Dutch Trade Min: Hope Trump Realizes Tariffs Bad For All
Dutch Trade Minister Reinette Klever speaks to Bloomberg's Oliver Crook following a meeting of EU trade chiefs in Luxembourg to discuss the response to US tariffs. (Source: Bloomberg)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
26 minutes ago
- UPI
EU Court of Justice official says Hungary LGBTQ content ban violates EU law
June 5 (UPI) -- A legal scholar at the European Union's top court on Thursday said that Hungary's law limiting access to LGBTQ content in schools and on television violates EU law. Tamara Capeta, advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union, said in a nonbinding opinion that Hungary's Law LXXIX that Hungary failed to provide proof that barring content that portrays the ordinary lives of the LGBTQ community impacts the development of minors in its defense of the law. "Consequently, those amendments are based on a value judgment that homosexual and non-cisgender life is not of equal value or status as heterosexual and cisgneder life," Capeta said. Capeta said Hungary disregarded articles of the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights that refer to "the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex and sexual orientation, the respect for private and family life, the freedom of expression and information," and the "right to human dignity." According to Capeta, the Hungarian law cannot be justified as it allegedly interferes with the healthy development of minors and parents' rights to raise their children as they personally choose under the guise that it protects minors from pornographic content. Passed in 2021, it, among its amendments, prohibits minors from having any access to content that promotes or shows gender identities that don't correspond to the sex assigned at birth, sex reassignment or homosexuality. The EU had already brought an infringement action against Hungary in regard to Law LXXIX in December of 2022, but then Hungary further stirred the EU over LGBTQ rights in recent months when it passed a ban on Pride events in March, and again in April when its parliament amended its constitution to ban public LGBTQ gatherings, in what it has said defends children's rights.
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Faro Airport opens e-gates to British travellers in time for summer
Faro Airport in Portugal has started the rollout of e-gate access to British arrivals, the UK Government has announced. Downing Street expects British holidaymakers will be able to use the technology in their 'millions', after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer struck an agreement with EU leaders last month. Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds, whose brief includes EU relations, said at the despatch box on Thursday that the deal 'makes life easier for holidaymakers'. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'Yesterday, Portugal opened e-gates at Faro Airport to British citizens, which will mean millions more Brits going to the Algarve will be able to use e-gates in time for the summer holidays.' He added: 'We're obviously continuing to work with other countries and other airports to ensure Brits can use more e-gates as soon as possible and that work continues. 'It's obviously good news to see a very significant airport, I think for British holidaymakers, opening e-gates to British citizens yesterday.' When he unveiled the deal last month, Sir Keir said that 'for holidaymakers wanting to get out this summer, they will want to know that they can do so easily and without delay and chaos'. The Prime Minister called on 'all EU members states to help make this a reality without delay'. Since Brexit, UK nationals have been unable to use e-gates in most Schengen area countries. Passengers from the UK face warnings that passport controls on arrival at Portugal 'may take up more time, as the passport will have to be stamped and there are additional questions that may be asked by the border control officers', according to the Faro Airport website. The Government has said the deal will smooth over 'legal barriers to e-gates use for UK nationals', once a new stamp-free biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) launches, due in October this year. Taking a question about steps 'to improve relations with the EU', Mr Thomas–Symonds told the Commons: 'The historic deal that we signed with the EU on May 19 is in our national interests – good for bills, borders and jobs. 'It slashes red tape and bureaucracy, boosts British exporters and makes life easier for holidaymakers. 'Indeed, I'm delighted to confirm this morning that Faro Airport in Portugal will start the rollout of e-gate access to UK arrivals this week.'
