Author: staff

In a meeting Wednesday afternoon, EU officials endorsed the position, pledging to defer any future drawdowns “pending a clearer IEA assessment of market conditions and security-of-supply risks,” said one of the diplomats. Countries need to know “how low we can go,” said another. While diesel prices are high as a result of airstrikes on energy infrastructure in Russia and the Middle East, some EU countries warned that releasing stocks now could leave them vulnerable in the event of a supply crisis. There remain enough untapped stocks among IEA members to satisfy the pledge to release 100 million barrels. Of the…

Drones have left a trail of destruction across the Black Sea, sinking commercial ships, setting vessels ablaze and killing civilians — exposing the challenge Europe faces in protecting one of its most vulnerable maritime regions. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev described a drone attack on Tuesday, some 130km off the country’s coast, as “absolutely unacceptable”. One merchant ship sank and another was damaged. Radev did not attribute blame, with an investigation still underway. Romanian Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Țoiu described a deadly incident off the country’s coast a day earlier as “a flagrant violation of international law”. On Monday, a Turkish-owned…

Southern right whales have drawn visitors to Hermanus in South Africa, where people gathered along the cliffs and at the annual whale festival to see the animals in Walker Bay. The footage shows whales swimming near the coast, including a mother with her newborn calf, while visitors use binoculars and cameras to follow them from land and boats. Between June and November, southern right whales migrate from Antarctica to the warmer waters off South Africa to give birth and raise their young. Hermanus has become a popular place to see them, with a whale crier walking the 12-kilometre cliff path…

There’s been a lingering sense of a tide turning since Chinese brand ZHONGFANG.LIJIN unveiled its Brocade Reborn collection for spring/summer 2027 at Milan Fashion Week. Its starting point was “Jin Mai” (锦脉), the living veins of brocade. The term refers to the warp and weft of the fabric, but also to the continuity of a tradition that evolves with each new generation. A fashon industry veteran for more than 20-years, He Rong, founder and creative director of ZHONGFANG.LIJIN, is the beating heart of the collection. As a textile engineer, his practice centres on silk and intricately woven brocades, exploring how…

On Tuesday, between 256,000 people, according to police, and 450,000, according to organizers, joined demonstrations across France. Unions, teachers and left-wing political parties took to the streets in solidarity with high school students. But discontent in France extends beyond schools. A surge in fuel prices, triggered by the U.S.-led war in Iran, has added to concerns about the cost of living. Online calls for a Yellow Jackets-style protest on Oct. 17 have emerged in response to rising fuel prices. “Last Friday, [the G7] decided to release strategic [fuel] reserves… As part of this effort, we will make 10 million barrels…

Maricarmen Abascal, whose resistance to eviction from her flat in Madrid sparked a growing nationwide protest has died. Her plight brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets and ultimately brought forward a general election after mass demonstrations across the country. The elderly woman, who had lived in her flat in Madrid’s Retiro district for 70 years, was eventually evicted at the fourth attempt under the gaze of the media, after she was unable to pay the increased rent. She was admitted to hospital, but she managed to force the property fund that expelled her from her home to back down…

A southern elephant seal took an unexpected rest on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach, drawing curious beachgoers who stopped to watch and take photos. A barrier was placed around the animal, with signs asking people to keep their distance as it lounged on the sand. The sight quickly became a talking point among locals and visitors. Some said they had never seen an elephant seal here before, while others had rushed over after spotting videos of it on social media. For residents, seeing the large marine mammal on one of Rio’s best-known shores was an unusual experience. One beachgoer joked…

Bei einem Treffen am Mittwochnachmittag bezogen auch EU-Vertreter diese Position und kündigten an, künftige Entnahmen „bis zu einer klareren Einschätzung der Marktbedingungen und der Risiken für die Versorgungssicherheit durch die IEA“ auszusetzen, so einer der Diplomaten. Die Länder müssten wissen, „wie weit wir gehen können“, sagte ein anderer. Mit Blick auf die aktuell hohen Dieselpreise warnten einige EU-Länder, dass eine Freigabe der Vorräte zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt sie im Falle einer Versorgungskrise verwundbar machen könnte. Unter den IEA-Mitgliedern gibt es noch genügend ungenutzte Vorräte, um die Zusage zur Freigabe von 100 Millionen Barrel zu erfüllen. Von den im März zugesagten 400…

Poland has changed dramatically over the past three decades. Once seen as one of Europe’s poorer economies, it is now among the EU’s fastest-growing countries, and its economic weight is increasingly being felt across Europe. But is this model sustainable? The country is trying to maintain rapid growth while dealing with a large budget deficit, high defence spending and pressure to modernise its economy. That is the central question of this special edition of The Ring, broadcast from Warsaw, featuring two Members of the European Parliament: Michał Szczerba, from the centre-right European People’s Party, and Michał Kobosko, from the liberal…

US President Donald Trump again referred on Tuesday to his decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as ‘Gulf of America’ and mocked Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum’s reaction, according to his account. Speaking at an event with members of the US Navy in Baltimore, Trump said that Sheinbaum had called him to ask him not to alter the name. The president re-enacted the alleged conversation in front of those present and said he had told the Mexican leader that the decision was already made. “It was a slightly tricky moment when I did that. I received a call from the…