World

Framework for Ukraine, Moldova's accession talks ready: EU Commission

Published

2 years ago

March 13, 2024

Framework for Ukraine, Moldova's accession talks ready: EU Commission

Ukraine and Moldova could soon make some headway in their paths towards EU membership after the European Commission on Tuesday sent its draft frameworks for accession talks to member states.

The frameworks, which set out the principles and guidelines that will steer Brussels’ accession talks with both Kyiv and Chișinău, will require the unanimous endorsement of all 27 EU leaders.

If approved, it could see both countries edge closer to their ambition of fully-fledged EU membership.

“Ukraine has demonstrated remarkable resilience and commitment and has made substantial progress on its EU path,” the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, said in a statement.

“Despite facing hybrid attacks by Russia, Moldova has made further progress in its EU accession reforms and has shown impressive resilience. The presentation of the draft Negotiating Frameworks for Ukraine and Moldova is a step forward in the process,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked von der Leyen personally for presenting the negotiating framework.

“Our European choice is being put into action and the day of Ukraine joining the EU is getting closer,” he said.

The opening of both Ukraine and Moldova’s accession talks was approved by EU leaders during a summit in December, despite the firm opposition of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who questions Ukraine’s preparedness to start negotiations.

Orbán has also denounced Kyiv for failing to uphold the rights of the Hungarian minority in the westernmost Ukrainian province of the Transcarpathian Oblast.

In December, leaders overcame Orbán’s opposition campaign by tactically asking him to leave the room in order for him to abstain during the vote.

But with the adoption of the frameworks yet again requiring unanimity, Orbán has another opportunity to single-handedly veto the start of talks.

Candidate countries must implement a raft of judicial and constitutional reforms in order to comply with EU laws and standards before they can proceed to the next step in the accession process.

The Commission said in November that both Ukraine and Moldova had completed over 90% of those requirements, and simply needed to tie the loose ends of their reforms before entering negotiations.

Among Ukraine’s pending reforms were measures to tackle corruption – including through new appointments to top anti-corruption offices -, curb the influence of oligarchs, and safeguard the rights of national minorities.

On Monday, the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, gave its final approval on a lobbying bill that will tighten rules for government lobbyists and stamp out the influence of oligarchs, in line with Brussels’ requests.

War injects urgency into EU enlargement

Candidate countries’ accession, usually a painstakingly long procedure, has been fast-tracked since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the war on Europe’s eastern doorstep providing a new impetus for the EU’s enlargement.

Ukraine applied for EU membership on 28 February 2022, just months after Russia invaded its territory. Moldova followed suit just days later. Both countries were given candidate status just four months later.

The speed at which their applications have been advanced is unprecedented in the bloc’s history.

The accession bids of Western Balkan countries have also taken on renewed momentum, as the bloc recognises the geopolitical imperative of delivering on its promises to the region.

Bosnia and Herzegovina became the fifth Western Balkan country to get the Commission’s greenlight for accession talks earlier on Tuesday, joining Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Kosovo is currently considered a ‘potential candidate’ for EU membership.

But questions and uncertainty remain over the feasibility of Ukraine’s accession to the bloc while the war is ongoing.

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World

Live possum discovered hiding among plush toys in an Australian airport gift shop

Published

6 hours ago

March 21, 2026

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Live possum discovered hiding among plush toys in an Australian airport gift shop

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Someone was playing possum — or stuffed animal.

Among plush kangaroos, dingoes and Tasmanian devils ready to be bought by parents of antsy children, a live brushtail possum waited in a gift shop at an Australian airport this week.

The wild animal was first noticed by a shopper in the store on Wednesday, retail manager Liam Bloomfield of Hobart Airport in the state of Tasmania said.

“A passenger reported it to …. one of the staff members on shift who couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing,” Bloomfield told The Associated Press. “She then called the (airport) management and said we’ve got a possum in the store.”

TOURISTS IN LAS VEGAS PAY $1,000 FOR DINNER ON THE STRIP WHILE SHARKS EAT LIKE ROYALTY

A live Australian brushtail possum sits on the display shelf at a terminal shop at Hobart Airport in Hobart, Australia, on Wednesday. (Melissa Oddie via AP)

Staff at the airport were able to remove the animal without harming it.

“I’m imaging it saw some of the plush animals that were for sale on the shelf and it decided to make its home with those,” Bloomfield joked of why the possum was hiding with the stuffed toys. “It wanted to blend in.”

EXPERT SOUNDS ALARM AFTER STUDY FINDS POPULAR TRAVEL ITEM CARRIES FAR MORE BACTERIA THAN EXPECTED

The arrivals area at Hobart Airport in Australia. (Steve Bell/Getty Images)

“Can you spot the imposter?” the airport wrote in a Facebook post Thursday that showed the possum curled up in a cubby with its stuffed counterparts.

