Author: staff

Ukraine’s allies are gathering in Gdańsk to talk about rebuilding the country — even as Russia continues to destroy homes, power stations and critical infrastructure. Zoya Sheftalovich reports from the Ukraine Recovery Conference, where governments, banks and businesses are trying to turn political promises into real investment. She and Sarah Wheaton look at the money on the table, Poland’s hopes of playing a major role in the reconstruction effort and the diplomatic row between Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who stayed away from the conference as tensions escalated. Plus: Why some European fossil fuel companies could…

The Commission wants to exclude companies exploring new fossil fuel projects from these funds, since exploration is not aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees over pre-industrial levels. But EU governments want these companies to be included if they also spend at least a fifth of their annual net investments, called capital expenditure, on green projects. This aligns with the fossil fuel sector’s argument that new oil and gas projects are important as Europe attempts to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel imports from a few big producers, which they say the…

It will be up to member countries to decide which YouTubers and TikTokers should attend, but the guidance from the Council says they should not pick anyone who has “published views against EU values,” said the guidance. The content creators should also not have any “significant or long-standing commercial collaborations,” to avoid associations with large brands, the guidance continues. The influencers will not be paid as part of the scheme. They can’t be seeking a political role, or already hold one, meaning influencer-turned-Cypriot MEP Fidias Panayiotou wouldn’t be able to get the required accreditation. Cypriot member of the European Parliament…

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government had previously said that only logistical and technical flights covered by the bilateral treaty governing U.S. military bases in Italy would be allowed to use its airbases to fly to the Middle East. Rutte’s comments prompted a strong rebuke from Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto. “Only flights compliant with the Treaties; Rutte’s message is completely fallacious,” the defense ministry said in a statement, reported by Il Sole 24 Ore. Opposition politicians were not convinced. “Meloni deceived the Italians and parliament,” Green MP Angelo Bonelli said, Il Sole 24 Ore reported. “Meloni must immediately clarify…

The Czech Republic’s Constitutional Court issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday allowing President Petr Pavel to attend the July NATO summit in Ankara. The court’s ruling partially resolves the ongoing dispute between Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who announced on Monday that Pavel could not be part of the country’s delegation. Pavel filed a competency lawsuit the following day, seeking clarity on who has the authority to decide whether the head of state may attend the NATO summit. While the court will take up the ultimate question in an expedited manner in the coming weeks, it cited precedent from…

Catholic devotees gather in rice paddies to cover their bodies with mud and dried banana leaves for the annual ‘Taong Putik’ festival honouring St. John the Baptist. Men, women and children smear mud on their faces and heads, dip leaves into the fields, and then walk barefoot along village roads carrying candles. The ritual is held each year as devotees give thanks for answered prayers and fulfil vows made to the saint. Today, thousands are thought to join the procession. After leaving the rice fields, the mud-covered devotees head to St. John the Baptist Church for Mass, where hymns are…

A research project coordinated from Cáceres has succeeded in recovering human DNA more than 2,000 years old in caves in Spain and Portugal, a breakthrough that opens up new possibilities for reconstructing the history of prehistoric populations. Led by Hipólito Collado and carried out with the participation of teams from Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, the study shows that rock surfaces are capable of preserving traces of human genetic material over thousands of years. The paper, published in the journal ‘Nature Communications’, forms part of the First Art project, which grew out of research into the rock…

“We are committed to driving this forward, and that this should be the first item on the agenda at the NATO summit in a couple of weeks. The second key issue at the summit must be building a more European NATO,” he added. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who is set to meet Trump later on Wednesday, joined the leaders’ discussions via video call. He is expected to convey their message directly in a meeting that is likely to be a balancing act. “We want more cooperation, both transatlantic and within Europe,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “For us Germans, this…

Published on 24/06/2026 – 20:30 GMT+2 Ten years after the UK voted to exit the European Union, the debate over Brexit’s legacy is far from over. MEPs Barry Andrews (Renew Europe) and Sander Smit (European Conservatives & Reformists) go head-to-head on whether Brexit has strengthened or weakened Europe—and whether Britain could or should one day return to the bloc. For Irish MEP Barry Andrews, the answer is clear. He argues that leaving the EU was a mistake and a “total disaster” for the UK, pointing to years of political instability and economic challenges since the referendum. He also contends that…

Une photo dans la tribune officielle du grand prix de F1 de Monaco avec sa richissime compagne en pleine affaire Lyhanna, une justification maladroite, et voilà les doutes et les interrogations qui refont surface au Rassemblement national sur la capacité de Jordan Bardella a être le meilleur candidat pour 2027. Le président du parti, fixé en même temps que Marine Le Pen, le 7 juillet, sur son avenir politique, brouille-t-il trop son image ? Met-il en péril le logiciel antisystème du RN ? Anthony Lattier en débat avec Sarah Paillou et Clea Caulcutt de POLITICO.  **Un message de Groupement Mousquetaires…