World & Politics
EU hopes for quick trade deal with US - 07/08/2025
According to Bloomberg, the European Union is nearing the finalization of a trade deal with the US following a phone call between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump. “We are nearly at the final phase, at least regarding a preliminary agreement,” EC spokesperson Olof Gill informed reporters in Brussels, emphasizing that this was because von der Leyen...
EU says Iran's nuclear program in its current form is not credible - 07/07/2025
Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas, stated that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons and that its nuclear program does not demonstrate that it is intended for peaceful purposes. El Anouni stated during a briefing in Brussels when questioned if the EU's criticism of Iran implied that Tehran had a peaceful nuclear program as outlined in the Joint Comprehensive Plan...
The U.S. will send letters to a dozen countries notifying them of tariffs - 07/07/2025
The U.S. President Donald Trump announced that beginning Monday, his administration will start dispatching letters to nations exporting products to the US, detailing import tariffs, according to Axios. Trump informed reporters late Friday while on the presidential plane that approximately twelve letters would be dispatched on Monday. The newspaper indicates that the U.S. leader did not clarify...
Allianz expects economic slowdown in Europe due to heat in 2025 - 07/04/2025
Reuters reports, referring to a study by Allianz Research, that unusually high temperatures in Europe might lower the economic growth rate of the area by 0.5 percentage points in 2025. Analysts suggest that the most significant impacts will occur in Southern Europe: Spain may experience a GDP growth reduction of 1.4 percentage points because of heat, while Italy and Greece could see a decline of...
Trump signs executive order to partially lift sanctions against Syria - 07/01/2025
US President Donald Trump has enacted an executive order that relaxes certain sanctions on Syria, as stated by the White House on Monday. The executive order, the wording of which was released by the US government, states that “sanctions on Syria are being removed, but actions against Bashar al-Assad, his affiliates, human rights abusers, and those involved in the chemical weapons program (...)...
EU continues tariff talks with US, prepares for any scenario - 06/27/2025
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the European Union is reviewing the document it obtained from the US containing suggestions for a trade agreement, anticipated by July 9. “Today we obtained the final document from the United States for ongoing negotiations. We are evaluating it. Our message today is straightforward: we are prepared for an agreement. Simultaneously,...
Araghchi: Iran has no plans to resume nuclear talks with the US - 06/27/2025
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Tehran and Washington have not come to an agreement to restart nuclear discussions. “No consensus or arrangement has been achieved to restart discussions,” Araqchi stated to IRINN TV. “There have been no commitments made and no conversations conducted regarding this matter.” He observed that Iran faced an “unpleasant experience” with the...
Reuters: French Le Pen's party's refused to accept US support - 06/26/2025
In late May, a delegation from the US State Department engaged with high-ranking members of the French right-wing National Rally (RN) party. During the meeting, the party officials turned down a proposal from the U.S. diplomats for the Donald Trump administration to endorse RN leader Marine Le Pen publicly, two sources informed Reuters. Le Pen, 56, was ahead in surveys for the 2027 French...
Navigation problems in Persian Gulf create a jam of almost 1,000 ships - 06/24/2025
The rise in tensions in the Middle East resulted in significant issues for shipping in the Persian Gulf, where a backlog of nearly 1,000 vessels has developed since last week, according to S&P Global, referencing market sources. Due to the unstable situation in the region, ship owners are restricting transit to daylight hours only, as disruptions to global navigation systems and communications...
NYT: Iran removed 408 kg of enriched uranium from nuclear facilities - 06/23/2025
Iran extracted all the enriched uranium from its nuclear sites prior to the US attacking them, reports The New York Times referencing Israeli sources. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran possessed 408.6 kg of uranium enriched to 60% (U-235). Experts indicate that this is nearly 90% of the weapons grade. With additional enrichment, this quantity can produce as many as...