Author: staff

Demonstrators said Italy’s government did not do enough to defend the crews on the flotilla. They are calling on the government to cut military ties with Israel, recognize a Palestinian state and cut arms spending. Rome has said it will not recognize Palestinian statehood until the hostages are released and militant group Hamas is out of government in Gaza. Protestors on Friday obstructed major highways in Pescara, Trento, Bologna, Milan and Turin, as well as walking onto tracks and blocking trains in Florence, Genoa, Perugia and Cagliari. Riot police clashed with protesters in Turin and Naples. Transport workers, healthcare workers…

Published on 03/10/2025 – 20:22 GMT+2 Prosecutors in Poland are investigating an alleged Russia plot that involved smuggling food cans labelled as corn packed with explosives into the country, according to Polish media.  An article published in Gazeta Wyborcza on Thursday cited sources at the Polish National Prosecutor’s Office and the Internal Security Agency (ABW) confirming the development.  A Ukrainian suspect linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU), who has only been identified as Władysław D, allegedly transported the cans to Poland after digging them up at a cemetery in neighbouring Lithuania.  The young man left them near the city…

A Belgian security service officer was arrested and indicted for espionage, two people with knowledge of the case told POLITICO. He was taken into custody on Thursday and his home searched the same day. An investigating judge later released him under strict conditions. The charges relate to spying for China, one of the people said, adding that the man, whose precise role within Belgium’s national security apparatus has not been disclosed, was recruited for his access to Brussels’ international diplomatic circles. Brussels is home to many EU institutions, NATO headquarters, some 100 international organizations and 300 foreign diplomatic missions. The…

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he wants to enshrine the right to abortion in the Constitution, following the example of France, which last year became the first country in the world to take the historic step.  In a post on social media, Sánchez said he is planning to bring a proposal to Parliament to constitutionalize the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy. “With this government, there will be no step backward in social rights,” he said.  The post follows approval by Madrid’s city council of a measure which will make health centers inform women considering abortion about so-called “post-abortion…

Local research network Online Risk Labs said it has found 286 accounts on TikTok with “a cumulative reach of 5 to 9 million views per week,” exceeding that of many political party leaders, which look to boost extremist parties like the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) or far-left Enough! (Stačilo!). Both of these parties could, for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989, end up directly in government — or providing support to Andrej Babiš’s right-wing populist ANO party, which is leading in the polls. “The content includes, for example, glorification of Vladimir Putin, disinformation and…

“We are ready to ask the Commission to withdraw its current proposal and make a new and better one reflecting our concerns,” the Socialists and Democrats said in a statement to POLITICO. “We have made our decision on what we are ready to do with this proposal,” the statement said. Both major parties want von der Leyen to ditch a plan to lump agricultural funds and regional payments ― which make up more than half of the budget ― into a single cash pot handled by national governments. They complain this is a smokescreen to cut funding to farmers, who are core…

A meeting between European lawmakers and MPs from the Russian State Duma on Wednesday sparked condemnation among other MEPs, who said it violated the European Parliament’s rules and demanded swift disciplinary measures. Pina Picierno, the Italian socialist MEP and European Parliament vice president, told Euronews that, according to the rules, all members must act solely in the general interest of the EU and should not bring the European Parliament into disrepute through their conduct. “It is therefore unacceptable that individual members, without any political or institutional mandate, engage in direct relations with the Russian Duma, the legislative body of an…

Germany and its allies must act together quickly to bolster Europe’s military capabilities in the face of the threat posed by Russia, security experts have said as European leaders marked the 35th anniversary of German reunification. The warning follows US President Donald Trump’s clear stance that his country will play a less direct role in Europe. “We are under enormous pressure,” said Dr Patrick Keller, head of the Security and Defence Centre at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). “Relying on America no longer works as it once did”, he told Euronews, adding that Europe must take responsibility for…

Being a Taylor Swift fan can be exhausting.  The glorious pop gazelle has managed to put out EIGHT albums between 2020 and 2024 – including ‘Taylor’s Version’ re-recordings and new releases like last year’s sprawling ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, an actual double album which clocked in at over two hours and tested the patience of even the most devoted Swifties. Amid that Stakhanovite-level output, she’s also jetted around the world on the highest-grossing tour of all time, during which she took the time to record her newest opus, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’. It’s not over. Artistry aside, when she’s not…

A series of online posts falsely claims that Spanish pro tennis player Carlos Alcaraz gave a very public tribute to the late political activist Charlie Kirk. According to the claims, Alcaraz dedicated a permanent, empty seat at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, where many US Open tennis matches are played, and commemorated Kirk with a gold plaque and a speech, before donating thousands of dollars to his family. Kirk was a conservative political activist, best known as the founder of Turning Point USA and host of a nationally syndicated talk radio show. He was shot and killed on 10 September 2025…