Author: staff

Donald Trump signs a slew of executive orders on the first day in office after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House was sworn in as the 47th US president on Monday.The day had an unorthodox start, with the traditional outdoors swearing-in ceremony moved indoors due to intense cold and wind in Washington.Former US President Joe Biden and President Trump left the White House together, headed to the US Capitol to begin the inaugural activities.…

Then, there are the rank-and-file supporters of the winning party. Wearing transparent plastic raincoats, they have to brave the weather conditions and slosh around icy sidewalks, often being misdirected by police transferred from other cities and states to assist the security operation — it’s a far cry from the well-heeled taking high tea in the lobby of the Willard Hotel, listening to harp music a stone’s throw from the White House.  But with this inauguration, more than any other, there’s sense of a profound break with the past. The crowd who’ve descended on Washington, donning their red MAGA hats, Trump-adorned…

Mark Brzezinski, U.S. ambassador to Poland, was asked to explain the decision just before he left his post on Monday, the Polish ministry for economic development said in e-mailed remarks shared with POLITICO. Deputy Minister Michał Baranowski will also raise the issue during a trip to the U.S. this week. The row reveals how European allies can easily become collateral damage to U.S. efforts to contain China’s technological advances. Presidents Biden and Donald Trump have both ratcheted up efforts to choke off China’s access to high-tech products such as advanced chips, at times to the detriment of European companies. Last…

“I think that this will also be a debate in the United States because they’re also far away from the 5 percent,” Gram said. He argued that spending as a percentage of GDP “is not everything.” “For Norway, the GDP varies a bit more than most countries because of the oil production and the prices,” Gram said. He noted that the fossil fuel exporter’s economy shrank during the pandemic as oil and gas prices plummeted thanks to the global slowdown in economic activity. “In the pandemic years, we reached 2 percent [of GDP], but that was not because the defense…

CESSON-SÉVIGNÉ, France — French President Emmanuel Macron hinted on Monday that France would need to go beyond NATO’s current spending target, especially if United States President Donald Trump pulls the American military out of Europe. While many other European countries have said since the war in Ukraine began three years ago that defense spending should far exceed the NATO’s decade-old target of at least 2 percent of GDP, it’s the first time Paris has contemplated taking a similar line. “France currently exceeds 2 percent of GDP for defense spending,” Macron said during his New Year’s address to the armed forces, speaking…

The CBP One app allowed nearly a million people to legally enter the United States with permission to work. The Trump administration axed a border app called CBP One that has allowed nearly 1 million people to legally enter the United States and work.** The app that let migrants make appointments at eight southern border points is no longer available and that existing appointments are cancelled, according to a notice on the US Customs and Border Protection that went up shortly after Trump was sworn in. The CBP app scheduled roughly 1,450 appointments a day through an online lottery system.…

Industry has since ground to a halt in the region, which has been governed autonomously since the fall of the Soviet Union and hosts more than a thousand Russian troops on its territory. Transnistria had until now received free fuel from Moscow, funding its budget with electricity sales to Moldova. Serebrian said leaders in Transnistria’s de facto capital, Tiraspol, have confirmed they will accept deliveries of natural gas by Moldova’s Moldovagaz, an offer that leaked documents showed they had previously refused, with the separatist government paying Moldova for the supplies. Earlier on Monday, Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of the unrecognized…

As EPP party president, Weber oversees the European conservative parties that belong to the EPP umbrella family, including Spain’s Partido Popular, Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and France’s Les Républicains. As group leader in the European Parliament, meanwhile, he’s in charge of ensuring that lawmakers from those parties vote as a unit. Despite the controversies around Weber’s dual role, he’s well-placed to win reelection in April. Weber is fresh from organizing an EPP show of force in Berlin, at which he rallied nine leaders and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in support of Merz. In the wake of…

Désormais, Trump souhaite augmenter la production globale d’énergies fossiles de l’équivalent de 3 millions de barils de pétrole par jour, selon Jim Burkhard, responsable de la recherche sur l’énergie chez S&P Global — dont plus de la moitié proviendrait vraisemblablement du gaz. Les entreprises du secteur de l’énergie pourraient atteindre cet objectif — si elles le souhaitent — en intensifiant la production sur les sites existants, avance Burkhard. Et les nouvelles propositions du président vont, a minima, “créer la confiance dans le fait que la demande de gaz naturel va continuer à croître aux Etats-Unis”. Au-delà, les pouvoirs de Trump…

Farmers in the USA are waking up to the benefits of keeping sheep on solar farms, but Europe’s been doing this for ages. America’s booming solar industry has found an unlikely hero in its quest to green up its power supply – the humble sheep.Grazing sheep under the panels of huge solar farms is proving to have multiple benefits. As well as maintaining the ground, it improves soil quality, reduces flooding, and makes the sheep happier and healthier. The sheep population in the US has been in decline, with a headcount currently of around five million, compared to a high of…