Author: staff
Published on 17/07/2026 – 14:06 GMT+2 The first ever World Cup final halftime show will take place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday. The Super Bowl-style performance, curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, will feature the likes of Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Justin Bieber, as well as appearances by Tom Cruise, Jennifer Hudson and Robbie Williams. Jarring Americanization of football for some; bonus gig for others. One artist who doesn’t seem too pleased about it is The Cure’s Robert Smith, who shared his thoughts on The Cure’s official Instagram page – taking aim at FIFA president Gianni Infantino with…
But exactly how the EU will ensure it meets that target was less clear. In an earlier draft obtained by POLITICO, the Commission had proposed making the target legally binding. The final plan instead sets an “indicative target” of 46 percent, with the Commission saying it will assess making it binding as part of the post-2030 Energy Union package. “We are still seeing that over half of the EU’s energy consumption is made by imported fossil fuels,” an EU official told journalists during a technical briefing on Thursday, pointing to the bloc’s vulnerability to global energy shocks. Since the escalation…
The European Union’s economy should reach a 46 percent electrification target in transport, industry and buildings by 2040 in order to cut €260 billion per year in imported fossil fuel costs, the EU Commission said on Friday as it unveiled a set of proposals to ease the process. The proposed measures include reforms to fees charged by energy network operators, energy taxation, and building efficiency. Brussels is stepping up its electrification efforts as part of a scramble to find quick solutions to offset the loss of oil and gas from the Strait of Hormuz, which exposed the EU’s severe dependence…
India has inaugurated its first indigenously built hydrogen-powered passenger train, marking a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to modernise its vast railway network and reduce transport-related emissions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched the “NaMo Green Rail” service at Jind Junction in the northern state of Haryana on 17 July, presenting the project as part of a broader push towards clean energy and technological self-reliance. The train set consists of two hydrogen-powered driving cars and eight passenger coaches, with a top speed of around 75 km/h and a total capacity of approximately 2,600 passengers. Designed for short- to medium-distance…
Stepping into a key position handling relations with the EU institutions in the midst of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, Kachka brings experience managing the details of Kyiv’s bid to join the EU. Kachka was in Brussels on July 14 for the opening of a new negotiating “cluster,” or formal legal step on the path to membership. Despite being in talks with the EU for months, Kyiv only opened its first negotiating cluster in June after Hungary lifted a long-standing veto. Ukraine had hoped to open all six of its negotiating clusters with the EU by mid-July, but due to…
Published on 17/07/2026 – 12:57 GMT+2 Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar is seeking a refund of the European Union’s €1 million daily migration fine imposed on his country. Brussels fined Hungary a lump sum of €200 million, plus a daily penalty, in 2024, after Viktor Orbán’s government failed to implement a 2020 European Court of Justice ruling on migration. The court had found that Hungary had breached EU law by failing to guarantee asylum seekers the right to fair treatment. At the time, Hungary had built a border fence with Serbia to prevent migrants from entering the country. Asylum applications…
Updated: 17/07/2026 – 12:00 GMT+2 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this July 17th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More
Published on 17/07/2026 – 12:03 GMT+2 China’s President Xi Jinping used a major AI summit on Friday to push back against US technology restrictions, calling for artificial intelligence to be developed and governed as a global effort rather than dominated by any single country. Speaking in Shanghai, Xi warned against what he called the “overstretching” of national security concerns — a pointed reference to American-led curbs that have cut China off from some of the world’s most advanced chips and AI technology. “The development of artificial intelligence should not be a solo performance by any single country but rather a…
Ukraine struck 12 vessels belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet in the Black Sea on Thursday night, the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdi, announced on Telegram. The attacks aim to prevent Russia from supplying fuel to the occupied regions of Eastern Ukraine and Crimea and curb its effort to circumvent sanctions, Brovdi explained. “The goal is incurable paralysis of oil, fuel, cargo logistics in circumvention of sanctions,” the commander wrote. Overall, 159 ships from the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation were hit in the last 10 days, Brovdi writes: “117 ships in the Azov Sea, and 42…
The severe thunderstorms that hit France on Thursday evening left at least two people dead, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). In Saint-Victurnien, in the Haute-Vienne département, a woman died after a tree fell. In Dolomieu, in the Isère département, a man was found charred in a workshop that burned down after a lightning strike. Thirty départements in central and eastern France were placed on orange alert for thunderstorms, with a risk of large hailstones, on Thursday evening. Power grid operator Enedis said on Friday morning that nearly 53 000 households had been affected by power cuts following the severe storms.