Author: staff
Updated: 20/04/2026 – 14:35 GMT+2 A skydiver crashed into the scoreboard at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, leaving him suspended mid-air. First responders rescued him within 30 minutes as the crowd watched. The incident delayed the spring football game, and the skydiver was reported to be in stable condition. … More
To offset those unexpected outlays, the government plans to freeze €4 billion worth of expenditures this year and later reassess if the country can afford those costs, French business daily Les Echos reported Friday. It is unclear whether the freeze will hit all spending across the board or will be concentrated in certain ministries. “These €4 billion are directly linked to rising costs resulting from higher interest rates,” French Economy Minister Roland Lescure told French daily Le Parisien on Monday. When asked about the plans, the French economy ministry referred POLITICO to Lescure’s quote in Le Parisien. The government is…
Published on 20/04/2026 – 14:13 GMT+2 The cruise ships that were stranded due to the Iran war, and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have now departed the key ports in the Arabian Gulf region. On Friday, Malta-flagged passenger vessel Celestyal Discovery departed Dubai, becoming the first cruise ship to transit the Strait since the Iran war began. In a statement Celestyal Cruises also said that the Celestyal Journey ship had departed Qatar’s capital Doha, confirming the “successful and safe transit of both its vessels” through the waterway. “Following their successful transit, both Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey are…
Russia-aligned Radev, a former fighter pilot, scored a landslide win in Bulgaria’s eighth election in five years. During his campaign, Radev accused rival parties of enabling an oligarch-dominated mafia state. He stepped down as president earlier this year to run for prime minister. Radev has encouraged Ukraine to sue for peace, does not support sending arms to Kyiv and says his insistence that Crimea is “Russian” simply reflects a strategic reality. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a brief X post he’d “look forward to continued cooperation on shared security challenges” with Radev. In Brussels, reactions from some in the center-right…
Published on 20/04/2026 – 14:35 GMT+2 United Nations experts expressed concern on Monday over allegations of prolonged incommunicado detention and dire custody conditions in Belarus that may amount to torture. The group of 17 independent experts said they had received information pointing to “deeply alarming detention practices that may amount to grave violations of international law” at the Novopolotsk correctional colony in northern Belarus. “We are gravely concerned that detainees in Novopolotsk Colony may be subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, disciplinary sanctions and physical punishments after suicide attempts,” they said in a statement. Mandated by the UN Human Rights Council…
“Our objective is to develop a wide-ranging draft simplification decree, which will be published at the start of our term, to liberate the French economy and help boost production,” they said. Leading the polls ahead of the 2027 deadline, National Rally has been seeking to woo the business community. Bardella is meeting top officials from France’s main business lobby MEDEF on Monday, and Le Pen met the country’s richest man Bernard Arnault and other major CEOs at a dinner in Paris earlier this month. However, business leaders are yet to be won over. According to an executive for one of…
Bulgaria’s former President Rumen Radev, an EU critic who has called for renewing ties with Russia, hailed a “victory of hope” on Monday after his Progressive Bulgaria (PB) coalition topped the polls in Sunday’s election, the eighth such parliamentary vote in five years. Many voters see Radev, a former fighter pilot, as the only person capable of giving the corruption-plagued Balkan nation a fresh start. The 62-year-old has presented himself as a defender of the lowest earners in the EU’s poorest country as he walks a tightrope on European issues. He has hailed the benefits Bulgaria has reaped from EU…
By Theo Farrant & AP Published on 20/04/2026 – 11:58 GMT+2 A humanoid robot has beaten the human half marathon world record, in a landmark moment for robotics at a race designed to push machines to their limits in real-world conditions. The robot, developed by Chinese smartphone company Honor, completed the 21-kilometre course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds at the Beijing E-Town Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon on Sunday – faster than the human record set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who ran the distance in around 57 minutes earlier this year. According to Honor engineer Du Xiaodi, the robot’s design was inspired by elite…
Earlier this month, Janša’s party backed the pro-Russian Resni.ca party’s bid to have its leader, Zoran Stevanović, elected speaker of Slovenia’s parliament. The move was widely interpreted as signaling an alliance between the two populist parties, but following his own meeting with Pirc Musar on Monday, Janša acknowledged his party had not yet secured the support required to return to power. The populist leader, who has already served as Slovenia’s prime minister on three separate occasions, added his party was comfortable forming a government, remaining in the opposition, or participating in repeat elections. “All three options are good for us,”…
By Lucy Davalou with AFP Published on 20/04/2026 – 12:36 GMT+2 Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, whose party secured a razor-thin majority in parliamentary elections last month, said on Monday he had failed to form a ruling coalition. His announcement opened the door for runner-up Janez Janša to seek to form his own government in the Alpine EU member of 2 million. “We are looking forward to our work in the opposition,” the liberal Golob, 59, told reporters after meeting the president, adding that he had not found a partner among centre-right parties for a governing coalition. Golob’s party won 29 seats last…