Author: staff
EU lawmakers moved to advance the EU–US trade agreement after months of resisting pressure from Washington and the European Commission on Tuesday. The shift is significant as it kickstarts a process long held by delays due to fundamental disagreements between Brussels and Washington, amplified by their different positions on almost everything – from trade and digital rules to Greenland and now Iran. Members of the European Parliament had resisted continuing the process to implement an agreement seen as lopsided in favour of the US. Still, despite legal and political concerns, they have decided to restart it. “There was a broad…
“I think Brexit was a colossal mistake,” said former London student Stubb, who has a British wife and children with dual nationality. “I am too diplomatic to express exactly what I think about those who promoted Brexit during the campaign, and those who still say that Brexit is a good thing … But I do think it’s not only shooting yourself in the foot, but it’s like amputating your leg without medical reason for doing it.” Stubb said he recognized that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not aim to rejoin the EU but argued that Brits and Europeans should…
In a major development for Israel’s campaign against the Iranian regime’s security forces, which now allegedly use schools as hideouts and children for propaganda purposes, the Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it killed the head of the Basij volunteer paramilitary force in a “precise strike” near Tehran. “Yesterday (Monday), the Israeli Air Force, acting on IDF intelligence, targeted and eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who operated as commander of the Basij unit for the past six years,” the Israeli military said in a statement. In a post on social media, the IDF said Soleimani has been the Basij forces’ commander for…
The US-Israel attack on Iran has thrown the Middle East’s aviation industry into chaos with regional airspace closures and mass flight cancellations. International airports in Doha, Qatar, and in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE have long been key regional hubs connecting Europe with Asia and Africa. With these airports offering limited flight schedules – and many travellers understandably unwilling to fly through the region – European airlines are having to adapt their schedules. Many carriers are now increasing their direct flight offering to cities across Asia and Africa to accommodate passenger demand. European airlines offering short-term flight increases…
European affairs ministers meeting in the General Affairs Council on Tuesday voted in favor of a plan to allow MEPs to cast proxy ballots in the final three months of pregnancy and the first six months after childbirth. A senior EU diplomat told POLITICO that the Council will now need to forward the text to the European Parliament for its official green light, before it returns to the Council for final approval. The proposal will then have to be ratified by EU member countries before it can enter into force. The plan “represents a positive step for democratic representation,” the…
Images circulating online reveal shattered buildings, charred facades, and debris strewn across residential streets in Tehran. Residents and emergency crews are clearing rubble since the attacks. In southern Tehran, locals use basic tools to dig out damaged homes while firefighters tackle lingering blazes; videos from passing cars capture the aftermath near Niavaran, where a police facility was clearly struck. The strikes follow Israel’s stated targeting of Iranian security infrastructure. Tehran has not confirmed claims of senior figures killed, such as Ali Larijani, nor a paramilitary commander reported dead in a separate hit. The broader regional conflict intensifies with air raids,…
Reports on the group chat annoyed Merz, who told reporters Monday: “I want to make this very clear: We do not cooperate with the far right in the European Parliament.” He added that “the EPP group leader also knows that we do not want this cooperation.” The EPP leader in question is fellow German Manfred Weber. “This will be stopped and … there will be consequences if necessary. Manfred Weber now bears responsibility for this,” Merz added. Weber did not respond to a request for comment. He has been quoted by German media outlets as saying that he didn’t know about…
The parallel wars in Ukraine and Iran may be taking place in different parts of the world, but pro-Russian propaganda is increasingly attempting to blend the two, according to a recent report by EUvsDisinfo. The aim, analysts say, is to discredit Ukraine by linking it to the conflict in the Middle East, while suggesting that Kyiv is losing international attention and support in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion. One of the main recurring claims is that Kyiv is unhappy that the Iran war is drawing focus away from Ukraine and pushing the war in Europe further down the political…
Lebanon has been hit by new Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, where several buildings were destroyed overnight, Lebanese state media reports. Thick smoke rose over the area as firefighters battled blazes and residents cleared debris from damaged streets. Emergency crews deployed at dawn to search the sites; no immediate casualties were reported, but destruction spanned multiple neighborhoods, with additional strikes south of the capital straining local services. The attacks coincide with intensifying Israel-Hezbollah clashes. Israel targets Hezbollah positions, while the group fires rockets into northern Israel; ground operations in southern Lebanon heighten fears of wider escalation. Authorities report over…
Israel’s defense minister said Tuesday that Iranian security chief Ali Larijani was killed in an overnight airstrike on Tehran. “Larijani and the Basij commander were eliminated overnight and joined … in the depths of hell,” Israel Katz said during a morning assessment Tuesday, according to several Israeli media reports. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at the outset of the conflict in late February in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes, plunging the country into a leadership crisis and triggering a widening regional war. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has since taken over, though he has not appeared publicly. U.S. President Donald…