Author: staff

A new sanctions framework unveiled by the European Council focuses on individuals and entities who “undermine the EU’s values, security, and the integrity of its member states”. Brussels has presented a new framework for sanctions against Russia, focused on fake news, election destabilisation and cyberwarfare. The rules, agreed on Tuesday by the European Council, lets the EU target individuals and entities that work with Russia to undermine the values, security, independence and integrity of the EU and its member states.**The new framework focuses on those spreading coordinated disinformation, sabotaging EU critical infrastructure or instrumentalising migrants, according to a statement from…

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The award is the second of six Nobel Prizes to be announced this week and next. Artificial intelligence pioneers John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries that enabled machine learning with artificial neural networks and set the scene for today’s breakthroughs in AI.Hans Ellegren, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, awarded the prize Tuesday in Stockholm.Hopfield, who carries out research at Princeton University in the United States, is known for creating a network in 1982 that can retain and recreate patterns in images and other types of data by identifying…

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The town in the eastern Donetsk region, once home to over 30,000, now has just 1,600 residents. Russian forces have entered the eastern part of Toretsk in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian military command confirmed.The spokesperson for the Operational Tactical Group Luhansk said that the situation in the town is “very unstable” and the “fights are taking place literally at every building entrance.”The crowdsourced monitoring website DeepState indicates that settlements on the eastern outskirts of Toretsk — Pivnichne, Zalizne, Druzhba, and Pivdenne — are fully or almost completely in Russian hands. The situation near Toretsk has been difficult for months, with the…

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Russia and North Korea have deepened their ties following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, culminating in a defense pact signed between the two countries in June when President Vladimir Putin visited the Asian country for the first time in 25 years. The pact, which represents a sign of the strongest partnership between the two since the Cold War, envisions mutual military assistance between Moscow and Pyongyang if either is attacked. The move added to concerns in the West that North Korea is providing Moscow with munitions to wage its war in Ukraine in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers.…

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Former Deputy Prime Minister Adrian Severin was convicted of trading in influence after a 2011 media sting led to allegations he’d accepted money to table amendments to EU banking laws. The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday upheld a bribery conviction against Adrian Severin, implicated in a 2011 cash-for-influence scandal while a Member of the European Parliament (MEP)  Severin was sentenced to over three years in prison in 2016, after UK newspaper the Sunday Times reported he had tabled amendments in exchange for money offered by undercover reporters posing as consultants.  Criminal proceedings against Severin in Romania “had afforded the applicant adequate safeguards…

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Labour bagged a 10-point lead over the Conservatives in terms of national vote share at July’s general election. Starmer’s party entered government with a landslide majority after 14 years in opposition, and the Tories have yet to settle on a new leader. The new More in Common poll shows Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK — which has set its sights on Labour after eating in the Conservative vote — polling third at 19 percent, with the centrist Liberal Democrats on 11 percent and the left-wing Greens polling at 7 percent. It makes for grim reading as Starmer chairs his first…

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The attack comes one day after the one-year anniversary of the 7 October attack and the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, marked by protests and demonstrations across the globe. Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in another strike on Lebanon’s capital of Beirut.The IDF has repeatedly struck inside the densely populated city of Beirut in recent weeks, as tensions between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah have escalated.The assault reportedly killed Suhail Hussein Husseini, who the IDF said was responsible for overseeing logistics, budget and management of Hezbollah. Husseini was also…

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Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard share their daily guide to the day ahead in politics in under 20 minutes. The Conservative Party leadership contest sees another candidate knocked out later today – how much of a bounce has there been for James Cleverly? Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer chairs his first cabinet since his chief of staff resigned – how much influence will Sue Gray’s replacement, Morgan McSweeney, have? 👉 Tap here to follow Politics at Jack and Sam’s wherever you get your podcasts 👈 You can send a WhatsApp to Jack and Sam on 07511 867…

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Der Parteilinke und SPD-Vizefraktionschef Matthias Miersch soll neuer Generalsekretär der Sozialdemokraten werden. Welche neuen Akzente Miersch setzen wird, wie sich die SPD dabei bereits jetzt für den Bundestagswahlkampf bereit macht und warum der Rücktritt von Kevin Kühnert weit über den gestrigen Tag hinaus von Bedeutung ist, analysiert Gordon Repinski.Um die Veränderung auf dem Posten des Generalsekretärs geht es auch im 200-Sekunden-Interview mit der saarländischen Ministerpräsidentin Anke Rehlinger. Sie ist eine der stellvertretenden Vorsitzenden der SPD und arbeitet in Fragen der Energie- und Wirtschaftspolitik eng mit Matthias Miersch zusammen.Mit dem Senior Political Reporter Jürgen Klöckner von POLITICO geht es um die…

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Vertical solar panels are proving to be a new solution for northern regions, yielding 20 per cent more energy than traditional panels. Norway’s national football stadium carries a lesser-known star attraction: 1,242 solar panels stretching across the roof.These are not traditional flat roof panels. The mini, square-shaped solar panels have two key features that distinguish them from those typically seen on buildings: they are bifacial, meaning they have two active sides, and they are installed vertically.In June 2024, Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo became home to the world’s largest vertical solar panel installation on a roof, placing the stadium at the…

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