Author: staff

Unions in Greece staged a nationwide 24-hour strike on Wednesday to oppose new labour laws. The reforms aim to introduce greater flexibility, permitting shifts as long as 13 hours under a weekly ceiling of 48. Unions, however, denounce the plan as a threat to fundamental rights, warning it will expose workers to unfair practices. The protest brought Athens to a halt: ferries were tied up in port, taxis stayed off the streets and public transport ran on a reduced timetable. Schools, courts and hospitals also faced widespread disruption. While the strike saw thousands marching and services heavily disrupted, police confirmed…

Low-cost Icelandic airline Play announced its immediate closure on Monday. The carrier wrote on its website that it has “ceased operations, and all flights have been cancelled”. Passengers have been advised to seek flights with alternative airlines. Here’s what travellers need to know about their rights to refunds and compensation if a flight company goes bankrupt. Low-cost carrier Play goes bust Play began operating in 2019 and flew between Keflavik International Airport – outside Reykjavik – and destinations in Europe, including London Stansted, Amsterdam, Paris CDG, Alicante and Faro. It also offered connections to Baltimore-Washington International in the US. On…

Traditionally, leadership positions in the National Assembly are meant to reflect the body’s political composition. But after centrist and left-wing parties worked together during last year’s snap legislative elections to block the far right from victory, the two sides once again teamed up to deny the National Rally top positions in the National Assembly. Over the summer, Together for the Republic, the largest parliamentary group supporting Macron, reversed its previous stance on the far right’s exclusion, arguing that the firewall had led to the disproportionate representation of left-wing groups. Yaël Braun-Pivet, the Macron-allied president of the National Assembly, endorsed the far…

Published on 01/10/2025 – 16:54 GMT+2 Seven men who abused and raped two girls in northern England were jailed on Wednesday in the latest case involving so-called “grooming gangs” in the UK. The gang members were sentenced to a total of 174 years in prison for multiple sex offences against two teenage girls in Rochdale between 2001 and 2006. The abuse started when each of the girls were aged 13, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Both victims were from vulnerable backgrounds and were known to social services, according to prosecutors. One girl was living in the care system. They…

Frontline states like Finland have long called for other member countries to step up on defense spending. But Orpo said all leaders now need to realize the eastern flank “is our common border” and that nobody is safe from Moscow’s tactics. A string of drone sightings grounded planes at Copenhagen’s airport just days before presidents and prime ministers flew in. “These incidents, these attacks, are against the whole of Europe,” he said. “Who is next? Denmark is not a border country, so we can see that it’s possible all over Europe.” Some national leaders and European Commission President Ursula von…

Published on 01/10/2025 – 16:21 GMT+2 OpenAI has announced its next-generation audio and video generator called Sora 2, but it also teased a new social platform that might rival TikTok. Here is everything we know about the latest developments.  On Tuesday, the company showed off its video-making tech, which is powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Users will be able to make almost any scenario come to life with a simple prompt once they film themselves with audio on the Sora app–effectively, creating their own deepfakes. For example, one demonstration video featured an ice skater gliding across the ice and then…

In recent weeks, drones have violated Polish, Romanian, Danish and Norwegian airspace, with Europe casting blame on Russia in many of the cases. Those incidents gave new momentum to a so-called drone wall — an initiative first pitched by frontline countries last year and backed by von der Leyen in her State of the Union address last month. Earlier this week, however, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said there were more urgent priorities to tackle. “Drone defense, of course, but not by a drone wall,” he told an audience at the Warsaw Security Forum. The drone wall debate also underscores how geography often leads to disagreements among…

These systems need a set of standards to be compliant with the regulation. But there has been a “little delay” in developing these standards, Sioli acknowledged, so the Commission is in discussions with the standardization organizations on the exact timing of the standards and whether a delay is necessary. “It’s not about pausing the whole AI Act, it’s about checking if and when the standards can be delivered and to organize ourselves around that,” she said. Sioli declined to quantify what possibility there is in a delay, merely saying the Commission is “still assessing.”

The comment came after Heemskerk revealed ASML’s CEO Christophe Fouquet had a 2-hour meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “After an hour and a half of listening, he [Modi] said you’re too friendly, tell me what we can do better,” said Heemskerk. European policymakers would do well to take note, according to the ASML executive: “The political leaders should sit down with the companies that are investing money.” He also commented on ASML’s recent €1.3 billion deal with French artificial intelligence company Mistral, which was seen as a major boost for Europe’s bid to be more technologically sovereign. “Of…

The pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity led by Maia Sandu may have scored a win in Moldova’s parliamentary elections, but the flood of Russian-backed disinformation which emerged on social media during the country’s electoral period is still garnering traction. One false claim that spread across social media on 24 September—just days before the election on Sunday 28 September—alleged that France had agreed to pay Moldova to dispose of its toxic waste. The allegations gained traction on X when a video styled as a TV news report with an apparent AI voiceover claimed that Sandu had agreed to take in…