Author: staff
Published on 23/07/2026 – 16:13 GMT+2 Member states have once again discussed options for restrictive measures against Israel’s illegal settlements, but no majority backed a specific course of action, and there is still no sense of direction. On Wednesday, the sensitive question of relations with Israel returned to the table of EU ambassadors, who discussed next steps on a series of options for sanctioning the country’s settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The options – ranging from stricter enforcement of existing labelling rules for settlement products, to prohibitive tariffs, to a full trade ban – were discussed at the last…
A wildfire spread through the forest near Le Porge in southwestern France on Wednesday, with flames advancing through wooded areas as firefighters worked to contain the blaze. The footage shows residents and visitors watching the fire from a distance, while firefighters monitor the flames and move equipment along nearby roads. The fire burned around 1,400 hectares in the Gironde region, north of the Arcachon Basin, prompting the evacuation of several thousand residents and tourists. Firefighters used trucks and water supplies to battle the flames as the fire moved through the Landes de Gascogne forest, an area already affected by major…
Dutch students have developed what they say is the world’s first solar-powered ambulance, designed to improve access to healthcare in remote parts of Africa. Named Stella Juva, the vehicle was created by a team of 23 students in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Solar panels provide power for both the vehicle and its onboard medical equipment, allowing it to operate in areas with limited access to electricity. The ambulance is equipped with an X-ray machine, an ultrasound scanner, an automated external defibrillator (AED) and other essential medical supplies for use in remote communities. The team plans to test Stella Juva in Kenya…
The U.S. president announced in a social media post last November that South Africa would not be invited to the next G20 meeting. During his speech, Wadephul also emphasized his interest in fostering closer relations with South Africa, despite disagreements on key geopolitical questions like Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Gaza conflict or China. As a BRICS member, South Africa holds traditionally close relations to Moscow and Beijing. “In some disputed matters we can agree to disagree”, he said. “And at the same time keep on working together. What matters is that we are committed to the same international principles.”…
Published on 23/07/2026 – 15:03 GMT+2 One soldier died and four were injured after a Czech military helicopter crashed at an air base in the southeast of the Czech Republic on Thursday, according to the country’s armed forces. The military said the crash occurred at the 22nd Helicopter Air Force Base in Náměšť nad Oslavou. The aircraft involved was a UH-1Y Venom military helicopter, it added. “At this exceptionally difficult time, we express our deepest and most sincere condolences to the family, loved ones, friends and colleagues of the deceased,” the armed forces said in a statement. “Our top priority…
Published on 23/07/2026 – 15:02 GMT+2 Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Block has released Buzz, an open-source workplace platform that treats AI agents as full members of a team, not a browser tab you quietly close when a colleague walks by. The platform launched on Tuesday and is available now at buzz.xyz. It combines channels, threads, direct messages, voice, media sharing, code repositories and automated workflows, giving it a similar shape to Slack. The key difference is how it handles artificial intelligence. Agents in Buzz get their own cryptographic identities and permissions, letting them post, review code, run automations…
On Saturday, Butch was forced to interrupt a show in the southeastern town of Grenoble amid heckling and reports that objects had been thrown at the stage. “I was extremely scared, so much so. And the shock was such that I couldn’t move for days,” Butch said on Thursday. “And now there are new calls to boycott that have been made by the France Unbowed [locally].” Critics, including former prime minister and presidential hopeful Gabriel Attal, have accused the far left of targeting Butch because she is Jewish. France Unbowed and Mélenchon, who has been gaining ground against centrist candidates…
Published on 23/07/2026 – 13:50 GMT+2 Norway has been reeling from a huge fire that broke out in a townhouse in the southern city of Drammen last week and spread through the surrounding area and into nearby forests. More than 100 homes were destroyed, and hundreds of people were forced to evacuate following the start of the blaze on 17 June. The Associated Press reported that Norway’s Directorate for Civil Protection described it as the “largest fire of its kind in modern times”. Since then, posts circulating online have attempted to link the blaze to a decision allegedly taken by…
It is widely reported that the changes will be funded by a 20 percent increase in business rates for large fulfillment warehouses used by companies like Amazon and ASOS. Stephens also criticized the government’s social media ban for under 16s — calling it “a little draconian from a freedom of speech point of view.” “I don’t think we see it as an attack on U.S. companies, but U.S. companies are the ones that are most affected by it,” he said. “But I think we’ll find a way, as best as we can, to work with the laws and rules of…
NATO says it is poised to defend Bulgaria against any threat from Iran after Sofia agreed to host US tanker aircraft as part of Washington’s operations against Iran. A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry warned Bulgaria on Tuesday against hosting up to eight US military aircraft at an air base on its territory. Bulgaria is both an EU and NATO member. Iranian Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state media that any action that supports US attacks on Iran would be regarded as participating in hostilities and amount to “aggression and war crimes”. Meanwhile, NATO’s Colonel Martin O’Donnell told Europe Today…