Author: staff
On Monday Trump proposed a plan whereby NATO allies would finance the purchase of Patriot missile defense systems and other weapons for Ukraine. Trump said the weapons, worth “billions of dollars,” will be built by the U.S. defense industry and paid for by European countries. Trump made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who praised the move as further evidence that Europe is “stepping up.” When asked to clarify her comments on sharing the burden with the U.S., Kallas called on the Americans to continue to support Ukraine: “If we pay for these weapons,…
The agreement makes use of the flexibility within the EU’s new fiscal rules, with Berlin pledging to curb the pace of expenditure after a short-term investment boost. “Due to investments in infrastructure, security and defense this year and next, net expenditure in the German national budget will increase significantly,” the official said. “Significantly lower growth in net expenditure is planned for the following years.” The plan aims to strike a balance between investment, structural reform and fiscal consolidation, referencing the Cabinet’s June 24 budget decisions. By the end of the planning horizon, the government wants to return to a more…
By Emma De Ruiter with AP Published on 15/07/2025 – 18:43 GMT+2•Updated 19:02Ukraine’s prime minister announced his resignation on Tuesday in the first formal step of what is expected to be a significant reshuffle of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government, which could also see the country’s ambassador to Washington replaced.”I am tendering my resignation from the post of the Prime Minister of Ukraine,” Denys Shmyhal wrote in a letter posted on his Telegram page.Zelenskyy said on Monday that he had offered Shmyhal’s job to 39-year-old Yuliia Svyrydenko, who is currently deputy prime minister and the country’s first female economy minister.Svyrydenko played a key role…
The artwork, crafted on travertine slabs and dating from the late 1st century BC to the 1st century AD, was stolen from Pompeii by a Nazi German officer during World War II. It was handed over by the heirs of a deceased German citizen who received it as a gift from a Wehrmacht captain. Diplomatic efforts between the Italian Consulate in Stuttgart and German officials enabled the mosaic’s repatriation. Although its precise origin remains uncertain, similar pieces once adorned Roman bedrooms or private chambers. Experts consider the panel to be of “extraordinary cultural significance,” as it marks a shift in…
Russia’s increasing use of chemical weapons in Ukraine ‘unbearable,’ says top EU diplomat – POLITICO
Most countries around the world, including Russia, have signed a 1993 international convention banning the use, production, development or stockpiling of chemical weapons. Russia is one of 65 countries to have not only signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, but also ratified it. Kallas’ comments add to a growing sense of alarm in EU capitals that Russia is escalating its campaign to subdue Ukraine, unleashing larger and larger nightly attacks by missiles. The worsening onslaught, which coincides with an ongoing summer offensive by Russia, prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to announce Monday that he would support a bill penalizing Moscow via…
Published on 15/07/2025 – 19:19 GMT+2The EU will not “punish” Israel for its actions in Gaza and will “keep a close watch” on the country’s implementation of a recent agreement to improve the flow of aid in the strip, the bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said in a press conference following a meeting of the EU’s 27 ministers in Brussels. The ministers were in Brussels to discuss an EU-Israel agreement brokered last week to increase the number of trucks and distribution of food entering Gaza as well as the opening of several other crossing points. They also examined an exhaustive list of 10…
PARIS ― French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said her party would vote to collapse François Bayrou’s government if the prime minister did not revise his drastic budget reduction plan that includes getting rid of two major public holidays. “This government prefers to attack the French people, workers and pensioners, rather than hunt waste,” Le Pen said Tuesday on X as Bayrou’s government presented its proposal. Read more about Bayrou’s announcement here.
Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Tuesday killed more than 90 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, including large numbers of women and children, according to health officials.One of the deadliest attacks struck Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa district, killing 19 members of a single family, including eight women and six children. Another strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the same area, killing four, including two children.The Gaza Health Ministry reported 93 dead and 278 injured in the past 24 hours, as talks over a ceasefire remain stalled.As Israeli airstrikes continue, a sweltering heatwave has gripped the Gaza Strip, piling further…
Yet Bayrou said such extreme measures are required to rein in France’s €3.3 trillion in public debt and lower a budget deficit that fell afoul of European rules during the pandemic and remains stubbornly high. He likened France’s current situation to the debt crises of Greece and Spain in years past and vowed to act “quickly and decisively, but with fairness and justice.” Bayrou said he and his ministers were looking at trimming the 2026 budget by €43.8 billion as part of their plan to get the budget deficit down to 4.6 percent of gross domestic product next year. The prime…
High Court Judge Martin Chamberlain lifted the order Tuesday, saying it was “fundamentally objectionable for decisions that affect the lives and safety of thousands of human beings, and involve the commitment of billions of pounds of public money, to be taken in circumstances where they are completely insulated from public debate.” Chamberlain had already lifted the super-injunction in May 2024, before the Conservative government successfully appealed before last year’s election. The High Court judge said the ruling had “given rise to serious free speech concerns” and created “scrutiny vacuum.'” A report into the breach by former Ministry of Defence civil…