Author: staff

It all kicked off in 1996 with Brian De Palma’s Mission: Impossible and since then, the series has gone on to generate eight sequels – with the latest (and some presume last) M:I film premiering today in Cannes.Indeed, three years after flying into the Cannes Film Festival with Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise is returning to the Croisette with Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning, his rumoured swansong as superspy Ethan Hunt which screens out of competition at the 78th edition of Cannes.Mission: Impossible is a blockbuster series anomaly in many ways, chiefly because typical franchise rules don’t seem to apply to it.…

While the package was not controversial as it included only a few economic measures, several member states successfully pushed to add more shadow fleet ships than originally proposed. The EU also will ban its companies from doing business with some 30 entities that circumvent sanctions via third countries. And 75 individuals and companies have been listed for their involvement in Russia’s war machine. Finally, the bloc is also expanding its legal possibilities on targeting ships that destroy underwater infrastructure, propaganda outlets and financial enablers of Russia’s war on Ukraine. New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed adding sanction pressure if…

Microsoft started laying off about 6,000 workers on Tuesday, nearly 3% of its entire workforce, marking its largest job cuts in more than two years.The tech giant’s home state of Washington was hard hit, where Microsoft informed state officials it was cutting 1,985 workers tied to its Redmond headquarters, many of them in software engineering and product management roles.Microsoft said the layoffs will be across all levels, teams and geographies, but the cuts will focus on reducing the number of managers. Notices to employees began going out on Tuesday.The mass layoffs come just weeks after Microsoft reported strong sales and…

BRUSSELS ― The European Commission was wrong to refuse the release of Ursula von der Leyen’s text messages with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, an EU court has found. Reporters had asked to see the secret messages between the Commission president and the drug company boss, which they exchanged ahead of a multibillion euro vaccine deal agreed between Pfizer and the EU.

The European Union has agreed to impose a new round of sanctions against Russia, threatening to slap on another one if the country continues to refuse the 30-day unconditional ceasefire proposed by the White House and the “Coalition of the Willing”.The big push comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenges Vladimir Putin to sit down for direct peace talks in Turkey, a format endorsed by Donald Trump. So far, the Kremlin has not confirmed whether the Russian president will actually travel to Istanbul.”I believe that if Putin does not arrive and plays games, it is the final point that he does not…

“Read our Contract [with voters] from last year, then they will probably understand where we are coming from,” Tice suggested. “Look at our energy policy announcement earlier this year. Look at Nigel’s speech at the launch of our local election campaign setting out some of our key national priorities. It’s all out there and it hasn’t actually changed.” Labour language Understanding Reform is not just about directly influencing the Farage outfit, lobbyists say. The electoral threat of the party is also now being factored into how campaigners talk to the under-fire Starmer government. “We have a Labour government, and ministers are obviously…

Radio Schuman spoke with Euronews correspondent Sasha Vakulina, who has been closely following the whirlwind events leading to what could be the first face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy since the start of Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine in 2022. She discussed a change in tone from Putin, why the Russian leader now finds himself in a tight spot, and whether this week could see the end of the three-year war.We’ll also look at today’s potentially landmark ruling in the ‘Pfizergate’ case on a multibillion-euro vaccine deal. And finally, will the EU ban phones at school?This episode of Radio…

The gathering in the well-off Paris suburb of Vélizy-Villacoublay was a stop on Retailleau’s campaign tour to become the next leader of Les Républicains, the once-dominant center-right party. The successors to Charles de Gaulle have now been relegated to political purgatory after the election of Emmanuel Macron upended France’s political landscape. The vote to appoint the next leader on Saturday is only open to about 100,000 of Les Républicains’ card-carrying members, but the electric atmosphere that night and during Retailleau’s other campaign stops is encouraging party insiders to dare to hope they have finally found someone who can challenge Marine…

The devastating reach of illicit weaponry continues to threaten initiatives aimed at fostering peace and stability — including the Kimberley Process.” The insidious link between illegal arms and drug trafficking is equally undeniable, as clearly illustrated in a recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Firearms Programme and Flemish Peace Institute. Criminal cartels rely on a steady supply of weaponry to protect their operations, enforce their territories and intimidate rivals, with the profits generated helping to fuel the demand for more sophisticated and lethal arms, creating a vicious cycle of violence and corruption that destabilizes…

In a highly anticipated televised interview with French TV broadcaster TF1 on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron marked his return to domestic affairs, ten months after dissolving the French lower house of Parliament and plunging the country into political paralysis. Since last year’s snap elections led to a fragmented political landscape and no clear majority, Macron had been confined to a diplomatic role, focusing on international affairs. But with only two years left before the end of his second and last consecutive term, Macron hopes to make a comeback in the national arena and regain control over domestic issues. But behind…