Author: staff

Published on 13/03/2026 – 10:03 GMT+1 Elon Musk’s social media platform X has agreed to change its user verification system in the European Union following a €120 million fine last year, according to a report that cited European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier. Bloomberg reported that the X had proposed solutions for the blue checkmark, which is used to verify accounts. The European Commission fined X for violating its Digital Services Act in December, saying that the paid verification system, introduced after Elon Musk purchased Twitter in 2022, could mislead users by creating the impression that verified accounts are reliable. The…

The mixed messages by U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration about how long the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran will last have unnerved allies and shaken European markets. Two weeks into the conflict, EU capitals are asking when it will end and how they can influence what comes next — none more so than Berlin. In this week’s episode, host Anne McElvoy talks to a key ally of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Norbert Röttgen. A longstanding member of the Bundestag, a former chair of its Foreign Affairs Committee and a minister in Angela Merkel’s government, Röttgen is a strong believer in the Atlantic…

Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said some 30 people were hurt in a missile attack on Zarzir, a city around 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Jerusalem near the border with Lebanon. It described most of the wounds as coming from glass broken in the attack. Emergency services inspected a destroyed car and a house damaged by a missile, while ambulances and rescue teams were seen at the scene of the attack. Hezbollah said early Friday it had fired several rocket salvos toward Israel.

“We will see how things turn out if [the EU’s migration policy] comes under pressure again,” Dutch Migration Minister Bart van den Brink, who only took up his role last month, told POLITICO on the sidelines of a meeting of migration ministers in Brussels last week.  Van den Brink was optimistic, however, saying that “there has been much more solidarity and relaxation in the relationship between different member states” since the EU agreed on the migration pact and that “the willingness to cooperate is also far greater” now that migration is so high on the political agenda. The Migration and…

Hello, It’s Friday. I’m Mared Gwyn with your morning newsletter. Exclusive: Iran’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, has told Euronews that any military base “used to attack Iran”, including those on European territory, could be targeted as the war in the Middle East continues. “Let me make it clear, our military forces have announced a policy [that] any facility, any base which is used to attack Iran would be a legitimate target for our military force,” Ambassador Bahreini told our correspondent Sasha Vakulina on Thursday. When asked whether this could include sites located in Europe, Bahreini responded:…

Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Brussels to oppose austerity reforms introduced by Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s government. Police estimated the crowd at around 80,000 people, while unions said more than 100,000 took part. Demonstrators carried banners and chanted as they marched through the Belgian capital. The protests were part of a broader mobilisation by trade unions against planned changes to pension and unemployment systems. Some scuffles occurred during the march, with police confronting protesters and medics treating injured participants, though authorities said the demonstration was largely peaceful.

Published on 13/03/2026 – 7:00 GMT+1 Most major artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are willing to help a user plan a violent attack, according to a new report. Researchers posing as 13-year-old boys planning mass violence found that eight of the nine most popular AI chatbots were willing to help guide how to carry out school shootings, assassinate public figures, and bomb synagogues. The investigation, by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and CNN, analysed more than 700 responses from nine major AI systems across nine test scenarios. Researchers directed their questions at users in both the United States and…

Tomc told POLITICO Kos was not honest when “claiming that she didn’t collaborate in the secret service … We have to do something with this information.” A spokesperson for the EPP said: “Romana Tomc has kept the EPP Group closely informed about the latest revelations concerning Commissioner Marta Kos. The Group will examine the matter carefully. For now, we note that Commissioner Kos has not denied these new revelations. The ball is now in her court.” Kos did not respond to POLITICO’s repeated requests for comment. But a Commission official said Kos “went through the extensive and thorough vetting process”…

7:53 GMT+1 Israeli strikes hit new areas not previously targeted in Beirut, killing one person An Israeli strike hit a car in Jnah, a coastal neighbourhood in southwestern Beirut, killing one person, the Lebanese health ministry said early on Friday.A separate strike targeted an apartment in the Nabaa neighbourhood, leaving it engulfed in flames, according to reports circulating on local media. Nabaa, on Beirut’s northern outskirts within the densely populated Burj Hammoud district, is home to a sizable Armenian community. No casualties were immediately reported.It was the first time such an area has been struck in this conflict or during…

To address the challenges of energy security and greenhouse gas emissions, the Greek government decided to take a step that would have caused strong reactions a few years ago: to open the debate on the possibility of nuclear power generation in Greece. Twelve EU countries have operational nuclear reactors: Belgium, Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Spain, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden. In 2024, nuclear power plants accounted for 23.3 per cent of the total electricity produced in the EU, according to Eurostat data, registering an increase of 4.8…