Author: staff
It added that global government debt rose to nearly 94 percent of gross domestic product last year and is now on course to top 100 percent by 2029, due largely to yawning deficits in the U.S., China and Japan. The U.S., it noted, “is running a general government deficit of 7 to 8 percent of GDP despite operating near full capacity, with no debt consolidation plan in sight,” while current fiscal policy, dictated by President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” last year, has put debt on course to hit 142 percent of GDP by 2031. The IMF’s Fiscal Affairs…
Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will not attend next week’s informal summit of European Union leaders, according to several EU officials. Orbán, who was decisively defeated in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, is expected to remain in office until opposition leader Péter Magyar, who won by a landslide, takes office sometime in May. Officials familiar with the preparations told Euronews they no longer expect Orbán to participate in the gathering, which will take place in Nicosia, Cyprus. The tradition in Brussels dictates that departing leaders are paid homage by their peers and given a goodbye token when they attend their last…
The minister said a group with links to Russian intelligence targeted a heating plant in western Sweden in spring 2025. The facility’s security systems stopped the attack, he added, declining to name the plant in question or give further details. Norway and Denmark have faced similar challenges, Bohlin said. “Taken together, this points to a change toward riskier and more reckless behavior which could potentially lead to damaging effects for society.” A group tied to Russian intelligence was blamed for a large-scale attempted attack on Poland’s power grid in December 2025 — one of the most significant strikes on the…
By Doloresz Katanich with AFP Published on 15/04/2026 – 14:53 GMT+2•Updated 15:08 Norway’s crude oil exports hit a record high in March as the war in Iran and the closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping lane drove up oil prices, Statistics Norway said on Wednesday. The Scandinavian country is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in Europe, excluding Russia. Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passes through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime. “The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a significant supply shock in the oil market, which contributed to…
Published on 15/04/2026 – 15:23 GMT+2 It is a truth universally acknowledged that Hollywood just can’t leave things be when it comes to successful IPs, as evidenced with the news of a Weapons prequel, and once more with the upcoming Lord Of The Rings prequel, The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum. Opinions are split. Many can’t wait to get back to Middle Earth. Others are bemoaning the fact that a prequel robs the narrative of any suspense and that the original trilogy helmed by Peter Jackson has been through enough due to The Hobbit trilogy – which…
Die Abwahl von Viktor Orbán erschüttert die AfD. Für Alice Weidel bricht ein zentraler strategischer Anker in Europa weg. Pauline von Pezold und Frederik Schindler besprechen unter anderem, warum die Niederlage in Ungarn die Machtkämpfe in der AfD-Außenpolitik neu befeuert. Nach einer beispiellosen öffentlichen Schlammschlacht ist der verteidigungspolitische Sprecher zurückgetreten. Ein Blick hinter die Kulissen eines Konflikts, in dem es um mehr als Wehrpflicht und NATO ging, sondern auch um Machtfragen. Eine Einschätzung von Frederik Schindler lest ihr auch hier. Während die Parteispitze die Vetternwirtschaft-Affäre totschweigen will, sorgen die neuen „Untersuchungsausschüsse“ für Kopfschütteln. In Sachsen-Anhalt prüfen Vertraute ihre eigenen…
Published on 15/04/2026 – 11:32 GMT+2•Updated 14:01 Hungary’s prime minister-elect, Péter Magyar, has announced plans to suspend the signal of the national broadcaster after forming a government, following a very heated appearance on public Hungarian television on Wednesday morning. Magyar, whose Tisza Party secured a landslide victory in last Sunday’s election, has long accused state media of bias against his movement. The interview marked his first appearance on the national broadcaster in 18 months, although MTVA, the state media authority, said it had extended multiple invitations to Magyar and his party during the campaign. Magyar gave two interviews — first…
Speaking in the House of Commons Wednesday Starmer told MPs he will not yield to the U.S. president’s threats. “It is not our war, and a lot of pressure has been applied to me to take a different course, and that pressure included what happened last night. I’m not going to change my mind. I’m not going to yield,” he told British MPs. Asked about U.K.-U.S. relations in the same Sky interview, Trump did not hold back. “It’s the relationship where: when we asked them for help, they were not there. When we needed them, they were not there. When…
The EU’s age verification app for online platforms is “technically ready” and will soon be rolled out, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday as a growing number of countries push ahead with plans to curb social media access for younger users. The system is based on “zero-knowledge proof” meaning social media users will be able to verify their age without sharing personal data with the platforms. Users will be able to verify their age, for example using official documents such as electronic identification systems, with the app generating a proof of age that is then shared with…
One of the richest men on the planet, Spanish businessman Amancio Ortega, has reached a new milestone in his career by becoming the world’s largest real estate owner, according to recent industry estimates. This achievement consolidates his expansion outside the textile business to an investment model focused on high-value real estate assets. The founder of Inditex, owner of brands such as Zara, Pull&Bear and Oysho, has built over the years an extensive network of properties in different countries. His portfolio exceeds 200 acquisitions and is valued at around $25 billion (€21.2bn), which allows him to surpass other large international investors…