Author: staff
Published on 16/05/2026 – 11:28 GMT+2 The meeting of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers concluded on Friday in Chisinau, Moldova. Top of European leaders’ agenda were unwavering support for Ukraine, the strengthening of democratic security, the fight against information manipulation and foreign interference, as well as the management of migration flows. Among the most important decisions, taken on Italy’s initiative, the standout measure is the adoption of a new interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights, which could facilitate the expulsion of some migrants, including to “repatriation centres” in third countries. What the Council of Europe declaration…
Published on 16/05/2026 – 10:26 GMT+2 US President Donald Trump’s warning to Taiwan against formally declaring independence from China has prompted a response from the island’s foreign ministry, which reasserted that it’s a “sovereign democratic country.” During a state visit to Beijing this week, Trump said that while his policy towards Taiwan had not changed, he was against the idea of it declaring independence from China and seemingly questioned why the US would send military support in the event of an invasion. “I’m not looking to have somebody go independent and, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to…
Published on 16/05/2026 – 10:14 GMT+2 The Italian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement announcing that the Maldivian Coast Guard has begun dives to recover the bodies of the four missing Italian divers involved in Thursday’s incident. According to the Farnesina, Minister Antonio Tajani is in contact with Italy’s ambassador in Colombo, Damiano Francovigh (who is also responsible for the Maldives), and the honorary consul in Malé, Giorgia Marazzi. They are on board the Coast Guard support vessel “Ghazee” to follow the recovery operations. Eight Maldivian divers are currently taking turns in the water. The first two, ministry sources confirm,…
Published on 16/05/2026 – 8:45 GMT+2 US and Nigerian forces have successfully carried out an operation to eliminate an Islamic State leader, US President Donald Trump said. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, IS’s second in command globally, “thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.” “He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans,” he added. Trump, who described al-Minuki as “the most active terrorist in the world,” went on to thank the…
As music lovers gear up for the much-anticipated Eurovision 2026 final this Saturday night, several people use the opportunity to turn the event into a shared night out, rather than staying home to watch TV. In the UK, this has led to a surge in demand for communal watch-party venues, such as screening rooms, cinemas and live music venues. Enquiries for these locations jumped 73% on an annual basis in the run up to the final, according to Tagvenue, mainly led by London, Manchester and Birmingham. However, this phenomena is becoming more common across continental Europe as well, with several…
American and Nigerian forces killed a leader of the Islamic State group in Nigeria in a joint operation carried out Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said early Saturday. “Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” Trump said a social media post that offered few details. Al-Mainuki was viewed as the key figure in Islamic State organizing and finance, and had been plotting attacks against the United States and its interests, the Associated Press reported, citing an unnamed official. “He will…
The march, and a pro-Palestinian demonstration expected to take place at the same time, drew intensive police planning, with 4,000 officers, armored vehicles, helicopters, drones and for the first time facial recognition technology deployed to keep order in the capital. Nationally, Robinson is seen negatively by 47 percent of adults across all voter groups, compared to 17 percent who have a positive opinion of him. But the poll shows the extent to which Reform’s backers are sympathetic to the most extreme end of activism on the right. With Reform now consistently topping opinion polls — and winning elections across the country…
Sheinbaum’s predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, demanded an apology from Spain for human rights violations committed during that era. In 2024, the current president did not invite King Felipe to her inauguration, saying neither he nor the Spanish government had responded to the request. However, comments last October by the Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, acknowledging there had been “pain and injustice” in the two countries’ shared history, appeared to improve relations. The king went further in March, when he told the Mexican ambassador in Spain that there had been “a lot of abuse” during the conquest, which “cannot…
Good morning from Brussels. This is Maïa de la Baume and Angela Skujins, writing Friday’s newsletter from the Belgian capital, where EU officials have already slipped into long-weekend mode. Just in: Latvia’s former defence minister Andris Sprūds, who resigned on Sunday, told the Europe Today programme that he had “always said that it is difficult to deal with drones which have lost their trajectory.” Sprūds is at the center of a political firestorm that brought down Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Siliņa on Thursday, following a coalition collapse over a drone-related security dispute near the Russian border. Reminder : Last Thursday,…
Spain’s Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun has accused Eurovision organisers of using culture to “whitewash” the war in Gaza, sharply criticizing the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to participate in the contest. “The decision I would criticise, which I think is wrong, is the decision of the EBU board to allow Israel to participate,” Urtasun said in an interview with Euronews flagship programme Europe Today. “This is what is wrong from the beginning.” The minister rejected the idea that the music itself was causing division around this year’s contest, arguing instead that controversy stemmed from Israel’s inclusion amid the…