Author: staff

A fake newspaper cover claiming the “West hates the East”. AI-generated television reports suggesting western German landlords would rather rent to foreigners than eastern Germans, and videos falsely claiming that most young Germans want East Germany restored. These images and videos mimic the branding of some of Germany’s best-known media organisations, such as Spiegel TV, Bild and T-Online, as well as research organisations such as the Institute for the Study of War. However, they are not genuine. Researchers from the collective Antibot4Navalny, which tracks online influence operations, have identified at least 49 fake videos, 12 falsified newspaper covers and one…

Published on 08/07/2026 – 11:01 GMT+2•Updated 11:58 At least seven people were killed in fresh Russian strikes across Ukraine overnight, authorities said, just hours ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO summit in Ankara. One person was killed in the capital Kyiv, according to mayor Vitali Klitschko, who reported warehouses caught fire after a missile strike. A first large blast in Kyiv was heard shortly after midnight even before the city’s air alert sirens sounded, a rare failure in the system that has spooked residents of the capital. Elsewhere in Ukraine,…

Shares fell on Wednesday in Europe and Asia, and oil prices surged over 6% after US President Donald Trump said the tentative ceasefire with Iran was over, raising the prospect of renewed military conflict between the two countries. Asked whether the memorandum of understanding with Iran was over, Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara: “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them,” according to Reuters. This came after US Central Command said its forces struck more than 80 targets in Iran overnight, including command-and-control networks, coastal radar installations, anti-ship missile capabilities and…

Published on 08/07/2026 – 10:55 GMT+2 The total solar eclipse that’s set to happen this summer will no doubt be one of this year’s most memorable events. Make sure to put a note in your diaries because on 12 August 2026 the solar eclipse will be visible across parts of Europe and the north Atlantic. The path of totality will cross Greenland, Iceland, Spain and a small area of northeastern Portugal, said the European Space Agency (ESA). This will see cities and towns located in the path of totality plunged into darkness for up to two minutes. Meanwhile, other parts…

Published on 08/07/2026 – 10:56 GMT+2 A jinx. A hex. A malediction. The kiss of death. Call it what you will, but following the US’ humiliating defeat against Belgium at this year’s World Cup – a match overshadowed by the tournament’s biggest scandal yet – the term “Trump curse” began trending online. Sports fans have blamed Trump for getting involved, saying that he had cursed the US team after boasting about calling FIFA president Gianni Infantino to get American striker Folarin Balogun’s red card overturned. Critics accused Trump and FIFA of corruption, with the European Commission demanding “fairness and transparency”…

The shaky ceasefire had seen multiple flareups of fighting, so far relatively limited in scope as both sides said they wanted to keep the larger ceasefire in place. Trump said Wednesday he would allow his negotiators, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, to keep talking with Iranian representatives. But he hinted that dealing with Iran was simply a “waste of time.”  The U.S. president expressed anger that the administration had allowed the funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to proceed peacefully while the Iranian military was simultaneously attacking commercial vessels.  “They’re liars,” Trump said. “We make a deal, they go outside,…

Donald Trump has once again turned up the heat on Spain, as he arrived for the NATO summit in Ankara. The US president said on Wednesday that he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all trade” with Spain, which he described as a “terrible” partner within the Atlantic Alliance. “Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” Trump said. The remarks came during a joint appearance before the press with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Trump once again took aim at Pedro Sánchez’s government over its refusal to raise…

San Miguel de Allende in Mexico has just been named the best city in the world by Travel + Leisure. Following votes from 207,000 readers, the city in Guanajuato, which is known for its colonial-era architecture and arts and culture scene, claimed the top spot in the 31st edition of the publication’s World’s Best Awards. Mexico had a strong showing, with three cities in the top 10, with the rest of the highest-ranking destinations coming from Asia. Following San Miguel de Allende, the top cities in the world were Kyoto, Japan; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Hoi An, Vietnam; and Oaxaca, Mexico.…

Nigel Farage has triggered a political earthquake by quitting as an MP – but is he trying to get ahead of an inevitable scandal? Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy unpack why Farage has called a by-election in Clacton, and why none of the major parties are standing against him – with some describing it as a “gimmick.” The duo also examine whether his plans will have any material impact on the parliamentary standards investigation into his links with Christopher Harbone and George Cottrell. And could this extraordinary political gamble end with a stranger twist of a second by-election just weeks…

Four out of five Europeans say they have been affected by extreme weather, according to new research by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and Eurofound. However, different regions face different hazards at varying intensities. More than 85% of people in southern and central-eastern Europe have experienced climate-related disruption, according to the study, from severe outdoor heatwaves to unbearable indoor temperatures. Wildfires and their smoke were reported by 41% of respondents in Greece, 35% in Portugal and 20% in Cyprus, against a European average of just 8%. Currently, southern Europe is battling wildfires, with these extreme weather events forcing thousands of…