Author: Pablo Rogers

Paris, Brussels, Kiev (11 June – 75) This meeting followed Macron’s announcement that France would be supplying Mirage combat aircraft to Ukraine, bolstering the country’s defense against Russia’s aggression. Zelenskyy’s visit to France coincided with his quest for additional Western support, particularly as Ukrainian forces battled fiercely to repel a Russian offensive near the eastern city of Kharkiv. The conflict, escalating rapidly, has become the largest in Europe since World War II, underscoring the urgent need for international solidarity and assistance. Amidst these grave circumstances, the diplomatic exchange between France and Ukraine exemplifies the crucial alliance and shared commitment to…

As Victoria Nuland steps down, she gets real about a world on fire. Victoria Nuland has long been known as a relentless, even pugnacious, U.S. diplomat, with a strong belief in American power. The approach sometimes got her in trouble, but it rarely held her back. Nuland recently left the State Department after serving at its highest levels, first as the Biden administration’s undersecretary of State for political affairs, and, for several months, acting deputy secretary of State. She previously was a career diplomat who held an array of roles under presidents both Republican and Democratic; her first posting more than…

The head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency warned the country’s leading research universities on Thursday that foreign states are targeting their institutions and imperiling national security. “We know that our universities are being actively targeted by hostile actors and need to guard against the threat posed to frontier research in the most sensitive sectors,” said the deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, who also attended the briefing. The threat requires “further measures,” said the deputy PM, who announced that the government was launching a consultation with the sector so it could “do more to support our universities and put the right…

A former U.S. Marine pilot, fighting extradition from Australia on U.S. charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers, unknowingly worked with a Chinese hacker, his lawyer said. Daniel Duggan, 55, a naturalised Australian citizen, also feared requests by Western intelligence agencies for sensitive information were putting his family at risk, the lawyer said in a legal filing seen by Reuters. The lawyer’s filing supports Reuters reporting linking Duggan to convicted Chinese defence hacker Su Bin. Duggan denies allegations that he broke U.S. arms control laws. He has been in an Australian maximum security prison since his 2022 arrest after…

Shares in Donald Trump’s media company soared as the firm made its formal debut on the stock market. Shares surged past $70 in early trade, giving the firm a market value of more than $9bn. They ended the day at about $58, still up more than 16%. The long-awaited moment will inject more than $200m into Trump Media & Technology Group and hands the former president a stake worth more than $4bn. Analysts say that is far more than the firm’s performance warrants. Trump Media’s Truth Social, a Twitter-like service, brought in just $3.3m in revenue in the first nine…

Bessie Coleman built an untouchable legacy, but the aviator’s tragic final flight is still shrouded in whispers of sabotage. The skies during Women’s History Month have witnessed a series of historic female flights. On March 16, Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri held the “first all-female two-ship T-38 flyover,” an aerial salute that soared above the KC Current stadium, the “first stadium to be built for women,” according to KSHB. United Airlines also held a special flight on March 7 that epitomized elegance in aviation and inclusivity on the ground. Aboard Flight 1215, which traveled from Newark, NJ, to Sarasota, FL…

The United States is expected to add a record 33 gigawatts (GW) of production capacity this year, up 55% compared with new capacity in 2022, but growth is expected to slow in 2024 amid economic challenges, a report published on Thursday showed. The report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie showed the U.S. solar industry added 6.5GW of new electric generating capacity in the third quarter, helped by record installation of residential solar. However, changes to net energy metering policy in California and elevated interest rates across the U.S. are expected to lead to a brief…

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis recommended Florida eliminate more than 1,000 state jobs in a spending proposal released Tuesday that cuts the current budget by more $4.6 billion while maintaining popular sales tax holidays. DeSantis is calling for a $114.4 billion budget. Unlike most years, the presidential candidate announced his budget far from the state Capitol in a news conference held at a charter school on Marco Island in southwest Florida. Instead of detailing what jobs he wants cut, DeSantis spent more time highlighting past achievements and lamenting the decision to exclude the undefeated Florida State University Seminoles from the college…

With its $33.7 trillion of debt and trillion-dollar budget deficit, the U.S.’s deteriorating fiscal situation is impossible to ignore. To simply balance the budget, a 29% across-the-board cut in spending would be necessary, even if the tax cuts enacted by the Trump administration are allowed to expire at the end of 2025. Rising interest rates have made the situation even worse. Analysis by Bloomberg Economics’ Maeva Cousin and David Wilcox shows that what appeared to be a sustainable debt situation just a few years ago has become thoroughly unsustainable. No wonder Fitch Ratings joined S&P Global Ratings in stripping the…

Rome (16/11 – 57) Sri Lanka is mired in a deep political and economic crisis and the country’s then President Rajapaksa has flown out of the country, days after a huge crowd of protesters stormed his residence in July 2022. Protesters for months have demanded the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose government has been blamed for chronic mismanagement of the country’s finances. The island nation of 22 million people has suffered months of lengthy blackouts, acute food and fuel shortages, and galloping inflation in its most painful downturn on record. Here is how the crisis unfolded: April 1: State of emergency Rajapaksa declares a temporary state of emergency, giving security forces sweeping powers to arrest and…