Author: staff
“Assistance with finding suitable accommodation can be provided, and personalized invitations to the St. Petersburg Economic Forum will follow in due course,” reads the letter, which was sent to a broad list of EU lawmakers. Kartheiser’s outreach is controversial due to restrictions on cooperation between the European Parliament and its Russian counterpart. The European Parliament officially suspended official dialogue with Russian parliamentary bodies in 2014, while Russian and Belarusian officials have been barred from accessing the European Parliament since shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. There have been 20 rounds of EU sanctions against Russia. None of…
Published on 05/05/2026 – 6:44 GMT+2 An explosion at a fireworks plant in a central Chinese province killed at least 21 people and injured 61 others, state-run media reported on Tuesday. China’s official news agency Xinhua said the blast occurred at a fireworks plant in Changsha city of Hunan province on Monday afternoon. The plant was operated by the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co. Aerial footage from state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday showed white smoke still billowing in certain areas of the site, with facilities collapsed or damaged. Nearly 500 rescue workers were deployed to the scene and residents…
Actors, musicians, athletes and fashion figures walked the red carpet at the 2026 Met Gala in New York on Monday evening. Among those attending were Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Lily-Rose Depp and Serena Williams, as guests showcased outfits inspired by this year’s theme, “Fashion is Art.” The annual event, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art, serves as a major fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute and regularly attracts some of the biggest names in entertainment, fashion and sports.
Residents of Saydnaya, a hilltop city north of Damascus known as one of Christianity’s most important pilgrimage sites, are demanding that media outlets and official bodies stop calling the notorious military prison on the road to their city “Saydnaya Prison” — a name they say is geographically wrong and has tainted a place of ancient sanctity. The facility in question is actually called the First Military Prison, a Syrian Ministry of Defence compound located 30 kilometres north of Damascus, on the road leading to Saydnaya, but outside the city’s administrative boundaries. Built under Hafez al-Assad and expanded under his son…
But in response to fierce opposition from industry, member countries and the U.S. government, the Commission is now floating a more relaxed approach to enforcement of the rules. Under the draft recommendations, companies would be allowed exemptions under three crisis conditions outlined in the EU’s security of supply regulation — including the “early warning” level, which can be triggered before any real disruption occurs. The recommendations emphasize that authorities can suspend or reduce fines on a case-by-case basis, citing a wide range of mitigating factors, including the availability of cargoes, ship terminal capacity, the ability of countries to meet EU…
Published on 05/05/2026 – 15:49 GMT+2•Updated 18:16 US President Donald Trump urged Iran to “do the smart thing” and make a deal on Tuesday, saying even as the ceasefire teeters that he did not want to kill more Iranians. “They should do the smart thing, because we don’t want to go in and kill people. Really don’t,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about Iran. “I don’t want to, it’s too tough.” Trump’s comments were in contrast to his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth who warned earlier on Tuesday that any attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait…
Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever has pushed back forcefully against criticism from U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White, who accused the country of being antisemitic. White had reacted strongly to an Antwerp prosecutor’s recommendation that two Jewish men be prosecuted following an investigation into alleged illegal circumcisions. Several Belgian politicians have reproached White for getting involved in Belgian domestic affairs. “Belgium is not an antisemitic state, this is nonsense,” De Wever told VRT News on Wednesday. “A diplomat must decide how he fulfills his task, but I think this does not contribute much.” On Wednesday morning, White slammed the Antwerp prosecutor’s…
Published on 06/05/2026 – 6:41 GMT+2 White House officials are urging China to use its influence with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, just days before US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in a highly-anticipated summit in Beijing. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Chinese officials to use Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to China to urge Tehran to release its chokehold on the critical waterway. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Araghchi on Wednesday, the official Chinese Xinhua news agency reported. “I hope the Chinese tell him…
By euronews Published on 06/05/2026 – 23:01 GMT+2•Updated 23:04 Paris Saint-Germain reached the Champions League final despite conceding late in a 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich in the second leg of their semifinal on Wednesday. Ousmane Dembélé gave PSG an early lead in the third minute, finishing into the top left corner after a quick exchange between Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Fabián Ruiz in midfield. Bayern equalised in stoppage time through a 90+4 minute goal, but the German side were unable to overturn the aggregate score as PSG advanced 6-5 overall following last week’s 5-4 first-leg victory in Paris. Bayern had earlier…
Polish President Karol Nawrocki said Wednesday that Poland is ready to host American troops withdrawn from Germany and that he would personally lobby Donald Trump to send them east. The offer comes as the Pentagon prepares to pull around 5,000 troops from Germany over the next year, with Trump suggesting the cuts could go even further. “If President Donald Trump decides to reduce the American military presence in Germany, then we in Poland are ready to receive American soldiers,” Nawrocki said during NATO exercises in Lithuania. He added that Poland already has “the infrastructure ready” for such a move. Nawrocki’s…