Author: staff
Doubling down on drones While the release of the much-delayed DIP meets a key demand from allies and the U.K.’s military-industrial complex, the implementation will rely on Andy Burnham, who is expected to take over as prime minister later this summer. Under the plan, the U.K. will get some of the way to meeting NATO’s new target of spending 3.5 percent of GDP on defense by 2035, but Britain’s spending is off the pace of other allies like Germany, France and Poland and it has yet to set out a clear funding pathway to hitting that target. The new investment…
Updated: 29/06/2026 – 19:48 GMT+2 Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus Climate Change service director, says heatwaves have become “more intense, lasting longer and starting earlier in the season” in Europe as the continent “is warming faster than the global average”. … More
Updated: 29/06/2026 – 16:44 GMT+2 Australian man Simon Carman has been charged with murdering 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla after her body was found inside a suitcase in Pattaya. Police say the investigation is ongoing, while the suspect denies abducting and killing the teenager. … More
The two sides issued a joint statement on the topic, the first of its kind since 2019, although Šefčovič briefed reporters alone after the bilateral. The talks were due to continue Monday evening before Wang travels to Britain on Tuesday. The platform will be divided into four main categories: trade and investment balancing, export controls, intellectual property rights, and World Trade Organization reform. A working group dedicated to the first topic will be launched immediately and will set up a joint mechanism to monitor trade flows. The idea, the commissioner said, is to share a set of data that both…
Amid record-breaking temperatures, the European Commission has declined to take a stance on the increasingly contentious debate over air conditioning, saying it is not the role of the EU executive to dictate consumers’ choices. About 20% of European households have AC units installed, compared to 90% or more in the United States, Japan and South Korea. The glaring lack of cooling systems has become a political lightning rod after a brutal heatwave killed at least 1,300 Europeans and prompted a desperate search for makeshift solutions to make daily life tolerable. “We know most residential buildings and apartments in the European…
Published on 29/06/2026 – 22:20 GMT+2 Iran said on Monday evening that a delegation of experts would travel to Doha “later this week” to discuss implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the United States earlier this month, but stressed the visit would not constitute negotiations with Washington. A foreign ministry spokesperson said “we have not yet entered the stage of negotiating a final agreement” and that “over the coming days, we will not have any negotiation meetings with the US side at any level.” The announcement came after conflicting reports regarding whether talks would take place between the…
Speaking to reporters last week, U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed Burnham as the former “mayor of a town” and labeled him as “extremely liberal.” The Grand American Jubilee is set to attract roughly 2,500 guests to Winfield House, U.S. Ambassador Warren Stephens’ official residence in Regent’s Park, where invitees will squeeze past U.S. Marines and into the gardens. Stephens has issued fewer invites to the party this year than usual, according to two people familiar with the planning, granted anonymity to speak freely. Up to 4,500 guests have attended in previous years. Invitations have been sent to every major party…
Published on 29/06/2026 – 19:00 GMT+2 EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said on Monday that the EU will seek to achieve “tangible” results through dialogue with China by October. Šefčovič was meeting his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, in Brussels that same day for talks that were due to continue into the evening. Tensions between Brussels and Beijing have ramped up in recent weeks after China repeatedly threatened to retaliate against EU moves to protect its market from Chinese overcapacity. “Today’s discussions were intensive, focused, and constructive,” Šefčovič told reporters between rounds of discussions with Wentao. “My objective from the outset…
The yodelling festival in Basel becomes a citywide scene as performers and visitors gather in and around fountains, churches and public squares during a heatwave. Singers rehearse in the water while others queue for performances inside venues across the city. Folk music, costumes and crowds fill the streets as temperatures remain high. The festival brings together thousands of competitors in yodelling, alphorn and flag-throwing. Some participants speak about tradition and technique, while others simply try to cope with the heat between appearances. Workshops and informal singing break out in bars and plazas.
Published on 29/06/2026 – 15:02 GMT+2•Updated 18:51 At its meeting on Monday, the Council of Ministers approved a new package of measures to mitigate the economic impact of the international crisis, while formally launching work on the General State Budget for 2027 by updating the macroeconomic framework. The meeting was also used to reinforce the government’s strategy on housing, one of the political priorities of the current legislature. The new decree replaces the previous package of measures, which was due to expire on 30 June. As the prime minister had already signalled, the aim is to maintain protection for families,…