Author: staff

At least five people have been killed and 19 others injured in a huge explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China, state broadcaster CCTV has said. Six other people remain missing after the blast, which happened around midday at an industrial park in the city of Weifang in Shandong province. Footage of the incident showed smoke billowing above the plant, which is run by the Gaomi Youdao Chemical Co, a firm that manufactures pesticides and chemicals for medical use. China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said that 55 vehicles and 232 emergency respondents had been sent to the scene. The…

The statement comes on the heels of a relative appeasement between Brussels and Washington, after a call between the Trump and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday led to a delay of the imposition of a 50 percent tariff on all European goods from June 1 to July 9. The call marked a positive turn in negotiations between the two sides, after months of mounting frustrations from the Europeans that Washington was not engaging in propositions from the bloc, and rather requesting unilateral concessions. The call between Trump and von der Leyen on Sunday added “a…

Cross-bloc skepticism Spain’s linguistic recognition bid has long raised eyebrows — for a number of reasons. Making Catalan, Basque and Galician official within the institutions would require the translation of all EU laws, proposals and decisions — past, present and future — into those languages and cost millions of euros in additional translation and interpretation fees. Moreover, the move could lead other linguistic minorities — like Breton or Corsican speakers in France, or Russian-speaking communities in the Baltic states — to demand similar recognition. After at least seven countries expressed strong doubts about the proposal during last week’s meeting of the…

Published on 27/05/2025 – 13:14 GMT+2It’s one of the most closely guarded secrets in the industry: the identity of the next 007.  It has been four years since the release of Daniel Craig’s dramatic swansong as Bond in No Time To Die, and since then the rumour mill has been working overtime.We reported last year that one candidate may have the edge over countless others and now, an unlikely source may have confirmed it and let the vodka martini-swigging cat out of the bag.Luxury watchmaker Omega has announced Bond-favourite Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the brand’s latest global ambassador.So what, you may ask? Well,…

KYIV — Russia now controls four border villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, regaining a small part of territory that was liberated by Kyiv’s forces in 2022. “The enemy controls the Sumy region’s Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka villages. Residents of those villages were evacuated long ago, so there’s no threat to the civilian population there,” Oleh Hryhorov, head of Sumy’s regional military administration, said in a statement. The Russian army continues attempts to progress in the frontier region to create a so-called buffer zone, he added, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced as a Kremlin priority last week.

By AP with Indrabati Lahiri Published on 27/05/2025 – 12:44 GMT+2Sweden-based Volvo Cars is eliminating 3,000 positions as part of a cost-cutting programme as the automotive industry faces challenges from trade tensions and resulting economic uncertainty.The company said on Monday that around 1,200 of the job reductions would affect workers in Sweden, while another 1,000 positions currently filled by consultants, mostly in Sweden, were also slated for elimination.The rest of the job losses would be in other global markets, said the firm. Most of the jobs being cut are office positions.“The actions announced today have been difficult decisions, but they are…

“I don’t want to make Islam a subject of fixation for French society,” Bayrou said. Attal, a former socialist and early Macron ally, and other centrists have increasingly seemed to inch rightward on the political spectrum as France and the rest of Europe has drifted toward a more conservative tilt. As education minister, Attal was responsible for overseeing the ban on abayas — long, flowing robes worn by some Muslim women — in school. But Bayrou hinted that Attal’s new proposal could alienate many French Muslims and would be nearly impossible to enforce. “Does it mean that, in the streets,…

Published on 27/05/2025 – 11:45 GMT+2The European Commission has begun investigating porn platforms Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos for suspected breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA) the EU’s online platform rules, related to protection of minors.  These include risks that age verification measures deployed by the sites are ineffective.The Commission has already found on the basis of mandatory reports and requests for information that the companies didn’t put appropriate and proportionate measures in place to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors, in particular with age verification tools to safeguard minors from adult content. Nor did the…

Published on 27/05/2025 – 11:30 GMT+2A German YouTuber and a London thrill-seeker took top honours (and likely a few bruises) at one of Britain’s most chaotic and bizarre sporting traditions: the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling Race.For the second year in a row, Munich’s Tom Kopke threw caution to the wind, hurtling down the 200-yard, nearly vertical hill after a runaway wheel of Double Gloucester in front of thousands of spectators. “All the people at the top said they were going to steal my title but this is mine,” a shirtless Kopke declared as he clutched his prize – the 7-pound…

Now Sweden is taking Israel to task for its actions.   “Blocking food and other aid to civilians is indefensible. What is unfolding before our eyes is the worst humanitarian situation since the start of the war in October 2023,” the ministry wrote in a statement. “The way the war is now being waged is unacceptable.” The statement emphasized that Israel has a right to defend itself, but that it should do so in accordance with international humanitarian law. Israel launched its war in Gaza in retaliation for the October 2023 attack by militant group Hamas, which killed around 1,200 people.…