Eu: Last News

Naman Ramachandran Weeks after the U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority blocked Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion deal to buy video games giant Activision Blizzard, the European Commission (EC) has granted approval under the EU Merger Regulation. However, the approval, which arrived after an EC investigation, comes with conditions that require Microsoft to fully comply with specific commitments that address the competition concerns raised. The preliminary investigation conducted by the EC revealed that Microsoft’s acquisition could potentially harm competition in two key areas: the distribution of console and PC video games, including multi-game subscription services and cloud game streaming services, as well as the supply of PC operating systems. It determined that Microsoft would not have the ability to harm rival consoles or multi-game subscription services. However, it concluded that Microsoft’s position in the distribution of games through cloud game streaming services would likely lead to a reduction in competition. Additionally, the acquisition would strengthen Microsoft’s position in the market for PC operating systems.

The EU’s antitrust regulator has gone against the grain of its U.S. and UK counterparts by waving through Microsoft’s proposed $69B takeover of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

Siobhan McSweeney’s BAFTA acceptance speech was edited out of the BAFTA TV Awards ceremony broadcast on Sunday. McSweeney won the best female comedy performance BAFTA for playing Sister Michael in Channel 4’s Northern Ireland-set show “Derry Girls.” During her speech McSweeney said: “I am daily impressed with how you encompass the spirit of compromise and resilience despite the indignities, ignorance, and stupidity of your so-called leaders in Dublin, Stormont and Westminster. In the words of my beloved Sister Michael, ‘It’s time they started to wise up.'” These lines were cut from the broadcast.

Noel Gallagher has called Brexit a “fucking absolute unmitigated disaster” in a new interview.Back in 2019, Gallagher received criticism after calling out those who wanted the result of the EU Referendum overturned. Speaking to The Manchester Evening News, Gallagher said: “There’s only one fucking thing worse that a fool who voted for Brexit.

Naman Ramachandran Gross box office in the European Union (EU) and the U.K. grew by 70% in 2022 compared with 2021 – from €3 billion ($3.27 billion) to €5.1 billion ($5.57 billion), down by 28% on pre-pandemic levels. The numbers were revealed in the 2023 edition of Focus – World Film Market Trends, a report which is prepared each year for the Cannes film market. Three U.S. films, “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru” topped the European charts in 2022, selling 34.4 million, 30.6 and 30.2 million tickets throughout the calendar year respectively. Cinema attendance in the EU and the U.K. increased by 63% from 403 million tickets sold in 2021 to an estimated 657 million in 2022, representing 67% of the average pre-pandemic admission level registered between 2017 and 2019. 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In 2018, the U.K. was the unquestioned capital of Hollywood in Europe, home to 563 TV channels aimed at non-domestic markets — what is now Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global and Disney, for instance. With the country’s exit from the European Union, however, over half of those services have relocated. After the Netherlands, their second-most-favored destination is Spain, with 212 such services in 2020, up from 79 two years earlier. They have found a country “in the midst of a digital transformation process, driven by new technologies as virtual reality, augmented reality, extended reality, video game engines and LED walls, to name just some,” says María González Veracruz, Spain’s secretary of state for telecommunications and digital infrastructures.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off a successful collaboration on “Charlatan,” Films Boutique has boarded Agnieszka Holland’s next film “The Green Border,” which just completed principal photography in Poland. Now in post production, “The Green Border” tells the fateful story of a family of Syrian refugees, a solitary English teacher from Afghanistan and a young border guard, all of whom meet on the Polish-Belarusian border during the most recent humanitarian crisis triggered by President Lukaschenko opening doors to migrants in Belarus as a back door to enter the EU.  The screenplay, penned by Holland, Gabriela Łazarkiewicz-Sieczko and Maciej Pisuk, is inspired by real events. Research for the film included hundreds of hours of document analysis, interviews with refugees, border guards, borderland residents, activists and experts.

The deputy chairman of the Conservative Party has been criticised for telling anti-monarchy activists to “emigrate”. Lee Anderson was commenting on the arrests of protesters from the Republic group ahead of the coronation on Saturday morning.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic A creeping black spot on a darkening globe suffers some degree of illumination — not voluntarily, of course — in “The Rise of Wagner.” Benoit Bringer’s documentary about the Russian private army of mercenaries relies on a mix of news reports, human rights experts and sometimes anonymous witnesses to expose Wagner Group’s shadowy involvement in various conflicts over the last decade. It’s a damning if necessarily rather fragmented view, since the organization remains cloaked in secrecy, its own government continuing to deny affiliation. Offering global political insights as well as lurid true-crime-type content, this Hot Docs premiere is well-suited to broadcast slots for serious-minded nonfiction.  

The Malta Film Commission is launching a Mediterranean-focused film festival building on its growing position as a key international shooting location.

