Ukraine: Donald Trump signals shift on supplying weapons
14/07/2025
Ireland: excavation of mass grave believed to hold remains of nearly 800 infants begins
Europe
14/07/2025
Trump's rollercoaster for Ukrainians: US to send Patriot missiles to Kyiv
Europe
14/07/2025
EU still seeks trade deal, delaying countermeasures after new Trump tariff threat
Europe
14/07/2025
Donald Trump says will send US patriot missiles to Ukraine
Europe
13/07/2025
Several killed in Russian drone strikes on Ukraine
Europe
12/07/2025
Russian drone attack: The goal is to 'terrorise the Ukrainian population'
Europe
12/07/2025
Europe needs infrastructure overhaul to tackle summer heatwaves, expert says
Europe
11/07/2025
France is Russia's 'main enemy' says head of French army this Friday
Europe
11/07/2025
EU orders AI companies to clean up their act, stop using pirated data
Europe
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LeMonde
24 minutes ago
- LeMonde
European Union: Brussels' budget proposal faces strong opposition
The issue, as complex as it is crucial for the future of the European Union (EU), promised to spark heated debate within the Commission. The highly top-down leadership style of its president, Ursula von der Leyen, did not help matters. As a result, on Wednesday, July 16, budget commissioner Piotr Serafin presented the draft of the EU budget bill for the 2028-2034 period to members of the European Parliament almost four hours late. Until Tuesday afternoon, von der Leyen had kept the legislative proposal to herself, sharing only piecemeal information (always verbally) with other commissioners, never providing them with an overall view. When they finally had access to all the details, discussions were heated, and the Commission had to revise its draft at the last minute. The stakes are indeed high; the EU's financial capacity rests upon this piece of legislation. It determines the total resources available for seven years, divides them among the 27 member states and directs funding to various policies – agriculture, cohesion, defense, security, competitiveness, research, Erasmus student exchanges and more – where Brussels has a say.
France 24
38 minutes ago
- France 24
Merz makes first trip to London amid warming post-Brexit ties
They will also discuss continued support for Ukraine, with both London and Berlin expected to play a role in US President Donald Trump's plan to send weapons to Kyiv with financing from other NATO countries. The visit is Merz's first to the UK as chancellor, although he has already met Starmer several times, including on a trip to Ukraine just days after he took office in early May. Merz's trip comes a week after a state visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron, the first by an EU head of state since the UK left the bloc five years ago. The wide-ranging new treaty between Germany and Britain will refer to the turbulent security situation that both countries face and include a mutual defence pact. "There is no strategic threat to one which would not be a strategic threat to the other," the text is expected to say, alongside a pledge that the two countries "shall assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack". While Britain and Germany already have a commitment to mutual defence as NATO members, the treaty is expected to pave the way for greater defence cooperation, including in weapons development and operations on NATO's eastern flank. The two countries already signed a landmark defence agreement in October and in May said they would begin developing strike missiles with a range of 2,000-plus kilometres (1,250 miles). Merz and Starmer are set to announce Thursday that this system will be delivered within the next decade, and they will unveil a new agreement on boosting UK defence exports to Germany such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets. Overcoming Brexit 'trauma' German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will accompany Merz on the visit and is expected to meet his British counterpart David Lammy. A German government source said of the visit that "we shouldn't underestimate" how much relations with the UK had improved since the "traumatic" experience of Brexit. The treaty will include measures to improve citizens' contacts between the two countries, for example by simplifying border procedures for school trips. The two leaders are also set to commit to doing more to tackle irregular migration, a key domestic priority for both Merz and Starmer. Merz's government is expected to make a commitment to modify German law by the end of the year to criminalise the facilitation of "illegal migration". This will include action against storage facilities used by migrant smugglers to conceal small boats intended for Channel crossings. The text will also include sections on science and technology, with more cooperation promised in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence. It will also establish a new UK-Germany Business Forum, with several German companies poised to announce new investment in Britain on Thursday. On the topic of transport, the two countries will commit to improving train connections. Last month Eurostar said it planned to launch a new route from London to Frankfurt in the early 2030s, which would be the first such direct connection between the UK and Germany.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Trump says Coca-Cola agreed to switch to real cane sugar in US
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship soft drink in the US at his suggestion — though the company didn't confirm such a move. Any switch from high-fructose corn syrup in Coke sold in the United States would put Coca-Cola more in line with its practice in other countries, including Mexico and Australia. But it wouldn't affect Trump's drink of choice, Diet Coke, which uses aspartame as a calorie-free beverage. 'I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so,' Trump wrote on his social media site. 'I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You'll see. It's just better!' A spokesperson for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. said in a statement that the company appreciated Trump's enthusiasm and promised that more details on new offerings within its products would be shared soon. Coca-Cola didn't elaborate. But the company has long indulged US fans of cane sugar by importing glass bottles of Mexican Coke to the US since 2005. Returning to sugar in US production, meanwhile, might affect the nation's corn farmers, whose yields are used in artificial sweeteners. 'Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesn't make sense," Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode said in a statement. "President Trump stands for American manufacturing jobs, American farmers, and reducing the trade deficit. Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit.' Trump himself is such a fan of Diet Coke that that he had a red button installed on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office that he can press to have a White House butler bring one in for him. Despite his fondness for Diet Coke, his relationship with the company hasn't always been sweet. In a series of posts in 2012, Trump suggested diet soda might be connected to weight gain before eventually writing, 'The Coca Cola company is not happy with me — that's okay, I'll still keep drinking that garbage.' A bottle of Diet Coke could be seen sitting next to his chair years later, at a G20 summit in 2017. And The New York Times reported in 2018 that he was drinking a dozen Diet Cokes daily.
