Kauno laisvojoje ekonominėje zonoje (LEZ) ketvirtadienį vyks „Leopard 2A8“ tankų surinkimo ir remonto gamyklos statybų pradžios renginys, kuriame oficialiai bus pažymėta gamyklos statybų pradžia.

Naujas mėnuo prasidės šiltomis ir maloniomis dienomis. Šiandienos orus lems ties Skandinavija esančio anticiklono pietvakarinė dalis.

In total 11 regions of the country were attacked overnight, with residential buildings and railways also targeted, the Ukrainian PM says.

Thirty-one migrants died when their boat went down in November 2021. The trial found that the guilty men were part of two smuggling networks.

Vaping is about to becoming more expensive due to a new tax on products.

Household energy bills have risen again but there are ways to keep a lid on your expenditure.

Earlier this year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered some avuncular counsel to Western allies at Davos, weary of being belittled and trolled by President Donald Trump and his advisers: “Sit back, take a deep breath, do not retaliate,” he urged. “Let things play out.” His remarks focused primarily on tariffs, but at the Swiss Alpine gabfest, Bessent and other Trump aides repeated the same advice on almost everything concerning the U.S. president. And on the whole, the leaders of Washington’s allies heeded their warning, even as they struggled to contain their outrage over Trump’s threats to invade Greenland.  For Gavin Newsom, the Trump-bashing California governor who was also at Davos, it was all too much. The world leaders in attendance were “pathetic,” he said. “I can’t take this complicity of people rolling over. I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders.” Since then, however, things have moved on — especially for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron, who have both been giving as good as they get in recent weeks. Amid rising trade tensions and differences with the White House over Russia, they haven’t hesitated to escalate when attacked, sometimes even taunting Trump without immediate provocation. Carney and Macron have become the “leaders of the resistance,” said Rohinton Medhora, the Canadian economist and professor at McGill University who has dubbed Carney’s evolving political vision as “value-based realism.” Medhora, who sits on various international and Canadian commissions, said: “They’ve tried flattery. They’ve tried ignoring him. Nothing’s worked, and they are not losing out now with their retaliatory trolling.” Carney may have lectured the Trump administration “to stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough,” but that hasn’t stopped him from offering public mockery of his own.  The Canadian prime minister’s freewheeling swipes have included teasing Trump for claiming “sabotage” after his teleprompter malfunctioned during an address to the United Nations last year. Experiencing a similar technical hiccup in Toronto, Carney deadpanned: “I would now like to inform you that the teleprompter has ceased to function. Unlike a certain world leader, I do not view this as a conspiracy.” And in Ottawa, Carney drew both applause and laughter by mimicking Trump’s signature “accordion” hand gestures. So, what’s going on? And are there any risks to poking the bear? According to former White House strategist and current MAGA influencer and podcaster Steve Bannon, there is. “They’re playing with fire,” he told POLITICO. “They’re totally dependent on us for trade.” He also added a dark warning about “the Alberta secession movement picking up momentum” — Bannon and other MAGA luminaries have been encouraging the oil-rich Canadian province to break away. Bannon also cited the deal Trump recently struck with Denmark and Greenland as an example of U.S. power and Washington’s ability to get what it wants. “Our Greenland deal shows the reality of Canada’s inability to defend itself from being the next Ukraine — this time in the Arctic,” he said. But Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, draws a different lesson from the Greenland deal, which extends an earlier agreement dating from 1951 and does not give Trump control of the island, as he said he wanted. For Daalder, this deal shows that when allies stand their ground, the U.S. president backs down. “With that deal Trump literally got nothing,” he told POLITICO. Donald Trump, Macron and Carney attend a working lunch during the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France on June 16, 2026. | Pool photo by Evelyn Hockstein via Getty Images “I think what’s happening is the allies are starting to understand how to play him,” said Daalder. “Now they’re ignoring his bluster, and do and say what they think is important for their own good. By doing so, they have as good a chance as any in getting what they want.” It’s also not surprising that Macron was quicker to taunt Trump than other Western leaders, said Daalder. “He’s French, after all.” Even during the first Trump presidency, Macron was willing to go mano a mano with the U.S. president, squeezing his counterpart’s hand in a handshake until their knuckles turned white and refusing to let go even when Trump tried to pull away. But the French president’s tone seems sharper now, his actions even more pointed. Fort his, Daalder points to Macron’s maneuvering of Trump this June into inking an interim deal with Iran at Versailles — a palace infamous for a treaty that ended one world war but led to another. Macron, Trump’s critics trumpeted, had pulled off an epic diplomatic “troll.” What audiences are these two leaders trying to reach and influence? “That’s a good question,” said Medhora. “It is clearly not Americans.” And there’s certainly a domestic component, as both men are scoring political points by standing up to a man they portray as a bully. But Medhora believes there is likely a broader, more strategic, aspect to their posturing. “By doing these things very publicly, they’re encouraging other leaders to overcome their hesitation and join them,” he said. “And if others come along, then everyone is stronger in the anti-Trump camp.” But that’ll only work if they can do it with serious consequence — and there’s always a chance that it could all backfire. Perhaps with Trump facing a likely setback in the U.S. midterm elections, Carney and Macron would be better off taking Bessent’s advice and letting things play out, as the U.S. leader may emerge from the vote facing new constraints from emboldened Democrats. But, for now, both seem to be having far too much fun poking the bear to do that. 

