Author: staff

Last week, the Euronews Culture team woke up and chose violence by handpicking the albums we felt were overrated. Many got in touch and some of you weren’t happy – judging by some of the colourful language used. This week, we’re doing the opposite and balancing the cosmic scales by handpicking 10 albums we feel are underrated. These are the records which have either been undeservedly panned, too easily overlooked, or simply forgotten. Whatever the case may be, they deserve more love. Without further ado, here are the underappreciated gems you need in your ears and collection. Jeri Southern -…

Of course, calling a political opponent spineless or likening them to a jellyfish is a classic move. British politicians are particularly keen on this method of attack (a sting operation!). Conservative politician Michael Gove in 2024 likened Keir Starmer to a jellyfish, claiming he is “transparent, spineless and swept along by the tide.” He didn’t say whether Starmer also has only one hole used for both eating and expelling waste. In 2008, David Cameron (who would go on to become the chinos-wearing assassin responsible for Brexit) said he’d seen “more spine in a bunch of jellyfish” than in then-Prime Minister…

Almost one year ago, Ursula von der Leyen made one of her boldest moves as president of the European Commission: she proposed using the immobilised assets of the Russian Central Bank to support Ukraine’s budgetary and financial needs. By tapping the assets, she said, the bloc could raise up to €210 billion in fresh assistance for Kyiv without encumbering public coffers. European taxpayers would be spared. And the void left by the United States, under President Donald Trump, would be filled. It was an idea, quite simply, without precedent in modern history: the aggressor’s money would pay for the victim’s…

Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond in this Euronews news bulletin. In just a few minutes, our newsroom brings you the latest news and breaking news across world affairs, business, politics, culture, entertainment and travel, with the context you need to make sense of a fast-moving day. Reported with the independence and the European perspective that define Euronews, this regular round-up gives you a clear and reliable overview of the stories shaping our world right now, wherever you are watching from.

Together, EU governments spent €806 billion on education in 2023, equivalent to 4.7% of the bloc’s GDP. Public education spending as a share of GDP has declined slightly over the past decade, from 4.96% in 2014 to 4.65% in 2023, according to the latest Eurostat figures. It briefly reached 5.02% in 2020, largely because the economy contracted during the pandemic rather than because of a comparable increase in education budgets. Across the European countries covered by Eurostat, Sweden spent the highest share of GDP, at 6.8%. Finland, Iceland, Belgium and Denmark also spent more than 6%. Romania and Greece were…

Coolcations have been on the rise for a few years now, but as heatwaves batter large swathes of Europe, they’ve become even ‘cooler’ (all puns intended – sorry!). Scandinavia has long dominated the conversation, but in recent years the Baltics have been on the rise thanks to their comparative affordability. While visiting all three of the country’s capitals – Lithuania’s Vilnius, Latvia’s Riga and Estonia’s Tallinn – is a popular tourist route, these cities all appeal individually for a long weekend escape. Given Vilnius lies some 300 kilometres inland, while Tallinn is on the Gulf of Finland and Riga is…

Châtelain attended France Unbowed’s summer event along with seven other party officials, where she told reporters that “there is common ground” between the Greens and Mélenchon. She even appeared before cameras flashing a wide grin beside Mélenchon — a strong political signal given her key role as the party’s top lawmaker in the National Assembly. “We are at two crossroads at once,” she said, referring to the rise of the far right and the climate change-fueled heat and wildfires that engulfed France over the summer. “What matters now is finding the most effective way for the Greens to put their…

Former Bosnian Serb military leader and convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić has died in a prison hospital in The Hague at the age of 84, according to Serbian state broadcaster RTS. Considered the most infamous war criminal in the Balkans, Mladić was dubbed the “Butcher of Bosnia” for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide during the Bosnian War. He was sentenced to life by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for turning large swathes of Bosnia into a bloodbath during the war in the 1990s. Among other war crimes, Mladić was convicted of genocide for the…

For 16 years, Viktor Orbán exerted an iron grip on Hungarian politics and society. Now it’s being dismantled. Has Hungary finally turned a page on the Orbán era, or could he make one final return?  It’s only a few days before Péter Magyar’s government, which succeeded Orbán, learns whether his anti-corruption reforms have done enough to persuade the European Commission to release €10.4 billion of frozen funds to help the country recover after the Covid pandemic. The money was withheld over breaches of EU law under Orbán, who suffered a landslide defeat at the polls in April. Host Anne McElvoy talks to…

Seven key candidates from across the political spectrum vying to become France’s next president clashed in a debate hosted by the MEDEF, the country’s largest employer federation, on Thursday. Less than eight months ahead of the presidential election, the economy, pensions and public debt dominated the debate held at Roland-Garros, the home of the French open. The seven candidates included two of French President Emmanuel Macron’s former prime ministers, centrist Gabriel Attal and centre-right figure Edouard Philippe. Divisive figures such as hard-left leader Jean Luc Mélenchon, as well as far-right politician Marine Le Pen were present, alongside centre-left MEP Raphaël…