Author: staff

Publishing the name of a professional athlete online because they have broken anti-doping rules is against the EU’s privacy laws, a top EU lawyer has said. The fresh opinion from Advocate General Dean Spielmann weighs a case taking place in Austria, where four professional athletes who have broken anti-doping rules are arguing that publication of their details online would breach the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. Austrian law requires details including the athletes’ names, sporting discipline, duration of their exclusion and the reasons for that exclusion to be published on the websites of the Austrian anti-doping agency and an associated…

Demonstrators waved Israeli flags and carried signs demanding the release of hostages still held in the enclave. Some protesters appealed directly to U.S. President Donald Trump, who is expected to meet Netanyahu at the White House, urging him to intervene in efforts to free the remaining captives. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, about 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, nearly two years after the October 7 Hamas-led attack that killed around 1,200 people. Israel’s military response has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas. While the figures do…

The German economy should grow again for the first time in three years this year, but its long-term prospects remain challenging, five leading economic institutes said in a new forecast. Europe’s largest economy is expected to grow by 0.2 percent this year, before accelerating to 1.3 percent in 2026 and 1.4 percent in 2027, primarily driven by the federal government’s expansionary fiscal policy.  The forecasts are largely unchanged from the institutes’ spring forecast round. “The German economy is still on shaky ground,” said Geraldine Dany-Knedlik, head of Forecasting and Economic Policy at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).…

Dassault CEO Éric Trappier conveyed that message again to French lawmakers on Wednesday. “I’m not against the project, but when Germany says it’s going to exclude France, doesn’t that bother you? … Unfortunately, today, if you don’t create a hard power dynamic, you don’t get results,” he told them. Paris has long insisted no delays would be acceptable — among other things because the next-generation fighter jet will be part of France’s nuclear deterrent — and has also previously cast doubt on whether the current organizational structure could guarantee the project will be delivered on time. Seemingly backing Dassault’s request, the…

Published on 25/09/2025 – 7:56 GMT+2 Air passengers in Italy should prepare for disruption this Friday, 26 September, as nationwide strikes are likely to affect travel plans at the start of the weekend. Walkouts have been called by the CUB Trasporti and USB unions– two of Italy’s biggest rank-and-file unions – in a dispute over pay and working conditions. The 24-hour strike will involve airline crews as well as airport staff, with Milan’s Linate and Malpensa airports set to be among the worst affected. Ground operations will also be hit. Baggage handlers employed by Assohandlers are walking out from 10…

The EU is also extending its regular work to counter disinformation in EU countries to Moldova. In July, the Commission announced a new hub for fighting misinformation in Ukraine and Moldova. These hubs are part of the European Digital Media Observatory, bringing together experts in different regions to fight foreign interference. Six of these hubs will receive €8.8 million for a maximum of three years.   The European Commission has been rushing to deploy a cyber reserve — a team of private-sector cybersecurity experts. | Alicia Windzio/Getty Images The EU executive also conducted a stress test with Google, Meta and TikTok,…

Some of the Central European countries, including Hungary, Romania and Slovenia, have seen their economic prospects sour as trade tariffs bite and Chinese competition increases, squeezing their exports.  This is according to the latest outlook from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).  Growth in the 43 countries where the EBRD invests picked up from 2.8% in 2024 to 3.3% in the first half of 2025.  After a stronger-than-expected first half of 2025, the organisation forecasts a significant slowdown in growth in the second half of the year across its regions. These include Central Asia, the Southern and Eastern…

Zweiter Anlauf für die Verfassungsrichterwahl: Nach dem Sommer-Desaster treten heute Sigrid Emmenegger, Günter Spinner und Ann-Katrin Kaufhold an. Union und SPD sind auf Stimmen von Grünen und Linken angewiesen. Rasmus Buchsteiner erklärt, warum das Votum zum Test für die Koalition wird, ein Scheitern aber unwahrscheinlich ist.  Im 200-Sekunden-Interview spricht Grünen-Fraktionschefin Britta Haßelmann über Verantwortung, Vertrauen – und warum sie trotz aller Kritik an Friedrich Merz für die Kandidaten stimmt. Sie warnt: Ohne Taten im Herbst der Reformen droht ein „Winter der Enttäuschung“.Außenpolitisch richtet sich der Blick nach New York: Hans von der Burchard berichtet von der UN-Generalversammlung, wo Sudan, Ukraine…

Moldova’s Prime Minister Dorin Recean warned on Wednesday that Russia is spending hundreds of millions of euros to “take power” in a pivotal parliamentary election that could derail the country’s course towards the European Union. Recean’s remarks came days before Sunday’s parliamentary elections, when Moldovans will vote to choose a new 101-seat legislature in a ballot many view as a choice between east and west. “The Republic of Moldova is in an electoral campaign. The Russian Federation is also in an electoral campaign,” he said in an address after a government session. “It’s just that we are campaigning in our country,…

Luke Sullivan, a former political secretary to Starmer, now a director at consultancy Headland, said Reform’s indefinite leave to remain announcement demonstrated the “complex” policy area is “fraught with political and economic trade-offs.” The top talent Reeves is hoping to attract is listening.  Even without being implemented, Reform’s proposals would “have a negative impact on the attractiveness of the U.K. as a destination for the world’s brightest and best researchers because people may worry their right to be in the country could be taken away,” Alicia Greated, executive director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering, said.  “Retrospective changes of…