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Israel is poised to sell Spyder air defense systems to Romania for approximately €2 billion,  according Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The deal according to a June 28 statement includes the supply of launchers, interceptors, radar systems, training programs and logistical support. The Israeli company said a first order under the full framework agreement was signed last week and delivery of the...

An Italian judge has issued a freezing order covering over 7.8 million meters of fabric and more than 237 000 garments, as part of an ongoing investigation into a VAT and customs fraud involving the smuggling of textile products from China. The order from the Judge for Preliminary Investigations in Prato came at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s...

European Union member states have approved a European Commission proposal to mobilize over €56 million in emergency agricultural aid for farmers affected by severe weather and natural disasters. Under the package, Portugal will receive €30 million, Romania €14.8 million, Cyprus €4.6 million, Croatia €4.4 million, and Slovenia €2.8 million. The funding is intended to support farmers who have suffered significant crop...

Eleven people have been killed after a light aircraft carrying skydivers crashed in the eastern French town of Tomblaine, local authorities have confirmed. The pilot and all 10 passengers died in the crash.  The group included five experienced skydiving instructors and five people preparing to make their first tandem parachute jump. The aircraft, operated by a parachute training school, had taken off...

Eleven suspects were arrested in Germany, Poland and Latvia in an investigation against a criminal organization suspected of a large-scale VAT fraud scheme, code-named ‘Water into Wine’, involving the sales of diesel. Over 100 searches were carried out in Germany and Poland, as well as in Bulgaria, Czechia, Latvia and Spain, at the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office...

Invesco files for new tokenised money market fund targeting stablecoin issuers Bitcoin has fallen to a year-to-date low of $58,000, and is now trading more than 50% below its all-time high of $126,300. Inflation concerns, heavy ETF outflows, and broader risk-off sentiment weighed on the crypto markets throughout the week. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $1.79 billion in net outflows last...

Searches have been carried out in the French capital and six individuals were questioned as part of an investigation by the by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) into a suspected multi-million VAT fraud scheme. The investigation concerns a suspected VAT ‘carousel’ fraud – a complex criminal scheme that takes advantage of EU rules on cross-border transactions between its Member...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that Europe's unprecedented early-summer heatwave may have caused hundreds of excess deaths.  The extreme heat continued moving east across the continent on Sunday, with Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic all recording new national temperature records. In a post on X, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 1,300 excess deaths linked to...

In its US-backed deal with Israel, Lebanon took a big step toward reclaiming its country. Its leaders must be protected from assassination by Iran and Hezbollah. Here’s what I’m thinking as I contemplate the framework deal signed in Washington this weekend in which Israel and Lebanon resolved to make peace. I’m thinking that the surest path to looking ridiculous these...

The Israeli president flew to Iași, where the Iron Guard Fascists murdered 13,000 Jews in 1941 Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday visited the city of Iași, Romania on a state visit to the country to attend a state ceremony marking 85 years since one of the worst massacres of Romanian Jews, in which thousands of Jews were murdered. The ceremony...