Author: staff
Published on 09/03/2026 – 14:59 GMT+1 Washington and Beijing are both trying to weaken Europe because it constitutes an “unknown variable” in their power struggle, France’s foreign minister said on Monday, urging the European Union to stop doubting itself and assert itself on the global stage. “The main geopolitical challenge is the growing rivalry between two powers, two superpowers,” Jean‑Noël Barrot told the annual European Union Ambassadors Conference on Monday, citing the US and China. The two countries’ increasingly confrontational stances, coupled with their common desire to reshape the international order to their advantage, Barrot said, could see the world…
It has now become a global campaign. Major cultural institutions, from Rome to Seattle via Lyon, have reacted to Timothée Chalamet’s comments about opera and ballet, which the actor described as “stuff” that “nobody cares about any more”. The explosive remark was made during a public conversation (source in French) between the Franco-American actor and his Hollywood colleague Matthew McConaughey, organised by Variety and CNN at an event at the University of Texas on 24 February. Just over 50 minutes into the discussion, Timothée Chalamet was asked about cinema attendance and the way audiences’ attention spans are shrinking, with some…
Kapranos wrote: “These warmongering murderers are using our music without our consent. This makes us both nauseous and furious. Kind of typical though, isn’t it? To strut up and take what isn’t theirs with a vile arrogance.” Last month, Israel and the U.S. launched joint strikes against Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliation from Tehran and setting off a broader regional conflict. Franz Ferdinand (the band) have long been political. In 2016, they released a track called “Demagogue” about the first U.S. presidential campaign by Donald Trump.
Published on 09/03/2026 – 14:28 GMT+1 Ukraine’s Oschadbank is demanding the immediate return of cash and gold confiscated by Hungarian authorities last week, lawyers representing the bank in Hungary told Euronews. The incident triggered a diplomatic row after Hungarian police raided a convoy of cash carriers near Budapest and seized $40 million, €35 million and 9kg of gold. Hungary expelled seven Ukrainian nationals accompanying the transport the following day and opened an investigation into suspected money laundering. Horváth Lawyers, a law firm representing Oschadbank and its seven employees in Hungary, told Euronews that the Ukrainian vehicles were carrying out a…
By Rebecca Ann Hughes Published on 19/02/2026 – 13:10 GMT+1•Updated 09/03/2026 – 13:58 GMT+1 Brussels Airport is bracing for severe disruption this week as some of Belgium’s largest trade unions plan industrial action. A strike notice has been issued for Thursday 12 March, lasting 24 hours. The walkout will see widespread flight cancellations and delays. Here’s what travellers need to know. Brussels Airport cancels all departures on 12 March Key Belgian trade unions, including FGTB/ABVV, CSC/ACV, and CGSLB/ACLVB, are staging a nationwide strike on 12 March, protesting against unpaid labour and pension reforms. The walkouts will affect various sectors, including public…
At a dinner last week attended by the European Commission president’s chief of staff, Bjoern Seibert, EU ambassadors rejected the possibility of allowing in new members with limited privileges. Kallas’ words offer heavyweight backing to the idea that enlargement isn’t simply a bureaucratic process by which candidates fulfill EU criteria but a geopolitical choice — as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has suggested. “Enlargement has been described as the union’s most successful foreign policy, extending the area of stability, peace and prosperity,” Kallas said, citing Eurobarometer data showing wide support for expanding the 27-member bloc. But, she added, “it…
Belgium’s federal judicial police anti-terrorism unit and the federal prosecutor’s office are investigating the incident. A spokesperson for the Liège mayor’s office told POLITICO: “The mayor and the municipal executive express their strongest condemnation of this extremely violent act of antisemitism, which runs counter to Liège’s tradition of respect for others. There can be no question of importing external conflicts into our city.” According to the mayor’s office, the blast caused damage to the building. Local media reported that windows on the building’s front façade were blown out. The mayor’s office said a press briefing would be held later in…
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said Slovakia is ready to block the European Union’s €90 billion loan package for Ukraine after April if Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán loses the election and Kyiv fails to restart oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline. Hungary is currently blocking the EU’s €90 billion loan to Ukraine over the Druzhba pipeline, a key source for Russian oil to Hungary, which was damaged in a Russian drone strike in January. Orbán is struggling in the polls ahead of the 12 April election, with the opposition Tisza Party, led by Péter Magyar, holding a substantial…
European stock markets were all in negative territory on Monday morning after weak sentiment in Asian markets, where Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged more than 5% and Taiwan’s benchmark fell 4.4%. Other Asian markets also tumbled after oil prices soared to nearly $120 a barrel, casting a shadow over economies heavily dependent on imported crude and gas from the region. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was down 1.6%, while Frankfurt’s DAX, Paris’s CAC 40 and Milan’s FTSE MIB were all down more than 2.4%, as of 09:30 CET. Madrid’s IBEX 35 fell nearly 2.7%, and the pan-European Stoxx 600…
A stranded cruise ship on the Polish Baltic coast – only it won’t be moving again. The “Gołębiewski” hotel in Pobierowo, West Pomerania, should have opened in 2021, but it still hasn’t. In a Facebook post from 21 January, the company announced: “We will soon be opening a new hotel in Pobierów.” In the post, the hotel advertises for staff. They are looking for housekeepers, cooks, receptionists – there are quite a few positions that need to be filled. Alarm bells are ringing in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Will guests and workers be poached on a grand scale in future? The project was…