Author: Press Room

Published on 18/07/2026 – 21:28 GMT+2 Just before take-off, there was time for one last family photo – a few minutes later the head of Siemens’ Spanish division, Agustín Escobar, his wife and their three children aged eleven, seven and four, together with the helicopter pilot, plunged into the icy Hudson River. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT More than a year after the disaster, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released the findings of its investigation. According to the report, investigators discovered the remains of several geese in the helicopter’s rotor blades. According to police, four people died at the scene,…

Published on 18/07/2026 – 20:21 GMT+2 On Tuesday, 14 July, the government approved in the Council of Ministers a budget transfer of over €309,840 from the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport to the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with Parliament. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The purpose of the money, as set out in the agreement itself, leaves no room for doubt: to cover shortfalls in Chapter 1. In other words, the staff costs of the department headed by Félix Bolaños. That chapter includes payroll, social security contributions, length-of-service increments and pay supplements for civil servants assigned to the…

Published on 18/07/2026 – 14:52 GMT+2 Nigel Farage, the leader of the right-wing Reform UK party, is set to face a “record” number of opponents in a by-election for the coastal constituency of Clacton in August. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT A total of 34 candidates will contest the seat, thought to be the highest number recorded in any UK parliamentary election, according to Tendring District Council, the local authority administering the vote. The previous record for a by-election is believed to have been set in 2008, when 26 candidates contested the Haltemprice and Howden seat after Conservative MP David Davis stepped down,…

Jens Spahn, the head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, has announced his resignation, as pressure built over his decision to have a child through a surrogate mother in the United States. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In a letter to members of the Union group, he said that he had already informed German Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz and CSU leader Markus Söder of his decision. “I have informed the party leaders of the CDU and CSU, Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder, that with this letter to our group I am stepping down from my post as chairman of…

After 14 years at the helm of the French national team, Didier Deschamps hopes to bow out with a victory. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Although he would have preferred to end this remarkable adventure with another title, the France coach will have to settle for the third-place play-off against England, after being soundly beaten 2-0 by Spain in the semi-finals. As a player, Didier Deschamps won the Champions League with Marseille in 1993, the World Cup in 1998 and then Euro 2000 with France. As a coach, he secured a second star for France at the 2018 World Cup, and also reached…

Published on 18/07/2026 – 11:47 GMT+2 Ukraine carried out large-scale strikes on central Russia overnight, targeting a number of warehouses and an oil facility, according to Kyiv and local Russian authorities. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had hit two “major” logistics facilities in the regions of Moscow and Tambov as part of Kyiv’s “long-range sanctions” against Russia. “The aggressor used them to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on social media, adding that an oil facility was also hit. Earlier on Saturday, Moscow Mayor Sergey…

Published on 18/07/2026 – 8:49 GMT+2 A 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Saturday, the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) reported. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The quake hit the Battalgazi district of Malatya province at around 6:20 a.m. local time and could be felt in the provinces of Malatya, Elazığ, Adıyaman, Tunceli, and Şanlıurfa, per the AFAD. “There are currently no reports of any adverse circumstances,” and an “on-site assessment” is ongoing, it added. According to the agency, Turkey, which is one of the world’s most seismically active countries, experiences at least one 5.0 magnitude tremor every year. The…

Big tech platforms will once again be allowed to voluntarily scan private messages on social media platforms for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), after the European Parliament last week revived a derogation to e-Privacy rules that it had previously struck down in March. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In what critics have described as a political manoeuvre using a legal loophole, the EU’s temporary CSAM framework was brought back to the table in a vote in Strasbourg on July 9. Although more MEPs opposed it than supported it, the absolute majority needed to reject it was not reached. The interim measures that allow…

Updated: 16/07/2026 – 20:26 GMT+2 Supporters welcomed France’s assisted dying law after parliament approved the landmark legislation, calling it “a huge relief” for people with incurable illnesses. The law still requires approval from France’s Constitutional Council. … More

The last time that Ursula von der Leyen travelled to Kyiv, in late February, she arrived in the midst of a gruelling winter. Ukraine was suffering widespread blackouts caused by Russian strikes. The population endured sub-zero temperatures without heating. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT This week, on her second trip this year, she declared upon arriving at the train station: “The tide is turning.” It was a bold statement that captured a remarkable transformation in less than five months. With the battle lines stuck in a war of attrition, Ukraine has moved the fighting to the skies, launching long-range drone strikes against Russia’s…