Author: staff

Artificial intelligence could transform the economy, the workplace, and even the way we think — but is Britain ready for it? And is Andy Burnham? In the second of Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy’s summer box set conversations, they sit down with POLITICO UK tech editor Isobel Asher Hamilton to look at the choices facing the new prime minister this autumn. Should Britain be building the next OpenAI, or focusing on using AI to revive manufacturing? Can the UK compete with the US and China? And where will the government land on the biggest political battles ahead, from copyright and…

Comic Con Astana, Central Asia’s largest pop culture festival, has transformed Kazakhstan’s capital, bringing together international actors, cosplay enthusiasts, gamers and artists. Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, over the past four days the festival featured hundreds of events across two venues, with Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – best known for playing Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones – among the headline guests. Central Asia’s biggest pop culture festival Moving through Alau Ice Palace, which for four days transforms into a colourful parade of cosplay, it’s hard to know where to look. Mythical creatures, anime heroes, comic book characters and…

Published on 10/08/2026 – 7:43 GMT+2 Oil prices rose in early trading on Monday as market participants weighed mixed signals from the US and Iran, with concerns that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could take longer to materialise. Futures for international benchmark Brent crude for October delivery gained 1.04% to $84.42 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures for September advanced 0.83% to $78.83 a barrel. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards insisted on Sunday that they would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the US complied with a list of demands. Tehran insists on retaining control of…

Summer is holiday season across Europe, yet millions of people still cannot afford to take a week away from home. However, the share of Europeans unable to afford a holiday has fallen significantly. In 2025, 27.5% of the EU’s population aged 16 or older were unable to afford one week of annual holiday away from home. This was 35.2% in 2015, representing a decline of 7.7 percentage points and a significant improvement in holiday affordability. In five countries, the share of people unable to afford a holiday increased over the past decade, although the rise was marginal in some cases.…

In a world that rarely slows down, perhaps the greatest holiday luxury isn’t doing more, but instead opting to be “still”? For many travellers, the idea of truly switching off and simply existing is more daunting than boarding a flight. And that’s where the idea of a “stillcation” comes in. Rather than packing getaways with itineraries of activities, a stillcation prioritises slowing down and being more present. According to tour operator Inghams Walking, the best destinations for this type of intentional travel are the ones where the environment helps the brain truly unwind. Inghams analysed nearly 100 European destinations, ranking…

The European Climate Office Copernicus reports that the average temperature record for the June–July period set in 2022 was overturned by the hot waves plaguing Western Europe this summer. Since it started in May, the intense heat has caused many wildfires, a protracted drought, new national temperature records throughout the region, and thousands of anticipated heat-related deaths. Globally, so far this is the third-hottest year, behind 2024 and 2025, climate statistics show. But 2026 still has time to catch up. There is a growing possibility that by year’s end, 2026 will surpass 2024 as the hottest year on record, or…

Wer regiert die Welt – und was treibt sie an? In unserem regelmäßigen Machthaber-Spezial geht es um die mächtigsten und umstrittensten Politikerinnen und Politiker unserer Zeit. Wir zeigen, wie sie denken, entscheiden – und was das für uns bedeutet. Eine Politikerin oder Politiker, ein Blick hinter die Kulissen der Macht. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. ⁠Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren.⁠ Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon…

However, the departure of former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki from PiS complicates the balance of balance of power on the right. PiS, which ruled from 2015 to 2023, formally ruptured last month, when Morawiecki stormed out, taking 40 MPs with him to form the new Development Plus party, leaving PiS with 147 deputies. The split between him and party founder and leader Jarosław Kaczyński quickly became acrimonious. Morawiecki criticized his own government’s decisions on Covid-19 restrictions and its push to tighten Poland’s abortion law, which outraged many women and saw PiS take a long-term hit in public support. “Although I…

“There is no doubt that there is concern about containing the competition from National Future,” said Marco Tarchi, a leading right-wing political scientist. “It all boils down to a sharpening of tone. The issues — security, immigration, identity — remain the same as before.”  During the electoral campaign that brought her to power in 2022, Meloni promised to crack down on illegal migration by putting in place a naval blockade off Italy’s coast. Though that project never ultimately happened, Meloni’s government did open detention hubs in Albania to house migrants while their asylum applications are processed.  Vannacci, who is campaigning…

Published on 09/08/2026 – 20:52 GMT+2 The alleged leader of an Irish organised crime group has been extradited to Ireland from Dubai to face charges that he ran an international drug smuggling and money laundering empire with tentacles that stretched to the UK, Europe and the United States. Air Tracker data showed an Irish Air Corps plane, which departed from Dubai landing at a military airport on the outskirts of the Irish capital Dublin on Sunday evening, after courts in the United Arab Emirates refused to block his extradition. The plane is believed to be carrying Daniel Kinahan, aged 49,…