ERICEIRA, Portugal — Donald Trump is bleeding support on the European far right The leader of populist Portuguese party Chega has joined a chorus of nationalist politicians criticizing the U.S. president — their ideological ally — over the war in Iran and its ripple effect on fuel prices. “There were lots of mistakes that President Trump committed in the last months. The war in Iran is affecting the world economy,” Chega President André Ventura said on the sidelines of an event organized by the populist, pan-continental Patriots’ foundation in the beach city of Ericeira, near Lisbon. Ventura, whose party has surged in recent election cycles, is often described as a Portuguese Trump for his confrontational tactics and heated campaign rhetoric targeting Portugal’s ruling elite. The Chega leader traveled to Washington, D.C. for Trump’s inauguration and borrowed the MAGA slogan during last year’s parliamentary election campaign, saying he wanted to “make Portugal great again.” But with Portugal now among many European countries hit by increasing fuel prices caused by war in the Middle East, Ventura appears to be turning on his American role model — like other populist chiefs across Europe who have jabbed the U.S. president’s “erratic” war goals or walked back support in the face of a snowballing cost-of-living crisis. “I wish this war didn’t exist, especially for Portugal, Spain, France, Italy. We are paying more than the United States the price for this war,” he said during the interview. “It’s not very fair that one country starts the war and the others pay for the costs.” Residents and antifascist activists protest outside the Patriots’ event venue. | Marion Solletty/POLITICO The former sports commentator turned leading politician — whose early steps in politics were marred by controversies over comments widely criticized as racist — has elevated his party from barely registering in the polls to becoming the largest opposition group in the Portuguese parliament. He secured a third of the votes in February’s presidential election. His recent electoral gains place Ventura among several far-right leaders and parties currently surging across the continent. Representatives from several of his European allies, including France’s National Rally, Spain’s Vox, Hungary’s Fidesz and Italy’s League, traveled to the Ericeira event where they shared views closely aligned with the MAGA-boosted narrative that Europe is suffering civilizational decline because of uncontrolled immigration and crippling regulation. Ventura urged like-minded European politicians to unite, including by working with parties currently not part of the continental Patriots alliance, such as the Alternative for Germany. The AfD was kicked out of the ID Group, one of the precursors to the Patriots, in 2024 over downplaying Germany’s Nazi past. Its stellar performance in this month’s regional elections in eastern Germany has highlighted a schism in Europe between far-right parties eager to soften their image and those, like the AfD, who are doubling down on their radical positioning. “I think we have to cooperate and collaborate within our values and principles,” Ventura said, despite having “different positions” on some subjects, chief among them Russia and Ukraine. Asked whether the AfD’s pro-Russian positions were an obstacle to deeper cooperation, Ventura said they shouldn’t be. “We stand with Ukraine in the war, we will keep standing with Ukraine,” he said, adding that “we don’t have to be thinking the same on all issues … The AfD is fighting against illegal immigration, against crime and to give more authority for police services so we have a lot of things in common.” Chega’s growth is not without backlash in Portugal. As Ventura was talking to reporters in Ericeira over the weekend, some 150 residents and antifascist activists protested outside the Patriots’ event venue, forcing attendees and speakers from sister European parties to enter and exit to the sound of loud shouting and under tight security watch.

Night time celebrations filled the air as Iraqis observed the start of a four-day holiday.

Israeli passengers tell of the horror onboard the Flydubai flight that was diverted after a pilot was stabbed.

Designer showcases wool alternatives and ocean-inspired clothes and says ‘kindness requires real work’Stella McCartney has been talking about animal rights at fashion week for 30 years. She is usually a lone voice, but the issue is back in the headlines this season. Outcry over the physical restraining of a Peta protester at a catwalk show by Steven Kolb, the president of New York fashion week’s governing body, has put cruelty in wool production – previously considered niche compared to the hot button topic of fur – on the news agenda.“There is no wool on the runway this season, and I’m proud of that,” McCartney said after her show. She has been working on wool alternatives, including Brewed Protein, a fermented alternative to cashmere and wool developed in collaboration with the Japanese biotech firm Spiber, which was first used in her collections a year ago. Continue reading...

Senior Downing Street officials reach out to thinktanks and pollsters as they look to test backing for reversing BrexitSenior Downing Street officials have been reaching out to thinktanks and pollsters as they look to test public support for the UK rejoining the EU.Aides to Andy Burnham have been talking to EU experts in a range of organisations about how the public would view a promise to rejoin, as momentum builds behind including such a pledge in the next Labour manifesto. Continue reading...

Patrick Radden Keefe’s ‘London Falling’ and Anand Gopal’s ‘Days of Love and Rage’ are joined by four works of biography, from Alexander the Great to James Baldwin

UK and Brussels to go ahead with key November meeting after agreeing to kick talks on industrial subsidies into next year

El Salvador will hold presidential elections on February 28, 2027, the electoral tribunal said Wednesday, opening the way for President Nayib Bukele to seek a third term after constitutional changes removed presidential term limits. Bukele has drawn praise for sharply reducing gang violence but faced criticism over rights abuses during his crackdown.

Russia launched its heaviest combined assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in months on Wednesday, killing seven people and triggering emergency power cuts in Kyiv and nearby regions. The strikes came as officials warned of a difficult winter as Russian forces target power and heating systems.

Passengers on a FlyDubai flight that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a violent cockpit incident, arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, describing the ordeal as “very terrifying”

South African anti-migrant protesters rallied in Durban vow to keep up their months-long fight to get undocumented migrants to leave the country