Author: staff

Published on 23/10/2025 – 7:01 GMT+2 In an astonishing first for astronomy, researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have detected complex organic molecules – often called the “seeds of life” – outside our galaxy. Launched in 2021 through a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the JWST is the largest, most powerful and most sophisticated telescope ever sent into space. The discovery was made in frozen ice surrounding a young star, named ST6, in a distant galaxy. These molecules, which include known compounds like alcohols and vinegar’s main ingredient (acetic…

In Brüssel verhandeln die EU-Staats- und Regierungschefs über Bürokratieabbau, Wettbewerbsfähigkeit, China und das nächste Sanktionspaket gegen Russland.  Hans von der Burchard berichtet vor dem EU-Gipfel, wo Kanzler Friedrich Merz gemeinsam mit Emmanuel Macron eine härtere Linie gegenüber Peking vereinbaren will. Gleichzeitig ringen in Mainz die Ministerpräsidenten um das Verbrenner-Aus ab 2035. Tom Schmidtgen vom POLITICO PRO-Newsletter ‘Industrie & Handel am Morgen’ erklärt, warum Länder wie Niedersachsen und Bayern gemeinsam auf E-Fuels setzen – und was ein neuer Kompromiss für Europas Klimaziele bedeutet. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview nimmt Olaf Lies, Ministerpräsident von Niedersachsen, Stellung: zu seiner Allianz mit Markus Söder, zur Zukunft von…

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday set a goal for Canada to double its non-US exports in the next decade, saying American tariffs are causing a chill in investment. Speaking in an evening address to Canadians, Carney, who will release his government’s budget on 4 November, said many of Canada’s former strengths—based on close ties to America—have become vulnerabilities. “The jobs of workers in our industries most affected by US tariffs—autos, steel, lumber—are under threat. Our businesses are holding back investments, restrained by the pall of uncertainty that is hanging over all of us,” Carney said. The Canadian prime…

China accounts for 61 percent of rare earths extraction and 92 percent of refining, according to the International Energy Agency. It provides nearly 99 percent of the EU’s supply of the 17 rare earths, as well as about 98 percent of its rare earth permanent magnets. Underdog diplomacy  In addition to its minerals monopoly, Beijing has built a legal foundation to capitalize on it — through an export control toolbox that mirrors the one Washington has used to cap exports of leading-edge technology to China. The EU lacks a comparable armory that would allow it to respond in kind. Whereas…

“We don’t really have a shared vocabulary to define what digital sovereignty is. But we do have a shared understanding of what it means not to have digital sovereignty,” said Yann Lechelle, CEO of French AI company Probabl. Berlin isn’t the only capital trying to convince Europe to ensure its digital sovereignty remains open to U.S. interests.   Austria, too, wants to take “a leading role” in nailing down that tone, State Secretary Alexandre Pröll previously told POLITICO. The country has been on a mission to agree a “common charter” emphasizing that sovereignty should “not be misinterpreted as protectionist independence,” according…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argues Putin only showed an interest in peace with Trump when he suggested he would let Ukraine use Tomahawks — and as soon as Trump took the cruise missiles off the table, Russia backtracked on peace.  “Putin believes only in power,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said. | Radek Pietruszka/EPA So should Trump give Zelenskyy the missiles he wants? “I really hope that they can get the capabilities that they need to [counter]strike Russia and defend themselves,” Orpo said. “We know that this is a question between Zelenskyy and the United States and I really hope they…

Earlier this week, energy ministers from 27 member countries agreed by qualified majority to a landmark phaseout of Russian gas, against the objections of Slovakia and Hungary. Slovakia had vowed to hold up the sanctions package unless it was given assurances on how to combat high energy prices and aid heavy industries like car making. Austria and Hungary had also expressed concerns over the sanctions package but lifted their veto in recent days. Slovakia was the last country blocking the new restrictions — and had sought concessions in the statement to be agreed at Thursday’s summit of EU leaders in Brussels. “All our demands … were included [in the statement],”…

“If the aim is to keep Ukraine in the fight, you need to keep the criteria open,” said a senior EU diplomat. They claim that attaching a “Buy European clause” would prevent Kyiv from accessing much-needed weapons such as the Patriot missile defense system that are only produced in the U.S. In order to boost their burgeoning defense industries while helping Ukraine, France and to a lesser extent Germany and Italy support using the loan to buy European weapons for Kyiv. | Kostiantyn Liberov/Getty Images “I hope that they can buy more and more weapons from Europe but we know that…

“Even though the investigations have not yet been fully completed, I can assure you that the Commission will raise its concerns with the Hungarian government at all levels,” he said. But he stopped short of sharing details of the Commission’s broader investigation, saying confidentiality is needed to “ensure the integrity of the investigation.” Some lawmakers had argued in the plenary’s debate on the scandal that the Commission should suspend Hungary’s commissioner, Oliver Várhelyi, who has the health portfolio. Várhelyi has drawn scrutiny because he was Hungary’s ambassador to the EU for part of the time the spy network was alleged…

Published on 22/10/2025 – 22:43 GMT+2 The European Union has agreed to impose a new round of sanctions against Russia just as the United States threatened a “substantial pickup” in restrictions, piling pressure on the Kremlin to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. “We are going to, either announce after the close this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning, a substantial pickup in Russia sanctions,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday, without providing further details. His comments come after the indefinite cancellation of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest.…