More than four hundred years ago, in 1602, the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci, together with the Chinese cartographer Li Zhizao, created the “Map of the Ten Thousand Countries of the Earth” or Kunyu Wanguo Quantu. On that map, the Ming Dynasty empire was located at the center of all known land. That map was on the verge of opening China’s doors to Christianity.
Without demonstrations in the streets, avoiding direct criticism of the leader and without questioning the policies of the Kremlin or the military intervention in Ukraine. Russians have let Vladimir Putin know that they are not at all happy with the blocking of the internet and social media, making a video recorded for the Russian president by a popular blogger and TV presenter, Victoria Bonya, who currently lives outside Russia, tremendously viral.
It’s a scenario no one wants to talk about with too much impetus, but one that seems increasingly real: the possibility that the EU may have to defend itself without the US security umbrella. EU heads of state and government will discuss this week at the Cyprus summit the implications of Article 42.7 of the EU treaty, the clause that obliges member states to provide assistance if another country in the bloc is attacked on its territory. To all intents and purposes, the European equivalent of NATO’s Article 5.
The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the royal decree regulating the new State Housing Plan 2026-2030, a plan that mobilizes 7.000 million euros, triple the previous one, to promote a public housing stock that is permanently protected and cannot be privatized.
Today’s Council of Ministers has approved the State Housing Plan 2026-2030, which triples the investment allocated to what is the main problem for Spaniards. The 7 billion euros of planned expenditure seek to boost the public housing stock with different blocks of aid: some aimed at owners, others at tenants in the rental market, and others at housing developers. One of the keys to the project is that the State and the autonomous communities must collaborate in promoting the construction and adaptation of properties to start moving towards a solution to the housing problem. These are the keys to the plan.
Despite its imposing size —with a length of 261.50 meters— and its privileged technology, being the first non-American nuclear aircraft carrier, safety is not the strong suit of the French ship Charles de Gaulle.
Although the European Commissioner for Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, denies that there is any sign of an imminent shortage of jet fuel today, the EU is already preparing to face this emergency and ensure that commercial flights can operate if supply problems arise. Brussels will present its plan tomorrow to mitigate the energy crisis derived from the Iran war, which will include, according to the Greek Commissioner, the creation of an observatory to closely monitor the situation of reserves, the refining capacity of petroleum products, and also the search for alternative supplies in other parts of the world —such as the US— if necessary.
Airlines recommend that travelers preparing their summer holidays buy their tickets “as soon as possible” given the uncertainty surrounding the war in Iran and the problems of scarcity and rising kerosene prices. It is a common request that now gains weight in the face of a sharp rise in costs that will have to be absorbed “via company margins or via prices,” assures the association that represents them in Spain.
Dan Jørgensen (Odense, 1975) is the European Commissioner responsible for one of the most sensitive portfolios in the midst of a global crisis, which is shaking oil and gas markets as a result of the war in Iran. The Commission’s Energy Commissioner, who also leads the community’s housing strategy, visited Barcelona yesterday to explore solutions to this other major emergency: housing. Nevertheless, current events dictate, and questions focused on the European response to mitigate the inflationary effects of the conflict in the Middle East.
U.S. Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, will leave the Donald Trump Administration after the controversy generated by her accusations of workplace misconduct. White House communications director, Steven Cheung, announced in a statement that she is leaving “to take on a role in the private sector” and praised “her phenomenal work in her role protecting American workers.”