A four-word phrase has sparked an intense political and media row in Spain and France just days before the World Cup semi-final between the two national sides. The phrase “that is, without the French”, used by former prime minister Mariano Rajoy in a column published in El Debate, has been…

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday urged Spain to strengthen its prevention measures after one of the country’s deadliest wildfires in recent history killed 13 people and razed a huge area. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Los Gallardos fire, which has been stabilised after four days of intense work, has so…

The prospect of Turkey returning to the F-35 fighter jet programme has opened a new front in Washington, with the Greek-American lobby and members of Congress seeking to preserve the existing legal obstacles to the sale of US fighters to Ankara. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The issue returned to the fore after…

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) condemned what it called Russia’s “deliberate strategy to destroy the healthcare system” in Ukraine on Monday, documenting a consistent pattern of attacks throughout the war. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT MSF said that between April 2022 and December 2025, it had documented more than 20 attacks on facilities associated…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 11:09 GMT+2•Updated 11:37 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for stronger protections for children online, saying the evidence presented by the Special Panel on Child Safety Online should help shape future European policy. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Von der Leyen said the evidence increasingly supported…

Hungarian lawmakers are set to vote on changing the constitution on Monday to oust the president, as Prime Minister Péter Magyar pushes to loosen nationalist ex-leader Viktor Orbán’s grip on the country. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Magyar, who won a landslide victory in April on the promise of “regime change” from Orbán’s…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 9:38 GMT+2 Countries in Europe reported over 10,000 excess deaths during the extreme heatwaves that baked the west of the continent towards the end of June, new data shows. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The vast majority of the fatalities, in excess of 9,000, were recorded among those aged…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 8:30 GMT+2•Updated 8:30 The British government has announced a £250 million (€293.5m) package to strengthen police protection for Jewish communities following a series of antisemitic attacks across the country. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The funding, spread over three years, will pay for more than 500 additional police officers…

Published on 13/07/2026 – 6:50 GMT+2 Firefighters were rushing to contain a fire that erupted in the sprawling Fontainebleau forest just south of Paris on Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Officials described the fire as “very virulent” and of “exceptional scale” as it raced across 800 hectares and was still spreading. The…

Published on 12/07/2026 – 14:56 GMT+2•Updated 15:08 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a major reshuffle of the government on Sunday, saying there would soon be a new prime minister and cabinet. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT “Ukraine is changing its political strategy,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X, adding that he had…