The latest dramatic episode has a plot twist that Russia hasn’t seen for decades. 53-year-old Roman Starovoit, Putin’s minister of transport, left his office in the 19th-century building in Moscow city center on July 7, recently remodeled in the ponderous traditional Russian style reserved for ministries, and walked past the...
Eurozone inflation holds steady at 2 percent
Rising food costs offset falling energy prices in July, bolstering case for ECB rate cut pause. Inflation in the eurozone stayed stable in July, as rising food prices offset declining energy costs — a development likely to reinforce calls for the European Central Bank to keep interest rates on hold....
European automakers despair of dodging Trump tariffs
All of Europe’s carmakers have reported losing millions in profit because of the tariffs, and say they’re not hopeful of getting carveouts for the sector. BRUSSELS — German automakers had hoped that months of lobbying pressure would give them extra carveouts in the EU-U.S. trade deal, but they're now reversing...
Decoding Vladimir Putin’s Baltic Strategy
How can Western analysts forecast what Russian president Vladimir Putin intends to do with the Baltic states? Since the early 2000s, Russia has increasingly acted and been perceived as an aggressive and revisionist force on the global stage. The Kremlin’s military intervention in Georgia in 2008, the annexation of Crimea...
Europe learned to love American gas
Backroom deals, embassy contacts and brown liquor built a booming export trade. Now, the lobbyist who saw it all says the U.S. president’s dalliances with Vladimir Putin are an incoming “asteroid” for the industry. Alliances sometimes begin by accident. Sometimes they end that way, too. Especially when Donald Trump is involved....
Trump on tariff blitz ahead of August deadline
Trump accused of ‘attack on Brazilian democracy’ for sanctioning Bolsonaro judge while slapping a 50% levy on the country – key US politics stories from Wednesday 30 July. Donald Trump’s administration has imposed sanctions against the judge overseeing the prosecution of his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro and hit Brazil with...
UK Banks warn higher taxes could hurt Growth as profits slide
UK banks already face some of the heaviest profit taxes of any sector and pay more than lenders in most other countries. Executives warned that further pressure could harm the wider economy. “Additional taxation on banks risks undermining our ability to keep investing in the business, support customers and ultimately...
Rising UK food prices turn cash-strapped shoppers away from high street
BRC says food prices rose by 4% in July from 2024, while CBI blames economic uncertainty for people not spending. Britain’s largest retailers struggled to entice shoppers back to the high street in July as the rising cost of meat and butter drove up food prices, adding to the pressure...
Starmer. A Defender of Justice at the Helm of Britain
The international human rights system – the rules, principles and practices intended to ensure that states do not abuse people – is under greater threat now than at any other point since 1945. Fortunately, we in the UK couldn’t wish for a better-qualified prime minister to face this challenge. Keir...
Trump cuts deadline for Putin to reach Ukraine peace deal to ‘10 or 12 days’
US president expresses frustration with Putin after meeting with UK PM amid pressure on Russia for ceasefire. Donald Trump’s timeline for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine has sped up, the president said while visiting Nato ally Great Britain on Monday. “I’m going to make a new deadline of...