Author: staff
“Foreign Office travel advice has now been updated to reflect this consular change.” The move came shortly after the U.S. ordered the evacuation of some personnel from the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, its largest base in the Middle East, which hosts 10,000 U.S. troops. A former U.S. official familiar with the situation said aircraft had also been moved. Reuters first reported the evacuation. The U.K. already advises against all travel to Iran and for British nationals already in the country to “carefully consider” their continued presence. Britain’s envoy to Iran was summoned alongside European diplomats on Monday to…
By Alessio Dell’Anna & Damaso Jaivenois Published on 14/01/2026 – 16:15 GMT+1 •Updated 16:32 Alcohol is behind 31% of deaths from injury and violence in Europe, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO). The organisation says the continent drinks more than any other region in the world, with a human cost amounting to 145,000 people The number one cause of death is not an accidental one: self-harm is the biggest killer, leading to 44,000 alcohol-related fatal injuries in 2019 alone, with 83% of cases being among men. Road accidents fuelled by alcohol are next, with 24,000 deaths, followed by…
France woke up to quieter streets on Wednesday as tractors that had surrounded the National Assembly began leaving Paris before sunrise. The vehicles, driven by members of the FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs unions, had entered the capital the previous morning to press their demands. Farmers say they are struggling with rising costs, falling incomes and rules they see as unfair. While Paris was clearing, tension shifted south. Late on Tuesday night, farmers drove tractors into central Toulouse despite a local ban. Around fifteen machines parked near government buildings under close police watch. Protesters again pointed to economic pressure and anger…
The EU’s top diplomat ― who coordinates the bloc’s foreign policy on behalf of the 27 governments and the European Commission ― cracked the joke in a meeting of the Conference of Presidents, a meeting of the Parliament’s group leaders. Her comments came after top MEPs started wishing each other a happy new year. The same MEPs added that global events meant it wasn’t that happy, according to people in the room. With fears in Europe that Trump might annex Greenland, mass protests against the Islamist regime in Iran, as well as the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and…
Published on 14/01/2026 – 19:29 GMT+1 The European Parliament is set to hold a debate about the allocation of public defence funds to Hungary over fears that the money may be misused by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who faces a difficult election in April. The money in question is part of the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, a €150 billion loan scheme that enables member states to finance the purchase of defence equipment. This is a part of the plan to boost Europe’s defences in the light of both Russian threats and the uncertainty of support from the…
Verified amateur videos posted online show fires lighting up parts of Tehran, with crowds shouting slogans associated with Iran’s former monarchy. Additional footage shows mourners at Tehran’s Behesht Zahra mortuary chanting slogans against those they accuse of responsibility for the deaths, following claims that live ammunition was used against protesters. In Punak Square, people gathered at night, lighting the area with their phones while cheering and chanting. The scenes point to anger that goes beyond one place or group. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic republic would not back down, even as the demonstrations enter a second week…
“The transatlantic relationship that we have known until now is disintegrating,” he added. Merz, by contrast, has said with regard to Greenland that the U.S. president has legitimate security concerns that NATO should address in order to achieve a “mutually acceptable solution.” And while other EU governments strongly criticized the Trump administration following the capture of Maduro, Merz was more restrained, calling the matter legally “complex.” Behind Klingbeil’s more strident criticism of Trump lies a clear political calculus. The vice chancellor — who also serves as finance minister — is a leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), which…
Published on 14/01/2026 – 20:30 GMT+1 We are joined by Henrik Dahl, Danish MEP from the European People’s Party (EPP), and Lina Gálvez, Spanish MEP from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D). The two MEPs clash over Europe’s geopolitical ambition, the EU’s internal workings, and its relationship with the United States. “There has never been a rules-based international order. What is new is admitting it,” Henrik Dahl believes. The Danish politician warns that the EU’s influence is limited by its reliance on NATO and its tendency to fall back on statements and resolutions rather than action. “Vladimir Putin…
Published on 14/01/2026 – 20:47 GMT+1 Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez vowed on Wednesday to continue releasing prisoners detained under former President Nicolás Maduro during her first press briefing since Maduro was ousted in a US military operation earlier this month. Addressing journalists carpet at the presidential palace, Rodríguez struck a conciliatory tone and said the Venezuelan government was entering a “new political moment.” She offered assurances that the process of releasing hundreds of detainees, a move reportedly made at the behest of the Trump administration, “has not yet concluded.” The releases have drawn criticism for being too slow and…
France has introduced a 45% higher entry fee at the Louvre for non-European visitors, a controversial measure aimed at funding the renovation of the struggling Paris landmark. The move is one of the boldest in Europe regarding ‘dual pricing’ at museums, which means charging different prices depending on where visitors come from. Common in many developing countries, the practice has until now been largely absent in Europe and has been criticised as discriminatory, restricting access to the world’s most visited museum that houses the Mona Lisa for some low-income foreign visitors. The museum said the price rise, from €22 ($26)…