Author: staff
Published on 11/05/2026 – 9:27 GMT+2 Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds resigned on Sunday following a recent incursion by two Ukrainian drones into the Baltic country’s territory. Latvia’s Prime Minister, Evika Silina, had called for Spruds’s resignation, writing on X that he had “lost (her) trust and that of the public.” Silina said anti-drone systems had not been deployed quickly enough to counter Thursday’s incursion. “The drone incident that occurred this week clearly demonstrated that the political leadership of the defence sector has failed to fulfill its promise of safe skies over our country,” Silina wrote. “That is an enormous…
Visitors to the Venice Biennale encountered a series of visually striking performances and installations addressing conflict, coexistence and the future of humanity. At the Austrian Pavilion, a naked performer acted as a human bell clapper in Florentina Holzinger’s “Seaworld Venice.” In the Japanese Pavilion, visitors carried and cared for lifelike baby dolls as part of Ei Arakawa-Nash’s work focused on caregiving. Meanwhile, Moldova’s pavilion featured drone-powered flying carpets suspended inside a church space, transforming symbols of war into imagined tools of escape and peace. Crowds also explored surreal installations inside the Nordic Pavilion examining coexistence and environmental anxiety.
By Tokunbo Salako with AP Published on 11/05/2026 – 8:30 GMT+2 A new pop-up store in New York is reimagining the traditional bookshop without a single printed book on the shelves. Inside Audible Story House, every story is experienced through sound. Designed as a cultural clubhouse for listening, the Big Apple audio space gives visitors the chance to listen to hundreds of their favorite titles through headphones or relax in dedicated listening lounges. Audible says the space aims to reflect the rapidly increasing popularity of the format as well as the “shift toward offline experiences and real-world connection.” James Finn, Audible’s Global Head…
Expected in late June or early July, the 21st sanctions package will also likely target Russian banks, financial institutions and military-industrial companies as well as firms selling stolen Ukrainian grain, according to seven EU officials and diplomats with knowledge of the discussions, who were granted anonymity to discuss the preparations. Officials also see a chance to move ahead with sanctions previously blocked by the government of Viktor Orbán, the former Hungarian prime minister. Among them are measures targeting senior members of the Russian Orthodox Church, notably its leader Patriarch Kirill, a close ally of Putin’s who has lauded the Ukraine…
Published on 11/05/2026 – 8:00 GMT+2 On 28 April, the European Parliament has formally adopted its position on the EU’s 2028-2034 budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), with 370 votes to 201 and 84 abstentions. MEPs demand a 10 per cent increase to the Commission’s original almost €2 trillion budget proposal from 16 July 2025, according to the Parliament’s Research Services April 2026 report. The Parliament wants funds evenly divided among the three key areas (cohesion and agriculture, competitiveness, and external action) and excludes NextGenerationEU repayments of €149.3 trillion (2025 prices) from spending ceilings. Calling for a more ambitious budget,…
As European governments discuss stricter social media rules for children under 16, young people say they are being shut out of a conversation that directly affects them. Supporters of the proposed bans argue they are necessary to protect children from online harms, but youth activists across Europe say a blanket ban is not the answer. Instead, they are calling on policymakers to make platforms safer through stronger regulation, better enforcement, and digital literacy education. In France, Ireland, and the Netherlands, students and youth advocates say social media has become deeply woven into how their generation socialises, learns, organises, and participates…
Es ist ein Lehrstück über Fehleinschätzungen im Kanzleramt. Der Bundesrat hat die geplante 1.000-Euro-Prämie knallhart scheitern lassen. Gordon Repinski analysiert, wie die Koalition den Ernst der Lage verkennen konnte und warum die Abstimmung zwischen der A-Seite (SPD) und der B-Seite (Union) in einem kommunikativen Desaster endete. Hat die Regierung Merz die Macht der Länder schlicht unterschätzt? Im 200-Sekunden-Interview: Der frühere NATO-Generalsekretär Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Er spricht über die Zukunft des Bündnisses, den notwendigen europäischen Beitrag zur Verteidigung des Kontinents und die strategischen Herausforderungen in einer instabilen Weltlage. Rasmus Buchsteiner über die bevorstehende Wiederwahl von DGB-Chefin Yasmin Fahimi. Er beleuchtet zudem…
When foreign ministers meet in Brussels today, Israel and Russia will likely dominate the agenda. Today on the pod, Zoya and Nick discuss why the bloc might finally be able to move forward on sanctioning several Israeli individuals involved with settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Plus, the EU is looking to move forward on a new round of sanctions towards Russia, hoping to pressure Moscow back to the negotiating table. Also on the show, the Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told Zoya in an exclusive interview that the EU needs to build its own military. He argues, with Russia on its…
Should it win the Elysée in next year’s election, as polls currently predict, the National Rally would likely either make good on that proposal or redirect some of its funding toward other priorities. “People from the cinema world live in another reality, they are not aware of the financial problems of the French,” said Philippe Ballard, one of the National Rally lawmakers who led the effort to reduce state funding for the entertainment sector. Ballard said his constituents “roll their eyes” at talk of state-backed cinema at a time when they’re forced to choose between filling up their gas tanks…
Backers of the Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham fear the West gambit could trigger a contest too soon for their man to find a route into parliament. “Anyone calling for the PM to quit but using the words ‘orderly transition’ is talking about waiting for Andy,” one of his supporters said. The assumption is that a contest sooner would benefit expected candidates Wes Streeting, the health secretary, and Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister who was forced to resign from government over a tax scandal. The former is said to be drawing up a policy program, while the latter set…