Champions League beckons for Italy's surprise package

England cheered by young fans as they leave for Germany

The England men’s national football team have left St George’s Park in Staffordshire for their Euro 2024 base in Thuringia, Germany. Players, including captain Harry Kane and Champions League winner Jude Bellingham, signed shirts and took selfies with young fans before boarding a coach to Birmingham Airport. Report by Jonesia. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Real Madrid beat Dortmund 2-0 for record 15th Champions League title

Real Madrid bounced back and dominated the second half after an initial strong showing from Dortmund in the first.

Italian government take umbrage at NATO’s appointment of Spanish diplomat

Giorgia Meloni has been publicly lobbying for an Italian to be elevated to a top job at the alliance, but seemingly to no avail.

Italy's ruling party rejects EU Commission warning about interference in public media

The Commission identified concerns about "undue political influence" over Italy's public broadcaster, pointing to issues about how its leadership is appointed.

Brussels berates Italy, Hungary and Slovakia for rule-of-law decline

The European Commission has released the new edition of its Rule of Law Report, showing persistent problems in press freedom.

Von der Leyen faces tough puzzle as conservatives demand big Commission portfolios

Italy and the Czech Republic governments have already declared that they want their commissioners to be given big portfolios, a sign of their conviction that the conservatives' gains in the European elections should be reflected in the composition of the new EU executive.