Author: staff
“There is history. It matters to me. I never believed that the Germans crossed the border several times just for the sake of crossing borders,” Mélenchon said — though he insisted he is not “anti-German.” Jean-Luc Mélenchon speaks at the POLITICO Playbook Paris Live event in Paris on Sept. 24, 2026. | François Le Guen and Mathias Filippini for POLITICO Berlin aims to become Europe’s predominant military power in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and American retrenchment from Europe — a move Mélenchon argued was motivated by economic interests, with Germany hoping that a stronger defense industry can…
Published on 24/09/2026 – 17:43 GMT+2 France, Germany and Spain are split over what should count as “Made in Europe”, as the EU prepares new rules designed to favour European industry amid growing competition from China. The European Commission’s proposed Industrial Accelerator Act would give European-made products, including cars, steel and green technologies, preferential treatment in public contracts. But EU governments disagree over where Europe ends: France wants a strict EU preference, Germany wants to include trading partners, while Spain is proposing a compromise between the two. Strict approach France is pushing for a strict EU approach but Germany wants…
Hundreds of trucks wait at the Gurbulak border crossing in Turkey’s eastern Agri province, with drivers standing beside their vehicles as they face long waits to enter Iran. Truckers say the delays have sharply reduced the number of journeys they can make. One driver says a route that once took 24 hours now takes a week, while rising fuel costs have further cut profits. Another says he now makes only one journey every 40 days or two months, leaving his family dependent on his income. The queues have grown as Iran relies more heavily on overland trade following disruption to…
IT’S THE AFTERMATH, STUPID: The intrusion wasn’t sophisticated, no one was harmed, but it’s still a political timebomb. The problem is what comes next — when the same thing happens but then agents start colluding to take it further, and personal data is breached or systems are shut down. Wow! OpenAI had no idea for two months, and then had no idea how to handle this with the Australian government. Ryan Heath explains each of the major mistakes, and why this drama is part of a long history of large tech companies not taking non-American markets and governments seriously. THE…
Published on 24/09/2026 – 19:30 GMT+2•Updated 19:31 NATO is prepared to respond to sabotage and drone incidents across Europe and has plans in place to address such threats, Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Thursday. “Russia is doing more and more when it comes to the cyber etc. domain, but… NATO is ready for this,” Rutte said at an event in New York commemorating the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. “We have all these response options in place… when it comes to hybrids to make sure that we stay strong,” he added. Rutte argued that the growing…
Herders in the West Bank use donkeys to carry milk churns through an earthen trench before loading them onto a vehicle. The journey takes place at night, with farmers helping the animals over the steep earthworks. According to a farmer, access to the area has been restricted, making it difficult to transport milk and reach grazing land. He says there are no roads and that the trench has cut off their usual route, limiting the movement of people and vehicles. The milk is eventually transferred to a truck, which leaves along a rough track. They work at night because they…
By Theo Farrant & AP Published on 24/09/2026 – 14:54 GMT+2 Italy’s fashion capital is celebrating the enduring and surprisingly underexplored relationship between Salvador Dalí and fashion with a major new exhibition. Featuring more than 200 objects, the show at Milan’s Palazzo Reale brings together artworks, garments, photographs and archival material, to explore how the weird and wonderful Spanish artist drew inspiration from fashion and how generations of designers have drawn inspiration from the master of Surrealism. “The relationship with Dalí and fashion goes right through his work. When you start looking at his work again, it’s incredible. You sort of see it…
“There is a war in the Middle East, and we are paying the price,” Macron said. The European Union has in recent months purchased more diesel from the U.S. to make up for lost supply that can’t get through the Strait of Hormuz, and shipments from across the Atlantic now make up more than half of all diesel imports to the bloc. Macron last week announced plans to chair a G7 meeting to look at releasing strategic oil stocks and held talks with the leaders of hydrocarbon exporters to secure supplies from alternative sources. During Thursday’s interview, Macron said France…
Uzbekistan called for a more effective United Nations, presenting closer cooperation in Central Asia as an example of how dialogue can ease regional tensions. Saida Mirziyoyeva, who has headed Uzbekistan’s Presidential Administration since June 2025, delivered the country’s address to the 81st session of the General Assembly in New York. She framed Tashkent’s foreign-policy approach around “openness, good-neighbourliness and dialogue”, adding that Uzbekistan stood for “peace, cooperation and respect for human dignity”. “No country can solve global problems alone,” she told delegates. “We need a UN that is capable not only of making decisions, but of implementing them.” Uzbekistan backed…
Published on 24/09/2026 – 14:48 GMT+2 Influencers giving advice without adequate financial knowledge, trendy investment lists, pre-selected investment amounts and countdowns designed to create a sense of urgency, and prominent ‘buy’ buttons appearing on the screen are some of the common tactics identified by the non-profit organisation Finance Watch in a report about addictive and misleading online design patterns that it says can be detrimental to consumers and retail investors. As retail investing becomes more accessible through social media platforms, civil society organisations and policymakers are increasingly looking at ways to protect people online, particularly vulnerable groups such as minors.…