Author: staff
By Serge Duchêne with AFP Published on 02/06/2026 – 7:38 GMT+2 France has banned the display of Israeli offensive weapons at the 2026 edition of the Eurosatory international defence and security trade fair, the organisers told AFP on Monday. “Only Israeli exhibitors showcasing anti-ballistic and anti-air defence systems will be allowed,” said Charles Beaudouin, president of COGES Events, in response to a statement by the Israeli Defence Ministry protesting against the restrictions. “This is a decision taken by the French government, by the Defence Council,” Beaudouin added. “There is no room for ambiguity: if an exhibitor also manufactures rockets, they will not be…
Acting Pentagon press secretary Jose Valdez said the change was necessary because the facility is now shared with speechwriters from the office that the administration refers to as the “War Department”. According to Valdez, these speechwriters routinely work with classified material, which forces the space to meet SCIF security standards. In a statement published on social media, Valdez said: “The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility.” He added that journalists would no longer be allowed to enter because of the…
Some 500 kilometres off the coast of West Africa lies Cabo Verde, an island nation that’s making headlines after qualifying for its first World Cup this summer. Geographically, the country’s islands form part of Macaronesia, which means “Islands of Bliss”, alongside Madeira, the Canary Islands and the Azores, which are all Atlantic archipelagos known for their similar vegetation and volcanic landscapes. As the country prepares to join nine other African nations on football’s biggest stage, here’s why it should also be added to your travel list. When is the best time to visit Cabo Verde? A nation where the sun…
After years of calling for reform, airlines are now afraid of their potential outcome. They first asked policymakers to stop negotiating and run an impact assessment, and in recent weeks, they stressed that no deal is better than a bad deal. Current regulation “already adds about €8 extra to the ticket of every passenger,” said the three leading airline lobbies. “The compromise on the table today will drive up costs by around a third without actually addressing the real reasons for most delays,” they added, referring to a draft deal reported by POLITICO. Consumer organizations and claims agencies, which take a…
Residents of Kyiv sought shelter in underground metro stations early Tuesday as Russian missile and drone attacks struck the Ukrainian capital. Video showed families gathered on subway platforms, some resting with blankets and bags as air raid alerts sounded across the city. Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv overnight, according to local officials. Authorities said Russia used ballistic missiles in the attack, while air defence systems were activated across the capital. Fires broke out in several districts and power outages were reported in parts of the city. Separate footage filmed after the strikes showed damaged buildings, shattered windows, burned-out vehicles…
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which starts on 11 June across the US, Canada and Mexico, is the largest in the tournament’s history, with 48 national teams competing across 16 host cities for the first time. FIFA itself has staked enormous claims on the economic returns, projecting a $30.5 billion (€26.1bn) windfall for the three host nations combined and that the tournament will generate up to $40.9 billion (€35bn) in additional global GDP. The organisation also estimates that roughly 824,000 jobs directly or indirectly linked to the event will be created. However, as the opening whistle of the first match…
By Franziska Müller Published on 02/06/2026 – 7:15 GMT+2 The decision was announced in Taipei, but it actually concerns a completely different city: in Munich, Uber plans to deploy autonomous robotaxis together with the AI company Autobrains. Uber has picked the Bavarian capital: “Subject to regulatory approval, Munich will serve as the first launch city for the robotaxi programme,” the company said in a statement. That could make Munich the first German city where passengers can order autonomous robotaxis via the Uber app. The companies involved unveiled the plans at the GTC technology conference in Taipei. Munich as a test bed…
A crime story that is meant to entertain. A Reader who slips into the very story she is following. Awkward situations and characters full of flaws. In his production “Open Your Eyes”, Igor Gorzkowski draws inspiration from two short stories by Olga Tokarczyk from the 2001 collection “Playing on Many Drums”: “Open Your Eyes, You’re Already Dead” and “Dress Rehearsal”. “In the first story the protagonist is a passionate reader; she devours crime novels. Why crime novels? Because, as she says, she is looking for some kind of order in a chaotic world,” explains Gorzkowski. “And the crime genre really…
Russia has continued to export oil through a network of aging tankers, opaque ownership structures and alternative service providers despite successive rounds of sanctions targeting its fleet. While most Western insurers withdrew from Russia after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, shadow fleet vessels have continued to obtain coverage through Russian insurers, shell companies and alternative arrangements outside traditional insurance markets. “When you look at how Russia has developed alternative marine insurance arrangements for its shadow fleet, and the lengths it has gone to to keep oil moving through its logistics chain, it’s incredible,” said Michelle Wiese Bockmann,…
Central Asia’s first air taxi has taken to the skies in Kazakhstan. The V2000 Prosperity model lifted off from Alatau City in the Almaty region before a crowd of spectators, completing a ten-minute unmanned test flight monitored from the ground. The test marks Kazakhstan’s effort to join a small group of countries exploring urban air mobility through electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, known as eVTOLs. The project is being developed by Kazakhstan’s Alatau Advanced Air Group in partnership with companies from China, South Korea, Italy and the United States. Total investment in the development of urban air mobility infrastructure…