Author: staff

She warned that the war in Iran, which quickly engulfed surrounding countries, has “caused immense instability and cost far too many lives” while sending shockwaves through global energy markets and supply chains. Kallas also took aim at what she described as a shift toward “coercive power politics,” warning against a world shaped by competing spheres of influence. “We are hearing a lot about multipolarity today. But let’s be clear: Multipolarity, unrestrained by the U.N. Charter or international law … has never been peaceful, stable … and ultimately it always ends in devastation,” she said. “A new world is now in…

Published on 13/04/2026 – 21:18 GMT+2•Updated 21:29 Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem urged Lebanon on Monday to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington the following day, reiterating his group’s rejection of direct negotiations with Israel. “We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity…We call for a historic and heroic stance by cancelling this negotiating meeting,” Qassem, whose Iran-backed group has been at war with Israel since 2 March, said in a televised address. The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.…

That vow, in turn, opens another can of worms. The Ukrainian public (and Zelenskyy himself) opposes renewing Russian oil flows that would boost the Kremlin’s finances. Magyar, meanwhile, says that Hungary will rely on Russian oil and gas “for some time” to come. The Brussels bonanza Another disappointment for Kyiv could be a lack of support from Budapest for fast-track Ukrainian accession to the EU. Magyar has previously said he doesn’t support the idea, given that the rules say all countries need to meet the bloc’s accession criteria before being invited to join. Ukraine, meanwhile, sees fast-track accession as a…

False claims are spreading on social media that the European Council has established a UK Office of Strategic Alignment in Brussels to bring the country back into the EU. One post says the office has been set up in the “main EU building” and implies that Brexit will soon be over, while another says it shows the EU wants to move on “graciously” and urges Brits not to waste the opportunity. However, unfortunately for any Remainers or Re-joiners, this isn’t the case. A spokesperson for the European Council described it as a “typical misinformation case”, as no such office has…

A US naval blockade of Iran’s ports has come into effect on Monday, with President Donald Trump warning that any attack ships will be “eliminated” if they attempt to break it. “Iran’s navy is laying at the bottom of the sea, completely obliterated – 158 ships. What we have not hit are their small number of, what they call, ‘fast attack ships,’ because we did not consider them much of a threat,” Trump wrote in a post on his platform Truth Social. “Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our blockade, they will be immediately eliminated, using…

In a social media post over the weekend, Trump bemoaned that the Pope’s criticism of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and claimed without evidence that his own presidency had enabled the Leo’s accession to the papacy. And, speaking outside the White House on Monday afternoon, Trump repeated his criticism of Leo as “weak,” adding “there’s nothing to apologize for.” Trump’s aggressive rhetoric against the Pope presents a challenge for conservative, right-wing and far-right European leaders like Meloni, whose voter bases typically contain plenty of Christians. More than half of Italians identify as Catholic. While such leaders are have reason to…

Published on 13/04/2026 – 18:12 GMT+2•Updated 19:32 Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar said at his first press conference after winning the 12 April election that the country will continue purchasing Russian energy and prioritise the cheapest available oil, a stance that appears to contrast with his campaign pledge to phase out Russian energy imports by 2035. “No one can change geography, Russia and Hungary are here to stay. The government will procure crude oil and gas in the cheapest and safest way possible,” Magyar told reporters. His comments come as as the European Union welcomed the ousting of outgoing Prime…

Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people in 2025 and now risks hanging more in the wake of the war against the US and Israel, two NGOs said on Monday, urging the West to put capital punishment “at the heart” of any negotiations with Tehran. The number of executions represented an increase of 68% on the 975 people Iran put to death in 2024, and also included 48 women, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) said in their joint annual report. If the Islamic republic “survives the current crisis, there is a serious…

Published on 13/04/2026 – 18:39 GMT+2•Updated 19:06 Each year, the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas, present the LUX Audience Award. The award celebrates European cinema and aims to spark conversation amongst the European public about important societal issues. A panel selects five films to compete, but the winning film is chosen equally by EU citizens and their elected representatives in the European Parliament. This year, for the first time, all five nominated films will be subtitled for the deaf and hard of hearing people in all 24 languages. About…

Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar said on Monday he is ready to take office quickly and called on the country’s president to convene parliament to form a new government “as quickly as possible,” expressing hope to succeed Viktor Orbán as prime minister as early as 5 May. Magyar held a three-hour international press conference in Budapest, taking questions on a wide range of issues. “The Hungarian people did not vote for a simple change of government, but for a complete change of regime,” he said. Below are the key points from his remarks on European affairs : Unblock EU funds…