Author: staff
Published on 14/10/2026 – 21:47 GMT+2 The Trump-Putin deal on the purchase of Russian diesel “is a very risky choice” and “a legitimisation for Moscow while its bombs are still falling on Ukrainian cities”, Giorgia Meloni said in Rome on Wednesday, swiftly winning Kyiv’s approval and provoking a prickly response from Russia. The Italian prime minister, speaking in Parliament before heading to Brussels for Thursday and Friday’s European Council, warned of an “implicit weakening of the sanctions lever”, which she said runs counter to what has so far been done, including by the United States, “to push Putin to sit…
Rescue workers combed through the wreckage of damaged buildings in Kyiv on Wednesday after a wave of Russian missiles and drones struck the Ukrainian capital overnight, leaving at least three people dead and 22 injured. In the Desnianskyi district, an attack on a nine-storey residential block killed two people and injured 21, including a child. Emergency crews rescued 16 residents, while firefighters tackled a blaze spanning 400 square metres. Sixteen of those injured were hospitalised, four in a serious condition. Another person was killed and one injured in the Holosiivskyi district, where a non-residential building was hit. Psychologists from the…
Babiš has been under renewed scrutiny over Agrofert — a large agro-chemical conglomerate and a major recipient of EU funds — as well as other companies since his return to power last year. Babiš placed the company in a trust fund in a bid to avoid a conflict of interest, but the arrangement has raised questions from both the Commission and the Czech opposition, partly because his children would benefit from it after his death. Babiš has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. “I don’t own Agrofert, I never will again and I don’t benefit from it in any way. I don’t…
Queues of motorcycles and cars spilled onto roads across the Indonesian resort island. One Denpasar resident said she had waited about seven hours in the heat to buy petrol. Officials blamed distribution delays rather than depleted island-wide stocks. Indonesia’s state-owned energy company Pertamina said a tanker’s anchor problem had delayed unloading, while road congestion slowed deliveries to stations. Panic buying added to the pressure, particularly for cheaper, subsidised Pertalite petrol. Bali Governor Wayan Koster urged residents not to panic, saying fuel remained available at storage depots. Pertamina said on Wednesday that an additional 57.9 million litres of petrol were scheduled…
Thursday’s talks span demands for cheaper energy, stronger protection for European industry and a widening divide over the bloc’s spending priorities. Listen AI generated Text-to-speech
By Laure Valentin Published on 14/10/2026 – 22:56 GMT+2 Day after day, secondary school students continue to mobilise across France. Most of the actions take the form of peaceful blockades, yet they do not erase the memory of several violent incidents. The security forces, for their part, are preparing for another day of protests on Saturday 17 October. The government, meanwhile, is issuing a warning. “The President of the Republic stressed that young people are expressing legitimate anxieties, but that these anxieties are being exploited politically and turned into urban violence, with scenes that are unacceptable”, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said.…
Video recorded by local resident Jennifer Vidal shows hail-covered roads and flooded streets, while separate footage captures water spreading across the roadway as people shelter in a nearby building entrance. Flooding hit several districts, including Providencia, Las Condes and Estación Central. Water entered residential buildings, municipal offices and the underground car park of the Alto Las Condes shopping centre. The storm also disrupted Santiago’s Metro, forcing the closure of Pedro de Valdivia station and restricting access at Salvador, while Line 2 operated in separate sections. Firefighters carried out rescues at a flooded underpass in Peñalolén, as authorities warned of further…
Sealing agreement on the EU’s long-term central budget, worth approximately €2 trillion, is the biggest challenge over the next few months facing leaders, all of whom must sign up to the final numbers. While it isn’t just up to Macron and Merz, getting the chiefs of the bloc’s two most powerful countries to overcome their differences would be a massive step in making all the pieces of the jigsaw slot into place. But with Macron soon to leave office and Merz under severe pressure domestically, officials and diplomats in Brussels, Paris, and Berlin are playing down hopes of a Franco-German…
Published on 14/10/2026 – 22:27 GMT+2 French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is preparing to challenge the EU’s powers if she is elected president next May. The National Rally leader said the European Commission should stop acting in policy areas she considers outside its remit, including health, security and international diplomacy. “[The Commission] is like the frog in the fable that puffs itself up to be as big as the ox,” she said, referring to La Fontaine’s fable, at a press conference in Brussels on Monday. It was following a meeting with leaders of Patriots for Europe, the far-right group…
Published on 14/10/2026 – 10:40 GMT+2 US President Donald Trump posted disturbing footage on his Truth Social account on Tuesday showing a man being fatally mauled by a tiger in Britain, sparking backlash on social media. Trump captioned the video “Don’t ever mess with nature!” He later posted another clip featuring apparently AI-generated footage of people being attacked by big cats, accompanied by synthesiser music. The original 41-second clip, showing the UK man being attacked at a wildlife park on Saturday, was also shared by the White House’s “Rapid Response 47” account on X. Later on Tuesday, Trump posted an…