Author: staff
By Nicoleta Drougka & Tokunbo Salako with AP Published on 23/12/2025 – 15:55 GMT+1 In the Necropolis of Thebes in Egypt, the renovation of the famous Colossi of Memnon has been completed and the monument is now open to visitors again. The Colossi of Memnon were very badly damaged by earthquakes around 1200 BC that also destroyed pharaoh Amenhotep III’s funerary temple and the restoration work took almost 20 years. The enormous twin statues measure 14.5 metres and 13.5 metres high respectively and depict the pharaoh Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt some 3,400 years ago. One of the most prominent pharaohs, he reigned during…
Poland has installed the first cluster of an artillery defence system on a new observation tower in Ozierany, near the Polish-Belarusian border, as part of efforts to strengthen security against threats from unmanned aerial vehicles, officials said Tuesday. “It is a special tower because the first cluster of the artillery system that will defend the Polish border is being installed on this tower. Already in January this cluster will be launched,” Interior and Administration Minister Marcin Kierwiński said during a press briefing in Ozierany. Kierwiński and Prime Minister Donald Tusk also visited the Border Guard post in Bobrowniki on Tuesday…
By Euronews & AP Published on 23/12/2025 – 14:55 GMT+1 The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday said it would ban new foreign-made drones, a move that will keep Chinese-made drones, such as those from DJI and Autel, out of the US market. The announcement came a year after Congress passed a defence bill that raised national security concerns about Chinese-made drones, which have become a dominant player in the US, widely used in farming, mapping, law enforcement, and filmmaking. Shenzhen-based DJI is the world’s largest drone maker, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all commercial drones sold in…
The protest, organized by veteran opposition leader Sali Berisha and his Democratic Party, followed scenes of chaos in Albania’s parliament last week, when police intervened after lawmakers brawled and set off flares inside the chamber. “We do not condone any form of violence — especially violence exercised by those in power. There is no more blatant form of violence than the extortion and systematic looting carried out by Edi Rama and his ministers against the Albanian people,” Berisha told POLITICO Tuesday via his spokesperson, saying the protests were intended to “stop this violence.” Prosecutors and opposition lawmakers are pushing to…
Severe flooding affected several towns in France’s Hérault region after torrential rains brought the equivalent of two months’ rainfall in just three days. In Montpellier, the River Lez overflowed, flooding roads, tram lines and public transport, while many streets became impassable. Rivers also burst their banks near Béziers, inundating homes in Saint-Thibéry. In the coastal town of Palavas-les-Flots, dozens of residents were evacuated to emergency shelters. Authorities reported power outages affecting around 1,000 homes as extreme weather warnings remained in place.
The government said on Tuesday that it changed tack after listening to concerns from the farming community and businesses about the reforms. “We have listened closely to farmers across the country, and we are making changes today to protect more ordinary family farms,” said Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds. The government estimates only 185 farming estates will now fall into scope, down from 375, and 1,100 estates overall will pay more inheritance tax in 2026-27, down from an initial figure of 2,000.
The real summit started the night before European leaders descended at the Europa building last Thursday for their final gathering of the year. As it often is the case in Brussels, the ordre du jour was only indicative, and the real business was done on the sidelines. On the table was an innovative plan to issue a reparations loan for Kyiv based on immobilised Russian assets held mostly in Belgium. It was an option preferred by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; the resistance from the Belgian Prime Minister Bart…
Spanish National Police dismantled a group in the Canary Islands that used Santería rituals to exert psychological control over followers, charging large sums of money for ceremonies involving animal sacrifice and consumption of dangerous substances, authorities said Tuesday. Four people in Tenerife and one in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria were arrested on charges of illicit association, animal abuse, fraud, injuries, crimes against public health and false documentation, police said in a statement. Group leaders targeted vulnerable people and manipulated them through deception and instilling fears, including supposed spiritual threats, according to the investigation. Members paid large sums for rituals…
Since returning to power in 2023 for a fourth term, Fico’s Smer party has taken steps to dismantle anti-corruption institutions, including abolishing the Special Prosecutor’s Office, which handled high-profile corruption cases, and disbanding NAKA, an elite police unit tasked with fighting organized crime. The ruling coalition has also cracked down on independent media and amended the constitution to grant Slovakia’s national law precedence over EU law in “cultural and ethical matters.” The Fico administration — which bypassed a presidential veto after using a fast-track procedure to push through the bill — is not backing down yet in the whistleblower office dispute.…
Two German men died and a third remains in critical condition at Elche General Hospital following a brutal beating on Monday evening in the La Marina district near El Pinet beach, Spanish authorities said Tuesday. Guardia Civil surrounded the house in an isolated area of La Marina urbanisation, where two Polish men, believed to beresponsible for the attack, remained barricaded overnight. No arrests were made as of Tuesday morning, police said. A neighbour alerted authorities around 6:00 pm on Monday after witnessing people attempting to load two bodies into a car boot on Camí del Molar path, according to local…