Author: staff
Strong demand for AI systems boosted the performance of Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML, prompting the company to raise its full-year outlook after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday. ASML is a critical cog in the global economy and a key bellwether for the tech sector, as everything from smartphones to missiles relies on the semiconductors crafted with its tools. The Veldhoven, Netherlands-based company said it expects 2026 total net sales to be between €43 billion and €45 billion, with a gross margin between 54% and 56%. It previously predicted annual net sales of between €36bn and €40bn, and a…
The home of Spanish player Lamine Yamal in Barcelona was the scene of an attempted burglary in the early hours of Wednesday morning, just after Spain triumphed against France in the World Cup semi-finals in Texas. The house break-in ultimately failed thanks to the swift response of Yamal’s private security team. The security guards spotted two hooded individuals on CCTV who had climbed up to the perimeter wall of the property. On realising they had been seen, both fled the scene before the arrival of the Catalan police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, who were alerted immediately. Police are now analysing…
Russian strikes killed at least three people in Odesa on Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv to discuss defense cooperation with Ukraine. Governor of the Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, said Russia had launched a “massive combined missile and drone attack” on the region for the fifth consecutive day, accusing Moscow of “deliberately targeting the civilian population” alongside industrial and port infrastructure. A missile strike hit a residential high-rise, killing three people and injuring at least three others, while rescue workers pulled three residents — including two children — from the damaged…
Published on 15/07/2026 – 10:44 GMT+2•Updated 11:17 Cypriot Deputy EU Affairs Minister Marilena Raouna has defended the appointment of European Commission Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto to serve as the EU Commission’s special representative for Cyprus, describing him as a “political personality” who will support the island’s reunification effort. The occupying Turkish forces, the so called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” which is only recognized by Turkey, fiercely condemned the appointment on Monday, describing it as “entirely unacceptable”, but Raouna rejected the criticism. “The Cyprus question is a European question, and reunifying the last divided member state of the European Union…
By Euronews Persian Published on 15/07/2026 – 11:03 GMT+2 Iran executed a man convicted of setting fire to a government building during the January 2026 protests, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported on Wednesday, in the latest in a series of executions linked to the wave of unrest that left thousands dead. Mohammad Amini Dehaghani was hanged after the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence, Mizan said, stating that all legal procedures had been completed and that his trial was held in the presence of a lawyer. No details were given about when he was arrested, when the death sentence was…
China’s economy slowed sharply to 4.3% year-on-year growth in the April-June quarter, the government said Wednesday, the weakest pace in over three years. The official data fell short of forecasts and was well below the economy’s strong 5% growth pace in January-March, despite a surge in exports, driven in part by the artificial intelligence boom and robust global demand for Chinese electric vehicles. “This was the slowest growth in any quarter since the lockdown-impacted fourth quarter of 2022,” said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING Bank, in a note. China has largely shrugged off the wider economic…
Published on 15/07/2026 – 10:09 GMT+2 So long France, welcome celebrity cameos. While Les Bleus won’t be gracing the pitch on 19 July, an impressive array of stars will be present at the World Cup halftime show. We already reported that Madonna, BTS, Shakira, Justin Bieber and some other muppets will be performing for the first ever World Cup final halftime show, but now FIFA are doubling down in a bid to turn the Americanized mega-event even more mega. Tom Cruise has been booked for a “special appearance”, following his infamous show at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris…
Labour’s Neil Kinnock wasn’t up for pleasantries either. He asked Thatcher why those competing for her job were “wriggling around trying to find a way out of the poll tax trap.” Britain’s first female PM, correcting herself, said she thought “they were keeping the poll … the community charge.” John Major abolished it the following year. June 27, 2007: Blair was the future once Tory leader David Cameron opted to keep things friendly for Tony Blair’s finale, following up questions on flooding and the Middle East with congratulations for his 10 years in office and “considerable achievements to his credit.”…
Published on 15/07/2026 – 9:30 GMT+2 The number of Europeans is currently on the rise. As of January 2026, the EU’s population was estimated to have grown by 706,000 inhabitants since last year, reaching a total of 452 million, according to the latest data from Eurostat. This was the fifth consecutive year of population growth in the EU, following a drop in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bloc’s population is also 8 million higher than in 2016. This figure doubles if we zoom out to see how it’s changed over the past two decades. When looking at an even…
It’s Sir Keir Starmer’s final PMQs, so Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy wonder if he will get a softer side of Kemi Badenoch in the chamber today. But, as Starmer picks up his engraved carriage clock gift from cabinet, there’s a shift in the chat about who Andy Burnham’s neighbour at Number 11 might be. Have Team Burnham gone off the idea of Ed Miliband as chancellor because of soft left optics? And who else is in the frame?