Ansa news

(ANSA-AFP) - BUDAPEST, 22 LUG - Hungary's prosecutor general said Wednesday he would step down following pressure from Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who called him a "puppet" of nationalist ex-leader Viktor Orban. Gabor Balint Nagy, who was appointed last year under Orban, said in a statement he was resigning "solely to safeguard the interests of the prosecutorial service". He added: "The functioning and independence of the prosecutor's office must not, under any circumstances, be compromised by…

(ANSA) - BERLIN, JUL 22 - "Russia's accusations are simply unfounded; Russia is exploiting the nuclear concerns that it itself repeatedly fuels with irresponsible statements." German government spokesperson Steffen Meyer said today in Berlin, referring to remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who spoke of "concern" over Germany's nuclear developments. Russia, Meyer added, "is trying to drive a wedge between NATO and the European Union; it is trying to discredit Germany, Ukraine's main…

(ANSA-AFP) - BRAUNAU AM INN, 22 LUG - Austria opened a new police station in Adolf Hitler's former house on Wednesday, in the hope of deterring today's ascendant far-right extremists from making the pilgrimage to the Nazi dictator's birthplace. In a ceremony to mark the opening, Johannes Waidbacher, mayor of the small town of Braunau-am-Inn, said he hoped the transformation would show that the local community is "confronting its history, that it is assuming responsibility". The decision to turn…

(ANSA) - MOSCOW, JUL 22 - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has stated that Russia is concerned about reports regarding Germany's nuclear developments. "As far as Germany is concerned, this information comes from our foreign intelligence service. It has been published and we are responsible for it," Lavrov said, according to Interfax. "And this is truly alarming, considering that, for example, the US nuclear programme was largely created by people who fled Germany and were taken there. That…

(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, 22 LUG - Greece is expected to experience its hottest day of the year on Wednesday, with temperatures reaching up to 43C according to meteorologists, and several regions placed on alert due to the risk of wildfires. Outdoor work bans have also been announced during the warmest hours of the day for health reasons. According to an emergency bulletin of the Greek Meteorological Service (EMY), the highest temperatures are expected in Thessaly (central Greece), in the east of the…

(ANSA) - VILNIUS, 21 LUG - In an interview with the Ziniu radijas radio station, Deividas Matuliionis, foreign policy adviser to the president of Lithuania, said: "The Atlantic Alliance takes the possibility of Russian provocations against our region very seriously. Should the situation become particularly critical, additional troops could be deployed to the Baltics." Last week, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda warned, citing intelligence sources, of possible Russian hybrid attacks against the…

(ANSA) - BERLINO, JUL 21 - "We are seriously committed to expanding relations between Germany and Azerbaijan. Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, cooperation on oil and gas supplies is of particular importance," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at a press conference in Berlin with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. "We want to further diversify our energy supply with Azerbaijan. We also discussed the expansion of renewable energy and hydrogen." (ANSA).

(ANSA) - UDINE, 21 LUG - International dance takes center stage tonight at Mittelfest in Cividale del Friuli, with the Italian premiere of Josef Nadj's Dialogues in the Dream. The festival, dedicated to the theme of fear and running through July 26, is directed by Giacomo Pedini. At the Teatro Ristori, Franco-Hungarian choreographer Josef Nadj will present the Italian premiere of Dialogues in the Dream with Ivan Fatjo. The production combines dance, music and performance, featuring music by John…

(ANSA) - BUCAREST, JUL 21 - A Liberian-flagged oil tanker carrying more than 3,790 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was struck last night and caught fire in the Black Sea, about 30 kilometers off the Romanian coast, outside the country's territorial waters. All 17 crew members were rescued by Romanian authorities, while three sailors were injured. The ship, the Gas Lisbon, had departed from Alexandria, Egypt, and was headed for the Ukrainian port of Reni when it was damaged. The fire…

(ANSA) - BERLINO, JUL 21 - Late yesterday evening, the new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, spoke by phone with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Both reportedly expressed a desire to continue the close cooperation between the two countries and to press ahead with the implementation of the Kensington Treaty, the German government stated in Berlin that evening. The German-British Friendship Treaty was signed by Merz on July 17, 2025, in London with Burnham's predecessor, Keir Starmer. In light…

