Author: staff

However, many net contributors — those who pay in more than they get out — want their bills cut. Others, including those who stand to gain most from the funding, want to see spending increased. “Our six countries alone finance almost 40% of all Member States’ contributions. While net contributors as a whole are in the minority, they shoulder around three-quarters of the total financing burden,” the letter reads. A 60% nominal increase in the size of the budget compared to the current one, they argue, is “simply not realistic.” In a bid to lessen the financial pressure on national…

A wave of images depicting Italy’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani wearing a variety of skirts and dresses has swept across Italian-language social media platforms. No, he hasn’t suddenly become a fashion icon overnight: these pictures are actually AI-generated, and Italians are sharing them over a controversial statement he made about women. To understand the joke, we need to go back to something Tajani, leader of the centre-right Forza Italia party, said at a political event near Rome on 18 September. He was responding to a question about why voters should choose an established party, such as…

Published on 29/09/2026 – 10:56 GMT+2 The blasts that wounded three South Korean soldiers last week were apparently caused by North Korean mines, Seoul said on Tuesday, adding it was an armistice violation that would prompt “corresponding measures.” One troop lost a foot due to the explosions in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the heavily mined buffer zone that has divided the two Koreas since their 1953 armistice. The northern and southern boundaries of the zone are among the world’s most heavily fortified frontiers and landmine incidents have previously heightened tensions between the two countries. Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul’s comments came…

It’s the new prime minister’s big day in Liverpool – but will he explain what Labour conference slogan “hope again” actually means? After a series of major speeches with little substance so far from his cabinet colleagues, Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy wonder whether Andy Burnham is saving all the juicy details for himself. Could there be some policy surprises – with the pensions triple lock seemingly on the table? And with Reform inching back ahead in the latest polling, the duo ask who Labour views as their main opponent heading into the next election: Reform or the Conservatives? Plus,…

Tobias Cremer, an S&D MEP, said economic support for Ukraine is necessary because “the cost of the country failing would be much higher for us than the cost of supporting Ukraine”. Cremer called on the EU to explore how frozen Russian assets could be used as “leverage for peace”, arguing that this could show Russian President Vladimir Putin that if he continues the war in Ukraine, Russia should “start paying for it”. The MEP also said Russia’s attacks in Europe are “no longer hybrid”, arguing that cities such as Leipzig in Germany have faced what he described as “proper attacks”.

A powerful nor’easter has exposed weathered wooden beams on Nantucket’s southern shore, possibly revealing the remains of a 19th-century shipwreck. Maritime experts from the Egan Maritime Institute are examining the wreckage and will work with state underwater archaeologists to identify the vessel. The remains appeared near an area where parts of the Warren Sawyer, a wooden schooner that ran aground in 1884, have been found before. However, experts say the newly exposed wreckage has not yet been identified with certainty.

International crude oil prices climbed further on Tuesday morning amid uncertainty over US-Iran talks, as hopes of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway crucial to oil shipments, faded. Hopes that Middle East tensions would ease were dashed at the weekend when Donald Trump rejected Iran’s offer of a seven-day truce. Mediators are working with the US and Iran on a deal to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, officials told the Associated Press. The disruption to shipping through the waterway has affected global trade and added to inflation. Iran has proposed reopening the strait if the…

Travel is constantly changing and 2027 looks set to bring plenty of new ways to see the world. From holidays designed around health and longevity to a growing appetite for slower, more meaningful escapes, travellers are becoming more selective about how they spend their time away. Next year will be huge for astronomy lovers, with August’s so called “eclipse of the century” viewable in parts of southern Spain and north Africa, while those in the know will be eschewing Bali for lesser explored parts of Indonesia. It’s likely in 2027 that travellers will also look beyond the usual hotspots, rethink…

The financing of the plan — an issue which can be contentious with voters — would also have to come from the Core Group. “We want to have a financially realistic project,” Plevris said, adding that members of the group want the Commission to eventually have an active role in the process. The minister acknowledged that the plan would not lead to huge numbers of migrants being outsourced to third countries. “In reality, it is another means of exerting pressure that could increase voluntary returns,” he said. “It’s an unprecedented undertaking. Even though other countries have attempted something similar in…

Published on 29/09/2026 – 6:19 GMT+2 A lawyer who backed President Donald Trump’s false 2020 election claims has resigned from a Justice Department investigation into whether former government officials conspired against the Republican president, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. Kurt Olsen’s resignation from the so-called “grand conspiracy” probe represents further turmoil in a meandering investigation that has proceeded in fits and starts since its inception as prosecutors pursue an ill-defined right-wing theory of a conspiracy against Trump. It comes just weeks after the departure of another Trump ally, Joseph diGenova, who had been leading the closely…