Author: staff

France has various schemes in place to lessen plastic usage, but the proposed bill would go further still. A French politician has called for a ban on small plastic water bottles, calling them “completely absurd” and “environmental nonsense”. Pierre Cazeneuve, who belongs to President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, submitted a proposed law this week which could see the end of water bottles smaller than 50cl.Expanding his “absurd” comment, Cazeneuve said that the diminutive bottles – which encompass the 33, 25 and 17cl sizes – “contain 20-25 grams of plastic for just three or four sips of water”. He has not…

“We have three main policy recommendations,” Koeva-Brooks said, highlighting that the first is “for central banks to pivot towards providing more support to activity where inflation is under control.” By contrast, she added that governments should tighten fiscal policy to draw a line under the emergency measures of the pandemic years, as well as enacting implement structural reforms to boost productivity and increase the supply of labor. It predicted that the eurozone will grow by only 0.8 percent this year, while the U.S., which has fared better on productivity and labor supply in recent years, will grow 2.8 percent. However,…

This article was originally published in German FPÖ’s controversial leader Hebert Kickl has “no coalition partners” according to reports from Vienna, with incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer asked to form the new government instead. Incumbent Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has been asked by the country’s president to form a new government, after the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) found itself with no coalition partners despite coming first in last month’s election. Typically, the president asks the leader of the strongest party to form a government, in this case FPÖ which won with 29% of the vote. The conservative People’s Party, led by Nehammer,…

The producer of the Paddington Bear franchise Canal+, the pay-TV broadcaster owned by French media company Vivendi, is planning to list on the London Stock Exchange. Canal+, owned by the French media company Vivendi, is reportedly aiming for a London Stock Exchange (LSE) valuation of up to £6.7bn (€8.04bn). If so, this could be one of the biggest listings in 2024 and go a long way in helping revive the LSE’s recent fortunes. The company is likely to be included in the FTSE 100, with the listing likely to be completed by mid-December this year, according to a report in The…

An estimated 190,000 small MPAs in coastal regions and 300 large MPAs are needed to reach the UN target of protecting 30% of oceans and land by 2030. Portugal is now home to the largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) network in Europe.It gives the Azores’ unique underwater ecosystems vital new protections, shielding deep-sea corals, whales, dolphins, sharks, manta rays and fish from damaging activities like fishing.15 per cent of the Portuguese archipelago’s waters are now designated as fully protected and a further 15 per cent as highly protected, totalling 287,000 square kilometres. “This is an achievement for the Azoreans, with the…

The ChatGPT maker ran into controversy after one of its voices resembled the voice of actor Scarlett Johansson in the 2013 film “Her.” ChatGPT maker OpenAI said on Tuesday that its Advanced Voice was available in Europe, following a delay in the launch that may have been due to regulatory rules on the continent. OpenAI announced the Advanced Voice Mode in May, which allows users to interact with the large language model (LLM) with their voices, meaning you can talk to ChatGPT using your mobile phone, laptop, or PC’s microphone.The voice mode was rolled out in the United Kingdom earlier this…

Paddington gets his official travel documents… But the bear-y nice gesture from the Home Office is not to everyone’s liking. Everyone’s favourite bear – unless you’re still in Winnie’s corner or championing the angry one from Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man – has been granted an “official” British passport from the Home Office.Rob Silva, the co-producer of the upcoming third instalment in the stellar film series about the beloved Peruvian bear, has revealed he has been granted a passport for his travels in Paddington in Peru.Silva told the Radio Times: “We wrote to the Home Office, asking if we could get a…

Kerbrat expressed regret that his close circle, including his parliamentary team and political allies, had learned about the arrest through media revelations before he could inform them personally. The 34-year-old admitted to struggling with drug addiction for some time and vowed to seek help. “Addiction is a public health issue and must be treated as such,” he said. Several of Kerbrat’s political allies on the left voiced support for him following the news, including Sandrine Rousseau of the Greens.“Drug use and addiction are an issue of care, mental health and support. You recognized, you are in a treatment path. Come…

Fisheries ministers have agreed to maintain low fishing quotas for most fish stocks in the highly polluted Baltic Sea but concerns grow over the presence of Russian vessels, which might exploit the reduced opportunities for EU fishers. An agreement reached by EU ministers on Tuesday after lengthy overnight negotiations  set cautious 2025 total allowable catches (TACs) for commercially significant fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, amid disquiet that Russian trawlers might exploit the situation by ignoring attempts to restore fish stocks.This was the first quota agreed after a ruling by the EU’s top court in January that emphasised the need…

Amid rising tensions in the Middle East and the threat of Israeli retaliation, Iranians are scrambling to protect their wealth by investing in gold. The surge in demand for gold has driven up coin prices to as much as 30% above their intrinsic value with a number of factors contributing to the inflated gold coin price bubble within the Tehran market.How trading worksEach gold coin minted by the Central Bank of Iran weighs 8.13598 grams and is made of 22-karat gold. However, each ounce of gold, which reached a historic high of $2737 (€2528) on Monday is equivalent to 31.103…