Inside the unlikely firing of a veteran EU powerbroker – POLITICO

“It’s almost three years to the day since revelations of Mr. Hololei’s impropriety broke,” said Shari Hinds, senior policy officer at Transparency International, an accountability-focused NGO. “Though long overdue, it is encouraging that the European Commission finally appears to be dealing out consequences proportionate to the gravity of these ethics violations.” Hololei, 55, who had taken […]

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Social media bans and boozy trade deals – POLITICO

Europe is testing how far it’s willing to go — at home and abroad. In this episode of EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton talks to Jonathan Haidt, author of the best-selling “The Anxious Generation.” His research is inspiring social media bans for kids in countries including France and Australia, even as tech companies and some researchers […]

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Keir Starmer’s softly-softly approach ushers in new era of UK-China trade relations – POLITICO

Britain recently increased the amount the NHS pays for branded, pharmaceutical drugs, following heavy industry lobbying and following trade negotiations with the Trump administration — all in the hopes of attracting new investment into the struggling sector.  Shadow Trade Secretary Andrew Griffith was blunt in his assessment. “AstraZeneca’s a great British company but under this […]

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French energy giant relaunches $20B massacre-linked gas project in Mozambique – POLITICO

TotalEnergies has denied the allegations, saying its own “extensive research” into the allegations has “not identified any information nor evidence that would corroborate the allegations of severe abuses and torture.” The Mozambican government has also rejected claims that its forces committed war crimes. The revelations nonetheless prompted scrutiny from French lawmakers and criticism of TotalEnergies’ […]

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