World
Why does the vote to approve the new Commission matter?
The new Commission is set to be approved by the European Parliament with a large majority, but how this majority is shaped will be worth watching.
A positive outcome is all but guaranteed when the European Parliament votes on whether to approve President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen’s new team of commissioners in its entirety, but there are good reasons to monitor Wednesday’s vote in the Strasbourg closely.
Parliament will vote to approve the incoming Commission, having previously endorsed all 26 commissioners through a backroom deal among centrist groups: the European People’s Party (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), and Renew Europe.
The new Commission requires an absolute majority of votes cast to be approved and take office in December. While this outcome seems likely, who votes for and against it remains somewhat uncertain. This is significant because it could shape and influence the parliamentary majority for the entire legislative term.
A twist in the pro-EU majority?
In July, Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected with 401 votes. At that time, the vote was conducted by secret ballot, though groups had publicly declared their intentions. Beyond the three centrist groups, the Greens/EFA group also supported von der Leyen. The Left group and all right-wing political forces voted against or abstained, with a few exceptions among the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).
The result suggested a majority in the European Parliament resembling that of the previous legislature: centrist pro-EU groups, with close cooperation from the Greens.
However, the situation now could be very different. Firstly, the new Commission lineup includes Raffaele Fitto, a vice president from the right-wing Brothers of Italy party.
While von der Leyen has emphasized collaboration with “pro-EU”, “pro-Ukraine”, and “pro-rule of law” political forces, the chair of her EPP group in Parliament, Manfred Weber, has hinted at a broader coalition. He envisaged a “broad centre in the European Parliament, from the Greens to ECR.”
“My majority, if I may say so, is becoming real. And that makes me happy because we need broader stability in the European Parliament,” Weber said during a press conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
Such a majority could shift EU policy significantly rightward on issues such as migration and the environment. However, it also remains to be seen how von der Leyen’s grand centrist alliance holds in the voting tomorrow.
Defections and Divisions
Spain’s centre-right Partido Popular (PP) has announced it will not support the Commission due to the inclusion of Spanish Vice President Teresa Ribera, a member of its rival centre-left PSOE (S&D) party, in the lineup, according to the Spanish press agency EFE. The PP has not clarified whether its MEPs will vote against or abstain.
Within the Socialists, several MEPs are also dissatisfied with the new Commission’s composition. Dutch and Belgian members plan to vote against it, while other delegations may abstain, according to sources from the group. French Socialists have already declared their opposition. “We do not accept a far-right executive vice president such as Raffaele Fitto. I will vote against his inclusion in this Commission,” MEP Claire Fita told Euronews.
The deepest divisions, however, are among the Greens/EFA group on the left and the Conservatives on the right.
The Greens claim to be part of a “four-group majority” in the European Parliament and are ready to “work constructively” while opposing the far right. However, the group itself is split, as revealed during a meeting on Monday evening. Only a slim majority, led by German MEPs, supports the Commission, while French, Austrian, and Italian members plan to vote against it, according to multiple sources.
On the right, some members of the ECR group are eager to join the new majority, while others remain firmly opposed.
The Brothers of Italy, the largest delegation in the group, will vote in favour, as the new Commission includes one of its members as vice president. Other ECR delegations are expected to follow suit, according to group sources.
However, Polish and French members will oppose the Commission, including prominent French MEP Marion Maréchal, niece of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who has criticised the designated commissioners. “Beyond the lack of competence of [French commissioner] Stéphane Séjourné, we face a commissioner for energy transition known for her anti-nuclear stance, a commissioner for demography who views immigration as a solution to declining birthrates, and a commissioner for equality who champions a pro-LGBTIQ+ agenda,” she told Euronews.
As the vote will be cast openly, the new commissioners will see which MEPs they can rely on. Two thresholds will be critical for their success: the 401 votes von der Leyen secured in July and the 461 that approved the previous Commission in November 2019.
World
EU pushes for end of Iran war in a manner where ‘everybody saves face’
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The European Union’s foreign policy chief said Tuesday that the bloc is consulting with Gulf countries to potentially “bring forward proposals for Iran, Israel and the U.S.” to get out of their war in a situation where “everybody saves face.”
Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, made the remark to Reuters, adding that “it would be in the interest of everybody if this war stops.”
“We have been consulting with regional countries like the Gulf countries, Jordan, Egypt, [about] whether we could also bring forward proposals for Iran, Israel and the U.S. to get out of this situation so that everybody saves face,” Kallas was quoted as saying.
“The problem with wars is that it’s easier to start than to stop them, and it always gets out of hand,” she also reportedly said, noting that the EU is willing to assist “diplomatically to bring the parties together to really stop this war.”
TRUMP SEEKS WARSHIPS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO HELP SECURE STRAIT OF HORMUZ
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, left, and President Donald Trump. (Omar Havana/Reuters; Nathan Howard/Reuters)
Kallas also pushed back after President Donald Trump said over the weekend that, “Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe.”
“Nobody is ready to put their people in harm’s way in the Strait of Hormuz,” Kallas told Reuters on Tuesday. “We have to find diplomatic ways to keep this open so that we don’t have a food crisis, fertilizers crisis, energy crisis as well.”
TOP COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL RESIGNS IN PROTEST OF US WAR AGAINST IRAN
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the new leader of Iran. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Trump said on Truth Social on Saturday that, “We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are.”
U.S. Central Command footage showing strikes on Iranian mobile missile launchers. (@CENTCOM via X)
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“Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated,” Trump wrote. “In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!”
World
Ex-Belgian diplomat ordered to stand trial over murder of Congo’s Lumumba
Etienne Davignon, 93, is the only one alive among 10 Belgians accused by the Congolese leader’s family of complicity.
