Daugiau nei prieš dešimtmetį kovai su džihadistais Irake dislokuota JAV vadovaujama koalicija trečiadienį baigė savo misiją.

Trečiadienį Vilniuje, Savanorių prospekte, daugiabutyje kilo gaisras. Jo metu nukentėjo žmogus.

Ukraine's remaining steelworks, a vital part of its economy, have all but ground to a halt because of relentless attacks.

The ban is part of a number of proposals that must be approved in parliament within 30 days.

A typical household faces an annual gas and electricity bill of £1,999 from January, based on a key forecast.

AI needs "rigorous" testing and safeguards to contain risk, Andrew Bailey says.

Last Friday, 25 September, a vessel carrying 90,000 tonnes of Libyan El Sharara crude oil arrived at the port of Kulevi on the Black Sea coast in Georgia. It was the second Libyan delivery for the Kulevi Oil Refinery in less than a month, following the first cargo in August. Black Sea Petroleum (BSP), a privately owned company based in Georgia, owns and operates the Kulevi Oil Refinery. Operations began in October 2025, and today the refinery processes exclusively non-Russian crude oil. The Libyan deliveries form part of a long-term supply agreement. BSP’s existing production already offers a basis for supplying European markets with straight-run products, while EURO 5 fuel production is planned by 2029. Kriti Legend at Kulevi with BSP’s first shipment of Libyan crude oil, 30 August 2026. / via Black Sea Petroleum Europe’s need for diverse fuel supplies Europe continues to import fuels used in transport and industry. According to Eurostat, EU net imports in 2024 amounted to 15.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent for gasoil and diesel and 11 million for jet fuel. Both are included in the Kulevi Oil Refinery’s expansion plans. For Kulevi, the opportunity is to supply EU markets alongside Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, drawing on non-Russian crude and the Black Sea’s shipping connections. The European Commission’s assessment of 8 September 2026 described how higher EU refinery production and alternative international supplies were helping meet demand for diesel and jet fuel. Stocks remained sufficient, but developments in the Middle East and seasonal demand could tighten markets in the weeks and months ahead. Additional refining capacity connected to maritime trade could give Europe more sources of these fuels. For Kulevi, the opportunity is to supply EU markets alongside Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, drawing on non-Russian crude and the Black Sea’s shipping connections. This would add another route through which international crude supplies can reach Europe as refined products. An operating refinery connected to the sea Four pipelines run for three kilometres between the Kulevi Oil Refinery and the nearby port and terminal. They carry crude oil, naphtha, gasoil and fuel oil. The port and terminal are separate facilities owned and operated by SOCAR. Pipelines connecting the Kulevi Oil Refinery with the nearby SOCAR-owned port and terminal. / via Black Sea Petroleum Crude arriving by sea or rail can reach the refinery through the terminal. Refined products can move in the other direction for shipment. The two Libyan cargoes show this infrastructure in use, bringing North African crude to the Black Sea for processing. Black Sea Petroleum has invested €200 million in the Kulevi Oil Refinery to date. A further €650 million is planned by 2029 to expand refining capacity and introduce new fuel production units. Supply contracts, certificates of origin and shipping records document the deliveries. They identify the crude’s origin and provide a record of its movement from the supplier to the refinery in Georgia. The pipeline connection allows the refinery to use the terminal for both incoming crude and outgoing products. Expansion can therefore build on an established route to international markets. Greater refining capacity would increase the volumes handled through that route, while new production units would broaden the types of fuel available. Investment already under way Black Sea Petroleum has invested €200 million in the Kulevi Oil Refinery to date. A further €650 million is planned by 2029 to expand refining capacity and introduce new fuel production units. Processing units and storage tanks at the Kulevi Oil Refinery. / via Black Sea Petroleum The company plans to raise annual refining capacity from 1.2–1.5 million tonnes to 4.5–5 million tonnes by 2028. Plans also include bringing Euro 5 fuel production units into operation by 2029. The planned product range includes petrol, diesel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, marine fuel and bitumen. These products would serve road transport, aviation, shipping and construction. Diesel and jet fuel would also place the expanded refinery in markets where the EU is a net importer. The investment programme is intended to support those exports while also meeting demand in neighbouring countries. Honeywell technology and licensed processes will support the planned expansion, alongside automation and modular processing units. Engineering and construction for the next stages have continued since the first phase opened in October 2025. BSP has completed 40,000 cubic metres of new storage capacity, with another 40,000 cubic metres nearing completion. This storage will support larger volumes of crude and products as production grows. The additional processing units will enter service as construction and commissioning are completed. Building lasting European relationships Led by co-founder and chief executive David Potskhveria, Black Sea Petroleum is establishing a Belgian company and preparing to open an office in Brussels. The office will give EU institutions and European business partners a permanent point of contact for discussions about the refinery and its investment plans. BSP’s European Advisory Council and strategic advisers bring experience in European and international affairs to its work with EU institutions, national authorities and businesses across Member States. They support direct relationships between the company’s team in Georgia and its European counterparts. BSP welcomes interested partners to visit the Kulevi Oil Refinery, see production first-hand and meet the people responsible for its operations and development. Last week’s second Libyan delivery provides a concrete starting point for those conversations. The refinery is operating, non-Russian supplies are arriving and investment is continuing. Its development could give Europe an additional source of fuels through an existing Black Sea route, with a company seeking lasting European partnerships. Video about BSP and the Kulevi Oil Refinery For further informationbrussels@blackseapetroleum.eu

