Author: staff
Three men aged 24, 25, and 26 were arrested in Harpenden, a town in Hertfordshire, on Sunday evening and taken into custody before being released on bail. A 25-year-old man was arrested in Stevenage on Monday, while a 26-year-old man and two women, aged 50 and 59, were arrested in a car near Birmingham. They remain in custody in a London police station. Separately, a 39-year-old man was arrested Tuesday morning in Ealing, west London, under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and taken into custody. His arrest was in connection with an existing investigation after jars containing a non-hazardous…
Published on 21/04/2026 – 15:33 GMT+2 Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a sharp rebuke of a Swiss hospital on Tuesday for allegedly billing the families of some of the victims in a devastating fire at a bar in the Alpine skiing resort of Crans-Montana on New Year’s Eve. “I spoke with our ambassador: the Swiss authorities have assured us that it was a mistake, and that the families will not have to pay anything,” Meloni wrote in a post on X. “But I asked the ambassador to maintain the highest level of attention to this issue, because it would…
“We will assess whether we need a minimum stock obligation for jet fuel, requiring member states to maintain minimum emergency reserves,” he said during the press conference. Tzitzikostas also said the AccelerateEU plan — which the Commission will present Wednesday in response to recent energy market shocks — will include the creation of a new fuel observatory, which “will start with jet fuel,” and efforts to secure “an alternative jet fuel supply for Europe, such as type A jet fuel produced in the United States.” However, the fuel produced in the U.S. differs from the Jet A1 international standard, making it…
Published on 21/04/2026 – 14:20 GMT+2 Russia and North Korea held a ceremony on Tuesday to mark the joining of the first road bridge connecting the two countries which is set to open for traffic this summer, Moscow said. Ties between the two heavily sanctioned countries have surged amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow and Pyongyang deepening economic, political, cultural and military links. South Korea warned last week that Chinese and Russian support was helping revive the North Korean economy, which has struggled for years under sweeping international sanctions, almost complete international isolation and huge military investment. Moscow’s…
Published on 21/04/2026 – 14:26 GMT+2 German economic expectations have fallen to their lowest level in three and a half years, as the Iran war weighs on businesses across Europe. The ZEW index dropped 16.7 points in April to -17.2, according to a new survey by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), based on responses from 192 analysts polled last week about their outlook for the next six months. It is the second consecutive monthly decline, following a sharp fall in March. “Economic expectations are slipping into negative territory,” said ZEW president Achim Wambach. “The economic consequences of the…
By Theo Farrant & AP Published on 21/04/2026 – 13:24 GMT+2 The human brain retains such a deep-rooted memory of gravity that astronauts in space continue to misjudge how tightly to grip objects even after spending months in weightlessness, according to a new study. Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the findings shed new light on how profoundly our lifelong experience of gravity shapes the most basic physical actions, and could have real implications for future missions to the Moon and Mars. The study, led by Philippe Lefèvre, a professor of Biomedical Engineering at Université Catholique de Louvain and Ikerbasque, tracked 11 astronauts…
When you think of a visit to Portugal, do Lisbon and Porto spring to mind, or perhaps the Algarve coast further south? Well, a multi-million euro investment is hoping to shift the spotlight beyond the usual popular spots – redrawing Portugal’s tourist map, one inland region at a time. The government is bankrolling 12 tourism projects to the tune of €4.5 million. With a total investment of around €11 million, the projects will boost tourism across the north and central areas of Portugal, as well as the Alentejo and Ribatejo regions. This is part of the broader “Growing with Tourism”…
Finance Minister Roland Lescure was quick to insist that the freeze would not inevitably lead to spending cuts, even if this is likely in future. “We are taking precautionary measures, we will be able to adjust throughout the year,” he said. Lescure confirmed that the government has lowered its growth forecast to 0.9 percent for this year, while raising its inflation forecast to 1.9 percent. The French government is eyeing spending cuts to narrow its deficit — the gap between what it collects in taxes and what it spends — down to 5 percent of gross domestic product this year.…
The longest and tallest bridge in Finland just opened in Helsinki – and cars won’t be able to use it. Kruunuvuorensilta bridge, which connects Korkeasaari and Kruunuvuorenranta, spans 1,191 metres and is exclusively open to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. The new bridge means Kruunuvuorenranta is now just five-and-a-half kilometres away from the city centre, reducing the distance from 11 kilometres. “Kruunuvuorensilta bridge is the new, unique and exciting landmark for Helsinki,” said Daniel Sazonov, Mayor of Helsinki. “A sight that will draw visitors from near and far. The new bridge reshapes how we look at Helsinki. It attaches the…
The European Union is growing optimistic about the imminent lifting of Hungary’s contentious veto on a €90 billion loan for Ukraine, ending a political dispute that has severely undermined the bloc’s collective decision-making. Following a bruising defeat at the polls, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has indicated he will remove his veto as soon as Russian oil flows resume through the Druzhba pipeline, which is at the core of the controversy. Orbán cited “indications” from Brussels that flows will return soon. EU ambassadors could resolve the matter as early as Wednesday if Orbán relents. Only one regulation, which depends on…