Author: Press Room

Sweden heads to the polls on Sunday in a tight general election that could see the left-wing opposition oust the government after a campaign dominated by concerns over healthcare and the welfare state amid fears over Europe’s security. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Opinion polls have pointed to a victory for the centre-left opposition headed by the Social Democrats. But Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s centre-right coalition and its parliamentary ally, the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, have narrowed the gap in the final weeks of campaigning and the election could go down to the wire, experts say. “There’s still a bit of suspense. But all…

European Union member states have been asked to specify a realistic volume of revenue to be raised by new Europe-wide taxes, and to outline which adjustments are needed, as Ireland’s EU Council presidency irons out a new compromise for the bloc’s budget. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The thorny issue of creating fresh EU taxes, known as own resources, to finance the next long-term budget was on the table at a meeting of European ambassadors on Tuesday, with the Irish presidency testing the ground for a new compromise package. “The vast majority of member states are willing to engage on a package of…

Published on 08/09/2026 – 11:06 GMT+2 Ukraine’s prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko has resigned amid a major corruption investigation involving officials in his office. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The country’s anti-corruption agencies, NABU and SAPO, say they uncovered a criminal group whose members allegedly took bribes from fraudulent call centres and laundered millions in criminal proceeds. Kravchenko’s office was searched during the investigation, while recordings released by NABU refer to a person described as the “boss.” Investigators say the person has the patronymic Andriiovych and previously headed the State Tax Service, details that match with Kravchenko. Kravchenko has not been named as a…

As the far right made significant gains in local elections in Germany, divisions have opened up within Italy’s political right. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The AfD (Alternative for Germany) took 43.8 per cent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, a historic result that has shaken the federal government in Berlin. The shockwave reached Rome, where reaction from Italy’s governing parties was sharply divided. Sunday’s election result in Saxony-Anhalt is “a worrying signal”, said Forza Italia leader and foreign minister Antonio Tajani. “A negative signal,” he added, although there is no need to “overdramatise” it, he told Il Messaggero. “It was widely expected —…

Published on 08/09/2026 – 9:05 GMT+2 Fourteen defendants go on trial in France on Tuesday over a 2021 Channel crossing that killed 31 people, including a seven-year-old, in the worst small-boat disaster involving migrants in those waters. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Prosecutors allege the accused, said to have ties to smuggling operations, bear responsibility for the sinking that claimed 27 confirmed lives — most of them Iraqi Kurds — when an overloaded dinghy went down in the early hours of 24 November, 2021. Four victims have never been found, and just two men made it out alive. That morning, a French fishing…

Published on 08/09/2026 – 8:01 GMT+2 Laura Fleischmann reports live from Berlin, a day on from the AfD’s landslide in Sunday’s Saxony-Anhalt election and as pressure builds on Chancellor Merz. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Interviews with Béla Anda, communications expert and former German government spokesperson; and Tymofiy Mylovanov, former Ukrainian Economy Minister. Shona Murray breaks down the meeting of the so-called Ukraine Defence Contact Group, taking place today amid the urgent need for Ukrainian air defence. Mared Gwyn looks at the fallout from Monday’s funeral for convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić in Belgrade, after the EU condemned the military-honours send-off as incompatible…

Published on 07/09/2026 – 8:15 GMT+2•Updated 12:03 Throwing away your broken washing machine seems easier because it’s quicker and cheaper than fixing it. This is changing as the EU wants you to use your goods for longer. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The EU’s Right to Repair Directive encourages consumers to repair broken products rather than replace them by making repairs easier, more accessible, and more appealing. The directive was adopted in June 2024, and member states had until 31 July 2026 to transpose it into national law. The goal is to keep products for longer, reduce e-waste, promote sustainability, and help consumers…

No alternative: With voters turning out in droves, preliminary end results from Sunday’s Saxony-Anhalt ballot show the AfD securing 43.8% of the vote, representing 39 seats of the 83-member state parliament. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Although this is short of an outright majority, with the official results expected Monday night, it is already being interpreted as a major loss for Merz’ centre-right Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) party. This is a party that has led the region of Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years, but only scraped through 17.2% of the votes. Nothing short of a disaster: AfD co-chair Alice Weidel told CNN…

Published on 08/09/2026 – 4:47 GMT+2 Russia resumed strikes on Kyiv after the expiration of a three-day halt in attacks for a visit to the Ukrainian capital by US envoys, as “Russian forces attacked Boryspil and Fastiv districts with drones,” the State Emergency Service of Ukraine posted on Telegram late Monday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Russia’s state news agency TASS also confirmed earlier that the strike pause had expired. Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the three-day halt in Moscow’s strikes on Kyiv as US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were visiting the Russian and Ukrainian capitals at…

Eurostat estimates that consumer goods thrown away prematurely generate close to 35 million tonnes of waste annually across the EU. Although most discard their devices when broken, a Eurobarometer survey showed that 77 percent of Europeans would prefer repairing their appliances to replacing them. But professional repair services are often expensive, and parts are made inaccessible by the companies that provide them. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The EU wants to stop this cycle of premature replacements through the Right to Repair Directive and an accompanying set of Ecodesign regulations. Amongst other things, the new laws ask manufacturers to design appliances with standard…