Author: staff

Published on 26/08/2026 – 12:46 GMT+2 State actors have been attempting to hack into EU officials’ Signal and WhatsApp accounts, according to a confidential European Commission presentation obtained by Euronews. The presentation, prepared by the Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board – a body set up in January 2024 to ensure EU institutions comply with the bloc’s cybersecurity rules – provides an updated overview of the threat landscape facing Brussels over the past year. In an unprecedented admission, first reported by Politico, the EU body acknowledged for the first time that state-sponsored actors have engaged in “spearphishing”, a highly targeted cyberattack method in…

Iran and Oman have reached a potential agreement for managing ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz that would exclude military vessels from traversing the vital waterway. Tehran won’t allow military vessels to transit through the Strait of Hormuz under the agreement that the Islamic Republic is negotiating with Oman, Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said on Tuesday. It comes after top diplomats of the two countries met to discuss managing commercial shipping traffic in the vital waterway, which remained largely shut down nearly six months after the Iran war began. Gharibabadi told state television late Tuesday that…

Die Fraktionsspitzen der großen Koalition suchen in Münster wohl auch sowas wie einen westfälischen Frieden. Maximilian Stascheit blickt auf das mächtige Führungstrio um Thorsten Frei (CDU), Alexander Hoffmann (CSU) und Matthias Miersch (SPD). Sie müssen nun beweisen, dass sie ohne Jens Spahn knappe Mehrheiten organisieren können. Maximilian Stascheit analysiert, welchen neuen Wind sie in die Koalition bringen könnten, welche Altlasten sie mit sich schleppen und wie auf „Love is in the Air“ gehofft wird. Dazu berichtet Rasmus Buchsteiner aus Münster über die neue Rolle für Thorsten Frei, der jetzt von Leisetreter auf Lautsprecher umstellen muss. Aus der Opposition kommen derweil…

Published on 26/08/2026 – 12:53 GMT+2 Poland is set to receive four Airbus A330 MRTT tanker and transport aircraft by 2030 under a joint procurement programme with Spain worth an estimated €5.4 billion. The Spanish government approved the framework agreement at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, clearing the way for the two countries to jointly acquire at least seven aircraft, according to Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. “Most importantly, by 2030 Poland will receive four aircraft,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said on X, adding that the next step would be the signing of the final contract. The purchase will…

Published on 18/08/2026 – 12:47 GMT+2•Updated 13:04 Government borrowing costs are surging on both sides of the Atlantic. Long-term bond yields across Europe’s biggest economies hit multi-year highs on Tuesday, while the yield on 30-year US Treasuries rose to its highest level in nearly two decades. The sell-off came as hopes of a swift resolution to the Iran conflict faded, pushing oil prices higher and renewing concerns about persistent inflation. International benchmark Brent crude traded at nearly $91 a barrel on Tuesday morning amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. “The breakdown in US-Iran peace talks has increased the risk…

It’s instead adding fuel to the vicious internecine battle, and senior centrist figures are increasingly alarmed. “You’ve seen the polls, let’s name what is happening: It is a collapse of all those who refuse the extremes,” former prime minister and veteran centrist François Bayrou said Tuesday in an interview with BFMTV. Fighting for match point In circles close to President Emmanuel Macron, fears are growing that Le Pen and Mélenchon are the only candidates with compelling political narratives. “Moderate forces need to come up with an innovative and original political offering,” said one of Macron’s close allies who, like others…

Leonardo has set up a new company in Kyiv with the aim of moving into the frontier of drone warfare, whose epicentre is now Ukraine, and of reaping the hoped-for benefits for European production and defence. The Italian arms manufacturer has in recent months created Leonardo Ukraine, a company wholly owned by the group, according to the daily newspaper Milano Finanza. At the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom in July, the company’s chief executive, Lorenzo Mariani, explained how Ukraine has “acquired an operational experience without equal during the conflict” and that it was therefore necessary to “envisage forms of…

Published on 18/08/2026 – 16:51 GMT+2•Updated 24/08/2026 – 11:07 GMT+2 With the clock running down, Washington and Ottawa are scrambling through final talks aimed at blocking the scheduled 50% import taxes on roughly $20 billion (€17.2bn) in Canadian goods that would otherwise begin just after midnight Wednesday. The threatened measures would hit a wide range of items, from hockey sticks to tongue depressors, if the two sides fail to strike an agreement beforehand. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Monday that talks are underway, calling them “very intense and delicate” while declining to discuss details in public. Carney and…

Reports of wolf sightings are on the rise in Italy, with five suspected attacks recorded in Puglia, where several people have been injured. On 20 August, three tourists, including a 52-year-old woman and her 12-year-old daughter, were attacked by an animal believed to be a wolf while staying at tourist accommodation in Punta Pizzo, near Gallipoli. All three were taken to hospital, with the woman and girl later discharged with a prognosis of 14 days. According to initial reports, the animal first targeted a small dog at the property before attacking the tourists. The Carabinieri, with the support of vets…

The euro is getting a facelift. Recognisable imagery in place of abstract motifs, tighter security features and a design built to feel closer to citizens — these are the hallmarks of the new euro banknotes. The ECB put forward proposals for new banknotes in July, featuring designs that mark a clear break with those currently in circulation. It is the first time the ECB has drawn such a visible line of discontinuity in the wallets of Europeans. “We are underway with the first complete visual overhaul of euro banknotes, with new themes, motifs and designs, with the aim of bringing…