Author: staff

Published on 13/07/2026 – 11:08 GMT+2 The European Union was unable to secure sanctions against Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia’s Orthodox Church, after Bulgaria vetoed the proposal during closed-door negotiations, citing religious and cultural reasons. Bulgaria also opposed blacklisting Vagit Alekperov, a Russian billionaire with links to the Kremlin and Lukoil, a major oil company. The two names were definitely removed from a draft sanctions package during an extraordinary meeting of ambassadors on Sunday aimed at reaching a final deal, several diplomats confirmed to Euronews. The deal on the package as a whole did not materialise, but progress was…

After 100 matches at this year’s World Cup, we’re now down to the final four – and what a prospect these semifinals are for football fans around the globe. With France vs. Spain at Dallas Stadium on Tuesday (9 pm CET) and England vs. Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday (9 pm CET), expect drama and see-sawing emotions (and that’s just for the neutrals) as the four nations look to progress to the World Cup final on Sunday 19 July. Even before anything happens on the pitch, the pre-match facts speak for themselves: Four previous champions, the four top-ranking teams in…

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in April the government would legislate to label the group a terrorist organization. Under the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, which was fast-tracked through parliament, it will be illegal to encourage or express support for the organization, assist them in carrying out U.K. activities, or accept a material benefit from them. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Monday summoned Seyed Ali Mousavi, Iran’s ambassador to the U.K., to the Foreign Office. Tehran’s intelligence services have “planned and conducted dangerous, potentially lethal, operations,” she said. The Tehran-linked Islamic Movement of…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 11:09 GMT+2•Updated 14:27 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for stronger protections for children online, saying the evidence presented by the Special Panel on Child Safety Online should help shape future European policy. Von der Leyen said the evidence increasingly supported introducing a minimum age for access to social media and suggested a phased approach for different age groups. During a press conference in Brussels, the EU chief said the argument to ban toddlers from screens and digital platforms, and that children under 13 should only be allowed to use social media under…

CCTV footage from the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy shows customers inside a coffee shop rushing to safety after explosions shattered the windows during a Russian air strike. A second camera captured people outside dropping to the ground before fleeing as blasts echoed through the area. Ukrainian officials said two Russian guided glide bombs struck a crowded part of the city, killing five people, including a child, and injuring 30 others. One bomb landed near a public transport stop, damaging buses, cars and nearby residential buildings.

Published on 13/07/2026 – 12:23 GMT+2 TSMC said on Monday that June revenue rose 67.9% year on year to NT$398.27 billion (€10.8bn), bringing the first-half of the year revenue to NT$2.4 trillion (€65.4bn), a 35.6% increase from the same period in 2025. Based on the company’s monthly revenue disclosures, second-quarter revenue amounted to roughly NT$1.27 trillion, ahead of the NT$1.264 trillion (€34.4bn) consensus forecast from 20 analysts surveyed by LSEG. Monday’s release covers June revenue and cumulative first-half sales only. TSMC will publish its full second-quarter earnings on Thursday, including net profit, gross margin, operating margin and updated financial guidance.…

The EU announcement comes after a years-long push to deal with the mental and physical health risks social media pose to minors. Von der Leyen has made the issue a top priority in her second term heading the EU executive. Capitals like Athens, Copenhagen and Paris have also been pushing for age restrictions — and non-EU countries including Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. Social media platforms already limit access to users under 13 because they cannot consent to have their data processed according to EU privacy rules. Von der Leyen suggested parents should also have control over social media age limits.…

The prospect of Turkey returning to the F-35 fighter jet programme has opened a new front in Washington, with the Greek-American lobby and members of Congress seeking to preserve the existing legal obstacles to the sale of US fighters to Ankara. The issue returned to the fore after US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but so far there has been no official decision by the US administration on Turkey’s re-entry into the programme. Athens acknowledges that decisions on armaments are a sovereign right of every country and that it has no power of veto over…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 13:29 GMT+2 France’s state-owned energy group EDF temporarily shut down three nuclear reactors on Sunday, while warning that seven others may need to adjust their power output as the heatwave sweeping the country continues. According to the company, the measure is an environmental protection requirement to avoid discharging excessively hot water into rivers already warming because of the heatwave. Nuclear power plants use river water to cool their reactors before releasing the warmed water back into rivers. “There is no nuclear safety risk. Reactors are capable of operating under high-temperature conditions. These limits are intended to…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 12:05 GMT+2•Updated 12:23 Two men accused of pulling off one of the most audacious art thefts in modern history have told investigators they only learned of the plan days before they carried it out – and that one of them had no idea he was about to rob the world’s most visited museum. According to Le Monde, which reviewed records of interrogation hearings held in June, suspects Abdoulaye N. and Ghelamallah A. gave their most detailed account yet of the operation that stripped the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon of eight pieces of French crown jewellery on 19…