Author: staff
Ireland’s junior agriculture minister Timmy Dooley has warned the outlook for farmers is “stark”, as soaring fuel and fertiliser costs pile pressure on the sector ahead of an EU ministers’ meeting in Brussels. He urged flexibility on EU climate rules, including exempting fertilisers from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which makes importers pay for production-related emissions. Supply has also been hit by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war, affecting 13% of global fertiliser, according to the United Nations. This comes after the EU moved to ban fertilisers from Belarus and Russia in July 2025.…
Authorities declared a state of emergency in Dagestan after torrential rainfall flooded streets in the regional capital Makhachkala, damaging homes, vehicles and infrastructure. Local leader Sergey Melikov said some areas recorded more than 50mm of rain, an unusually high level for recent years. Russia’s emergency ministry said around 3,000 people had been evacuated as floodwaters cut electricity to more than 130 settlements and destroyed several bridges. Neighbouring Chechnya has also been affected, with hundreds of homes flooded in the Gudermes district and about 500 residents evacuated. Meteorologists say the rain is expected to ease, but recovery efforts are continuing across…
The Iran war has highlighted how producing videos with artificial intelligence (AI) can impact the public’s perception during periods of maximum news consumption, and as countries involved in the conflict aim to shape their own narrative as well. But this phenomenon can have a highly emotional impact in countries that are part of the war, prompting their governments to take strict containment measures. Easy and cheap access to AI video technologies has flooded social media with AI-fabricated deepfake videos and photos of combat, impact on civilian areas or statements since the start of the Iran war, fuelling disinformation which can…
Travellers are facing rising airfare costs and reductions in flight schedules as the conflict in the Middle East causes oil prices to soar. Experts predict ticket prices could remain elevated for months even if the war de-escalates. Increased demand on flight routes that avoid Middle East and Gulf stopovers also means flyers are having to pay more. Rigas Doganis, who once headed Olympic Airways in Greece and now chairs London-based consultancy firm Airline Management Group, told Reuters that “airlines face an existential challenge”. He added: “They will need to cut fares to stimulate weakening demand while higher fuel costs will…
Metamorphosis Molnár, now an academic and a slam poetry champion, highlights an unremitting drive for success in his college-mate. Over lunch in an old-fashioned Hungarian bistro near the U.S. embassy in Budapest’s historic fifth district, the 62-year-old chose his words carefully, plucking out the adjective “diligent” to describe the young Orbán’s determination, capacity for hard work and attention to detail. Not that he couldn’t be fun in his college days, Molnár added. The young Orbán went to illicit underground dances — a form of youth rebellion frequently surveilled by the state’s security police. And despite little interest in art and…
The Catholic Church’s Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem would regain access to Christianity’s holiest site after the decision to block him from entering the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday triggered international condemnation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from entering the church, citing security concerns as Israel enforces a ban on gatherings in synagogues, churches and mosques during the ongoing Iran war, which has brought Tehran’s missile strikes near holy sites. “Over the past several days, Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles,” Netanyahu wrote on…
Celebrated rock star and former White Stripes frontman Jack White has criticised the US Treasury Department’s plans to place Donald Trump’s signature on all new US paper currency. White has called the move a symbol of vanity at a time when everyday Americans are struggling financially. His comments refer to the Treasury Department’s plans to put Trump’s signature on all new paper currency – a controversial first as US paper currency carries the signatures of the Treasury Secretary and the Treasurer, not the president. This has been the case since 1861. Starting in June, Trump’s signature could appear on all…
“In short, we are very close to a Yaoundé package of agreements that would be important for Members and the future of the organization. We’ve worked really hard here, and we are very close, but we’re not all the way there yet.” Okonjo-Iweala suggested that members use the draft texts developed over the four days of ministerial discussions to finalize agreements on outstanding issues in further discussions at WTO headquarters in Geneva. These included the reform work plan that was meant to be the main deliverable of the meeting, and the extension of the e-commerce moratorium that is due to…
Published on 30/03/2026 – 9:39 GMT+2•Updated 9:43 Europe’s fisheries and aquaculture sectors are facing growing strain from geopolitical tensions and rising costs, EU fisheries chief Costas Kadis has warned. Speaking on Europe Today, Kadis said urgent support is needed to keep the industry competitive. “The challenges are mounting,” he said, pointing to the impact of Middle East conflict on seafood markets, supply chains and coastal communities. The more pressing concern, he said, is economic pressure on the sector. Some operators have already shut down due to thin margins and soaring fuel prices. “They were barely profitable before. Now they simply…
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday night he has “no problem” with a Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering crude to the island affected by an effective US oil blockade. “We have a tanker out there. We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need … they have to survive,” Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington. When asked if a New York Times report that the tanker would be allowed to reach Cuba was true, Trump said: “I told them, if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right…