Author: staff
By Roselyne Min with AP Published on 25/07/2025 – 14:35 GMT+2 Imagine riding a scooter to your friend’s house for a barbecue – not on the road but in the air. A French aviation start-up wants to make that a reality with an aircraft resembling a gigantic scooter. ‘Air Scooter’ is an ultralight aircraft pre-programmed to fly a route. Thanks to the computers doing a lot of the heavy lifting, the pilot’s input is much less important than in a traditional helicopter. “It’s a kind of flying robot,” Franky Zapata, the CEO of Zapata, said. “When you are inside, you just ask the…
Published on 25/07/2025 – 13:50 GMT+2 The biggest European carmaker, Volkswagen Group, saw its profit decline sharply in the first six months of 2025; the operating result came in at €6.7bn, 33% lower than a year ago. Sales revenue was roughly in line with the previous year’s, at €158.4bn. According to the company’s statement, the decline in income stemmed from increased US import tariffs, restructuring measures that cost €700 million and higher sales of lower-margin all-electric models. “Excluding these items, the operating margin in the second quarter is at nearly 7%, representing the upper end of our expectations,” said Arno…
Published on 25/07/2025 – 13:47 GMT+2 Thousands of travellers could see their summer holiday plans thrown into mayhem this weekend due to planned Italian strikes. Airport workers will stage a four-hour nationwide strike on 26 July, potentially leading to dozens of flight delays and cancellations. Demands for improved safety, better working conditions and work-life balance and national contract renewals are driving this industrial action. Where will flights be affected by strikes? Major airlines such as EasyJet, Ryanair, British Airways, Wizz Air, Tui, Volotea and ITA Airways could be affected, as baggage handlers, ground staff and airport workers are expected to…
The United States Congress is amping up criticism of the European Union’s social media law — and this time, they’ve brought receipts. The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee is releasing a report on Friday that singles out the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) as a “foreign censorship threat.” The report, shared exclusively with POLITICO, describes the flagship social media law as a “comprehensive digital censorship law” that threatens the freedom of speech of American citizens. The White House and U.S. State Department have been going after the EU’s digital rulebook for months, accusing the bloc of unfair, burdensome…
Both the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine (SAP) said they welcome Zelenskyy’s brand new bill submitted Thursday, which would return independence to their offices. “A bill has been prepared based on the core principles of the independence of anti-corruption agencies. This bill includes new provisions aimed at protecting against influence by the Russian Federation — primarily in response to cases involving certain representatives of NABU,” Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy said that — although the new bill restores independence to SAP from the politically appointed general prosecutor — it introduces polygraph testing for all employees…
Adam Kozloski, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Atlantic Council think tank, said that while reports of the partnership’s demise had been exaggerated, there was nonetheless a clear shift in priorities for Washington. “Every initiative that the Trump administration inherited is being looked at in terms of making sure it fits the ‘America first’ approach which they advocate,” he said. Since taking office, Trump has turned America’s gaze firmly away from Europe towards the Indo-Pacific, and he now wants to know what meaningful difference his AUKUS partners can make in that effort. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a…
Trump mocked Barack Obama more than two dozen times for going golfing while there were issues that needed the White House’s attention. “Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf?” Trump said in 2014. In August 2016 he vowed that if he became president, he wouldn’t have time for sport: “I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf.” Erm. President Donald Trump returns from a golf outing in Washington on April 20, 2025. | Francis Chung/POOL Hole 16: Warning,…
A l’époque, l’Union ne disposait d’aucun outil adéquat pour réagir. L’IAC, pour sa part, supprime la difficulté d’obtenir un consentement unanime pour mettre en œuvre des restrictions commerciales. C’est le seul outil dont dispose l’UE pour imposer des mesures de politique commerciale en réponse à la coercition économique. A quelle vitesse peut-il être dégainé ? Un certain nombre d’étapes doivent être franchies avant que l’outil puisse être utilisé — il s’agit de l’UE, après tout. Tout d’abord, à la demande d’une partie concernée (une entreprise, par exemple) ou de sa propre initiative, l’exécutif européen examine, “le plus rapidement possible” (normalement…
“By refusing to act, EU leaders decided to be complicit with the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” Chris Lockyear, secretary-general of medical organization MSF International, told POLITICO by email. “EU leaders must now show the courage and political will to act.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the images from Gaza as “unbearable” in a post on X. | Jessica Lee/EPA Save the Children joined the chorus of humanitarians urging EU leaders to move past “hollow statements” and impose sanctions. “The lack of decisive action from the EU leadership over the last 21 months gives them a crushing responsibility…
Intel Corp. is shedding thousands of workers and cutting expenses as its new CEO works to revive the fortunes of the struggling chipmaker that helped launch Silicon Valley but has fallen behind rivals like Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. In a memo to employees Thursday, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Intel plans to end the year with 75,000 “core” workers, excluding subsidiaries, through layoffs and attrition. That’s down from 99,500 core employees at the end of last year. The company previously announced a 15% workforce reduction. “I know the past few months have not been easy. We are making…