Author: staff
Travellers to Edinburgh will now have to pay a tourist tax, starting Friday 24 July. A 5% fee now applies to the cost of all paid overnight accommodation in Scotland’s capital. Edinburgh is the first Scottish city to introduce such a scheme, and hopes to raise up to £50 million (€58 million) a year to invest in its worldwide appeal as a place to visit and live. Edinburgh tourist tax comes into force The visitor levy was formally agreed in January 2025, with councillors approving a proposal to charge guests at hotels, B&Bs, hostels and holiday rentals including Airbnbs. The…
It’s yet another thorny issue to solve for the EU’s 27 countries racing to reach a deal before the start of 2027, when national elections are due in France, Italy, Poland and Spain, which could make discussions even more difficult. Major contributors to the budget including Italy, France and Spain, and net recipients of EU funds such as Hungary, Malta and Poland, spoke out against the cash-for-reforms model during Wednesday’s meeting. Critics say that the approach could increase the power of national governments at the expense of regions, and result in the EU imposing reforms with no political backing. “We…
Far-right leaders from the Patriots for Europe group are increasingly raising concerns over the latest political developments in Hungary, warning of a decline in democracy under Prime Minister Péter Magyar – but the European Commission remains supportive of Magyar’s government, which it considers pro-European. Magyar, who ousted his predecessor Viktor Orbán at April’s parliamentary election, has launched a political campaign dubbed “Purgatorium” to dismantle Orbán’s political system and remove officials appointed by his predecessor. Some of the country’s most prominent Orbán-era figures are already falling away. Last weekend, President Tamás Sulyok signed a constitutional amendment that ended his own mandate;…
Over three days, classrooms and playgrounds were turned into robotics labs, drone-testing grounds and artificial intelligence workshops. Valérie Gauriat joined in. The gathering is the highlight of yearly activities led by the HK Unicorn Squad. An NGO founded in 2018 by Taavi Kotka, one of the architects of Estonia’s digital transformation, and his wife Kerstin. The organization provides free technology education to girls across the country, aiming to attract more women into science and engineering. Leading a workshop on robotics, Taavi Kotka watches on, giving occasional advice, as groups of teenagers are focused on building and programming toy-like robots. “They…
This weakness in the polls is likely to be exacerbated by the split, as conservative and nationalist voters will now be divided among Kaczyński’s party, two far-right formations and Morawiecki’s group, which is seen as the most moderate of the pack. Despite the rupture on the right, though, Tusk’s Civic Coalition could still struggle to build a coalition that will be bigger than the combined forces of the right. The immediate confrontation inside PiS began on July 15, when the leadership ordered members to leave associations conducting political activity and submit declarations by midnight July 23. Members who refused faced…
Published on 24/07/2026 – 15:03 GMT+2 The European Commission said on Friday it would engage with the US to de-escalate tensions after the EU executive fined Google on Thursday over its dominance in the EU’s digital market, sparking an angry reaction from Washington. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the EU’s fine jeopardised dialogue between the two sides of the Atlantic on digital regulation, as well as the trade deal that the US and EU struck last year after tough negotiations. The Trump administration has persistently railed against the EU’s digital rules, accusing Brussels of imposing non-tariff barriers on US…
Several car companies across the world have attempted to launch robotaxis in the last few years. However, more often than not, these plans have been quickly abandoned, with companies doing quiet U-turns shortly after announcing them. Tesla, one of the biggest poster companies for robotaxi promises, has faced a slowing rollout in the last few months, driven by the requirement to increase safety and unresolved operational and software challenges. However, Tesla is hardly the only company facing these problems, with a number of European car companies like Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz seeing considerable hurdles in their robotaxi plans as well.…
BRUSSELS — China announced it will add export restrictions on 14 EU defense and technology companies after the EU added 14 Chinese businesses to its Russia sanctions lists. This marks Beijing’s most direct and forceful response yet to EU sanctions listings, which it denounced as “egregious.” Recent studies estimate that up to 90 percent of sanctioned goods still reaching Russia transit through China. Germany’s rapidly expanding defense company Rheinmetall is among 14 firms that Chinese exporters are now barred from supplying with dual-use goods — products that have both civilian and military applications — China’s Ministry of Commerce said Friday.…
Jobs are evolving with some disappearing and others emerging. The internet previously brought a revolution in jobs but now it’s the turn of artificial intelligence. People are curious about the possible impact of AI on the future of jobs with many scared that it will take their jobs away. While policymakers and experts discuss the role of AI in jobs, the share of AI-labelled postings is rising quickly. More importantly, the majority of AI-labelled jobs now sit outside technology occupations in major European economies, as per Indeed’s data. The adoption of AI tools has accelerated rapidly across Europe with 15%…
Published on 24/07/2026 – 12:33 GMT+2•Updated 12:40 Jürgen Klopp has been officially confirmed as the new coach of the German national football team. The German Football Association (DFB) unveiled the 59-year-old at its headquarters in Frankfurt on Friday morning. His appointment follows the departure of previous head coach Julian Nagelsmann. After Germany’s disappointing showing at the World Cup, Klopp will be tasked with leading the Germans back to winning ways. The charismatic former Liverpool boss has long been the preferred choice of many fans and officials to take the reins. High expectations Fans will hope Klopp’s hugely impressive club record…