Author: Kostas Birakis

OK has announced 32 new charging locations to be installed in the north of Zealand, Denmark. Before the end of 2024, the brand will commission 32 new charging points, 28 AC and 4 DC. The company believes that establishing a nationwide charging network is essential to the success of the transition into alternative fuels for transportation. This is set to be achieved by promoting electric vehicle (EV) adoption, eliminating range anxiety and ensuring equal access to charging facilities. The agreement between the chain and the city of Hillerød, where the chargers will be installed, covers various public areas. According to…

An expansion of Bulgaria Air’s fleet and route network is underway as the Eastern European carrier starts to take delivery of Airbus A220s. Seven A220s – five A220-300s and two smaller -100s – are scheduled to arrive from lessor Air Lease Corporation by summer 2024. The first has recently been delivered to Sofia, with two more due in September and the final batch of four next June. They will join the existing fleet of six A320s, two A319s four Embraer E190s and three Boeing 737-300s. All the A220s will come in two-class layout. Both will offer eight business class seats.…

French authorities confirmed that a protest against police violence set to take place in Paris on Saturday could not go ahead due to police shortages. NGOs say the ban signals a “more and more repressive” approach from authorities. Judges from Paris’s administrative court at midday on Saturday rejected an appeal brought by a national organisation against police violence (la Coordination nationale contre les violences policières) to allow Saturday’s demonstration to go ahead at Place de la République in the French capital from 3:00pm. The ruling followed an announcement from Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Wednesday banning any demonstrations up to July 15 “directly…

Austria wants to become one of the EU’s leading countries in the chip industry and is banking on the EU’s Chips Act as the main vehicle for boosting semiconductor production, but is shying away from investing fresh public money in the sector. On Thursday, the Austrian conservative-Green government invited industry representatives to a “chip summit” to enhance cooperation in the future, with a focus on the semiconductor sector in the next budget to be presented in autumn. “Austria should not only be known for Lippizaner, Mozartkugeln and clean electricity but also for microchips ‘Made in Austria’,” Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP)…

A Sydney university student sustained serious injuries on a Greece island in a freak accident that saw him plunge several metres from a balcony. An Australian university student who plunged six metres from a balcony while on a European trip, is now stranded overseas after sustaining life-threatening injuries from the fall. Sydney man Jacob Konaraki was selected by his university to go on an overseas excursion to Greece for an archaeology dig. After the experience concluded, he decided to explore the Greek islands. However, Mr Konaraki’s holiday suddenly ended in tragedy last Wednesday, after he was found unresponsive following a…

Ukraine’s border guard service has confirmed that Wagner mercenaries have now arrived in Belarus from neighbouring Russia. The DPSU says it is assessing how many “militants” are in Belarus, which also shares a border with Ukraine, as well as their exact location and goals. One unconfirmed report said a convoy of some 60 Wagner vehicles rolled over the border into Belarus early on Saturday. In June, Wagner’s mutiny challenged President Vladimir Putin’s authority. A deal ended the 24-hour rebellion, which saw the troops seize a city and march on Moscow – aborting it just 200km (124 miles) from the capital.…

Rahmon’s war against the Ismaili. Dubai (5/7 – 75) The government of Tajikistan’s campaign against the operations of a charitable organization funded by the Agha Khan, the spiritual leader of the country’s Ismaili minority, has intensified over the past few weeks. In the most recent development, the authorities have revoked the license of the Aga Khan Lycée in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, or GBAO. A source at the Aga Khan Foundation told Eurasianet that June 30 was the last day that the secondary school would operate under its aegis. The Aga Khan Development Network, the umbrella…

Autoliv said its planned factory closures would most likely be in Elmshorn, Germany, and Congleton, Britain, as part of its cost cutting moves. The Swedish automotive safety gear group, which counts many of the world’s top automakers among its customers, announced in early June that it intended to cut 11 percent of its total workforce and shut down several undisclosed factories in Europe. “These initiatives will simplify its logistics and geographic footprint and significantly lower its cost base” it said in a statement on Thursday. In the first steps, a total of 1,100 positions will be cut out of the…

The oxygen supply of the missing Titan submersible is expected to run out today around 10am GMT, or 8pm AEST. A frantic search continues for the Titan and its five occupants, with sonar buoys having recorded “banging” noises in the search area on Tuesday and Wednesday. With the vessel’s fate yet to be determined, the general public is asking questions about the safety of such touristic endeavours. The context The context in which the Titan has disappeared is disturbing. Reports have come out detailing court documents from a 2018 case that show OceanGate, the company responsible for the Titan, fired employee David…

Turkey is officially a candidate to join the EU but its accession talks have been frozen since 2018 over rule of law and democratic concerns. Turkish voters will on Sunday go to the polls to vote for their next president in what most see as the most serious challenge to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership since he came to power 20 years ago. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the candidate picked by a united opposition, is currently leading in the polls and said that he will try to restore trust with the EU and the West which is now at a historic low. The EU froze…