Author: Press Room

Zigzagging between robots, weapons and computers in his garage workshop, Ukrainian engineer Eduard Trotsenko was bubbling with excitement as he showed off his latest prototypes and dreamed of sci-fi-inspired futuristic ideas. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Top of his ideas list are “mechanical birds” that can land on high-voltage power lines and recharge themselves, and “robot dogs” that can be sent into battle. “In order to save human lives, to save soldiers, there must be robots,” Trotsenko told the AFP news agency. Autonomous weapons have come to dominate the war with Russia. Aerial drones are used on the front lines for reconnaissance and…

Belarus’ decision to classify Euronews as “extremist” is an act of revenge for its reporting on the country’s disputed 2020 election, political prisoners and Russia’s war against Ukraine, opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Friday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In an exclusive interview with Euronews, Tsikhanouskaya said the move showed that Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s government remained afraid of independent information six years after the mass protests that followed the presidential election. “It is revenge – revenge by the regime for Euronews’ reporting,” she said. “Euronews covered the 2020 protests, it covered the election, which Lukashenka lost. It covered the stories of political prisoners…

Published on 07/08/2026 – 12:58 GMT+2 The European Union has imposed sanctions on five individuals involved in Russia’s military-industrial complex following recent Russian air strikes on Ukraine, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “Each new attack on Ukraine is another reason for Europe to tighten the screws on Russia,” Kallas wrote on X. The new sanctions were adopted on 7 August in response to the strikes, Kallas said, but she did not identify the individuals targeted or provide further details about the measures. Kallas said Moscow was escalating its attacks on civilians as Russian…

Published on 07/08/2026 – 15:42 GMT+2 A small village in the province of Burgos will be one of the locations used for the global broadcast of the total solar eclipse on 12 August. NASA has selected Villalibado, a village brought back to life after decades of abandonment, to host one of its teams broadcasting the phenomenon live, which will be accessible worldwide through the US space agency’s digital platforms and San Francisco’s Exploratorium. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The choice is down to several factors, among them its location within the path of totality, an unobstructed horizon and good communications infrastructure. The observation…

The Spanish government has issued an ultimatum to Italy, demanding that it lift border controls imposed on travellers coming from Spain by Sunday, arguing that the measure is “unjust, contrary to the interests of the European Union and discriminatory towards the Spanish population.” ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT If the measures remain in place, the administration of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned that it will adopt “proportionate measures” to defend the interests of Spanish citizens, but gave no details about what those measures might be. In a statement released on Friday, the Spanish government argues that the decision taken by Rome on 1…

Spanish police said on Friday they had dismantled what they called one of the largest criminal networks involved in smuggling migrants across the Mediterranean, arresting 78 people and seizing 18 high-speed boats. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The network allegedly used the vessels to transport synthetic drugs such as ecstasy from Spain to Algeria and, on the return journey, to smuggle migrants to Spain’s Mediterranean coast and the island of Ibiza, police said in a statement. Investigators believe the group was responsible for at least 64 migrant smuggling operations in which more than 2,000 people were brought to Spain, generating profits of more…

Nicosia has expressed its satisfaction at the entry of the French investment group Meridiam as majority shareholder in the Great Sea Interconnector. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Cyprus’ Energy Minister, Michalis Damianou, said that the participation of the French group gives new momentum to the project’s implementation and confirms the shared political will of Cyprus and Greece to advance electricity interconnection. He added that the Republic of Cyprus is still awaiting the due diligence study of the European Investment Bank (EIB) before deciding whether it will participate in the project as a shareholder. Damianou described Meridiam’s entry as a “vote of confidence” in…

Blue whiting, mackerel and golden redfish could prove more decisive at the ballot box than US President Donald Trump’s expansionist ambitions, Russia’s looming threats or European politicians’ sweet nothings. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In Iceland, where the sea shapes the economy, livelihoods and national identity, the most significant crossroads of the last decade ultimately comes down to one thing: fish. On 29 August, Icelanders will vote on whether to resume negotiations to join the European Union, restarting a process that was frozen in 2013. If voters approve, negotiations with Brussels will kick off again – with the prospect of joining the EU…

Published on 07/08/2026 – 10:35 GMT+2 Russia is considering staging a false-flag attack against critical infrastructure in the Baltics using Ukrainian drones in an attempt to discredit Kyiv and weaken NATO’s backing for Ukraine, Lithuania’s defence minister, Robertas Kaunas, has warned. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “We are talking about a potential false-flag operation where a fake Ukrainian drone could be used,” he said during a press briefing. “That’s the most realistic current scenario.” For such an attack, parts of Ukrainian drones that were launched against military and energy targets inside Russia could be used. Ukraine has repeatedly launched long-range drone attacks against…

In the coming months, European governments will intensify their efforts to establish how the EU’s long-term budget for the period 2028-2034 should be financed, with new revenues, called “own resources”, at the centre of the debate. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The discussion on own resources is not new. During the last long-term budget negotiations, the 27 member states failed to agree on any resources at all, and the budget was eventually financed by a national contribution, each country contributing 1.13 percent of its gross national income. But given the bloc has grand ambitions to make large new investments in strategic sectors such…