Author: staff

Every spring, Europe shuts up shop on an annual slew of holidays. Easter Monday, Labour Day, Ascension and Whit Monday, all bank holidays that cluster through from March to May. But economists (and perhaps the odd savings-concerned employer) have long been asking an uncomfortable question: what is the actual price of giving employees paid holiday time? Denmark offered a blunt answer in 2024. The government scrapped Great Prayer Day — Store Bededag, a nearly 340-year-old Lutheran holiday observed on the fourth Friday after Easter — not because of any theological grievance, but to pay for guns. Copenhagen estimated the cancellation…

From viral trends to artificial intelligence (AI) slop, children’s worlds have become shaped by their digital experiences. But excessive screen time and the harmful consequences of social media have caused growing concern, with governments across the world seeking to impose tighter regulations. Australia became the world’s first country to enforce a social media ban for under-16s in December. This restricts minors from having accounts on all major platforms, like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Countries across Europe have since been debating similar measures, with Austria the latest country to consider a national ban for under-14s. The European Parliament has also…

Chocolate tourism is having a bit of a moment, especially with Easter on the horizon. As travellers look for new ways to spend a spring long weekend, chocolate is becoming an unexpectedly tempting reason to book a sweet-inspired getaway. New research shows that global searches for Easter travel have jumped by 129% this month, pointing to growing interest in trips built around food, local traditions and hands-on experiences. And while Paris and Brussels may still be the first names that come to mind for a chocolate-fuelled break, plenty of smaller cities are quietly making a case for themselves, often with…

On April 8, the French government will present the updated military planning law, which allocates €8.5 billion for drones and missiles by 2030. The bill is a multiyear financial framework that sets out targets for purchasing and developing weapons. “This effort is reflected in an increase in orders and deliveries and in the adaptation of industrial infrastructure through co-financing of priority production capacities,” the 64-page draft reads. “It is being carried out with a view to preparing for a ‘war economy.’” Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, most European countries have rushed to develop their defense…

Published on 03/04/2026 – 5:33 GMT+2 US Defence Secretary has asked the US Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to step down, the Pentagon said Thursday without giving a reason for the departure. George “will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately,” said Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesman. He has held the post, which typically runs for four years, since August 2023 under the Biden administration. During a nearly four-decade military career, George deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times and also served in positions including vice chief of…

“The closer we get to the presidential election, the more there’ll be an atmosphere of winding down, which is very normal, I’m aware of it,” Lecornu said in an interview with Le Figaro last weekend. Deputies depart Two of Moulin’s deputies, Emilie Piette and Constance Bensussan, are among those on their way out. Piette is off to head the RTE electricity network agency and Bensussan is moving to France’s CNAF benefits agency. And shortly before the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began, Macron’s top Middle East adviser, Anne-Claire Legendre, left in February to head the Arab World Institute, replacing Jack Lang,…

Published on 03/04/2026 – 4:57 GMT+2 US Vice President JD Vance will visit Hungary on Tuesday and Wednesday, during the final week of campaigning ahead of the country’s general election, the White House has announced. Vance will hold talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and deliver remarks on the “rich partnership between the United States and Hungary”, according to the White House statement. The visit comes as Hungary prepares for a pivotal election on 12 April, in which Orbán’s 16-year grip on power faces its biggest challenge. The opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, leads Orbán’s Fidesz in opinion…

Despite the war in Iran and its economic consequences preoccupying London and Brussels, much work is going on behind the scenes to strike a closer relationship between the U.K. and the European Union. Nearly a decade after Britain voted to leave the bloc, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has tasked his ministers with negotiating a post-Brexit reset that brings areas of the British economy in alignment with the EU in a bid to bring down prices and cut regulations on businesses. In this interview episode of EU Confidential, host Anne McElvoy talks to one of Starmer’s closest allies, Nick Thomas-Symonds. The…

It was just one of several social media posts the president has made on Thursday morning broadly focused on personal grudges and not his Wednesday evening speech about the war. Trump took an apparent dig at the Supreme Court as a “kangaroo court!!!” and reposted articles dinging ally (and sometimes critic) Tucker Carlson and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).The administration has had shifting goalposts for the White House’s operation in Iran in the month since the attacks kicked off in February. On Wednesday night, he called Tehran an existential threat to “the free world” and urged U.S. allies to assist in…

It’s far from the first time the president has suggested that time frame. In fact, he’s offered up a two-week timeline when asked about his executive objectives countless times since returning to the White House last January — and even during his first term in office. Trump has leaned on the frequent refrain when discussing another major foreign policy objective of his second administration: ending the yearslong Russia-Ukraine war. Last spring, Trump spent months telling reporters he’d divine Russian President Vladimir Putin’s true intentions for the conflict “in about two weeks.””I’ll let you know in about two weeks,” he said…