Author: staff

Europe missed the first digital revolution and cannot afford to miss out again with AI, as it has the full potential to compete, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), said on Wednesday. To win the AI race against giants such as the US and China, Lagarde told the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva, the EU needs to complete its single market and integrate capital markets that remain too fragmented. “Europe largely missed out on the first digital revolution, as the commercial gains from the spread of information and communication technologies were…

Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond in this Euronews news bulletin. In just a few minutes, our newsroom brings you the latest news and breaking news across world affairs, business, politics, culture, entertainment and travel, with the context you need to make sense of a fast-moving day. Reported with the independence and the European perspective that define Euronews, this regular round-up gives you a clear and reliable overview of the stories shaping our world right now, wherever you are watching from.

Published on 20/08/2026 – 11:18 GMT+2 The US national debt now stands at a record $40 trillion (€34.4tn), while the Treasury has responded to the bond market pressure by pledging to buy back far more of its own older securities. Washington’s two announcements landed on the same day and represent two symptoms of the same underlying strain: a government borrowing at a record pace just as buyers of its longest-dated debt are demanding higher returns to keep lending. Buybacks work like a targeted repurchase. Rather than printing new money, the US Treasury uses cash it already has to repurchase older,…

Archaeologists in Peru have uncovered the skeletal remains of an adult believed to have been placed as a ritual offering more than 1,300 years ago. The remains were discovered at Huaca Pucllana, a pre-Hispanic ceremonial and administrative centre in the heart of modern-day Lima. The body was found inside an underground ceremonial canal, lying on its left side with its skull tilted westward towards the sea and a mud pyramid within the complex. Archaeologist Gladys Paz, who is leading the excavation, says the position of the remains points to an intentional ritual placement. “We are looking at the discovery of…

Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones across Ukraine early Thursday, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens more. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the hours-long attack struck Kyiv and the surrounding region as well as Odesa and Chernihiv, damaging apartment buildings, a children’s hospital and a school in the capital. Twelve people were killed in Kyiv and another in the surrounding region, he said, with around 40 injured. “Unfortunately, while Moscow is investing in ballistic missiles and escalation, such strikes do not always receive the response they should from the world,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “As long…

On Thursday, Portugal joined a growing list of European countries that have banned or restricted burqas and other full-face veils in public spaces. But rules vary widely across the continent. Euronews breaks down how different European countries regulate face coverings. France pioneered Europe’s face-covering ban France became the first European country to ban full-face coverings in public spaces in 2011. Violations can result in a fine or mandatory civic education. The French government argued that face coverings prevent people from being clearly identified, posing potential security risks and hindering social interaction in a society where facial recognition and expression play…

Five years after Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban as they captured Kabul, the International Criminal Court has reportedly split its investigation of Taliban crimes from the broader Afghanistan probe in a move that could ease pressure from Washington on the court. According to Middle East Eye, judges at the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber II have ordered prosecutors to open a standalone investigation into alleged Taliban persecution of women, separating it from the court’s long-running Afghanistan investigation, which also covered alleged crimes by US personnel. The Chamber reportedly found that Taliban conduct since 2021 is “materially different” from the…

Organizations are embedding AI agents across the cyber stack, automating high-volume and repetitive tasks. This is not to replace human analysts, but to free them for the work that demands human judgment. Technology architecture matters too. Sprawling estates of disconnected security tools create operational and financial costs. Bringing logs, signals and alerts together in a unified platform can give teams a full, real-time picture of all activities and behaviors occurring across an IT architecture. The best of these platforms will incorporate AI capabilities to identify threats and automate analytical and management tasks, including reverse-engineering malware, compiling actionable case summaries and…

Fillon was found guilty in 2020 but appealed the decision. He and his wife Penelope, however, could not provide evidence that she had actually worked for her husband over the course of several contracts under which she was hired to be his parliamentary assistant during his time as an MP. The appeals court last year upheld the verdict, handing him a four-year suspended prison sentence and a €375,000 fine. The 72-year-old did not appeal that decision to a higher court. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy, under whom Fillon served, was also stripped of his Légion d’honneur last year after being found…

Europe is in the middle of another summer heatwave. That is part of the reason the coming winter is shaping up to be an expensive one. Record temperatures are pushing up electricity demand while drought and heat are curbing hydro and nuclear generation. That is forcing gas-fired power stations to fill part of the gap just as Europe should be putting more gas into storage. That pressure is already showing up in wholesale gas prices. Dutch TTF futures, Europe’s main gas benchmark, have climbed roughly 120% since the start of 2026, reaching about €63.7 per megawatt-hour on August 18. Gas…