Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, brother of British King Charles III, was taken into custody and questioned by police for about 12 hours on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He is accused of passing confidential documents to Jeffrey Epstein while serving as UK trade envoy. Sexual offences are not mentioned in the official statement on the arrest of the former prince, who has been implicated in the Epstein scandal.
US President Donald Trump has upped the pressure on Iran to reach an agreement in the dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme. If no solution is found within 10 to 15 days "bad things" will happen, he warned. Iran has announced a "resolute and appropriate" response in the event of an attack. Commentators discuss the consequences of a US attack for the region.
The deputy director of the Spanish National Police resigned on Wednesday after it emerged that he was under investigation for sexual assault after a policewoman under his command filed a complaint. She has accused her superior of sexually assaulting her in April 2025 in an official residence belonging to the Ministry of the Interior. For the national press, the case points to systemic problems in Spain.
The Slovakian government has declared an oil emergency after the country was cut off from oil supplies flowing from Russia via Ukraine through the Druzhba pipeline at the end of January. According to Ukrainian sources, the pipeline was damaged by Russian bombing. However Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused the Ukrainian leadership of deliberately preventing the resumption of supplies.
With just a month to go before local elections in France, the death of a suspected right-wing extremist student has sent shock waves through the country. According to French prosecutors, Quentin D. was beaten by several attackers and sustained lethal injuries on 12 February in Lyon on the sidelines of a protest against Rima Hassan, MEP of the left-wing LFI. The French government holds the LFI-affiliated militant group Jeune Garde responsible for the attack.
Talks in Geneva between representatives of Ukraine and Russia, attended by the United States, have ended after two days. Russia's chief negotiator, Putin adviser Vladimir Medinsky, described the talks as "difficult, but business-like", while in an interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of progress on military issues. However no concrete results have been announced so far.
The election campaign in Hungary is becoming increasingly heated in the run-up to the parliamentary elections on 12 April. While opposition leader Péter Magyar has said that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is capable of nothing more than "incitement" and "threats", Orbán has described Magyar's conservative Tisza Party as a "creation of foreign powers". Orbán has been endorsed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told him: "Your success is our success."
A court case is underway in the US to determine whether social media platforms deliberately design their websites to be addictive. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted in Los Angeles that there had been temporary shortcomings in the age verification process on his platforms, but opposed restrictions such as a ban on beauty filters.
The Board of Peace established by US President Donald Trump in January is scheduled to meet in Washington on Thursday to discuss the Gaza conflict. Trump has announced that its members have pledged around 4.2 billion euros for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged region and security forces. So far the board has 26 member states. Several countries plan to participate as observers.
The Czech Chamber of Deputies' Mandate and Immunity Committee has recommended that Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura should not face criminal prosecution. The governing parliamentary majority is expected to confirm the immunity of the two top politicians in March.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered a keynote speech at the start of the Munich Security Conference in which he emphasised that Europe must preserve its own values, actively protect its freedom and build on its strengths. "We must flip the switch in our minds," he said, outlining a sovereign Europe that breaks free from its excessive dependence on the US. Europe's media examine Merz's vision and point to potential flaws.