s military and the Ukraine war.

Germanyspy scandalnational securityintelligence cooperation

August Hanning, who led Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service from 1998 to 2005, was arrested on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason. Prosecutors accuse him and former agency official Manfred D of passing classified material to foreign intelligence services. Reports of Hanning’s contact with an Azerbaijani intelligence representative have not been confirmed by prosecutors.

Germanyespionagetreason chargesFederal Intelligence Service

Former German foreign intelligence chief August Hanning has been placed in pretrial detention after being arrested on espionage and treason charges. His former chief of staff, Manfred D., was also detained. Investigators allege that more than 2,000 secret documents may have been stolen and passed to or sold to foreign intelligence services, prompting calls for greater transparency over officials’ moves into private-sector work.

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Former German foreign intelligence chief August Hanning has been arrested on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason. He is accused of illegally obtaining classified information during and after his tenure and improperly using it for his personal consultancy work.

Germanyespionage allegationsattempted treason

Former BND chief August Hanning was arrested in Germany on suspicion of treasonous espionage, obtaining state secrets and attempted treason, federal prosecutors said. His former aide, Manfred D., was also detained. Prosecutors allege Manfred supplied Hanning with about 2,000 documents through a paid arrangement, and that Hanning used classified information in private consulting work.

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Students, parents and trade unions staged demonstrations across France on Tuesday over what they describe as insufficient investment in high schools. Major student and youth protests, from May 1968 to the 2006 CPE crisis, have pressured leaders and reshaped French politics.

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Widespread protests over anger at France’s school system took place across the country on Tuesday. Police used tear gas and water cannons after violence broke out among some people at the edges of the marches. Parents marched with their children to back their cause and, after several teenagers were injured, to help keep them safe from further clashes.

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Student protests over school conditions and funding in France have entered their third week and grown into wider, more violent unrest. Experts quoted by Fox News blame an alliance of far-left, radical Islamist and pro-Palestinian groups for fueling the demonstrations. Authorities have arrested more than 5,000 people and nearly 200 have been injured; schools have been vandalized, blockaded and set on fire.

France protestsstudent riotsschool fundingfar-left alliance

France has suspended police use of stun grenades at student-led demonstrations, the interior minister said, as allegations of police brutality grew after several days of sometimes violent protests nationwide. Tens of thousands marched Tuesday for better high-school conditions, while President Emmanuel Macron met Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and other ministers that evening to address the crisis.

Francestudent protestspolice brutality

After a week of high school protests spread across France, the government is seeking to appease demonstrators. President Emmanuel Macron met Monday with his prime minister and the interior and education ministers to seek a solution, but widespread protests are still expected from Thursday despite efforts to reopen dialogue.

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France has suspended the use of stun grenades at student protests after a 15-year-old lost his hand in an incident in Lens. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez ordered the pause pending clarification of conflicting accounts, while groups accused police of using disproportionate force against teenagers. Protests continued nationwide, with hundreds of schools disrupted and investigations under way.

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The US government, Meta Platforms and Google parent Alphabet are partnering with nonprofit Biohub to create open datasets for training AI models in biological research. Biohub said the effort’s total investment will reach $1.8 billion.

AIbiological researchopen datasetsBiohub

Google announced Playground, a browser-based platform where users can create, edit, and share games by entering prompts, without coding experience. It is available in the US to people 18 and older. Google and Unity also announced Unity Spark, a more professional-level AI game-making experience, with a closed beta planned for later this year.

GoogleAIgame developmentUnity

Robinhood has added bitcoin valued at $25 million to its balance sheet, according to the company’s senior vice president and general manager for crypto and international, who disclosed the move Wednesday on Starting Block.

RobinhoodBitcoinCrypto

Robinhood has added $25 million worth of bitcoin to its balance sheet. Senior Vice President Johann Kerbrat said the purchase was meant to signal the company’s commitment to the crypto sector.

RobinhoodBitcoinCrypto

Tennessee death-row inmate Christa Pike is conscious and speaking in a Nashville hospital after surviving a failed lethal-injection attempt last week, her lawyers say. Her prognosis is unclear. They will ask a court to require the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve drug, needle and execution records as they investigate whether the IV lines were improperly placed.

