European Union

Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have escalated again after the US military seized the fully loaded oil tanker Skipper off the coast of the South American country on Wednesday. Washington said the Venezuelan tanker was being used illegally to transport "sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran". The regime of Nicolás Maduro has accused the US of committing an act of "international piracy".

Greece's finance minister, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, has been elected as the new head of the Eurogroup for the next two and a half years. This informal council of economic and finance ministers from the 20 countries of the Eurozone meets once a month to coordinate economic and financial policy. The Greek press sees the nomination as a major success.

In Lithuania, proposed amendments to the laws governing public broadcaster LRT have sparked major concerns about press freedom. Introduced in parliament by the right-wing populist ruling party Nemuno Aušra, the amendments aim, among other things, to ease the dismissal of LRT's Director General. Critics warn that this could weaken the broadcaster's editorial independence and facilitate political interference.

The Unesco World Heritage Committee on Wednesday recognised Italian cuisine as an intangible cultural heritage. The decision "honours who we are and our identity", stressed Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose government proposed that the cucina italiana be added to the World Cultural Heritage list in 2023. Some commentators, however, say the accolade has a bitter aftertaste.

Die ukrainische Journalistin Victoria Roshchyna starb 2024 in einem russischen Gefängnis. Die Todesursache ist bis jetzt ungeklärt. Die junge Frau soll jedoch über Monate brutal gefoltert worden sein. Nun packt ein ehemaliger Mithäftling aus.

Am Donnerstag landete ein Auto plötzlich im Becken eines Hallenbads im französischen La Ciotat. Rettungsschwimmer verhinderten, dass einer Mutter und ihrer Tochter Schlimmeres passierte.

Brussels, legal experts and NGOs warn that Slovakia now risks infringement proceedings or losing EU recovery funds tied to safeguarding whistleblower protection