Hamas pressured from all sides as it weighs Trump's Gaza plan
A U.S.-sponsored ceasefire proposal for Gaza on Tuesday was hinging on Hamas's response to the 20-point plan which U.S. President Donald Trump has sai...
The European Union’s chief executive, Ursula von der Leyen, sets out her priorities for the year ahead on Wednesday after a bruising summer dominated by a much-criticised trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, will address the European Parliament in Strasbourg with her State of the Union speech – an annual opportunity to set the political agenda of the 27-nation bloc. It is scheduled for 9 a.m. CEST (0700 GMT).
The German former defence minister secured a second five-year term last year and pledged to focus on building up Europe’s defences in the face of growing fears about Russia and on boosting the continent’s economic competitiveness.
She has also championed strong support for Ukraine through continued financial aid and more EU sanctions on Moscow.
But she faced considerable criticism over the trade deal she agreed with Trump at his Turnberry Scottish golf resort in July.
Under that deal, the EU agreed to remove tariffs on U.S. industrial goods, ease access for U.S. farm products, and accept a 15% U.S. tariff on most of its exports, compared to mostly low single-digit or no duties before Trump began his second term.
Many European politicians and commentators blasted the deal as unbalanced in favour of the U.S., and France’s then-Prime Minister Francois Bayrou branded it an act of submission.
EU officials said it was the best deal they could get, avoided a trade war, and provided vital certainty for European businesses. It also reflected an unwillingness among leaders of EU countries to escalate tensions with Trump, particularly given Washington’s key role in Europe’s security.
Alberto Alemanno, a professor of EU law at the HEC Paris business school, said other EU leaders were "scapegoating" von der Leyen for their own shortcomings.
"True: von der Leyen embodies EU weaknesses, yet those aren’t of her making. Alone she can’t retaliate against the U.S., act decisively on Gaza, or broker Ukraine talks,” he said on X.
Bureaucracy Battle
Von der Leyen’s Commission has proposed a raft of policies this year to cut bureaucracy for struggling industries and help European firms compete with rivals in China and the U.S.
Some industries have welcomed those moves, but others say the Commission has done too little to implement a competitiveness blueprint drawn up by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to improve productivity and investment in Europe.
"I don't think we have yet seen the step change in this space that Draghi called for, and I'm not sure that is only the fault of the Commission," said Simone Tagliapietra, senior fellow at think tank Bruegel, adding that national governments also bear responsibility.
But her efforts to simplify EU bureaucracy have been criticised by left-wing EU lawmakers and campaigners as weakening environmental laws and corporate accountability.
A group of 470 non-governmental organisations issued a statement ahead of her speech denouncing her Commission’s "deregulation campaign."
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
A U.S.-sponsored ceasefire proposal for Gaza on Tuesday was hinging on Hamas's response to the 20-point plan which U.S. President Donald Trump has said was "beyond very close" to ending the two-year-old conflict in the region.
Volodymyr Z., a Ukrainian diver wanted by Germany over his alleged involvement in the Nord Stream explosions, has been detained in Poland, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Vietnam's most devastating storm this year brought heavy rains that triggered floods across its north, disrupting flights and train services with the capital, Hanoi, where schools were closed and many homes inundated, authorities said on Tuesday.
Türkiye has joined Spain, Italy and Greece in monitoring an international flotilla carrying aid for Gaza that was sailing east across the Mediterranean Sea on Monday despite warnings from Israel to stop the mission, flight data show.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponents appeared to make little progress at a White House meeting aimed at heading off a government shutdown that could disrupt a wide range of services as soon as Wednesday.
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