Forbes
29 minutes ago
- Forbes
Aston Martin 'Spy Car': Spy And Mistress Tour Europe Stealing War Plans
Now "Ulster bodied", this Aston Martin's wartime spy secrets can now be revealed. Tell me the plot, I say. "A British Army intelligence officer drives around Europe, just before World War 2, with his mistress, who's actually somebody else's wife and pretending she's Dutch, but really German," says retired construction company CEO Neil Pickstone. "They're masquerading as tourists in a 1935 Aston Martin, which has been fitted with secret compartments engineered by Aston and the Royal Automobile Club. "They befriend young, wealthy German army officers, steal German war plan documents, take photos of military installations, smuggling them back to Britain in those hidden compartments, and never get caught despite being stopped and the car being dismantled by the Gestapo." It sounds like a Netflix or Apple TV thriller. Except it's true, actually rather more extensive, and thoroughly documented, coming to light when two men from Cheshire, England, Pickstone and friend Simon Isles, bought the seen-better-days Aston in 2022. They'd been told the car was used to smuggle currency out of Nazi Germany, but became increasingly aware things didn't add up... Originally an Aston Martin Mark 2 Sports Saloon, the spy car chassis is retained under the "Ulster" ... More body. The car is now a faithful recreation of an "Ulster-bodied" 1930s Aston Martin race car. In the hands of British Army intelligence officer Robert William Fenton "Tony" Mellor it was a 1935 Aston Martin Mk2, but the original body way beyond repair. So Pickstone and Isles rebodied it, but retained its secrets. "Its original owner, Lieutenant, later Major, Mellor was born to a wealthy family. Come the threat of a second World War, back then there was no government budget for intelligence work. Much of it was self-funded by well-off military officers," said Pickstone. "Buying the Aston Martin in 1937, at 25, was a considered decision: in 1930s Germany, army officers were also from wealthy backgrounds. They enjoyed racing their cars, so when Mellor and mistress Ellen Magnee turned up in Germany in the the Aston, seemingly as rich tourists, German officers recognised it as a fast car and engaged in conversation; Mellor got to know them, taking opportunities to gather all sorts of intelligence". The only known image of Major Tony Mellor and his Aston Martin "spy car" comes out of storage. In parallel with deceiving German military officers, Mellor was developing close ties to the French Resistance. The Aston Martin became key to some of their missions, so appearances, especially during night-time car-bound exploits, were crucial. Fenton fitted Bosch headlights to replicate the look of a German staff car at night. He also stole a German military vehicle "exhaust whistle", diverted exhaust gasses sounding their imminent arrival at checkpoints, barriers lifted in advance, Mellor and his French Resistance passengers hurtling through at 80mph leaving guards little chance of spotting the night-time ruse. Such antics were just part of the documented story, archived in files that came with the Aston and in Mellor's Cheshire Regiment museum. "The car came with a story about helping Jewish people pre-war, smuggling silver and currency out of Germany," said Pickstone. "It came with the secret compartments, the altered exhaust, and all the bits and pieces that made it special. "But the story about smuggling currency was fabricated. This was a spy story." Pickstone and Isles knitted together Mellor's memoires, the car's history file and archived accounts of then-fellow officers to piece together an extraordinary tale. It also raised the question of why, when a senior officer spoke about recommending Major Mellor for the Victoria Cross (the highest military bravery honour) there was a resounding silence from then military chiefs. However, Mellor was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Vermilion Star for his contribution to the French war effort. One of the secret compartments, the large tube, in situ. The Gestapo missed its hidden secrets even ... More after dismantling the Aston. In the car's file is a letter from Aston Martin to Mellor. It notes his attendance at the Aston Martin factory where he was instructed in repair and maintenance of the car on his European "tours". "The letter to Mellor is for, whatever purpose, from Aston Martin to confirm he spent time working in the factory on his car. We believe it's to document what he'd allegedly been doing for six weeks while out of barracks. We believe he was actually designing secret compartments," said Pickstone. "The first modification was a cross tube on the chassis. It had a locking mechanism that couldn't be spotted unless you knew what you were looking for," said Isles. Meanwhile, the Royal Automobile Club provided a battery. It worked normally, but also had a hidden compartment. "Just pre-war he was travelling around Europe with Ellen Magnee and got stopped by the Gestapo. They stripped the car, but found nothing," says Pickstone."In the archives there's evidence he said it was a good job because he had the plans for the Siegfried Line hidden in the secret compartments." The restored German Army officer staff car exhaust whistle. Mellor Captures 500 German Soldiers On His Day Off While he left the Aston in Holland for much of the war, his antics continued. He was one of the first British soldiers onto Sicily in 1943 where he is believed to have had a brief dalliance with a local countess. But he was also part of the spearhead during 1944's Normandy landings. "Soon after he was granted 24 hours leave to see 'friends' in a nearby village. He took a wireless man, a jeep and a driver. We believe he was meeting a previous girlfriend, and to gather intel about what the Germans were doing," said Pickstone. "En route they came across the Eighth Army, parked up approaching a bridge where there was a report of a German Tiger tank which had destroyed several Allied tanks. The commander of the Sherman tank at the head of the column refused to go any further. "Mellor and a French freedom fighter went to have a look, but the 'Tiger' was just a tracked vehicle. They captured it, just as a German staff car appeared; the Sherman opens fire, the staff car crashes, and the occupants captured too. "More freedom fighters appeared and proceeded to capture 200 Germans in the woods, locked them in a barn while they went to help defend a nearby town, but ended up capturing 300 more German soldiers. 'They were terrified of the French, so wanted to surrender to a British officer. Mellor ended up capturing 500 Germans on his day off...' The question remains: was Major Mellor the inspiration for James Bond? While it's mainly Cheshire lanes that pass under the Aston's wheels these days, you wonder what other tales of derring-do war-time archives, due to be opened under the UK Government's "100 year rule" in the 2030s, could reveal. Major Mellor retired to an Oxfordshire village, but evidence remained of his past. Upon his passing, his cottage was sold, the new owners discovering a secret compartment in the basement, evidently designed to store the tools of a spy's trade. Asking Pickstone and Isles if they thought Mellor, a neighbour of 007 creator Ian Fleming, a fellow intelligence officer, was the basis for James Bond they simply said I should draw my own conclusions. I'll simply let you draw yours...
