Europe needs infrastructure overhaul to tackle summer heatwaves, expert says
11/07/2025
France is Russia's 'main enemy' says head of French army this Friday
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11/07/2025
EU orders AI companies to clean up their act, stop using pirated data
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11/07/2025
Zelensky appeals to allies for investment & defense aid in Rome
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11/07/2025
Bosnia commemorates massacre of more than 8,000 Muslims 30 years ago
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The plan to rebuild Ukraine: Zelensky appeals to allies for investments
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Bosnia-Herzegovina: Families commemorate Srebrenica massacre 30 years on
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Replay: France, UK agree on migrant returns plan, nuclear coordination
Europe
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France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
N.Korea's Kim offers Russia full support on Ukraine in Lavrov talks: KCNA
Lavrov's visit was the latest in a series of high-profile trips by top Moscow officials as both countries deepen military and political ties amid Russia's offensive against Kyiv. Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to Russia's Kursk region to oust Ukrainian forces and provided the Russian army with artillery shells and missiles. Kim and Lavrov met on Saturday in "an atmosphere full of warm comradely trust," the official KCNA news agency reported. Russia's foreign ministry posted a video on Telegram of the two men shaking hands and greeting each other with a hug. Kim told Lavrov that North Korea was "ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis", KCNA said. The North Korean leader also expressed a "firm belief that the Russian army and people would surely win victory in accomplishing the sacred cause of defending the dignity and basic interests of the country". The two men otherwise discussed "important matters for faithfully implementing the agreements made at the historic DPRK-Russia summit talks in June 2024", KCNA said. The two heavily sanctioned nations signed a military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to North Korea. Lavrov told Kim that Putin "hopes for continued direct contacts in the very near future", according to the Russian state agency TASS. Russian and North Korean state media have said Lavrov would stay until Sunday. Earlier Saturday, Lavrov met with his counterpart Choe Son Hui and thanked the "heroic" North Korean soldiers who have been deployed to aid Russia, TASS said. Both sides "emphasised their determination to jointly counter the hegemonic aspirations of extra-regional players, which are leading to escalating tensions in Northeast Asia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region", Russia's foreign ministry said. Lavrov met with his counterpart in Wonsan, a city on the country's east coast where a massive resort was opened earlier this month. Ahead of the visit, Russia announced that it would begin twice-a-week flights between Moscow and Pyongyang. © 2025 AFP
LeMonde
4 hours ago
- LeMonde
Macron calls on EU to 'defend European interests' in US tariff talks
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, July 12, condemned US President Donald Trump's threat to impose 30% tariffs on the European Union, calling on the bloc to "resolutely defend European interests." US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned that Mexico and the EU would be slapped with 30% tariffs starting on August 1, raising the stakes in already tense negotiations with two of the largest US trading partners. Expressing France's "very strong disapproval" of the announcement, Macron called on the bloc to "step up the preparation of credible countermeasures by mobilizing all instruments at its disposal" if the two sides failed to reach an agreement by August 1. "France fully supports the European Commission in the negotiation that will intensify to reach a mutually acceptable agreement by August 1, so that it reflects the respect that trade partners such as the European Union and the United States owe each other," he wrote on social media. Earlier Saturday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen hit out at the new tariffs threatened by Trump, but said the EU still sought a deal to avert the measures. 'Unfair deal' Meanwhile, Mexico slammed Trump's latest tariff threat as an "unfair deal," according to a government statement. "We mentioned at the table that it was an unfair deal and that we did not agree," the Mexican economy and foreign ministries said in a joint statement. Mexico is already in negotiations seeking an alternative to tariffs that would protect businesses and jobs on both sides of the border, the ministries added, saying they hope to avoid the duties. President Claudia Sheinbaum, whom Trump often refers to favorably, expressed confidence Saturday that a deal would be reached. "We are going to reach an agreement with the US government," Sheinbaum said during a public event hours after Trump's social media post announcing the elevated tariffs. She said the talks in Washington would allow Mexico to be in a "better position" by August 1.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Impact of US tariffs varies across European Union
Ireland, with a major pharmaceutical industry, is in the front line along with Germany, for whom the United States is a major outlet for its cars, steel and machine tools. France is less exposed, even if it does have aeronautics, food, wine and luxury goods companies that risk losing markets. The EU as a whole has an annual trade surplus with the United States of $235.6 billion, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which reports to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Only China has a higher amount. Ireland, Europe's lab Ireland has the largest surplus among EU members, at $86.7 billion. That is largely due to the presence of major American pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Johnson & Johnson. They all set up in Ireland to benefit from a 15 percent corporate tax, compared to 21 percent in the United States. These companies can thus host their patents in Ireland and sell on the American market, where drug prices are traditionally higher than in the rest of the world. Ireland also hosts most of the European headquarters of American tech giants, such as Apple, Google and Meta, also attracted by the attractive Irish tax system. Overall, pharmaceuticals account for 22.5 percent of EU exports to the United States, according to Eurostat, with many major players having announced major investments in the United States. - Germany, the industrial powerhouse - Germany, the EU's largest economy, is under particular pressure due to its dependence on exports: it has a surplus of $84.8 billion with the United States, thanks to its large automobile, chemical, steel and machine industries. The United States accounts for 23 percent of the revenue of Mercedes Benz. While some of that is accounted for by SUVs manufactured in the United States and exported, they risk being hit by any tariff reprisals from the EU. The Federation of German Industries (BDI) reacted promptly to Donald Trump's announcements on Saturday, calling on the EU and the United States to "quickly find solutions and to avoid an escalation". Italy, France in the second line Italy and France, with surpluses of $44 billion and $16.4 billion respectively, according to US statistics (French data says the surplus is much smaller), would appear to be less affected. But some sectors are heavily exposed. The food and wine industries would be particularly affected in both countries, as is also the case for Spain. A 30-percent tariff would be a "catastrophe" for the French wine and spirits sector, Jerome Despey, head of the viticulture branch of the FNSEA union, said Saturday. Coldiretti, Italy's main agricultural organisation, said Saturday that tariffs of 30 percent would cost US consumers and Italian food producers some $2.3 billion. Like Germany, Italy is also concerned about its automotive sector. Franco-Italian manufacturer Stellantis (particularly Fiat and Peugeot) has suspended its forecasts for the year due to these uncertainties. Exposed French sectors also include aeronautics and luxury goods. LVMH, the world's largest luxury conglomerate, makes a quarter of its sales in the United States. About a fifth of France's exports to the United States come from the aerospace industry, much of it from Airbus.
