EXPLAINER-How will the EU’s 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine work?

April 22, 2026 8:19 PM

EXPLAINER-How will the EU’s 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine work?

A 90 billion euro ($105 billion) EU loan for Ukraine, blocked by Hungary under outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, could be revived following Orban's defeat in an election this month and a resumption of Russian oil deliveries to Hungary over Ukraine. European Union leaders had decided last December to jointly borrow the money to lend to Ukraine to fund its defence against Russia for this year and next, using frozen Russian funds as a potential backstop to ensure that Moscow ultimately pays. ...

Hungary asks Croatia for help after Russian oil flows via Ukraine halted

February 16, 2026 6:05 PM

Hungary asks Croatia for help after Russian oil flows via Ukraine halted

Hungary and Slovakia have asked Croatia to help to deliver Russian oil, Hungary's foreign minister said on Monday, after disruption to flows via Ukraine and conflicting accusations of blame. A Russian attack on the Druzhba pipeline in Ukraine on January 27 knocked out flows to Eastern Europe, Kyiv's foreign ministry said on Thursday. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted a photo on X of firefighters and what he said was Druzhba pipeline infrastructure burning, adding that Hungary had not publi...

Slovak PM Fico’s attacker convicted of terrorism, jailed for 21 years

October 21, 2025 3:20 PM

Slovak PM Fico’s attacker convicted of terrorism, jailed for 21 years

A Slovak court ruled on Tuesday that a man who shot and wounded Prime Minister Robert Fico last year was guilty of terrorism charges and handed him a 21-year jail sentence. Juraj Cintula, 72, shot at Fico five times from just over a one-metre distance as the prime minister greeted people in the central Slovak town of Handlova in May 2024. The verdict of the Specialised Criminal Court in the city of Banska Bystrica closes a trial that began in July and whose main question was whether Cintula, w...

President Droupadi Murmu arrives in Portugal; meets Portuguese President, leads delegation-level talks

April 8, 2025 10:41 AM

President Droupadi Murmu arrives in Portugal; meets Portuguese President, leads delegation-level talks

President of India Droupadi Murmu arrived in Lisbon on Sunday, marking the start of her four-day State Visit to Portugal and the Slovak Republic from April 7 to 10. This is the first visit by an Indian President to Portugal in 27 years, the last being by President K.R. Narayanan in 1998, according to the President's Secretariat. President Murmu is visiting Portugal at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. On Monday morning, she was accorded a cere...

President Murmu to embark on state visits to Portugal, Slovakia from April 7

April 2, 2025 10:04 PM

President Murmu to embark on state visits to Portugal, Slovakia from April 7

President Droupadi Murmu is set to visit Portugal and Slovakia from April 7 to 10 as part of a diplomatic mission aimed at strengthening India’s bilateral partnerships, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday. President Murmu will visit Portugal from April 7-8 at the invitation of Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. This visit holds historical significance as it marks the 50th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Portugal. T...