81% of Australian business leaders believe that climate change will harm their company, a survey by Deloitte showed. This is the highest figure among 19 countries covered by the study, Reuters reports. The proportion of business leaders fearing the effects of climate change in Australia is significantly higher than the global average (48%). “Companies must demonstrate to investors that they are...

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars unless Britain, France and Germany formally accused Iran of violating the 2015 nuclear deal, The Washington Post reports citing unnamed European officials. On Tuesday, these three European countries launched a dispute settlement mechanism in accordance with the agreement. This is...

On Tuesday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced the date of early parliamentary elections: they will be held on February 8. The elections will largely become a vote of confidence in government policy. Among other things, the event aims to bring the two parts of Ireland closer together. An important step in this direction was taken last week: on January 11, the Parliament of Northern...

Direct losses of the Australian economy after forest fires, which have been unceasing since last fall, will amount to $ 3.5 billion, or from 0.2-0.5% of the country's economic growth, Westpac Bank, one of the largest in Australia, said. Australia expects a drop in GDP in 2020 due to fires and lower iron ore prices. Westpac expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut rates twice this year, but...

A new government was sworn in Austria this week. Its head, 33-year-old Sebastian Kurz, has once again become the youngest prime minister in the world. At the same time, he is the most experienced politician in his office. Journalists speak of the new Austrian government as unique and unprecedented for several reasons. First, Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz, 33, is the youngest head of government in...

The main topic of the meeting between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday will be issues related to a trade agreement between the parties after Brexit, the office of the head of the British cabinet said. "It is expected that he (Prime Minister) will tell Chairman von der Leyen that the citizens of Britain and Europe...

The tender around the modernization of the Bulgarian army, in dire need of an upgrade, is entering the political phase… The unusual characteristics of the request for proposals is an indication that defense minister Krasimir Karakachanov may already have made his decision, disregarding actual characteristics of future offers, in order to please US allies. A choice, if confirmed, which may result...

Next year, the Japanese Ministry of Defense plans to begin modernizing its missile defense system to ensure the ability to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles, the Sankei newspaper reported. According to the publication, it is planned to improve the existing Japanese missile defense system, equipped with SAM-4 medium-range anti-aircraft missiles. It is expected that the modernization work...

After several successful but sector-specific military industrial partnerships, Italy may be the first to answer France and Germany’s call to finally unite Europe around defense matters. Over past decades, the landscape has considerably changed with many players dropping out of the market, and the future of Europe’s defense lies in the continental partnership. Not a leader, but not out of the...