Cross posted from https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/42126522

good riddens 😍

Cross posted from https://lemmy.world/post/46305320

President Donald Trump said “yeah, I probably will,” when asked whether he would consider pulling U.S. troops from Italy and Spain. “Why shouldn't I? Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible. Absolutely horrible,” he replied, doubling down on his argument that NATO allies have not supported the U.S. during the Iran war. “We helped them [Europe] with Ukraine… but when we needed them, they were not there. We have to remember that.” As of December 2025, there were 12,662 U.S. active-duty personnel stationed in Italy and 3,814 in Spain, according to data from the U.S. Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC). While Spain has yet to respond to Trump mulling over the troops, Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto has pushed back. “I wouldn't understand the reasons behind it. As is clear to anyone, we haven't used the Strait of Hormuz. And we've even offered to carry out a mission to protect shipping—a gesture that, incidentally, was greatly appreciated by the U.S. military,” he told Italian ANSA news agency.

Cross posted from https://lemmy.world/post/46307004

President Donald Trump has announced he plans to increase a tariff on cars and trucks imported from the European Union effective next week, a move that could jolt the world economy at a fragile moment. “I am pleased to announce that, based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to trade deal, next week I will be increasing tariffs charged to the European Union for cars and trucks coming into the United States. The tariff will be increased to 25%,” he wrote Friday. “It is fully understood and agreed that, if they produce cars and trucks in U.S.A. plants, there will be NO TARIFF.” Trump did not elaborate on his specific grievances over the EU and their supposed noncompliance with the trade deal. It comes despite an agreement reached last July between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which established a 15% tariff on the majority of goods.

Cross posted from https://slrpnk.net/post/37151514

This effectively means no new fossil fuel equipment within a few years

Cross posted from https://slrpnk.net/post/36938814

Speaking later, von der Leyen said she thought it would be possible to disburse the first tranche of the €45bn funding planned for 2026 in this quarter, meaning by the end of June. The first payment, she indicated, would fund Ukraine’s domestic drone production – “drones from Ukraine for Ukraine”.

Cross posted from https://feddit.org/post/28901474

Cross posted from https://feddit.uk/post/47842441

Celebrated musicians including Massive Attack, Kneecap, Brian Eno, Sigur Rós, Nadine Shah, and many more have signed an open letter calling for a boycott of the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in protest of Israel’s participation.

Campaign groups No Music For Genocide and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel are calling for a boycott of this year’s highly divisive Eurovision Song Contest.

More than 1,000 artists, including Massive Attack, Kneecap, Brian Eno, Sigur Rós, Nadine Shah, Mogwai and Hot Chip, have signed an open letter calling for a boycott of Eurovision 2026 in protest of Israel’s participation.

The letter calls upon the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to ban KAN – the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation – from the upcoming contest.

“For the third consecutive year,” the letter states, Israel will be “celebrated onstage despite its ongoing genocide in Gaza, while Russia remains banned for its illegal invasion of Ukraine.”

“We refuse to be silent when Israel’s genocidal violence soundtracks and silences Palestinian lives,” the letter reads. “When children in Israeli prisons endure beatings for humming a tune. When all that’s left of nearly every stage, studio, bookshop and university in Gaza is piles of rubble, under which slaughtered bodies still await recovery and proper burial.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for No Music For Genocide said: “People of conscience around the globe are fighting complicity in every industry for a free Palestine and a freer world. While many of us in the industry make light of Eurovision or doubt our own power as cultural producers, genocidal Israel’s leaders speak openly about the contest’s geopolitical value.”

Continue reading HERE

Cross posted from https://lemmy.nz/post/36620751

Cross posted from https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/58639613

Cross posted from https://sh.itjust.works/post/58632248

Cross posted from https://lemmy.zip/post/62643507

The United Kingdom and the European Union have finalized an agreement allowing Britain to take part in the bloc's Erasmus+ student exchange scheme.

More than 100,000 people are expected to benefit when they become eligible on January 1, 2027, the British government said in a statement on Wednesday.

The agreement is currently only for one year, and Britain will contribute 570 million pounds (€655 million, $774 million) towards the scheme's costs in 2027.

Cross posted from https://feddit.org/post/28429156

Cross posted from https://lemmy.ml/post/45732031

Cross posted from https://lemmy.world/post/45377802

Cross posted from https://lemmy.world/post/45385014

The likelihood Viktor Orbán winning Hungary's upcoming parliamentary election has dropped since U.S. Vice President JD Vance made a speech endorsing him, according to the latest betting odds.

Speaking at a press conference in Hungary's capital, Budapest, on Wednesday, Vance said he would help the incumbent prime minister in his election campaign and praised Orbán ahead of the April 12 poll.

Cross posted from https://lemmy.ca/post/63089407

Cross posted from https://feddit.org/post/28086230

Cross posted from https://lemmy.world/post/45162984

Regulation 2021/1232 expired at 23:59 CEST on 3 April 2026. This means that from now on any proactive scanning of private communications is prohibited for any reason.

Cross posted from https://lemmy.zip/post/61888662

MEPs have sharply criticized the plan. “Our fear is that the implementation of our laws and standards will be called into question by American companies,” criticizes Green MEP Sergey Lagodinsky, for example. “If this is confirmed, it would be nothing less than a capitulation to the pressure and intimidation tactics of the Trump administration.” The EU Commission repeatedly emphasizes that it does not want to change its regulations due to US pressure. However, some of the recently proposed changes in digital legislation, particularly to the AI Act and the General Data Protection Regulation, primarily benefit US companies that are already dominant in the market.

Cross posted from https://feddit.org/post/27959434