Vacancies in the UK jobs market have fallen to the lowest level since 2014, other than during Covid, with 6,000 fewer openings between May and July compared to the three months to April. While the overall unemployment rate remains steady at 4.9 per cent, private sector pay growth has also...
Slovakia’s opposition has warned of the threat of Russian espionage through cameras purchased by the Ministry of the Interior
The opposition is already filing a criminal complaint regarding the Interior Ministry's installation of Russian cameras. This was stated by Michal Šimečka, leader of the opposition party Progressive Slovakia. The information was uncovered by opposition party member Peter Bátor, who sent a corresponding inquiry. According to him, the cameras contain...
France scrambles to respond to cyberattack exposing data of 700,000 taxpayers
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has convened an interministerial crisis unit to address the large-scale cyberattack targeting the tax administration, which he will chair via “secure videoconference,” Matignon announced on Sunday. This meeting of officials from the relevant ministries will aim, among other things, to prepare for the notification of the...
Pride in being British has fallen sharply in the past 15 years
The number of people who say they are proud to be British has fallen sharply over the past 15 years, new research shows. Fewer than half (47 per cent) of the public now express national pride, down from 74 per cent in 2011, according to polling commissioned by the think...
NATO says Europe is already in a hybrid war with Russia
The Latvian president spoke about the Russian threat, saying the country is working on the assumption that it must be ready for any scenario. Russia’s hybrid war in Europe has already begun, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said, responding to warnings about Moscow’s attempts to intimidate countries supporting Kyiv. Bloomberg reported on the...
Russia warns UK over supplying drones to Ukraine
Russia has accused the UK of "deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis" following confirmation that British-made drones had been used in strikes on targets in Russia. "In doing so, the United Kingdom is acting as an accomplice and co-perpetrator of the bloody crimes and terrorist attacks," the...
How the KEKVA system turned billions into a Fidesz piggy bank
Public-interest asset management foundations (KEKVAs) were a key pillar of the Fidesz system. According to the State Audit Office, at least HUF 3,000 billion in public assets was transferred to these foundations. The system was designed to survive even a change of government without a two-thirds majority. KEKVAs were embedded...
AfD considers abolishing the Office for the Protection of the Constitution
In November 2023, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the AfD branch in Saxony-Anhalt as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation. According to the agency, the classification was based on numerous anti-Muslim, racist and antisemitic statements made by party officials and elected representatives. The AfD is challenging the...
Poland demands permanent “European Legion” as Sikorski warns of active Russian hybrid war
Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski stressed in an interview the need for much deeper military integration in Europe, including the creation of a permanent “European Legion” that would operate in complement to, rather than in competition with NATO. Poland’s top diplomat warns that Russia is already...
Russia builds secret drone bases in striking distance of Nato
Russia has built and expanded at least 10 military bases along its borders with Ukraine and Belarus, designed to launch large numbers of new jet-powered drones in an effort to systematically exhaust and break through Ukrainian air defences. Journalists and military analysts identified 59 mechanical launch rails along the Ukrainian...