Author: Press Room

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will increase the tariffs charged on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25% next week, a move that could further jolt a global economy already rattled by the Iran war. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Trump said in a social media post that the EU “is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal.” He gave no further reasons for the planned hike, but the announcement comes at a particularly tense time for relations between the White House and the EU. On Thursday, Trump renewed criticism of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz,…

Hungary’s incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar has defended his decision to appoint his brother-in-law, Márton Melléthei-Barna, as Minister of Justice. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT He’s been slammed, primarily by figures in the now opposition Fidesz party, which was ousted from government when Magyar’s Tisza won 12 April’s parliamentary elections by a landslide. “We need to start putting our country back on track, bringing home EU funds, kick-starting the economy and improving public services,” Magyar said in a roughly six-minute video uploaded to social media. “As well as healing the wounds of the past decades, reuniting the Hungarian nation and of course bringing…

Steinach am Brenner is an Alpine village in Tyrol and one of the largest construction sites in Europe. The Brenner Base Tunnel is being built here. The tunnel connects Austria with Italy and is the central link in the trans-European railway corridor between southern and northern Europe. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT With a total length of 64 km, the gigantic structure will be the longest underground railway line in the world. Project manager Sebastian Reimann: “Europeans can be proud of what they are creating here. This is a joint effort by Europeans.” His colleague Andreas Ambrosi adds: “Eleven nations from all over…

Published on 01/05/2026 – 15:07 GMT+2•Updated 15:26 A proposal for a new US-led coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would complement and not compete with a similar mission spearheaded by France and the UK, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Friday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Barrot said he had briefed Gulf allies on the UK-France initiative which was now at an “advanced” stage. It comes after a US State Department announced on Thursday the “Maritime Freedom Construct” (MFC), an initiative that will “take steps to ensure safe passage, including providing real-time information, safety guidance, and coordination…

Published on 01/05/2026 – 15:36 GMT+2 A 33-year-old man will appear in court next week after he was detained on suspicion of plotting an attack on two Dutch princesses, prosecutors said on Friday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to details in a court scheduling order published on the website of The Hague Public Prosecutor’s Office, the man is suspected of preparing an attack on the 22-year-old heir to the Dutch throne, Princess Amalia, and her 20-year-old sister, Princess Alexia, in The Hague in February. “The suspect was allegedly in possession of two axes in early February with the words ‘Alexia,’ ‘Mossad’ and…

Published on 01/05/2026 – 14:51 GMT+2 A UK jury convicted a Kuwaiti migrant on Friday of trying to break into Israel’s London embassy to launch a knife attack, shortly after Britain refused his asylum application. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Jurors at London’s Old Bailey court found 34-year-old Abdullah Albadri guilty of preparation of terrorist acts and possession of two knives following the incident in April last year. Armed police had tackled Albadri as he scaled an eight-foot-high fence at the west London embassy while carrying two knives, with the court hearing he wanted to “exact revenge” for the killing of children in…

A court ruling expected on Monday could clarify a growing legal dispute in Dutch football over player eligibility, after a passport dispute over a single player spiralled into a crisis engulfing 11 players across eight clubs. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In the worst case, the court’s decision could result in the Dutch Eredivisie being forced to replay 133 matches and potentially leave this season unable to reach a conclusion. The case centres on Go Ahead Eagles defender Dean James, who was born in the Netherlands but obtained Indonesian citizenship in March 2025 to qualify for the Indonesian national team, making his debut…

More than 840,000 people die each year from health conditions linked to job strain, such as long working hours, job insecurity and workplace harassment, according to a new International Labour Organization (ILO) study. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT These psychosocial risks can cause depression, burnout and cancer among workers, while companies are in turn hit with lower staff retention, suffering work performance and absenteeism. While cardiovascular diseases cause most of the attributable deaths, mental disorders are most likely to cause workers to lose healthy life years, reflecting their chronic and disabling nature. This results in an estimated loss of 1.37% of global GDP…

Competitiveness and innovation are at the core of Ursula von der Leyen’s second mandate as chief of the European Commission. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Recent developments, such as proposals for new business-friendly legal frameworks like the 28th regime and repeated calls for deregulation, have raised concern among some observers, who argue that workers’ rights risk being overlooked, or even eroded. Meanwhile, people are concerned that new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) will replace them, while stress on the job is causing a burnout crisis. On International Labour Day, Brussels, My Love? explores the challenges and opportunities faced by European workers in…

Dozens of activists on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near Crete disembarked on Friday in the Greek island, according to reports. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Escorted by Greek coast guards, some 175 activists were taken in four buses to a town whose name was not disclosed by the authorities. Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said around 175 activists had been taken off more than 20 boats on Thursday. Flotilla organisers put the number at 211. “In coordination with the Greek government, the individuals transferred from the flotilla vessels to the Israeli vessel will be disembarked…