Author: staff

A different way Four diplomats, granted anonymity to speak frankly about the sensitive talks, told POLITICO that countries are now in the process of developing their own proposals to share with the Commission. These would set out alternative mechanisms, likely focusing on how candidate countries can feel the benefits of alignment with the EU’s market and access to its investment schemes. “If member states don’t like ‘reverse enlargement,’ that is fine,” said one EU official, “but they can put their proposals on the table too.” In a rare show of unity last month, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Serbian…

Published on 24/03/2026 – 15:03 GMT+1 After a few rounds of trilateral talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia, the diplomatic process aimed at putting an end to Moscow’s full-scale invasion has largely stalled with no clear progress in sight. Kyiv’s delegation returned from two days of meetings in Miami with few tangible results, following what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as a discussion over “the key points, opportunities and challenges”. “The most important thing is to work out security guarantees in such a way that they bring us closer to ending the war. Security is the key to peace.”…

They added that cooperation between like-minded partners would include a security conference on the topic, which could be hosted in London or Portsmouth, the home of the Royal Navy on the south coast of England. NATO chief Mark Rutte and British PM Keir Starmer now appear to be leading the push to restart traffic through the Strait, despite skepticism from other allies. The same British official discussed options for securing the channel, such as deploying autonomous minehunting systems from a mothership in the Gulf, while conceding this would not be possible while the current level of hostilities continue. They expressed…

Published on 24/03/2026 – 14:37 GMT+1 The European Commission has delayed the presentation of a highly anticipated proposal to permanently ban the imports of Russian oil, as the war in the Middle East continues to send shockwaves across energy markets and keep the Brent barrel over $100. It also comes amid a tense standoff with Hungary and Slovakia, the only two member states that still buy Russian oil, over the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline. The legislation, which is part of the REPowerEU roadmap, was tentatively scheduled to be unveiled on 15 April, but the date has now been removed from the…

Israeli authorities were searching the site of a missile strike in Tel Aviv for survivors on Tuesday after an Iranian missile struck a building in the centre of the city. An Israeli police superintendent confirmed that the damage to central Tel Aviv was caused by an Iranian warhead with about 100 kilograms of explosives which directly impacted a residential street. First responders combed through rubble after the missile struck. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical service said “six people were lightly injured at four different sites” and released videos showing a partially gutted building and vehicles on fire.

Published on 24/03/2026 – 14:32 GMT+1 At the opening bell on Tuesday, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell around 0.65% and 0.8% respectively, while Nasdaq also dropped 0.8%. The tempo of the Iran war remains high even a day after President Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran’s closure of the vital waterway continues to disrupt energy markets and international shipping, threatening the global economy. There are also reports that Iran is now effectively charging some commercial vessels transit fees to pass through the maritime chokepoint, with some payments…

Artificial intelligence-generated imagery depicting the sexual abuse of children surged by 14 percent in 2025, as investigators face growing difficulty distinguishing synthetic content from real photographs, according to a new report. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a British non-profit dedicated to removing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from the internet, identified more than 8,000 AI-generated images and videos from user reports over the past year. The IWF’s researchers label content as AI-generated if there are any obvious mistakes in the imagery, if the victim claims it is AI, or if there’s any information from the original creator about how AI…

We love how low-cost carriers have revolutionised the travel industry, opening up far-flung cities and destinations to more people in an increasingly divided world. But we wouldn’t say we actually love travelling on low-cost carriers. You spend far too much time fighting with your carry on to ensure you don’t have to check it, only for the real mental battle to begin when you sit down on an uncomfortable seat with no space to stretch out. That might be about to change if your choice of budget airline is easyJet, however, as the carrier is rolling out new lighter seats…

A centuries-old Cambodian sculpture has been brought back to life after years of painstaking restoration, marking a significant moment for the country’s cultural heritage. The “Dancing Shiva” statue, a towering five-metre sandstone sculpture dating back to the 10th century, was unveiled this week at the Angkor Conservation Centre in Siem Reap. Originating from Koh Ker, once a capital of the Khmer Empire, the statue depicts the Hindu god Shiva with ten arms and five faces, symbolising cosmic energy and balance. The seven-ton sculpture’s journey to restoration has been long and complex. It was believed to have been toppled centuries ago…

That must follow a serious effort by the EU to tackle illegal and harmful content on social media, he said, which hasn’t happened yet. “We haven’t remotely tried hard enough yet to ensure effective oversight of the platforms.” The human rights chief praised the EU’s digital laws as world-leading, including the Digital Services Act, which seeks to protect kids from systemic risks on online platforms — but said it wasn’t being policed strongly enough. “We have a very piecemeal enforcement of the Digital Services Act and the other relevant rulebook right across Europe. It’s very much dependent on the goodwill…