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Orbàn and Putin end 2.5 hours of talks in the Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbàn held a two-and-a-half hour meeting in the Kremlin on Friday. Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said many issues had been discussed in what he said was a very good atmosphere - above all Ukraine. Putin recently made a proposal for ending the war against Ukraine that he launched more than two years ago, although he made it conditional on Ukraine agreeing to territorial concessions in advance. Putin said he wanted to inform Orbàn about the details of his ideas. Despite the Russian invasion, Orbàn continues to maintain good relations with the Kremlin...
Eurozone inflation eases but banking authorities call for caution
Inflation accelerated rapidly in the eurozone after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and peaked at more than 10% in 2022. Energy costs in particular shot up after the invasion caused gas prices to spike with a knock on effect on the cost of industrially produced goods and imports. After two years, eurozone inflation stands now at 2.5% in June, down from 2.6% in May. The European Central Bank (ECB), tasked with maintaining price stability, lowered its key interest rates by 0.25 percentage points for the first time in June since inflation hit the euro area. If inflation falls in...
Germany's Scholz, coalition partner salute Labour on UK poll victory
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday congratulated the British Labour Party on its comprehensive victory in the United Kingdom's general election. Asked whether he saw himself in a new alliance with freshly appointed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader concurred, saying he was delighted with the result. As a traditional centre-left party, Labour occupies a similar place on the UK's political spectrum to Scholz's SPD in Germany. Scholz said he knows Starmer personally and has met him several times, and stated that he would be a very successful prime minister. The pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), the junior partner...
Amazon at 30: From online bookseller to 2-trillion-dollar tech giant
Amazon marked its 30th anniversary on Friday as a two-trillion-dollar company, capping a remarkable rise from the online bookseller it was founded as, inside a garage in the early days of the internet. Founder Jeff Bezos stepped down as chief executive in 2021, but he remains the executive chair and largest shareholder of a company now known as an e-commerce and cloud computing giant. Since its foundation as a bookseller, the company has grown into an online retail heavyweight where consumers can buy almost anything. It has also expanded, making many of its own products that it sells online, including electronics, led by...
The rare birds and lush forests of New Zealand's Heaphy Track
Heading down the path, suddenly two bright blue birds the size of turkeys appear, all aquamarine plumage and bright red beaks. These are two Takahēs, and, nodding like chickens, they creep around, glancing over from time to time. They only head off into the high grass when I tiptoe up towards them and come within 20 metres of them. I'm on a hike in New Zealand, heading along the Heaphy Track with a group and my fellow walkers don't believe when I tell them what I saw later on, as I don't have a picture to prove it. That's because among all the...
60+ skin: Tips for a fresher-looking complexion
Scientists haven't yet been able to reverse the ageing process. And while our skin naturally loses tautness and elasticity, becoming drier and more wrinkled as we get older, there are things we can do for healthier skin and a fresher-looking complexion. Here are some skin care essentials for 60+ skin: What does 60+ skin need most? "It's good for 60+ skin to be sufficiently hydrated - to get plenty of moisture, in other words," says dermatologist Dr Marion Moers-Carpi. So after cleaning your skin, you should make it a habit to apply a moisturizer. Ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin increase your...
Nordea bank accused of money laundering totalling $3.7bn
Danish authorities on Friday accused the Finland-based Nordea bank with failing to take action to prevent more than $3.5 billion in money laundering by clients in Russia. After years of investigations, the Danish Special Crime Unit (NSK) indicted the bank for extensive violations of the country's Money Laundering Act from 2012 to 2015. "Nordea failed to adequately investigate the bank's Russian customers' transactions and ignored warnings about transactions to exchange offices in Copenhagen," the NSK said. The indictment covers transactions totalling just over 26 billion kroner ($3.7 billion). It was not clear when the case would be brought before the district court in...
Orbán informed NATO before Russia visit, alliance chief says
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán informed NATO ahead of his planned visit to Russia, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. "Hungary informed us about this upcoming visit," Stoltenberg said in his press conference ahead of a NATO leaders' summit in Washington next week. The NATO chief said he expects allies in Washington to discuss Orbán's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and "address the discussions he had in Moscow." "Of course, Viktor Orbán is not representing NATO at these meetings. He's representing his own country," Stoltenberg stressed.
UEFA suspends Turkey's Demiral over wolf salute; Turkey mull appeal
UEFA has suspended Turkey's Merih Demiral for two matches for making the controversial wolf salute during a Euro 2024 match, ruling him out of Saturday's quarter-final against the Netherlands which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend. Politicians in Turkey have condemned the UEFA decision and the nation's football association TTF is reportedly set to contest the ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Defender Demiral made the gesture, mimicking with his fingers the shape of a wolf's head, after his second goal in a 2-1 victory over Austria in the round of 16 on Tuesday in Leipzig. The gesture is...
German coalition reaches 2025 budget deal to boost economic growth
The leaders of Germany's three-party coalition on Friday achieved a major breakthrough in negotiations on the national budget for 2025, putting an apparent end to weeks of wrangling over the finances of Europe's largest economy. The coalition leaders - Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Economy Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens and Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) - reached a preliminary deal on a financial plan to try and secure additional economic growth of more than 0.5% in the coming year. The coalition plans to stick with strict rules against ordinary budget...
