Consumer prices in the 19-member currency bloc have risen by 8.9% in the past year, the highest rate ever recorded
Annual inflation in the Eurozone reached a record 8.9% in July, the latest data from the European Union's statistics office Eurostat showed on Thursday.
The increase from 8.6% recorded in June is mostly down to energy prices, climbing steadily since the start of the year. The Consumer Price Index reached 7.4% in April and 8.1% in May.
Meanwhile, consumer prices in the 19 nations using the euro saw modest month-on-month growth of 0.1%.
Eurozone energy prices rose by 4.02% from June to July. Other key inflation drivers were food, alcohol and tobacco, which edged up 2.08%. Meanwhile, prices for services and non-energy industrial goods saw growth of 1.6% and 1.16%, respectively.
In July, the European Central Bank announced an interest rake hike for the first time in 11 years. The regulator vowed further interventions in the coming months, despite the risk of a recession.
READ MORE: Bloomberg warns of EU recession
Germany’s annual inflation hit 8.5% in July, following a slight decline during the previous month. Inflation rates in France and Italy were 6.8% and 8.4%, respectively. The Baltic states are still among the worst-hit, with Estonia seeing inflation of 22.7%, Lithuania 20.8%,and Latvia 21%.
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US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
