Author: staff

Published on 27/09/2026 – 11:53 GMT+2•Updated 16:30 Pope Leo XIV said on Sunday that assisted dying should not be considered “normal”, as he continued his landmark visit to France, where parliament has voted to legalise the practice for certain patients. “We must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion. It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal,” he told sick and disabled worshippers at the pilgrimage site of Lourdes. The US pontiff met with the bishops of France at the Saint Bernadette auditorium at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes on Sunday…

For Gibała, Sunday’s result gives him another shot at winning an office he came within a few thousand votes of securing in 2024, when he lost to Miszalski. Miszalski subsequently faced mounting local opposition, including over Kraków’s clean-transport zone, before being recalled. Opposition parties, including Law and Justice (PiS) and parties on the far right, presented that result as evidence of weakening support for Tusk’s government ahead of the fall 2027 general election. An effort is underway to hold a similar referendum in the capital Warsaw, targeting Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, also from Tusk’s party Sunday’s exit poll had the PiS…

Spain has today reached the symbolic milestone of 1,000 days without a new national budget, the main tool for steering the country’s economic policy and setting priorities for public spending. The left-wing coalition government led by Pedro Sánchez, made up of PSOE and Sumar, has gone the entire legislative term without passing a single budget. Instead, it has been governing with the budget approved in 2022 for the 2023 financial year. That year, after Sánchez returned as prime minister – without a parliamentary majority – the government argued that the 2023 election results had made it difficult to bring a…

At least five children were among the wounded. The strike hit shops near the Mawiya junction, although the casualties and target could not be independently verified. Yemeni government forces said they had instead targeted a Houthi military position and vehicles in the area. The attack comes amid a major escalation in Yemen’s war, with Houthi forces advancing along the Red Sea coast towards Bab al-Mandab, a crucial shipping route. Saudi Arabia has responded with hundreds of airstrikes, according to the Houthis, who said 27 strikes were carried out across six provinces in the previous 24 hours. The renewed fighting has…

“Enlargement … remains a geopolitical imperative. Accession, however, takes time,” reads a draft version of the pre-enlargement review text seen by POLITICO. “Candidate countries must complete a rigorous, merit-based process and deliver far-reaching and lasting reforms. That time should be put to full strategic use to both prepare the Union for larger membership and deepen gradual integration in areas of mutual interest.” As part of that review, von der Leyen and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos will propose changes to the bloc’s internal workings to ensure safeguards are in place to prevent new joiners from disrupting key policies or reneging on…

Pope Leo XIV called on the Catholic Church to acknowledge its failings and confront sexual abuse as he celebrated an open-air Mass in Lourdes on Sunday, the latest stop on his visit to France. After drawing nearly 800,000 people in Paris on Saturday, the pontiff was greeted by further crowds in Lourdes, where around 150,000 people attended Sunday’s Mass. In his homily, Leo urged the Church to take responsibility for wrongdoing within its ranks. “The Church must have the courage to be the first to undergo this conversion. To heal the deep wounds, the acts of infidelity and the painful…

For the first time in nearly a decade, a Serbian media hosted a televised election debate with opposing politicians which drew significant public attention ahead of the 25 October parliamentary vote, in Serbia’s highly polarised media and tense society landscape. Equally for the first time, a top official from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party appeared on N1 television in a live election debate. Ana Brnabic, Speaker of the outgoing parliament and a former prime minister, as well as top figure in Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s political camp, faced the top candidate of the opposition Student List – Students win political…

EU capitals are currently considering whether U.K. auto exports should qualify for preferential treatment under the Buy European program, as Brussels moves to protect its member economies from U.S. tariffs, China’s manufacturing might and an influx of cheap EVs subsidized by Beijing. European Union lawmakers and officials are preparing new legislation to deny overseas manufacturers access to subsidies, tax incentives and public procurement deals. The bloc slapped double-digit tariffs on Chinese EVs in 2024. But Reynolds said the U.K. government’s calculation on whether to impose tariffs differed from that of the EU.  “We are an export-orientated sector. So clearly, you…

Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to strengthen the country’s neutrality in a referendum on Sunday, with around 70% voting against the measure. According to final results published by the Swiss government, the proposal was rejected in all 26 Swiss cantons. The initiative would have restricted Switzerland’s ability to impose sanctions on other countries, allowing such measures only if they had been approved by the United Nations. That would have limited Switzerland’s ability to adopt sanctions against Russia, which holds veto power as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Supporters of the proposal, led by…

Around 150 tents filled the square on Sunday, with families of several generations joining the sit-in. Demonstrators say they will remain there until at least Tuesday, when the Spanish government is due to meet. Banners across the square called for “Affordable housing”, “Right to Housing at a fair price” and “Not one more Maricarmen”, reflecting wider demands for rent freezes, stronger tenant protections and an end to evictions without alternative accommodation. Maricarmen had lived in the same Madrid flat for around 70 years, after her father rented it in 1956. The Madrid Tenants’ Union says the property was later acquired…