Author: Press Room

Romanian President Nicușor Dan has said the Black Sea would only become safe after Russia’s war in Ukraine ends, as he called for greater NATO oversight in the region following drone strikes on commercial vessels in an interview with Euronews. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “I’m very optimistic that we’ll have the support and the capabilities in order to be better protected, because it’s an important economic question for Ukraine and for the whole region,” he said on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels held Friday. The Romanian leader said frequent drone incursions into his country’s territory had begun roughly a…

EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday and Friday with a packed agenda, from the long-term budget and financial support for Ukraine to migration, energy and China. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The summit alternated between entrenched positions on the bloc’s budget, a warm welcome for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and clashes over energy and migration policies. Here are the five highlights. Rallying behind Ukraine The bitter row between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump dominated the second day of the summit. Leaders closed ranks behind Zelenskyy and promised to keep sanctions in place for as long as Russia pursues its full-scale invasion.…

The world’s official time standard will stop adding leap seconds from 20 May 2027. The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) decided to end the practice on Thursday 15 October 2026. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The resolution was adopted at the conference’s 28th meeting in Versailles, where delegates discussed the future of world time. Until now, leap seconds have been added from time to time to keep atomic time in line with the Earth’s rotation. But from 20 May 2027, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) will run continuously, with no interruptions. Why the leap second is being scrapped The old rules were…

Published on 16/10/2026 – 16:12 GMT+2 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected Donald Trump’s claim that he is more difficult to deal with than Vladimir Putin, telling Euronews that negotiating with the US president is easier than dealing with the Russian leader. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Speaking to Euronews on Friday at an EU summit in Brussels, Zelenskyy was asked about Trump’s criticism and whether European leaders supported Ukraine’s continued strikes on Russian oil refineries despite pressure from Washington to halt them. “Well, it’s easier dealing with him than with Putin. I’m talking about Trump,” Zelenskyy said. “I’ve had several meetings with…

Published on 16/10/2026 – 16:41 GMT+2 Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital at noon on Friday after medical tests confirmed that his condition continues to improve following lung cancer surgery, according to the Vatican. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “His post-operative recovery allows him to carry out his normal daily activities completely on his own,” said a medical update signed by Leo’s personal physician Dr. Luigi Carbone and the head of thoracic surgery at Gemelli hospital, Dr. Stefano Margaritora. The service was attended by off-duty medical and nursing staff, as well as members of the Vatican City State’s Gendarmerie Corps.…

Published on 16/10/2026 – 15:38 GMT+2 A Norwegian teenager has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of travelling to the UK to carry out an assassination. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, is said to have agreed to undertake a contract killing in exchange for €25,000. He was arrested at a hotel in northern England in March 2025 after having arrived at Manchester airport two days earlier, with officers discovering a bag containing a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, and 19 bullets under his bed. Analysis of his phone and communications showed he had been instructed…

France and Germany struck a deal on Friday to soften the European Union’s effective ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035 in exchange for tougher rules favouring European-made products. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Berlin has long opposed the 2035 rules, seeking to protect its automotive industry, while Paris has pushed for strict “Made in Europe” requirements to counter competition from Chinese manufacturers in the EU market. The agreement was reached on the sidelines of a gathering of EU leaders in Brussels. It links a revision of the 2035 rules on new petrol and diesel cars to the debate over introducing a European…

Published on 16/10/2026 – 13:14 GMT+2 Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called on the European Commission to scrutinise Spain’s plan to legalise the status of 600,000 irregular migrants, directly challenging Madrid’s migration policy during the EU leaders’ summit. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “I have asked the European Commission to examine what happens when a country does almost the exact opposite of what the rest of us are doing,” Frederiksen said on Friday at the start of the summit’s second day. Her comments put her at odds with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, despite both leaders belonging to the same broad Socialist political…

Published on 16/10/2026 – 12:58 GMT+2 Russian attacks on nine regions of Ukraine caused emergency power outages for hundreds of thousands of households and damaged numerous homes, wounding at least 15 people, officials said on Friday, as civilian casualties from Moscow’s full-scale invasion climb steeply. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The latest aerial strikes on civilian targets came as fears mount that a sharp deterioration in relations between Kyiv and Washington this week could leave Ukraine further exposed to Russia’s escalating aerial attacks as the bitter winter approaches. Russia’s heavy bombardment of the power grid before winter sets in has been an annual…

EU leaders have called for a coordinated European response to the energy crisis, urging the European Commission to introduce targeted, temporary measures to ease the burden on households and businesses, including extending financial support to industries hardest hit by soaring energy prices. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT After European Council summit negotiations that went into the night on Thursday, the leaders also raised concerns about the security of energy supplies, asking the Commission to improve the capacity and efficiency of European oil refineries, which have been in decline since 2009. They also expressed interest in exploring voluntary joint energy purchasing, similar to the…