Author: staff

“Scientists have analyzed this: cocaine is not worse than whiskey,” he added, suggesting that the global cocaine industry could be “easily dismantled” if the drug was legalized worldwide. “If somebody wants peace, the business [of drug trafficking] has to be dismantled,” Petro said. “It could be easily dismantled if they legalized cocaine in the world. It would be sold like wine.” By contrast, Petro pointed out that fentanyl, a contributor to the opioid crisis in the United States, “is killing Americans, but it’s not made in Colombia.” “Fentanyl was created as a pharmacy drug by North American multinationals” and those…

Since the Kremlin launched its war on Ukraine in early 2022, cooperation with its Western allies on space has been dramatically scaled back. The International Space Station will be retired shortly after 2030 and Russia has signaled it may desert the orbital outpost before that, while Roscomos pulled its engineers out of Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana after the war started, leaving expensive rockets behind. However, space cooperation has become a key part of the Kremlin’s partnership with North Korea, and American intelligence has touted the possibility of Russia positioning a nuclear weapon in orbit. Russia is also a junior…

Euronews Next examines the data privacy questions behind popular Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek. Data authorities across Europe are investigating the data policy collection of DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company taking the technology sector by storm. Information requests launched inItaly, Ireland,Belgium, the Netherlands, and France want to know whether the AI company’s collection of information breaches Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by transferring personal data to China.These concerns have already led to the app’s blocking in Italy while authorities there investigate what data is collected, for what purpose, where it’s being stored, and whether it has been…

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy look at the day ahead in British politics. Sam and Anne discuss Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to break down barriers to building nuclear reactors in the UK, and Kemi Badenoch’s new proposals for stricter immigration rules in a possible bid to win back voters moving towards Reform. Elsewhere, Jonathan Powell, the prime minister’s national security adviser, goes to Washington to discuss plans for the Chagos Islands. You can send us a WhatsApp on 07511 867 633 or email us: [email protected]

Yet Beijing undermined this by ultimately treating Hong Kong like the mainland. Large protests in 2019 against an extradition bill led to the extremely restrictive National Security Law in 2020, which purported to target secession, subversion and terrorism. “All the wishes of Hong Kongers for democracy have been crushed,” said Sari Arho Havrén, a Royal United Services Institute think tank associate fellow. Back home, Starmer’s government has argued that international opinion made action on the Chagos Islands inescapable — but his domestic critics, including Brexiteer and Trump ally Nigel Farage, aren’t buying it. “When the Americans wake up to the…

A new study is the latest to suggest that reductions in atmospheric sulphur may be driving global warming at a rate faster than previously anticipated. Reducing air pollution may inadvertently increase natural methane emissions from wetlands, a new study suggests. Researchers say the decline in global sulphur emissions as a result of clean air policies – coupled with the warming and fertilisation effects of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere – is increasing emissions from areas like peatlands and swamps. As a result, the study found that natural wetlands could emit an additional 20 to 34 million tonnes of methane…

United States President Donald Trump has shown he means business when it comes to threatening a splurge of tariffs around the globe. Mexico and Canada agreed last-minute deals to temporarily avert tariffs, whereas China was not spared. Will the president’s combative approach pay off?    Host Anne McElvoy talks to Larry Summers, former U.S. Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and economics professor at Harvard University. Summers is an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s use of tariffs and offers candid advice to the European Union and the United Kingdom on how to respond to the threat of them. They also…

– Beängstigendes Szenario für die Union: Droht nach der Wahl durch die SPD die Deutschland-Blockade?  – Im 200-Sekunden-Interview: Die Co-Bundessprecherin der Grünen, Jette Nietzard über Kritik an Habecks 10-Punkte-Plan und Forderungen in der Migrationspolitik. – CSU-Parteitag am Wochenende: Wie die Christsozialen besorgt nach Österreich schauen.  – Karneval und Kanzler: Olaf Scholz übt sich in Büttenreden.  Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es morgens um 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team bringen euch jeden Morgen auf den neuesten Stand in Sachen Politik — kompakt, europäisch, hintergründig. Und für alle Hauptstadt-Profis:Unser Berlin Playbook-Newsletter liefert jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen.…

Creating an adapted local framework Health system reform is undeniably challenging, especially in larger countries with geographical disparities and decentralized policymaking. Balancing the needs of rural and urban areas, as well as regional and local priorities, adds to the complexity. This is a key challenge faced by Castilla-La Mancha in Spain, as highlighted by María Peña Díaz Jara, head of social and health care and resources in Castilla-La Mancha’s health department, and Jorge Mestre-Ferrandiz, independent health economics consultant and associate professor at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, who are involved in setting up the regional strategy. In Castilla-La Mancha, the…

His agency has advised energy companies on how to prepare and has experts on hand “24/7” in case of a serious incident, Auväärt said, adding Estonia is working with Latvia and Lithuania on the threat. Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, Lithuania’s energy minister, said in an interview he expects the switch to be a “smooth process,” but that authorities are nonetheless “prepared for even the worst-case scenarios on the technical level.” A spokesperson for Lithuania’s Energy Ministry said it has taken “additional actions and plans to increase our preparedness.” Erkki Sapp, member of the management board of Elering, Estonia’s state-owned gas and power…