Author: staff

Gary Lineker, the England football great-turned-media celebrity, will leave his role as a presenter for the BBC after facing criticism for reposting an Instagram story about Zionism which featured a picture of a rat.The 64-year-old Lineker, who is the British national broadcaster’s highest-paid presenter on about £1.3 million (€1.5 million) a year, was set to leave flagship soccer highlights show “Match of the Day” at the end of this season but remain with the BBC to front other football coverage, including next year’s men’s World Cup.However, the BBC said in a statement today that Lineker will step down entirely from the…

Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Amnesty — which says it campaigns for human rights worldwide — has documented Russian war crimes and called for the perpetrators to be held to account.   But the group has also been critical of Ukraine at times, with the head of its Kyiv arm quitting in 2022 after the publication of a controversial report accusing Ukraine’s military of violating international law and endangering civilians with its wartime tactics. The report earned the organization a rebuke from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Amnesty later apologized for the “distress” it caused but stood…

Romania is turning the page on its unprecedented political crisis as it comes to terms with the firm victory of independent pro-Western Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan in Sunday’s tense presidential elections.Dan made a dramatic comeback from the first round, overcoming hard-right candidate George Simion with 53,60 % of votes versus 46,40% in what former Romanian President Traian Basescu called “Romania’s choice between the West and the East”. Dan also beat the entire Romanian political establishment running as an independent candidate on a reform and anti-corruption platform. In a disappointing night for Europe’s nationalist hard-right movements, two crucial central and eastern…

The Mexican naval vessel the Cuauhtémoc “lost power” shortly before crashing into New York’s Brooklyn Bridge Saturday night resulting in two fatalities, authorities said as an investigation into the incident continues.The high-mast Mexican vessel crashed into the iconic bridge shortly after 8 pm local time (2 am CEST).In eyewitness videos, the ship can be seen travelling swiftly in reverse toward the bridge near the Brooklyn side of the East River. Its three masts struck the bridge and snapped one by one as the ship kept moving. The ship was reportedly taking part in a goodwill tour at the time of…

Despite transatlantic tensions, several U.S. groups are expected to announce major investment projects, including logistics group Prologis, which will invest around €6.4 billion in new logistics facilities and data centers, and Amazon (€300 million). British digital bank Revolut will also invest €1 billion and ask French authorities for a banking license, while Spanish telecom infrastructure operator Cellnex will invest €2.5 billion. “When we take decisions that may not be the most popular, but that are coherent to make France more attractive … we succeed,” Macron said Monday morning as he visited a Daimler bus factory before heading to Versailles. During…

Israel has obtained thousands of items belonging to a well-known Israeli spy who was hanged in Syria in 1965. Exactly 60 years after the death of Eli Cohen, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the archive to his widow, Nadia Cohen. It included letters to his family in Israel and objects taken from his home by Syrian intelligence services after he was captured in January 1965. The Israeli spy’s work in Syria was one of Mossad’s first major achievements, with Cohen widely credited for helping Israel to prepare for its victory in the Six Day War in 1967. Under the…

In the meantime, global trade was disrupted by Trump imposing tariffs on major partners such as the EU and China. “The outlook for growth is revised significantly downward. This largely owes to a weakening global trade outlook and higher trade policy uncertainty,” the Commission wrote. “Higher U.S. tariffs and trade uncertainty are weighing on EU exports,” the EU’s economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters after the figures were released. He added that uncertainty in Europe was at levels not seen since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. “Risks to the outlook remain tilted to the downside,” Dombrovskis said,…

London-listed drinks maker Diageo forecast a $150 million (€133.8m) hit from the US trade tariffs annually. The company, which makes Guinness, Johnnie Walker whisky and Gordon’s gin, is one of the world’s top spirits makers and operates from more than 130 sites across the world. “We view the near-term industry pressure as largely macro-economic driven, with continued uncertainty impacting both the timing and pace of recovery,” Debra Crew, the company’s chief executive, said.Diageo has been struggling with sales and has seen its London-listed share price decrease by more than 21% in the last 12 months.As part of the firm’s turnaround efforts, it…

The self-described “global leader in sexual wellness products” made its submission to the Commission on March 7, and later met with the DMA unit responsible, company spokesperson Verena Singmann told POLITICO. “It is our [goal to] promote sexual happiness and empowerment because we know that it is imperative for people’s health, wellbeing and happiness,” added Singmann. Singmann said the company is urging the Commission to ensure that gatekeepers apply content rules in a fair and transparent manner. A spokesperson for the Commission said it had received the complaint and is reviewing it as “market information,” as the regulation does not…

Four people died and at least 20 were injured when a car bomb exploded near a market in Pakistan late on Sunday, a senior official has said. The explosion hit the city of Qillah Abdullah in Balochistan province, close to the country’s border with Afghanistan. It damaged several shops and the outer perimeter of a building housing paramilitary forces, according to Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Riaz.No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatists, who have carried out numerous attacks on security forces and civilians in Balochistan and other areas of the…