Author: Press Room
Greece’s parliament lifted the immunity of 13 lawmakers on Wednesday, as demanded by European and Greek prosecutors investigating the alleged theft of millions of euros in EU farm subsidies. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to Greek authorities, the network defrauded at least €23 million after it began in around 2018. Parliament Vice President Georgios Georgantas said lawmakers had overwhelmingly voted to lift the immunity of 13 lawmakers from the ruling conservative New Democracy party of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which has been ensnared in the scandal. The politicians had requested that their immunity be waived to clear their name. The EU’s European…
By Gavin Blackburn & Matthieu Durand Published on 22/04/2026 – 21:25 GMT+2 A second French soldier died on Wednesday from wounds suffered in a weekend ambush against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon (UNIFIL) blamed on the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, President Emmanuel Macron said. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT A first soldier, staff sergeant Florian Montorio, was shot dead in the Saturday ambush, for which Hezbollah has denied responsibility. “Corporal Anicet Girardin…brought home yesterday from Lebanon, where he was badly wounded by Hezbollah fighters, died this morning of the consequences of his wounds,” Macron wrote in a post on X. One of three soldiers hurt in the…
Published on 22/04/2026 – 18:25 GMT+2 An Austrian court acquitted a former senior official on Wednesday that prosecutors had accused of leaking confidential documents linked to the 2018 Novichok poisoning of a former Russian double agent in the UK. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Johannes Peterlik was the foreign ministry’s highest-ranking civil servant between 2018 and 2020. In October 2025 he was charged with “abuse of official authority and breach of confidentiality.” But the Vienna criminal court acquitted him, a court spokesman told the AFP news agency. The prosecution said they would appeal the verdict, he added. Prosecutors had accused Peterlik of requesting…
Published on 22/04/2026 – 20:01 GMT+2 According to Kontroll, the son of the outgoing Prime Minister, ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Gáspár Orbán, the son of Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been discharged from the Hungarian Defence Forces, local media report. Sources at 444.hu confirmed that Orbán, who held the rank of captain, submitted his demobilsation request before the parliamentary elections on 12 April which saw his father’s Fidesz party trounced by the opposition in a landslide. Gáspár Orbán was born in 1992 studied law and first became a footballer, playing as a midfielder for Videoton FC Fehérvár and Puskás Akadémia…
Published on 22/04/2026 – 19:06 GMT+2•Updated 19:07 The “Global Sumud Flotilla” is ready to sail to Gaza again, after its previous mission was intercepted last October by Israeli authorities and failed to reach the Strip. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Almost a hundred boats with around 1,000 people on board will be involved in the new mission, meant to deliver humanitarian aid in Gaza, bypassing Israeli controls. The new initiative is considered even more dangerous than the last one, given the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The last boats are expected to depart on Saturday from Augusta, Sicily, and join up with…
Published on 22/04/2026 – 18:12 GMT+2 The European Union’s leading energy official cautioned on Wednesday that the severe energy crisis triggered by the United States and Israel against Iran is likely to drive up prices for months, if not years. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen emphasised that the impact will be long-lasting, rather than a brief or minor spike in costs. He noted that the war is costing Europe €500 million (about $600 million) per day, warning that “very difficult months, or possibly even years” lie ahead. The sudden loss of 20% of global oil and natural gas…
A video posted on social media shows a despaired Ukrainian soldier panning his camera around to reveal trenches lined with bodies of dead and injured soldiers. These videos reveal the chilling reality experienced by many Ukrainians battling Russian troops on the frontline — a key component of modern-day warfare. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT However, in reality this widely-shared footage is in fact AI-generated, as verified by forensic AI detection company Sensity AI. Researchers from Sensity warn that deepfakes are being used to manipulate public opinion and undermine trust in the military, off the back of authentic videos of Ukrainians soldiers documenting their…
The European Commission is urging EU governments to provide energy vouchers, income support and social tariffs to support vulnerable groups facing high energy prices, as well as blocking energy disconnections from the power grid. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Brussels is also suggesting tax reductions on electricity and clean technologies, while encouraging consumers to lower bills over time through subsidies for clean technologies, like heat pumps, solar panels and home insulation, in a more calculated attempt to help protect Europeans while reshaping the energy system beneath them. Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen and Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition Teresa Ribera…
Published on 22/04/2026 – 14:27 GMT+2 A court in Moldova sentenced oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc to 19 years in prison on Wednesday in a case linked to the disappearance of $1 billion (€850 million) from the country’s banking system. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT A former businessman, lawmaker and kingpin in the Democratic Party of Moldova, Plahotniuc fled Moldova in 2019, as he faced a series of corruption charges. That included complicity in the scheme that led to money disappearing from Moldovan banks in 2014, which at the time was equivalent to around one-eighth of the country’s GDP. He was extradited from Greece last…
Workers across Europe are under constant pressure, caught amid geopolitical crises that ramp up the cost of living and automation that threatens to chip away at jobs. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Seeing a specialist seems to be one of the go-to recommendations of people on the brink of burnout, or already dealing with it. A report by Eurofound — the EU’s agency focused on improving working conditions — showed workplace stress levels and therapy costs across Europe. The findings, however, are sobering. The average cost of a handful of private sessions, typically lasting between 45 and 60 minutes, can, in some cases,…