Author: Press Room
The EU stands in “full solidarity” with Spain following the Ceuta migrant crisis, EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said on Tuesday, calling the crisis “a test of our European resilience.” ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Brunner spoke to reporters after EU interior ministers held an online emergency meeting to discuss the aftermath of a crisis that saw around 70,000 non-EU nationals enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco within 24 hours. The meeting also sought to ease tensions with Spain in the wake of a Europe-wide backlash against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s migration policies. “These past few days were a test…
Three has always been the number associated with ‘charm’, but for Bartłomiej “Foka” Kubkowski’s, it was five, as that is how many attempts it took to swim across the Baltic Sea. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT On Sunday at around 8 pm local time, the swimmer came ashore at Dziwnów beach in Poland, which was a condition for completing the challenge. In total, he swam 160 km in 55 hours. His feat helped the Cancer Fighters Foundation raise nearly 850,000 zlotys (€197,421) for the fight against cancer, and the fundraising campaign is still ongoing. Several previous attempts to swim across the Baltic Sea…
Published on 04/08/2026 – 15:09 GMT+2 Lebanon and Israel held a fresh round of US-sponsored talks in Rome on Tuesday, with Beirut seeking Israel’s phased withdrawal from the country’s south. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Convoys carrying delegations from the two countries arrived in the morning to the US embassy in the Italian capital, where discussions are scheduled to run until Thursday. At negotiations in Washington in June, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a framework deal that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon’s south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in…
The United States is unlikely to reach an agreement with Ukraine on the joint production of Patriot interceptor missiles before this winter, US ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on Monday, fuelling uncertainty over the most critical aspect of Kyiv’s air defences. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “A long-term production agreement will not be concluded before this winter. So we will continue working on it,” Whitaker said in a Fox News interview, stressing that PAC-3 Patriot interceptors remain tightly controlled under US export rules, meaning the scope for rapid licensing is limited. “We do not allow anybody but US manufacturers to make those…
By Alessio Dell’Anna & video by Léa Becquet Published on 04/08/2026 – 9:37 GMT+2 As Ukraine’s EU membership negotiations advance with the opening of a new cluster, a recent poll reveals public sentiment in the bloc on Kyiv’s potential accession. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Support is particularly strong in Spain, where 65% back Ukraine’s joining the EU, according to a Polling Europe survey. Kyiv-Madrid ties have grown significantly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Since then, Spain has trained more than 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel, and in 2026, it announced a €1 billion military aid package for the country. Italians also broadly support…
Published on 04/08/2026 – 9:40 GMT+2 Russia’s state news agency reports that Russian forces have shot down a “rare” Portuguese-made drone operating with the Ukrainian army. The Tekever AR3 was brought down by a Russian anti-drone battalion in the border region of Bryansk, the unit’s commander told TASS. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “An enemy reconnaissance drone entered our sector. We were surprised because we had never seen anything like it. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had a different structure at the tail and on the wings. When we reached the crash site, we found it was a Portuguese reconnaissance drone. It is…
It all started with Instagram posts suggesting that Spain’s border with Morocco was opening up. Then came Facebook users tracking coastguard patrols and TikTok videos showing where to swim. After numerous posts and comments, thousands of Moroccans became convinced that Europe was suddenly within reach. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Within hours, young people began heading for the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa. Packed buses were arriving in the neighbouring Moroccan city of Fnideq. Commuter trains filled up. So did taxis. By the time the authorities reacted, an estimated 60,000 people had reached Ceuta in just a few…
Firefighters in Greece were hoping to contain a wildfire on the outskirts of Athens on Tuesday that is burning for a fifth day, with easing winds enabling the use of vital aircraft. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “Today, more than 30 aircraft will be deployed in the area,” enabling access to difficult mountain terrain, fire department deputy spokesperson Yiannis Artopios told state TV ERT. Over 500 firefighters were deployed in villages around Mount Kithairon, some 60 kilometres northwest of the capital according to the fire service. “We want to keep the fire in a controlled situation,” Artopios said. Large areas affected by the…
It was never meant to be like this. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced her blueprint for the 20th package of economic sanctions against Russia, she made maritime services the centrepiece. “On energy, we introduce a full maritime services ban for Russian crude oil. It will slash further Russia’s energy revenues and make it more difficult to find buyers for its oil,” von der Leyen said in early February. For Brussels, it was an overdue opportunity to complete unfinished business. The EU first tried to ban the provision of maritime services for Russian tankers in…
Published on 04/08/2026 – 7:42 GMT+2 Firefighters are rushing to contain a forest blaze in the southeast of the Netherlands that spread overnight to engulf 100 hectares on Tuesday, authorities said. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT It was the latest in a string of wildfires to hit western Europe, following deadly heatwaves that have dried up riverbeds and vegetation, extreme weather events scientists have linked to human-made climate change. The fire started around Monday afternoon in a nature reserve near the village of Oostrum in Limburg province, close to the border with Germany. The blaze spread to 100 hectares as of early Tuesday…