BRUSSELS — The European Union will open its vast economy to countries waiting to join its ranks, provided they agree to stand with the bloc against hostile states and industrial rivals, according to a draft European Commission proposal obtained by POLITICO. Candidate countries — some of which have been waiting decades to become EU members — will be offered unprecedented “gradual integration” into the single market, including frictionless trade and access to research programs, while their applications are being worked on, according to the draft plan. “The single market is the first priority for economic convergence,” reads a review of the “pre-enlargement” benefits to be offered to candidate countries. “Earlier integration would open opportunities for Union businesses, strengthen European value chains and reduce strategic dependencies. The Commission will identify where verified regulatory alignment and enforcement capacity allow deeper participation in research, innovation and industrial cooperation, and wider market access. Priority should go to opportunities that advance accession preparations and meet shared economic and strategic needs.” The review, overseen by top von der Leyen advisor Alexandre Adam — a former aide to French President Emmanuel Macron — would radically overhaul the EU’s approach to countries in its neighborhood. At present, almost all economic benefits of closer cooperation are reserved for members, but no new state has joined since Croatia in 2013. As part of Adam’s package of measures, Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro will be offered “road maps” designed to speed up the process of joining in the coming years. Others, like North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Turkey, have seen the process drag on — with fears growing that they will become disengaged or gravitate closer to Russia or China. Under the Commission’s plan, economic benefits offered to candidate countries will depend on their support for the EU’s foreign policy objectives, with single market access hinging on them not sharing key technologies with hostile states and trade rivals. “As industrial and market integration deepens, participation in sensitive sectors must be accompanied by cooperation on investment screening, export controls, sanctions implementation and the protection of sensitive technologies,” the review document reads. “Assessments of access should consider strategic alignment, critical dependencies and the capacity to manage risks to infrastructure and supply chains. Where those conditions are not met, the scope of participation should be adjusted under the applicable instrument.” Among the areas being considered for closer cooperation are semiconductors, quantum technologies, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and space. In the waiting room Von der Leyen touches down in Albania for talks on Wednesday as part of her tour of the Western Balkans. She’ll also visit Kosovo and North Macedonia, which will miss out on an expedited pathway to join the EU under the new plan, and will use her visit to demand economic benefits of closer alignment. “Gradual integration should be tangible for our citizens and businesses,” Kosovo’s prime minister, Albin Kurti, told POLITICO. “We want greater access to the EU single market, European funding and financial schemes, and joint programs in areas such as energy, digitalization, research, education and infrastructure.” “We support gradual integration, but it must be a pathway to full EU membership, not a parallel process or a substitute for it. Kosova is ready to do its part,” Kurti added. According to the review, the ultimate goal of candidate countries should be becoming full EU members. “Accession, however, takes time: candidate countries must complete a rigorous, merit-based process and deliver far-reaching and lasting reforms,” it reads. “That time should be put to full strategic use to both prepare the Union for a larger membership and deepen gradual integration in areas of mutual interest.” However, the benefits will depend on the countries doing their part: “Where