Author: staff
A draft deal, suggested by the Brazilian presidency, contained no reference to past deals to move away from fossil fuels, nor did it have the roadmap pushed for by many EU countries, though notably not the EU itself. Overnight, 14 EU member states joined 22 other countries, many of them highly vulnerable to climate impacts, threatening to collapse the talks over the absence of fossil fuels from the deal. “We cannot support an outcome that does not include a roadmap for implementing a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels,” said a letter from those countries to the…
The new peace plan promoted by the United States has thrown the European Union’s proposal to use Russia’s immobilised assets to assist Ukraine into disarray. In a dramatic reversal for the EU, the US-led plan suggests the Russian assets would be unblocked, released and turned into an investment platform handled by Washington. The language implies the Kremlin would not only be spared from paying war damages in a future settlement but also benefit commercially. The plan, which has been presented to Kyiv for negotiations, goes directly against the EU’s goal to make Russia pay for the destruction caused as a…
The Hungarian service of Radio Free Europe, Szabad Európa, ceased operations on Friday after the administration of US President Donald Trump announced it would no longer fund the pro-democracy news outlet. In a statement on Thursday announcing the end of its operations, Szabad Európa wrote that it had “worked with dedication to provide the best of journalism and objective information to Hungarian readers.” “We thank you for the trust, interest and support we have received from our audience,” the statement reads, adding that its articles will still be available online. The Hungarian service was terminated in 1993 but reintroduced in…
But the United States’ new 28-point blueprint for a ceasefire includes a rival idea for using those same assets for American-led reconstruction efforts once a truce has been agreed. The U.S. would take “50 percent” of the profit from this activity, the document said. Multiple EU diplomats and officials said they feared the proposal, from Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, would wreck their chances of the loan proposal being agreed by the EU’s 27 governments. European leaders had been hoping to finalize the so-called “reparations loan” deal at a crunch summit next month. A former French official, granted anonymity like others…
A former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) has been sentenced to ten and a half years in prison by a London court as part of a bribery case that has raised questions about how pro-Russian influence networks have targeted European lawmakers. Nathan Gill, a former Mormon bishop and father of seven who was an MEP for UKIP and The Brexit Party between 2014 and 2020, pleaded guilty to taking bribes in exchange for Russia-friendly parliamentary interventions during his time in office. UK counter-terrorism police said he accepted payments to “peddle narratives that would have had the effect of being…
Published on 21/11/2025 – 18:44 GMT+1 •Updated 18:47 Has the German government now decided to supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine after all? After a press conference with Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Berlin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany was working intensively with the Ukrainian government on “long-range fire” projects. “The Ukrainian army is being equipped with such weapons systems,” Merz saidadding that no further details on arms deliveries to Kyiv would be made public. This is a deliberate strategy to ensure “a certain lack of clarity vis-à-vis the Russian side as to what extent we are…
London’s Design Museum has opened a new exhibition today dedicated to Wes Anderson, a filmmaker renowned for his visually striking works. This first retrospective devoted to the American director’s distinctive cinematic output, produced in collaboration with la Cinémathèque française in Paris, which premiered the show in March 2025. On display are dozens of objects from Anderson’s personal archives, many of which are showcased for the first time in Britain. Discover the design stories behind Anderson’s iconic films Wes Anderson: The Archives delves into the catalogue that the filmmaker has built up over three decades. The landmark exhibition charts the evolution…
“They will expect an answer from us,” Zelenskyy said about the peace proposal. “Although in fact I have already given it,” he added, citing the oath he took when he entered office in 2019 to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty. The leaked plan has intensified fears in Ukraine and European capitals that Washington is ready to chart its own diplomatic course, potentially favoring Russia while sidelining Kyiv and its European allies at a critical moment in the war. “Americans are talking to Ukraine with a language of pressure. As the only option is to sign. If the Ukrainians don’t sign it, the…
Ukraine must do everything to make sure the end of the war does not mean “the end of Ukraine”, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday, admitting that the country is currently undergoing “one of the most difficult moments in our history”. “The pressure on Ukraine is now one of the most severe”, he stated. Referring to the 28-point plan drafted by the US and Russia, Zelenskyy said he will fight to “ensure that at least two points are not overlooked in the plan.” “These are the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians, because everything else is based on this,” he pointed…
2025 finds the world at one of the most critical moments in technological history. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a promise or a vague threat of the future. It is already here, reshaping economies, overturning power balances, influencing elections and raising questions about the limits of human responsibility. The debate is no longer “f AI will change everything, but who will determine how**.** Governments, regulators, tech giants, and leading researchers are clashing over the architecture of regulation: what rules will be set, to whom they will be applied, who will be protected and who will have the power to…