World
EBU woes deepen as political parties excluded from EU election debate
The broadcaster says only parliamentary groups fielding a lead candidate in June’s election can be represented at the televised stand-off.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is under further scrutiny after it was accused by two political parties of excluding them from its Eurovision election debate.
The far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) party and the regionalist, separatist European Free Alliance (EFA) both say they have been intentionally shunned by the organisers of the debate, set to take place at the European Parliament in Brussels on May 23 ahead of June’s European elections.
In correspondence seen by Euronews, the ID Party – which harbours the likes of France’s Rassemblement National, Italy’s Lega and Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland and which forms its own group in the European Parliament – was told by the EBU that it could not be represented at the debate because it had not fielded an official lead candidate, known as Spitzenkandidat, for the ballot.
The Spitzenkandidat process requires all major European parties to select a lead candidate to bid for the role of president of the European Commission, the bloc’s powerful executive arm. But the process has been notoriously spurned in the past, with current president Ursula von der Leyen parachuted to the role in 2019 despite not officially running.
In a letter addressed to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, also seen by Euronews, the ID group’s co-chairs claim the EBU’s rules are inconsistent. Other parties fielding more than one lead candidate, which ID says also “goes against” the principle of the Spitzenkandidat, have been invited to the debate.
Renew Europe, which is fielding three lead candidates, will be represented by Sandro Gozi, while the Greens, who have two lead candidates, will send Terry Reintke to the televised stand-off.
The EBU says that it sent invitations to parties from the seven political groups in the European Parliament and made clear that the Eurovision debate was a “forum for lead candidates for the position of European Commission President” under the Spitzenkandidat system.
“Two parties, the ECR and ID, declined to nominate a lead candidate and have therefore made themselves ineligible for this particular debate,” the Geneva-based broadcasting union said in a statement shared with Euronews.
ID has urged President Metsola to weigh in and urge the EBU to retract the decision and allow MEP Anders Vistisen of the far-right populist Danish People’s Party to participate on behalf of the group.
The EBU debate is one of three electoral debates taking place ahead of June’s vote. Vistisen represented the ID group in the Maastricht debate held in April while Maylis Roßberg took part on behalf of the EFA.
EFA also criticises its exclusion
The European Free Alliance (EFA), home to Europe’s regionalist and separatist parties, also published a statement on Tuesday alleging it had been deliberately excluded from the debate.
The party sits along with the Greens as part of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament. According to the EBU, its rules mean only one candidate from each of the parliament’s seven political groups can take place in the debate, in this case the Greens’ Terry Reintke.
“In coordination with the European Parliament, the EBU invited political parties in the European Parliament to nominate one Lead Candidate from each of the 7 official political groups represented,” the EBU told Euronews in a statement.
“The parties within those groups made the selection of the lead candidate. For the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, the lead candidate put forward was Terry Reintke, from the party of European Greens,” it adds.
EFA has nominated two lead candidates for June’s election, 23-year-old Roßberg from the Danish-German border region and Catalan independentist Raül Romeva, a former MEP sentenced to a 12-year prison term in 2019 on charges of sedition, but pardoned by Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez in 2021.
In its statement, EFA claims that the parliament’s spokesperson Jaume Duch had asked the party to nominate a responsible contact person for discussions with the EBU in January and that a kick-off meeting was held, but that no communication was then received.
It says that the rules limiting speakers to one lead candidate per political group were communicated to them on 30 April 2024, and denounces the EBU for its “lack of communication and transparency.”
“We want to express our deepest disappointment and unconformity with this decision. European democracy deserves more. By shutting the door on our participation, the EBU is not only silencing the voices of smaller parties but also undermining the principles of democracy and inclusivity,” the party said.
ADVERTISEMENTThe EBU maintains that its rules were made clear to all parties, and that it looks forward to a “successful and meaningful political debate at a crucial time for European politics.”
Both the ID group and the EFA are calling on the EBU to rectify its decision.
Adding fuel to fire
The allegations come just a day after the European Commission censured the EBU’s decision to ban EU flags at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden over the weekend.
Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas sent a letter to the broadcaster on Monday asking for the “rationale” behind the ban and for it to attribute “responsibility where it is due”.
The EBU said its decision was linked to “heightened geopolitical tensions” around the song contest, during which pro-Palestinian protesters marched against the participation of Israel due to its ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.
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Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. The New York Times
A strong, 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the Gulf of California on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The temblor happened at 1:45 p.m. Mountain time about 47 miles southwest of El Progreso, Mexico, data from the agency shows.
As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.
Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.
Aftershocks detected
Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles
Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.
The New York Times
When quakes and aftershocks occurred
Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Mountain time. Shake data is as of Tuesday, June 30 at 2:02 p.m. Mountain time. Aftershocks data is as of Tuesday, June 30 at 6:01 p.m. Mountain time.
