Author: staff

Published on 17/06/2026 – 9:33 GMT+2 As the 2026 World Cup gets underway, FIFA President Gianni Infantino faces an unprecedented ethics backlash over his open alignment with the White House, a high-profile visa scandal blocking Africa’s top referee, and vital hydration breaks being turned into TV advertisement slots. Born in 1970 to modest Italian immigrants in the quiet Swiss town of Brig, Infantino grew up far from luxury. His mother ran a railway station newsstand, while his father worked on sleeping cars. A multilingual lawyer by training, he quietly climbed the ranks at UEFA to become the trusted right-hand man…

Published on 17/06/2026 – 8:06 GMT+2•Updated 8:51 Iranian oil tankers have passed through a US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz for the first time in two months, a maritime intelligence company said on Wednesday, as Tehran and Washington prepare to sign a peace deal aimed at ending the war. According to TankerTrackers, at least two National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) supertankers named Diona and Hero2 exited the blockade line carrying a total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil between them. The tracking site said the NITC’s Stream ship was also approaching the blockade from the Pakistan exclusive…

Oil prices sank further on Wednesday, with the international benchmark Brent trading well below $80 per barrel for the first time since early March, as optimism continued to drive prices lower following an interim peace agreement between the US and Iran that is expected to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by the end of the week. The possibility of renewed traffic through the strait has helped ease fears of prolonged disruptions to energy supplies from the Gulf, a key source of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports. The strategic shipping route has been effectively closed since the Iran war…

Later this year, we are launching Add to Delivery across Europe. Prime members can add items to an upcoming shipment in two clicks, at no extra cost. An intuitive feature, but emblematic of a broader principle: technology should reduce friction, not create it. The appetite for AI leadership in Europe is real. But appetite requires the right conditions. The regulations being written today will determine whether European AI deployment accelerates or stalls. I would encourage policymakers to treat industry as a partner in getting implementation right, not merely a subject of it. The continent’s competitiveness depends on that distinction. Building…

Published on 17/06/2026 – 8:34 GMT+2 G7 leaders have adopted a joint statement committing to increased deliveries of weapons, including air defence systems and long-range capabilities, while signalling the “right moment” has come to tighten the screws on Russia’s energy sector. The leaders of the G7 countries have been gathering in Évian-les-Bains, France, for the past two days. On Tuesday night, they endorsed a statement expressing “unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.” The statement praises Ukraine for the new momentum it has built on the battlefield, and commits to sustaining that momentum through increased…

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington has turned green with algae only days after reopening following a renovation project promoted by US President Donald Trump. National Park Service crews were deployed to the site on June 16, using pumps, vacuum equipment and cleaning stations set up along the pool to remove algae from the water and the newly painted bottom. Workers were seen vacuuming large patches of algae that had spread across the surface and floor of the pool. The renovation, which cost more than $14 million according to public records, included repainting the bottom of the iconic reflecting…

Foreign leaders, investors, business executives and international financial institutions gathered in Uzbekistan’s capital as the fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum (TIIF) began with a week of investment discussions, business meetings and economic diplomacy. Discussions on the opening day focused on issues ranging from investment and infrastructure to technology, artificial intelligence and access to capital. The forum is taking place during a broader week of diplomatic activity in Tashkent. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to arrive on Wednesday for an official visit focused on trade, industrial cooperation, green technologies, transport and logistics. Alongside the forum programme, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held…

Published on 17/06/2026 – 7:00 GMT+2 Paris officially opens its doors to the tech elite and striving startups as the VivaTech conference kicks off on Wednesday. From Jeff Bezos and Yann LeCun making appearances to artificial intelligence and tech sovereignty being high on the agenda, here is everything to watch out for at the 2026 edition. 10-year anniversary VivaTech this year is making a big deal of turning 10, with a free event open to all on Sunday that turned the Champs-Élysées into a walkway of robots, the mobility of the future and all types of innovation. The public event…

Published on 17/06/2026 – 7:30 GMT+2 Spanish actor Javier Bardem left his prints in the historic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood during an emotion‑filled ceremony in which he championed his family’s artistic legacy and remembered his mother, the late Pilar Bardem. “It moves me because of the Bardem name, a name that has been in this profession for a very long time. I am nothing more than a representative of that name,” he told local media after pressing his hands, feet, signature and even his nose into the cement. The actor stressed that the tribute had a special meaning for…

Europe is at risk of losing one of the last jewels in its industrial crown. The innovative pharmaceutical sector is being pulled into the crossfire of a volatile geopolitical age, while indifference at home threatens to undervalue an industry central to Europe’s economic strength, social resilience and public health security It is a situation likely to be exacerbated by the United States’ Most-Favored-Nation pricing policy, which calls for a new perspective on how Europe can create the right ecosystem to strengthen a strategic industry. Christophe Bourdon, CEO, LEO Pharma As a European having worked in the industry across the world, I…