Author: staff
LONDON — Never say politics is predictable. Right-wingers Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick will do battle for the Conservative Party leadership after centrist contender James Cleverly fell at the final hurdle despite a late surge. Tory MPs — who had to whittle down the list of contenders to just two before a vote of the wider party membership in the coming weeks — decided Badenoch and Jenrick should be the final two candidates. Badenoch bagged 42 votes, and Jenrick netted 41. Cleverly, the shadow home secretary who urged the Tories to get united and be optimistic, enjoyed a boost in…
It’s a common claim bandied about by far-right MEPs as the immigration debate grows ever more toxic. But do the figures match the rhetoric? It may seem like a perennial concern, but the debate on immigration to the EU has heated up significantly in recent months.Far-right politicians in France, Germany, Hungary and beyond have pointed to supposedly “unprecedented” migrant arrivals as a threat to European security and identity.Berlin has brought in new border controls, Budapest has threatened to send busloads of migrants to Brussels to show the EU the apparent urgency of the issue, and Spain’s prime minister has hashed…
China is likely to account for almost 60 per cent of all renewable capacity installed worldwide between now and 2030. Renewables are on track to meet almost half of the world’s electricity needs by 2030, according to the latest landmark report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).While solar power in particular is growing at a promising pace, the trajectory still falls short of the global target to triple renewable energy capacity this decade.But the IEA says that crucial goal – set at the COP28 climate summit last year – is still in reach with the right government support.“Renewables are moving…
A blocking minority of EU countries in the European Council continue to refuse to allow the scanning of messages, even if this delays the detection of child abuse material. Why are they opposed, and who are they? Can the deadlock be broken? EU ministers look set to once again fail to reach a long-awaited common position on the Child Sexual Abuse Material regulation during Thursday’s Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting, further delaying the opening of negotiations with the Parliament and the Commission.The scenario is now a familiar one: a deal with a slim majority seems to be within reach,…
In 2022, 1.66 million students from abroad, including EU and non-EU countries, were undertaking tertiary-level studies across the EU, according to Eurostat. Born and raised in Lebanon, Rim is pursuing her master’s in management at VUB in Brussels. “I chose to study abroad as the situation in my country was not really stable. I wanted to give myself a chance to have a better, more secure life and work on myself”, the 26-year-old, who is also part-Austrian, told Euronews. As she balances her part-time master’s with two part-time positions in two associations, she says one of the challenges she faced…
The widely feared organisation originated in the Netherlands, and has chapters in multiple countries. Norway’s highest court on Wednesday called the Norwegian arm of Dutch motorcycle club Satudarah a criminal association and banned the group, saying it was necessary to prevent serious crime.The Supreme Court said participants in the club, known for a history of violent crime, extortion, illegal drug trade, and arms trafficking allegations, “repeatedly committed serious offences against someone’s life, health and freedom,” and that their actions were “apt to cause fear in the population”.The court added that although Satudarah describes itself as a motorcycle club and is…
A total of 45 people have been charged after dozens of armed gunmen attacked Kosovo police and barricaded themselves in an Orthodox monastery in September last year, setting off an intense daylong gun battle that left three people dead. Three Serbs have pleaded not guilty in a trial that kicked off in Kosovo on Wednesday against those allegedly involved in an incursion by armed Serb gunmen in September last year. During the assault, some 30 Serb gunmen killed a Kosovar Albanian police officer before barricading themselves in an Orthodox monastery in Banjska, a village near the Serbian border with Kosovo.…
The purchase is seen as an attempt to boost its lithium portfolio and strengthen its position as the transition towards green energy continues. Mining giant Rio Tinto is to buy US-based Arcadium Lithium in a deal worth some $6.7bn (€6.11bn). This is seen to be a step towards strengthening the former’s lithium offerings, with the company aiming for a bigger share of the battery metals market as the transition towards green energy continues. The deal has been made on an all-cash basis, with Rio Tinto paying Arcadium Lithium $5.85 (€5.34) per share, above Arcadium’s share price at the time of…
Having seen the festival through the pandemic, McCarthy leaves as Edinburgh Fringe CEO. What is next for the festival? After nine years in the top role, Shona McCarthy is stepping down as CEO of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. McCarthy will officially leave the role in spring 2025. She will be replaced in time for the next edition of the festival which is the world’s largest performing arts festival and runs across hundreds of venues in Scotland’s capital during the month of August. Taking over from Kath Mainland in 2025, McCarthy’s leadership has seen the festival grow to host over 3,700…
The 21-year-old climate activist was invited to a pro-Palestinian protest camp in Dortmund after attending a similar protest in Berlin on Monday. Politicians in Germany think that climate activist Greta Thunberg should be banned from entering the country over her participation in pro-Palestinian protests, according to the domestic policy spokesman for Germany’s biggest opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union.Alexander Throm told BILD newspaper that it would be “not only appropriate but even necessary that the Federal Minister of the Interior issues an entry ban against this anti-Semite in the future”.Throm said of the climate activist, “Anyone who enters Germany to…