The Ministry of Culture plans to introduce a new state cultural scholarship of €10,000 starting in August 2026. The support is intended for five creative professionals up to age 35 with higher education, to help them develop their careers and build international contacts.

Estonian fencers Irina Embrich and Veronika Zuikova are through to the women's individual épée main draw at the ongoing world championships in Hong Kong.

Pärnu City Council chairman Andrei Korobeinik (Center Party) accuses mayor Kristel Voltenberg of interrupting a discussion on coalition functioning and of breaking agreements. Voltenberg says the current coalition has exhausted itself.

The government's planned digital state overhaul is not a cost-cutting exercise but a bid to use €300 million in annual IT spending more effectively, a ministry official said.

First responders had a relatively unusual callout in Pärnu this week, after a horse got its head lodged between two trees, Maaleht reported.

A county court judge has been declared a suspect in a criminal offense case involving the biting assault of a police officer outside a Tallinn nightclub earlier this year.

Paari nädala eest raputas Eesti spordiavalikkust korvpallikoondislase, juuni lõpus Tartu klubiga lepingu sõlminud Kerr Kriisa vahi alla võtmine (peagi ta vabastati kindlatel tingimustel) USAs, teda süüdistatakse erinevatelt ohvritelt enam kui 2 miljoni dollari välja petmises. Ent Kriisa on kohtu alla antud ka Eestis ning temalt nõutakse ligi 200 000 euro tasumist.

Kuigi Pärnu viisikliidu üks tuumikleppeid oli see, et Kristel Voltenberg loovutanuks linnapeakoha selle aasta lõpus EKRE-le, tekkis Voltenbergil võimalus linnapeakoht säilitada kuni valimisperioodi lõpuni, ütles volikogu esimees Andrei Korobeinik (KE) Postimehele. Voltenberg lükkab ümber väite nagu ta oleks taotlenud linnapeakohal jätkamist.

Daniel Siad, whose name appears in the Epstein files thousands of times, had previously denied knowledge of the threat Jeffrey Epstein posed.

Oleksandr Syrskyi is dismissed after backlash over the removal of popular Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

June's fall in inflation will be welcomed by the new prime minister but analysts warn the fall is temporary.

Artificial Intelligence companies make vast claims about their tools replacing human labour - our charts show what's happening.

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Im größten AfD-Landesverband Nordrhein-Westfalen tobt ein offener Machtkampf, der der Bundesspitze zunehmend entgleitet. Pauline von Pezold und Frederik Schindler analysieren im Detail, wie das radikale Helferich-Lager die Listenwahl sabotieren wollte. Sie besprechen, warum Landeschef Martin Vincentz sich juristisch gegen Alice Weidel wehren wollte und wie das Tabu des Widerstands gebrochen ist. Zudem diskutieren die beiden die fehlenden Berührungsängste der AfD-Spitze zur rechtsextremen Szene. Schindler und von Pezold beleuchten, wie Spitzenpolitiker wie Ulrich Siegmund dem verurteilten Neonazi Sebastian Schmidtke freundschaftliche Interviews geben. Dabei gehen sie der Frage nach, warum die Unvereinbarkeitsliste der Partei in der Praxis offensichtlich ignoriert wird. Nach dem Rücktritt von Jens Spahn geht es zudem um die gezielte Instrumentalisierung der Debatte um Leihmutterschaft. AfD-Funktionäre nutzen die ethische Diskussion als Deckmantel benutzen, um homosexuellen Paaren grundsätzlich die Eignung zur Erziehung von Kindern abzusprechen. „Inside AfD“ ist der POLITICO-Podcast über die umstrittenste Partei des Landes. Trotz Radikalisierung und Beobachtung durch den Verfassungsschutz wächst die AfD weiter. Wie ist das möglich? Was treibt ihre Anhänger, Strategen und Gegner an? Wie funktioniert das Innenleben der Partei? Und was bedeutet ihr Aufstieg für das politische System Deutschlands? Antworten liefern immer mittwochs Pauline von Pezold von POLITICO und Frederik Schindler von WELT — unaufgeregt, aber kritisch. Fragen und Feedback gern an insideafd@politico.eu. POLITICO Deutschland – ein Angebot der Axel Springer Deutschland GmbHAxel-Springer-Straße 65, 10888 BerlinTel: +49 (30) 2591 0information@axelspringer.deSitz: Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 196159 BUSt-IdNr: DE 214 852 390Geschäftsführer: Carolin Hulshoff Pol, Mathias Sanchez Luna

