Author: staff
Published on 04/06/2026 – 15:28 GMT+2 The owner of an illegally operated care home in Sri Lanka was remanded in custody on Thursday, a day after a fire killed 12 residents and injured six others, officials said. Isuru Anushka, of the Maupiya Sewana home located south of the capital Colombo, was ordered to be held until 11 June as investigations opened into Wednesday’s fire, one of the deadliest on the island for decades. A magisterial inquiry into the incident was told by officials that the facility was not authorised to operate as a care home and had not met the…
Published on 04/06/2026 – 16:14 GMT+2 Global steelmaking capacity continues to expand despite weak demand, threatening to push prices lower and distort competition. Steel is a critical material for a wide range of industries, from construction and manufacturing to electric vehicles and data centres. The OECD says government subsidies are a major driver of global overcapacity, with much of the increase in steelmaking capacity over the past two decades taking place outside OECD countries, often with state support. In 2024, the median Chinese steel firm received subsidies equivalent to 15 times those received by producers elsewhere, relative to total assets,…
For the first time since Europe’s air transport recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, passenger traffic has fallen year-on-year. The number of flyers across the European airport network dropped by -0.7% in April 2026 compared to the same month last year, according to European airport trade body ACI EUROPE. The group says that while marginal, the decline “marks a significant milestone”. Why are fewer people flying in Europe? ACI EUROPE says April’s performance reflects a combination of factors, including the conflict in the Middle East, the partial shift of the Easter holidays into March this year, and industrial action heavily affecting…
Police blocked streets near where Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s government residence and the parliament of the French Community are located. Around 2 p.m., as lawmakers voted on the reform in the French Community parliament, protesters attempted to enter the building by forcing open doors while police prevented them from reaching the chamber, according to local media. Other protestors gathered in front of the police barriers on Wetstraat, a few meters away from De Wever’s residence, before moving north along a major road, lighting flares and disrupting traffic. Georges-Louis Bouchez, chairman of the centre-right Reformist Movement party, accused teachers…
A coalition of nine EU member states, plus Iceland and Norway, is stepping up pressure to tighten visa conditions for Russian tourists as the summer holiday season approaches. The initiative was led by Sweden, with the support of Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland. All 11 countries signed a joint letter earlier this week addressed to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner. “What I want to accomplish is very clear. I want there to be no more shopping weekends. I want no more fancy trips to Europe while Ukrainians are…
A United Nations peacekeeper died on Thursday from wounds sustained the night before when shelling hit his base near Marjayoun in southeastern Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Thursday. Two other peacekeepers were injured and are receiving treatement at a medical facility in the UNIFIL base. “The Serbian authorities have confirmed that the peacekeeper was a Serbian national who had received emergency medical care after his base came under attack. He was then helicoptered to a Beirut hospital where he died,” the UN peacekeeping mission said in a statement. “Deliberate attacks on peacekeepers are grave…
How can you be mad at Martin Scorsese? The 83-year-old filmmaker behind classics like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Departed and Killers of the Flower Moon, is cinematic royalty. Beyond his filmmography, Scorsese is an insightfulchampion of cinema and a proponent of communicating through art. Plus, his voice cameo in this year’s The Mandalorian And Grogu was one of the best things about the new Star Wars film, and he’s even game to be on Charli XCX’s new album cover. However, in what feels to many as one of those “This is why we can’t have nice things” moments,…
Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Colombia top the list of the world’s most neglected displacement crises, a prominent Norwegian aid group said on Thursday, noting that nationalism and rearmament campaigns grabbed attention in wealthy countries. Sudan, which since 2023 has been ravaged by a bloody conflict between two rival generals competing for power, has more than 9 million internally displaced people, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said in a statement. A further four million Sudanese have fled to neighbouring countries and nearly 19.5 million people there are also suffering from hunger, the NRC said in its…
Updated: 04/06/2026 – 15:52 GMT+2 Video shows security personnel arguing with demonstrators before pushing one protester to the ground and dragging him away. The incident took place during a rally organised by environmental groups opposing a luxury resort project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. … More
Published on 04/06/2026 – 15:25 GMT+2 Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee visited Kazakhstan with the largest delegation he has led on any foreign trip — 75 officials and entrepreneurs representing logistics, green energy, mining, technology and education — as China’s trade with Central Asia grew 12% year on year. Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who met with Lee, expressed confidence that the visit would open new opportunities to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, expand business contacts, and launch promising joint projects, including in the areas of investment, finance, digitalisation and AI, and transport and logistics. “This event will undoubtedly give further…