Christa PikeTennesseedeath penaltylegal dispute

Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for explaining how chemical reactions can favour one version of asymmetric, mirror-image molecules. Their findings have become important tools for designing reactions used to manufacture pharmaceuticals.

Nobel Prize in Chemistryasymmetric moleculespharmaceutical manufacturing

Two researchers have won this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work that could transform how medicines are made.

Nobel Prize in Chemistrymedicine manufacturingscientific research

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to two scientists for unraveling the mystery of how molecules exist as non-identical mirror images of one another.

Nobel Prize in Chemistrychemistryasymmetric organic synthesis

Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for discovering nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.

Nobel Prize in Chemistryorganic synthesisscientific research

France’s Henri Kagan and Japan’s Kenso Soai have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The award recognizes their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis, according to the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

Nobel Prizechemistryasymmetric organic synthesis

French scientist Henri B. Kagan and Japan’s Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for explaining why life uses one mirror-image form of certain molecules. Their work showed how chemical reactions can be designed to produce more of the desired form, a finding with importance for drug development.

Nobel Prize in Chemistrychiralitymolecular chemistry

Three years after Hamas’s October 7 attack killed at least 1,195 people in Israel, mostly civilians, sites near the Gaza border have become heavily visited memorials. They give Israelis and Jews in the diaspora a place to honour those killed.

IsraelHamasOctober 7 attackmemorials

Aner Shapira, a 22-year-old Israeli, was killed when Hamas attacked the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. His parents, Shira and Moshe, told FRANCE 24 they still feel his presence, but are learning to live with their loss. Aner threw seven grenades back toward Hamas fighters before an eighth exploded in his hands.

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A minute-long siren marked the occasion in Tel Aviv, where Israelis gathered on the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks to honour those who died.

IsraelOctober 7 attacksRemembrance

Israel is observing three years since the Oct. 7 attacks with solemn commemorations of what it calls the deadliest day in the country’s history. A moment of silence honored the 1,200 people killed and 251 kidnapped in the 2023 Hamas-led attack.

IsraelHamasOctober 7 attacksremembrance

Three years into Israel’s war in Gaza, US military aid, arms transfers and diplomatic support for Israel remain largely unchanged under both the Biden and Trump administrations, despite limited criticism, ceasefire violations and wider regional conflict. The article says at least $25.5bn has been appropriated since October 7, 2023, while US public sentiment has shifted.

US military aidIsraelGaza wararms transfers

The World Health Organization and Western leaders urged Russia on Wednesday to provide more information about the death of a worker at a plague institute in Siberia, as reports surfaced of a second suspected case. The Kremlin said Moscow had shared what it knew and accused the media of spreading “false information.”

RussiaSiberiaplagueWorld Health Organization

Residents of Irkutsk are reacting to reports that a person may have died from pneumonic plague at a local anti-plague institute. Authorities say the cause of death has not been confirmed.

IrkutskSiberiapneumonic plaguepublic health

The death of Daria Shipilova, a laboratory technician at a plague research centre in Siberia, prompted fears of a possible lab leak after Russian officials initially linked it to plague. Authorities later said she died of pneumonia of unknown cause and found no work-related microorganisms, while reports of a second victim and a St Petersburg lockdown remain unverified.

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Donald Trump said he plans to call Vladimir Putin soon about a possible plague outbreak in Russia and will share what U.S. intelligence agencies are reporting “tomorrow.” The claims began after an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute died in Shelekhov, with reports suggesting pneumonic plague and quarantine measures at hospitals. Authorities have not confirmed the reports; Rospotrebnadzor cited pneumonia of undetermined etiology.

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Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst says plague may seem like something from the medieval era, but cases are reported every year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar. He adds that the laboratory link makes this incident “a little more serious”.

Siberiaplaguepublic health

Russia is investigating the death of laboratory worker Darya Shipilova at a plague research centre in Siberia’s Irkutsk region. Nearly 200 contacts are being monitored and have tested negative for pneumonic plague. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Moscow to share more information, while Russian officials played down reports and denied claims of special measures.

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