Author: staff
Packed prisons have been a recurring topic in Belgium for months. Two weeks ago, the director of Haren Prison in northern Brussels resigned due to frustrations over the conditions and staffing shortages. Belgium prison staff have also repeatedly staged strikes in recent months. A mid-May report by a prison oversight body found that Belgium’s prison population had risen sharply over the past three years, from around 11,000 prisoners at the beginning of 2023 to more than 13,000 at the beginning of this year. Belgian media linked the increase to a government decision requiring prison sentences of up to three years…
Published on 12/06/2026 – 16:22 GMT+2•Updated 16:30 The US is planning to withdraw access to deep strike capabilities for NATO allies as part of its wider plan to pull out of Europe’s security architecture. The Trump administration informed NATO allies last year it would cut military assets available to Europe even during times of war or invasion, but until now, the details of exactly how the Pentagon intends to scale back access to such assets were unclear. According to sources, everything linked to deep strike capabilities will be cut, Euronews has learned. Specifically, this includes US long-range bombers such as…
Published on 12/06/2026 – 20:53 GMT+2 A ship carrying nearly 100 tonnes of food and essential goods arrived in Cuba from Colombia on Friday as part of the humanitarian aid that several countries have sent to the island as a US energy embargo persists. The ship, which departed Cartagena in early June, crossed the Havana Bay channel early in the morning flying the Colombian flag and escorted by a small Cuban auxiliary vessel. The Colombian Presidential Agency for International Cooperation said that, on orders of President Gustavo Petro, the shipment included non-perishable food, medicine, hospital supplies, electrical materials, solar panels…
“We will not agree to either an unaffordable or an unreformed multi-annual financial framework,” the official also said, speaking on condition of anonymity to frankly discuss divisions within the EU. Merz’s government has long advocated substantial cuts to the EU budget across all policy areas, though it has stopped short of specifying concrete targets. Berlin has called for a clear prioritization of spending on defense and competitiveness, while seeking savings in areas such as agriculture and cohesion funding. Merz reinforced that position in a speech to lawmakers in Berlin on Thursday, arguing that the EU would struggle to justify higher…
Pope Leo XIV left the Canary Islands for Rome on Friday in a Falcon plane offered by Spanish King Felipe VI after his original aircraft suffered a technical glitch, according to reporters at the scene. The flight took off just after 6:00 pm and is expected to arrive in Rome at around 11:00 pm. The pope wrapped up a week-long visit to Spain on Friday. The pontiff’s departure from Tenerife was delayed earlier on Friday by a technical problem with the plane which led him to disembark, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. Spain’s King Felipe VI, who…
Published on 12/06/2026 – 20:12 GMT+2 A US federal judge rejected a bid by the board of the Kennedy Center and the Justice Department on Friday to halt the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the performing arts venue. US District Judge Christopher Cooper, in a ruling last month, ordered Trump’s name taken off the iconic building in the nation’s capital by Friday. The board of trustees, which consists of Trump allies, and the Justice Department filed an appeal on Thursday asking Cooper to stay his ruling. The judge turned down the request, saying the public interest “is rarely…
During the call, Zhang “called for prioritizing development, improving global governance and promoting inclusive growth of the world economy,” according to a Chinese readout of the video conference that made no explicit mention of tackling macroeconomic imbalances that Western governments blame for declining industrial output and employment. A non-government official briefed on preparations for the G7 summit saw the French presidency’s outreach as an “olive branch” to China, but acknowledged that the G7 was not the best format to put pressure on China to change its trade policy. In delegating Zhang to join the call, Beijing also played the protocol…
Published on 12/06/2026 – 19:15 GMT+2•Updated 19:29 The 27 countries of the European Union have reached an agreement to open the first cluster of accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, building on the momentum created after Hungary lifted its two-year veto last week. The breakthrough was achieved on Friday evening by ambassadors in Brussels, who endorsed a common position to go ahead with the next phase of negotiations. The position comes with a rule-of-law roadmap and an action plan on minority rights, the main bone of contention between Budapest and Kyiv. The action plan was amended to reflect the outcome…
Iran’s foreign minister insisted on Friday that a deal with the United States to end the war in the Middle East had never been closer, after US President Donald Trump furiously accused Tehran of negotiating in bad faith. The angry reaction came after Iranian media published a breakdown of what was purportedly on the table, stressing that Iran would insist on its right to enrich uranium and to control shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. That clashed, however, with the characterisation offered by a senior White House official, who said that Iran had agreed to dismantle its nuclear programme, destroy…
Brown — a former U.K. prime minister and chancellor who was hired by Keir Starmer last month to assist on global finance initiatives — has spoken to Carney and provided “a number of questions, which were entirely appropriate,” the diplomat added. Blair, who is also a former defense minister in the Canadian government, said: “We’ve been working hard to make sure that we provide both Mr. Brown and the people at Treasury with answers to the questions that they have, and it’s just part of an ongoing dialog and negotiation between us.” Two defense insiders told POLITICO Brown has also…