Author: Euronews

A door that flew off a Boeing 737 Max mid-flight may not have been properly attached, according to a new safety report. ADVERTISEMENTFour bolts appear to have been missing from a door panel that blew off a Boeing plane during an Alaska Airlines flight on 5 January, according to a new report from the US National Transportation Safety Board.”Whatever final conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened,” Boeing CEO, Dave Calhoun, said in response to the findings.”An event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory. We simply must do better for our customers and…

In this edition, we discuss the root causes for the farmer protests across Europe and EU Commission plans to update animal welfare. ADVERTISEMENTThis week, we are joined by Fabrizio Rossi, the Secretary General of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, Green MEP Tilly Metz, and Euronews’ health and food reporter Gerardo Fortuna.Panellists discussed the ongoing farmers’ revolt across Europe that saw thousands of tractors descend upon Brussels this week. Frustrated farmers set fires in front of the European Parliament and threw eggs at the building. Tilly Metz says she feels their pain.Another topic discussed on this week’s show was…

Northern Ireland saw the highest growth within the UK, where house prices increased by about 5.3% annually. ADVERTISEMENTThe outlook for the UK housing market seems to be a little brighter as house prices went up for a fourth consecutive month in January 2024, according to data from the Halifax House Price Index. The Index revealed that the cost of an average house in the UK last month was estimated to set buyers back by about £291,029, which is £3,900 more expensive than in December. Good news for home owners but perhaps not for buyers.The year-on-year Halifax House Price Index for January…

Members of the European Parliament approved on Wednesday a critical resolution about the “worrying” decline of the rule of law in Greece, pointing the finger at Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. ADVERTISEMENTThe non-binding text details a string of concerns about the current state of Greek democracy, including harassment of journalists, privacy violations, wiretapping of political opponents, excessive use of police force, conflicts of interests, alleged corruption, smear campaigns against civil society and the “systematic” pushbacks of migrants.Notably, MEPs ask the European Commission to assess whether the breaches of fundamental rights are grave enough to merit the review – and possible suspension…

A new EU law agreed early this morning compels banks to use domestic financial infrastructure – but not everyone’s happy. ADVERTISEMENTThe EU has agreed a new post-Brexit law forcing its banks to partly onshore their clearing activity – and not everyone is happy.The law, agreed early this morning (7 February), comes after the European Central Bank warned that continuing to rely on clearinghouses based in London could jeopardise financial stability.The new law, which requires banks to hold an active account at a domestic clearinghouse, was welcomed in a statement by lead MEP Danuta Hübner (Poland/European People’s Party), who said it…

The Reconquête! party of controversial far-right French politician Éric Zemmour has joined the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament. ADVERTISEMENTThe move is set to give the ECR faction a small boost ahead of June’s EU elections, where the Eurosceptic formation is set to make significant gains amid a projected leap in support for right-wing parties. Reconquête polls at between 5% and 7% of the estimated vote in France, which could see it gaining six seats in the European Parliament after June’s ballot.The party was previously allied to the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group, which hosts the…

Police searched the offices of French dairy company Lactalis on Tuesday, as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud. ADVERTISEMENTAccording to Le Monde, the French National Prosecutor’s Office is looking into whether Lactalis evaded French taxes by transferring profits to its subsidiaries in Belgium and Luxembourg. The publication reported that the search operations were carried out by police officers from the French National Fiscal Offenses Repression Brigade (BNRDF) in at least three separate locations, including at the dairy giant’s headquarters in the town of Laval.The amount of taxes involved over the period between 2009 and 2020 is estimated at several hundred…

The European Commission launched on Wednesday legal action against the so-called “sovereignty law” recently passed by the Hungarian parliament. ADVERTISEMENTThe legislation, spearheaded by Viktor Orbán’s ruling party and approved by the parliament in mid-December, empowers the state to investigate people and organisations suspected of undermining the country’s sovereignty, with potential convictions of up to three years in prison.Orbán, who frequently lambastes his critics as agents paid for by Western entities, says the law is necessary to protect Hungary from undue political interference.The bill’s implementation rests on the newly established “Office for the Defence of Sovereignty,” which can collect information on…

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews. The combination of a misaligned merger, a lack of in-house skills and experience to run a global network, and other major factors compromised the future of the once-great company, Yves Doz and Keeley Wilson write. ADVERTISEMENTThe recent Alaska Airlines incident is just the latest in a string of sometimes tragic mishaps by the aircraft manufacturer – where did it all go wrong?On 5 January, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 lost a fuselage cabin panel at…

There is no common definition of the crime of rape in the European Union’s first ever law to combat violence against women, agreed between member states and lawmakers on Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENTThe original draft of the bill, tabled by the European Commission in March 2022, defined the crime of rape as sex without consent – with no need for victims to provide evidence of force, threats or coercion.It was based on the “only yes means yes” concept that has taken root in many member states amid a scourge of sexual crimes against women and girls.But after months of painstaking negotiations, 14…