(ANSA) - BUDAPEST, 20 LUG - Agnes Forsthoffer, speaker of Parliament, became Hungary's acting head of state on Monday following the removal of President Tamas Sulyok under the terms of a constitutional amendment he himself signed. One of the deputy speakers from the governing Tisza party will take over her duties as speaker of Parliament. Forsthoffer will remain acting head of state until Parliament elects a new president of the republic, which it must do within 30 days. Tisza's parliamentary group,…

(ANSA) - ROME, 20 LUG - Italo and Siemens have signed an agreement to purchase 26 high-speed trains, with an option for an additional 14, along with 30 years of maintenance services. The trains will operate in Germany's high-speed rail market. The agreement is part of efforts to introduce greater competition on the German rail network, a process already confirmed by Germany's federal network agency. The total investment of 3.6 billion euros includes the purchase of the trains, which will be assembled…

(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, 20 LUG - "Very good phone call" with Ukraine's PM Serhiy Koretsky. "We will continue cooperating closely on reforms that move Ukraine's EU accession process forward. Our Drone Deal will harness the EU's industrial strength to produce Ukraine's most innovative defence equipment at speed and scale. We also discussed preparations ahead of winter and critical energy infrastructure. You can count on our full support, including in your work to improve energy sector's governance." President…

(ANSA) - BERLIN, 20 LUG - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is stepping up efforts to build stronger alliances with partners across Africa amid U.S. protectionist policies and China's increasingly assertive stance. "Especially at a time of major global geopolitical upheaval, reliable cooperation with our African partners is essential," the CDU politician said ahead of visits to Mauritania, Nigeria and South Africa. This is Wadephul's third trip to Africa this year. In January, he visited Kenya…

(ANSA-AFP) - BUDAPEST, 20 LUG - Hungary's prime minister has proposed former chess grandmaster Judit Polgar for president, a position that will become vacant following last week's constitutional amendment. "Our country needs unity, peace and a president of whom all Hungarians can be proud," Peter Magyar said in a Facebook post, adding that he will meet with Polgar on Monday to ask her if she would be willing to serve. Polgar, who will turn 50 in a few days, is considered as the greatest woman chess…

(ANSA) - BERLIN, JUL 19 - Following the resignation of Union faction leader Jens Spahn (CDU), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz did not rule out a cabinet reshuffle. "This could be an opportunity to reconsider the composition of the government," he said during his summer interview with ZDF, though he repeatedly emphasized that this was merely a possibility. Merz had been asked whether he had considered a broader reshuffling of government personnel. Following Spahn's resignation, Merz aims to reach…

(ANSA-AFP) - BUDAPEST, JUL 18 - Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok, an ally of nationalist ex-leader Viktor Orban, said Saturday he will sign a newly passed constitutional change that would remove him from office. In a Facebook video, Sulyok criticised the amendment but said he had no recourse to challenge it and therefore "I am fulfilling my obligation under the Fundamental Law after carefully weighing my legal options and my conscience". (ANSA-AFP).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 18 - Jens Spahn, the Union Party's (CDU/CSU) leader in Germany, has resigned in the wake of the controversy surrounding his father's birth in the United States via surrogacy. This is according to Spahn's letter to members of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, which was obtained by the German news agency dpa. Chancellor Friedrich Merz had requested his resignation. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 17 - Germany and France intend to broaden their collaboration in key technological areas such as artificial intelligence, astronautics, nuclear fusion, and quantum technology, bolstering Europe's technological dominance. This was agreed upon by both sides during the Franco-German Council of Ministers, which met at Augustusburg Castle in Brühl. According to a joint document issued following the meeting, a "joint high-level working group for the space sector" has been formed.…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 17 - The EU calls on Slovakia on the rule of law, while noting progress in reforming the crime of "abuse of law" against judges for decisions taken in the exercise of their duties, in its 2026 report, the European Commission calls on Slovakia to provide greater protections for the judiciary, journalists, and public media. In particular, Brussels notes "no significant progress" in fighting high-level corruption and ensuring a transparent and inclusive legislative process. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 17 - The Romanian Prosecutor General's Office has indicted ultranationalist MEP Diana Șoșoacă on charges of kidnapping. On December 10, 2021, she prevented Rai Tg1 correspondent Lucia Goracci and her crew from leaving her Bucharest office, where they were conducting an interview with her. Rai correspondent Goracci and her crew were in Romania for a report on the Covid-19 pandemic and had interviewed the woman, who was then a senator for the ultranationalist Aur party, in…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 17 - Germany's Federal Network Agency has confirmed its decision to increase rail network competition. "More competition has the potential to result in better offers for passengers," said agency chief Klaus Mueller. The decision, which is now final, has the potential to revitalise long-distance transport in Germany and pave the way for Italo. DB InfraGO, Deutsche Bahn's infrastructure subsidiary, will be required in the future to not assign more than 60-75 percent of capacity…

