Lates news

Political situation in Portugal
New elections called in Portugal – the third in three years

Portugal will hold new elections on May 18 after the center-right government fell in a vote of no confidence, reports Bloomberg. It will be the country's third election in as many years.

- The parties have voted unanimously to dissolve parliament and call elections, says President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa according to public service channel RTP, referring to a lack of confidence in the prime minister.

The minority government was dismissed due to suspicions that Prime Minister Luis Montenegro had a conflict of interest regarding a company owned by his family.

Climate threat Trump's tariffs
EU invests in South African energy in the face of US tariff threats

The EU is investing the equivalent of SEK 50 billion in green energy and vaccine production in South Africa. This is reported by AFP after a meeting between EU leader Ursula von der Leyen and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday.

While the meeting was underway, US President Donald Trump announced that he intends to impose tariffs of 200 percent on European wines.

– We will defend our interests, but I also want to emphasize that we are open to negotiations, says Ursula von der Leyen according to AP.

She also emphasized that the EU is sticking to its promises from the COP26 climate summit to co-finance South Africa's green energy transition, "despite others withdrawing". Trump has said that the US is withdrawing from the program to help developing economies move away from fossil fuels.

The Syrian War  New Regime
Kurds and Druze Saw Syria's New Constitution

The Kurdish government in northeastern Syria criticizes the new constitution, AFP reports. This comes just days after its de facto army, the SDF militia, reached an agreement with the new national government to integrate into the new state.

The new constitution “contradicts the reality and diversity of Syria” and “undermines attempts to achieve true democracy,” the Kurdish government wrote in a statement.

The religious minority group Druze spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri is also distancing himself from the interim government after having recently signed an agreement with it, reports Syrian Enab Baladi.

“There are no current agreements or understandings with the government in Damascus, which is a radical government in every sense of the word,” al-Hijri said in a video circulating on social media, according to the news site.

He is also said to have signed an agreement with the local government in his home province of as-Suwayda this week.

The change of power in the US Trump's first term
Court gives Trump a lesson in reverse – six agencies are forced to rehire thousands

Six state agencies in the US must rehire thousands of probationary employees who have been laid off. A federal judge will decide this on Friday, American media reports.

“It is sad when our government lays off talented employees and claims that it is about how they do their jobs, even though they know full well that they are lying,” said Judge William Alsup in a statement.

The government is within its right to reduce the workforce, Alsup said, but they must follow applicable labor laws.

The lawsuit is being filed by the unions of those laid off, AFP reports. 20 of the 50 states have also sued several state agencies for what they believe are illegal dismissals of probationary employees, according to the AP.

The ruling is the latest of several against the government since the new president took office on January 20.