A bitter dispute over repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline has blocked a vital €90bn EU loan to Kyiv.The row pits Hungary and Slovakia against Ukraine after a Russian strike damaged the Brody pumping station on 27 January and stopped all flows.Satellite images and local reporting show a giant storage tank at Brody — one of Ukraine’s largest — burned for days after the attack. Engineers...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has ignited a fresh political row after urging closer economic cooperation with the EU as a route to greater resilience.Speaking at the Mais lecture hosted by Bayes Business School in London, Reeves argued the UK should deepen its economic links with Europe to shore up growth and stability.Her call has prompted sharp criticism from opponents who say seeking tighter...

A ceremonial sword tied to the incident that left Ed Sheeran bleeding has reappeared as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor shifts his belongings from Royal Lodge to a new Norfolk home.The blade is believed to be part of the controversial royal's private collection, and its possible transfer has reignited interest in the bizarre party moment when Sheeran was cut just inches from his right eye.Reports say...

A striking triangular formation spotted in a vast Martian canyon has reignited questions about whether the Red Planet might once have hosted built structures.Filmmaker Brian Dodds recently circulated images of the feature in Candor Chasma, part of the enormous Valles Marineris system, and suggested it rivals the size of Egypt’s Great Pyramid.He cautions that the photos are not proof of past...

Dan Driscoll, the 39-year-old army secretary often nicknamed President Trump’s “drone guy,” has emerged unexpectedly as a key player in recent U.S.efforts to shape a peace process for the Russia-Ukraine war.A relative newcomer to diplomacy, Driscoll is the youngest person to hold the army secretary post. He has built a reputation inside the administration for pushing new battlefield...

One of Jacob Zuma’s daughters has filed a criminal complaint alleging her sister recruited South African men to fight alongside Russian mercenary forces in the Ukraine war.Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube says Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a member of parliament, and two others persuaded 17 men to travel abroad by telling them they were going to Russia to train as bodyguards for the former president’s party,...

Renowned Irish designer Paul Costelloe has died in London at the age of 80 after a short illness.His family said he was at home, surrounded by his wife and seven children when he passed.Born and raised in Dublin, Costelloe grew up in a household connected to clothing—his father ran a raincoat business. He trained at the Grafton Academy of Fashion Design before traveling to Paris to study at...

The Royal Navy says it intercepted two Russian naval vessels as they passed west through the Dover Strait into the English Channel. HMS Severn shadowed the RFN Stoikiy, a corvette, and the tanker Yelnya during the encounter in the past fortnight, the UK Ministry of Defence reported. After initially tracking the pair, Severn handed monitoring duties to a NATO partner off the coast of Brittany but...

When 23-year-old Aishat Baimuradova left Chechnya earlier this year she hoped to build a life away from strict family controls and public scrutiny. Friends say she adopted a more modern appearance — shortening her hair, abandoning the headscarf and even altering an eyebrow — and began sharing candid photos online, telling people she finally felt able to breathe. In October, Armenian police...

Paul Costelloe, the Dublin-born designer who became one of Ireland and Britain’s most recognizable fashion names and served as a personal couturier to Diana, Princess of Wales, has died in London at the age of 80 following a short illness. His family said he was surrounded by his wife and seven children and passed away peacefully. Born in Dublin into a family connected to the clothing...