Author: staff

As the conclave begins today, social media has been hard at work already when it comes to turning the process of electing a successor to the late Pope Francis into something that feels more like the Met Gala and less like a secretive ritual. How? Through memes.  Heresy for some; adding some lightness to an ancient ceremony featuring a lot of elderly men in robes for others. And for those who aren’t convinced by that second option, let’s not forget that it was Pope Francis who said: “There is faith in humour.” Many are choosing to memeify the conclave through the film…

The U.S. president caught the global film industry off guard Sunday as he pledged to slap a 100 percent “tariff” on movies “produced in Foreign Lands.” Britain — home to the famous Pinewood Studios which has hosted blockbuster U.S. franchises like Star Wars — would be particularly hard hit by any potential Trump clampdown. “I’m not sure precisely what is intended,” said Bryant of Trump’s idea. “I don’t know what a tariff on a service would look like. I don’t know whether it’s intended that that will be on movie theaters.” Bryant met U.S. and U.K. filmmakers Monday and said…

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz was elected as German chancellor on Tuesday, but only after a second round of voting in the Bundestag.The unprecedented failure in the first round has raised doubts about the new government’s ability to push Europe’s largest economy out of stagnation.Tuesday’s stumble, which marked the start of the new coalition government between Merz’ Union bloc and the Social Democrats, has thrown uncertainty over the fate of the economy that hasn’t seen significant growth since before the COVID-19 pandemic.Above all, Merz had been expected to end the squabbling over spending and budgets that plagued predecessor Olaf Scholz’s unruly…

More than 2 million Lady Gaga fans rocked up at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night to join the singer in what was the largest show of her career as of yet, and it was free.Meanwhile, authorities arrested two individuals in connection with the alleged plot — a man, identified as the group’s leader, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul on charges of illegal weapons possession, and a teenager in Rio on charges relating to child pornography. Police did not provide further details about their specific involvement in the plot or how the…

Socialists at the European level have spearheaded a campaign to keep far-right parties out of decision-making in Brussels’ institutions, routinely blaming the conservative EPP and Weber for voting alongside those parties on topics such as green policy and migration. Now, their Romanian colleagues are putting the group’s credibility in doubt. The leader of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the Parliament, Iratxe García, “cannot remain silent,” Weber said. “In the face of rising extremism across Europe, there is no room for political games.” Simion, the hard-right leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), is on track…

BMW Group reported a major drop in its earnings for the first quarter of the year, partially driven by lower demand in China. The group also reported significantly rising EV sales and confirmed its 2025 financial guidance, citing expectations that overall demand is going to rise in many markets this year. BMW Group’s net profit dropped by 26.4% to €2.17bn in the first three months of 2025 compared to the previous year. The automotive segment’s margin was 6.9%, close to the top end of the current guidance and better than expected by analysts. Group revenues dropped by 7.8% to €33.75bn, mainly due to weak…

The French capital experienced the first emergence of the art and design phenomenon that was later termed Art Deco in the 1910s but only truly blossomed at the Paris World’s Fair of 1925. An artistic and philosophical response to the Art Nouveau movement of the late 19th century meant that, after the brutality of war and destruction during World War One, intricacy, whimsy and romanticism gave way pretty quickly to clean lines and geometric design. But there was also a sense of the need to enjoy oneself in style now it was possible again. So, 100 years later to the…

On thin ice: Amid much backbench Labour worry over the issue, Badenoch instead asked Starmer to “admit he was wrong” to remove winter fuel payments from all-but the poorest pensioners. An issue mentioned repeatedly on the doorstep in the local elections, Starmer wouldn’t bite, stating only that the “number one job of this government was to put our finances back in order.” He then shoehorned in his own plug for the India deal’s economic benefits. Waving a red flag: The Conservative leader pressed on, mentioning critics of the winter fuel cuts from the Labour leader’s own party — including Welsh…

Slovakia’s prime minister has blasted a European Union plan to stop imports of Russian natural gas by the end of 2027 to deprive President Vladimir Putin of revenue that helps fuel the war in Ukraine.The European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, will present a detailed plan next month.It will seek to ban new gas contracts with Russia by the end of this year and phase out existing ones still in use in the 27-nation EU by the end of 2027.But Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico called the plan “absolutely unacceptable” for his country and said his government was ready to veto it.He said…

WeightWatchers said on Tuesday it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to eliminate $1.15bn (€1bn) in debt and focus on its transition into a telehealth services provider.Parent WW International Inc. said it has the support of nearly three-quarters of its debt holders. It expects to emerge from bankruptcy within 45 days, if not sooner.WeightWatchers, which was founded more than 60 years ago, has seen its revenue decline in recent quarters.In 2023, the company moved into the prescription drug weight loss business — particularly with the $106 million (€93.3 million) acquisition of Sequence, now WeightWatchers Clinic, a telehealth service that…