Author: Press Room
Published on 07/06/2026 – 13:06 GMT+2•Updated 14:38 “Europe needs to open a new chapter regarding its relationship with China,” warned Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament, in remarks to Bild am Sonntag. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “The era of naivety is over,” he said, urging the bloc to defend its economic interests more clearly and consistently and to reset its relationship with China. Europe and China’s rocky road Ahead of the EU summit on 18 June, several member states, led by France, are pressing for a firmer line on Beijing, warning that Chinese overproduction and low-priced…
Published on 07/06/2026 – 13:13 GMT+2 The Pentagon has elevated its counterintelligence alert concerning Israel to the highest level, according to several US media reports. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT NBC News reported that the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) recently designated Israel as a “critical” counterintelligence concern amid increasing tensions between the two allies over the war with Iran. The move reportedly followed concerns that Israel may have sought to gather intelligence on senior US officials in an effort to gain insight into the Trump administration’s internal discussions and decision-making on conflicts in the Middle East. The New York Times reported alleged…
Cruises have long been established in the mainstream travel market. Many holidaymakers like the fact that they can visit several destinations without constantly changing hotels; the room travels with them, costs are predictable, and the organisational effort remains manageable. Demand has risen in recent years, both on the high seas and on inland waterways, and this trend is likely to continue in 2026. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT River cruising in particular is on the rise. According to the German Travel Association (DRV), cruises were among the most dynamic areas of the German travel market in 2025. German holidaymakers spent around 6.7 billion…
Published on 07/06/2026 – 8:08 GMT+2 Polls opened in Kosovo on Sunday morning as the Western Balkan country holds another snap election — its third parliamentary vote in just over a year. Public frustration in the Western Balkan country has mounted over persistent political gridlock. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The vote follows months of institutional paralysis. A deeply divided parliament failed to elect a new president in April, worsening a crisis triggered by inconclusive elections in February 2025. Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Vetëvendosje party emerged as the largest force in the February 2025 election, but fell short of securing a governing majority,…
Updated: 07/06/2026 – 10:02 GMT+2 US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a D-Day anniversary speech in Normandy to warn European leaders about migration, saying that “boats and men” arriving on southern European shores posed a challenge that governments could no longer ignore. … More
Published on 07/06/2026 – 9:11 GMT+2•Updated 9:29 US forces shot down two Iranian attack drones threatening international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM). ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “Earlier today, US forces in the Middle East shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a post on X. CENTCOM said it remains prepared to “continue defending against Iranian aggression.” The interceptions came a day after US forces downed four other Iranian attack drones launched towards the Strait of Hormuz, which the military…
Published on 07/06/2026 – 8:23 GMT+2 At least two people were killed and 22 others wounded in an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of As-Saksakiyah on Saturday, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The ministry said the injured included three children and a woman. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The attack came amid heightened regional tensions, as the conflict entered its 100th day since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Tehran on February 28. As tensions continued to spread across the Middle East, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces had shot down two Iranian attack drones threatening international maritime…
By Sertac Aktan with AP Published on 06/06/2026 – 20:24 GMT+2 On June 6, 1944, during World War II, nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy, France, on what is known as ‘D-Day’, and they launched ‘Operation Overlord’ to liberate German-occupied Western Europe. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Over 4,400 Allied troops were killed on that single day, and more than half of them were Americans. The exact number of German casualties on D-Day is not known, but it is estimated between 4,000 and 9,000 killed, wounded or missing. This year commemorates the 82nd anniversary of the Normandy beach landings, with only a handful of war…
“Europe must be the first to provide for its own conventional defence”, said US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on his arrival in Normandy on Saturday. He is taking part in commemorations marking the 82nd anniversary of the 1944 D-Day landings. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT During a meeting attended by, among others, France’s Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin, Hegseth called on “allies such as France to face up seriously to this reality and to show it through concrete progress”. On a trip to Singapore at the end of May, the US defence secretary had already reproached Europeans for having “for too long” ignored…
Welcome back. When I launched this newsletter, I promised you zeitgeist, so here’s the zeitgeist — I am filing this at ungodly hours, from a flat in Tivat, on the coast of Montenegro, on five hours’ sleep, praying for no typos and my keyboard on fire. But oh boy how I love this job. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT This week, we were deployed alongside my producer Paul and my cameraman Pierre to Porto Montenegro for the EU-Western Balkans summit. To kick off, we sat down with António Costa on the eve of the gathering. The European Council chief told me there is…