Author: staff

That criticism cuts across party lines. Eric Coquerel, the left-wing head of the finance committee in the French National Assembly, has asked the government to urgently present a revised version of this year’s budget to parliament to address the need for more funds. With state coffers so depleted, Barbut floated in an interview with Libération tapping private savings to help cover costs, as the French rank fairly high among EU countries in terms of savings but, like the rest of Europe, don’t invest much in stocks and bonds. Panonacle, the centrist lawmaker, is one of 50 MPs pushing a proposal to…

Labour MPs want a cap on political donations to stave off Nigel Farage’s big-money backers. Andy Burnham is set to disappoint them. Downing Street will not include a universal domestic cap on political donations in Britain when the elections bill returns on Sept. 2, two officials briefed on government thinking said. But both the officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss policy considerations, did not rule out returning to the issue again in the future. “We’re prioritizing cracking down on foreign interference and crypto billionaires as part of this piece of legislation,” one of the officials said, referencing existing proposals…

Published on 19/08/2026 – 6:52 GMT+2 US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was delaying 50% US tariffs on $20 billion (€17.27 billion) worth of Canadian imports after the two countries reached a last-minute deal hours before the sanctions were to go into effect. The announcement, which Trump made on his social media platform, buys time for more negotiations and avoids, for now, another strain in already tense relations between the historic allies and direct neighbours. “I have paused the 50% Tariffs against Canada, that were scheduled to kick in tomorrow morning for a three-day period, based on the…

Even one of the leaders of the protest movement, war veteran Dmytro Koziatysnkyi, said he didn’t want to see elections during wartime. “I am also very afraid of the disunity of society during the electoral process and how this may affect the course of the war,” he said. Far from bolstering Fedorov’s political future, the call for an election could even count against him. Economist Timothy Ash, who frequently writes on Ukraine, suggested the ex-minister had made “an extraordinary political error of judgement which some would likely use against him if he ever pitches in to run as president in…

ESSENTIALS Republicans take aim at News Bargaining Incentive Exclusive: More than 700 job cuts at Home Affairs Department How AUKUS depends on Britain’s struggling submarine town Tom Rogers’ love for democracy sausage missiles DRIVING THE DAY THE VIBE IS: Relief. What’s on the menu at the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge? The end of the sitting session has finally arrived, with Labor and the Coalition striking deals to pass legislation on gambling, the NDIS and the News Bargaining Incentive. You wouldn’t know it from Question Time but it was a truly bipartisan week. Yes, but: Americans for Tax Reform, the conservative group founded by…

The staff of the tiny agency on the front lines of President Donald Trump’s trade wars has shrunk to its smallest size in two decades as its responsibilities balloon. Its work is suffering. Since Trump returned to the White House, the agency has rolled out new tariffs across the globe, launched trade negotiations with dozens of countries and reopened the signature pact governing North American trade. And after the Supreme Court struck down many of his initial tariffs, it has begun four probes into countries’ unfair trade practices to provide legal justification for new duties — with more threatened. The…

Mykhailo Fedorov’s call for wartime elections has been rejected by protesters who spent the past month campaigning for his return as defence minister. The former minister’s video address on Tuesday evening marked an unexpected turn for a movement that had rallied behind him since Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed him in a wartime government reshuffle. But leading organisers have opposed the idea of holding elections during the war and signalled an end to the daily demonstrations. Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a Ukrainian war veteran and one of the protest organisers, said on Wednesday evening that he opposed holding elections while the war continued. “I…

The system is designed to “support early detection of emerging hotspots and continuous monitoring of fire behavior,” the European Space Agency said.  Satellites’ role in gathering vast, real-time data and images can also help with other extreme weather events. The Finnish company ICEYE offers monitoring services for governments and businesses to manage both natural catastrophes, such as floods and wildfires, and man-made ones, such as illegal deforestation. ICEYE raised €1 billion in new financing this year, and became the first company to get backing from the Scaleup Europe Fund, a new fund backed by the European Commission to help companies expand…

Published on 19/08/2026 – 10:52 GMT+2 UK’s annual inflation rate jumped to 2.9% in July, up from 2.6% in June, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics, released on Wednesday. This was mainly due to higher energy bills and was in line with analyst expectations. The price cap on household energy bills soared 13% last month, driven by the ongoing Middle East conflict. This was labelled as “the largest rise in gas prices for almost four years” by the ONS. “A renewed spike in inflation has been expected as the war in the Middle East continues to…

In a joint statement posted on X in response to the new sanctions, von der Leyen and Costa said they “stand firmly with the [ICC], President Tomoko Akane and the officials who uphold its mission.” The court helps deliver justice to victims of some of the world’s worst crimes, they noted, and its judges and officials must be able to work “independently and without external pressure.” Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera struck a similar tone, calling the sanctions “profoundly sad and unfair.” The EU stands with the court, its president and officials, she said. The statements add to mounting pushback…