Author: staff
The Spanish prime minister said Europe has an obligation to fill the gap as the U.S. steps back from international cooperation, in remarks at the European Pulse Forum, an initiative of POLITICO and beBartlet. Apr 10 4 mins read
The world’s richest nations are withdrawing aid funds for poorer countries at a rate never seen before, according to a new study. In 2025, the second consecutive year of decline, official development assistance (ODA) by member states dropped by 23.1% from 2024 to just over €149 billion, the OECD has reported. Leading the retreat, the US led by President Donald Trump slashed its aid budget by an unprecedented 57%, accounting for the lion’s share of the global shortfall. Together with cuts from other major donors, namely France (-10.9%), Germany (-17.4%), Japan (-5.6%) and the UK (-10.8%), they account for 96%…
Across Israel, sirens at 10:00 brought daily life to a halt, with people stopping in the streets, drivers stepping out of their cars and public transport pausing in cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The day is dedicated to the memory of the six million Jews murdered during the Second World War. Official ceremonies took place at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem, attended by President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The event included the laying of wreaths, the reading of victims’ names and testimonies from survivors’ families, underscoring the ongoing duty to remember and teach the…
By Anna Desmarais & AP Published on 14/04/2026 – 10:20 GMT+2 With the Orion capsule barely out of the Pacific, NASA is already planning the next chapter of its Artemis programme. Artemis II delivered never-before-seen views of the Moon’s far side, a solar eclipse viewed from lunar orbit and a new record distance for humans in space. The mission is the latest in a series NASA plans that will eventually put humans back on the Moon and establish a permanent base there. “The next mission’s right around the corner,” entry flight director Rick Henfling said following the crew’s splashdown on Friday. Last month,…
The Ukrainian army has been scaling up the use of ground robotic systems, currently piloted by humans from a safe distance, to perform different assault operations and pull out wounded troops from the kill zone, where human evacuation teams could be destroyed by drones. In January, Ukrainian ground robot Droid TW-7.62, equipped with artificial intelligence elements for autonomous detection, capture and tracking of targets, took three Russian soldiers as POWs, Ukrainian defense manufacturer Devdroid said. Zelenskyy said that in the first three months of 2026, ground robotic systems performed more than 22,000 missions on Ukraine’s front line. “In other words,…
Published on 14/04/2026 – 9:25 GMT+2 Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić became the first foreign leader to clash with Hungary’s Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar, just one day after Sunday’s parliamentary elections. Magyar’s Tisza Party secured a landslide victory at the polls, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power. Orbán and Vučić had maintained close political ties throughout that period. Speaking to Serbia’s state broadcaster on Monday night, Vučić dismissed Magyar’s earlier remarks as “stupid” after the Hungarian leader suggested he knew who was orchestrating the political alliance between Orbán, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Vučić. “I know exactly what is…
By Lucia Blasco & Cristian Caraballo Published on 14/04/2026 – 10:14 GMT+2 Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has agreed to prosecute Begoña Gómez, wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, for alleged crimes of influence peddling, corruption in business, embezzlement of public funds and misappropriation, after closing the investigation of the case. The magistrate has ruled out the crime of professional intrusion due to insufficient evidence, but considers there to be sufficient evidence to continue the proceedings for the other four crimes. The decision also involves the advisor Cristina Álvarez and the businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés, both of whom are also being prosecuted in the…
After Paramount Skydance reached a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in late February after Netflix dropped its bid for the company, many saw this merger as a bleak omen for cinema. If successful, the deal – estimated at around $111bn – would consolidate two of Hollywood’s most significant studios. It would reduce the number of US film studios to four, and many believe the merger would result in diminishing quality and significant job losses. Paramount chief executive David Ellison has asserted the deal would be good for the creative community. However, Ellison and his father Larry Ellison both have…
Bei Regierungskonsultationen soll über weitere Unterstützung der Ukraine beraten werden. Inmitten eigener wirtschaftlicher Turbulenzen muss Deutschland klären, wie die Hilfe für Kiew langfristig gesichert werden kann. Aber es wird auch um strategische Partnerschaften gehen. Denn längst kann die Ukraine im Bereich des Drohnen-Kampfes und der Abwehr von Drohnen beachtliche und viel gefragte Erfahrungen vorweisen. Hans von der Burchard über die Erwartungen an das Treffen. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview ordnet dazu die SPD-Verteidigungspolitikerin Siemtje Möller die aktuelle Lage in der Ukraine ein. Sie spricht über die Notwendigkeit weiterer Unterstützung und die Herausforderungen für die Bundeswehr in Zeiten multipler globaler Krisen. Die Regierung hat…
Good morning from Brussels, where there is palpable sense of expectation after Sunday’s Hungarian election which saw the dethroning of long-time leader Viktor Orbán. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Monday for “swift” progress in restoring the fraught ties between Brussels and Budapest following opposition leader Péter Magyar’s stunning win on Sunday, adding that contacts will begin immediately but that the reset would need to wait until Magyar formally takes office, expected in mid-May. My colleagues Jorge Liboreiro and Sándor Zsiros break down which EU funds Magyar could seek to unlock as he aims to turn a…