“This cheeky lost possum found a clever hiding place among the Aussie plushies in our retail store,” the airport continued. “Luckily it was safely relocated out of the terminal area and the space was cleaned.”

Passengers boarding a plane at Hobart Airport in Australia. (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

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Bloomfield said the possum not only found a way into the airport but also their hearts.

“We’ll have a little shrine to the possum,” he revealed, according to The Independent. “There will be a nice little photo; once it gets a name, we will put a nice little post in front of the store to make sure it’s remembered.”

World

Curro Rodríguez: from bankruptcy to global water empire

Published

7 hours ago

March 21, 2026

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Curro Rodríguez: from bankruptcy to global water empire

Published on 20/03/2026 – 15:00 GMT+1•Updated
15:23

From a start-up founded in Malaga in 2015 with a few thousand euros, Ly Company has become one of Europe’s fastest-growing multinationals, and a global leader in the sustainable water packaging sector.

With ten factories located across Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, Ly Company produces about 10 million bottles of water in cardboard packaging per month.

Unlike most competitors, Ly Company doesn’t owe its success to mass retail firms.

It sells personalised products to more than 3,000 brands, ranging from airlines and hotel chains to private transport companies and major events organisers. “There is a lot of water in sectors where no one thinks it is consumed”, notes Rodríguez. “An airline, for example, can consume 50 million bottles per year.”

The company is now targeting China and, above all, the United States.

Its positioning is also based on sustainability: factories powered by green energy, cardboard from responsibly managed forest, bioplastic made from sugar cane and water guaranteed to be microplastics-free. Part of the profits fund his “Agua y Vida” Foundation, which is involved in environmental and humanitarian projects.

“I’ve gone through some very difficult times. Now that I’m doing well, I want to give something back to society”, explains Curro Rodríguez.

Behind this rise lies a chaotic journey. While working as a first-responder in emergency medical services for twenty years, he was simultaneously launching businesses, sometimes risky ones. Two successive bankruptcies saw him resort to food aid and doing odd jobs for a while, before he reinvented himself.

“My passion is bringing projects to life”, explains Curro Rodríguez, who has founded a total of 39 companies, 23 of which are currently active within his holding company. “When things are done out of emotion, and not for money, they create value. The money follows. But you have to look for value first”, he concludes, a big smile on his face.

World

Video: What Tunnel Entrances Reveal About a Key Iranian Nuclear Site

Published

17 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Video: What Tunnel Entrances Reveal About a Key Iranian Nuclear Site

new video loaded: What Tunnel Entrances Reveal About a Key Iranian Nuclear Site

transcript

What Tunnel Entrances Reveal About a Key Iranian Nuclear Site

Satellite images show how Iran has tried to bolster its defenses at parts of the Isfahan nuclear facility.

: What you’re seeing here are buried tunnel entrances at a nuclear facility in Iran. It’s one of the most important sites in the country for U.S. and Israeli forces. U.N. inspectors think that roughly half of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is buried here. And these three entrances are the only known ways to access it. If you think about nuclear sites in Iran, three main sites come to mind. They’re pretty well known: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. Natanz and Fordo, They were largely taken out in U.S. strikes last year. So I’ve been focusing on Isfahan. The uranium here is still relatively accessible. It’s actually a pretty large complex. This area here was very important for uranium processing, but it was heavily hit by the U.S. and Israel last June. If you go a little bit further north, that is underground and that requires tunnels to enter. In a terrain view, it gets quite interesting. There are three roads that lead to these tunnel entrances, and these tunnel entrances have become very important, both last year, but also right now. They lead to the underground facility where U.N. inspectors say uranium is stored and a new enrichment site could be located. If this falls into the wrong hands, that would be a problem in the long term. Here’s a great example of how very recent satellite imagery gives us new insights. This is from late January of this year, and what you see here is a line of trucks. And they’re filled with soil, and they’re lining up to go to some of these tunnel entrances. If you look a little bit closer here, you see another one of these trucks that’s just unloading some of the soil and some earthmoving equipment. Iran in preparation for any possible attacks at that point. They try to protect this facility a little bit more. So this is Jan. 29. And if you just look a few days later, we go to Feb. 2. This is the completely buried tunnel entrance, completely covered in soil to protect from any attack. And this is how it still looks in mid-March. The U.S. and Israel have basically two options here: The first one is to heavily bombard the entrances to this underground complex that would block any access, at least in the near future. They haven’t done that yet. So that’s very, very interesting — a little bit surprising. And it might point towards a second option: That would be to go in with ground forces and to extract the uranium. But that would require a really large amount of troops to secure the vast area, bringing in earthmoving equipment to clear the tunnels and a lot of time in hostile territory.
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