Author: staff
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which starts on 11 June across the US, Canada and Mexico, is the largest in the tournament’s history, with 48 national teams competing across 16 host cities for the first time. FIFA itself has staked enormous claims on the economic returns, projecting a $30.5 billion (€26.1bn) windfall for the three host nations combined and that the tournament will generate up to $40.9 billion (€35bn) in additional global GDP. The organisation also estimates that roughly 824,000 jobs directly or indirectly linked to the event will be created. However, as the opening whistle of the first match…
By Franziska Müller Published on 02/06/2026 – 7:15 GMT+2 The decision was announced in Taipei, but it actually concerns a completely different city: in Munich, Uber plans to deploy autonomous robotaxis together with the AI company Autobrains. Uber has picked the Bavarian capital: “Subject to regulatory approval, Munich will serve as the first launch city for the robotaxi programme,” the company said in a statement. That could make Munich the first German city where passengers can order autonomous robotaxis via the Uber app. The companies involved unveiled the plans at the GTC technology conference in Taipei. Munich as a test bed…
A crime story that is meant to entertain. A Reader who slips into the very story she is following. Awkward situations and characters full of flaws. In his production “Open Your Eyes”, Igor Gorzkowski draws inspiration from two short stories by Olga Tokarczyk from the 2001 collection “Playing on Many Drums”: “Open Your Eyes, You’re Already Dead” and “Dress Rehearsal”. “In the first story the protagonist is a passionate reader; she devours crime novels. Why crime novels? Because, as she says, she is looking for some kind of order in a chaotic world,” explains Gorzkowski. “And the crime genre really…
Russia has continued to export oil through a network of aging tankers, opaque ownership structures and alternative service providers despite successive rounds of sanctions targeting its fleet. While most Western insurers withdrew from Russia after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, shadow fleet vessels have continued to obtain coverage through Russian insurers, shell companies and alternative arrangements outside traditional insurance markets. “When you look at how Russia has developed alternative marine insurance arrangements for its shadow fleet, and the lengths it has gone to to keep oil moving through its logistics chain, it’s incredible,” said Michelle Wiese Bockmann,…
Central Asia’s first air taxi has taken to the skies in Kazakhstan. The V2000 Prosperity model lifted off from Alatau City in the Almaty region before a crowd of spectators, completing a ten-minute unmanned test flight monitored from the ground. The test marks Kazakhstan’s effort to join a small group of countries exploring urban air mobility through electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, known as eVTOLs. The project is being developed by Kazakhstan’s Alatau Advanced Air Group in partnership with companies from China, South Korea, Italy and the United States. Total investment in the development of urban air mobility infrastructure…
As the EU prepares to target Russia’s shadow fleet in the 21st sanctions package, we’re looking at the system that keeps these ships in business. Every one of these Russian vessels carrying sanctioned goods requires port access, crews, financial services and more to stay operational. On today’s episode, Zoya Sheftalovich and Sarah Wheaton pinpoint insurance in particular. They explain how, even though European insurers pulled away from Russian-linked business after the invasion of Ukraine, some financial institutions are still supporting these ships. Also on the pod, Michael McGrath, Commissioner for justice and rule of law, arrives in Hungary today. His visit comes as Prime Minister Péter Magyar is racing to pass the rule of law reforms needed to…
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Far-right National Rally President Jordan Bardella slammed “scenes reminiscent of civil war,” caused by “predators” who smashed up shops and clashed with the police at the weekend. “I tell the French: Wake up because soon they will [be] breaking into your apartments,” Bardella added, as he attacked perpetrators of the disorder. The National Rally leader, who is currently leading in opinion polls ahead of next year’s presidential election, laid the blame on France’s population of immigrant descent, which includes people who “are physically in France, but whose spirit and heart is elsewhere,” he said. For the French far right, the violence is a golden opportunity to return to its strongest themes of security and immigration after floundering in…
Cyprus’ balancing act As holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, Cyprus is required to make changes to the European Commission’s proposal, which envisages €1.8 trillion in expenditure between 2028 and 2034. Including repayments for Covid-era debt, total spending would come to nearly €2 trillion, or 1.26 percent of the combined gross national income of all EU countries. That would be an increase from the current EU budget, which amounts to 1.1 percent of member countries’ cumulative gross national income. “Cohesion Policy (regional payments), CAP (agriculture subsidies) and the CFP (fishing policy) are the only policies…
Avec la 9e édition du sommet “Choose France” au château de Versailles, Emmanuel Macron démarre une tournée d’adieux qui ne dit pas son nom. Le compte à rebours a commencé : il quittera l’Elysée le 14 mai 2027 sans pouvoir se représenter. S’en suivront les derniers sommets du G7, de l’Otan ou le défilé du 14 juillet. Comment l’Elysée anticipe cette dernière année avant son départ ? Quelqu’un d’autre que lui défendra-t-il son bilan ? Anthony Lattier en discute avec Pauline de Saint Remy dans le premier épisode du podcast de POLITICO “Playbook Paris”.