Author: staff
Updated: 09/12/2025 – 12:00 GMT+1 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this December 9th, 2025 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More
Published on 09/12/2025 – 10:52 GMT+1 Lithuania’s government on Tuesday declared a state of emergency over security risks posed by smuggler balloons from Belarus that have violated its airspace in recent weeks. Tensions between Vilnius and Minsk have escalated after meteorological balloons originating from Belarus forced neighbouring Lithuania to repeatedly close its main airport in the past weeks, leaving thousands of people stranded. While the balloons are used to smuggle cigarettes into Lithuania, officials in the Baltic state say they are deliberate acts of disruption orchestrated by Russia-allied Belarus. Announcing the state of emergency, the Lithuanian government cited “national security…
Published on 09/12/2025 – 10:40 GMT+1 •Updated 10:57 The European Commission on Tuesday launched a probe into Google over its use of web publishers’ content and YouTube material for its AI services. The decision comes after transatlantic tensions escalated over the weekend after Brussels imposed a €120 million fine on Elon Musk’s social network X for breaching its landmark Digital Services Act (DSA), prompting a political response from the world’s richest man calling for the EU to be abolished. “AI is bringing remarkable innovation and many benefits for people and businesses across Europe, but this progress cannot come at the…
Published on 09/12/2025 – 9:34 GMT+1 Who are the most popular touring artists of the last two decades based on ticket sales? The results may surprise you. So far, the 2020s have seen two artists gross a billion dollars with their tours. The benchmark was first crossed by Taylor Swift in 2023 with her landmark Eras Tour, followed by The Weeknd’s After Hours ‘Til Dawn Tour. However, these two artists don’t top concert trade publication Pollstar’s recently published “Most Popular Touring Artists of the Millennium” – which ranks the top 25 acts based on ticket sales from 1 January 2001…
BRUSSELS — The European Commission has opened an antitrust investigation into whether Google breached EU competition rules by using the content of web publishers, as well as video uploaded to YouTube, for artificial intelligence purposes. The investigation will examine whether Google is distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers and content creators, or by granting itself privileged access to such content, thus placing rival AI models at a disadvantage, the Commission said on Tuesday. In a statement, the EU executive said it was concerned that Google may have used the content of web publishers to provide generative…
A Beijing court ordered Malaysia Airlines to pay 2.9 million yuan (€350,000) to each of eight families whose relatives disappeared on flight MH370 more than a decade ago, according to a court statement released on Monday. The compensation covers the loss of life, funeral costs and emotional distress damages. The passengers have been declared legally dead, though their fate remains unknown. Another 23 cases are pending, while 47 other families reached settlements with the airline and withdrew their lawsuits, the court said. The ruling comes less than a week after Malaysian authorities announced plans to resume searching for the aircraft…
Oscar winning filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola sale of a unique F.P Journe wristwatch has fetched a record $10 million at an auction in New York. The prototype watch enormously surpassed expectations. It had been listed for $1 million last month with the cash-strapped American director desperately seeking funds after pouring millions on his own money into his latest movie ‘Megalopolis’ which tanked at the box office. A one of a kind timepiece, the F.P Journe FFC was made for the legendary director after he met the creator in 2012 at his Inglenook winery in Napa Valley, California. Coppola asked him…
By Jerry Fisayo-Bambi with AP Published on 09/12/2025 – 6:30 GMT+1 •Updated 7:23 US President Donald Trump on Monday justified the military’s decision to fire a second missile in a heavily scrutinised attack on a boat in the Caribbean Sea, claiming that two suspected drug smugglers were trying to right the vessel after it had capsized in the initial strike. Trump’s comments came as his administration faces calls from Democratic lawmakers to release footage of the 2 September operation, which killed nine people aboard the boat in an initial strike and then two more who managed to survive. On Monday, the US leader…
Calls for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining have gotten louder as the results of a five-year-long investigation have been revealed. Scientists have analysed samples from the seafloor in the depths of the Pacific, both before and after an 80km area was driven over by ocean-mining machines. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, the UK’s Natural History Museum and National Oceanography Centre spent more than 160 days at sea, followed by three years in the lab to discover the extent of damage caused by the tracks. The study, which has been published in science journal Nature, was funded by The…
Published on 09/12/2025 – 8:02 GMT+1 Italy is offering a new answer to the perennial question of where to spend New Year’s Eve. On 30 December, the three-day, two-night La Dolce Vita Orient Express departs Rome for a roaming celebration that unfolds on board as the train travels to Venice and back. Called ‘Whispers at Midnight’, the itinerary is designed for travellers who want the holiday to feel special without committing to a single destination or crowded events. But this exclusive journey into 2026 comes at a cost, starting at €11,280 per passenger. A special escape that starts and ends…