Παρασκευή 16 Οκτωβρίου 2026
10 άρθρα
Black Sea strikes bring NATO talks, no escorts
Romania and Bulgaria have brought attacks on merchant ships to NATO, but the alliance has announced no protection mission. Ambassadors will discuss Black Sea security next week as rescuers search for seven sailors missing after a tanker fire off Romania. The fire’s cause is unknown, and governments have not agreed publicly on who carried out the strikes.
Sunk ship leaves containers near Hormuz
Floating containers now threaten vessels near Oman’s Musandam Peninsula after projectiles struck and sank the Singapore-flagged GFS Pride on 13 October. All 21 crew escaped, but nobody has established who carried out the attack. Reports of two ships sinking in quick succession blur the timeline: Cape Dao was attacked in September, and its sinking date remains unclear.
EU fuel relief rests on national budgets
EU leaders left Brussels without a measure ready to add fuel supply or bring down prices. Joint purchasing still has no defined buyers, fuels or timetable, and a promised extension of subsidy rules has no published text. For now, eligible farmers, fishers and transport firms depend on what their governments can afford; ordinary drivers are not covered.
Ireland’s €141bn EU proposal squeezes security
EU leaders ended their first talks on the 2028–34 budget without agreement. Ireland’s proposed savings fall more heavily on competitiveness, defence and foreign policy than on farm and regional funds, putting governments that want both a smaller budget and more security spending at odds with their own demands. A deal needs every capital’s approval and Parliament’s consent.
France sets €0.28 price for reserve diesel
French distributors can buy strategic diesel stocks from 28 October at about a quarter of the current market price. The government expects pump prices to fall by 12–18 cents a litre from November, though the cut depends on what retailers pass on. The IEA has urged a faster emergency release across its members, but set no deadline for the remaining diesel.
Paris and Berlin weigh a 90% car target
The proposed bargain would let carmakers leave some 2035 tailpipe emissions uncompensated while steering public car subsidies toward European production. Reports differ on how much relief the unpublished draft would offer. Berlin has yet to sign off, and any change would still need support from other EU governments and the European Parliament.
Ukraine intercepts four of 39 ballistic missiles
Ukraine’s air defences stopped just four of 39 missiles fired on ballistic trajectories in the latest barrage, exposing a dangerous gap as strikes hit energy sites and killed civilians. CNN reports that Patriot interceptors are exhausted, but officials have not confirmed the claim. Germany has pledged missiles without a quantity or delivery date, and allies have announced no timetable for resupply.
A year-frozen pig kidney makes urine
A human-sized pig kidney stored at −150°C for just over a year made urine after researchers rewarmed it and connected it to a perfusion machine. Separately, kidneys stored for shorter periods made urine after transplantation into pigs. The study has not been peer reviewed, and the pigs were observed for only two hours—too briefly to show whether the organs could sustain life.
EU experts back pancreatic cancer pill
A daily pill helped patients with advanced pancreatic cancer live a median 12.4 months in a trial, compared with 6.7 months on chemotherapy. The result applies most directly to patients whose cancer grew after one earlier treatment. Daraxonrasib still needs European Commission authorisation, followed by national decisions on price and reimbursement, before patients can get a prescription.
ECB opens UniCredit’s path to Commerzbank control
UniCredit has the ECB’s permission to take control of Commerzbank, but it cannot cast the shares offered in its bid until the deal closes. Its prospective holding carries an estimated 49.65% of voting rights. A European Commission competition review and Polish scrutiny of Commerzbank’s mBank stake still stand between the bank and its year-end target.