Author: staff
What happens next will hinge on two reviews: one by ex-minister Alan Milburn into the rise of under-25s not in employment, education or training, and a separate review by Disability Minister Stephen Timms into Personal Independent Payments (PIP) for sick and disabled people regardless of whether they work. Government officials insist they are still committed to reforming both systems before the next general election due in 2029. Milburn’s review is due to report back at the end of this summer and Timms’ is due in the fall. That means welfare reform is unlikely to be given a fixed bill in…
EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius is pushing a new geopolitical proposal: a treaty-backed European Defence Union that would include the EU as well as Britain, Norway and Ukraine. Speaking in Poland on Wednesday, Kubilius said Europe must be ready to defend itself with or without allies in Washington – adding, “there is no time to waste”. “It would (be) a big strategic mistake from our side not to seek such an integration,” Kubilius said. “Let’s be realistic. NATO membership for Ukraine for the time being is not available and full membership of the European Union is a complicated process, which…
By Nina Borowski with AFP Published on 29/04/2026 – 14:31 GMT+2 Not as far, not as long and, above all, not as expensive. Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions, a global energy crisis and inflation weighing on purchasing power, the French are revising their holiday plans for the summer of 2026. As a result of budgetary prudence and the search for security, fewer people in France are planning to head on holiday at all this summer, and those that are are opting for destinations closer to home – mainly in France. Enthusiasm for travel remains high, but less are certain their holidays will…
“London’s Jewish community have been the target of a series of shocking antisemitic attacks. There must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society,” Khan added. In the House of Commons, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the attack is “deeply concerning.” “We all need to do everything we can to support that investigation and be absolutely clear in our determination to deal with any of these offenses, the like of which we’ve seen too much recently,” he added. Wednesday’s Golders Green stabbing marks the latest attack on Jewish communities in the capital since the start of 2026. Four Hatzola ambulances…
A man has been arrested in Berlin on suspicion of spying for Russia, German prosecutors said on Wednesday, the latest alleged Moscow-linked espionage plot uncovered in the country. Prosecutors said the suspect gave his Russian intelligence handler information about German military aid for Ukraine and photos of NATO military convoys moving along motorways and also identified possible targets for sabotage. Authorities in Germany, one of Kyiv’s key military backers, have uncovered scores of suspected espionage, sabotage and disinformation plots tied to Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The suspect in the latest case, reportedly a Kazakh national…
Published on 29/04/2026 – 13:10 GMT+2 Friends star Lisa Kudrow, who starred as Phoebe Buffay in the hugely popular and beloved sitcom, has criticised the writers on the show, alleging they were “brutal” and discussed “sexual fantasies” about the actresses. Speaking to The Times, the star, 62, claimed that the “mostly men” writing crew often reprimanded the cast for forgetting lines. “There was definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes,” Kudrow alleged. “Don’t forget we were recording in front of a live audience of 400, and if you messed up one of these writers’ lines or it didn’t get…
Kosovars will now head to the polls within the next 45 days to elect a new government. It’s the third parliamentary election in just over a year — and Kosovo’s instability is increasingly undermining its EU ambitions and efforts to normalize its relationship with Serbia, having declared independence in 2008. The country applied to join the bloc in 2022, but has not been granted candidate status, as that depends on the EU-brokered dialogue with Serbia and all member countries acknowledging Kosovo as a sovereign nation. Cyprus, Spain, Slovakia, Romania and Greece currently do not recognize Kosovo.
The EU must deal with the US as an equal partner, not as a junior one, European Parliament vice-president Sophie Wilmès told Euronews on Wednesday, as EU leaders weigh a harder line with Washington over the Iran war and trade tariffs. “What is very important regarding the United States is that we are talking to each other as equal partners and not as a big brother against the little brother or the little sister,” Wilmès said. “Europe should do with Europe,” the former Belgian prime minister replied when asked whether the EU should reduce its dependence on its transatlantic ally.…
Published on 29/04/2026 – 11:41 GMT+2 Natural historian, broadcaster and British national treasure Sir David Attenborough turns 100 next month, on 8 May. To celebrate the event as well as Attenborough’s eight-decade career, which includes the award-winning Planet Earth series, a star-studded event is being planned at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Broadcasters including Sir Michael Palin and Steve Backshall will be in attendance, as well as musicians who featured in Planet Earth. Bastille frontman Dan Smith will be performing a classical version of the band’s hit ‘Pompeii’ with the BBC Concert Orchestra, following the track being used in Planet Earth…
May 9, which marks the Soviet triumph over Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, has become a core symbol of Russia’s modern militaristic ideology and one of its justifications for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 under the pretext of fighting Naziism, which it accuses Ukraine of harboring. Parades in Moscow have traditionally included columns of troops, dozens of tanks, artillery systems, air defense, nuclear-capable weapons and other military equipment columns. This year, the parade will include veterans of Russia’s war against Ukraine, some military students, marines and a military aviation show. While there is limited independent battlefield information, the Ukrainian…