Author: staff

Starmer added on X: “This week the UK and France will co-host a summit to advance work on a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard shipping when the conflict ends.” Trump announced on his Truth Social platform Sunday that the U.S. would be “blockading any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the strait of Hormuz” shipping route in the Middle East. It follows the failure of the first round of peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend. Starmer declined, when asked, to blame the U.S. for rising costs, instead accusing Iran of breaking international law…

Thousands of people filled Khao San Road, using water guns and buckets to soak passers‑by in what is both a celebration and a way to cool down during the peak heat of the dry season. The festival is one of the country’s most important cultural and religious events, drawing locals and tourists alike and giving a major boost to travel and tourism across the country. Beyond the capital, millions of workers and students travelled to their home provinces to mark the three‑day holiday with family rituals, making this one of the largest annual movements of people in Thailand each year.…

Here’s how the Hungarian prime minister lost his grip after 16 years in power. Orbán lost the public’s trust Orbán’s decline began in 2024, after the government pardoned the former deputy director of a children’s home who had been convicted of covering up child sexual abuse. The resulting scandal prompted Magyar — then a mid-level civil servant and Fidesz member — to stage a public revolt against the prime minister, leading thousands of protesters into the streets. His media blitz included the release of an audio recording of his wife, Judit Varga, who had just been forced out as justice…

Published on 13/04/2026 – 13:37 GMT+2•Updated 14:15 The Budapest Stock Exchange jumped over 3% to a record high of more than 136,000 points on Monday as markets priced in the end of 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s time in power and the potential return of Hungary to a more mainstream European path. Increased investor appetite pushed the country’s largest listed companies, including OTP Bank, MOL, Richter, and Magyar Telekom to gain between 2%-5% by 1 p.m. CET. The move contrasts with broader European markets, which are trading lower, digesting the failure of US-Iran negotiations over the weekend with no indication…

More than 500 delegates from 32 countries gathered at a space technology conference in Uzbekistan this week, highlighting how satellite technologies are being applied to agriculture, water management and environmental monitoring across Central Eurasia. As the global space economy approaches a projected $1tn (€880bn) by 2030, countries across the region are increasingly using space not as a domain of competition but as a practical tool for cooperation. Satellite technologies are already being applied to shared regional challenges, including food security, water management, environmental monitoring and digital connectivity, according to participants and companies involved in regional space programmes. The findings reflect…

Unless you’re visiting a major city for your holidays, the last leg can be the worst of the whole journey. When you emerge from a busy airport, tired from your flight, the last thing you need is to try and figure out how to use local public transport. As a result, many holidaymakers rely on hotel shuttles, taxis or rideshares for the final miles of their trip. While this is often convenient, it’s typically expensive and comes at a high carbon cost. Taking the train can be a more pleasant, affordable, and environmentally sound option. In some cases it is…

Published on 13/04/2026 – 13:11 GMT+2 “What House Are You From?” This is the question posed by the Portuguese-Spanish artist and director Ana Pérez-Quiroga, who gives her name to the documentary that centres on her mother, Angelita. Taken from Spain to the then Soviet Union as a child, as a refugee from the Spanish Civil War, she ended up leaving one conflict and encountering another: the Second World War. Estranged from her family and her home country, she only returned to Spain as an adult, trained in medicine, after Stalin’s death. Between the ages of four and 24, she lived…

Any change would be highly controversial, with even some typically pro-EU countries likely to balk at the prospect of losing control of foreign policy and facing the possibility of having to wave through decisions they oppose. The Commission would move quickly to engage with the incoming Hungarian government once it takes office, noting that incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar had signaled a clear pro-European direction during the campaign. “We can already see that [he] is very clear on the European path … committing the new government to continue working with us,” she said, adding that progress on EU funds and reforms…

Long COVID could cost between €58.54 billion ($68 billion) and €115.3 billion ($135 billion) annually across OECD countries, including 21 EU member states, in the next decade, according to recent findings. Beyond its profound effects on individual health and daily living, long COVID also weighs heavily on a country’s health system and national economy. Projections to 2035 show that, under optimistic assumptions, GDP losses may fall to negligible levels, whereas more realistic scenarios predict persistent annual losses of 0.1% and 0.2% of GDP. These latter figures are comparable to the entire annual health budget of the Netherlands or Spain. According…

Published on 13/04/2026 – 11:24 GMT+2•Updated 11:45 Poland and South Korea agreed on Monday to upgrade their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, with defence cooperation at the centre of the upgraded ties. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk held a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung in Seoul, marking the first visit by a Polish prime minister to the country in 27 years. The two leaders discussed a range of issues, with the main focus on expanding defence industry cooperation under a $44.2 billion (€39.6 billion) framework agreement signed in July 2022. Lee said the partnership extended beyond…