Author: staff
Published on 25/09/2026 – 14:59 GMT+2 Hungarian authorities have informed Brussels that they intend to limit their request for an EU defence loan to €5.4 billion under the EU’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) programme, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier confirmed on Friday. The latest figure is less than half the €16.4 billion originally requested by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The original proposal was contested by Orbán’s successor, Péter Magyar, who took office in April. It is understood that Magyar wanted to reassess the original proposal over alleged corruption risks linked to the previous government. “We were always…
Published on 25/09/2026 – 14:31 GMT+2•Updated 14:34 Turkey has reached an agreement with Baghdad to gradually transfer control of the strategic Bashiqa-Zilkan military base in northern Iraq to the Iraqi government. The deal follows an understanding between the two countries over the progress Iraq has made with regard to strengthening security measures in the area as well as reasserting Iraqi state authority there. The decision was announced in a joint statement issued after a meeting in New York between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on the margins of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.…
Ukraine first announced the budget gap in August. It emerged after Ukraine had to bring forward state defense spending originally planned for the second half of the year, as Hungary delayed the EU’s €90 billion loan to Kyiv. Purchases made included “fiber-optic drones, middle-strike drones, interceptors,” former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told POLITICO in June. The shortfall remains despite €30 billion in funding Europe has already pledged to Ukraine this year as part of the €90 billion loan. Zelenskyy said he received a positive and constructive response from the EU during his diplomatic talks this week. “Everyone understands that covering…
Equipped with air-filtering masks, workers at a recycling plant in Ivanić-Grad, Croatia, recycle ethanol, benzene or acetones, and thinners to dilute paints. These and other used solvents come from the food packaging, pharmaceutical or automotive industries. They are full of hazardous substances. A complex process removes all their residues and turns contaminated solvents into clean ones, ready to be re-used. “This is the contaminated solvent that we are taking from the machine and into the distillator. We are distilling it, and for the result we are getting the clean solvent that is used to further production. Clean as a whistle”,…
The aircraft struck between the 10th and 11th floors during a barrage that followed air-raid warnings in the Ukrainian capital. At least seven people were initially injured**,** including a nine-year-old boy, as rescue teams evacuated residents and worked through broken glass and debris. As attacks continued, the number of injured across Kyiv climbed to 20, including eight people taken to hospital. Buildings were also damaged in Podilskyi and Solomianskyi, while another drone later struck a five-storey non-residential property in Shevchenkivskyi. The latest assault came after ballistic missiles killed two people and injured eight in Kyiv the previous night. President Volodymyr…
The pope named no politician or party. But his defense of diversity and religious freedom lands as Le Pen’s National Rally campaigns against immigration ahead of a presidential election she hopes to win for the first time. “This dialogue is all the more urgent in the context of present-day France, where the people of differing cultural and religious backgrounds are called to live together,” the pontiff continued. Standing in front of French government members and church dignitaries, the pope also argued against pushing religion out of public life, weeks after the National Rally said it was in favor of banning…
Published on 25/09/2026 – 15:03 GMT+2 France’s rural communities are feeling the full force of the global energy crisis sparked by the war in Iran. Almost 21 million people — nearly a third of the French population — live in the countryside, which covers around 90% of the country’s landmass. In Saint-Just-en-Chaussée, a town of around 6,000 people in the northern Oise department, rising energy prices are being felt even in the local bakery. Kevin Luce bakes his bread in two heating oil-fired ovens — a fuel that was once cost-effective but has become increasingly expensive. “At the outset it…
Firefighters rescued two women from an adjacent property on Lysikratous Street and took them to hospital, while police cordoned off the busy tourist area. The blast left rubble strewn across the road, damaged cars and surrounding buildings, and sparked a fire. Emergency crews remained at the scene to inspect the wreckage and assess neighbouring structures for further instability. The nearby First Greek Evangelical Church was also badly affected, with windows shattered throughout the building. The cause remained under investigation. Greek media suggested a gas leak may have been responsible, although authorities had not confirmed this. The location added to safety…
Published on 25/09/2026 – 13:22 GMT+2 A broken screw could lead to steering failure in about 2.86 million VW and Audi vehicles worldwide, according to Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA). Under certain conditions, corrosion could cause a bolt securing the steering gear to break. In the worst case, this could lead to a loss of steering control and increase the risk of an accident. On the authority’s website, the matter is currently marked as “under investigation”, which means that a final assessment is still pending. The models concerned include the Audi Q3 as well as the VW Golf, Golf…
Published on 25/09/2026 – 14:24 GMT+2 Gianni Infantino came under more pressure on Friday as the Premier League and three other top European leagues called for FIFA governance reform following a failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup. A statement co-signed with the top leagues from Spain, Italy and Germany said football had “suffered one of the biggest abuses of power in FIFA’s history.” It accused FIFA’s president of actively promoting “exploitative ideas rather than safeguarding against them.” The Premier League is football’s richest and most popular league. Its collaboration with Europe’s other leading leagues adds to the…