Author: staff
While arguing Orbán was a model of leadership for Europe more widely, Vance said: “Viktor Orbán has been the single sound leader in Europe on the question of energy security and independence. It is funny to watch prime ministers and leaders in some of the Western European capitals talk about the energy crisis, when, frankly, they should have been following the policies of Viktor Orbán in Hungary, and if they had, the energy crisis that they were experiencing would be a lot less bad.” Those remarks refer to Orbán’s insistence that Hungary should be allowed to continue to import discounted…
Published on 07/04/2026 – 15:41 GMT+2 US Vice-President JD Vance accused the European Union of interfering in Hungary’s election campaign and imposing censorship, as he visited Budapest days ahead of a pivotal vote on Sunday which could see a dramatic change in government. Vance’s trip comes five days before Sunday’s election, in which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces his most serious challenge in 16 years in power. The opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, is currently ahead of Orbán’s Fidesz in opinion polls. Speaking at a joint press conference, Vance praised Orbán’s leadership, saying it “can provide a model…
By Una Hajdari with AFP Published on 07/04/2026 – 15:45 GMT+2 Italian energy giant ENI and Egypt have announced a significant natural gas discovery in the Eastern Mediterranean, offering Cairo and the wider European continent a potential lifeline as the Iran war sends energy import costs soaring. Preliminary estimates point to around 2 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Temsah field off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, ENI said in a statement on Tuesday. The discovery also includes 130 million barrels of petroleum condensates, according to Egypt’s petroleum ministry, which it said forms part of a broader push to boost domestic production and cut…
A quick scroll through your explore page on Instagram will make you feel as though everyone is travelling to the ‘stans – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – right now. The data backs it up, too, with UN Tourism’s latest travel barometer naming Uzbekistan as being among the fastest-growing travel destinations around the globe, with visitor numbers up 14% year-on-year in 2025. A key part of the Silk Road, tourists heading to the Central Asian country prioritise visiting key ancient cities like Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva – and now the latter is getting a high-speed rail connection from the…
The pressure was too strong… Following the UK’s Wireless Festival being criticised over the booking of Kanye ‘Ye’ West, and growing backlash over the controversial rapper’s planned headline set this summer, the UK government has blocked the controversial rapper’s permission to travel to Blighty. The Home Office confirmed the ban to the BBC; the government has discretion to ban foreign nationals from the UK if their presence is not considered “conducive to the public good”. Responding to the news, the Wireless Festival issued the following statement: “The Home Office has withdrawn YE’s ETA, denying him entry into the United Kingdom.…
Istanbul Governor Davut Gül described the incident as “a move that smells of provocation,” noting that the Israeli mission has had no active diplomatic presence in the city following the war in Gaza. “There has been no activity at the consulate for 2.5 years,” he said, adding that investigators are examining possible connections and motives. The attack unfolded in the Beşiktaş district outside the Yapı Kredi Plaza complex, where security forces were stationed on duty near the consulate at the time. Two police officers also reported minor injuries, according to the interior ministry. Turkey’s Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek said…
Trump on Monday threatened a situation “where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12:00 tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again.”But Pentagon officials have debated whether that justification is valid, according to a third official who, like others interviewed, was granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The tension revolves around where to draw the line between military and civilian targets, such as water desalination plants, which could be considered targets because military forces also need water to drink.Trump has threatened to launch strikes on…
For Orbán — who has ruled Hungary for 16 years and built a system he calls “illiberal democracy” — the visit is a chance to project international support at a critical moment in the campaign. POLITICO’s Poll of Polls shows Fidesz trailing Magyar’s opposition Tisza party. Vance is not the first senior U.S. figure to deploy to Budapest ahead of the election. His trip follows a February visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who declared a “golden age” in U.S.-Hungarian relations. The campaign trail has seen controversy and accusations of foreign interference that extend beyond the U.S. Hungary’s Foreign…
Published on 07/04/2026 – 12:13 GMT+2 OpenAI is urging governments to rethink the foundations of the economy, including how people work, earn, and pay taxes, as the shift to artificial intelligence (AI) continues. The company outlined “initial ideas” in a policy document on Monday to mitigate the disruption that artificial intelligence is bringing to the United States and the global economy. One of the major policy suggestions is to create a public wealth fund that provides all citizens with a stake in AI-driven economic growth. It could invest in diversified, long-term assets that capture growth in both AI companies and…
Streeting said West has “no business” headlining the festival, and that the organizers “should be ashamed of themselves” for a terrible error of judgment. “These weren’t a couple of off-color remarks,” Streeting told Sky News. “These were, I think, a pattern of behavior.” He added: “Antisemitism is serious, it can be deadly and people like Kanye West, who have an enormous platform, fame, reach, they have to accept the responsibility that comes with that. And I don’t think he has. I’m only too disappointed the festival organizers are too blind to see it.” Festival Managing Director Melvin Benn called West’s…