EU Packaging Rules Create Another Bureaucratic Monster

Starmer Faces 'Sleaze Inquiry' Vote Over Epstein Pal Mandelson's Appointment Trouble has been brewing for UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador - despite Mandelson's well-known past associations with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson, a senior New Labour figure and former EU Trade Commissioner, has long faced questions over his friendship with sex-offender Epstein, and these ties were public knowledge when Starmer nominated him for the prestigious Washington role. While Starmer admitted he was aware of the relationship, he says Mandelson "lied repeatedly" about...

UBS Discusses Next Maritime Chokepoint Investors Should Watch A lot of attention has centered on the Strait of Hormuz since the waterway was effectively shut not only by the IRGC drone threat, but mostly because maritime insurers are withdrawing war-risk coverage across the region. Our focus now shifts to the other critical maritime chokepoints. If Washington can pressure Iranian oil flows and, by extension, curb China's cheap Gulf crude flows, then the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea also emerge as potential flashpoints that traders can no longer afford to...

FBI Raids Office And Cannabis Dispensary Of Virginia State Sen. L. Louise Lucas Federal agents from the FBI executed court-authorized search warrants Wednesday morning at the Portsmouth legislative office of longtime Democratic Virginia State Sen. L. Louise Lucas and at an adjacent cannabis retail business she co-owns, as part of an ongoing federal corruption probe tied to marijuana dispensary operations. Virginia Senate President pro tempore Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) listens to debate on the state Senate floor in Richmond, Va., on Feb. 17, 2026. Ryan M. Kelly/AP Photo The raids, which also extended...