Author: staff

Published on 24/06/2026 – 18:01 GMT+2 The commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police force has announced plans to scale up the use of drones and facial recognition technology across the capital. In a speech on Wednesday, Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley warned that crime was “evolving at speed” and that many criminals were now going digital. “They are using smarter, faster and more connected tools than ever before,” he said. To counter this growing threat, Rowley said forces must get on board with emerging technologies and called for reduced legislation before implementation. He singled out drones and facial recognition as particularly…

Updated: 24/06/2026 – 18:00 GMT+2 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this June 24th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More

Published on 24/06/2026 – 18:09 GMT+2•Updated 18:11 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and China’s official Bureau of Statistics have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday to improve the measurement of China’s digital economy. With China now a global leader in sectors such as AI and ecommerce, its real economy and growth can be quantified by adequate statistical models which take into account the value of intangible assets such as cloud computing and big data. In particular, China will align with the United Nations System of National Accounts 2025 (SNA 2025), a global statistical standard that incorporates the measurement…

A key worry that UNIC has shared with EU competition officials is that Paramount will slash Warner Bros. original content — such as locally produced biopics — to focus on less risky and more profitable franchises such as Mission: Impossible. Civil society groups also challenged the deal in a letter, saying it would give a U.S. owner too much control over European TV channels. “That the deal now appears likely to win conditional Phase I approval is very disappointing,” Mark Dempsey, of media freedom advocacy group Article 19, one of the letter’s signatories, told POLITICO on Wednesday. Dempsey described the proposed…

Two fin whales have arrived at a processing site in Iceland after commercial whaling resumed following a two-year pause. At the Hvalur facility, workers cut sections of the animals while company staff and observers look on. Machinery is also used to process large pieces of whale meat. The catches were reported two days after the hunting season restarted. According to Icelandic media and animal rights groups, the two fin whales were killed off the country’s coast, marking the first recorded catches since 2023. Iceland remains one of only three countries that openly allow commercial whaling, alongside Norway and Japan. The…

Published on 24/06/2026 – 11:46 GMT+2•Updated 12:19 The figure blows all forecasts out of the water. Venezuela is set to acknowledge a debt of close to 240 billion dollars, far above the 150 to 200 billion the market had been assuming until now. The report, revealed by the Financial Times, would put Caracas on course for the largest restructuring ever recorded, surpassing even Greece’s historic default in 2012. The move comes in the wake of the country’s political upheaval. After Nicolás Maduro was captured last January, interim president Delcy Rodríguez took the reins and has set herself a clear goal:…

Published on 24/06/2026 – 16:07 GMT+2•Updated 16:08 Europe’s scorching early-summer heatwave is beginning to take a toll on some of the continent’s biggest tourist attractions, with landmark sites, museums and outdoor spectacles forced to close, shorten opening hours or cancel events as temperatures soar. From the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre in Paris to Buckingham Palace’s Changing of the Guard in London, authorities are taking precautionary measures to protect visitors, staff and performers as record-breaking heat spreads across Europe. Paris closes some of its most iconic attractions France is suffering a severe heatwave, which has been ongoing since last week.…

BRUSSELS — Former Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren has been appointed secretary general of the External Action Service, the EU’s foreign policy wing. The move, announced in an email to staff on Wednesday afternoon, reflects the growing importance of defense-related matters in Brussels and puts an end to weeks of speculation after Belén Martínez Carbonell moved to lead the EU’s delegation in Mexico after two years in the post. This is a developing story.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf described the US-Iran framework deal as “a declaration of US defeat,” saying Washington and Israel had miscalculated in launching the war. “The Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation,” Ghalibaf, who heads the Iranian negotiating team, told the PUIC parliamentary summit in Baku. “The era of imposing will on independent nations is over,” he added. His remarks came as technical talks under the 60-day framework continued, with Iranian and US negotiators still divided over key outstanding issues…

Published on 24/06/2026 – 16:14 GMT+2 The European Commission presented a new tax simplification package on Wednesday, expected to save EU businesses €8 billion annually, including €3.3 billion in administrative costs. The two proposed laws aim to reduce red tape in an overall attempt to make Europe a more attractive place for businesses to flourish. “By removing upfront procedural requirements and simplifying refund processes, the measure will facilitate financing, encourage investment, and enhance competitiveness,” the Commission said in a statement. The bigger measure proposed in the package is the exemption from withholding tax on all cross-border payments of dividends, interest,…