Author: staff
Published on 22/05/2026 – 9:19 GMT+2 The Ivor Novello Awards, which celebrate outstanding achievements in the field of songwriting and composition, took place last night at London’s Grosvenor House. The event saw Rosalía, Lily Allen and Sam Fender triumph, as George Michael was inducted into the fellowship of The Ivors Academy, nine years after his death. Catalan superstar Rosalía was presented with a new award, the international songwriter of the year, following her record-breaking and critically acclaimed 2025 album ‘LUX’ – which topped Euronews Culture’s Best Albums of last year. The Ivors Academy said she had “pushed the boundaries of…
The MP stressed that given both Burnham and the other main leadership contender, Wes Streeting, have signed up to Reeves’ fiscal rules it “doesn’t leave much margin for significant change anyway.” “The bond markets kind of make her bomb-proof,” another Labour MP argued, praising the incumbent chancellor’s record for steadying the economy in turbulent times. “The big clash between Rachel and Ed is over the North Sea,” this person added, referring to the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields whose licenses have been stymied by legal challenges. Reeves is seen as being in favor of their expansion, while Miliband…
Published on 22/05/2026 – 9:00 GMT+2 The Visegrád Four (V4) was set up in 1991 to guide these post-communist neighbours into the West. But beyond geography, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary are bound by the same massive Central European automotive and manufacturing supply chains and a shared goal to protect billions in EU cohesion funding. Their most significant political impact came in 2015, when their coordinated resistance forced Brussels to abandon mandatory migration quotas. But this is no longer the poor relation of Western Europe. Central Europe enters this new chapter with economic strength. Look at the data: last year,…
Published on 22/05/2026 – 9:12 GMT+2 British mountaineer Kenton Cool has completed a historic 20th climb to the summit of Mount Everest, hiking officials said on Friday. Cool already held the record for most climbs by a non-Sherpa and extended it after once again scaling the mountain’s 8,849-metre peak alongside his Sherpa guide Dorjee Gyelzen. He is thought to have reached the summit at around 4 am local time. “More Everest summits than any non-Sherpa ever… and still making it look like just another walk in the hills. Absolute legend,” four-time Everest climber and expedition organiser Lukas Furtenbach of the…
The collective “Zapper Bolloré” has announced that Spanish actor Javier Bardem, British director Ken Loach and American actor Mark Ruffalo have joined the signatories of the open letter expressing concern about conservative businessman Vincent Bolloré’s grip on the film industry. In this text, the initiators denounce what they see as Vincent Bolloré’s “tentacular, ideological hold” over the French film industry. They warn of an increasing concentration of media and cultural power in the hands of the billionaire from Brittany. The first signatories included actors Adèle Haenel, Juliette Binoche and Blanche Gardin, actors Swann Arlaud and Jean-Pascal Zadi, photographer and documentary-maker…
In response, U.S. President Donald Trump branded NATO a “paper tiger” and warned of reprisals. Earlier this month, he announced a cut of 5,000 troops from Germany over comments criticizing the war by the country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz. A loose coalition of around 40 countries led by France and the U.K. has instead become the central forum for efforts to reopen the strait, but only on condition that hostilities end. However, some NATO countries would prefer the alliance take on a more formal role that either takes over from the coalition or launches its own mission, said two NATO diplomats,…
Donald Trump posted an unexpected statement late on Thursday evening, Polish time, on his social media platform Truth Social. “In view of the electoral success of the current president of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, whom I proudly endorsed, and our relations with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will send to Poland an additional 5,000 troops,” Trump wrote. Shock on both sides of the Atlantic The decision took both the Polish authorities and the US administration itself equally by surprise. US media report that Trump is thought not to have consulted anyone before taking this step. The…
Updated: 22/05/2026 – 9:30 GMT+2 Residents in eastern Congo set fire to an Ebola treatment center after authorities stopped them from retrieving the body of a suspected victim for burial, as anger and fear grow over the worsening outbreak. Aid workers fled the scene as flames engulfed the facility. … More
By Tokunbo Salako with AP Published on 22/05/2026 – 9:05 GMT+2 While dinosaurs ruled the land, giant reptiles dominated the world beneath at sea. These were the monsters of the deep and the subjects of a new exhibition at London’s Natural History Museum. “Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep” explores a time nearly 200 million years ago when enormous predators would be on the hunt deep underwater. Among the stars of the show is a plesiosaur, a long-necked marine reptile that could grow up to 12 metres long. “So the plesiosaur has a long neck and a small head at the front, and…
Promoted by sections of the right as the symbol of a new generation ready to challenge Italy’s progressive cultural establishment, Venezi instead became a lightning rod in a broader debate over whether the government’s cultural agenda relied too heavily on political symbolism. Andrea Martella, the center-left candidate for mayor and currently an MP for the Democratic Party, argued the controversies surrounding both La Fenice and the Biennale had damaged the city’s standing. “With both, there was a short circuit between Rome and Venice which ended up humiliating the institutions,” Martella said. “In a city like Venice, this carries enormous weight,…