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Emergency workers in Venezuela on Tuesday rescued a 2-year-old boy who had been trapped beneath the rubble for six days, marking the only reported rescue of a survivor on the sixth day of operations following last week’s devastating earthquakes.
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said in a Telegram post that Jordanian emergency workers pulled the child from a collapsed building in La Guaira, an area hit the hardest by last week’s earthquakes.
The child, identified by authorities as Klieber Moran, was rescued after spending six days trapped beneath the rubble, Rodríguez said.
Moran was taken to a hospital for treatment, she added.
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A Jordanian team works to rescue a child trapped under rubble following earthquakes in Venezuela, in a location given as Caracas, Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said in a televised address Tuesday that officials remain hopeful more survivors will be found.
“We must hold onto the hope of continuing to find people alive beneath the rubble,” Jorge said. “Early this morning, a 2-year-old boy was rescued and is currently receiving care at a health center in Caracas.”
Rescue efforts have continued since magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast last Wednesday.
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Emergency workers rescued a 2-year-old boy after he spent six days trapped beneath the rubble following last week’s earthquakes in Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The death toll from the twin earthquakes rose to 1,943 on Tuesday, with more than 10,500 people injured, according to Venezuelan officials. On Monday, the death toll stood at 1,719.
Tuesday’s rescue marked another glimmer of hope amid the disaster that has devastated the South American country.
On Saturday, the U.S. State Department shared video showing American search-and-rescue teams pulling an infant alive from beneath the rubble in Venezuela.
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A child receives emergency medical attention after being rescued by a Jordanian team from under rubble following earthquakes in Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The infant, who is 9 months old, was rescued along with her mother, the State Department told Fox News Digital. Both suffered only minor injuries, according to the rescue team.
“Against impossible odds, hope endures,” the State Department posted on X.
On Tuesday, a shipment from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) containing 47 metric tons of humanitarian supplies arrived in Venezuela.
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Emergency workers rescued 2-year-old Klieber Moran from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Venezuela six days after the country’s devastating earthquakes, according to Venezuelan officials. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The shipment includes emergency health kits for urgent medical care, including supplies for safe births, newborn care, disease prevention and treatment, according to the United Nations.
Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from Virginia, California and Florida were dispatched to Venezuela on Friday to help search collapsed buildings.
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According to the State Department, the three USAR teams include 312 personnel and 18 canine teams, made up of firefighters, physicians, structural engineers and canine search specialists, and deployed with more than 200,000 pounds of specialized rescue equipment.
Reuters contributed to this report.
European Union monitors say the first half of 2026 was ‘marked by sustained and exceptional ocean warmth’ and forecast more to come.
Published On 1 Jul 2026
The world’s oceans experienced their “warmest June ever observed” and could see further record-breaking highs in the months ahead as El Niño and climate change push temperatures higher, according to a new report.
The European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service said on Wednesday that “record global sea surface temperatures” of 21.0 degrees Celsius (69.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in June beat the previous records in the same month in 2023 and 2024.
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“The first six months of 2026 were characterised by persistently elevated sea-surface temperatures and widespread marine heatwaves across much of the global ocean,” the EU’s marine environment monitor said in a statement.
“Marine heatwaves expanded steadily throughout the period, ultimately affecting around 82 percent of the global ocean,” said Simon van Gennip, lead oceanographer for the Copernicus Marine Service.
“The Mediterranean, the central North Atlantic and the equatorial Pacific all emerged as hotspots, and these regional signals paint a consistent picture of an ocean under sustained thermal stress,” Van Gennip said in a statement.
The onset of a potentially powerful El Nino weather pattern could boost global heat in the oceans and atmosphere even further in 2026, and into next year, according to scientists.
“Current conditions could indicate the beginning of a new phase, leading, once more, to uncharted territory,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the EU’s climate monitor.
“With ocean temperatures at these levels and El Nino on the horizon, we are likely to see more temperature records fall in the coming months,” Buontempo said in a statement.
El Nino is marked by unusually warm waters in parts of the Pacific Ocean, releasing more heat into the atmosphere and influencing wind, cloud and weather patterns around the globe. This can raise the risk of weather extremes, ranging from floods in Peru to droughts in parts of Africa and wildfires in Australia.
Land and sea temperatures reached an all-time high in 2024 at the tail end of the last El Nino, and 2026 could be among the warmest years recorded with the onset of the next El Nino this year.
The Copernicus report follows a warning issued in a major UN scientific assessment last month, which declared that the world’s oceans were in a “deepening crisis” as seas were warming and rising faster.
Oceans are a key regulator of Earth’s climate because they absorb some 90 percent of the excess heat caused by humanity’s release of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide.
Warmer oceans increase moisture in the atmosphere, providing fuel for tropical cyclones and destructive rainfall.
Hotter seas also directly contribute to sea-level rise – water expands when it warms up – and create unbearable conditions for tropical reefs, whose corals can bleach and die during prolonged marine heatwaves.
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