All posts tagged: crisis

EU strikes deal on Trump trade pact – POLITICO

EU strikes deal on Trump trade pact – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The European People’s Party — the largest group in the chamber — is keen to get the trade deal on the books, and negotiators hope a majority will back it. Zeljana Zovko, the EPP lawmaker representing the center-right group in the negotiations, told POLITICO that the deal “will save our businesses and give them breathing space to continue trade with our most important trading partner.”  Failure by the Parliament to ratify the compromise would humiliate Bernd Lange, the chair of the chamber’s trade committee and the Parliament’s chief negotiator. Lange declared himself satisfied with the result despite the concessions. “We are ensuring stability and security for European manufacturers, fully aware that we cannot, of course, always guarantee that the U.S. will abide by the agreement,” he said. The German Social Democrat had assembled a broad coalition of lawmakers to demand that extra conditions be attached to the accord to shield the EU from Trump’s periodic attempts to coerce America’s longtime allies. But it remains to be seen whether the text can command a majority in the …

UN Lowers Forecast for Global Economic Growth in 2026 Over Mideast Energy Crisis

UN Lowers Forecast for Global Economic Growth in 2026 Over Mideast Energy Crisis

Published by Sam Flores

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Responding to Middle East crises and rising oil prices, the United Nations on Tuesday lowered its forecast for global economic growth and raised the prospects for inflation this year. U.N. economists said global GDP growth is now forecast at 2.5% for 2026, down from 2.7% in January, and they said it could fall to only 2.1% “in a more adverse scenario.” That would be one of the weakest growth rates this century, outside of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global financial crisis of 2008, Shantanu Mukherjee, director of economic analysis in the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said at a news conference. On a somewhat positive note, he said, “we are not close” to a recession, but life can get harder for billions of people, and some countries may see their economies contract. Global inflation is projected to rise to 3.9% this year, 0.8% higher than forecast in January, before the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran. Iran responded by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway …

‘Summer should be fine’ as Europe’s jet fuel fears ease – POLITICO

‘Summer should be fine’ as Europe’s jet fuel fears ease – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Our fuel suppliers as recently as this week have confirmed they expect no supply disruption right out to the middle of July, and the situation continues to improve,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said on Monday. The airline boss said he is now confident that rising fuel imports from West Africa, the U.S. and Norway are making up for reduced volumes from the Middle East, caused by the blockade of most tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The more optimistic mood is a stark contrast to the warning issued a month ago by Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, who said European countries could face jet fuel shortages by the end of May. But the agency’s latest oil market report, issued earlier this month, now notes a surge in jet fuel production in the U.S. and West Africa. “Alternative suppliers have moved to fill the gap,” the IEA said. “The United States flipped from a net importer in April 2025 to net exporter in early 2026, as strong refinery runs pushed jet …

Ex-commando Al Carns ‘keeping options open’ for challenge to Keir Starmer – POLITICO

Ex-commando Al Carns ‘keeping options open’ for challenge to Keir Starmer – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Some Labour MPs have viewed the ex-commander as a possible future leadership candidate since arriving at Westminster — but his supporters have brought that timeline forward and insist he must be part of any contest which takes place this year, following a series of blows to Starmer’s authority. The prime minister has said he is staying put after his health secretary, Wes Streeting, resigned, and longtime critic Burnham announced a bid to re-enter parliament to challenge him. More than 90 MPs have called for Starmer to set out a timeline to quit. While there is no leadership race currently underway, one is now more likely than it has been at any time under his premiership. Burnham and Streeting have both signaled their intention to stand for the top job, but three parliamentary allies of Carns — granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters — argued that any competition must not be restricted to the two front-runners.  One Labour MP backing Carns said he appealed to a “broad spectrum” within the party, and on some issues, “he’s …

Why running Britain is so hard, no matter who does it – POLITICO

Why running Britain is so hard, no matter who does it – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Things can’t only get better  It wasn’t always like this.  The last Labour prime minister to win big before Starmer was Tony Blair. When he came to power in 1997, the U.K. had a bigger economy than China’s, was a leading member of the growing European Union trade bloc, and was approaching peak oil and gas production in the North Sea. Blair led Britain for 10 years.  Nearly three decades on, Starmer inherited a country that has never really recovered from the economic shock of the 2008 financial crisis, is menaced by Russia, and now relies on imports for its energy security.  Keir Starmer celebrates winning the 2024 general election with a speech at Tate Modern in London on July 5, 2024. | Ricky Vigil/Getty Images It has found no lasting remedy for the resentment felt by many communities (outside London, the still-flourishing finance capital) who — over several decades — have seen traditional manufacturing roles move inexorably overseas. as the global economy tilts towards China and other rising powers.  “We had a pretty incredible run from the mid-to late-1980s, through the 1990s, until the [2008] crash,” said Jim O’Neill, a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs and an ex-Treasury …

