Author: staff
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has tasked Czech police with investigating the payment of EU subsidies to companies within Agrofert, an agro-chemical giant tied to Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.In a letter dated June 19, European Delegated Prosecutor Daniela Bártíková said she “decided to initiate criminal proceedings … concerning funds provided from the EU budgets.” The letter, seen by POLITICO, was first reported by Seznam Zprávy. The referral to police relates to subsidies paid before Babiš’s current term, including during his first stint as prime minister, despite findings by Czech courts and the European Commission that he retained control over…
Published on 14/07/2026 – 17:56 GMT+2 Leaders from across Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East have travelled to Doha to offer their condolences to Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani following the death of his father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The visits came as Qatar continued a four-day period of national mourning for the former ruler, who died on Sunday at the age of 74. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was among the first European heads of government to arrive and met Sheikh Tamim at Lusail Palace to express her condolences. Swiss Vice President…
While Meta has launched its AI glasses in the EU, the financial results said the distribution rollout is still slow in the EMEA region, with “more than half” of sales points still not served. More than 7 million pairs of Meta smart glasses were sold worldwide in 2025. The smart glasses still face fierce privacy pushback, regardless of the change in batteries rules. Cláudio Texeira, the head of digital policy at Europe’s largest consumer protection group BEUC, said: “Europe should not dilute consumer protections. Smart glasses are already raising important concerns about privacy, security and consumer choice. Exemptions from EU battery removability…
Updated: 14/07/2026 – 18:00 GMT+2 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this July 14th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More
Published on 14/07/2026 – 15:52 GMT+2•Updated 16:33 The European Central Bank (ECB) took the digital euro project into its next operational stage on Tuesday by naming 36 payment service providers to help test the future currency in a large-scale pilot programme beginning in the second half of 2027. According to the ECB, the participants were selected from more than 50 applicants across the euro area and will work alongside the ECB and 19 of the euro area’s national central banks, excluding Bulgaria and Malta, during a 12-month testing exercise. The pilot is intended to assess the digital euro’s technical infrastructure,…
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Flowers lay outside the devastated Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar on Tuesday 14 July, as forensic officers searched the charred wreckage, where a burnt drum kit remained on the stage. The fire, which broke out shortly before midnight on Sunday, killed at least 27 people and injured around 70 others, authorities said. Among the dead were two members of the cover band Tosakan, keyboardist Kwang and singer Breeze, whose bandmate and boyfriend, singer Athipat Wijarn, described carrying her body from the pitch-black, smoke-filled venue. Police are examining whether an exit was obstructed and investigating the wiring of the 50-year-old…
The charges stem from David Sánchez’s 2017 appointment as coordinator of music conservatories in Badajoz, Extremadura. In 2024, Manos Limpias — a group with links to the far right that Spain’s Supreme Court was accused of filing frivolous lawsuits to undermine the government — lodged a complaint alleging the post had been created for the prime minister’s younger brother, and that civil servants colluded to rig the public competition in his favor. Sánchez has consistently denied the charges, and throughout the trial his defense argued that it was impossible to claim the post had been awarded in a show of…
Published on 14/07/2026 – 15:47 GMT+2 Ukrainian forces have struck at least 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov over the past eight days as part of their intensified campaign to isolate Moscow-occupied Crimea, reports reveal. According to the Ukrainian General Staff and Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) Commander Major Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, his forces have recently struck 10 vessels in just one night, including ferries and tankers that Russia uses to transport oil and petroleum products and circumvent sanctions. “The peninsula’s transhipment infrastructure is being stung every night, traffic through the strait has stopped, and cargo unloading has…
By Euronews Persian Published on 14/07/2026 – 14:09 GMT+2 Iran struck two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, killing one crew member and injuring eight others, as the US reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports and Trump said Washington was “taking control” of the waterway, in the sharpest escalation since the framework deal signed last month. US strikes also hit the port city of Bushehr — which hosts Iran’s only civilian nuclear power plant — with deputy provincial governor Ehsan Jahanian saying “four points in the city of Bushehr were hit by enemy projectiles at noon,” according to state-run…