Author: staff
Most large retailers reopened on January 2, after trading on New Year’s Day was largely limited to small local shops. The switch to the euro has so far been orderly. Within a day of Bulgaria joining the Eurozone, banks had restored most online and mobile services, and many cash machines were already dispensing euro notes. Both the euro and the lev are circulating during the transition. Shops are expected to give change in euros, though levs may still be returned when necessary, prompting light hearted jokes about leftover coins becoming souvenirs. Shoppers have remained calm, and many continue to pay…
Published on 02/01/2026 – 20:24 GMT+1 A strong earthquake rattled southern and central Mexico on Friday, interrupting President Claudia Sheinbaum’s first press briefing of the new year as seismic alarms sounded. The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 and its epicentre was near the town of San Marcos in the southern state of Guerrero near the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, according to the national seismological agency. The state’s civil defence agency reported some landslides around Acapulco and on other highways in the state. Residents and tourists in Mexico City and Acapulco rushed into the streets when the shaking…
Ukraine ordered the evacuation of thousands of children and their parents from frontline settlements in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions on Friday, where Russian troops have been advancing, a Ukrainian official said. “Due to the difficult security situation, a decision was made to forcibly evacuate more than 3,000 children and their parents from 44 frontline settlements in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions,” Restoration Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram. The evacuations, Kuleba said, were also ongoing in the northern Chernihiv region, which borders Moscow-allied Belarus and has been the target of Russian shelling. “In total, 150,000 people have been evacuated…
The Kenya Red Cross said a multi agency response team was on site managing the operation. Local media reported that the building was around 16 storeys high. Authorities have not yet commented on the cause of the collapse or confirmed the number of victims. Officials said the death toll was not expected to be high, though the rescue effort was still ongoing. Building collapses are a recurring problem in Nairobi, where demand for housing remains strong. In the past, developers have been accused of ignoring safety rules and building codes. After a series of deadly collapses in 2015, an official…
PARIS — French authorities will investigate the proliferation of sexually explicit deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence platform Grok on X, the Paris prosecutor’s office told POLITICO. French lawmakers Arthur Delaporte and Eric Bothorel contacted the prosecutor’s office on Jan. 2 after thousands of non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes were generated by Grok and published on X. “These facts have been added to the existing investigation into X,” the prosecutor’s office stated, noting that this offense is punishable by two years’ imprisonment and a €60,000 fine. The two lawmakers confirmed to POLITICO that they had filed reports with the authorities.For the past…
Updated: 02/01/2026 – 18:00 GMT+1 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this January 2nd, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday chose intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov to be his top aide, replacing Andriy Yermak who was fired amid a corruption scandal.“I had a meeting with Kyrylo Budanov and offered him the role of the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. Zelenskyy added Ukraine needed to focus more on security and defense.“Kyrylo has specialized experience in these areas and sufficient strength to deliver results,” the president added.Budanov, a laconic 39-year-old former special forces soldier who fought in Crimea and Donbas, said he had accepted the offer.“We…
For many, 2025 might be summed up in a single word: turbulent. Some countries were battered by air strikes, others by trade tariffs. It was a year of wars and ceasefires, political upheaval and popular protests. 2025 saw the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza end with a US-brokered ceasefire which has proven to be shaky, while Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to grind on, extending well into its fourth year. It was also a year which saw Europe question its relationship with the United States and reassess how it handles its own security after the White House appeared to shift its…
Morocco welcomed 2026 with celebrations across the country, while attention turned to the Africa Cup of Nations as the group stage concluded. Algeria, Burkina Faso, and Sudan advanced from Group E, while Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Mozambique moved on from Group F. The knockout stage begins January 3 with Senegal facing Sudan. Key matches on Sunday include Mali vs. Tunisia and South Africa vs. Cameroon. Mali vs. Tunisia and South Africa against Cameroon on Sunday stand out as some of the most exciting knockout stage fixtures.
Les deux parlementaires ont confirmé à POLITICO avoir effectué des signalements à la justice sur la base de l’article 40 du code de procédure pénale. Depuis deux jours, des centaines de femmes et d’adolescents témoignent du fait que leurs photos, publiées sur les réseaux sociaux, sont “dénudées” à la demande d’autres internautes par Grok, l’intelligence artificielle intégrée au réseau social X. Ces montages photographiques générés par IA portent atteinte “à la dignité des personnes représentées” estime Arthur Delaporte dans son courrier à la procureure, consulté par POLITICO. Contacté par POLITICO, le cabinet de la ministre déléguée au numérique indique se…