Author: staff

A large fire broke out at the historic Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery complex as major drone and missile attacks hit the Ukrainian capital on Monday. Video showed flames and thick black smoke rising above the UNESCO-listed religious site as firefighters battled the blaze. Ukrainian officials said the attack also damaged residential buildings, a market, and other civilian locations across the city. Religious leaders condemned the damage to the centuries-old monastery complex, one of Ukraine’s most important Christian landmarks.

Investment projects worth about €75bn will be presented to international investors at the Tashkent International Investment Forum (TIIF) 2026, as Uzbekistan seeks financing across sectors including energy, transport, logistics, digital infrastructure and industrial development. “We have prepared investment proposals with Uzbek businesses and regional authorities worth about €75 billion,” Laziz Kudratov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade, said. “Eight pitch sessions will allow entrepreneurs to present directly to investors.” More than 3,400 foreign delegates from 102 countries are expected to attend the forum from June 16 to 18, alongside government officials, development banks, sovereign wealth funds and multinational corporations…

Published on 15/06/2026 – 11:16 GMT+2 It’s been a busy weekend for Donald Trump, with the announcement of a framework deal to end the war with Iran, the World Cup in full swing in the US, the New York Knicks securing their first NBA victory in 53 years, and his 80th birthday celebrations yesterday with the controversial UFC cage fight on the White House lawn. “ON NATIONAL CUCUMBER DAY??”, joked one X user. However, there’s one embarrassing element that is literally being covered up: the removal of Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts –…

Le Pen has said that if her appeal succeeds, she will run for the presidency, while the 30-year-old Bardella remains the far-right party’s plan B. However, Le Pen has appeared to lose some of her fighting spirit in recent months. In an interview with POLITICO published Monday, the current leader and MEP signaled a softer approach to foreign affairs compared to Le Pen’s, while maintaining the National Rally party’s criticism of Brussels’ institutions. “We do not wish to leave the European Union,” Bardella said. “We wish to change everything without destroying anything.” Asked whether he still wanted to withdraw from…

Hello, this is Mared Gwyn writing in the early morning from Luxembourg, where there’s plenty of action on EU foreign policy and enlargement lined up for the day. More on that later. As you were sleeping, Russia launched yet another round of ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv, striking the city’s historic Assumption Cathedral within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine’s most significant religious and cultural sites which holds some of the country’s most revered shrines and relics. It comes just as President Zelenskyy is expected to join leaders at the G7 summit for talks on Ukraine’s future. More on…

The initial agreement between the US and Iran reached on Sunday has already faced hurdles, amid Tehran’s claims that it aims to control maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as the war’s victor, and Israel insisting that it would hold onto land seized in Lebanon as it battles Hezbollah. After Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed in televised remarks that the framework deal put an “immediate end” to the war pending a “final agreement” after another 60 days of talks, Fars news agency stated that a legal framework governing navigation in the waters of the Persian Gulf would…

Published on 15/06/2026 – 12:06 GMT+2 OpenAI is facing a fresh regulatory challenge after a group of state attorneys general demanded a wide range of documents about how ChatGPT protects the people who use it, a move that arrives at a delicate moment for the company as it lays the groundwork for a potential public listing. The investigation, which arrived just days after OpenAI filed confidential paperwork for an IPO, threatens to complicate a listing that some analysts expect will value the ChatGPT maker at roughly $1 trillion (€861bn). According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the matter,…

It sounded like the perfect sequel to the summer fairy tale: on 13 July 2014, Germany were crowned world champions in Rio de Janeiro, Mario Götze scored in the 113th minute to make it 1–0 against Argentina, millions celebrated in the streets, on balconies and at fan zones. More than 30 million viewers in Germany watched the final on television. Soon the question arose: shouldn’t such an exceptional state of euphoria also have consequences for the birth statistics? Even before the final, Saxon family policy expert Alexander Krauß (CDU) had predicted a baby boom in the Bild newspaper, as WirtschaftsWoche…

We’re not ashamed to admit that we’ve been distracted by a cat at a tourist attraction and ended up with more photos of our new furry friend than the site itself (…and not just once or twice). Certain cities are even known for their feline populations: Istanbul, Kotor, and Rome. And if it’s the latter you’re visiting, you might just want to sign up for this new running tour that takes you to some of the city’s best sites that just happened to be frequented by kitties. Launched by ArcheoRunning, which has been offering guided running tours around the Eternal…

Published on 15/06/2026 – 12:10 GMT+2 One of Europe’s most valuable private art collections is about to go under the hammer – and it’s expected to break records. Sotheby’s has opened the doors on the pre-sale exhibition for the Lewis Collection – 48 works expected to fetch a combined total of more than £200 million (€237 million), the highest pre-sale estimate ever placed on a single-owner collection in Europe. The works belong to the family of Joe Lewis, the 89-year-old former owner of Tottenham Hotspur football club, who is now estimated to be worth £5.8 billion (€6.7 billion). “As you…