Author: staff
The border dates back to 1648, when France and the Netherlands agreed to divide the Caribbean island of Saint Martin but never precisely delineated its border. Instead, a de facto frontier emerged over the centuries, creating recurring disputes over permits, law enforcement and environmental management around the lagoon. It ultimately took Hurricane Irma in 2017, which devastated more than 95 percent of the island’s buildings, to push Paris and The Hague to finally settle the question. “France can be proud of having settled one of its oldest territorial disputes,” lawmaker Bertrand Bouyx, who steered the legislation through parliament, wrote in…
Firefighters battled a large blaze that engulfed a warehouse in Kyiv overnight into Thursday 16 July, after Russian ballistic missiles struck multiple areas of the Ukrainian capital, Ukrainian authorities said. According to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, at least two people were killed and five others injured, including a child, in the attack. Footage from the scene shows emergency crews arriving amid sirens and low visibility as thick, dark smoke billows into the night sky. Firefighters can be seen working through twisted debris and partially collapsed structures, directing water streams at the flames while search-and-rescue teams comb through damaged sections of…
“Agreements are due to be reached” on nuclear deterrence cooperation, said the official briefing reporters. “Among other things, it will in all likelihood be agreed that German service members will participate in a French nuclear exercise for the first time in the autumn.” In a landmark speech in March, Macron said several European countries — including Germany — had agreed to enhance cooperation on nuclear deterrence. Options for this range from participation in Poker — which simulates air-launched nuclear strikes — to temporary deployment of nuclear-capable French Rafale fighter jets. An Elysée Palace official also hinted that Paris and Berlin…
Updated: 16/07/2026 – 10:28 GMT+2 Routine border checks between Spain and Gibraltar have ended, allowing thousands of daily commuters to cross more easily. While many welcome shorter journeys and greater freedom, others remain cautious about the long-term impact. … More
The World Cup semifinal against England was seen as a chance for many Argentinians to score a point in the long-running dispute between the two countries. In the run up to Wednesday’s match Vice-President Victoria Villarruel described England as “invaders.” FIFA has strict rules banning political gestures at matches, including displaying “banners, flags, flyers, apparel and other paraphernalia that are of a political, offensive, and/or discriminatory nature” inside stadiums. Players for top U.K. clubs were amongst those holding the banner, including Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez, Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, and Tottenham’s Cristian Romero. Kyle praised the “dignity” of England’s players,…
In clear evidence of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s popularity in civil society, Ukrainians have organised a rare wartime protest to defend and support him. The calls to demonstrate emerged on social media almost immediately after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Fedorov on Wednesday evening. Social media anger over the decision quickly turned into plans to gather across major cities at 09:01 on Thursday, immediately after a daily nationwide minute of silence which commemorates fallen Ukrainian fighters and civilians. It is the first time since last summer’s protests in support of Ukraine’s anti‑corruption watchdogs that online mobilisation has spilled back onto the…
June 2026 was the hottest June on record for western Europe and the second warmest globally, according to Copernicus. The three warmest years on record globally were 2024, 2023 and 2025, in that order. Rising temperatures and heatwaves are pushing more people to use cooling. This is driving up energy demand across Europe. Household energy consumption for cooling in the EU doubled between 2018 and 2024. So how has energy consumption for cooling been changing across Europe? Which countries saw the highest increases? And in which countries does cooling account for the largest share of energy use? The amount of…
Mariano Rajoy didn’t even wait a single night. As soon as Spain had booked their place in the World Cup final, the former prime minister returned to his opinion column in ‘El Debate’ (source in Spanish) with a new piece, entitled ‘You need to keep your sense of humour’, in which he revisits, without softening it in the slightest, the row he himself had sparked days earlier over the French national team. The text devotes its opening paragraphs to the match, praising Luis de la Fuente and the team’s efforts before moving on to politics. There, Rajoy takes a veiled…
Some of Europe’s most magical destinations look like they’ve been lifted straight from a fairytale – from hilltop castles rising above forests to medieval villages glowing under Christmas lights. Rather than carefully built film sets, though, they’re real places where people still live, work and go about everyday life among centuries-old streets and landscapes. Travel website European Best Destinations has revealed its 2026 ranking of Europe’s fairytale destinations, combining expert picks with votes from travellers around the world. Starting with more than 4,200 places across the continent, the list was narrowed down to 68 based on factors including history, atmosphere,…
Published on 16/07/2026 – 9:06 GMT+2 The growing debate on the use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking continues to divide the filmmaking industry, and following the backlash against Martin Scorsese’s endorsement of an AI firm for the purposes of storyboarding, George Lucas has said that the technology will be an inevitable part of the future of cinema. In an interview with A Rabbit’s Foot, the Star Wars creator was asked about the place of AI in filmmaking. There are those who consider AI to be an existential threat to the art of filmmaking, with actors and directors speaking out on…