Remember: In A Crisis, Everyone Will Consider Themselves ‘The Good Guys’

Remember: In A Crisis, Everyone Will Consider Themselves ‘The Good Guys’

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via substack, The state has two monopolies it must protect whatever the cost: the monopoly on decreeing what is legal tender and on force. We’re entering an era in which push comes to shove will lead to immovable objects encountering irresistible forces. All sorts of verities and vanities will be bulldozed as kicking the can down the road descends into desperation to stave off collapse, a desperation that unleashes second order effects the desperate did not anticipate. The only responses at this late stage are even more desperate, so desperation is self-reinforcing. The previous eras of institutional-state desperation were 1) The 1930s Great Depression, 2) the 1973-74 Gas Crisis and 3) the inflationary recession of 1980-82. The desperation in the 1930s was truly serious: banning private ownership of gold other than coin-collecting, attempting to remake the Supreme Court, one new federal program after another, slashing the wages of municipal / city employees to keep as many people employed as the shrinking revenues could allow, and so on. The desperation of the 1970s and 80s were relatively narrow …

London school crisis: £12m primary to close less than a decade after opening due to falling pupil numbers

London school crisis: £12m primary to close less than a decade after opening due to falling pupil numbers

Published by Sam Flores

Plans to shut a south London primary school, less than a decade after it opened, have received Government backing. The Department for Education (DfE) has agreed in principle to shut Oasis Academy Putney at the end of the academic year. The DfE’s decision means Oasis Community Learning can move ahead with its plans to close the school, which it runs in Putney, due to falling pupil numbers. John Barneby, CEO of Oasis Community Learning, said in February the school had not managed to attract enough pupils as families increasingly moved out of the area – with the impact of Covid-19 and the increased cost of living contributing to this shift. Latest Government figures showed the school only had 121 pupils, aged four to 11, despite having capacity for 420 students. It comes amid a widespread decline in pupil numbers in London. The drop in pupil numbers is due to falling birth rates, and a combination of the cost of living crisis and soaring private housing costs forcing families to move out of London. An estimated …

UK leadership crisis: ‘Starmer is a lame duck prime minister,’ says former Labour adviser – Spotlight

UK leadership crisis: ‘Starmer is a lame duck prime minister,’ says former Labour adviser – Spotlight

Published by Sam Flores

It’s been a tumultuous week for Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is facing a leadership crisis. Following a chaotic week in which nearly 90 Labour MPs called on Starmer to resign, along with a series of ministerial resignations, the prime minister is clinging on to power. Read moreWho are possible contenders in the UK Labour Party leadership race? Former health secretary Wes Streeting has said he would stand in any leadership contest, while Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is plotting a return to parliament after confirming he will stand in the Makerfield by-election. To discuss the unfolding events, FRANCE 24’s Gavin Lee is joined by Karl Hansen, former Labour adviser and political writer for Tribune Magazine. Produced by Gavin Lee, Alessandro Xenos, Andrew Hilliar, Guillaume Gougeon and Daniel Whittington. Source link

Eurovision faces tough questions over country participation – POLITICO

Eurovision faces tough questions over country participation – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Extra pressure The prospect of more country boycotts next year over Israel’s participation piles extra pressure on the EBU to be more consistent and clear in how it applies its own rules.   During the final week in Vienna, Eurovision officials became increasingly terse when fielding questions about Israel being allowed to participate, and whether it reflected a double standard given that Russia was banned from the contest in 2022 after it invaded Ukraine. A top EBU official explained the reasoning to POLITICO, that as long as national broadcasters follow EBU rules — like being sufficiently independent from the government — they should be allowed to compete. The official said Israel’s KAN is independent enough, while Russia’s RTR, Channel One and RDO are not.   That wasn’t the reasoning outlined in 2022, when Russia’s public broadcaster was expelled from the EBU and as a consequence banned from Eurovision. At the time, the EBU said that the decision was made “in light of ongoing events in Ukraine,” and the fact that allowing Russia to participate “would bring the competition into disrepute.”   In a press briefing ahead of Saturday’s final, Eurovision chief Martin Green acknowledged that the contest is “going through some challenging times,” and said organizers conducted a number of “listening …