Author: staff
They say that inspiration comes from the most unexpected places. But who would have thought that a public office setting could inspire romantic – and oftentimes dark and even forbidden- erotic fantasies? Those politicians from Spain, France, Austria or the UK used their own experience and put on paper their romantic or sexual life. Here are their stories. Think of this not as a reading list, but as a peek into a rather unexpected literary niche. Thomas Oberreiter, Austrian Ambassador to the European Union (2023-2025) At the end of July, a story made jaws drop in Brussels: Austria’s representative to…
In a Finnish classroom full of children under six earlier this year, a teacher suggested writing a story as a group using a new online tool – artificial intelligence (AI). With the teacher’s help, the children decided the genre (horror), the story’s plot, and the characters to include. The teacher wrote all of the children’s suggestions into a prompt for an AI system. It not only generated the text, but also some images to illustrate the horror story – to the delight and surprise of the kids, according to an AI literacy expert who watched the exercise. The story exercise…
Nach dem Krisengipfel im Weißen Haus: Was hat das Treffen von Selenskij, Merz und Co. mit Donald Trump wirklich gebracht? Rixa Fürsen analysiert das mit Hans von der Burchard. Er ist in Tokio, wo sich aktuell Außenminister Wadephul befindet – und wo man die Ereignisse sehr aufmerksam verfolgt hat.200-Sekunden-Interview dazu: Siemtje Möller. Die Vize-Chefin der SPD-Fraktion ist mit dem Außenminister in Japan. Sie hat eine klare Meinung zum Ergebnis.Außerdem: Der Bundesrechnungshof warnt vor explodierenden Krankenkassenbeiträgen – bis zu 750 Euro Mehrkosten pro Jahr drohen. Rasmus Buchsteiner über den brisanten Bericht und den Vorwurf der Untätigkeit an die Regierung.Und: Das Bündnis…
Before October 2023, acute flaccid paralysis was “something strange and very rare,” with one or two cases turning up each year, al-Farra said. But in the last three months, according to al-Farra, doctors have seen nearly 100 cases. Lab samples sent to Jordan and Israel were positive for enterovirus, a group of bugs spread between people or through contaminated water, according to al-Farra. Enteroviruses, which also include poliovirus, are typically spread via the fecal-oral route. He said it was no surprise that one of the hot spots is Khan Younis, where there is raw sewage pooling in the streets. International…
The bloc’s solidarity with Israel after the terror attack of Oct. 7, 2023 — which saw several thousand rockets sent into Israel, almost 1,200 people murdered and more than 250 taken hostage — was a sincere and deeply felt reaction to the brutality of Hamas. But that solidarity in response to Hamas’s atrocities is now devolving into complicity with Isreal’s atrocities. Israel’s ensuing military campaign has devastated Gaza, killing over 60,000 Palestinians, maiming and orphaning tens of thousands of children, and pushing millions toward starvation. Gaza’s infrastructure has been obliterated. Schools, homes and hospitals lie in ruins. Humanitarian aid is…
Trump interjected, “I said the same thing.” Turning to Zelenskyy, Trump added helpfully, “That’s the one that attacked you last time.” Speaking about NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Donald Trump said he is “a great gentleman, a great political leader generally.” | Pool Photo by Aaron Schwartz via EPA “I remember that,” Zelenskyy replied dryly, earning chuckles from the room. “You are in the same suit,” he quipped, addressing Glenn without missing a beat. “You see, I changed. You [did] not.” You guys are fantastic! Popular! Tanned! At the start of the roundtable discussion, Trump was in a particularly giving mood…
By Euronews Published on 18/08/2025 – 17:29 GMT+2 •Updated 19:47 Hamas on Monday told mediators that it approves of the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal, according to international and Israeli outlets, citing Hamas officials. The officials did not provide further details at this time. Israeli media report that the latest proposal was presented to the militant group the day before and was a revised version of Hamas’ latest response, which involved a framework agreement for a 60-day ceasefire and a two-step release of Hamas-held hostages. Egyptian and Qatari mediators were holding talks with Hamas in their latest effort to broker a ceasefire…
European Council President António Costa called a virtual meeting of EU leaders Tuesday to debrief Monday’s summit in Washington between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders. “I have convened a video conference of the members of the European Council for tomorrow at 13.00 CEST, for a debriefing of today’s meetings in Washington DC about Ukraine,” Costa wrote on social media. “Together with the US, the EU will continue working towards a lasting peace that safeguards Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests,” he added. Along with Zelenskyy and Trump, the leaders of France, Italy, the United…
Haran argued that “if we sign a ceasefire agreement or even hold an election without security guarantees, Putin could resume his aggression the very next day.” Such an agreement, he said, would “de facto recognize Russia’s control of Ukrainian territories for an indefinite period,” and repeat the mistakes of 1938, when concessions to an aggressor only invited further escalation. Yaroslav Hrytsak, a Ukrainian historian and professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University, warned that the danger goes beyond another Munich-style betrayal. “It’s the Yalta moment too,” he said, referring to the 1945 conference among American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.K. Prime…
By Amandine Hess & Frederic Garçon Published on 18/08/2025 – 21:16 GMT+2 Matthieu Dewit is a regular at Pukkelpop, a music festival held near Hasselt in north-east Belgium, where he uses his wheelchair to navigate the wooden walkways between dancers and festival-goers, from a DJ set to a rock stage. Back in 2017, one of his friends posted a message on social media, sharing a desire to attend the festival in a wheelchair. That’s how he became acquainted with Inter, a Flemish agency that works to make festivals accessible to people with reduced mobility. Since then, Dewit has returned to Pukkelpop almost every…