Author: staff
The 22-year-old Amine is one of the highest-profile crusaders against the narcotics trade in Marseille, the southern port city that for decades has failed to curb drug-related violence. He was profiled in the New York Times last year. Benoît Payan, the center-left mayor of Marseille, struck a similar tone as Darmanin, stating that the crime would usher the fight against drug trafficking into “a new era” if its intimidation motive is confirmed. In the wake of such brazen violence, security issues have become a top concern for voters ahead of municipal elections set for spring 2026, surveys show. An Ifop…
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has joined the advisory board of Ukraine’s defence company Fire Point amid Kyiv’s large-scale anti-corruption investigation, also involving the missile and drone producer known for its Flamingo long-range cruise projectile. Fire Point is a private defence contractor that emerged in 2023 and has recently come under scrutiny amid the anti-corruption investigation and possible links to wealthy entrepreneur Timur Mindich. A former business partner of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mindich allegedly served as the ringleader and mastermind of a $100-million corruption scheme involving Ukraine’s state-owned Energoatom. Is Fire Point under investigation? Fire Point has…
The EU risks breaching climate targets unless it shows “credible leadership” and fully discloses its militaries’ emissions. Experts have warned that the environmental cost of conflict can no longer remain “hidden in plain sight”, as COP30 sees fossil fuel phase-out negotiations intensify. A 2022 study by Scientists for Global Responsibility and the Conflict and Environment Observatory estimates that militaries are responsible for around 5.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with armed conflicts emitting more CO₂ than most countries. However, they are widely excluded from mandatory reporting under global climate agreements. Is war driving the climate crisis? Last year,…
As trilogue negotiations on the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation (ELVR) reach their decisive phase, Europe stands at a crossroads, not just for the future of sustainable mobility, but also for the future of its industrial base and competitiveness. The debate over whether recycled plastic content in new vehicles should be 15, 20 or 25 percent is crucial as a key driver for circularity investment in Europe’s plastics and automotive value chains for the next decade and beyond. The ELVR is more than a recycled content target. It is also an important test of whether and how Europe can align its circularity…
All EU countries raised welfare spending in 2024, according to Eurostat data, with a global increase of nearly 7%, bringing the bloc’s total social budget to almost €5 billion. Compared with its GDP, the average social benefit spending is now around 27% across the bloc. But rates vary widely from nation to nation. Finland, France and Austria are the most generous EU members, each spending around 32% of their GDP on social benefits. Ireland sits last with only 12%, which is less than non-EU member states like Bosnia-Herzegovina (20%) and Serbia (18%), according to Eurostat. But there are reasons for…
Updated: 17/11/2025 – 15:22 GMT+1 A 26-year-old man has been jailed for nine days after jumping a barricade and rushing toward Ariana Grande during a Singapore film premiere. Videos showed him putting his arm around the singer before security intervened. He pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance at the November 13 event. … More
It has taken three years of work; composing and singing in 13 languages; running a brief but impeccably polished media campaign;; and winning unanimous approval (98/100) from the voices that feed ‘Metacritic’ for Rosalía to see ‘LUX’ rise to number one among the most-streamed albums worldwide on Spotify. The Swedish platform, which updates its most-listened charts weekly, shows that ‘LUX’ was the most-played worldwide from 7 to 13 November, leaving behind Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, which premiered on 3 October and had been comfortably topping the charts. Rosalía’s LUX already boasted being the most streamed album in…
Romania’s Department for Emergency Situations said in a statement on social media the blaze was the result of a “drone attack carried out on the territory of Ukraine” on Sunday night, which caused “a ship loaded with LPG” to be “engulfed in flames in the area of Izmail,” a Ukrainian port city in the southwest of the country bordering Romania. The department added it had ordered the evacuation of the entire commune of Ceatalchioi, which is home to about 250 people, and would send vehicles and ambulances. The ship, the Turkish-flagged ORINDA, is capable of carrying about 1.8 million gallons…
Greeks gathered at the Polytechnic University in Athens on Tuesday to commemorate the anniversary of the 1973 student uprising against the military dictatorship. People laid flowers at the memorial and the gate destroyed by a tank during the crackdown. Annual marches to the US Embassy were held under heavy security, with major roads closed and subway stations shut. The 1973 protests, in which at least 20 people are believed to have been killed, remain a defining moment in Greece’s struggle for democracy.
Published on 17/11/2025 – 14:43 GMT+1 A proposed US Senate bill could impose a 500% tariff on countries that trade with Moscow, including major buyers such as India and China, as Washington pushes for new sanctions backed by President Trump to isolate Russia’s war economy. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said Republicans were drafting the legal framework for further sanctions and added: “That’s ok with me.” He said, “Any country that does business with Russia will be very severely sanctioned,” and added that “we may add Iran to the formula.” In an attempt to choke off Russia’s energy revenues,…