内容摘要："Staff who are on precarious temporary sessional contracts will be the most affected by this initially.

"Staff who are on precarious temporary sessional contracts will be the most affected by this initially.

Others in Europe favour flashing the cash.European Central Bank (ECB) chief, Christine Lagarde, has advised Europe's leaders to adopt a "cheque-book strategy" and negotiate with Trump rather than retaliate against his proposed tariffs.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, speaks of buying more (expensive) US liquified natural gas (LNG) as part of Europe's effort to diversify its energy supplies. It has been weaning itself off a reliance on cheap Russian gas since the Kremlin launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.Sources in the Commission also speak of possibly buying more US agricultural products and weapons.Macron, meanwhile, has long advocated what he calls "strategic autonomy" - essentially Europe learning to be more self-sufficient, in order to survive.

"Europe... can die and that depends entirely on our choices," he said this spring.Covid showed Europe how dependent it was on Chinese imports, like medicines. Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine exposed Europe's

Macron is now sounding the alarm about the US: "The United States of America has two priorities. The USA first, and that is legitimate, and the China issue, second. And the European issue is not a geopolitical priority for the coming years and decades."

Trump's return to the White House is making European leaders think about continental weaknesses."It's causing a mini-pandemic," he said.

Mr Clayton added that he fully supported the strike action by the refuse workers and said he had provided his service for "as cheap as I possibly can" to people who are "desperate" for their waste to be collected.The history of Grangemouth has been built on fossil fuels – but now its future depends on its reinvention as Scotland's green energy industrial hub.

The site, on the south bank of the Firth of Forth, is home to the UK's oldest oil refinery, which dates back to 1924.It is being closed down by owner Petroineos, with the loss of 400 of the 2,000 jobs which are based at the sprawling industrial complex.