Author: Press Room
Around 80 percent of global trade travels by ship, while most of the EU’s imports and exports arrive or leave by sea. Meanwhile, more than 95 percent of international digital communications pass through submarine fibre-optic cables stretching across the ocean floor, alongside pipelines that transport much of the world’s oil and gas. Damage to these networks—whether through sabotage, drones, unmanned underwater vehicles or conventional military attacks—could disrupt supply chains, financial systems and energy security almost overnight. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT As a result, maritime defence is increasingly focused not only on warships and submarines but also on surveillance, autonomous technologies and the…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 22:42 GMT+2 Saudi Arabia will invest €6 billion into building three theme parks close to Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sealed the deal for the project during an official visit to the French capital, where they also discussed “major economic and strategic issues” as well as key regional matters, per the Élysée. In a post on X, Macron hailed the “extraordinary announcement,” saying the parks would become a “new global destination” and would create 22,000 jobs. The parks are set to be constructed…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 9:54 GMT+2•Updated 12:55 The European Union has approved Ukraine’s next defence spending envelope of €6.1 billion for defence procurement as part of the bloc’s €90 billion loan programme, the EU executive announced Monday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the statement the defence funding aims to supply Kyiv with air and missile defence systems, missiles, ammunition and radars. “As Russia intensifies its attacks, we are stepping up to help Ukraine protect its people and defend its skies,” she said. “Europe stands with Ukraine and we will deliver what it needs, when…
By Laure Valentin with AFP Published on 24/08/2026 – 17:38 GMT+2•Updated 18:09 Usually peaceful, the Deux Alpes resort found itself at the centre of controversy a few days ago after a video went viral on social media in which a shopkeeper, leaning on the counter of her refreshment stall, can be heard telling an Orthodox Jewish man: “The Jewish community, there are too many of you. At some point it gets on people’s nerves.” ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT An investigation has been opened following the incident. But it has cast a chill over the resort, which every summer, for decades, has welcomed Orthodox Jewish families.…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 18:18 GMT+2 The Danish government will compensate 13 people who were victims of abuse at a care home during their youth, Denmark’s Ministry of Social Affairs said on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The 13 individuals, whose identities have not been disclosed, filed a complaint in March against the state over the abuse they suffered at Solgarden, which included sexual abuse. The victims are set to receive a payout of 300,000 Kroner, the ministry said in a statement. According to the department, between 1949 and 1976, personal accounts and its files showed “serious and systemic failings during the…
Bitcoin is back in the spotlight after a week-long rally pushed the cryptocurrency above $79,000, with gains of more than 20% in just a few days. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The rally has been driven by fresh flows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, expectations of greater liquidity in the United States, a more favourable climate for cryptocurrencies in Washington and a squeeze on traders betting against Bitcoin. But there is a distinctly Italian twist to the story. While Bitcoin returns to centre stage, Italy’s richest man is someone who built his fortune at the heart of the crypto economy. At 62, Giancarlo Devasini,…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 15:36 GMT+2 UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Britain must be “bolder” in seeking to rebuild relations with the European Union, according to his office. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Burnham made the comments during a meeting with European Council President António Costa on board a train to Kyiv on Sunday evening. The pair travelled to the Ukrainian capital to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day on Monday. “The UK had to be bolder in terms of getting closer to the bloc,” Burnham told Costa during the journey, a Downing Street spokeswoman said. “That included building on the close defence…
Published on 24/08/2026 – 12:59 GMT+2 Sweden will form a commission seeking to prevent attacks on schools, its government said on Monday, days after a 17-year-old girl was killed and three people wounded by a sword-wielding assailant at a high school. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The attack on the school in the small town of Fagersta on Friday was the latest of several deadly incidents at educational institutions over the last decade. Minister for Education and Integration Simona Mohamsson told a press conference on Monday that the government would be appointing a school attack commission “that will propose new measures to prevent…
By Euronews Published on 24/08/2026 – 11:12 GMT+2 One of the Hungarian Armed Forces’ Gripen fighter jets crashed late on Monday morning, according to Prime Minister Péter Magyar. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “For reasons that are not yet known, a Gripen fighter jet of the Hungarian Defence Forces crashed a few minutes ago near Szolnok. The pilot successfully ejected. An investigation is under way, and the defence minister is on his way to the scene,” the prime minister wrote on his Facebook page. A short time later, Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi reported that the pilot had been taken to hospital by ambulance and…
The Greek military moved one of its Patriot missile interceptor systems to the island of Crete on Monday in response to Iranian threats to hit US military bases in Europe, media reports said. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The battery was moved from the eastern island of Karpathos to Crete, where there is a major US base at Souda, the reports said. The aim is to bolster air defence around Souda’s strategically important naval and air facilities, which serve both the Greek Armed Forces and the United States and NATO. The Souda base plays a pivotal role in supporting allied operations across the…