Author: staff

Oil transit to Slovakia and Hungary has been disrupted since late January after a Russian strike hit the Druzhba pipeline, a key route carrying Russian crude to Central Europe. Ukraine’s pipeline operator said this week that the Jan. 27 attack damaged critical infrastructure and that repair works are ongoing. In a letter to the European Commission, Ukraine’s embassy to the EU proposed using the Odesa–Brody pipeline or maritime routes as temporary alternatives to supply Hungary and Slovakia while repairs are completed. Fico accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of treating Slovakia as a “hostile country,” saying Kyiv first halted gas flows,…

Updated: 21/02/2026 – 12:00 GMT+1 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this February 21st, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More

Dozens of visitors queued outside Ichikawa City Zoo near Tokyo to catch a glimpse of Punch, a six-month-old Japanese macaque who gained attention online after being abandoned by his mother. Footage of the baby monkey clinging to zookeepers and dragging a stuffed toy went viral on social media. Zoo officials said Punch is gradually adjusting to being with other monkeys, while fans continue to visit to see him in person. Some visitors said they had learned about Punch on Instagram and travelled to the zoo specifically to see him.

Jens Spahn, now leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and once Merkel’s health minister, struck a similar tone. “A party congress is a moment of positioning, but it’s also a family celebration,” he said. “And Angela Merkel is part of the family.” Volker Kauder, Merkel’s longtime parliamentary floor leader, put it bluntly: “The party wants unity, not dispute.” And Saxony’s state premier, Michael Kretschmer, visibly recoiled at the suggestion of a break with Merkel: “Not at all!” ‘Merzel’ A former federal minister, granted anonymity to speak candidly, offered a more strategic reading: For Merkel, the visit was a “win-win;” it signaled that she still cares about…

The Supreme Court on Friday invalidated tariffs imposed under the U.S. International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Within hours, however, Trump signed an executive order introducing a 10 percent global tariff under a different legal authority, while keeping existing sector-specific duties in place. Across Europe, leaders reacted with cautious relief to the court ruling, while warning that trade uncertainty is likely to persist. The European Commission called for stability in the transatlantic trade relationship. Macron struck a measured tone, praising the role of institutional checks and balances while avoiding direct criticism of Trump. “It’s not a bad thing to have supreme…

In Doha’s cosmopolitan food culture, cuisines from around the world are part of daily life. Thai food has become one of them reflecting the relationship between Thailand and Qatar. Across the city, Thai restaurants are part of everyday dining, whether for quick lunches, family meals or social gatherings. Their presence mirrors the steady movement of people between the two countries through tourism, work and cultural exchange. For many in Qatar, food remains one of the most familiar ways cultures are shared. Mohannad Ibrahim Bitar, a Qatari-based influencer and entrepreneur, says meals naturally bring people together. “Just the sheer activity of…

Am 20. September wird in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern gewählt und die AfD unter Leif-Erik Holm erhebt den Anspruch auf eine Alleinregierung. Gordon Repinski trifft ihn an symbolträchtigen Orten zwischen der Staatskanzlei, dem Schweriner Schloss und dem dünnen Eis des Schweriner Sees. Es geht um die strategischen Optionen im Nordosten und die Frage, ob die CDU tatsächlich nur noch als Mehrheitsbeschaffer für die Linke fungiert. Im ausführlichen Spaziergang präsentiert sich der frühere Radiomoderator Holm als moderater Versöhner, der auch für gesellschaftliche Gruppen außerhalb seiner Kernklientel da sein möchte. Aber hinter diesem Image stehen radikale Forderungen wie die Abschaffung des Rundfunkstaatsvertrags, das Ende der…

Over the steady beat of the cymbals, rap duo Lunatic find their pace and announce themselves on their debut track “Le Crime Paie”: “Wesh, wesh, écoute fils.” That was in 1996. Nearly three decades later, on the track “Bolide Noir”, London rapper Central Cee briefly laments, “I’m in Paris, tryna drop rizz, but they don’t understand ‘cos they’re speaking French. Why does she keep saying wesh?” In the years between these tracks, “wesh” — derived from Darija, a dialect of Arabic from North Africa, and often used to emphasise statements or greet others — has solidified its place in spoken…

China’s annual Lunar New Year’s Eve spectacular made headlines this year as humanoid robots stole the show, performing coordinated martial arts and parkour routines. It marked several groundbreaking achievements and is a bold demonstration of the country’s rapid technological advancement. According to a video posted by CCTV, two dozen robots performed the first continuous freestyle table-vaulting parkour, the first aerial flip, continuous single-leg flips, a two-step wall-assisted backflip, and the first 7.5-rotation Airflare grand spin. China has been accelerating efforts to build more capable AI-powered robots with less human input. The robots have come a long way since last year’s…

Central Asia is gaining cultural momentum. Across the region, major art and cultural institutions are opening in rapid succession, signaling a shift in how these countries see themselves and how they want to be seen. What is driving this wave of cultural investment and how might it reshape the region’s artistic landscape and its global visibility? From philanthropy to public impact Since its opening in mid-September last year, the Almaty Museum of Arts (ALMA) has quickly become one of the most talked-about cultural developments in the region. Positioning itself as a contemporary art hub for Central Asia, the museum presents…