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- Lebanon becomes unsafe for former Syrian regime officials amid extradition risks
- Trump suspends tariffs on Canada, cites pending trade agreement
- Florida Senate race between Ashley Moody and Angie Nixon confirmed after primary victories
- Sisters, aged 14 and 15, go missing days apart in northern Germany
- French film producer Nicolas Altmayer and partner Mathilde Favier die in crash
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EU
The European Commission confirmed on Tuesday that returns are governed by EU law, clarifying the legal framework surrounding product returns within the union. This announcement aims to ensure compliance and standardise procedures across member states regarding consumer rights and returns.
EFFECTS ON EUROPE
This morning, the European Union faces challenges over economic policies and climate regulations.
The EU is revising the Tobacco Taxation Directive, proposing a 139 per cent increase in minimum excise duties on cigarettes. This overhaul also aims to establish EU-wide minimum taxes on vapes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches, marking the most significant change in tobacco taxes in over a decade.
A Serbian opposition party formally lodged a complaint on Friday against alleged fraud by President Aleksandar Vucic’s ruling party during parliamentary and local elections last month.
Talking Europe interviews the EU commissioner in charge of jobs and social rights, Nicolas Schmit. He speaks to the importance of protecting workers, particularly the “gig” or “platform” workers, whose status is at the core of a dispute between the European Commission and several EU member states. He also addresses the issue of “social dumping” – people being paid below their level of skills – an issue of relevance not only to EU workers, but also to Ukrainian refugees that have been granted permission to live and work in the EU. Plus, he explains the implementation of the EU Directive on adequate minimum wages, as economic conditions in Europe threaten people’s purchasing power; especially that of poorer members of society.
Two renowned anthropologists have spent the past five years documenting the lives of migrants in one specific place. Didier Fassin and Anne-Claire Defossez chose to assist aid workers at a reception centre in the French Alpine town of Briançon, close to the Italian border. They looked at how the migrants were living, what support they received, as well as how they were treated by police. The pair were even arrested while carrying out their research, simply for helping the migrants. They spoke to FRANCE 24’s Gavin Lee in Perspective.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday replaced his foreign minister but maintained other key figures in their posts, in a reshuffle that tilted his cabinet to the right and leaves all the top ministries in the hands of men.
South Africa asked the International Court of Justice to order Israel to immediately suspend its military operation in Gaza, where it says Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians. FRANCE 24’s Fernande van Tets is in The Hague with the details.
A former interior minister and his aide have launched hunger strikes from prison after being detained on abuse of power charges Tuesday for masterminding a fake graft case to discredit another politician in 2007.
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