Author: staff
Published on 13/07/2026 – 11:09 GMT+2•Updated 14:27 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for stronger protections for children online, saying the evidence presented by the Special Panel on Child Safety Online should help shape future European policy. Von der Leyen said the evidence increasingly supported introducing a minimum age for access to social media and suggested a phased approach for different age groups. During a press conference in Brussels, the EU chief said the argument to ban toddlers from screens and digital platforms, and that children under 13 should only be allowed to use social media under…
CCTV footage from the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy shows customers inside a coffee shop rushing to safety after explosions shattered the windows during a Russian air strike. A second camera captured people outside dropping to the ground before fleeing as blasts echoed through the area. Ukrainian officials said two Russian guided glide bombs struck a crowded part of the city, killing five people, including a child, and injuring 30 others. One bomb landed near a public transport stop, damaging buses, cars and nearby residential buildings.
Published on 13/07/2026 – 12:23 GMT+2 TSMC said on Monday that June revenue rose 67.9% year on year to NT$398.27 billion (€10.8bn), bringing the first-half of the year revenue to NT$2.4 trillion (€65.4bn), a 35.6% increase from the same period in 2025. Based on the company’s monthly revenue disclosures, second-quarter revenue amounted to roughly NT$1.27 trillion, ahead of the NT$1.264 trillion (€34.4bn) consensus forecast from 20 analysts surveyed by LSEG. Monday’s release covers June revenue and cumulative first-half sales only. TSMC will publish its full second-quarter earnings on Thursday, including net profit, gross margin, operating margin and updated financial guidance.…
The EU announcement comes after a years-long push to deal with the mental and physical health risks social media pose to minors. Von der Leyen has made the issue a top priority in her second term heading the EU executive. Capitals like Athens, Copenhagen and Paris have also been pushing for age restrictions — and non-EU countries including Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. Social media platforms already limit access to users under 13 because they cannot consent to have their data processed according to EU privacy rules. Von der Leyen suggested parents should also have control over social media age limits.…
The prospect of Turkey returning to the F-35 fighter jet programme has opened a new front in Washington, with the Greek-American lobby and members of Congress seeking to preserve the existing legal obstacles to the sale of US fighters to Ankara. The issue returned to the fore after US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but so far there has been no official decision by the US administration on Turkey’s re-entry into the programme. Athens acknowledges that decisions on armaments are a sovereign right of every country and that it has no power of veto over…
Published on 13/07/2026 – 13:29 GMT+2 France’s state-owned energy group EDF temporarily shut down three nuclear reactors on Sunday, while warning that seven others may need to adjust their power output as the heatwave sweeping the country continues. According to the company, the measure is an environmental protection requirement to avoid discharging excessively hot water into rivers already warming because of the heatwave. Nuclear power plants use river water to cool their reactors before releasing the warmed water back into rivers. “There is no nuclear safety risk. Reactors are capable of operating under high-temperature conditions. These limits are intended to…
Published on 13/07/2026 – 12:05 GMT+2•Updated 12:23 Two men accused of pulling off one of the most audacious art thefts in modern history have told investigators they only learned of the plan days before they carried it out – and that one of them had no idea he was about to rob the world’s most visited museum. According to Le Monde, which reviewed records of interrogation hearings held in June, suspects Abdoulaye N. and Ghelamallah A. gave their most detailed account yet of the operation that stripped the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon of eight pieces of French crown jewellery on 19…
BRUXELLES — L’Union européenne va fixer un âge minimum à partir duquel les jeunes internautes pourront accéder aux réseaux sociaux sans la surveillance de leurs parents, a annoncé ce lundi 13 juillet la présidente de la Commission. Ursula von der Leyen présentait ce matin les conclusions du groupe d’experts qu’elle avait chargé, l’an dernier, de faire des propositions pour lutter contre les effets néfastes des réseaux sociaux. Leur rapport, publié ce jour, recommande que les mineurs de moins de 13 ans ne disposent d’un accès aux réseaux sociaux que “pour une durée limitée”, et sous la surveillance de leurs parents.…
The European Commission has once again become the target of viral misinformation after several posts, viewed millions of times, claimed Brussels intends to require an “internet passport” before users can go online. Some posts went even further, alleging that the Commission plans to ban Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to prevent users from bypassing the system. In reality, the claims relate to the Commission’s planned age-verification app, a tool intended to help shield children from harmful or age-inappropriate online content. The app is expected to be rolled out by the end of 2026, subject to implementation by EU member states or…
Drone footage reveals the scale of destruction caused by a deadly wildfire in Spain’s Almería province, where at least 12 people died and around 7,000 hectares were burned. The fast-moving blaze swept through the Los Gallardos area during an extreme heatwave, trapping some victims in their vehicles. Officials say the fire has now been brought under control, allowing around 1,500 evacuated residents to begin returning home. Investigators believe a damaged power line may have sparked the fire.