Author: staff
When Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed after US-Israeli air strikes and began attacking commercial ships attempting to pass through, the effects were felt almost immediately. Not just in the Gulf, but in European homes and businesses thousands of kilometres away. The blockade severely disrupted one of the world’s most critical shipping routes for oil, gas and chemicals, triggering a sharp energy price shock across Europe. Brent crude surged towards $100 (€86) per barrel, and Europe’s wholesale gas benchmark jumped. For ordinary consumers, that translates directly into higher petrol prices, heftier heating bills and a fresh wave of inflation…
But the plan has already drawn attacks from the Greens’ political opponents, keen to paint the left-wing challenger outfit as profligate. The last time the U.K. government intervened with a universal cap on costs was in 2022, when then-Prime Minister Liz Truss froze average bills at £2,500 per year, after energy prices rocketed on the back of Russia’s war in Ukraine. That universal move ended up cost a whopping £23 billion. Polanski said his policy, which would freeze bills at £1,641 for the average household, would cost £8.4 billion, paid for in part through taxing high-polluting oil and gas firms in the North Sea. Government ministers have already stressed that homes…
Published on 18/03/2026 – 13:36 GMT+1 Far-right leaders Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini will join Viktor Orbán at a campaign rally in Budapest next Monday, three weeks before a parliamentary election that could pose the most serious challenge to the Hungarian leader’s 16-year hold on power. The event, dubbed “the first Patriotic Grand Assembly”, comes as Orbán’s Fidesz party trails behind Tisza — the party of his rival Péter Magyar— in most opinion polls ahead of the 12 April vote. Besides speeches from Le Pen, France’s National Rally leader and Salvini, an Italian Deputy Prime Minister and head of…
The victims, a couple in their 70s, were hit by shrapnel as they headed to a shelter. The attack caused widespread damage and disrupted rail services near Tel Aviv. Police said the impact appeared to involve a cluster munition. Emergency teams found heavy damage to homes and cars, while smoke rose over the area as sirens sounded across central Israel. The overnight barrage hit several sites, with at least eight impact points reported in the Tel Aviv district and nearby Bnei Brak, where one person was lightly injured. Shrapnel also damaged platforms at Savidor Central station, forcing a nationwide suspension…
Published on 18/03/2026 – 13:32 GMT+1 Artificial intelligence (AI) companies Anthropic and OpenAI are looking to hire weapons and explosives experts to prevent misuse of their technology, according to job postings from both companies. Anthropic announced in a LinkedIn post that it was searching for a policy expert on chemical weapons and explosions to prevent “catastrophic misuse” of its technology by shaping how its AI systems handle sensitive information in these fields. The person hired at Anthropic will design and monitor the guardrails for how AI models react to prompts about chemical weapons and explosives. They will also conduct “rapid…
As of March 2026, more than 200 locations in 22 countries across the world have been certified as International Dark Sky Places by the NGO DarkSky International, spanning more than 160,000 square kilometres of protected land. These places act as green sites which make conscious efforts to protect and conserve the natural darkness of the sky, which also helps nocturnal wildlife. Cooler temperatures, avoiding daytime crowds and a greater desire to connect with nature has led to the rise of “noctourism”, especially among millennials and Gen Zers. This includes nighttime activities like stargazing and “starbathing”, or observing celestial events such…
The U.K. government has struggled to combat irregular small boat crossings across the English Channel. Between 2018 and 2025, around 193,000 people were detected crossing, with the yearly peak hitting 46,000 in 2022. Asked for his advice on stopping migration, Orbán told the TV channel his secret was “determination.” “So if you decide that you stop them, stop them. So sometimes it’s not the nicest job, but if you decide that this is our borderline and nobody can cross it without our permission, you have to keep the line. You have to do so.” Last year, around 41,000 people entered…
Published on 18/03/2026 – 13:16 GMT+1 Israel said on Wednesday it killed another top Iranian official, the third in two days, as it continues its longstanding strategy to target its enemy’s leaders. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib had been killed in an overnight strike and promised that “significant surprises are expected throughout this day on all fronts.” Iran did not immediately confirm Khatib’s death. Israel killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force, Gholamreza Soleimani, on Tuesday. Following the announcement, Katz added that the Israeli…
With Europe in the midst of another energy crisis, many are asking how to stop the cost of war making its way onto household bills. The long term solution, which is already cutting bills in Spain, is investing in homegrown renewables, leading to less reliance on imported fossil fuels – inflated prices meant these cost the EU an extra €2.5bn in the first 10 days of the Iran war. The short term solution, which governments could implement overnight, is to cut tax. Last year, 28 per cent of the average European consumer’s electricity bill went on taxes and levies, according…
The first trailer for Dune: Part Three, which is being described as the “epic conclusion of the trilogy,” has dropped. Fans have been going wild over the first look at the third chapter of Denis Villeneuve’s epic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi saga, with the trilogy capper based on the author’s second book in the original Dune series, “Dune Messiah”. The trailer looks like this closing chapter will be the darkest yet: a tormented Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) dealing with the Fremen-led holy war he triggered; a battle-ready Chani (Zendaya); a first glimpse at Robert Pattinson as new villain Scytale……