Published On 17 Mar 2026
A 93-year-old former Belgian diplomat has been ordered by a Brussels court to stand trial over the assassination of Congo’s first prime minister and anti-colonial icon, Patrice Lumumba, in 1961.
Lumumba, who became the prime minister of the country – now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo – upon its independence from Belgium on June 24, 1960, was ousted in September of the same year and later killed by a Belgian-backed secessionist rebel group just months later on January 16, 1961.
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But in 2002, a parliamentary investigation found that Belgium was “morally responsible” for Lumumba’s death.
On Tuesday, Etienne Davignon, 93, a former European commissioner who was a junior diplomat at the time, stands trial over his death, marking the first trial related to the murder of Lumumba.
He is also accused of being involved in the murder of Lumumba’s political allies, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito.
According to prosecutors, Davignon, who is accused of war crimes, had participated in the unlawful detention or transfer of Lumumba and deprived him of his right to an impartial trial.
Prosecutors added that Davignon had subjected Lumumba to “humiliating and degrading treatment”.
If the trial goes ahead, Davignon would be the first Belgian official to face the courts in 65 years since the prime minister was killed and his body was dissolved in acid.
While 10 people were accused of being complicit in the murder of Lumumba, Davignon is the only suspect alive.
Lumumba’s family members brought the case, which Belgian federal prosecutors have since taken up.
His granddaughter Yema Lumumba told the Reuters news agency after the ruling that it was a “step in the right direction”.
“What we want is to search for truth and establish different responsibilities,” she added.
The family’s lawyer, Christophe Marchand, also told the AFP news agency that “It’s a gigantic victory”.
“No one believed when we first brought the case in 2011 that Belgium would prove capable of seriously investigating this,” he said, adding: “It’s very hard for a country to judge its own colonial crimes.”
Gold-capped tooth
As African countries pushed for independence from their European rulers in the 1960s, Lumumba rose as an anti-colonial hero, though his government lasted only three months.
At just aged 35, Lumumba was executed in the southern region of Katanga, with the support of Belgian-backed mercenaries.
The only known remains of the killed leader, a single gold-capped tooth, were taken from the daughter of a deceased Belgian officer who was involved in the disappearance of his remains.
During a ceremony in 2022, his remains were returned in a coffin to DRC’s authorities.
During the handover, then Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo reiterated the government’s “apologies” for its “moral responsibility” in Lumumba’s disappearance.
World
Cuba’s entire electrical grid collapses, leaving whole island without power
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Cuba plunged into an unprecedented blackout after its entire electrical grid suddenly suffered a total collapse on Monday, briefly leaving roughly 10 million residents in total darkness.
“At 1:54 p.m. local time, there was a disconnection of the national electrical grid resulting in a complete power outage across Cuba which includes the Havana metropolitan area,” the U.S. Embassy in Cuba said.
The nationwide outage comes just two days after a large crowd of protesters, fed up with the island’s energy crisis, were caught on camera attacking a local Communist Party headquarters in Cuba, ransacking the building and attempting to set it on fire.
Efforts to restore electricity are currently underway across the island, with reports indicating that power is slowly returning to some areas.
RUSSIAN ‘DARK FLEET’ TANKER BELIEVED TO BE DELIVERING OIL TO CUBA, DETECTED OFF US COAST AMID TRUMP BAN
A woman with her son signals a car on a dark street during a blackout in Bauta municipality, Artemisa province, Cuba, on March 18, 2024. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
“The causes are being investigated and protocols for restoration are beginning to be activated,” the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Cuba said Monday afternoon, referring to the island’s disrupted National Electrical System of Cuba.
Cuba’s electrical grid has grown increasingly unstable over the years due to aging infrastructure, fuel shortages, and economic restrictions that have limited the country’s access to energy resources – including Washington’s long‑standing oil embargo and recent U.S. actions that disrupted Venezuelan fuel shipments, a key source of the nation’s energy.
Power outages have become a frequent occurrence across the country, disrupting water supply, refrigeration and communications.
“Officials in the US gov must be feeling very happy by the harm caused to every Cuban family,” Cuban Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Carlos F. de Cossio said in response to Monday’s blackout.
MILLIONS LOSE POWER ACROSS CUBA AS TRUMP SANCTIONS CONTINUE TO FUEL ONGOING ENERGY CRISIS
Neya Perez, 86, paints the nails of her neighbor Reyna Maria Rodriguez, 77, during a mass blackout across most of the country, in Havana, March 4, 2026. (Norlys Perez/Reuters)
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday that no fuel has entered the country for the past three months. Since then, electricity generation has relied heavily on a “considerable contribution from renewable energy sources.”
The total collapse of the power grid came just as officials announced updates to their solar panel project in Villa Clara, describing it as a “national security necessity” amid ongoing restrictions on fossil fuel imports under the Trump administration.
“Amid a context of severe energy constraints and a recurring economic lockdown, #Cuba takes another firm step towards electric sovereignty,” the Villa Clara Electric Company said Monday morning.
“This connection comes at a critical time: Washington maintains severe restrictions on our country’s access to fossil fuels, funding and technology. Betting on renewables isn’t just environmental — it’s a national security necessity.”
As the island continues to face rolling power outages, residents have been urged to brace for significant disruption and unplug all nonessential equipment, “leaving only essential devices powered on until service stability is restored,” the Villa Clara Electric Company said.
A family has dinner during a blackout in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Havana on Sept. 28, 2022. (Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)
Last Saturday, in a rare display of public dissent driven by frustration over widespread blackouts, anti-government protesters in Cuba reportedly targeted a Communist Party office by hurling rocks, shouting “liberty” and igniting large fires at the scene.
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The rally, caught on video, began peacefully in the city of Morón late Friday but escalated into violence within hours, Reuters reported, citing local sources.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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