Author: staff
Published on 15/06/2026 – 22:28 GMT+2 A US Air Force B-52 bomber has crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert, the military has confirmed. The aircraft went down at around 11:20 a.m. local time on Monday. Emergency crews were dispatched to the scene, according to a statement posted on the military’s official X account. There was no immediate information on casualties. A B-52 Stratofortress is typically operated by a crew of five. Edwards Air Force Base, the vast desert installation where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947, lies roughly 100 miles (161…
Cash-strapped France is refusing to contribute to the €21.7-€27.2 million cost of securing the border and policing the protests, according to Laurent Paoliello, communications director for Geneva’s security department. Several Swiss politicians have proposed withholding funds owed to France as a way of forcing Paris to pay for the security costs, including retaining tax income due to the French to compensate for lost tax income from cross-border workers. But Paoliello said such moves were “complicated” due to the fact that the exchanges of funds were enshrined in treaties. Geneva this year paid France €446 million as part of the 1973…
A personal diary seized from Leire Díez, a former member of Spain’s ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), contains at least four references to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, according to a report by the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard. The entries, contained in a 2025 notebook, range from meetings and requests for information to comments about the media and internal government affairs. In that report, the UCO said that the initials “P.S.” that appear repeatedly in Díez’s notebooks refer to Sánchez. That identification comes via an entry in which Díez herself refers to David Sánchez, the prime…
A duck dressed in Mexico’s national team colours has become one of the most unexpected stars of the 2026 World Cup. Merlin, a two-year-old duck from Mexico City, went viral after appearing among fans celebrating Mexico’s opening victory over South Africa. Wearing a Mexico jersey and following his owner through the capital’s streets, Merlin quickly won over football supporters online. The duck is a familiar sight in central Mexico City, where he regularly accompanies street vendor Carla Gómez as she sells drinks at fairs and public events. Videos of Merlin walking through crowds and posing for photos with fans have…
Published on 15/06/2026 – 21:30 GMT+2•Updated 21:41 La Roja produced a dominant performance against World Cup debutants Cape Verde for 90 minutes, but all to no avail, recording the first goalless draw of the 2026 FIFA tournament in Atlanta’s state-of-the-art air-conditioned stadium. Cape Verde, a nation of over 500,000 people, held out against Luis de la Fuente’s star-studded team, playing defensively and relying on few counterattacks that posed no major threat for most parts of the match. The result leaves Cape Verde with a record debut, conceding no goals and earning a point in Group H, something that will reverberate…
The European Commission already “has some ideas” on how to strengthen the system, she said, including safeguards and transition periods before certain membership rights are fully granted. The EU executive is consulting member countries concerned that future enlargements could complicate decision-making or allow governments to reverse reforms after accession. EU members, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, have argued that any expansion must be accompanied by guarantees that reforms will endure and that new members will not upset the bloc’s balance of power. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron are among those backing a phased approach to…
Published on 15/06/2026 – 16:58 GMT+2 The Czech cabinet has signed off on legislation that would end licence fee funding for the country’s public broadcasters, replacing it with direct state budget financing — a shift that journalists, media freedom groups and tens of thousands of citizens say puts editorial independence at risk. The bill, approved on Monday, affects Czech TV and Czech Radio, which would instead receive fixed annual sums broadly in line with the licence fee revenues they collected between 2008 and 2024 — before a previous centre-right administration increased them last year. Culture Minister Oto Klempir, from the…
The text must next be voted on next month in Parliament’s plenary session. It will enter into force in the second half of 2027. The reform, aimed at striking a better balance between airlines’ interests and passenger rights, maintains current compensation rules for delayed or canceled flights and introduces new rights for consumers. “Behind every delay and every cancellation, there are real lives. The three-hour threshold and compensation levels remain,” Andrey Novakov of the European People’s Party, Parliament’s lead negotiator on the reform, said in a statement. “Parliament was clear from day one: we would modernize the rules, but we…
Published on 15/06/2026 – 18:19 GMT+2•Updated 18:53 A London court convicted two men on Monday of plotting a series of arson attacks on properties linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, orchestrated by a mysterious Russian-speaking figure who remains unidentified and uncharged. Roman Lavrynovych, 22, a Ukrainian national, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Romanian citizen, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiring to damage property by fire. Lavrynovych was additionally convicted on two counts of arson reckless of danger to life. A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted. The men are due to be sentenced Friday. The…
Updated: 15/06/2026 – 18:00 GMT+2 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this June 15th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More