Page 17 - Europe

Plane carrying Marco Rubio forced to return to US ahead of Europe trip

An Air Force plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Sen Jim Risch, to Germany for the Munich Security Conference was forced to return to Washington late Thursday after developing a mechanical issue. This evening, en route from Washington to Munich, the plane on which Secretary Rubio is flying experienced a mechanical issue, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said. "The plane has turned around and is returning to Joint Base Andrews, she said. The secretary intends to continue his travel to Germany and the Middle East on a separate air craft. The issue with what one official said had to do with the cockpit windshield on the C-32, a converted Boeing 757, occurred about 90 minutes after the flight took off from Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington. Although Rubio plans to resume his journey on a new plane it was not immediately clear if the delay would cause him to miss a scheduled Friday morning meeting with Vice Presid

Europe can't turn Uncle Sam into 'Uncle Sucker,' says US defence secretary

Hegseth on Thursday defended his remarks as acknowledgement of battlefield realities and left the door open for US moves during negotiations that could be seen as concessions

Nato allies insist Ukraine and Europe must not be cut out of peace talks

Several NATO allies stressed on Thursday that Ukraine and Europe must not be cut out of any peace negotiations, after US President Donald Trump signalled that he would hold talks soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Let's not forget, Russia remains a threat well beyond Ukraine, UK Defence Secretary John Healey after the United States rattled NATO by saying that Ukraine should never join the alliance and that European allies should take responsibility for Ukraine's security going forward. There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine. And Ukraine's voice must be at the heart of any talks, Healey told reporters at NATO headquarters, as the organization's 32 defense ministers met for talks on Ukraine. Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson said European nations provided about 60% of the military support to Ukraine last year and must be involved, especially given US. demands that Europe take more responsibility for Ukraine's security in the longer term. It's very natura

ArcelorMittal considers shifting European biz support activities to India

The steel industry in Europe is facing several major challenges which are threatening the future of steelmaking on the continent

Europe to embrace AI on day 2 of Paris summit amid unclear global consensus

According to Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will announce on Tuesday a new AI strategy for the bloc

US officials bound for Europe for top-level talks on Russia-Ukraine war

President Donald Trump's national security adviser said Sunday that top administration officials will meet with European officials this week about how to end the war in Ukraine, nearly three years after Russia launched an all-out invasion. Less than a day earlier, the New York Post reported that Trump had a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss steps toward a negotiated solution. There was no immediate confirmation from the White House or the Kremlin. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz declined to comment in a television interview. Waltz said the Russian economy is not doing well and that Trump is prepared to tax, to tariff, to sanction Moscow to get Putin to the negotiating table. But Waltz also underscored the Trump administration is looking to use this week's engagements to begin talks on clawing back some of the United States' assistance to Ukraine. He said European allies will also need to take a greater role in supporting Ukraine going forward. We need t

We're very interested in Indian contemporary art: Met Director Max Hollein

Support for Indian art at the Met is diverse, it comes not only from India but also from the US and beyond, says Hollein

Ukraine ready for talks on war, US, Europe must also take part: Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy, who had long called for all Russian troops to leave Ukraine as a pre-condition, has in recent weeks spoken of the need for talks on moving the conflict to a just end

EU leaders scramble to avoid friction with US, avoid 'stupid tariff war'

After three years spent trying to deter Russia from destroying Ukraine, European Union leaders grappled on Monday with how to respond to a major ally who appears determined to start a trade war or even seize part of their territory. It would be a cruel paradox if, during the time of this direct Russian threat and Chinese expansion, the EU and the United States might end up in a conflict among allies," said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency. Since taking office last month, US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on EU imports and refused to rule out military force to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. Trump has also mystified Europeans by showing little sign of how he intends to end the war in Ukraine within six months as promised, let alone in a day, as he boasted while campaigning last year. We have to do everything to avoid this totally unnecessary and stupid tarif

5 years after Britain left EU, full impact of Brexit still emerging

Five years ago Friday, two crowds of people gathered near Britain's Parliament some with Union Jacks and cheers, others European Union flags and tears. On Jan 31, 2020 at 11 pm London time midnight at EU headquarters in Brussels the U.K. officially left the bloc after almost five decades of membership that had brought free movement and free trade between Britain and 27 other European countries. For Brexit supporters, the U.K. was now a sovereign nation in charge of its own destiny. For opponents, it was an isolated and diminished country. It was, inarguably, a divided nation that had taken a leap into the dark. Five years on, people and businesses are still wrestling with the economic, social and cultural aftershocks. The impact has been really quite profound, said political scientist Anand Menon, who heads the think-tank U.K. in a Changing Europe. It's changed our economy. And our politics has been changed quite fundamentally as well, he added. We've seen a new division around

