Author: staff
Kazakhstan and Pakistan signed a strategic partnership agreement during a state visit by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Islamabad, focusing on transport corridors that would give the landlocked Central Asian nation access to Arabian Sea ports. Tokayev met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss access to Karachi and Gwadar ports, with both leaders signing 20 agreements covering transport, logistics, mining, healthcare, education and other sectors. “The development of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor and transit routes through Afghanistan were also considered as a priority,” Tokayev said. The partnership would benefit both nations: Kazakhstan would gain access to ports connecting…
Spain is still searching for a 45-year-old woman who was swept away by a swollen river in Malaga while trying to rescue her dog, as Storm Leonardo continues to hit the south. Police have deployed air and canine teams, while thousands of residents across Andalusia have been evacuated. In Cadiz, Grazalema was cleared after water pushed up through floors and cracked walls. Engineers are now checking building foundations. Dozens of roads remain closed, and rivers have burst their banks in several areas. Rain eased on Friday, but forecasters warn another storm, Marta, could arrive this weekend, raising fears of fresh…
Fit and proper It was essential, McSweeney would tell his audiences, that the first criterion for choosing a candidate should be that they are a “fit and proper” person for the job. In a cynical age when most voters have no automatic loyalty to parties in the way they used to, fielding credible candidates is even more critical, he argued. Trust is personified in the individual standing on the doorstep, according to McSweeney. Voters must see the Labour rosette pinned to a candidate’s lapel as a mark of quality, in his view. McSweeney believed the Labour party Starmer inherited when…
Published on 06/02/2026 – 16:07 GMT+1 US President Donald Trump has launched a new government website aimed at reducing prescription drug costs for Americans. The White House announced TrumpRx.gov on Thursday, featuring more than 40 medications from five pharmaceutical companies that reached pricing agreements with the administration: AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer. “You’re going to save a fortune,” Trump said. “This is also so good for overall healthcare.” How does it work? The site promises “the world’s lowest prices on prescription drugs” and showcases popular medications, including weight-loss treatments like Ozempic and Wegovy. Users can search…
Leaders from Eastern and Northern European states have confirmed their participation, as well as the European Commission. France has also been invited but has yet to confirm its attendance, added the official cited above, who like the diplomat was granted anonymity to discuss the plans. The move comes as like-minded countries join forces to try and impose their vision on the way the EU works. Just last week, finance ministers from the bloc’s largest economies — Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland — confirmed they were launching a new format known as the Big Six to push the…
France opened a consulate in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, on Friday, strengthening its diplomatic presence in the Arctic and keeping the promise made by President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to the island last June. In doing so, France becomes the first EU country to establish a consulate general in Greenland, ahead of its partners in the 27-member bloc. Brussels, however, is already represented on the island, following the opening of a European Commission bureau in 2024. Jean-Noël Poirier, the former French ambassador to Vietnam, took up his job upon arrival in Nuuk, where he will represent France in this semi-autonomous…
The coming storm The most immediate task is how to deal with the now-promised release of files relating to Mandelson’s appointment, a move for transparency that could prove damaging for Starmer and his top team as well as the former envoy. Managing this moment could put him on the front foot again, if handled with extreme caution and fortitude. One former aide who worked closely with Starmer, granted anonymity like others in this piece to speak candidly, said: “What is clear is the prime minister isn’t going to just give up. That’s not him. That’s not his nature… If he…
Published on 06/02/2026 – 14:57 GMT+1•Updated 15:27 Leaders of the socialist and liberal groups in the European Parliament raised concerns over the attendance of European Commission Vice-President Raffaele Fitto and Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius at a European People’s Party (EPP) political gathering in Slovenia on Thursday. Iratxe García Pérez and Valérie Hayer, the leaders of the S&D and Renew Europe groups, sent a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, claiming that the Commissioners may have breached the internal conduct rules by appearing at a political event just weeks ahead of Slovenia’s elections. The incident adds another point of…
The US Ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, has taken the unprecedented decision to immediately sever diplomatic contacts with the Speaker of the Polish Sejm, Wlodzimierz Czarzasty**.** “As of today, we will no longer maintain contact or communicate with Marshal Czarzisty of the Sejm,” US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose announced. Amb. Tom Rose did not specify what those alleged insults were, but Czarzasty had issued a public statement on Monday in which he said he would not support an initiative of his Israeli and American counterparts to nominate US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Czarzasty is one…
Stern, who died in 2020, was the director of the startup competition Pitch@Palace, which was owned by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, before shutting down in November 2025. ‘Anytime for you’ The files show that Epstein and Tang planned to call each other once in 2011 and meet on two separate occasions in 2011 and 2012. In June 2011 Epstein sent an email asking “donald , can we speak on the phone?” to which a redacted email address associated with the name Donald Tang responds “It’s late in NY. I am leaving for Shanghai in a few hours. What’s your number for me to call you?” In October 2011 Epstein received an email, also from a redacted address, signed by Donald Tang, asking him if he will be “in…