Naman Ramachandran The Malta Film Commission is launching the first-ever Mediterrane Film Festival, a new annual event dedicated to celebrating film and creativity. Running from June 25-30, the festival will take place at Valletta, Malta’s capital, and other locations across the country The festival aims to serve as a platform for Malta to continue building its film brand image worldwide and attract more film business to the islands. Prominent films shot in recent years in Malta include Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” Terrence Malick’s “The Way of the Wind” and Colin Trevorrow’s “Jurassic World Dominion.” The program, which will be revealed during the Cannes Film Festival, will showcase films from each of the MED9 (an alliance of nine Mediterranean and Southern European Union member states: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) nations. Screenings will be accessible to the public, and the featured films will be in the running for various awards.

The Hives have announced their first new album in over a decade, ‘The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons’, and shared lead single ‘Bogus Operandi’ — check it out below.The Swedish rock band will release ‘The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons’ on August 11, 2023, via Fuga — you can pre-order the album here.The announcement arrives with the release of opening track ‘Bogus Operandi’, complete with a horror music video directed by Aube Perrie (Harry Styles, Megan Thee Stallion).Listen to the new track below.“There’s no maturity or anything like that bullshit, because who the fuck wants mature rock’n’roll?,” frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist said of the new album in a press statement.“That’s always where people go wrong, I feel. ‘It’s like rock’n’roll but adult,’ nobody wants that! That’s literally taking the good shit out of it.

A contender to be Labour’s candidate in a likely by-election quit the party four years ago over Brexit.

Using a mobile abroad can rack up hundreds of pounds, a change which has been put in place by providers since Brexit. Travellers looking to get away over the coming May bank holidays or 2023 summer months could face extra charges on top of their plan if roaming data is not included.

on their Twitter account.Per a translation of the Tweet, the foreman character “Blackie,” who appeared in the 1980s computer game “Wrecking Crew,” will have his name changed to “Spike” in Japanese. This moniker makeover will take place in both the games and the “The Super Mario Bros.

Humza Yousaf will meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in person for the first time since he became Scotland’s First Minister. Yousaf will meet the Prime Minister amid the looming court battle between Holyrood and Westminster after Scottish Secretary Alister Jack blocked the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

A new law which is set to come into force next month may lead to a shortage of toilet roll on shop shelves, experts have warned.

The Lemon Twigs have shared their latest single ‘Every Day Is The Worst Day Of My Life’ from their forthcoming album ‘Everything Harmony’.The brand-new single is the fourth to be debuted ahead of the band’s upcoming album. With its melodic 70s-style bright guitar and harmonies, the song only features one single line “Every day is the worst day of my life.” The video, directed by Hilla Eden, features performance footage of the band in New York City as well as clips of zoo animals and The Lemon Twigs’ brother duo themselves, Brian and Michael D’Addario.The release comes after three previous singles: the ’60s-inspired ‘Corner Of My Eye’, KISS inspired ‘Any Time Of Day’ and ‘In My Head’.According to a recent press release, the album arrives as a “distinct blend of pop vocals”, featuring “sophisticated acoustic-folk melodies and rich textures”, heavily influenced by artists such as Simon & Garfunkel, Arthur Russell and Moondog.Written, recorded, produced and engineered solely by the band ‘Everything Harmony’ is  set for release on May 5 and will tackle a range of motifs through its lyricism too – exploring themes of depression and isolation, and euphoria.‘When Winter Comes Around’‘In My Head’‘Corner Of My Eye’‘Any Time Of Day’‘What You Were Doing’‘I Don’t Belong To Me’‘Every Day Is The Worst Day Of My Life’‘What Happens To A Heart’‘Still It’s Not Enough’‘Born To Be Lonely’‘Ghost Run Free’‘Everything Harmony’‘New To Me’In the support of ‘Everything Harmony’, The Lemon Twigs are set to play a series of shows across the UK and EU starting in Amsterdam on May 20.

Brexit rule changes.“Today we got refused at the UK border for weird reasons,” the band wrote in a Facebook update. “We would have needed a special certificate of sponsorship but no one knew before, not even the venues, promoters, or the German customs authority.”“Brexit bureaucracy??? A post-Brexit nightmare,” they continued, adding that the whole ordeal at the UK border was “humiliating” and “sad”.They elaborated on the reasons behind their denied entry into the UK in another update, saying that the UK authorities expected them to have “a so-called certificate of sponsorship from all seven clubs,” – something which they claim even the organisers were unfamiliar with.“I think I’ve never felt so degraded, sad, and bad as I do today.

Local businesses are continuing their fight to prevent a cycle lane being built in Causeyside Street, a move they say threatens the very future of Paisley town centre.

EXCLUSIVE: Alfred Hitchcock won the AFI’s Life Achievement Award in 1979, but now there is another Hitchcock moving up in the organization.