Author: staff

Published on 23/09/2025 – 15:59 GMT+2 The EU is managing to “stabilise its relations with the US”, European Council President António Costa told journalists in a group interview in New York during the UN General Assembly. Costa touched on US reaffirmation of its commitment to NATO and Ukraine, and the trade deal struck between the EU and the US. “The 27 member states remain united in our relatiosn with the US,” said the Council president, noting that in January, “a lot of people were concerned about the risk of the United States’ withdrawal from NATO.” In June, Trump raised doubts…

“We are not publicizing it too loudly because of the sensitivity for our partners,” a senior EU official told POLITICO. The official was granted anonymity to speak freely, as were others quoted in this piece. “You asked the question, so I’m answering — but we didn’t want this in the headlines.” Behind the scenes, EU negotiators describe a tense balancing act — securing commercial wins for European exporters while treading carefully around Indonesia’s strict cultural and religious stance on alcohol.  “Some delegates on the other side were like, ‘I’m risking my life doing this deal,’” said another EU official, describing how their counterparts…

Published on 23/09/2025 – 18:20 GMT+2 Every year, lawmakers in the Parliament choose an individual or cause that stands out for its fight for human rights, the defence of freedom of expression, the rights of minorities, or democracy. During the past four years, winners have included María Corina Machado, leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela with President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia; the Iranian dissident Mahsa Amini; the people of Ukraine; and the former Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. Before the final vote in October, MEPs present a list of nominees together with their political groups or by any group of at…

“I think we see it as part of our moral duty to stop Farage and stop Reform,” said the first senior Lib Dem MP, while a second said: “A huge number of activists here, and people who are joining us, are doing so precisely because they think Farage’s brand of populism is something they want to stand up against.” The narrowing of the poll gap between Labour, the Conservatives, Lib Dems and the Greens — who are now separated by as little as seven points — is prompting a rethink on where the party should direct its election resources. The…

Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement during her State of the Union address this month comes just weeks before the second anniversary of the Gaza war. In an unusual rebuke of the Jewish state, the European Commission president criticized the scale of the Israeli military campaign, which, she said, created a “man-made famine” in the Palestinian territory.  Following the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas which saw 1,200 people killed and 250 hostages taken, Israel launched a major military operation in the Gaza Strip, which has already caused more than 64,000 deaths, according to data from the Hamas-led government in Gaza.  To force the…

Going back on a decision can be awkward. Especially if you’re a multi-billion-dollar company — caught in a political firestorm — with investors analysing every word. Such is the pickle that Disney finds itself in this week, after deciding to bring back Jimmy Kimmel Live, one of the US’ most well-known talk shows. “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” the firm said. Disney, which owns the ABC network that runs Kimmel’s programme, suspended the presenter last week after he made on-air…

“While the European Commission stated that Libyan authorities are investigating the incident, weeks after the attack, there is no indication that cooperation, or technical and financial assistance, has been suspended during the course of this investigation,” the letter says. The signatories — including Amnesty International, ActionAid, SOS Méditerranée, Emergency, Médecins Sans Frontières, Mediterranea Saving Humans, and Refugees in Libya — argue the assault exposes nearly a decade of failed EU policy.  “Eight years of EU support has not improved these actors’ human rights records, but enabled and legitimised abuses,” they warned, adding that “human lives must not be disregarded in the name of…

Published on 23/09/2025 – 13:50 GMT+2 •Updated 13:55 A young male elk nicknamed Emil, whose wanderings across Central Europe this summer turned him into an online sensation, has been captured by authorities in Austria. The animal was tranquilised by Austrian wildlife officials on Monday after being found near a motorway in the village of Sattledt in Upper Austria during rush hour. He was then fitted with a GPS tag and released on the edge of Bohemian Forest near the Austrian-Czech border, according to the authorities. Animal welfare organisation Tierschutz Austria criticised the officials for their handling of the situation, pointing…

Both Copenhagen and Oslo airports shut down late Monday night after drones were spotted in their airspace, forcing flights to be diverted or canceled and leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded. Earlier Tuesday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she “cannot rule out in any way that it is Russia” behind Monday night’s drone incident. “What we saw last night is the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date,” she told Danish media, adding that the “obvious” motive behind the attack was “to disrupt and create unrest. To cause concern. To see how far you can go and test…

Published on 23/09/2025 – 14:53 GMT+2 NATO issued a warning to Moscow on Tuesday, saying it would use all means to defend against any further breaches of its airspace after the downing of Russian drones over Poland earlier this month and Estonia’s report of an intrusion by Russian fighter jets last week. The 10 September incident in Poland was the first direct encounter between NATO and Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022. Estonia said three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered its airspace for 12 minutes on Friday without authorisation, a charge that the Kremlin has rejected. The incidents…