Author: staff

Kushner, via his company Affinity Partners, is negotiating to purchase the formerly uninhabited, 5-square-kilometer island in the Adriatic for $1.4 billion in order to turn it into a luxury eco-resort with high-end villas, marinas and bunkers for wealthy visitors. The plans have prompted howls of protest from environmental groups, with 41 organizations writing to Rama and his environment minister in January to urge the immediate breakoff of negotiations, arguing that the plans represent a “direct contradiction” of Albania’s obligations under the EU accession process.  Asked about the plans, Rama voiced frustration: “It’s incredible that even big channels, highly reputed worldwide,…

The country’s participation in the tournament has been questioned amid the ongoing U.S. and Israeli war in the Middle East, but FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated firmly in mid-April that the Iranian team “has to come” to the competition.   Four-time world champions Italy lost a playoff match on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina last month; its most recent appearance at the World Cup was in 2014 in Brazil. The case quickly became political, and Italy’s football federation President Gabriele Gravina was forced to step down. Despite the shock of missing the world’s biggest football tournament for the third time in a row, Italian officials…

However, Robbins, who opted to grant clearance to Mandelson, publicly voiced concern over the level of disclosure that the government has offered about the vetting process when he gave evidence to parliament this week. “British national security does not benefit from that, so we have to ask whose does,” he told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday. He added: “I reflect honestly on my wonderful colleagues who are sat in the British embassy in Moscow or in the British embassy in Beijing and are subjected to incredible pressure… and of course I find myself wondering who this helps.” He…

Published on 23/04/2026 – 17:09 GMT+2•Updated 17:41 French liberal MEP Christophe Grudler told Euronews the Commission’s proposed European preference, once adopted, covering public procurement in strategic sectors such as clean tech, cars and energy-intensive industries (aluminium and steel) should be limited to a core group of non-EU countries. The “Made in Europe” provisions of the so-called “Industrial Accelerator Act” have triggered a fierce political battle between supporters, led by Germany and Nordic countries, of a broad definition including “like-minded” partners, and those, led by France, pushing for a narrower approach. In its proposal unveiled on 4 March, the Commission leaned…

Published on 23/04/2026 – 16:33 GMT+2 QatarEnergy has launched its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the Golden Pass project in Texas, marking a milestone in its largest US investment. The cargo was loaded at the Sabine Pass facility, a joint venture with ExxonMobil, as the project moves towards full commercial operations. The shipment was carried onboard the Al-Qaiyyah LNG carrier, which has a capacity of 174,000 cubic metres. “This is a significant industry milestone that marks a new chapter in QatarEnergy’s global efforts to meet rising LNG demand and ensure reliable supplies to international markets,” said Saad Sherida…

It’s not all gloom and doom for folks planning a summer getaway. Let’s face it, we could all probably use an escape (or excuse) to reboot our wellbeing. While some airlines are expected to scale back flights in the coming months, new flight paths are also being added – just in time for European summer holiday planning. Finnair Finland’s flag carrier has started its rollout of 14 new destinations, from across Europe, to as far as Oceania. In March, Finnair added Stavanger, Norway; Umeå, Sweden; Catania, Italy and Luxembourg to its European network. All flights are available via its Helsinki…

The EU rules around nudification tech come after Elon Musk’s AI tool Grok was heavily criticized earlier this year for allowing users to generate images of real people in bikinis or fully nude without their consent. The chatbot may have generated as many as 3 million non-consensual sexual images and 20,000 child sexual abuse images in the 11 days before changes were made to stop the spread of such photos, according to an estimate by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a non-profit focused on online safety. X has since stepped in to restrict the feature, but the uproar prompted EU…

European Union leaders have gathered in Cyprus for an informal summit that will kick off an internal process to establish a mutual assistance clause that could, one day, stand in for NATO’s Article 5, should the United States withdraw from the alliance, something that President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war in the Middle East, the worsening energy crisis and the fate of the EU long-term budget will also be on the table. However, no decisions will be made on Thursday or Friday due to the meeting’s informal nature. As the holder of the…

Published on 23/04/2026 – 16:09 GMT+2 The US military seized another oil tanker in the Indian Ocean on Thursday that it said was associated with smuggling Iranian oil, as the wartime sea standoff between the US and Iran continued. The seizure of oil tanker Majestic X followed Iran’s attack on three cargo ships on Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, capturing two of them. The US Defence Department released footage of the seizure of the vessel, showing US troops on the deck, stating that the US military “will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing…

The sanctions also include four banks from Kyrgyzstan, Laos and Azerbaijan, in a bid to crack down on sanction-busting strategies and efforts to pay for Russian oil and gas through the back door. EU businesses are also banned from dealing with Russian companies that handle or exchange cryptocurrencies. The list of sanctioned Russian banks now extends to 70 lenders. The sanctions make it much harder for foreign banks to handle international trade, especially as they will be prohibited from using SWIFT, a financial messaging system used to communicate payment instructions across the world. The EU is also curbing exports of…