14: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declined to attend his country's Euro 2020 soccer game against Germany in Munich after the Germans, along with 13 other EU member states, condemned a new Hungarian law that bans showing LGBT content to minors. The rightwing Orbán, who has overseen a raft of anti-LGBT legislation, did however persuade tournament's organizers to reject a German request to light up the stadium in rainbow colors for Pride.
26: Apple Daily, a pro-democracy tabloid in Hong Kong, printed its last edition on Thursday after 26 years in circulation following recent intense pressure from Chinese authorities. The popular newspaper is the first media outlet targeted by China's security law for Hong Kong, which threatens to end press freedom there as fast as it is eroding democracy.
11: As the polar ice cap continues to recede, trans-Arctic maritime shipping traffic recorded by Russia is already up 11 percent this year from the record 1,014 trips made in all of 2020 because this season started early in February. Russia is starting to build infrastructure to serve the route, which is likely to irk the US, a major Arctic power, as well as China, which is happy to get more Russian oil and gas through Russia's northern waters but doesn't want Moscow to control the passage.
51: At least 51 people died when a military airstrike hit a busy market in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region on Tuesday, a day after the country held a long-delayed parliamentary election. The Ethiopian military has recently intensified its campaign against nationalist forces in Tigray amid an ongoing civil war.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended a meeting of the European Political Community in Armenia this weekend, a first by the leader of a non-European country. He was invited to discuss common interests in trade, energy, and security. In a speech that echoed his address to the World Economic Forum in Davos two months earlier, Carney called on middle powers, including Canada and European nations, to work together in the wake of disruption of the established world order — implicitly pointing to the United States. “It’s my strong personal view that the international order will be rebuilt,” he told the crowd in Yerevan, “but it will be rebuilt out of Europe.”
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan’s government fell after losing a no-confidence vote, putting Romania’s access to EU recovery funds – worth approximately $13 billion – at risk.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan’s government fell after losing a no-confidence vote, putting Romania’s access to EU recovery funds – worth approximately $13 billion – at risk. The country, which has the largest budget deficit in the EU, has to complete the bloc’s mandated economic reforms by August to unlock the funds. But with its country’s pro-EU government pushed out, those reforms are uncertain.
One year after announcing its European digital commitments, Microsoft shared an update on progress across the region, highlighting new investments and expanded infrastructure to support AI adoption, strengthen resilience, and protect data. As demand for AI grows, organizations across Europe are increasingly focused on digital sovereignty, seeking greater control over data, stronger security, and assurance that critical systems remain available amid geopolitical uncertainty. Microsoft’s latest update outlines progress across key areas, including cloud expansion, cybersecurity, and privacy protections, helping enable AI and cloud adoption at scale while aligning with European regulations and priorities. Read the full update here.