BRUSSELS — The European Commission said Wednesday that it expects European generic medicines to be exempt from U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs, arguing that Washington committed to a zero tariff rate with last year’s transatlantic trade deal. Trump on Tuesday announced a plan to impose a 100 percent tariff on generic drugs starting in August 2028 as part of a bid to bring pharmaceutical production back to the United States. If implemented, the tariff would then jump to 200 percent in 2029, the president said in a social media post. But under the 2025 trade deal struck in Turnberry, Scotland, the U.S. promised to exempt European generic drugs from higher levies. The pact foresees that exports of EU generic pharmaceuticals would only be subjected to the U.S. most-favored-nation tariff rate, a rate imposed on all U.S. partners, effectively 0 percent. Under the joint statement, “the United States committed to exempting generic medicines from the 15% tariffs; therefore MFN [most-favored-nation] treatment continues to apply, corresponding to a 0% tariff rate,” said the European Commission deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill. He added that EU innovative drugs continue to be subject to a 15 percent tariff.  “This clearly shows that the EU–U.S. Joint Statement is delivering by preserving stability and predictability, and protecting a key strategic sector from disruption and tariff increases,” Gill stressed. The deal as such is not legally binding, but any breach of its terms would likely unleash tit-for-tat tariff retaliation. Trump’s latest threat comes as his administration is scrambling to rebuild its tariff wall after a legal setback earlier this year, with its temporary 10 percent tariffs due to lapse Friday. Although Washington insisted that the new probes would not breach the 15 percent threshold enshrined by the transatlantic deal, the EU is still bracing for more investigations, targeting forced labor, excess capacity in the manufacturing sector and possibly also digital services tax.  Drug shortage risks  The EU generics lobby, Medicines for Europe, said the measures risked triggering “significant medicine shortages across the United States”. Off-patent drugs from Europe “should remain exempt from tariffs under all circumstances” under the Turnberry agreement, the trade group said. Swiss generics manufacturer Sandoz said Wednesday morning it was “too early to assess the potential implications, as further details on the implementation and scope of the measure are still required.” A Sandoz spokesperson added the company would continue dialogue with policymakers on how to improve affordability and access to medicines in the U.S. Threats to generic medicines increase pressure on the pharmaceutical sector, after the Trump administration threatened new levies on Germany over its drug pricing policies.  Washington alleges that Berlin’s laws result in the U.S. paying a disproportionate share of research and development costs for innovative drugs. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said last week that he was also in talks with France over its pricing practices.  “The pharmaceutical sector is critically important on both sides of the Atlantic, with highly integrated supply chains, strong investment and research ties, and broadly balanced trade flows. Preserving these links is essential both for patient access and for sustaining innovation,” added Gill, the Commission spokesperson. 

Miliband, Trump critic who once opposed strikes on Syria, joins Streeting, defence novice with shifting Israel views.

An Israeli strike hit a civilian vehicle in central Gaza, killing two Palestinians.

Daniel Siad faced allegations of rape and trafficking in France and appeared in more than 1,000 documents in Epstein filesA modelling scout who recruited women for Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home near Paris, French officials have said.Daniel Siad, 69, was under investigation by the prosecutors specialising in human trafficking in France, accused of rape and other charges. His name appeared in more than 1,000 documents in the US Department of Justice Epstein files that were declassified earlier this year. Continue reading...

Webcam footage shows the moment two trams collide on the Erasmus Bridge in the Dutch city. Officials said at least 15 people were injured, one seriously, in the collision that occurred on Wednesday Continue reading...

Measure is one of more than 150 designed to boost funding for start-ups in Europe’s largest economy

A clever compromise avoids reigniting Brussels-Washington trade tensions