Author: staff
The exhibition “Leonardo da Vinci: Genius of the Renaissance” has opened in Astana, bringing together more than 40 life-size mechanical models reconstructed from the Renaissance master’s original drawings and notes. The exhibits were brought to Kazakhstan from museums in Rome and Florence and recreated using surviving manuscripts known as the Vinci Codices. “During his lifetime, Leonardo da Vinci wrote more than 20,000 pages of manuscripts, of which around 7,000 survive today,” said Narima Mukhambetalina, director of the exhibition. “These preserved writings have allowed specialists to reconstruct mechanical devices based on his drawings.” Spread across nearly 3,000 square metres inside the…
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Published on 11/06/2026 – 15:21 GMT+2 British Secretary of Defence John Healey resigned from office on Thursday, citing shortcomings in the government’s defence spending plans. In a letter addressed to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Healey criticised funding for the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP) and said he had “no other option” but to resign. The DIP, originally scheduled for publication in Autumn 2025, is due to set out the UK’s defence spending for the next decade, but it has faced repeated delays despite warnings that the nation’s armed forces face a major funding gap. “Your DIP financial settlement -…
Published on 11/06/2026 – 16:03 GMT+2 A Somali football referee who was denied entry to the United States ahead of the World Cup is set to officiate the UEFA Super Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa in August. In a statement on Thursday, UEFA said it had appointed Omar Artan to the role after discussions with its sister confederation, the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF). Artan is regarded as one of the world’s top officials and received the 2025 CAF Men’s Referee of the Year Award. The Super Cup final, which sees the winners of the Champions League…
Andrew Giuliani, who is in charge of the White House’s World Cup task force, told the BBC that “while I can’t go into the derog [derogatory information] on that, I can tell you it was the right decision by customs and border patrol and I support that decision.” FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, have endured massive criticism over the referee’s rejection, with the fallout overshadowing much of the tournament’s kick-off week and casting a harsh spotlight on the border policies of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. In a statement, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: “Omar Artan is an excellent…
Published on 11/06/2026 – 12:53 GMT+2•Updated 13:22 Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis told Euronews that fiscal policy across the euro area must complement the efforts of the European Central Bank to contain inflation, after the conflict in the Middle East triggered an increase in energy prices across the bloc. The ECB is widely expected to raise its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% on Thursday, as part of the monetary policy overseen by ECB President Christine Lagarde. Speaking on Euronews’ flagship morning programme, Europe Today, Pierrakakis said finance ministers must strike a balance between providing fiscal support and…
Published on 11/06/2026 – 15:05 GMT+2•Updated 15:06 US forces struck and disabled another oil tanker attempting to bypass their blockade of Iranian ports this week, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Thursday. A US aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel “after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces,” CENTCOM said. It was the third such US strike this week and the ninth since the blockade began, said CENTCOM, which oversees US forces in the Middle East. The strikes on the ship attempting to transport oil through the Gulf of Oman…
Published on 11/06/2026 – 14:17 GMT+2•Updated 14:23 The European Central Bank has raised interest rates for the first time in nearly three years, lifting its deposit facility rate from 2% to 2.25% following its governing council meeting on Thursday. The ECB sets monetary policy for the eurozone through three key interest rates, with the deposit facility rate serving as its main policy benchmark. The ECB’s deposit facility rate was last raised in September 2023, when it reached its peak of 4.0% after a tightening cycle meant to stabilise the post-pandemic inflation crisis. The ECB also raised its main refinancing operations…
Published on 11/06/2026 – 13:59 GMT+2 An retelling of an ancient Japanese legend took centre stage in Brussels as part of celebrations marking 160 years of diplomatic and cultural relations between Belgium and Japan. Held at Brussels historic 15th century Town Hall, Amaterasu is a performance inspired by one of the most important stories in Japanese mythology. The production reimagines the tale of the sun goddess Amaterasu – one of the most important deities in Shinto mythology. According to legend, she retreated into a cave after a bitter dispute with her brother, the storm god Susanoo, plunging the world into…
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn spent Thursday morning in a media round with U.K. broadcasters — and facing recurrent questions about why Alodid was even in Belfast. He arrived in 2023 after flying into Paris, then Dublin, and traveling north by bus across the Republic of Ireland’s barrier-free border. That open arrangement dates to Ireland’s independence from Britain in 1922, when both sides agreed to observe a Common Travel Area allowing Irish and British citizens freedom of movement, employment and access to public services across both jurisdictions. The century-old arrangement — of particular value to the tens of thousands who…