Author: Press Room
By Serge Duchêne Published on 23/08/2026 – 12:46 GMT+2•Updated 13:25 The former commentator turned politician, Raphaël Glucksmann, was due to announce on Sunday evening that he will run in next year’s French presidential election, joining an already crowded field of contenders, including within the left itself. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT At 46, this former essayist and MEP, who heads the centre-left party Place publique, was expected to make his bid official in a prime-time interview on the TF1 television channel. It was also on TF1 that, on 26 May, the 46-year-old MEP announced that he was giving himself three months “to criss-cross the…
Published on 23/08/2026 – 8:10 GMT+2 Six EU countries are intensifying calls for a bloc-wide windfall tax on oil companies as profits surge amid the war in the Middle East, according to a draft letter seen by AFP on Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The finance ministers of Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, and Portugal, along with Spain’s economy minister, sent a joint letter to Ireland’s finance minister, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. The ministers urged that a levy be added to the agenda for next month’s meeting of EU finance chiefs in Dublin. “Oil companies are enjoying overall profitability and…
A total of 18 migrants were buried on Friday in the Muslim cemetery in Ceuta, three weeks after the border crisis that left more than 90 people dead and led to more than 72,000 people entering the autonomous city from Morocco. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The bodies, all of them men, were laid to rest without having been identified. Their graves are marked only with numbers to allow possible identification later if relatives come forward to claim them, interim cemetery director Said Mohammed told AP. During the burial, a Muslim cleric recited prayers while funeral workers placed the bodies, wrapped in white…
Across the country, firefighters are battling to deal with the weather front moving across Poland. Since midnight they have already responded to more than 4,000 call-outs to remove fallen trees, secure damaged roofs and pump water from flooded streets and buildings, the State Fire Service reported at 10:00 on Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Due to the forecast weather conditions, 12 scout camps have also been evacuated as a precaution. “Participants and staff have been taken to permanent buildings” – Brigadier Karol Kroć from the State Fire Service told the Polish Press Agency. He stressed that so far there have been no…
Leo XIV is visiting this Saturday San Marino and Rimini with the aim of relaunching to the world his message of peace and coexistence from the Italian enclave, where a Pope is returning after more than 15 years, and from the Communion and Liberation Meeting in the Romagna city, one of the most important events for the Catholic world in Italy. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “The Republic of San Marino can be a laboratory of good politics, where, without compromising the secular nature of the State, it is possible to draw on the principles of Catholic social doctrine: the pursuit of the…
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola paid tribute to former Estonian Prime Minister and European Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas following the news of his death which was announced by the EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas on Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “It is with sadness that I must announce that my dear father, Siim Kallas, passed away last night,” Kaja Kallas posted on Instagram. Siim Kallas, Estonia’s first ever European commissioner, starting from 2004 and father to the EU’s current foreign affairs chief, died at the age of 77. Metsola’s tribute highlighted the courage needed to rebuild Estonia, introduce its own currency…
Published on 22/08/2026 – 17:28 GMT+2 It was his first public engagement after the summer break: Two days after the complete extinguishing of the forest fire in the Hürtgen Forest, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) visited the affected area today to thank the emergency services. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Merz was met with boos and whistles. Numerous onlookers gathered on the village square where Merz arrived. At times the chancellor was barely audible, as his words were drowned out. A member of the Hürtgenwald volunteer fire brigade expressed anger at the loud reactions. “Those who are shouting and whistling should turn that…
Published on 22/08/2026 – 15:26 GMT+2•Updated 15:26 French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Saturday that France would deliver new interceptor missiles to Kyiv following a major Russian attack on a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Ukrainian authorities said Russia launched two waves of drone attacks on the city on Friday, killing at least 16 people and injuring 130 others, including 23 children. The attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown has prompted condemnation from leading figures across Europe, with Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, calling it “terror by design.” In a post on X,…
FC Barcelona footballer Pablo Páez Gavira, better known as Gavi, is reported to have allocated 1.3 million euros to a housing project for people who are homeless or in vulnerable situations in Los Palacios y Villafranca, the town in Seville where he was born and raised. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to Spanish media, the initiative involves the construction of 150 apartments with capacity for around 300 people. The aim is to provide stable accommodation for local residents who are facing difficulties in accessing housing. The project represents a particularly significant investment for the midfielder because of his close ties to Los…
Published on 22/08/2026 – 7:00 GMT+2 US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could make their first visit to Ukraine in the coming days, after weeks of reports that the two key negotiators were preparing to travel to Kyiv as part of Washington’s efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The visit may take place around Ukraine’s Independence Day on Monday, although neither Washington nor Kyiv have confirmed the trip. Trump said in late July that he would send Witkoff and Kushner to the Ukrainian capital in the coming weeks. Subsequent reports suggested the two could…