Author: staff
A person close to Macron confirmed that exploring possible retaliation against U.S. digital players was indeed “his stance.” Trump threatened Monday to impose further tariffs on countries whose digital rules, in his view, discriminate against American companies. This came weeks after Washington and Brussels struck a trade deal that sets a baseline 15 percent tariff on EU exports to the U.S. The two sides only published a joint statement fixing that deal last week, and Trump’s latest diatribe came as a nasty surprise to EU officials. The Trump administration has for months criticized the EU’s digital rulebook — claiming that the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act,…
The Czech government is demanding that the business owned by former prime minister and current election favorite Andrej Babiš return more than €200 million in farm subsidy payments, raising the stakes ahead of a national vote in October. Giving an overall figure for the first time, Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný said that the Agrofert conglomerate should repay 5.1 billion koruny (€208 million) — of which 4.24 billion koruny were EU direct payments, with the remaining 860 million koruny made up of national subsidies. The decision follows a series of court defeats suffered by Agrofert in recent months, relating to subsidies the…
Salt Typhoon’s activities have previously been described by Ciaran Martin, the first head of NCSC, as “China doing a ‘Snowden’ to America,” by accessing vast amounts of U.S. communications data through a “strategic spying operation of breathtaking audacity.” The companies — Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Co Ltd, Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology Co, and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie Network Technology Co Ltd — were named by Britain alongside 12 other countries’ intelligence agencies, including partners in the Five Eyes intelligence tie-up such as the United States. The NCSC said malicious cyber activity linked to these companies had “targeted nationally significant organizations…
Le président de LR, justement, qui hérisse tant le poil de son collègue de la Place Vendôme, fait pour certains, moins nombreux à ce stade, figure d’hypothèse. Parce qu’il “colle un peu plus aux aspirations du pays”, selon ses partisans, qui assurent toutefois “ne pas être là-dedans” du tout. Mais sauf à ce qu’Emmanuel Macron soit prêt à tirer un trait définitif sur la possibilité même d’une abstention socialiste ou à laisser entrer un peu plus de représentants de la droite dure — pourquoi pas, souffle un conseiller LR, des députés UDR, par exemple, du parti d’Eric Ciotti ? —…
The 74-year-old longtime centrist has so far failed to convince the opposition to swallow the bitter medicine he is proposing, a remedy that could assuage French creditors, financial institutions and ratings agencies concerned by the country’s unsustainable levels of public spending. Bayrou appeared to use the interview to try to reframe the public debate leading up to the vote, which he has scheduled for Sept. 8. He said he was not asking France’s various political parties to render a judgment on his government, but instead to simply agree on the gravity of the financial perils facing France before embarking on…
The idea was initially floated back in 2022 when Germany’s then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz tried to persuade Canada’s then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to find a way to ship LNG to Europe to help wean the continent off Russian oil. But the project ran aground on a lack of infrastructure, namely a pipeline to bring the LNG some 8,000 kilometers from west to east. Now, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs having hit both Germany and Canada hard, both countries are scrambling to deepen ties in areas such as defense, critical minerals and energy. Hodgson took the opportunity to throw shade across the…
Ukraine has made Western-backed security guarantees a central demand in any settlement to prevent further Russian attacks. Work on those guarantees accelerated following a gathering of European leaders in the White House on Aug. 18, at which Trump pushed for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin. But frustrations have grown since then, with Moscow reluctant to commit to peace talks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the day after the White House encounter that any summit would have to be prepared “step by step, gradually, starting from the expert level and then going through all the necessary…
But Trump isn’t done, his latest salvo shows. At a conference organized by France’s largest employers’ association, MEDEF, Séjourné was asked whether the deal would still stand if the U.S. continued to pursue this line on digital policy. “For now, I have heard intentions, not declarations. If the intentions turn into declarations, this [trade deal] will have to be reviewed,” Séjourné replied.
Thousands marched in Tel Aviv after the Hostages and Missing Families Forum declared a “National Day of Struggle.” At Hostages Square, former captive Sharon Aloni Cunio urged action, saying a deal existed and should be implemented without delay. Hamas abducted 251 people during the 7 October 2023 attack that killed about 1,200. Most were freed in earlier ceasefires, but 50 remain in Gaza, with officials believing around 20 are alive. Israel’s military offensive has killed 62,819, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says around half were women and children.
The estate, once known as Villa Monastero, was acquired by Berlusconi in 1980 and became the late prime minister’s most treasured property, hosting world leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, former U.S. President George W. Bush and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. But the 4,500-square-meter seafront residence also gained renown as the backdrop to infamous “bunga bunga” parties, the sex-fueled soirées that dogged Berlusconi’s political career. Located on the exclusive Costa Smeralda, the estate features terraced gardens filled with cacti and faux megaliths, multiple swimming pools, and guest bungalows clustered around a man-made volcano. Its more extravagant touches…