(ANSA) - UDINE, 16 LUG - The Iter Goritiense, the 82-kilometer trail linking the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia to Sveta Gora, above Nova Gorica, Slovenia, has been officially recognized as a Regional Trail and added to the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Trails Network. The announcement was made in a statement issued by the Society for the Conservation of the Basilica of Aquileia. The recognition, granted by decree of the director general of PromoTurismoFvg, strengthens the route created through…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 16 - "The CEI was founded on the conviction that European integration begins with cooperation," said Franco Dal Mas, Secretary General of the Central European Initiative (CEI), in Budapest, where he met with Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Anita Orbán. The meeting continued the discussions that began on July 10 in Rome at the Friends of the Western Balkans ministerial meeting. The main topics of the meeting included regional cooperation, the Western Balkans',…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 16 - North Macedonia has joined the so-called Vertical Gas Corridor, one of the main European initiatives aimed at diversifying supply sources and strengthening energy security in Southeastern, Central and Eastern Europe. This was announced by the government of Skopje. The Vertical Gas Corridor currently includes Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Hungary, with North Macedonia and Serbia in the process of joining. The initiative does not call for the…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 16 - Today in Bucharest, Romanian Prime Minister and Acting Energy Minister Ilie Bolojan and Serbian Minister of Mines and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic signed a memorandum of understanding to promote information sharing on the project to construct the Djerdap 3 (Iron Gate) reversible hydropower plant, Tanjug reports. "We have already formed cooperative working groups with Romanian partners, and Serbia intends to start preparing the technical and design documentation…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 16 - EU law is violated by Austria's sectoral, winter, and nighttime driving restrictions on heavy goods vehicles on the A12 Inn Valley and A13 Brenner motorways. This is the conclusion reached by Court of Justice Advocate General Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona, who suggests maintaining Italy's action due to its noncompliance with these obligations. Rome has not shown that the metering access system to the A12 involves a quantitative restriction, so the Advocate General believes…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 16 - After three days, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has decided to distance himself from the shocking statements of Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government Snežana Paunović, who, in an interview with Kurir last Sunday, said that if she were in Slobodan Milošević's shoes, she would have carried out ethnic cleansing in Kosovo in 1998. Tanjug quoting Vucic saying that Paunović's remarks "do not reflect my will or that of the Serbian government,"…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 15 - During the Southwest Europe-Ukraine summit in Kyiv with Zelensky and von der Leyen, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić emphasised the importance of respecting the United Nations Charter and its resolutions, stating that Serbia supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. He also expressed gratitude to Ukraine for doing the same. The second important point is about humanitarian aid. "When we talk about it, we mean our support for the financial, medical,…

(ANSA) - UDINE, 15 LUG - Sensory panels designed to improve comfort in crowded tourist spaces, digital tools to manage maritime flows better, systems to reduce water waste, and more sustainable packaging. These are among the six solutions presented in Udine as part of In4blue, a European Interreg Italy-Croatia 2021-2027 project focused on the green and digital transformation of the Blue Economy in the Adriatic region. In Friuli Venezia Giulia, the initiative was promoted by the regional Department…