China tests aircraft with integrated fuselage design for over 800 passengers

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, stated that the possibility of more moderate indexing of the pensions of the wealthiest retirees should be considered as a contribution to national recovery.

These statements were made by Le Maire on the Bluesky network and cited by the Spanish agency EFE. He was responding to criticism from Thierry Breton, former European Commissioner and predecessor to Le Maire.

On Sunday, during an interview with the channel BFMTV, Breton criticized the government for freezing the pension reform at the beginning of the year, which was supposed to postpone the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.

According to Breton, the government sought to avoid problems in January by suspending this reform, which was a demand of the socialists to prevent a vote of no confidence. However, he said it would now face a decision that seemed worse to him because it punishes current pensioners.

Le Maire refuted the calculations presented by Breton regarding the cost of this suspension of pension reform to public finances.

Some experts calculated that if the pensions of recipients earning 3000 euros gross were indexed only at half the inflation rate (which was 2.1% in July), this would raise only 700 million euros. This amount could reach 1.5 billion euros if the measure applied to those earning over 2000 euros.

This idea, which was discussed for several days without precise definition, emerged shortly before the French government presented its 2027 budget draft, which is an election year with presidential elections scheduled for April 18 and May 2.

Voters' voices will be very important, as they constitute a very large group (nearly 25% of the population) and demonstrate one of the highest turnout rates.

In 2025, France became the second Eurozone country with the highest deficit, trailing only Belgium, whose deficit was 5.1% of GDP.

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree on the implementation of a public-private partnership project aimed at modernizing and managing electricity distribution networks in the Samarkand region. This decree, No. PP-295, was issued on August 17, 2026.

Following an international tender with financial and technical support from the International Finance Corporation, the Turkish company AKSA Elektrik Perakende Satış A.Ş. was selected as the private partner for the project. Its subsidiary, AKSA Samarqand Electricity Distribution LLC, was established in Uzbekistan to carry out the project.

On January 29, 2026, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, on behalf of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the private partner concluded an agreement on state support. According to this agreement, the private partner is obliged to attract direct investments of $357 million USD within the first twelve years of the project's implementation.

During this period, the company will be responsible for expanding the distribution system, reconstructing and modernizing the networks, as well as managing and operating the electricity distribution networks in the Samarkand region.

On the same day, the private partner and Hududiy Elektr Tarmoqlari JSC signed a public-private partnership agreement.

The decree establishes target indicators for reducing electricity losses in distribution networks. If a technical audit shows that annual losses are in the range of 20% to 25%, they must be reduced by 1.4 percentage points annually during the operational period. For loss levels between 15% and 20%, the target reduction is 0.6 percentage points per year.

The private partner undertakes to invest no less than $27 million USD within the first two years. Subsequent investments will be made according to approved five-year investment and development plans.

To ensure the fulfillment of its obligations, the private partner will provide a bank guarantee of $5 million USD for the first two years. Subsequently, the guarantee will amount to either $5 million USD or 5% of the amount of investments under the five-year plan, whichever is higher.

The decree also defines personnel employment conditions. Employees of the state partner who accept offers from the private partner will be dismissed with payment of all legally due compensation. The private partner is only responsible for terminating employment contracts at its own initiative.

The administration of the Samarkand region, together with relevant ministries, must ensure the allocation of land plots necessary for network expansion and the creation of new assets. The Ministry of Energy will provide these assets to the private partner under perpetual usufruct rights for the entire duration of the project. The land use fee will be set at a level equivalent to the land tax.

Furthermore, the decree provides for a limited quota for attracting foreign specialists, provided that their participation does not lead to unjustified layoffs of local employees. Foreign specialists must also train local personnel.

The United States is accelerating the manufacturing of Tomahawk missiles through a contract of great historical importance. This measure occurs amid a shortage of ammunition, resulting from the conflict between the United States and Iran. The reduction in missile stocks was pointed out by the American Democratic opposition and experts, although the administration of US President Donald Trump vehemently denies this allegation.

Tomahawk missiles, which are long-range cruise missiles, are primarily launched from submarines or ships and have the capability to hit targets more than 1,600 kilometers away.

Hung Cao, interim assistant secretary of the Navy, communicated through the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) that ensuring that naval and joint forces possess the essential lethal firepower to protect national territory and deter aggression is a top priority.

The same official guaranteed that this significant investment of 22.9 billion dollars (equivalent to 19.7 billion euros) will result in an unprecedented pace of delivery of Tomahawk missiles to combatants. He also stated that the Department of Defense is using all available resources to meet the demands of current operations.

This equipment of the American naval forces was a factor involved in the disagreement with former Secretary of the Navy, John C. Phelan, who resigned last April during the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

A study conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in July revealed that US interceptor missile stocks—which are not Tomahawk—have decreased considerably since the start of the war with Iran, which began on February 28 of this year.

According to the American research center, which estimates that this stock has been reduced by at least half since the beginning of the conflict with Iran, the United States had over 2,300 Patriot interceptors and 450 THAAD air defense systems at the beginning of the year.

In July, the Pentagon announced the signing of a $58.6 billion (50.5 billion euros) contract with Lockheed Martin, valid for seven years, intended for the production of Patriot missiles. The company committed to delivering these interceptors 'at an unparalleled speed.'

With this volume of agreements, Washington seeks to offer its industrial partners the stability and predictability necessary for them to 'expand their workforce, increase production rates, and strengthen supply chains.'