these obligations are not fulfilled, participation must remain reversible. Access should be suspended or withdrawn where warranted,” the proposal warns. Internal changes Current EU members have expressed concern about the prospect of admitting new countries to the bloc that could then renege on their commitments and upend key policies. Under its former prime minister, Viktor Orbán, Hungary used its veto to block sanctions on Russia and support for Ukraine. Adam’s review — due to be presented to top officials on Oct. 6 when von der Leyen returns from the Western Balkans — will propose new conditions on those that join the bloc to ensure they don’t backslide on democracy and the rule of law. “The accession process must establish more than legal alignment,” it reads. “Institutions must work in practice and reforms must endure. Monitoring, incentives and enforcement should therefore form a continuous framework extending beyond accession.” But the EU will also change to accommodate a broader membership, going far beyond the club of wealthy Western European democracies it was initially conceived as. The bloc can change its rules to be less vulnerable to individual members’ whims, the review concludes, without having to reopen fundamental articles of EU law and potentially triggering national referendums across the bloc. “The Commission supports Treaty change where necessary, but it considers that measures already available under the Treaties should be taken forward now,” it concludes. Among the options being considered is a move to ensure more decisions can be made with a qualified majority of member countries on board. “Qualified-majority voting is already the general rule under the Treaties, but unanimity remains in several strategically important areas. As membership grows, the risk of delay or blockage will likely increase,” it reads. So-called passerelle clauses, which allow decisions to be taken by majority vote rather than unanimously, could be used to smooth the passage of sanctions, responses to human rights crises and the deployment of civilian missions to conflict zones, the review says. However, these clauses require unanimous support of member countries to be activated in the first place. Leaders from across the EU will be asked to weigh in on the discussion about how to bring new members into the bloc — and what to offer those still waiting — at a two-day summit in Brussels from Oct. 15. Von der Leyen’s enlargement commissioner, Marta Kos, has said that the new proposals, combined with support from capitals to accelerate the process, offer the chance for an “autumn of enlargement” in which unprecedented changes can be made. Zoya Sheftalovich contributed to this report.

A landmine explosion which injured three South Korean soldiers in the Korean Demilitarized Zone last week.

Netanyahu faces continued pressure over alleged warnings before the 2023 Hamas attack as October 27 elections draw near.

Prime minister says ‘going all the way’ is a possibility as government reviews relations with 27-country bloc

Kremlin accuses western defence alliance of preparing to blockade Russian exclave on Baltic Sea

The Israeli government believes an incident on a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, which diverted to Saudi Arabia after transmitting emergency signals on Wednesday, may have been an attempted "terror attack" by one of the pilots. France 24’s Shirli Sitbon takes a look at what we know about the incident so far, with many of the details still emerging.

The US military announced on Wednesday that it has completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group. The last US troops left an air base in northern Iraq under a deal between Baghdad and Washington. 

Benjamin Daniel, known as Ben Dancer, danced non-stop for 176 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds between September 22 and 29, in an attempt to break the world record for the longest individual dance marathon.

A presidential spokesperson said preparations were underway without saying when they would arrive or how many Burundi had agreed to receive.