Author: staff

Mario Draghi, the Italian economist and banker who led the European Central Bank from 2011 to 2019, received the 2026 International Charlemagne Prize in recognition of his role in stabilising the eurozone and promoting European unity. His decisive response to the euro crisis had already earned him the nickname “Super Mario” among journalists and financial markets. At the ceremony, Friedrich Merz and Kyriakos Mitsotakis described Draghi as a key figure in protecting Europe during a period of economic turmoil. Merz used the event to call for a stronger and more integrated European Union, urging member states to increase investment in…

Published on 14/05/2026 – 15:15 GMT+2 The number of prisoners in Russia has dropped by more than 180,000 over five years, in part driven by Moscow sending convicts to fight in Ukraine, Russia’s prison chief said on Thursday. In four years of war, Russia has offered prisoners army contracts to fight in Ukraine and buy out their sentences, should they survive. Russia, which has a massive prison network inherited from Soviet labour camps, has one of the world’s largest convict populations, though that number has been decreasing in the last 20 years. “If at the end of 2021 there were…

Near Damascus Gate, members of the Jewish-Palestinian movement Standing Together handed out flowers, greeted residents in Arabic and positioned themselves near Palestinian shops and neighbourhoods as thousands of nationalist marchers carrying Israeli flags prepared to enter the Old City. Israeli police deployed large security forces along the route, including barriers, mounted officers and reinforced patrols. Many Palestinian owned shops closed early over fears of unrest, while several roads leading to the Old City, including areas around Jaffa Road and the city gates, were sealed from mid-afternoon. Jerusalem Day commemorates Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem and the Old City during the…

His warning lands as Europe struggles with weak growth and a widening productivity gap with the U.S. Those pressures have been sharpened by U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to power, with Washington taking a more confrontational line on trade and security. Draghi, a former Italian prime minister, returned to the EU’s political spotlight after presenting a blueprint in 2024 to reverse the bloc’s economic decline — a plan in which the annual spending price tag has since risen to €1.2 trillion to fulfill the recommendations. “Every strategic dependence must now be re-examined,” he told the audience, which included German Chancellor…

Published on 14/05/2026 – 15:27 GMT+2 Russia’s lawmakers have passed a law formally authorising the Kremlin to deploy troops abroad to “protect Russian citizens,” giving Russian President Vladimir Putin the authority in practice to invade foreign countries. According to the State Duma documents, the “bill was drafted to protect the rights of Russian citizens in the event of their arrest, detention, criminal or other prosecution pursuant to decisions of foreign courts vested with criminal jurisdiction by other foreign states without Russia’s participation.” Vyacheslav Volodin, chair of the Russian State Duma, said that “Western ‘justice’ has turned into a repressive machine…

Updated: 14/05/2026 – 14:31 GMT+2 Scientists in Thailand have identified a gigantic new long-necked dinosaur that may be the largest ever found in Southeast Asia. The species, named Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, is estimated to have reached around 27 metres in length. … More

Der Maschinen- und Anlagenbau ist das industrielle Rückgrat Deutschlands. Aber die Branche mit ihren rund eine Million Beschäftigten steht unter massivem Druck: 22.000 Stellen wurden im vergangenen Jahr gestrichen, externe Schocks vom Ukraine- bis zum Iran-Krieg belasten die langfristigen Planungen, und der Konkurrenzdruck aus China wächst. In dieser Folge analysiert Joana Lehner mit Tom Schmidtgen zunächst drei EU-Regulierungsschwerpunkte, die die Wirtschaft aktuell besonders spalten: Den Industrial Accelerator Act, die Lieferkettenrichtlinie und den umstrittenen EU-Klimazoll (CBAM). Danach spricht Joana Lehner mit Bertram Kawlath, dem Präsidenten des Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau. Der Unternehmer aus Ingolstadt zieht eine kritische Bilanz der aktuellen…

Pope Leo XIV denounced how investments in artificial intelligence and high-tech weaponry were leading the world into a “spiral of annihilation” on Thursday, as he called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine during a visit to Europe’s largest university. The pontiff’s speech at Rome’s La Sapienza University marked the first time a pope has visited the campus since Pope Benedict XVI called off a planned speech there in 2008 in the face of protests from faculty and students. The American pope was warmly welcomed on Thursday, including by some of Sapienza’s newest students: Young Palestinians who arrived in…

Siliņa then appointed Latvian army Col. Raivis Melnis as a replacement, but the Progressives’ withdrawal left Siliņa’s New Unity alliance without a parliamentary majority. Latvia, like its Baltic neighbors Estonia and Lithuania, has been on high alert since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, warning that spillovers from the war could test NATO’s eastern flank. “At this moment, political jealousy and narrow party interests have taken precedence over responsibility,” Silina said Thursday, adding that “political windbags chose not a solution, but a crisis.” Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs previously said he would meet with all parliamentary parties on Friday, “given the political…

Published on 14/05/2026 – 13:08 GMT+2 Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned Norway’s move on Thursday to revoke the export license for a naval missile system for his country’s navy, warning it could damage confidence in European defence suppliers. Anwar said he raised Malaysia’s “vehement objection” during a phone call with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, after Oslo blocked delivery of the Naval Strike Missile system and launcher components intended for Malaysia’s littoral combat ship programme. “Malaysia has honoured every obligation under this contract since 2018: scrupulously, faithfully and without equivocation,” Anwar said in a statement. “Norway, it appears,…