Author: staff
Péter Magyar has been sworn-in as Hungary’s new prime minister, after taking his oath in parliament on Saturday morning, bringing an end to 16-years of Viktor Orbán rule, cementing a landslide April election victory. Magyar’s Tisza party secured 141 seats in the 199-seat National Assembly, an outright majority. The outgoing Fidesz has 44, while the KDNP, who formerly allied with Orbán, have 8 and Mi Hazánk 6. Magyar post was confirmed on Saturday in the inaugural session of the National Assembly. He was appointed with 140 votes in favour, 54 against and 1 abstention. After taking the oath, Péter Magyar…
The Spain that knocked on Europe’s door 40 years ago was a country that had only just emerged from 40 years of dictatorship. Spain’s democratic transition, still fragile in some respects, found in European integration an institutional anchor, a guarantee that the freedoms it had won would not be reversed. Felipe González, who had applied for membership in 1977 as leader of the Socialist opposition and was now governing as prime minister, saw it clearly: joining Europe was not just about economics. It was a statement of political identity. Spain was rejoining the community of democratic nations from which Francoism…
By Serge Duchêne Published on 09/05/2026 – 18:30 GMT+2•Updated 18:55 Niger, ruled by a junta hostile to Western countries, on Friday suspended nine French media outlets that could “seriously endanger public order”. A statement broadcast on state television said the suspended media had repeatedly broadcast content “likely to seriously endanger public order, national unity, social cohesion and the stability of institutions” in Niger. They are France 24, Radio France Internationale, France Afrique Média, LSI Africa, AFP (Agence France-Presse), TV5 Monde, TF1 Info, Jeune Afrique and Mediapart. The suspension is “immediate” and applies to “satellite packages, cable networks, digital platforms, websites and…
Two activists detained by Israeli authorities after the interception of their Gaza-bound aid flotilla will be released “today,” human rights organization Adalah said on Saturday. The Israeli Security Agency informed Adalah of the activists’ impending release on Saturday and the non-profit organization is “closely monitoring to ensure their release,” Adalah said in a statement. Saif Abukeshek, a Spanish-Swedish citizen, and Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian national, are expected to be deported in the coming days after being released from security detention.
Published on 09/05/2026 – 18:48 GMT+2 A farmer from Raddusch in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district reported to the police on Friday morning that his herd of 48 cattle had been stolen from the pasture. The loss is estimated at around 75,000 euros. Just 14 days earlier, unknown perpetrators had stolen 74 cattle near Herzberg in the Elbe-Elster district of Brandenburg. Lorry tracks were found at the scene. In April, there was a case in Falkenberg, also in the Elbe-Elster district, in which 69 calves disappeared from a breeding farm. The perpetrators apparently used a remote access road to drive a large…
Hantavirus is a disease typically spread by infected rats. As of Friday, there were a total of six confirmed cases of a hantavirus variant — named the “Andes” subtype — linked to the cruise ship and two probable cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The Andes subtype is the only variant known to spread among humans. The WHO has sought to calm fears that the outbreak could trigger a global health emergency on the scale of Covid-19. The Spanish government’s plans to let the cruise ship, the MV Hondius, arrive in Tenerife have provoked controversy, including among Canary…
U.S. President Donald Trump said he “might” move U.S. troops from Germany to Poland, as the Pentagon prepares to pull around 5,000 American soldiers out of Germany over the next year. “Poland would like that,” Trump told journalists on Friday when asked about the prospect. “We have a great relationship with Poland. I have a great relationship with the president. … I like him a lot, so that’s possible.” The Pentagon earlier this month confirmed the U.S. will withdraw 5,000 troops from military bases in Germany, following through on a threat Trump made after sparring with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over…
Magyar has vowed a reset with Brussels to try to secure around €10 billion in EU funds frozen as a result of backsliding over human rights and the rule of law in recent years. The center-right Hungarian flew to Brussels for talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week as the new administration scrambles to meet an August deadline to show progress on reforms or risk losing access to the money altogether. Tisza, formed by Magyar in 2020 after he left Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party, won 141 of the 200 available parliamentary seats in April’s nationwide vote,…
She was Slovenia’s Woman of the Year 2021, and a few years later, she is also entering the European stage: anthropologist Nika Kovač and her institute “8 March” are at the start of the European Citizens’ Initiative “My Voice, My Choice”. The initiative to improve access to abortion across Europe was presented to the European Parliament in December 2025, and the Commission decided on follow-up measures in March 2026. It is one of twelve European Citizens’ Initiatives that have managed to change the agenda in the EU Parliament. This is because the “lack of access to abortion in many parts…
Published on 09/05/2026 – 15:15 GMT+2 US President Donald Trump has admitted he is considering moving some of the American troops being withdrawn from Germany to Poland. The statement was made during a conversation with journalists at the White House and fits into a broader debate over a new NATO balance of power in Central and Eastern Europe. When asked about the possibility of relocating some of the forces to Poland, Trump replied that “it’s possible,” stressing the very good relations with the Polish authorities. In his remarks, he also referred to President Karol Nawrocki, whom he had previously backed…