Author: staff

Brussels is eyeing the move now that Viktor Orbán is out of office, as Hungary’s former prime minister had consistently blocked any such extension, and used the process to his own gain. Several diplomats from Northern European countries raised the prospect of an extension in last week’s meeting, three of the diplomats said. EU capitals will continue discussions this week and next, ahead of the next General Affairs Council on May 26.  Sanctions require unanimous support from the EU bloc, meaning that a single veto would undo the existing 20 packages of measures designed to cripple the Russian war economy and…

Published on 19/05/2026 – 11:55 GMT+2•Updated 11:56 Malaysia is seeking more than $251 million (€216 million) in compensation from a Norwegian company over a scrapped deal to supply a missile system for new warships, the defence minister said on Tuesday. Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the government had sent a notice to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace demanding compensation for both “direct and indirect costs” over Norway’s decision to revoke export approvals for the missile system, sparking a diplomatic row. Oslo’s foreign ministry has confirmed “that certain licences related to the export of specific defence technology to Malaysia have been revoked.” This…

Iran staged a mass wedding ceremony in Tehran that used military vehicles as bridal cars, with brides and grooms driven through streets decorated with balloons and flowers as crowds cheered. The event brought together more than 100 couples at Imam Hussein Square, part of a larger government-backed ceremony involving around 1,000 couples across the city. Alongside the celebrations, the convoy carried political symbolism, with portraits of Iran’s leaders displayed on the vehicles and a lilac missile visible near the stage. The mix of wedding ritual, patriotic imagery and public ceremony gave the event both a social and political dimension.

Published on 19/05/2026 – 12:07 GMT+2 Denmark’s former monarch, 86-year-old Queen Margrethe, has been released from hospital after undergoing an angioplasty procedure last week, the palace said on Tuesday. “Her Majesty Queen Margrethe was discharged from Rigshospitalet today and is returning to Fredensborg Palace,” it said in a new statement on Tuesday. “In the coming period, Her Majesty will need rest,” it said, adding that a planned theatre engagement on May 23 had been cancelled. The queen underwent “a balloon dilation of a coronary artery” at Copenhagen’s main Rigshospitalet hospital, the palace said in a statement on 15 May. The…

A fast-growing brush fire in Southern California has prompted evacuation orders and damaged at least one home. The blaze was reported shortly after 10am on Monday and had spread to more than 180 acres before midday. Fire crews were deployed quickly as winds pushed the flames through dry hillsides. Firefighters focused on preventing the blaze from moving downhill towards suburban Thousand Oaks, where some residents were also told to leave as a precaution. The fire remains active in an area of Southern California known for dry vegetation and shifting winds, conditions that can turn small ignitions into fast-moving emergencies.

The emerging AI industry has created a labour market unlike anything Silicon Valley has seen since the dot-com boom, except this time, there are perhaps only a few hundred people currently capable of building frontier AI systems at scale. OpenAI, Meta, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, xAI, Safe Superintelligence and a new and growing number of AI start-ups are all competing to attract an incredibly small pool of highly skilled talent. As a result, in the last two years, reports have emerged of nine-figure compensation discussions, massive equity grants and recruiting campaigns personally led by CEOs such as Mark Zuckerberg and Sam…

Deutschland und Frankreich wollen Europas Pharmaindustrie stärken – POLITICO Skip to main content

Published on 19/05/2026 – 11:47 GMT+2 Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said Tuesday he hopes to sign a political agreement with the European Commission “next week” on the release of EU funds that had been frozen during the previous government. “Both sides will do everything they can to ensure that next week, when I travel to Brussels, we can sign the political agreement between the Hungarian government and the European Commission, which will allow us to conclude all issues by August 31, despite the hard work and work throughout the summer,” Magyar told reporters at a press conference on Monday…

Dozens of frustrated shoppers gathered outside a Swatch store in Lyon on Monday after the shop remained closed during a rush for a highly sought-after watch created in partnership with Audemars Piguet. Images showed crowds waiting outside the store, posters announcing the closure and security guards speaking with disappointed customers. Some buyers said they had travelled for hours or camped outside for days hoping to purchase the watch, which has reportedly been resold online for several thousand euros. Security staff said previous disturbances and fights outside the shop contributed to the decision to keep the store closed, while also citing…

Students at Venezuela’s Central University clashed with police during protests in Caracas following the death of Carmen Teresa Navas, whose son died in state custody. Navas had spent months searching prisons and government offices for answers after authorities remained silent for more than a year about his fate. Her death has fuelled anger over political detention and how the case was handled. Demonstrators at the university said the protest was about more than one family. They accused the state of withholding information, blocking justice and forcing relatives into a long search for truth. The incident highlights growing tensions around political…