Author: staff
By Euronews Published on 07/08/2025 – 16:45 GMT+2 Israeli airline El Al said Thursday that its Paris office was vandalised with anti-Israel graffiti, in what it said was a “deeply disturbing” attack on its premises. The graffiti was found early on Thursday, and no one was hurt, according to El Al airline. The office was empty when the incident occurred, the airline said. The airline said it was handling the matter with the “utmost gravity” and working “in close coordination” with authorities in France and Israel. El Al said it “unequivocally condemns all forms of violence, particularly those driven by hatred,”…
BRUSSELS ― Palestinians trying to get a Belgian humanitarian visa to escape the bloodshed in Gaza face impossible demands and a blocked exit, lawyers say. “Today, the consulate general in Jerusalem informed me that my client, who is currently trapped in Gaza, must travel to Jerusalem to apply for a visa,” Thomas Verellen, an assistant professor in EU law who also provides legal assistance, wrote on LinkedIn. “That’s simply impossible.” Verellen added that Belgium’s “inflexible stance” on remote visa applications is having “devastating” consequences in Gaza. Large swathes of Gaza have been reduced to rubble in retaliatory strikes following Hamas’…
Billed as China’s first dedicated canine gym, Gogogym has quickly attracted attention from pet owners eager to keep their animals active and healthy. The facility offers hydrotherapy, underwater treadmills, and guided exercises aimed at improving mobility and overall health. “These methods are much gentler on the body than land treadmills,” said pet therapist Lu Yilin. Dog owners say the gym helps with weight management and long-term joint care for ageing pets.
France and Algeria have had a complex relationship since the North African country gained independence after more than a century of brutal French occupation. Tensions reached a fever pitch last year when Paris recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, aligning with Spain, the United States and others. Western Sahara is mostly controlled by Morocco, but Rabat’s sovereignty over the territory is not internationally recognized. Algiers unconditionally supports and hosts the headquarters of the pro-Sahrawi independence movement, the Polisario Front. France also claims that two of its citizens, French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal and reporter Christophe Gleizes, are being held in Algerian…
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has stirred up public debate over politicians’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) after telling local media he uses ChatGPT to brainstorm and seek a “second opinion” on how to run the country. Kristersson told the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri that he uses ChatGPT and the French service LeChat, and that his colleagues also use AI in their everyday work. “I use it myself quite often, if for nothing else than for a second opinion. ‘What have others done? And should we think the complete opposite?’ Those types of questions,” he said. The comment sparked backlash,…
Published on 07/08/2025 – 14:26 GMT+2 More than 50 years after his death, J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy masterpieces never cease to enchant audiences around the world. Now, a rare first edition of Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” has been sold for £43,000 (€49, 500) at an online auction on Wednesday. The first edition was expected to fetch between £10,000-£12,000 at auction, ultimately selling for four times that amount. The book is one of 1,500 original copies of Tolkien’s beloved novel, which was published in September 1937. Only “a few hundred” from the initial print run remain and are considered “some of the…
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was not on the call with Trump, a spokesperson for the Commission said on Thursday. But she was “extensively debriefed by several EU leaders,” the spokesperson told reporters. The Kremlin confirmed on Thursday that the two leaders plan to meet “in the coming days.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that, following Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Putin, the U.S. government has a better understanding of the conditions under which Moscow would be prepared to end the war. “We now have to compare that to what the Ukrainians and…
Reeves’ decision last year to increase employers’ National Insurance contributions and jack up the National Living Wage have led companies to shed jobs, pushing unemployment up to its highest in four years. The Bank said in its new Monetary Policy Report on Thursday that it expects the jobless rate to continue rising in the coming months, after hitting 4.7 percent in June. The cut is the fifth in 12 months but still leaves rates at a level that most economists think is holding the economy back. The Bank warned again on Thursday that stubborn inflation — most visible in food…
A Berlin court ruled in June that the government’s push to turn away asylum-seekers at its borders violates European law. Dobrindt, however, challenged the scope of the court’s decision, suggesting it only applied to the three Somalis mentioned in that case. Dobrindt’s migration shift is an apparent attempt to deliver on the conservatives’ campaign pledges to radically restrict the flow of asylum-seekers into Germany. Center-right Chancellor Friedrich Merz made those promises under pressure from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which surged in the polls on an anti-immigration message ahead of the Feb. 23 snap election and is now…
Trump on Wednesday briefed European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his plan to meet with Putin in the coming days, and also floated holding a trilateral with the Russian president and Zelenskyy. In his evening address Wednesday, Zelenskyy said “Russia now seems to be more inclined toward a ceasefire,” adding “the pressure is working.” But, Zelenskyy cautioned, “the key is to ensure they don’t deceive anyone in the details — neither us, nor the United States.” In July, Trump gave Putin 50 days to come to a truce agreement with Ukraine, and then last week shortened the deadline to…