MADRID — As Pope Leo XIV lands in Spain on Saturday for the first papal visit here in 15 years, a realignment between Catholicism and politics is underway on both sides of the Atlantic. During the era of Franco, the fascist dictator known as El Generalísimo, the Spanish Catholic Church backed National Catholicism — a fusion of faith and right-wing politics that became a trend in Europe and the United States. Source link
NewsFeed The US-Israeli war on Iran could tip up to 45 million people into acute hunger, the UN’s WFP warns, as soaring fuel costs and funding cuts hit fragile and poor countries the hardest. Published On 5 Jun 20265 Jun 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Source link
The soft-spoken commentator delivered her views in fluent, Russian-accented French, as she appeared this week on one of France’s most influential television channels. “Russia is capable of helping the French economy,” Xenia Fedorova said on the rolling news channel CNews, insisting it would be “mandatory” for President Emmanuel Macron’s successor next year to maintain good relations with Moscow. Fedorova is the former head of the French arm of the Russian state-run channel RT, which was banned in France after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. Read moreFrench film giant Canal+ to blacklist hundreds over petition against right-wing owner While RT France was shut down in 2023, Fedorova did not disappear from public view. Instead, she has gained an even wider audience in France, securing a coveted role as a commentator for outlets within conservative billionaire Vincent Bollor’s media empire. The 45-year-old appears regularly on CNews and Europe 1 and writes a column for Le Journal du Dimanche, spreading Kremlin talking points about Ukraine and the West. As France is heading into one of its most …
The 53-year-old pediatrician emerged as a figurehead in a wave of protests against the country’s political establishment, following the crash and a perceived cover-up by the authorities. She ultimately alienated many people, however, with comments that veered close to right-wing populism on topics such as abortion rights and relations with Turkey. “Her positions are very reminiscent of [Italy’s] 5Star Movement, but with a much stronger patriotic and nationalist slant and a focus on corruption,” Seriatos said. “While it started with moral capital and it seemed that many people would be receptive to what it had to say politically, she is on a downward trajectory,” he added. Critics have also accused her of surrounding herself with figures who maintain pro-Russian views or ties to Moscow. Another party from the right of the political spectrum is likely to emerge from former Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras. He was expelled from the party back in 2024 after strongly criticizing government policies, including on the relationship with neighboring Turkey, as well as what he considers “woke” …
atom: The basic unit of a chemical element. Atoms are made up of a dense nucleus that contains positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons. The nucleus is orbited by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. carbon: A chemical element that is the physical basis of all life on Earth. Carbon exists freely as graphite and diamond. It is an important part of coal, limestone and petroleum, and is capable of self-bonding, chemically, to form an enormous number of chemically, biologically and commercially important molecules. catalyst: (v. catalyze) A substance that helps a chemical reaction to proceed faster. Examples include enzymes and elements such as platinum and iridium. chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O. Chemical also can be an adjective to describe properties of materials that are the result of various reactions between different compounds. chemical engineer: A researcher who uses chemistry to …
COLOMBO, May 26 : Sri Lanka’s central bank stunned markets by raising its policy rate by an outsized 100 basis points on Tuesday, the biggest hike in four years, as policymakers scrambled to stem inflation and support a currency buckling under soaring energy prices. Economic growth in the South Asian nation, only just recovering from a devastating 2022 financial crisis that left businesses and households deeply scarred, is expected to take a hit from the turmoil in the Middle East. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) raised the overnight policy rate to 8.75 per cent from 7.75 per cent, blaming higher inflation and a depreciating rupee due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Seven out of a dozen economists and analysts polled by Reuters had forecast only a 25 basis-point or slightly higher change to the rate, citing the deepening impact on foreign reserves from the conflict and the rupee currency’s 8.7 per cent tumble since early March. “Today’s sharp increase in interest rates in Sri Lanka highlights the country’s vulnerability to the crisis …
The MP stressed that given both Burnham and the other main leadership contender, Wes Streeting, have signed up to Reeves’ fiscal rules it “doesn’t leave much margin for significant change anyway.” “The bond markets kind of make her bomb-proof,” another Labour MP argued, praising the incumbent chancellor’s record for steadying the economy in turbulent times. “The big clash between Rachel and Ed is over the North Sea,” this person added, referring to the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields whose licenses have been stymied by legal challenges. Reeves is seen as being in favor of their expansion, while Miliband puts more emphasis on the climate trade-offs. “So there’s a big fault line there. No wonder he wants her out of the way.” Another backbencher said they believed Miliband — who has made no public comment on whether he would want the job and remains in Starmer’s cabinet — would prevent “any meaningful welfare reform.” “Reverting back to a 2010-15 economic policy hymn-sheet” — the years when Miliband led the Labour Party to electoral defeat …
With a smaller proportion of oil and gas supplies likely to be compliant, less availability means there’s a real risk this looming crisis will affect energy affordability for households and businesses alike. Remember, these rules have nothing to do with lowering levels of methane, which the legislation does not demand until 2030, but are about adhering to measurement, reporting, certification and verification standards for which neither the European Commission nor member states have done the work to establish in time for implementation. With a smaller proportion of oil and gas supplies likely to be compliant, less availability means there’s a real risk this looming crisis will affect energy affordability for households and businesses alike. Consumers will ultimately bear the burden through anticipated higher gas and/or fuel prices; Wood Mackenzie say gasoline and diesel prices could increase by 24 percent and 16 percent respectively. The Commission knows this but appears unwilling to make the necessary changes to reduce the cost burden on its citizens. High energy costs would further damage the competitiveness of Europe’s energy intensive industries like steel, chemicals and manufacturing — leading the bloc further down …
Illegal online gambling operations across Southeast Asia have grown into a major driver behind global scam networks now stealing billions from Americans each year, according to the chairman of the House Select Committee on China. At a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday (May 19), committee chairman John Moolenaar said Chinese-linked criminal organizations originally built much of the region’s underground economy around online gambling businesses before expanding into fraud, money laundering, cybercrime, and human trafficking. Americans lost at least $10 BILLION to China-linked scams in 2024, and the threat is growing. Today, Chairman @RepMoolenaar laid out how China-linked criminal networks are operating at industrial scale powered by illicit finance, human trafficking, and weak governance in… pic.twitter.com/dpqpx9KgfP — Select Committee on China (@ChinaSelect) May 19, 2026 “Our nation confronts one of the fastest-growing and largest financial threats facing Americans: the industrial-scale scam and fraud ecosystem fueled by China and enabled by corruption, weak governance, and illicit finance in Southeast Asia,” Moolenaar said. Lawmakers used the hearing, titled “Crime, Corruption, and Power: The Rise of CCP-linked Scam Networks Targeting …
“Our fuel suppliers as recently as this week have confirmed they expect no supply disruption right out to the middle of July, and the situation continues to improve,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said on Monday. The airline boss said he is now confident that rising fuel imports from West Africa, the U.S. and Norway are making up for reduced volumes from the Middle East, caused by the blockade of most tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The more optimistic mood is a stark contrast to the warning issued a month ago by Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, who said European countries could face jet fuel shortages by the end of May. But the agency’s latest oil market report, issued earlier this month, now notes a surge in jet fuel production in the U.S. and West Africa. “Alternative suppliers have moved to fill the gap,” the IEA said. “The United States flipped from a net importer in April 2025 to net exporter in early 2026, as strong refinery runs pushed jet …
