Euractiv.com

Disinformation and propaganda, long mainstays of war, have been digitally supercharged in the battle for Ukraine, the biggest conflict the world has seen since the advent of smartphones and social media.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, facing mounting pressure to offer evidence his election victory was valid, said that opposition leaders should be imprisoned following deadly protests across the country.

A large fire broke out in Rome on Wednesday (31 July) on a hill near the Italian capital's court of justice and a public TV broadcasting centre, forcing the evacuation of several buildings and offices, firefighters said.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday (31 July) met with Warsaw Uprising veterans and asked for their "forgiveness" during a visit to Poland on the eve of the revolt's 80th anniversary.

The Slovak Supreme Audit Office compiled an analysis of the pandemic. The summary report highlighted the insufficiencies in the Slovak health system’s pre-pandemic preparedness and pandemic management.

Bulgarian state and municipal hospitals can now take part in a special programme of state loans to save them from bankruptcy and improve their patient services. Specialist staff at one hospital went unpaid for seven months.

Ireland has launched a public consultation to inform the development of a new National Rare Disease Strategy. The results of the consultation will be considered by a steering group tasked with developing the strategy for 300,000 patients.

Ireland’s Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has announced the formation of a National Clinical Trials Oversight Group. The group is tasked with developing strategies to increase the number of clinical trials conducted in Ireland.

The looming implementation of an EU law aimed at making European supply chains deforestation-free has united industry, traders, farmers, and NGOs in concern.

The European Commission has called on all parties in the Middle East to “exert maximum restraint” amid growing fears of a full-scale regional war following the assassination of a top Hamas official in Iran on Wednesday morning (31 July).

About 91.5% of ICT specialist jobs, including around 10 million jobs in the EU, may be in jeopardy because of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a study conducted by big tech multinationals published on Wednesday (31 July).  

French wheat growers are calling for the release of the EU's crisis funding, known as agricultural reserve, and increased state aid for the sector as persistent rains since last autumn are leading to poor harvests in major European grain-producing countries.

EU lawmaker Stine Bosse from the Danish Moderate Party (Renew Europe) announced on Wednesday (31 July) she is resigning from the board of the Norwegian bank DNB to avoid a possible conflict of interest with her role in the European Parliament.

Telecom industry stakeholders have called on incumbent Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, to reconsider some of his previous stances in light of his potential reappointment for the 2024-2029 term.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday (30 July) that Morocco’s Western Sahara ‘autonomy’ proposal was the only plan able to end a 30-year-long territorial sovereignty dispute, challenging the EU’s historic stance and making it harder for the Union to keep stable relationships with both Rabat and Algiers.

The European Union is expected to welcome 758 million tourists this year, a number equivalent to about 70% of the entire European population, according to the European Travel Commission.

Protesters took to the streets across Venezuela on Tuesday (30 July), demanding that President Nicolás Maduro acknowledge he lost Sunday's election to the opposition, as a major international observer concluded the vote was undemocratic.

From the aqua vitae of mediaeval Europe to the baijiu of ancient China, distilled alcohol has an incredible global heritage, and today each sip of spirit tells the tale of its birthplace.

Escalation or even all-out war is likely more than ever in recent years, after the killings on Tuesday and Wednesday (30 and 31 July) of two senior commanders of forces hostile to the state of Israel.

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen promised single-ticket rail travel across the continent in her re-election pitch to the European Parliament, but a similar initiative in her previous five-year term never saw the light of day.