Author: staff
Nearly six months after military conflicts broke out involving the United States, Israel, and the Islamic Republic, a reinstated US naval blockade off Iran’s southern coast has brought the nation’s primary commercial lifelines to a virtual halt. Following a brief one-month pause after the Islamabad Memorandum, maritime enforcement resumed in mid-July. Since then, the chokehold on the Persian Gulf has disrupted over 80% of Iran’s heavy imports and non-oil exports. With official inflation nearing 70% — and point-to-point food inflation surging to an unprecedented 128% in recent history — alongside a nearly 40% drop in non-oil trade compared to pre-war…
Behind the roar of the engines and the visual spectacle of each lift-off at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, a critical division is at work whose role tends to go unnoticed, unless something goes wrong: the Flight Safety Division (‘Flight Safety Division’). This team has a clear mission: to guarantee the absolute protection of the population and of the technical staff from the moment the rocket leaves the launch pad until all its stages have been deactivated and fallen back to Earth. Euronews spoke to Léonard Buchaillot, flight safety engineer at the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), to…
– One-stop close support including English interpretation, factory tours, trade negotiations, and contract review for overseas buyers visiting Korea (Completely Free) As global buyers continue to flock to the Korean market, known for its excellent technology and trendy products, a customized service that perfectly supports business meetings in Korea is drawing attention. ‘GobizKorea’, an online export platform operated by the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME), announced that it provides the ‘Visitor Assistance Program (VAP)’ to help overseas buyers visiting Korea communicate smoothly with outstanding domestic SMEs and successfully conclude business contracts. Establishing business partnerships in a new country…
Make air, not war. The purpose of the Air Guitar World Championships is to promote world peace say the organisers of the annual celebration. Now in its 30th year, the people behind the competition claim conflicts would end, climate change would stop, along with all bad things if everyone came together to play. We’re unlikely to ever find out but in the meantime, more than 50 contestants from 13 countries gathered over several days in Oulu, Finland’s newly crowned European Capital of Culture to perform. The rules are simple; over 60 seconds each person has to pretend they’re playing a…
“This crisis can only be resolved with cooperation,” he insisted. “Showing a lack of confidence in Morocco will only aggravate this situation.” Governmental turbulence Sánchez denied the suggestion that his government had ignored intelligence warnings and downplayed the growing rifts within his government regarding who knew what and when. Last week, Defense Minister Margarita Robles told lawmakers in the Spanish parliament that the National Intelligence Center — which handles foreign and domestic intelligence as well as counterintelligence — had alerted national authorities that a surge could take place. The statement contradicted those made by Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who has…
Russian forces relentlessly battered Kyiv and cities in the region around the Ukrainian capital for a fifth straight day on Monday, leaving some supermarket shelves bare after repeated strikes on warehouses as Ukraine reels from attacks with jet-powered drones. Russia has intensified its aerial attacks in recent months, more than four years after it launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour. Almost constant air raid alerts in the Kyiv region in recent days have severely disrupted daily routines. Two major attacks in July killed almost 50 civilians and a strike on Saturday killed at least 38 people. Meanwhile, an overnight…
Robert M. Pirsig’s legendary book “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Mechanics” may well have provided the inspiration for some 200 bikers who gathered by Italy’s Lake Castel Gandolfo to have their motorcycles and helmets blessed by Father Tadeusz Rozmus, known as “Don Biker”. Harley-Davidsons, Kawasakis, Hondas, BMWs, Ducatis and even a Vespa arrived early at the Madonna del Lago church. After the engines fell silent, Father Tadeusz held a special Mass with bikers gathered around their saddles and handlebars. The service focused on brotherhood, respect for pedestrians, drivers and fellow riders, and the importance of safe driving. It also…
The United States takes its turn chairing the G20 finance track this week under distinctly awkward conditions. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh are hosting counterparts in the North Carolina mountains, following a deputies meeting held over the weekend, with the formal agenda covering economic growth, global imbalances, sovereign debt restructuring, banking regulation and energy security. Asheville was chosen deliberately. The city was devastated by Hurricane Helene in September 2024, a storm that killed more than 250 people and caused close to $80 billion (€69bn) in damage from Florida to the Carolinas, and Bessent has…
Published on 31/08/2026 – 12:15 GMT+2 The European Commission has designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine and Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms under the Digital Services Act, subjecting all three to the bloc’s strictest online safety regime. The designation will prove particularly consequential for ChatGPT because the Commission has concluded that an AI chatbot that pulls live results from the internet functions, in regulatory terms, as a search engine — not merely a platform. “These new designations mean that ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox will now be held to a higher standard of scrutiny and…
Published on 31/08/2026 – 12:18 GMT+2 Planning a ferry trip between Great Britain and Ireland? You might want to check your passport before you head to the port. From 28 September 2026, passengers on some ferry routes will need to show a valid passport before boarding, bringing ferry travel in line with increasingly strict requirements already introduced by airlines. The UK Border Force, as well as ferry operators Stena Line and Irish Ferries, have informed passengers of the changes, saying the rules are coming into force to ensure the “accuracy and integrity of passenger data before boarding”. At the current…