Author: staff

Auf einem Spaziergang durch die ukrainische Hauptstadt zeigt Deutschlands Botschafter Heiko Thoms im Gespräch mit Gordon Repinski, wie der Drang nach Alltag für die Ukrainer zu einem bewussten Akt des Widerstands gegen die russische Aggression geworden ist. Thoms blickt auf den härtesten Winter seit Jahrzehnten zurück. Wochenlange zweistellige Minustemperaturen, systematische Angriffe auf die Energieinfrastruktur und das ständige Dröhnen der Generatoren sollten die Bevölkerung zermürben. Stattdessen stärkten diese Kriegsverbrechen den Widerstandswillen. Der Botschafter berichtet von den enormen psychischen und physischen Belastungen für seine ukrainischen Mitarbeiter. Er beschreibt aber auch die rasante militärische und technologische Entwicklung der Ukraine. Das Land ist längst…

Published on 27/06/2026 – 11:37 GMT+2 On the afternoon of 24 June, Venezuela was struck by a major natural disaster: two earthquakes that were very close in location, time (just 39 seconds apart) and magnitude, both measuring more than 7 on the Richter scale. This phenomenon is known as a seismic doublet and it greatly multiplies the damage caused. At the time of publication, the death toll is approaching one thousand and more than 50,000 people are missing. However, the images we show you below speak for themselves. The devastation caused by the earthquakes has brought down buildings, including high-rise…

Published on 27/06/2026 – 8:14 GMT+2•Updated 8:35 Belgium thumped New Zealand 5-1 in Vancouver on Friday to secure their spot in the World Cup knockout stages. A brace for Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard, as well as goals for Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers, put the Belgians top of Group G and safely through to the round of 32 despite having racked up two draws from their first two games. Belgium were held to a 1-1 draw against Egypt, who have also qualified for the knockouts, in Seattle in the opening fixture of their World Cup campaign before playing…

Despite the lopsided result in district courts, Sauer described an “untenable divide” at the appeals court level. Five appellate circuits have ruled on the issue, breaking 3-2 against the administration. A divide among appeals courts typically makes the Supreme Court more likely to intervene. The matter is still pending in another six circuits and could result in additional rulings at any moment. The Trump administration is appealing a ruling of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected the administration’s approach last month and also found people subject to the administration’s new view of mandatory detention have a constitutional due process right…

Published on 27/06/2026 – 7:38 GMT+2 The United States military carried out strikes against Iran on Friday after US President Donald Trump accused Tehran of launching drone attacks on ships navigating the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement, US Central Command said American aircraft hit Iranian missile and drone storage locations as well as coastal radar sites in response to Iran striking the M/V Ever Lovely ship with a one-way attack drone. “The Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack,” CENTCOM said, adding that Iranian forces had “clearly…

Halfway through a turbulent year, a clear pattern has emerged across global markets: anything tied to the physical build-out of AI has soared, while several other assets that investors traditionally turn to in uncertain times have stumbled. War in the Middle East, political upheaval and an oil-price spike formed the backdrop, yet stock markets in several regions still pushed to fresh record highs. According to Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, companies on the receiving end of the AI spending boom were the standout investments of the first half, while Bitcoin proved “a shocker” and gold lost its…

In Britain, JMW Turner’s Picturesque Views in England and Wales romanticised the country’s coasts and castles. For Japan, Katsushika Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji helped make the stratovolcano a must-visit among international tourists. And in China, it is the shanshui paintings depicting the nation’s mountains and rivers that have captured the imagination of travellers for centuries. Far from the glittering skyscrapers of Shanghai (but not so far – in actuality it’s less than a three-hour flight) you’ll be able to find lofty cloud-shrouded peaks and flowing waterways that feel like something out of an ink wash painting in Guilin.…

Uzbekistan’s largest-ever public market transaction has highlighted growing investor interest in the country and its economic reforms, while shifting attention to the next stage of developing its financial markets. The listing of the National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan, managed by Franklin Templeton, raised more money than all previous IPOs in the country combined over the past 30 years, according to Marius Dan, Central Asia CEO at Templeton Global Investments. For investors and market operators, the transaction has drawn attention to a wider issue: how Uzbekistan develops the rules, institutions and market depth needed to support capital markets, debt financing, venture…

There have been “drone sightings in proximity to offshore energy structures,” reported Offshore Energies UK in April. “Our platforms are 100, 150 miles out in the middle of the sea, so you don’t typically have many neighbors — you don’t have people coming and visiting unless they are there for a very good reason,” Graham Skinner, the trade body’s health and safety manager for offshore infrastructure, told the BBC. “When the crews spot lights in the sky, or things moving around, suspicious activity in general — it’s very obvious that it’s out of place. It may well be that they…

Morning Brussels. Angela Skujins here ringing out the hopefully penultimate day of this heatwave in the Belgian capital, and the final day of the working week. Here’s what’s driving your Friday: Discussion on the 21st package of sanctions fires up, Commissioner McGrath’s trip to Malta prompts questions, and an environment council’s first infantile guest. Negotiating the blacklist. EU ambassadors are set to discuss today a revised compromise for the 21st package of sanctions against Russia, my colleague Jorge Liboreiro writes in to report. The proposal, unveiled earlier this month, still contains some points that need to be ironed out before…