Report: Turkey to appeal Demiral suspension at CAS
The Turkish Football Association (TFF) will appeal a suspension for national team defender Merih Demiral at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), public broadcaster TRT has said. The TFF said that CAS has an ad-hoc division in place for the Euro 2024 tournament, and the world's highest sports court could rule by Friday night, ahead of Turkey's Euro quarter-final against the Netherlands on Saturday. UEFA suspended Demiral for two matches for making the controversial wolf salute during the Euro 2024 last-16 match against Austria. The gesture is attributed, among other things, to a far-right extremist movement. The movement known as “Ülkücü” or...
Norris tops first practice for home British GP, Verstappen fourth
McLaren's Lando Norris bounced back from Austrian disappointment by topping the timesheets in his first practice for his home British Formula One Prand Prix on Friday. Norris clocked 1 minute 27.420 seconds on the iconic 5.891-kilometre Silverstone circuit, ahead of Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren. Triple world champion Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull, .309 of a second off the pace in cool conditions. Verstappen and Norris had made contact when fighting for the lead in the closing stages of last weekend's Austrian GP, which ended Norris' race, dropped Verstappen to fifth and gifted Mercedes' George...
You got ghosted. A fear of connection is the last thing you need now
So even the fabulously famous aren't immune to being "ghosted." On a recent BBC podcast, American pop megastar Billie Eilish said she and someone she'd known for years had arranged to meet, but he didn't show up and she "never heard from him again." Eilish, who's 22, said she later saw that he was dating someone. "And I was like ‘oh.’ But I didn’t know people still did that. I genuinely didn’t know people did that." Well, they do. Anyone can be ghosted, and anyone can become a ghoster, says couples therapist Eric Hegmann. Ghosting - for the uninitiated - is suddenly, without...
Erdogan to attend Turkey match, says Demiral only showed 'excitement'
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed he will attend the national team's Euro 2024 quarter-final against the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday and hopes that the affair around defender Merih Demiral will be over by then. Erdogan told the Anadolu news agency that Demiral had only shown his "excitement" when he made the controversial wolf salute after scoring in the last-16 match against Austria. Demiral was suspended by UEFA for two matches for the gesture which is attributed, among other things, to a far-right extremist movement. The movement known as “Ülkücü” or “grey wolves” are linked to Erdogan's political allies, the...
NATO chief announces €40bn military aid plan for Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed the alliance is to provide Ukraine with military aid worth €40 billion ($43 billion) in 2025 in a press conference on Friday. The secretary general said allies have agreed to sustain this financial pledge next year as a "minimum baseline" to meet Ukraine's needs in the defence against the Russian invasion. NATO leaders are meeting in Washington next week to celebrate the alliance's 75th anniversary and send a strong message of support to Ukraine. The €40 billion pledge however is not the multi-year financial commitment to support Ukraine that Stoltenberg wanted allies to agree on. The alliance...
Germany delivers third Patriot air defence system to Ukraine
Germany has delivered a third Patriot air-defence system to Ukraine, authorities said on Friday. German Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Jäger said on the social media platform X that the move would "help to improve the protection of the population and infrastructure." "The Ukrainian crew has successfully completed appropriate training in Germany," he added. Amid the conflict in Ukraine, which began with the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Kiev received its first modern US-made Patriot system in April 2023 and now has four. President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly asked for additional systems to be used to protect major cities under fire across Ukraine, including Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhya and Odessa. A number of countries, including Romania, have promised to send further assistance. The technology has already been used to intercept Russian hypersonic and ballistic missiles.
Will more retailers follow Walmart and tear up paper shelf labels?
The familiar sight of brightly coloured printed prices on supermarket shelves could soon be a thing of the past as big-name retailers weigh up going digital. Not only have some Carrefour and Lidl outlets in Europe switched over to using electronic or digital labels, but across the Atlantic Ocean, Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, is to install the technology in 2,300 of its US outlets in a move that could sway more of the industry to follow suit. Walmart’s management believes the change will not only mean "an even better shopping experience" but will reduce the need for staff "to walk around...
German coalition government moves to relax foreign employment rules
German coalition leaders have agreed to lower bureaucratic hurdles for foreign nationals seeking employment in the country. Under the terms of the preliminary 2025 national budget, which was agreed on Friday by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the powers of German immigration authorities to reject work permits are set to be limited. Habeck said foreign nationals should automatically be allowed to take up employment in Germany, unless immigration authorities object within 14 days. Integrating more refugees and prospective taxpayers into the labour market could be a "lever for more growth," Habeck emphasized. The Green politician said he often meets employers who struggle to hire qualified workers due to bureaucratic obstacles. No further details on the proposal have yet been released.
Report: WhatsApp planning to enable personalized avatars in future
WhatsApp is preparing to let users send AI-generated images of themselves within the app, according to a tech media report. Users are set to be able to put an avatar version of their faces into just about any context: "Take photos of yourself once, then imagine yourself in any setting from the forest to outer space," Meta says in pre-release screenshots shared by WhatsApp news website WABetaInfo. The feature, still under development, is not just about creating a new profile picture, but a more comprehensive photo generation tool for spontaneous photos in chat, allowing you to quickly send a version of yourself...
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