World

Announcing the EU's Anti-Racism Strategy for 2026-2030, European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib faced a barrage of questions from the press: Had the EU watered the proposal down over fears it might worsen the relationship between the EU and the US? Back in April 2025, the Trump administration torched America's diversity, equity and inclusion ,or DEI, polices, branding them "woke ideology.” It prompted scores of companies and universities to wind back commitments to anti-discrimination. "When it comes to the Americans, they do what they want," insisted Lahbib, the bloc's commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management, during the press conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. "They can mock, but we are not like this. These are our values. This is who we are .When they...

"My friend, we are totally in line on Syria. We can do great things on Iran. I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland." This message from French President Emmanuel Macron to US President Donald Trump were intended to remain confidential, but Donald Trump published the short message on his Truth Social network on Tuesday night. "He will soon be leaving office," the US president went on to joke about Macron in front of reporters. Just as Emmanuel Macron is trying to keep the dialogue going, Trump publicly embarrasses the president. Trump regularly imitates Macron's accent in public appearances. The rift is also likely deepening after a documentary that aired on France 2 on Tuesday evening. It shows a private phone call during Macron's visit to Kyiv on May 10, 2025, apparently wi...

"My friend, we are totally in line on Syria. We can do great things on Iran. I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland." This message from French President Emmanuel Macron to US President Donald Trump were intended to remain confidential, but Donald Trump published the short message on his Truth Social network on Tuesday night. "He will soon be leaving office," the US president went on to joke about Macron in front of reporters. Just as Emmanuel Macron is trying to keep the dialogue going, Trump publicly embarrasses the president. Trump regularly imitates Macron's accent in public appearances. The rift is also likely deepening after a documentary that aired on France 2 on Tuesday evening. It shows a private phone call during Macron's visit to Kyiv on May 10, 2025, apparently wi...

"Iranian Patriots, KEEP ‍PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!... HELP IS ON ITS WAY," Trump posted on Tuesday, 13, 2026, on his Truth Social platform. However, after a week of ongoing demonstrations, help is yet to be seen. In fact, the US president has backtracked from his capital-letters pledge. He said he had been informed that the killings were subsiding and he did not believe mass executions were currently planned. 'Alarming violence' However, other UN member states apparently do not share this assessment. At their request, the UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Friday to discuss the "alarming violence" in Iran. Rights group Human Rights Watch has also called for a special session. The US-based Iranian human rights organization Human Rights Activists (HR...

Emergency services in New Zealand are working to locate people still missing in a landslide that hit a busy campsite at Mount Maunganui, a popular tourist spot on the northern coast of New Zealand. Rubble barreled down on the Beachside Holiday Park at 9:30 a.m. local time on Thursday (2030 GMT/UTC Wednesday). Hundreds of people were at the campsite, the local mayor said, with the country still on summer school holidays. New Zealand's Fire and Emergency commander William Pike said there were initially signs of life at the site of the landslide, but not recently, according to local site, Stuff.Rescue efforts at the New Zealand holiday park are being hampered by unstable groundImage: Dion Siluch/REUTERS Fire and Emergency Commander William Park had earlier told reporters that fire crew an...

Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of failed blood-testing startup Theranos, has asked US President Donald Trump to release her from prison early, according to a request filed last year with the Department of Justice, news outlets reported Thursday. She has six years left in her 11-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy that came after she made false claims about Theranos's blood-testing technology. Holmes reported to federal prison in May 2023 in Bryan, Texas.  What to know about Theranos fraud Holmes, now 41, was convicted on four felony counts of fraud and conspiracy in 2022. She claimed her startup Theranos —  which she founded at the age of 19 — had new technology to test patients for various diseases with only a few drops of blood. With revolutionary blood tests at the hea...

Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of failed blood-testing startup Theranos, has asked US President Donald Trump to release her from prison early, according to a request filed last year with the Department of Justice, news outlets reported Thursday. She has six years left in her 11-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy that came after she made false claims about Theranos's blood-testing technology. Holmes reported to federal prison in May 2023 in Bryan, Texas.  What to know about Theranos fraud Holmes, now 41, was convicted on four felony counts of fraud and conspiracy in 2022. She claimed her startup Theranos —  which she founded at the age of 19 — had new technology to test patients for various diseases with only a few drops of blood. With revolutionary blood tests at the hea...

At least one person was killed and dozens were injured after a commuter train crashed near Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday night. The train collided head on with retaining wall that had fallen onto the tracks near the town of Gelida, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) outside of Barcelona. Local media reported that the train driver was killed in the accident. In an update posted on social media, emergency services in Catalonia said 37 people were injured, five of them seriously. Some 20 ambulances had been sent to the site of the crash, and the injured were taken to three hospitals in the area, they said. Catalonia's fire service said "no one was left inside" the train, but it was sweeping the underside of the train and the area to rule out more victims. The retaining wall likely fell becaus...

Thousands of people joined pro-Kurdish demonstrations in a number of German cities, including Dortmund, Frankfurt and Bremen on Tuesday evening, amid renewed clashes between Kurdish forces Syria and the country's military. The central German city of Frankfurt drew the biggest numbers, with police saying around 5,000 people took part.  Dortmund, in Germany's west, attracted some 4,000 people, police there said. Most of the protesters in Dortmund were peaceful, police said, but clashes were recorded on the fringes and pyrotechnics were set off.Police said most of the protesters in Dortmund were peacefulImage: Alex Talash/dpa/picture alliance Police broke up a demonstration in Stuttgart attended by some 2,000 people after protesters threw bottles and pyrotechnics at police. Officers respon...