Author: Press Room
Published on 21/06/2026 – 10:29 GMT+2 Petrol sales in Russian-occupied Crimea will be suspended from Sunday morning as a fuel crisis deepens on the peninsula. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “Today, June 21, starting at 9:00 AM, fuel sales at Crimean gas stations will be suspended for cash, non-cash payments, and vouchers for individuals and legal entities,” Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-backed governor of Crimea, announced in a post on Telegram. “Fuel will be sold only to government agencies that ensure the functioning and security of the Republic of Crimea,” he added, while also asking residents to remain calm. Kyiv’s targeting of Russia’s energy…
Welcome back, this newsletter comes to you from the hall of the Justus Lipsius, as I am getting kicked out from the premises of the European Council summit after a whirlwind week of high-stakes diplomacy running between the placid shores of Lake Geneva in Évian-les-Bains and a too-hot-to handle Brussels. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Un jeune homme si brillant. Frankly, you have to give it to Emmanuel Macron. The French president orchestrated a near-perfect G7 summit, balancing a mix of flattery, self-interest, European charm and a bit of luck to land a joint declaration with a clear win for Ukraine — and…
A Spanish court has ordered the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Begoña Gómez, to stand trial by jury for corruption and banned her from leaving the country, according to a court order released Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Judge Juan Carlos Peinado ordered Gomez to hand in her passport and to appear before the court twice a month until a verdict is reached in the case, the ruling said. Peinado in April formally charged Gomez with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds. The court has imposed these precautionary measures on Gómez and on Cristina Álvarez, an…
Published on 20/06/2026 – 15:22 GMT+2 US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his comments on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying she asked him “over and over” for a photo when the pair met at the G7 summit in France earlier this week. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Following the summit, Trump told an Italian journalist that he “felt sorry for Meloni” after she “begged me to take a picture with her”. Meloni hit back in a video posted to social media, branding Trump’s claims as “completely made up” and insisting that neither she nor Italy begs anyone for anything. The…
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has announced that he is stripping his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state honour. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Nawrocki made the decision in response to Ukraine naming a military unit after the controversial World War Two Ukrainian Insurgent Army. In a video posted on X on Friday evening, Nawrocki stressed that the decision to withdraw the honour “is not directed against the Ukrainian nation” and “does not signify a change in the strategic direction of Poland’s security policy”. He also underlined that Poland’s support for Ukraine in its war with…
Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s National Rally and the frontrunner in presidential polls for 2027, vowed on Friday to win the French elections and mark a shift in the course of the European Union. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Bardella said this on the second day of his two day visit to Poland where he met with right-wing and nationalist leaders ahead of his country’s presidential elections next year. His visit to Poland also comes as Poland is preparing for its own parliamentary elections, set to take place next autumn. “I am convinced that over the course of the year 2027, if our…
By Romain Gutkind with AFP Published on 20/06/2026 – 10:48 GMT+2 A heatwave sweeping across France this week could be produce similar conditions to August 2003, when extreme heat led to the deaths of more than 14,800 people. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT This year, municipalities such as Biarritz and Limoges are calling for vulnerable people to be entered on local registers so that authorities can maintain contact and check they have everything they need to cope with the soaring temperatures. The heat will persist over mainland France over the weekend. On Saturday, temperatures will top 30C across the country, while some spots could pass the…
Published on 20/06/2026 – 7:32 GMT+2 A train driver has died after two train services collided in the Bedford area of the UK on Friday, in what has been declared a major incident. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT East Midlands Railway (EMR) said its 16:40 service from Corby to London St Pancras crashed into the 15:50 Nottingham to London St Pancras service at Bedford South. “Tragically, this incident resulted in the fatality of an EMR driver and a number of injuries to passengers on board,” the rail company said in a statement. At least 33 people are reportedly seriously injured following the crash.…
Published on 19/06/2026 – 16:34 GMT+2 A diplomatic row between the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, and Israel over allegations that she compared the country to apartheid-era South Africa drew mixed reactions from European leaders at the EU summit in Brussels. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “I don’t share this characterisation. We need to talk about this at some point, but I don’t share this characterisation at all,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on the margins of the European Council summit on Thursday. The remarks follow media reports alleging that Kallas, during a trip to Mexico last month, told EU diplomats privately that…
Andy Burnham is returning to Westminster. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Greater Manchester mayor stormed to victory in the Makerfield by-election on Thursday night, winning 55% of the vote and comfortably seeing off Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain parties. His return to parliament means he is now free to launch a challenge to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and he has previously signalled that he would join any leadership contest. In his victory speech, Burnham warned his Labour Party that it had one “final chance to change,” and many Labour MPs see him as the party’s best opportunity…