Author: staff
For almost two years, Ukraine’s ambition to one day join the European Union has been defined not by its progress but by its lack thereof. Hungary’s veto, imposed in June 2024 and since entrenched, has effectively paralysed Ukraine’s membership application, pushing Kyiv and Brussels towards informal avenues to advance the legal and technical work in the hope of a breakthrough. As a result, Ukraine today finds itself in a highly unusual position: on paper, it is ready to open the six clusters of negotiations that structure the accession process, but in practice, it is unable to open any of them.…
Published on 01/05/2026 – 8:13 GMT+2 US President Donald Trump says he is considering pulling his country’s troops out of allies Spain and Italy due to their opposition of the US-Israeli war in Iran, which just entered its third month. The remarks came just a day after the US president proposed a similar reduction in Germany after Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised the Trump administration over its war strategy, suggesting it was ill-conceived and adding that Tehran was humiliating Washington. “Yeah, probably, I probably will. Why shouldn’t I?” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about Spain and Italy.…
Once in a blue moon, a rare cinematic fluke occurs. The stars align and audiences are treated to that most special of events: a Hathaweek. For the heathens among you, it’s when the release dates of two movies featuring the considerable talents of Anne Hathaway coincide. And lo and behold, 2026’s Hathaweek is special, as both films share a common thread. Literally, as they deal with fashion. To a point. The first is The Devil Wears Prada 2, the two-decades-in-the-waiting sequel to the 2006 hit, which is much better than anyone could have hoped. There are decent gags, sly digs…
At a recent Senate hearing on NASA’s 2027 budget request, NASA’s Administrator Jared Isaacman made a comment that reopens a question many in the scientific community had considered closed: should Pluto once again be classified as a planet? Since its discovery in 1930, Pluto held the status of the solar system’s ninth planet. That changed in 2006, when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) introduced a formal definition of what constitutes a planet. Under those rules, a celestial body must meet three criteria: it must orbit the Sun, be massive enough for its gravity to shape it into a sphere, and…
Während die USA und der Iran in einen militärischen Konflikt am Golf verwickelt sind, scheint China sich vornehm zurückzuhalten. Aber der Schein trügt. Rixa Fürsen spricht mit dem China-Spezialisten Felix Lee über Pekings Doppelstrategie. Warum blockiert China Resolutionen im UN-Sicherheitsrat, obwohl es massiv auf Ölimporte aus der Golfregion angewiesen ist? Lee analysiert Chinas „Energiewende“, die vor allem sicherheitspolitisch motiviert ist und weshalb das Land durch seine massiven Reserven resistenter gegen den aktuellen Ölpreisschock ist als der Westen. Felix Lee erklärt außerdem die chinesische Taktik des Einkreisens und Unterlaufens. Während Donald Trump US-Militär vom Indopazifik abzieht, um den Iran zu bekämpfen,…
“In that scenario, as a candidate, you just have to fight, meet as many people as you can, talk to as many people as you possibly can. In my perspective, just be really positive, [and say] ‘this is what the council is doing, if you’re happy with it, absolutely carry on voting for them. If you want change, this is what I would do differently.’” He, like many of his Lib Dem rivals, is using his local edge to try to combat rampant despondency about the national state of play. Cynicism toward politics is “a big barrier for everyone voting…
The measure brings Belgium in line with the Netherlands, which already restricts e-cigarettes to tobacco flavor only. A Dutch study by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) suggests the policy has had an impact: Nearly two-fifths of users cut back, while more than one in five quit entirely. Belgium’s move follows a November 2025 recommendation from its Superior Health Council to sharply reduce allowed flavors, with youth protection taking priority over adult preferences. The ban builds on an earlier crackdown. Belgium was the first EU country to outlaw disposable vapes at the end of 2024 and…
In a last-minute addition to the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of digital ministers in Nicosia, Spain and France said the EU must include satellite spectrums in its wider effort to set up a preference for homegrown technology, effectively excluding foreign-owned firms from critical sectors, according to a text seen by POLITICO. “It is time to decide whether we want our skies to be stronger or dependent,” Spain’s Digital Transformation Minister Óscar López told his counterparts on Thursday. “It is time to make European satellite industry great again.” “From the ground to the sky, infrastructures like telecommunications are a critical asset…
After announcing he would boycott the Biennale’s opening, Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli this week sent ministry inspectors to investigate if Russia’s participation is “compatible with the existing sanctions regime.” The decision drew praise from EU Culture Commissioner Glenn Micallef, who cheered the minister’s “principled position.” Earlier this month EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the European Commission would cut funding to the Biennale as a result of its decision to admit Russian artists to its 2026 edition. Following the jury’s resignation, the Biennale on Friday announced it will revamp its awards procedures and allow visitors to decide who…
“There’s a moving cost, and then depending on where you’re moving them to, there could be construction costs that are substantial,” said Todd Harrison, a defense budget analyst at American Enterprise Institute. “We’re not going to have facilities to house them in Poland, so that would be a very long-term construction cost” to move them. It would also be expensive to move those troops, their families and equipment back to the U.S., given there likely isn’t available housing for them. U.S. forces based in Germany are critical to Washington’s global military posture and nuclear deterrence. American air bases can route…