Investigations are ongoing, a garda statement said.
Day: September 16, 2025
“The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terror infrastructure,” said the Israeli defense minister.
The California music festival will take place in April next year.
Asteria Expands in Spain with Acquisition of Ezquerro
Belgian packaging and labelling group Asteria has acquired Ezquerro, a Spanish producer of printed and self-adhesive labels, as part of its European expansion strategy. The purchase price remains undisclosed, reports 24brussels.
The acquisition enhances Asteria’s presence in Spain, adding a third facility to its existing plants located in Valencia and Galicia. Chief Executive Yves Declerck stated, “We are now close to achieving a leadership position in Spain.” This transaction marks one of the largest among Asteria’s recent acquisitions.
Asteria employs over 2,300 individuals across 40 factories from Finland to Ireland, supplying more than 20 billion labels annually to small and medium-sized enterprises. Originally founded as Accent in 1985, the company has undergone significant transformation under Declerck’s management, supported by the Dutch private equity firm Waterland, which specializes in buy-and-build strategies.
Continuation of Buy-and-Build Strategy
The group continues to solidify its foothold in established markets. Just last week, Asteria completed the acquisition of Pro Print Group, a UK specialist in self-adhesive labels and carton packaging, marking its fourth transaction in the UK. This latest deal is projected to add approximately £22.4 million (€26 million) to its annual turnover.
Brussels – On Wednesday, the European Union’s 19th round of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine was removed from the agenda for a meeting of EU government representatives in Brussels, according to EU diplomats, reports 24brussels.
The meeting of EU ambassador representatives to the European Union, known as COREPER, was convened to discuss the sanctions package that the European Commission has been preparing for some time. However, no new date for these discussions has been scheduled, the diplomats indicated.
“It was taken off the COREPER agenda late yesterday afternoon. No new date is planned,”
one diplomat stated.
A day prior, a representative from the European Commission indicated that the 19th package of sanctions against Russia was still being finalized. “To my knowledge, we haven’t yet put it on the table. It is being prepared. That’s what we can tell you for the moment,” Paula Pinho, chief spokesperson for the European Commission, noted.
“When it comes to our work around sanctions, since our first package, and this is the 19th, what we do is to make it function as well as it should, to make those sanctions as effective as they can possibly be,”
Olof Gill, deputy chief spokesperson for the European Commission, added.
Overview of EU Sanctions Against Russia
The EU initially imposed its first sanctions package against Russia on February 23, 2022, following Russia’s recognition of the non-government-controlled Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent entities, accompanied by the deployment of Russian troops into these territories.
Since then, the European Union has implemented 18 sanctions packages targeting various sectors including energy revenue, financial institutions, and the military-industrial complex. These measures have included asset freezes and export bans on individuals, entities, and vessels associated with Russia’s military actions.
The latest package, the 18th, was adopted on July 18, 2025, encompassing measures designed to curtail Russia’s energy revenues, enhance anti-circumvention efforts, and address accountability for war crimes, among other objectives.
The announcement by the Israeli military further escalated the Israel-Hamas war as any potential ceasefire feels even further out of reach despite weeks of diplomacy.
The U.S. will continue to provide the necessary capabilities to support the defense of Japan, the Pacific Air Forces told Newsweek.
Malawi Votes in Crucial Elections as Economic Crisis Deepens
Malawi commenced voting early Tuesday in general, parliamentary, and local elections marked by intense competition, with President Lazarus Chakwera seeking re-election against former President Peter Mutharika, who is currently leading in various opinion polls, reports 24brussels.
Polling stations opened at 6:00 AM local time (04:00 GMT) with a ballot featuring 17 candidates. The voting process is set to conclude at 4:00 PM local time (2:00 PM GMT), allowing approximately 7.2 million registered voters to participate in this significant electoral event, according to the Malawi Electoral Commission.
Voters are faced with a choice between two candidates whose previous terms were marred by allegations of cronyism, corruption, and economic mismanagement. Both candidates have promised to address the challenges confronting Malawi, where citizens are grappling with fuel shortages, power outages, and escalating food prices.
Economic analysts highlight that both Chakwera and Mutharika have focused their campaigns on revitalizing the agriculture-dependent economy, which is currently hindered by severe climate shocks. Inflation has soared beyond 27 percent, and data from the NGO Centre for Social Concern indicates that the cost of living in one of the world’s poorest nations has increased by 75 percent in the past year.
These elections are the first in Malawi since the 2019 presidential vote was annulled and subsequently redone in 2020 following widespread irregularities. The outcome will underscore the political landscape as the nation seeks stability amid pressing economic challenges.
Crowley, whose whose glittering onscreen career spanned 60 years, died just two days before she was set to turn 92.
Vice President Vance and other high-profile political figures have called for people who speak negatively online about the assassination of Charlie Kirk to lose their jobs.