Author: Press Room

Published on 17/06/2026 – 13:36 GMT+2 England begin their 2026 World Cup group stage with a crunch fixture against long-time nemesis Croatia on Wednesday, as Thomas Tuchel’s side look to take early control of Group L. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT England come into the game as favourites, with talisman striker Harry Kane once again set to lead the line. The Three Lions also boast strong options in midfield, with Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham and Arsenal’s Declan Rice in line to start for former Chelsea manager Tuchel. The German’s squad selection caused some controversy when it was announced in May, but he…

Published on 17/06/2026 – 12:17 GMT+2 US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni struck a conciliatory tone on the margins of the G7 in Evian on Tuesday, after weeks of public sparring had strained relations between the two leaders. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “You’re friends again,” European Council President António Costa was overheard joking to Trump and Meloni as they gathered on the sidelines of the summit with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “We have always been friends,” Meloni replied. “I was abandoned,” Trump retorted. “No, you were not,” she said with a smile. The exchange offered a glimpse of…

A blue wave has crashed into the United States. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Scottish fans — back at the World Cup after 28 years thanks to a dominant qualifying campaign — are turning out in huge numbers on the East Coast. Flight bookings from the UK to host cities such as Boston and Miami have skyrocketed, up around 1,000% year-on-year during the World Cup period. Although the figure also includes fans from the rest of the UK, it’s mostly Scotland that’s fueling this surge, according to airfare comparison site FlightsFinder. ‘Party central’ atmosphere in Boston “All flights were full of Scotland fans,”…

Published on 17/06/2026 – 9:33 GMT+2 As the 2026 World Cup gets underway, FIFA President Gianni Infantino faces an unprecedented ethics backlash over his open alignment with the White House, a high-profile visa scandal blocking Africa’s top referee, and vital hydration breaks being turned into TV advertisement slots. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Born in 1970 to modest Italian immigrants in the quiet Swiss town of Brig, Infantino grew up far from luxury. His mother ran a railway station newsstand, while his father worked on sleeping cars. A multilingual lawyer by training, he quietly climbed the ranks at UEFA to become the trusted…

Published on 17/06/2026 – 8:49 GMT+2 The German government is reportedly preparing for its armed forces to potentially take part in a mission to safeguard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to information obtained by Der Spiegel, the foreign office and the defence ministry have already drawn up a draft mandate for the Bundestag, which could be approved by the cabinet at short notice. However, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) says no final decision has yet been made. In addition, the legal basis for any participation still has to be clarified, Merz said after the G7 summit in…

Good morning from Brussels. I’m Mared Gwyn. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT It’s the final day of crunch G7 talks on the shores of Lake Geneva, where Euronews’s Angela Skujins and Maria Tadeo continue to report from the ground – and where leaders overnight coalesced around a rare joint stance on the war in Ukraine. G7 unite on Ukraine: In the statement, published shortly after midnight, leaders said they “stand united in our unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity”. The statement has been signed by the US President, Donald Trump. Crucially, all leaders also committed to increasing…

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed to Kyiv’s Western allies for additional air defence systems. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT According to publicly available information, Ukraine has so far been promised or supplied with around eight Patriot air defence systems. Germany has provided three of these from Bundeswehr stocks and has pledged two more. Alongside the US-made Patriot system, the German government has also delivered six IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defence systems and six IRIS-T SLS short-range systems to Ukraine. Both are manufactured by German defence company Diehl Defence, which…

Published on 17/06/2026 – 6:22 GMT+2 Germany and Poland were set to sign a new defence agreement Wednesday, putting aside their complicated past to strengthen European military cooperation at a time of heightened tension with Russia and growing uncertainty over US engagement in Europe. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Relations between the two neighbours in recent years have become more pragmatic in the wake of Russia’s full‑scale war on Ukraine in 2022 and the coming to power of a liberal government in Poland in 2023. As the US weighs a partial drawdown of its military presence in Europe, Poland is keen to ensure…

Published on 16/06/2026 – 16:03 GMT+2•Updated 16:04 The European Parliament voted on Tuesday to lift the immunity of the Italian MEP Fulvio Martusciello, who is part of an investigation by Belgian prosecutors on alleged corruption and illicit lobbying by Chinese tech company Huawei. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In the secret-ballot vote on Tuesday, 344 MEPs voted in favour of lifting his immunity, while 234 were against and 25 abstained. Martusciello, a member of the European People’s Party (EPP), is believed to have been the promoter of a letter signed by eight MEPs in 2021, urging the EU Commission not ban the use…

Published on 16/06/2026 – 21:29 GMT+2 At least 58 states and territories are contaminated by anti-personnel mines, the UN rights chief said on Tuesday, with heavy civilian casualties in Myanmar, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “It is deeply troubling that almost 30 years since the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty was adopted, these explosive weapons continue to kill and injure people, often decades after they were placed,” Volker Türk said in a statement. “It is essential that all states recommit to putting an end to the production, use and transfer of these weapons and redouble their efforts to cooperate in…