Author: staff
BRUSSELS ― Germany has asked the European Union to activate an emergency clause that would allow it to rapidly increase defense investment without breaching the bloc’s spending rules. Russia’s continued war of aggression against Ukraine and the “changing environment” in global security “requires a significant build-up of defense capabilities with a major impact on its public finances,” acting Finance Minister Jörg Kukies wrote in a letter dated April 24 and obtained by POLITICO. The European Commission’s emergency clause would give EU governments the ability to increase defense spending up to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product each year for four years as…
Spain and Portugal lost power Monday in a massive blackout, according to the Spanish grid operator. Blackouts were reported from Madrid to Lisbon, with large parts of the Iberian Peninsula without power as of late morning Monday. Spain’s grid operator said it was working to restore power. This story is being updated.
As Trump’s 100 days in office edges closer, Anne checks in from DC to bring us all the latest on a domestically difficult week for the US president. Also, will the upcoming Canadian elections be a referendum on Trump from its biggest neighbours? Sam and Anne discuss what the global ramifications of that result might be. And back in Blighty, local elections are nearing and Sam explains how they might shine a light on tensions in Labour between Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Will their briefs demand they push in opposite directions? To find lists of candidates…
“Comrade Kim Jong Un defined it [the mission] as a sacred mission for further consolidating as firm as a rock the traditional friendship and solidarity between the DPRK and Russia,” it added. Later Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Kim and the North Korean troops for their “solidarity” and “heroism.” “We highly appreciate this and are sincerely grateful, personally to the Chairman of the State Affairs Committee, Comrade Kim Jong-un, as well as to the entire leadership and the people of North Korea,” Putin said. The report comes just two days after Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian…
BERLIN — Germany’s incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday released his first batch of Cabinet picks, highlighting clear themes: experience, party loyalty and business-minded leadership. At the Foreign Ministry, Johann Wadephul, a seasoned defense and foreign policy expert, is set to lead Germany’s diplomatic efforts at a time of rising global tensions. In a major economic move, Katherina Reiche — a former energy executive and ex-lawmaker — will head the Ministry for Economy and Energy, overseeing Germany’s reindustrialization plans. Patrick Schnieder, a veteran transport policymaker, takes over the Ministry of Transport, while Karin Prien, who previously led education policy in…
Following their controversial Coachella performance, in which they received backlash over their support for Palestine, Northern Irish rap group Kneecap are finding themselves in hot water with the UK counter-terror police – this time for two videos. The Metropolitan Police revealed its counter-terror unit was investigating a clip of a Kneecap performance from last November, over claims it showed one member shouting: “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah”. The second clip is believed to be dated from November 2023, a gig video which allegedly sees the trio calling for the death of Conservative MPs, with one member of the group alleged to have said: “The only…
Marine Le Pen’s most faithful lieutenants arrived early at the stately baroque Val-de-Grâce church in the fifth arrondissement in the heart of Paris. It was a freezing day and a crowd had gathered outside to pay homage to her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of her far-right National Rally party, who died days earlier on Jan. 7. Many of the mourners fit a familiar mold: party veterans, family members and long-term friends and loyalists, some of them decked out in paratroopers’ red berets and clasping tricolors. But one conspicuously tall figure inside the church seemed cut from a different cloth.…
As technology, emerging destinations and demand for luxury travel reshape the global tourism industry, all eyes turn to Dubai for the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025, the Middle East’s leading travel and hospitality trade show.Taking place from 28 April to 1 May at the Dubai World Trade Centre, 2,600 exhibitors are expected at this year’s ATM, including tourism boards, airlines, hotels and tech providers from across the globe.With ministers, executives and entrepreneurs also in attendance, ATM is a key moment in the industry’s calendar for trendspotting, deal-making and planning.It also offers a front-row seat to what’s next for travel worldwide.ATM…
A major demonstration — the latest in a series that have drawn tens of thousands of protestors — has been organized by a vast consortium of associations demanding Mazón’s resignation. Security forces are on call to keep summit attendees protected at the venue and to secure the hotels where VIPs are staying, as emotions remain frayed in a region where locals attacked Spain’s prime minister and pelted King Felipe VI with mud when they visited the flood zones. As a cost-cutting measure, the regional government eliminated the Valencian Emergency Unit — an elite rapid response force tasked with addressing the…
In favor of Donnet is Mediobanca, the revered Milan investment bank that owns a 13.1 percent share in Generali. | Filippo Monteforte/Getty Images “There’s a complete dissonance between domestic investors and international investors,” said Francesco Galietti, a former Treasury official and the founder of political risk consultancy Policy Sonar, who noted that Italian investors primarily voted for the government position, while U.S. investors supported Mediobanca. “The international investors tend to look at market criteria, dividends performance, while the Italians tend to be very political.” ‘Cold war’ The high-finance bloodletting has also attracted the gaze of bigger, deadlier predators. Looking on…