China's big EV push into Europe fizzles out on EU tariffs and slowdown

Brands led by SAIC Motor Corp.'s MG registered 3.5 per cent fewer EVs in the region for all of 2024, according to data from automotive researcher Dataforce

Coca-Cola recalls some soft drinks in Europe over safety concerns

Coca-Cola has recalled some of its soft drinks in Europe after higher-than-normal levels of a chemical called chlorate were detected in bottles and cans at a production plant in Belgium. Batches of Coca Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Minute Maid and Fuze Tea were among the products recalled in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, the company said on Tuesday. The recall concerns drinks with production codes 328 GE to 338 GE. We are also in contact with authorities in a very small number of European markets France, Germany and Great Britain where a very limited quantity of stock was also shipped, the company said. No produce was recalled in those countries. Health authorities in Denmark, Portugal and Romania were notified by the European Union's rapid alert system to investigate whether shop shelves or vending machines had been stocked with potentially contaminated soft drinks. It designated the risk as serious. Chlorate comes from chlorine disinfectants which are used in the treatment o

Elon Musk backs German far-right AfD party's campaign launch amid protests

The AfD, recently making history as the first far-right party to win a state election since the Nazi era, has gained momentum in national polls

JSW Steel seeks syndicated loan of up to $900 mn from international lenders

JSW Steel's loan comes amid a busy period for Indian borrowers, with Reliance Industries and Greenko Energy Holdings's founders also tapping foreign debt as local funding rates remain elevated

Europe may need over 100 extra gas cargoes to refill shrinking stocks

EU gas storage sites have emptied faster this year than in recent winters and are currently 59% full, according to the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe

Wake up, spend more on defence, Macron tells Europe as Trump takes office

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Europe Monday to wake up and spend more on defence in order to reduce its reliance on the United States for its security, in a speech to the French military as Donald Trump returns to power. Macron referred to expected changes in Washington's foreign policy, especially regarding the war in Ukraine, saying it was an opportunity for a European strategic wake-up call, in his New Year's speech to the military at the Army Digital and Cyber Support Command based in western France. What will we do in Europe tomorrow if our American ally withdraws its warships from the Mediterranean? If they send their fighter jets from the Atlantic to the Pacific? he asked. Trump has criticised the cost of the war in Ukraine for US taxpayers through major military aid packages and has made it clear that he wants to shift more of the fiscal burden onto Europe. He has vowed to bring the conflict to a swift end, voicing hope that peace could be negotiated in six ...

European nuclear projects need de-risking to attract investors: IEA chief

Pvt sector started to invest more in nuclear in 2024 to cover growing electricity demand for data centres and artificial intelligence, but long delays and cost overruns for recent projects have hurt

Amid competition & delays, Volkswagen faces another year without new EVs

The manufacturer's deliveries risk slumping again because its namesake VW brand doesn't have a new electric car coming in 2025

Boeing's aircraft deliveries, orders in 2024 reflect company's rough year

Boeing delivered less than half the number of commercial aircraft to customers than its European rival in 2024 as the American aerospace giant's output suffered under intensified government scrutiny and a factory workers' strike, according to data released Tuesday. Boeing said it supplied 348 jetliners during the year. That was more than a third fewer than the 528 the company finished for airlines and leasing outfits in 2023 and less than half the number of jetliners that Airbus delivered last year. Deliveries are an important source of cash for plane manufacturers since buyers typically pay a large portion of the purchase price when their orders are fulfilled. More than three-quarters of the planes that Boeing furnished were 737 Max jets, a stark reminder of how integral its best-selling airline model has been to the company's fortunes and challenges. Boeing has lost money since 2019 following the crashes of two then-new Max jets that killed 346 people. The company expected to ram

Meeting Trump's military spending goals not easy: European defence firms

The defence ministers of Europe's five top military spenders said Monday they want to continue increasing their investments in defence but described meeting President-elect Donald Trump's challenge for them to raise spending to 5 per cent of their overall economic output as complicated. The defence ministers of Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Poland came together near Warsaw for a meeting in a new format that they established after Trump was re-elected last year. Their first meeting in this format of five NATO members was held in Berlin in late November. The five are seeking ways to maintain their support for Ukraine as US policy is expected to shift when Trump takes power. They also discussed how to strengthen Ukraine's own weapons production capacity. The German minister, Boris Pistorius, stressed at the start of the meeting that they all support a just peace for Ukraine, one in which Kyiv has a say over its fate. There are concerns in Europe that Trump could push Ukraine to .