World
‘Nobody can blackmail us’: Leaders excoriate Orbán’s veto
Fury over Viktor Orbán’s decision to veto the European Union’s €90 billion loan for Ukraine burst into the open on Thursday as leaders castigated, one by one, in the harshest terms yet, the “unacceptable” behaviour of the Hungarian prime minister.
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The condemnation was led by António Costa, the usually mild-mannered president of the European Council, whose authority is being directly challenged by Orbán’s disruption.
“The leaders took the floor to condemn the attitude from Viktor Orbán, to remember that a deal is a deal and all the leaders need to honour that word,” Costa said at the end of the summit, venting months of frustration over the antics of the Hungarian.
“Nobody can blackmail the European Council. Nobody can blackmail the European Union institutions,” he told reporters after being questioned by Euronews, insisting that the loan will be paid out as agreed last December. Still, Orbán doubled down on his veto.
Separately, Costa praised Ukraine’s efforts to repair the Druzhba pipeline and allow an EU-led inspection on site in line with demands by Hungary and Slovakia just days before the summit, despite the fact that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was personally against reinstating transit of Russian oil through Ukraine as the war continues.
Orbán insists that Ukraine has purposely sabotaged the pipeline to orchestrate an energy crisis ahead of a tight election on April 12. Zelenskyy says the allegation is unfounded but has also lashed out in public at Orbán in multiple occasions.
Costa, according to a diplomat, said both must tone down the rhetoric, but also noted that Hungary is putting on the table impossible conditions, such as ensuring the safety of transit, while Russia keeps pounding Ukraine with missiles and drones.
“This is not acting in good faith, when you put a condition that neither the European Union nor the member states can ensure,” Costa said.
“Because only Russia is willing to decide if they try again to destroy the Druzhba pipeline,” he added, noting Moscow has attacked it more than 20 times since 2022.
“And of course, it is not the responsibility of Ukraine, the Commission, the European Council or any member state.”
In an effort to break the impasse, Brussels announced two days before the summit that Ukraine had allowed an external inspection and the EU would provide funding to fix the pipeline. But the pressure on Zelenskyy to approve the on-site mission failed to get the Hungarian leader to change his mind.
And it now poses a direct threat to the credibility of the institutions, the functioning of the EU and the top leadership from Costa to Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
On Thursday evening, von der Leyen said Hungary, alongside Slovakia and the Czech Republic, agreed at the highest political level to go ahead with the loan in December in exchange for being financially exempted.
“That condition has been fulfilled. So let us be clear about where we stand: the loan remains blocked because one leader is not honouring his word,” she said.
“But let me reiterate what I already said in Kyiv: we will deliver one way or the other.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also accused Orbán of an “act of serious disloyalty” that should be prevented in the future, changing voting rules if necessary.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for the December deal to be respected and warned that concerns about energy security “must not be instrumentalised”.
Sweden’s Ulf Kristersson, Austria’s Christian Stocker and Belgium’s Bart De Wever were among those who criticised Orbán for exploiting the dispute with Kyiv for his re-election campaign, which has taken an explosive tone in its final stretch.
High Representative Kaja Kallas went further, questioning the motivations of the veto and the Hungarian arguments: “I guess, in the time of elections, people are not that rational.”
No backing down
A roundtable session described as “heated and tense” by diplomats was not enough to get Orbán to back down. If anything, he doubled down. And leaders quickly understood the veto will most certainly remain until the Hungarian elections take place.
After the summit, the Hungarian leader went a step beyond and suggested Brussels is working with Ukraine to force a pro-Brussels government in Budapest.
“The European institutions, including parts of the Commission and the European Parliament, would like to have a change of government in Hungary. And they finance it,” he said as he departed the meeting.
The accusations are not new, but they are serious as they imply political meddling. As the campaign enters its final weeks, Orbán is intensifying his attacks on his opponent, Péter Magyar, as a puppet candidate of von der Leyen and Zelenskyy.
Before leaving Brussels, he vowed to “no money for Ukraine” until the oil flows are back and claimed he “had defended the Hungarian national interest by breaking the blockade”.
The Hungarian veto comes at a precarious time for Europe.
The United States, under President Donald Trump, has cut off all assistance to Ukraine, leaving Europeans to pick up the tab alone.
The €90 billion loan agreed in December, following contentious talks among leaders, serves as the backbone of Ukraine’s budget needs for 2026 and 2027. Without it, Ukrainian authorities have warned they may not be able to make ends meet, and that could have serious repercussions on the battlefield.
Under the original plan, Kyiv was supposed to receive the first payment in early April to avoid a sudden cut-off in foreign assistance. But the veto, coupled with the Hungarian vote, has thrown that timeline into disarray.
Although opinion polls show Orbán trailing Magyar by double digits, he could still win as the gap narrows ahead of the vote and prolong the veto even further.
To make matters more difficult, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose country is also connected to Druzhba, has warned that he will continue the blockage if Orbán loses the elections and the pipeline is not repaired.
The dispute poses an exceptionally complex challenge for Brussels, which is caught between safeguarding energy security for member states and supporting Ukraine.
For António Costa, the person tasked with ensuring that decisions taken by EU leaders are upheld, Orbán’s defiance threatens to undercut his authority.
“It’s completely unacceptable what Hungary is doing,” Costa said on Thursday. “And this behaviour cannot be accepted by the leaders.”
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.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLEDGES $150M IN AID, DEPLOYS NAVY WARSHIPS AFTER DEADLY VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES
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.
DEATH TOLL FROM VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES RISES TO AT LEAST 235, WITH THOUSANDS REPORTED MISSING
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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