Author: staff
Béla Anda believes Merz has shown “some emotions, but in the wrong way”, making it difficult for him to connect with citizens. To avoid repeating the lack of connection with voters, the former government spokesman recommends simply “letting Merz be Merz”. Anda insists that Merz should maintain his position and avoid being “strong on one topic and then totally change”, a pattern he believes has been repeated over the past year and a half. Merz should “keep together” the governing coalition and advises against moving closer to the far-right AfD, arguing that a majority of CDU members prefer to “keep…
But what’s more significant for Germany’s coalition is the way Schwesig has at least in part attained her popularity: by railing against Merz’s reform drive, depicting the overhauls as harsh and unjust. “Yes, we need social reforms, the welfare state must be stabilized, and labor costs must not rise,” she told Welt TV on Monday. “But it is unacceptable that, of all people, those who work the hardest and contribute the most are the ones bearing the heaviest burden. Many people also perceive this as unfair. And that is why it is important to change course here.” Should the SPD…
Europeans create 35 million tonnes of waste each year by throwing away broken appliances. France and Belgium have repair rates of 18% and 15%, respectively. Of roughly 28 million household breakdowns a year, only 5 million result in a technician fixing the device. Some 77% of citizens would rather repair products than replace them. Yet only 5% of washing machines and 33% of vacuum cleaners are priced at a point where professional repair makes economic sense. Most fall into a “borderline” or “unviable” zone, where a new machine is cheaper than the spare parts. “Access to repair is not the…
Published on 08/09/2026 – 9:56 GMT+2•Updated 10:14 The heads of the EU’s two main institutions have condemned the presence of senior Serbian officials at the funeral of the convicted war criminal, in a joint statement published simultaneously on X on Tuesday morning. “The images from Ratko Mladić’s funeral yesterday in Belgrade were shocking. Ratko Mladić was a convicted war criminal. He was responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa wrote on X. Ratko Mladić, known as the Butcher of Bosnia, died in late August aged…
As the far right made significant gains in local elections in Germany, divisions have opened up within Italy’s political right. The AfD (Alternative for Germany) took 43.8 per cent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, a historic result that has shaken the federal government in Berlin. The shockwave reached Rome, where reaction from Italy’s governing parties was sharply divided. Sunday’s election result in Saxony-Anhalt is “a worrying signal”, said Forza Italia leader and foreign minister Antonio Tajani. “A negative signal,” he added, although there is no need to “overdramatise” it, he told Il Messaggero. “It was widely expected — it was…
By Frances Lopez & Video by Léa Becquet Published on 08/09/2026 – 10:44 GMT+2 For millions of workers across the continent, the daily journey to the office is an unavoidable ritual. But just how long do Europeans actually spend getting to work? According to new research from talent management company SD Worx, the daily average commute across Europe sits at 48 minutes. However, that continental average masks how differently nations experience geography, traffic, and worker mindsets. While the European average hovers around three-quarters of an hour, individual countries experience vastly different realities on their roads and rail lines. Countries such as Italy and…
Published on 08/09/2026 – 10:49 GMT+2 Britain announced on Tuesday it was committing £100 million (€116 million) to boost Ukraine’s air defence capabilities this winter, including with Patriot missiles. The UK will also supply “air defence interceptors, large-calibre artillery rounds and drones” as part of the contribution to a NATO programme supporting Kyiv, the defence ministry said in a statement. The Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) was established in 2022 by the US Department of Defence and NATO. More than 20 countries have invested billions of dollars in the programme which aims to ensure a predictable flow of lethal and…
Published on 07/09/2026 – 7:23 GMT+2•Updated 08/09/2026 – 11:58 GMT+2 The sixth Nomad Games closed with a grand concert and ceremony at the venue of the games, the great hippodrome in Cholpon Ata on the shore of the Issyk-Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan. But, not before they gave the spectators the treat they had been waiting for for two years, the finals in kokpar and kok boru equestrian games by far the most popular event in any Nomad Games. Kokpar is traditionally Kazakh game and kok boru Kyrgyz. They are very similar, requiring the mounted teams of four players to carry…
“It’s very hard to do things on your own,” Maman told POLITICO, warning that the militarization of space “is already happening — we just don’t realize how much” and that Israel is seeing more interest from allies in “dual-use” technology for both civilian and defense purposes. “One of the things we are working on is early warning systems,” she said. “We saw that very nicely in the last round [of missile strikes] we had with Iran, for example. How we are managing to get [warnings to] all the civilians in Israel and not have that many casualties. That’s part of…
Published on 08/09/2026 – 22:00 GMT+2•Updated 22:27 Passengers travelling to and from the UK on Tuesday faced severe disruption after a technical glitch affected air traffic control systems. More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled so far, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, with the issue impacting airports including London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham. Air traffic control operator NATS said earlier that it had identified a “technical issue” with its flight processing system and that its engineers were on site and working on a solution. “Our system issue is now resolved, we are operating normally and working as hard…