Author: Press Room

Using fashion to counter tracking and AI surveillance – that is the concept behind Leipzig start-up Urban Privacy. For several years, Nicole Scheller and Daniel Preuß have been developing products such as anti-tracking jackets. They do not make their wearers invisible, but they do make them harder to track. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT On the jackets there is a face-like pattern that confuses AI cameras. The asymmetric, loose cut also makes it harder for the software to assign a gender to the person being filmed. “The main problem is simply that we do not know where the data ends up,” explains designer…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 8:00 GMT+2 European energy ministers signed the EU’s first-ever tripartite agreement on 26 June to expand the bloc’s energy storage capacity and strengthen Europe’s energy security. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Europe wants to reach at least 42.5 per cent of renewable energy production by 2030. Its storage capacity remains insufficient to fully absorb it. The extra energy that Europe cannot store is wasted, forcing it to increase fossil-fuel power generation. This is why expanding storage capacity is important for absorbing surplus energy from renewables and using it when production drops during off-peak periods. It helps to respond rapidly…

EU foreign ministers will discuss proposals on Monday to partially or fully ban trade with Israeli settlements, but the path to implementing any restrictions is fraught with difficulty, with some capitals accusing the European Commission of employing “delay tactics”. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT As first reported by Euronews, the Commission last week pitched a paper outlining three options to further restrict EU trade with the settlements, after a majority of EU capitals called for concrete measures in response to escalating violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law and by the EU. While the…

Capitals set to clash on settlement trade: EU Foreign Ministers are in town today with a range of issues, from Ukraine to the Middle East, on their agenda. They will also discuss the Commission’s proposal – scooped by Euronews last week – to further restrict or fully ban EU trade with Israeli settlements, which the bloc deems illegal. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT But here’s the catch: the Commission has suggested any measures should be treated as a foreign policy tool and therefore require the unanimous blessing of all EU member states — a threshold unlikely to be reached. It’s feeding the narrative…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 8:30 GMT+2•Updated 8:30 The British government has announced a £250 million (€293.5m) package to strengthen police protection for Jewish communities following a series of antisemitic attacks across the country. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The funding, spread over three years, will pay for more than 500 additional police officers in areas with significant Jewish populations, including 300 officers in London. It will also support increased patrols outside synagogues and Jewish schools, as well as the deployment of more plain-clothes officers. Outgoing prime minister Keir Starmer said the announcement was part of a “coordinated response across every corner of our…

In the EU, surplus renewable electricity is sometimes wasted because there is not enough capacity to store it until it is needed. Fossil-fuel power plants are still required when renewable generation falls. Electricity demand is rising, from electric vehicles, heat pumps and AI-driven data centres. Expanding energy storage has become increasingly important to keep the power system reliable and green. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT EU energy ministers signed, on 26 June, the bloc’s first tripartite agreement on energy storage, bringing together member states, industry and financial institutions. Twenty-two countries committed to adding 30–35 gigawatts of new storage capacity by 2028, contributing towards…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 9:38 GMT+2 Countries in Europe reported over 10,000 excess deaths during the extreme heatwaves that baked the west of the continent towards the end of June, new data shows. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The vast majority of the fatalities, in excess of 9,000, were recorded among those aged 65 and over, according to data published by ‌EuroMOMO, the European mortality monitor which is backed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organisation. The European heatwaves have seen temperature records broken in several countries across Europe and have caused thousands of excess…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 10:02 GMT+2•Updated 13:59 The European Union and the UK have announced coordinated sanctions against Russia after accusing Moscow’s FSB intelligence agency of carrying out a cyber attack in December targeting Poland’s energy grid and orchestrating a wider campaign of digital sabotage across Europe. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The joint measures focus on individuals and organisations linked to Russia’s security services, with the EU imposing sanctions on nine people and four entities, while Britain added 24 names to its sanctions list. The UK government said the package – the first joint cyber sanctions announced with the EU – was…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 11:42 GMT+2 A court case involving a French teen charged for filming himself licking a straw from a vending machine in Singapore and then putting it back was postponed on Monday as prosecutors sought to clarify if he could continue his studies if convicted. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 19, was widely expected to plead guilty to charges of mischief and public nuisance. Proceedings were halted after prosecutors sought more time to check if the teen’s student pass will be revoked in the event of a conviction. The court adjourned the case until 30 July.…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 18:48 GMT+2 The United Kingdom has joined the European Union’s €90 billion loan for Ukraine, which is designed to cover the country’s financial and military needs for 2026 and 2027. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The inclusion of London has been in the works for several months, and was formally announced on Monday as the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” of Ukraine-backing governments convened in Paris. “Together, we are supporting Ukraine’s brave resistance,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media. The deal means Ukraine will be allowed to procure weapons and ammunition from British defence…