Paris / AFP The board of energy giant EDF is voting on Thursday on a hugely controversial project to build a nuclear power station in Britain which critics say could bankrupt the French utility. EDF’s directors are deeply divided over the planned construction of two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point for £18 billion (21.4 billion euros, $23.8 billion), with …

  Frankfurt / AFP Scandal-struck car manufacturer Volkswagen said Thursday that its profits fell in the second quarter by 57 percent to 1.15 billion euros ($1.3 billion). Second-quarter profits were weighed down by almost 2.5 billion euros of special items, mostly related to 2015’s diesel emissions cheating scandal. “Further enormous feats of strength will be needed to contain the high …

  London / AFP Royal Dutch Shell’s net profit collapsed in the second quarter on low oil prices, weak refining margins and production outages, the British energy giant said Thursday. Net profits sank 71 percent to $1.175 billion in the three months to June, compared with $3.986 billion in the same part of 2015, Shell announced in a results statement. …