Author: staff
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)…
By Theo Farrant & AP Published on 29/01/2026 – 12:19 GMT+1 Almost six weeks after Australia introduced the world’s toughest social media restrictions for children, there’s one question on everyone’s minds: is the ban actually working? Platforms say millions of underage accounts have been removed since the ban for under-16s came into force on 10 December 2025. But interviews with teenagers, parents and researchers indicate that many children are still accessing banned apps through simple workarounds, raising questions about whether the rules can be effectively enforced. Millions of accounts removed – but how many children? According to Australia’s internet regulator, around 4.7 million…
Vannacci, a polarizing figure whose nationalist and anti-immigration views have sparked repeated controversy, is currently deputy secretary of the League. But weeks of internal tensions have pushed relations within the party to breaking point. Salvini had been expected to meet his rebellious deputy for talks, but Vannacci’s latest move appears to reduce the prospect of a reconciliation, pushing the party closer to a possible split. The former general rose to prominence in Italy thanks to his on-stage charisma and his extreme views on the country’s past, with critics accusing him of historical revisionism. He has described dictator Benito Mussolini as…
The European Union’s lending arm said on Thursday that it expects to spend at least €4 billion on security and defence projects in 2026 – the same as it did last year after effectively quadrupling its financing in the area. Overall, the European Investment Bank (EIB) spent 5% of its financing in the EU on security and defence projects last year, a target it had initially planned to reach only in 2026. EIB President Nadia Calviño told reporters in Brussels this represented a “step change” for her institution, which expanded the scope of eligible activities to pure military investments, and…
This Friday, Italy marks an uncomfortable anniversary: it will be one year since the European Court of Human Rights condemned the Italian state for failing to protect its citizens living in the so-called Terra dei Fuochi or “Land of Fires” — a vast area of the south of the country devastated by decades of illegal toxic waste dumping and burning. Euronews travelled to Campania to witness the grim realities of those who continue to bear the brunt of the area’s toxic legacy. “This is a boy who died of cancer. Here is another—born in 2002, died in 2023. This woman,…
The news will be welcomed by Scotch whisky exporters, who have been squeezed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10 percent baseline tariffs on imported U.K. goods. Currently, Scotch whisky exports face 10 percent duties in China, after the country doubled its import tariffs on brandy and whisky in February 2025, removing its provisional 5 percent rate. Exports to China fell by 31 percent last year, sliding from China’s fifth-largest export market to its tenth. “We’ve agreed that on tariffs for whisky, we’re looking at how they’re to be reduced, what the timeframe is,” said Starmer. The two sides also made…
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte this week faced a serious European backlash for remarks that have been interpreted as disparaging the continent’s defence capabilities, but US contacts have told Euronews his verdict was spot on, warning that Europe must not engage in “dangerous fantasies”. Rutte clashed with lawmakers at the European Parliament on Tuesday, saying “if anyone thinks … Europe can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming. You can’t. We can’t. We need each other.” The comments came at a particularly volatile moment in transatlantic relations. A week earlier, European allies were prophesying the end of NATO if…
Russia is using a logistics operation in Berlin to circumvent European Union sanctions by routing banned goods to Moscow through a postal system that exploits lighter controls on international mail, according to an investigation by German newspaper Bild. Test consignments equipped with GPS transmitters and containing sanctioned goods passed through a logistics hall near Berlin Brandenburg airport undisturbed before being forwarded via Poland and Belarus to Moscow, the investigation found. The operation allegedly uses shipping labels from Uzbekistan’s state postal service, even though Germany’s Federal Network Agency does not authorise the postal service to operate in the country. International mail…
Published on 29/01/2026 – 9:02 GMT+1 It appeared in the waters of the Mediterranean a few years ago: first near Cyprus and then in the Aegean. Originating from Asia, the lionfish is taking advantage of rising sea temperatures and spreading rapidly in the Mediterranean. It feeds on all kinds of smaller fish and has no natural predators in the Mediterranean. As a result, lionfish populations are increasing while other species are declining. “We saw this fish in Elafonisos five years ago,” Katerina Kokkinaki, head of green marketing at the NGO Elafonisos Eco, tells Euronews Green. “The first time we saw…