Author: staff
Other areas needed deciphering. Burnham promised “the biggest council house building program since the post-war period,” after millions of state-funded homes were sold off under Margaret Thatcher’s right-to-buy policies. Aides later clarified that he meant the biggest program since the end of the post-war period — not since the end of the Second World War in 1945. Burnham’s book said all parts of England need a devolution deal by 2034; his speech was looser on timelines. His aides are looking at letting regional authorities keep and reinvest 100 percent of the income tax they generate in their area, but Burnham…
When freshly sworn-in Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar lifted Hungary’s long-standing veto on Ukraine’s EU membership bid in early June, many in Brussels and Kyiv breathed a sigh of relief. The move signalled the end of Viktor Orbán’s years-long policy of blocking Ukrainian accession, and was welcomed by both Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President António Costa, both staunch supporters of Ukrainian accession. But Magyar has been quick to temper expectations in Brussels. At his first European Council summit in June, he made clear to fellow leaders that he opposed any fast-tracking of Ukraine’s path to membership.…
Camps near Durban are filled with thousands of Malawian migrants waiting with their belongings as buses are prepared for long journeys home. Families stand in queues, including children, while officials check documents and volunteers distribute food and water. The camps have formed amid rising tensions over an unofficial deadline for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa. Authorities say more than 15,000 Malawians have been processed for repatriation, with many lacking valid papers or holding expired passports. Conditions are described as difficult, with large crowds, littered areas and limited access to services. Security has been tightened following recent attacks on foreign…
A bone discovered almost 40 years ago during a British scientific expedition has now been officially identified as the first dinosaur fossil ever found in Antarctica. The find is a vertebra from a titanosaur, a group of sauropod dinosaurs that includes some of the largest land animals ever to have lived. The fossil was discovered in 1985 by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) geologist Mike Thomson during an expedition to James Ross Island on the Antarctic Peninsula. The mission aimed to map the rock strata to make it easier to date future palaeontological finds in the region. At the time, Thomson…
“Our position is very clear,” Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told reporters on Monday. “The EU and its member states have the sovereign right to regulate any economic activities on their territory.” “The EU will respond swiftly and decisively,” Regnier added, should Washington follow through with “unilateral measures targeting such legitimate policies.” Since Trump’s return to the White House, the U.S. administration has ramped up attacks on the bloc’s tech laws, accusing them of unfairly targeting American firms. Trump’s top envoy in Brussels, Andrew Puzder, told POLITICO in March that Washington wants the tech dialogue to include the EU’s tech rules,…
Once considered an unnecessary luxury across much of Europe, air conditioning has become one of the continent’s most politically charged household appliances after nearly two weeks of extreme and deadly temperatures. For decades, Europe distinguished itself from hotter parts of the world by relying on thick masonry buildings, shutters, tree-lined streets and mild summers. Air conditioning remained relatively uncommon, particularly in northern and western Europe but climate change could alter that reality. Summers that once brought occasional discomfort now routinely produce prolonged periods above 35°C, with urban neighbourhoods experiencing 41°C temperatures due to the “heat island” effect. A clash between…
Published on 29/06/2026 – 15:47 GMT+2 It is not actually strawberry-coloured and in many places, it is no longer strawberry season. The Strawberry Moon is the name traditionally given to June’s full Moon — the first full Moon of summer, rising opposite the Sun just days after the solstice, when the horizon glows long into the summer evenings. This year it will peak at 01:57 CEST on Tuesday morning, but for most of Europe it will be visible starting this evening: around 9:41 pm in London, 22:13 in Paris, 21:55 in Berlin and Madrid. The name traces back to Algonquian…
Updated: 29/06/2026 – 15:07 GMT+2 A unibrow, flowers, bold colours — Frida Kahlo’s image is known around the world. Tate Modern’s record-breaking new exhibition brings together more than 30 works by the Mexican artist, alongside pieces by those she inspired. … More
Across the bloc, Germany, Greece and Italy have the most jobs with “high automation potential,” whereas Luxembourg, Sweden and the Netherlands have the largest shares in occupations that may actually grow with AI, a new report by OpenAI released today said. Just under half, or 47 percent, of employment in the EU will not face immediate change, the report said. About 14 percent of employment is in “relatively higher near-term automation potential,” and about 12 percent is in “occupations that may grow with AI as lower costs expand access or make more projects viable.” The economic makeup of each EU…
Five people were killed in a shooting at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade, police said on Monday. Two people were arrested, including the suspected shooter. There were also injuries, police said, but they did not give a figure. Police said the shooting took place in the facility on Dankersstrasse, a street south of the town centre. Two suspects were arrested, one of whom is believed to have fired the shots. Police said they were working to establish the background to the shooting and what exactly happened. Germany’s gun laws are more restrictive than those…