Author: staff
The figures are preliminary and likely to be revised, but at face value they offer some reassurance to the government that neither the trade war nor the effects of the tax hikes that came into effect in April have stalled the economy yet. However, the Bank of England leaned on signs of an economic slowdown to justify cutting interest rates last week, even though inflation is projected to rebound to 4 percent by September, double its 2 percent target. Chancellor Rachel Reeves called the figures a positive development but said: “I know there is more to do to deliver an…
Osaka, Japan – World Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan continues to welcome guests from across the globe, with around 160 countries and seven international organisations showcasing their pavilions. Each nation celebrates its National Day during the six-month event. Kazakhstan’s turn came on 10 August. The morning in Osaka began with Kazakh music. The celebrations opened with a parade led by strongman and four-time world record-holder Sergey Tsyrulnikov carrying the national flag, joined by Kazakh warriors (batyrs) and an orchestra. The performance drew a large crowd along the Grand Ring, the Expo’s main wooden structure encircling all pavilions, symbolising unity among…
The EU has so far taken no joint action against Israel, despite an internal review finding “indications” Israel had broken its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Israel’s occupation of Gaza and other Palestinian territories is is illegal, according to an International Court of Justice ruling in July. More than 200 people have starved to death in Gaza since Oct. 2023, including 106 children, Palestinian health officials said Aug. 13. The numbers include eight who died in the previous 24 hours. Israeli restrictions on food, including a total ban between March and May, have brought Gaza to the…
In both France and Spain, national meteorological institutes said the heat wave will last at least through this week and possibly into next week. “Heat waves have always happened, there will always be heat waves, but all of the temperatures are just getting higher, so the chances of reaching these potentially dangerous temperatures are just ratcheting up as the world warms,” Barnes said. Additionally, most southern European countries, including Portugal, Spain, Greece, the Balkans and Turkey, are also battling wildfires. Two people died in Spain, including one firefighter, while thousands had to be evacuated across the country. In Greece, three…
By Jerry Fisayo-Bambi with AP Published on 14/08/2025 – 8:49 GMT+2 •Updated 9:04 At least three people from the same family were among those killed during heavy rain and flooding in Tennessee, as submerged roads caused chaos and led to dramatic rescues of people trapped in their cars, authorities said Wednesday. The three, a mother, father, and child, were killed when saturated ground caused a large tree to fall in the Chattanooga suburb of East Ridge just after midnight, Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management spokesperson Amy Maxwell said. Authorities said they found another body on Wednesday while searching for a man who…
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein faces sentencing and a possible retrial in his New York City sex crimes case. Manhattan Judge Curtis Farber said that he could sentence Weinstein on 30 September, but only if there’s no retrial on a rape charge that the last jury failed to decide. If there is a retrial, the judge wants it to happen this fall. Weinstein, 73, was convicted in June of forcing oral sex on TV and movie production assistant and producer Miriam Haley in 2006. The charge carries a possible sentence of up to 25 years in prison. At the same…
Rather, this is about Ukraine agreeing to cede land for something that hasn’t at all been made clear. NATO membership? The recognition of Ukraine’s sovereignty and its right to conduct foreign and defense policy in any way Kyiv sees fit, including receiving arms supplies from the West? Unlikely. “Putin is not fighting merely for land but for what he considers a ‘friendly’ Ukraine, as he defines it,” noted Russian political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya. Indeed, few seasoned observers of the Kremlin believe Putin is serious about giving up his ultimate goal of subjugating Ukraine — a nation he doesn’t believe should…
She’s 13 feet of granite curves and unapologetic cleavage – and soon she’ll be gone. Denmark’s Big Mermaid statue, unveiled in 2006 as a bold, modern counterpoint to Copenhagen’s iconic Little Mermaid, created by Edvard Eriksen, is set to be removed from public view after years under the cloud of public disapproval. Critics have long described her as “ugly and pornographic” and her exaggerated form has been accused of cheapening rather than celebrating female beauty. In 2018 she was quietly relocated from Copenhagen’s waterfront to Dragør Fort, several miles south, in what looked suspiciously like exile. Now, Denmark’s agency for…
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski trolled Orbán over the footage, asking him whether zebras are “traditional farm animals” in Hungary. From Budapest to Grozny, from Moscow to Pyongyang, strongmen leaders have long turned wild animals into political props, as symbols of wealth, virility and power. In light of Orbán and the zebras, POLITICO took a look at some of the world’s other controversial animal aficionados. Shark tale Georgian oligarch and de facto ruler Bidzina Ivanishvili resides in a neo-modernist steel-and-glass castle above Tbilisi — with his own shark tank. In recent years, his Georgian Dream party has pivoted away from…
Did you know EU countries hold only 16.6% of the world’s personal wealth? In Europe, this rises to 22.3% when four more countries are included. The US holds more than a third, and China about a fifth. Together, these two powers control 54% of world’s wealth according to UBS’s Global Wealth Report 2025. The UBS report covers 56 countries and markets, representing over 92% of global wealth. But which European countries hold the largest shares of the world’s personal wealth? And what is the total personal wealth of each country? Euronews Business takes a deep dive. Where in Europe holds the…