Author: staff

If the loan is approved this week, Kyiv would be set to receive the money in May, offering relief to Ukraine’s war-battered economy as it continues to fend off Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its fifth year. Once Hungary lifts its veto the European Commission would be able to disburse the funds after completing technical checks expected to take a few weeks. After initially agreeing to the loan in December, Budapest blocked it in February as a dispute flared over the Druzhba pipeline. Orbán accused Zelenskyy of slow-walking repairs to the infrastructure in retaliation for Hungary’s friendly relations with Russia.…

Efforts to rescue a humpback whale stranded for weeks on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast were complicated on Monday when the animal unexpectedly swam away but then appeared to have got stuck again. The 13.5-metre whale and its struggle for survival have captured the hearts of the German public, with some of the press calling him “Timmy.” Rescuers had cleared sand away from the spot where the whale had been stuck for around three weeks off the island of Poel, near Wismar, and sent a tugboat to be used in the rescue effort. The plan was to lift the whale from…

Migrants in Spain began applying in person to legalise their status on Monday after the European country launched an amnesty that could affect hundreds of thousands of foreigners living and working in the country without authorisation. A total of 42,790 people have already submitted online applications to begin the regularisation process since it started last Thursday, according to government data. The programme was announced in January and finalised earlier this month. It offers immigrants without legal status a one-year, renewable residence permit if they have spent five months living in the country and have a clean criminal record. They have…

“IDF soldiers themselves admit to war crimes. They killed not only civilian Palestinians but even their own hostages,” the center-right politician continued. Sikorski’s criticism seemed to add fresh fuel to the dispute. “What you wrote reflects ignorance and a deep lack of understanding,” Sa’ar responded on X on Monday. The IDF is a “professional and ethical army,” the minister added, and “there is no Western military that fights terrorism more precisely, or on the basis of better intelligence, than the IDF.” The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed it had completed an initial investigation into the act and that “appropriate measures” would be taken against…

During last month’s multinational exercise Grand Quadriga 2026, German troops in Seedorf weren’t just training with drones, they were also building them. Instead of traditional live-fire drills, troops used reconnaissance drones, real-time data links and FPV systems to identify targets and engage them within seconds. FPV (first-person view) drones are unmanned aircraft piloted remotely fitted with an onboard camera, offering operators a live, direct view. As part of the so-called “Spark Cells” programme, soldiers worked alongside the Bundeswehr’s Cyber Innovation Hub (CIHBw) to build, test and refine some of these small unmanned systems themselves. The aim is to ensure they…

Google Flights has long been a go-to for those looking to save money on their travels, with the tech giant giving users the ability to track the prices of flights to their destination of choice in the hopes of snagging a bargain. First launched in 2016, Google then expanded the tracking option to hotels last year, with travellers able to monitor the prices of hotels that match their preferences, with filters such as brand, amenities, star rating and price. However, it’s taken until now for the search engine to allow price tracking for the exact hotel you want to stay…

Zsolt Hegedűs, a former surgeon now best known for his dance moves, will serve as health minister, while former armed forces chief Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi will take defense. László Gajdos, the director of an award-winning zoo, will serve as environment minister, and former farmer Szabolcs Bóna will oversee agriculture and food economy. The remaining portfolios — bringing the total to 16 — are expected to include interior, justice, transport and investments, education, social affairs, a prime minister’s office, rural development, culture and digital technology, with more nominations expected in the coming days. The restructuring marks a deliberate shift away from Orbán-era…

Published on 20/04/2026 – 16:11 GMT+2 The dense “terms and conditions” that most users scroll past when opening a social media account contain sweeping permissions to collect user data and limit users’ ability to take companies to court. Those are some of the conclusions from a new Harvard University research tool that documents old and current versions of legal documents. The so-called Transparency Hub stores over 20,000 documents and tracks the terms of over 300 platforms, including TikTok and Instagram. The goal of the platform is to make it easier for people to know where their data is going and…

Foreign airlines are preparing to return to Qatar’s airspace after a temporary shutdown triggered by regional tensions, with international carrier operations set to resume in phases. In a statement issued on Monday, the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) confirmed that foreign carriers will gradually restart services to and from Doha’s Hamad International Airport (HIA), marking the first step in reconnecting the country with global air networks. “This decision follows a comprehensive assessment of the situation, conducted in coordination with all relevant national entities, to ensure the highest levels of readiness and operational efficiency,” QCAA said. It affirmed that “all flights…

Europe, in efforts to disentangle itself from Russian gas, has become increasingly aware of the vulnerability of its web of pipelines, subsea cables and offshore installations to hybrid attacks.  A million kilometers of undersea cables transport 95 percent of the world’s internet traffic, and more than 200,000 kilometers of active oil and gas pipelines run across Europe. That physical infrastructure is at risk amid an escalation in hybrid attacks. The attacks on cables and pipelines are across frontiers and jurisdictions, mandating the need for a cross-border, coordinated response.  In this special podcast episode produced by POLITICO Studio, policy experts and industry leaders come together to discuss the vulnerabilities…