News
Orban: Hungary is island in the European progressive liberal ocean
“We must drain the swamp in Brussels in June and in Washington in November,” Hungarian premier says.
European Parliament rules Russia’s presidential election illegitimate, calls Putin a "murderer"
In a sting blow for the Kremlin, the European Parliament ruled that Russia’s presidential election was illegitimate and blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin personally for the “murder” of opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
Poland in two minds over Ukraine’s efforts to bring conscription-age men home
Poland is ready to help Ukraine bring conscription-age men home after Kyiv stepped up its mobilisation effort, a top government official said this week. But hundreds of thousands of people leaving Poland could be a huge problem for the economy.
Bulgaria to lose €665mn under recovery plan after delaying liberalisation of power market
Experts suggest the country could lose all of the remaining €4.4bn allocated under the recovery plan over delayed or failed reforms.
Germany charges seven Central Asians with forming terror group
Five are Tajik nationals. Headache for Rahmon regime with Tajikistan looking increasingly like a major recruiting ground for international terrorists.
Kuwait reacts angrily to being cut out of Iraq and Turkey’s transport project
Kuwait witnessed a wave of angry reactions on April 25 after Iraq, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey signed a quadrilateral memorandum of understanding in Baghdad to establish the "Development Road" project, linking Turkey with the Gulf.
EU warns Georgia that 'foreign agents' bill could block accession hopes
The European Parliament has called for Georgia’s accession process to be suspended if the Georgian parliament passes the so-called “foreign agent" law.
Iraq recovers thousands of antiquities, calls for antiquities law reform
Iraq's Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities has received thousands of returned archaeological pieces following a push by the central government in Baghdad to retrieve stolen assets in the past year.
US secretly sent long-range missiles to Ukraine in February
The US secretly sent Ukraine long-range missiles in February ahead of the new $61bn aid package on April 20 that Kyiv used for the first time this week.
Russia already treating Bosnia’s Republika Srpska as an independent state
Use of Republika Srpska’s flag alongside national flags at St Petersburg conference seen as a possible green light by Russia for Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik’s secession plans.
North Macedonia’s opposition VMRO-DPMNE candidate takes strong lead in first round of presidential election
Incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski trails Gordana Siljanovska Davkova as voters punish ruling SDSM.
Slovakia’s cabinet approves legislation to restructure public broadcaster
New bill will allow government to change leadership of public broadcaster, while 'ethical council' will oversee content.
Russian Deputy Defence Minister suspected of treason, say reports
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov, arrested on April 23 on charges of bribery, may actually have been arrested for treason, independent Russian media has reported.
Sunak and Scholz promise to back Ukraine as UK hikes defence spending
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and promised closer defence cooperation as the UK announced a large hike in defence spending.
Iran presses Afghanistan's Taliban to uphold water-sharing agreement
An Iranian environmental official accused the Afghan Taliban of intentionally redirecting overflow waters of the shared Hirmand River to prevent its inflow into Iran’s Hamoun wetlands.
Tajikistan striving to convince the world that it can contain terrorism
Dushanbe’s strategy ignores underlying sources of radicalisation.
Saudi Arabia eyes 320,000 new hotel rooms to meet soaring tourism goals
Saudi Arabia is projected to have 320,000 new hotel rooms by 2030 as the Kingdom ramps up efforts to accommodate an annual influx of 150mn tourists, both domestic and international.
Turkey, Iraq, Qatar and UAE ink initial Development Road transit corridor agreement
Route competing with rival India-Middle East-Europe option. Ankara wants Baghdad to commit to stamping out Kurdish PKK militants said to threaten project security.
Russian oil depo at Yartsevo in the Smolensk region set on fire by Ukrainian drone attack
Ukraine drones hit and set on fire the RosNeft oil depot in the Yartsevo, Smolensk region as the sun began to rise on April 24.
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More than €15bn of Chinese investments underway in Hungary, says foreign minister
Hungary has become the primary European destination of Chinese corporate investments, with a string of investments targeting the battery industry.