Author: Press Room

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya believes change in Russia could begin with change in Belarus, arguing that her country’s opposition movement is “more consolidated” than its Russian counterpart. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Tsikhanouskaya said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “testing the borders” of the European Union and “watching the reaction” from Western countries. She urged Europe “not to panic, but to be prepared”, stressing that she is not encouraging Europe to attack, but to be ready to respond to a possible attack.

Published on 29/09/2026 – 12:11 GMT+2•Updated 12:22 A school attack by a pupil in northwestern Slovakia on Tuesday left one 61-year-old woman dead and another woman and a child wounded, rescue workers told the AFP news agency. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The two injured, including a 44-year-old “with a stab wound to the chest,” were admitted to hospital following the attack at the school in Staskov, Emergency Medical Services Operations Centre spokeswoman Petra Klimesova said. Slovak media said the dead woman was a teacher and the two people wounded were another teacher and a pupil. The attacker was a teenage pupil in…

Published on 29/09/2026 – 12:53 GMT+2 French teenagers set fire to rubbish bins and hurled projectiles in clashes with police on Tuesday, as they kept up a blockade of some high schools demanding better conditions. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT High school students have staged protests outside their schools since last week over grievances including timetables, class sizes and a shortage of teachers as well as overheated classrooms in the wake of the recent heatwaves. The movement in the lycées, which handle the final years of school in France, started in the Ile-de-France region around Paris, where blockades in some 10 schools were…

The Spanish government on Tuesday approved two new decrees aimed at tackling the country’s housing crisis. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Measures included in the decrees range from stronger protection against evictions and limits on speculative purchases to tax incentives, as well as new rules for renting and zero-interest financing to help people buy their first home. The move comes at a time of growing public pressure over soaring housing costs and mounting difficulties for people looking both to rent and buy. Spain’s Minister for Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, has described housing as “the main problem facing Spaniards” and presented the…

Hungarian prosecutors on Monday detained two former ministers over corruption and abuse-of-office allegations after parliament lifted their immunity. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The detention of Miklós Seszták and Balázs Hankó is a significant development in Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s efforts to hold officials from his predecessor Viktor Orbán’s era to account. The campaign has been dubbed “Operation Purge.” Magyar, whose Tisza Party won April’s parliamentary election, has accused Orbán of running a “mafia state” that channelled billions of euros in public funds to his business associates. Tisza campaigned on a “Road to Jail” programme, and after forming a government, Magyar announced Operation…

Published on 29/09/2026 – 18:31 GMT+2 Frustration within the European People’s Party is growing over Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), with senior lawmakers urging the party presidency to consider suspending or expelling it from the EPP. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Gathered in Toulouse for their political assembly on Tuesday, EPP senior members expressed deep concern over events at the funeral of Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić, known as the Butcher of Bosnia, who died in late August aged 84 in a UN detention facility in The Hague. They concluded that state honours and the participation of senior Serbian officials at the…

Published on 29/09/2026 – 18:42 GMT+2•Updated 19:40 European Union Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said the EU is not facing an imminent energy-supply crisis, but warned that high prices could have a similar impact on households unable to afford heating or travel to work. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Danish Commissioner said nearly 50 million Europeans were already unable to adequately heat their homes in a normal winter, underscoring the social risks of another price shock. “We are looking into all ideas of how we can make rules more flexible, be more efficient in our implementation, do what we can, both on the…

Ukraine has urged the European Union to tap into the immobilised Russian assets to help plug the country’s financial and military shortfall next year, which could hit a staggering $78 billion (€68.77 billion) if allies fail to step up their contributions. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Sergii Marchenko, Ukraine’s finance minister, made the push on Tuesday as he met with representatives from international donors and financial institutions in Brussels. During the gathering, Marchenko argued that using the pool of Russian assets would be both a practical and fair solution to meet Ukraine’s extraordinary wartime costs, protect its debt sustainability and ensure accountability for…

Published on 29/09/2026 – 17:46 GMT+2•Updated 17:50 British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will set out “different options” for the UK’s future relations with the European Union ahead of a planned UK-EU summit later this year. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Speaking at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, Burnham told the audience that Brexit had “done more harm than good” and that the UK needed a clear strategy on its long-term relationship with the EU. The country’s divisive 2016 vote to leave the EU has once again been thrust under the spotlight this year amid mounting calls…

An 87-year-old Madrid pensioner who was evicted from her home last week will be able to return following an agreement with the property owner. Maricarmen Abascal had lived in the apartment for 71 years, and her eviction sparked protests over Spain’s housing crisis. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to Spanish media, the new eight-year rental contract will cap her rent at 30% of her net income. Maricarmen has accepted the agreement and is expected to return home after being discharged from hospital.