Author: staff
By Roselyne Min with AP Published on 15/05/2026 – 14:21 GMT+2 NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will fly close to Mars on Friday in a crucial manoeuvre that could bring scientists closer to understanding the birth of Earth. The flyby will use Mars’s gravity to send the spacecraft towards Psyche, a rare metal-rich asteroid that may reveal clues about how rocky planets formed. It will race past Mars at around 19,848kph, passing close within 4,500 kilometres of the planet’s surface. NASA will use the close approach to harness Mars’s gravity and place the spacecraft on the correct path towards the asteroid belt between Mars and…
“There remains growing concern about a potential gap between public statements and deliverable policy, particularly in relation to claims that developments might be ‘stopped,’ ‘delayed,’ or ‘quashed,’” campaigners told Tice in the letter. Reform constituencies are a key battleground for large-scale solar development. Jenrick is the MP for Newark, where two massive solar farms — One Earth and Great North Road — are proposed. Both await a decision from Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. For now, the party is “using every lever available” to block developments, including legal challenges, Tice said. This includes Reform-run local authorities Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District Council, which…
Published on 15/05/2026 – 14:02 GMT+2•Updated 14:04 Ukraine and Russia exchanged 205 prisoners of war each on Friday, Kyiv and Moscow said, a week after US President Donald Trump announced a large swap would take place between the two countries. In a post on Telegram, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that most of the Ukrainians handed over had been in Russian captivity since 2022, the year Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “This is the first phase of the 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange,” he said. Zelenskyy also posted pictures of the released Ukrainians, showing them wrapped in national blue-and-yellow flags…
The document states that it has been drafted with a view to “avoiding unnecessary constraints on decisions to extradite, or to expel foreign nationals.” The declaration does not change the wording of the actual Convention rights but seeks to influence their application through domestic courts and their interpretation by national governments. “Parties have the undeniable sovereign right to decide on and control foreign nationals’ entry into and residence in their territory,” the declaration says. “They have the right to establish their own immigration policies, potentially in the context of bilateral or regional co-operation, and pursue immigration control as a public…
The Commission’s €1.8 trillion budget proposal does not say “we are cutting NGOs.” But, if cuts happen, they will come through structural design, fewer dedicated funding lines, weaker earmarks, and more money routed through national governments. Civil society coalitions warn it could be slow defunding dressed up as simplification. No clear defenders The MFF reorganises the EU budget from 52 programmes to 16, folding cohesion, social, and agricultural spending into 27 national partnership plans. The protected headings are defence, competitiveness, and digital and green transitions. Civil society is not one of them. “We are in a moment of changing priorities…
By Javad Hashemi with AFP Published on 15/05/2026 – 12:12 GMT+2 Iraqi lawmakers approved a new government on Thursday led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who vowed to ensure a state monopoly on weapons amid growing US pressure to dismantle Tehran-backed groups. The parliament in Baghdad voted in favour of al-Zaidi’s government and programme just a few weeks after he was designated Iraq’s youngest prime minister at 40, following months of political deadlock. Al-Zaidi’s programme includes “reforming the security apparatus by restricting weapons to state control and strengthening the capabilities of the security forces”, state news agency INA quoted the parliament media office…
By Christina Molle with AP Published on 15/05/2026 – 11:41 GMT+2 LVMH has found a buyer for the Marc Jacobs brand, which is passing to US group WHP Global — a brand management company whose portfolio includes Vera Wang, G-Star and Toys ‘R’ Us. After nearly 30 years with LVMH, Marc Jacobs has been acquired by WHP Global, the group headed by Bernard Arnault announced in a press release on Thursday. The financial terms were not disclosed, though the transaction is believed to be worth between $850m (€726m) and $1bn (€854m), according to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal. The deal is…
By Tokunbo Salako with  Published on 15/05/2026 – 12:14 GMT+2 Football’s world governing body, FIFA, has announced details of its historic half-time show at the World Cup final in New Jersey this July. The climax of the highly anticipated sporting contest at the MetLife Stadium will feature a star-studded performance headed, no pun intended, by Madonna, Shakira and boy band BTS. Curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, it’ll be first time FIFA has staged a show during its flagship event. Keen to match the global reach and lucrative advertising pull of the American Football’s Superbowl, FIFA is taking a big page out of…
“They defended Ukraine in Mariupol and at Azovstal, in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kyiv sectors, and at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant,” Zelenskyy added. Trump announced earlier this month he had brokered a three-day ceasefire, which included the prisoner exchange deal between Kyiv and Moscow. But Russia’s Ministry of Defense made no mention of a U.S. role when it confirmed 205 Russian soldiers had returned home Friday, crediting the United Arab Emirates with having provided “humanitarian mediation efforts.” President Zelenskyy thanked “everyone working to bring our people home.” This is the second time the U.S. brokered…
Published on 15/05/2026 – 12:01 GMT+2 Denmark’s Queen Margrethe has undergone an angioplasty procedure after being admitted to hospital this week for chest pain, the palace said in a statement on Friday. The court said the queen had “a balloon dilation of a coronary artery” at Copenhagen’s main hospital Rigshospitalet, where she was admitted on Thursday. The queen, who has been a chain smoker for much of her life, was in “good condition” but would remain in hospital for “a few more days,” the palace said. Margrethe, who abdicated in 2024 and turned 86 on 16 April, attended Sweden’s King…