Author: staff

Claims are spreading online that the European Union is building its own social media platform to replace X, with posts alleging that a new network called “W” will be funded by taxpayers and run as a censorship tool. Posts, shared widely on X, claim the project is backed by Brussels, financed by taxpayers’ money and designed to impose EU oversight on online speech. One post, viewed more than 60,000 times, claims that “500 million of our tax money will be spent on a censorship system in which everything is checked, corrected and eliminated”. Another, with more than 570,000 views, claims…

Published on 29/01/2026 – 15:22 GMT+1 Web Summit is back in Doha for its third straight year, with organisers expecting more than 30,000 attendees from over 120 countries to take part in the four-day event. Held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, Web Summit Qatar continues to expand as a global meeting place for technology, innovation, investment and entrepreneurship, bringing together founders, investors, policymakers and industry leaders from around the world. This year’s programme includes panels, keynotes and showcases across technology, artificial intelligence, digital culture, media, investment and startup growth, with participation from both local and international founders, investors,…

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against political pressure on the US central bank on Wednesday and defended its independence, urging the next chair to “stay out of elected politics”. Markets, however, appeared unconvinced, accelerating a sell-off in the dollar as gold and silver hit fresh record highs. “Don’t get pulled into elected politics. Don’t do it,” Powell told reporters. The reaction followed the Federal Reserve’s latest decision to leave interest rates unchanged in a range between 3.5% and 3.75%. Asked whether the Fed was drawing any macroeconomic signal from the explosive rally in precious metals, Powell played down…

But here’s the curious thing: While the Russians and Chinese use such language to target their foes, Trump and his senior aides reserve much of their invective for supposed allies, namely Europe with Canada thrown in for good measure. And they’re utterly relentless in doing so — far more than during his first term, when there were still some more traditionally minded folks in the White House to temper or walk back the rhetoric. This all seemed to reach its pinnacle in Davos last week, where it seemed belittling European allies was part of virtually everything the U.S. delegation said…

Thirteen European countries are selling apples in markets and supermarkets with a concerning abundance of pesticide residues, commonly known as “cocktails of pesticides”, according to an NGO report urging the European Union to regulate exposure to these chemicals. Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland have reported contamination in apples, according to the latest report from Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe, which criticises the EU’s risk assessment procedure for looking at pesticides in silos and disregarding the “cocktail” effect. “One of the most striking results is that 85% of the tested apples…

Published on 29/01/2026 – 13:47 GMT+1 A Swiss politician was convicted on Wednesday for firing a sports pistol at an auction poster of a 14th-century painting of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus and then posting images of the damage online. Sanija Ameti, an independent Zurich council member formerly of the Green-Liberal party, was fined in suspension for “disturbing freedom of religion and worship,” the Zurich district court said in its ruling. She was handed a suspended fine totalling 3,000 Swiss francs (€3,268) and a penalty of 500 francs (€544). Prosecutors had sought a larger fine. Swiss public broadcaster RTS…

BRUSSELS — One of the European Commission’s senior officials, Henrik Hololei, breached its rules, an internal investigation found, two officials told POLITICO. Hololei, an Estonian, was subject to an investigation over allegedly violating rules on conflicts of interest, transparency, gift acceptance and document disclosure, according to documents seen by POLITICO last year. Hololei was previously a senior EU transport official in the Commission and became Hors Classe Adviser at the Directorate-General for International Partnerships. He was notified on March 21, 2025 that he faced an internal disciplinary procedure by the Commission, according to the documents seen by POLITICO.

Published on 29/01/2026 – 12:58 GMT+1 An exhibition at the European Parliament in Brussels is shedding light on tourism projects from European countries with positive impacts on nature, locals and the economy. From a social enterprise making beaches more accessible to an opportunity for tourists to give back to German beauty spots, Euronews spoke with some of the innovators behind the schemes. From Germany to Serbia: The tourism projects having a positive impact Along Germany’s North Sea coast, tourists can purchase a ‘passport’ to collect stamps at museums and nature spots with QR codes giving information on the impact of…

The French National Assembly unanimously approved a bill on Wednesday that ends so-called “marital duty” following criticism about its use to ignore sexual consent in marriages. This cross-party bill, backed by more than 120 MPs, enshrines the fundamental principle that consent remains essential for any sexual act, including within marriage. Spearheaded by the MP Marie-Charlotte Garin and the president of the Horizons group Paul Christophe, the law is designed to definitively rule out the idea that spouses are obliged to have regular sexual relations. This notion is absent from the Civil Code but remains entrenched in certain court rulings and…

Published on 29/01/2026 – 12:38 GMT+1 Oil prices rose on Thursday after US President Donald Trump warned Iran that “time is running out” and said a “massive armada” was heading towards the region if Tehran failed to agree to a nuclear non-proliferation deal. In a Truth Social post, Trump said a fleet larger than the one sent to Venezuela was ready to “rapidly fulfil its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary” if Iran refused to negotiate a deal guaranteeing “no nuclear weapons”. Global benchmark Brent rose by about 2.02%, trading at around $68.73 per barrel, while US crude (WTI)…