Author: staff
In France, where deaths outpaced births in 2025 for the first time since the end of World War II, President Emmanuel Macron has called for “demographic rearmament,” warning that falling birth rates are tied to rising infertility and people having children later in life. In February Paris urged 29-year-olds to have children while they still can, while announcing plans to expand fertility services and increase support for families. The demographic shift will mean fewer workers and more retirees across Europe, putting extra pressure on pension systems and healthcare services as the population ages. Migration has helped to offset the population…
Pope Leo XIV criticised the “tyrants” ransacking the world on Thursday, on a high-security visit to a “bloodstained” region of Cameroon following a war of words with US President Donald Trump. Since his landmark four-nation African tour started earlier this week, the pope has abandoned his previous restraint in speaking out in favour of world peace, particularly after Trump lashed out against his criticism of the Iran war. “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Leo said in…
Published on 16/04/2026 – 17:55 GMT+2•Updated 18:40 Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travelled to Doha on Thursday for talks with Qatar’s leadership as momentum builds for a possible new round of negotiations between the US and Iran to end the ongoing war. The meeting comes as the fragile ceasefire continues to hold and diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran show signs of picking up again. US President Donald Trump suggested that talks could take place within days, potentially in Pakistan, while UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it is “highly probable” that discussions will restart. Sharif’s visit to Qatar follows a…
Members of the Trump administration have portrayed the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran as a religious crusade. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month claimed troops participating in the operation were being protected by “the providence of our almighty God.” On Thursday he erroneously cited a Bible verse while describing the rescue of a downed pilot, compared reporters to the self-righteous Pharisees of the Bible, and said U.S. troops were fighting “in the name of Jesus Christ.” The religious references have irked the pope, who has been one of the war’s most vocal opponents. “God does not bless any…
Published on 16/04/2026 – 18:22 GMT+2 Chancellor Friedrich Merz plans to present a concrete offer for German participation in a possible military mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz at talks in Paris on Friday. According to the proposal, the Bundeswehr is to provide minehunting boats, an escort ship and reconnaissance aircraft after the end of hostilities, on the condition that certain conditions are met. The mission would specifically include mine clearance and maritime reconnaissance, as well as long-range surveillance of the sea area, according to sources at the German Press Agency (dpa). The Bundeswehr currently has eight minehunting boats…
Updated: 16/04/2026 – 18:01 GMT+2 Aerial footage captures the scale of “Estancia La Guitarra,” a vast tree formation in southern Córdoba province, Argentina. Created by Pedro Martin Ureta in memory of his wife, the project began in 1979 using more than 7,000 cypress and eucalyptus trees. … More
Plans are in the pipeline for a short- and long-term stay complex in Saudi Arabia overlooking a motor racing track where Formula 1 tyres will soon burn rubber. Beyond just a single hotel, the plans spearheaded by the Kingdom’s Qiddiya City project, will include a five-star Sports Car Hotel with 89 keys, a four-star F1 Overlook Hotel with 168 keys, and 65 serviced apartments designed for longer stays. According to Fact Magazine Saudi Arabia, the multi-property destination will be located in Qiddiya’s Core Resort District, within East Village South. It’s also reported that the residential complex is tentatively expected to…
The architect of the EMFA, former Commission Vice President Věra Jourová, told Czech outlet Irozhlas.cz that the whole point of the EU legislation was to strengthen the independence of public service media. “I know what we wanted because I drafted it … the Czech law, as it has been proposed, gives me the impression that it rather seeks to dismantle a functioning system and eliminate them,” Jourová said. The draft law is a key promise of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s right-wing government and would end license fees from 2027 and reduce funding for Czech Television and Czech Radio by about…
The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has criticised Iran for disrupting trade in the vital shipping lane and for carrying out “barbaric attacks” on the group’s members. “Iran started this and should be the one responsible for taking all the effect that comes back from its policies,” AlBudaiwi, who has led the GCC since January 2023, said on Euronews’ interview programme 12 Minutes With. “Nobody has done this. The region has seen many wars before, many conflicts. The Strait of Hormuz was never used. They should be the ones responsible for taking the blame.” Iran took steps to…
Published on 16/04/2026 – 16:44 GMT+2 Space capacities have grown significantly in the last several years, with NASA’s Artemis II mission taking astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen to the Moon in the first lunar mission in more than 50 years. Now, the US space agency is eyeing an even more ambitious goal: to put nuclear reactors on the Moon by 2030 through its Fission Surface Power Project, with plans to launch a medium-power reactor into orbit by 2028. For this tall order, NASA will have to join forces with the US Department of Energy and…