A debate has emerged within the German political sphere over the future of Section 188 of the Criminal Code, which provides enhanced protection against insults targeting politicians. CDU and Green Party representatives argue that the provision should be abolished in the interest of equal treatment and free expression, while the...
Czech Cabinet approves cuts to funding for public media
From next year, Czech public television and radio are set to be funded from the state budget, with a 15 per cent cut in funding. This government reform, introduced by Andrej Babiš, has sparked large-scale protests involving thousands of people in Prague, whilst local media workers are also preparing to...
Starmer is ready to contest the leadership of the Labour Party
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, said on Friday that he would take part in any leadership contest within the Labour Party. his comment came as his potential rival, Andy Burnham, won the by-election in the Makerfield constituency, paving the way for a contest for the leadership...
Russia is running up debts its military spending exceeds its budgetary capacity
Bloomberg Economics’ calculations show that international sanctions have effectively cut off the Kremlin’s access to external financing, and it is increasingly relying on costly domestic borrowing. Defence spending this year could exceed the initial budget by 4–5 trillion roubles (approximately 40 per cent), whilst in the first five months of...
Italian and other European equipment supplied to producers of Su-34
In 2023–2024, the Turkish company Redwing Metal delivered equipment produced in the European Union to Russia with a total value of nearly 6 million euros. Of this amount, goods worth 3.2 million euros originated from Italy. The shipments were sent to two Russian metallurgical plants — AMR and SMK —...
Pentagon is to review the deployment of US troops in Europe
Countries that fail to meet their financial obligations to NATO risk losing US support. Pentagon chief criticised allies who had imposed restrictions on military aid to the United States during the war with Iran. He warned that some countries would fail the test and could be left without a contingent...
EU leaders will discuss the general budget at the summit in Brussels
EU governments are set to hold complex negotiations on the allocation of the €2 trillion total budget for the next seven years: the ‘frugal states’ are demanding spending cuts, whilst other countries are insisting on maintaining funding for agriculture.The European Union is entering a difficult phase in negotiations over its...
Pro-Russian hackers have hacked the Czech brewery Plzeňský Prazdroj
The pro-Russian hacker group Throne has announced that it carried out a cyberattack on the industrial systems of the Czech brewing company Plzeňský Prazdroj (the producer of Pilsner Urquell). The attackers gained remote access to the Siemens conveyor control system via an unprotected IP address on the network, simply by...
Italian PM Meloni to propose EU Special envoy for Ukraine peace talks
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced plans to propose the appointment of an EU special envoy to lead negotiations regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine. The initiative is expected to be formally presented during the upcoming European Union summit in Brussels. Speaking at a press conference following the G7...
Moldova accuses the Russian Federation of collecting citizens’ personal data
Moldova’s Information and Security Service has officially accused the Russian security services of coordinating the mass collection of personal data belonging to Moldovan citizens for use in fraudulent schemes involving cross-border organised crime. The data is reportedly being sourced from illegally traded private databases on the dark web, compromised servers,...