Author: staff
The EU’s drug strategy is the Council’s ambitious response to growing concerns about European drug use and trafficking. The European Union Drugs Agency’s 9 of June report revealed at least 7.600 annual overdose deaths. Synthetic drug trafficking increased by over 1.000 percent in a decade. Organised crime networks are adapting to increased law enforcement by shifting cocaine shipments to secondary regional ports. This all means that over 29 million European adults are actively consuming illicit substances, driving more than 1 million law enforcement seizures annually The Council’s new framework, adopted by unanimous political consensus, will force major EU maritime ports…
By euronews Published on 15/06/2026 – 21:26 GMT+2 A Yemeni adventurer known on social media as the “Spider-Man of Yemen” has died after falling into a volcanic crater while attempting a dangerous climb, authorities said. Al-Qaqa Ibn Antar, 30, was scaling the steep rock walls of the Hardah Dam volcanic crater in Yemen’s southern Dhale province when he lost his grip and fell into the crater. According to Yemen’s Civil Defense Authority, Antar was climbing without safety equipment. Rescue teams, including divers and water rescue specialists, were deployed to the site after the incident. Authorities said Antar’s body was located about…
By Gael Camba & with AFP Published on 15/06/2026 – 13:38 GMT+2•Updated 14:04 London’s Appeals Court on Monday upheld a UK government ban on activist group Palestine Action that has seen thousands of people, from students to an 83-year-old retired vicar, arrested and carried away from protests by police. The ban, which came into force on July 5, 2025, was imposed under the country’s Terrorism Act. It made membership of or support for the pro-Palestinian protest group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the terrorism legislation. The banning of the group had been challenged by Palestine Action’s…
Published on 15/06/2026 – 22:28 GMT+2 A US Air Force B-52 bomber has crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert, the military has confirmed. The aircraft went down at around 11:20 a.m. local time on Monday. Emergency crews were dispatched to the scene, according to a statement posted on the military’s official X account. There was no immediate information on casualties. A B-52 Stratofortress is typically operated by a crew of five. Edwards Air Force Base, the vast desert installation where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947, lies roughly 100 miles (161…
Cash-strapped France is refusing to contribute to the €21.7-€27.2 million cost of securing the border and policing the protests, according to Laurent Paoliello, communications director for Geneva’s security department. Several Swiss politicians have proposed withholding funds owed to France as a way of forcing Paris to pay for the security costs, including retaining tax income due to the French to compensate for lost tax income from cross-border workers. But Paoliello said such moves were “complicated” due to the fact that the exchanges of funds were enshrined in treaties. Geneva this year paid France €446 million as part of the 1973…
A personal diary seized from Leire Díez, a former member of Spain’s ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), contains at least four references to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, according to a report by the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard. The entries, contained in a 2025 notebook, range from meetings and requests for information to comments about the media and internal government affairs. In that report, the UCO said that the initials “P.S.” that appear repeatedly in Díez’s notebooks refer to Sánchez. That identification comes via an entry in which Díez herself refers to David Sánchez, the prime…
A duck dressed in Mexico’s national team colours has become one of the most unexpected stars of the 2026 World Cup. Merlin, a two-year-old duck from Mexico City, went viral after appearing among fans celebrating Mexico’s opening victory over South Africa. Wearing a Mexico jersey and following his owner through the capital’s streets, Merlin quickly won over football supporters online. The duck is a familiar sight in central Mexico City, where he regularly accompanies street vendor Carla Gómez as she sells drinks at fairs and public events. Videos of Merlin walking through crowds and posing for photos with fans have…
Published on 15/06/2026 – 21:30 GMT+2•Updated 21:41 La Roja produced a dominant performance against World Cup debutants Cape Verde for 90 minutes, but all to no avail, recording the first goalless draw of the 2026 FIFA tournament in Atlanta’s state-of-the-art air-conditioned stadium. Cape Verde, a nation of over 500,000 people, held out against Luis de la Fuente’s star-studded team, playing defensively and relying on few counterattacks that posed no major threat for most parts of the match. The result leaves Cape Verde with a record debut, conceding no goals and earning a point in Group H, something that will reverberate…
The European Commission already “has some ideas” on how to strengthen the system, she said, including safeguards and transition periods before certain membership rights are fully granted. The EU executive is consulting member countries concerned that future enlargements could complicate decision-making or allow governments to reverse reforms after accession. EU members, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, have argued that any expansion must be accompanied by guarantees that reforms will endure and that new members will not upset the bloc’s balance of power. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron are among those backing a phased approach to…
Published on 15/06/2026 – 16:58 GMT+2 The Czech cabinet has signed off on legislation that would end licence fee funding for the country’s public broadcasters, replacing it with direct state budget financing — a shift that journalists, media freedom groups and tens of thousands of citizens say puts editorial independence at risk. The bill, approved on Monday, affects Czech TV and Czech Radio, which would instead receive fixed annual sums broadly in line with the licence fee revenues they collected between 2008 and 2024 — before a previous centre-right administration increased them last year. Culture Minister Oto Klempir, from the…