Author: staff

Published on 16/12/2025 – 18:56 GMT+1 More than 17 million people in Afghanistan are facing crisis levels of hunger in the coming winter months, the leading international authority on hunger crises and the UN food aid agency warned on Tuesday. Economic woes, recurrent drought, shrinking international aid and an influx of Afghans returning home from countries like neighbouring Iran and Pakistan have strained resources and added to the pressures on food security, reports the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, known as IPC, which tracks hunger crises. “What the IPC tells us is that more than 17 million people in Afghanistan…

Published on 16/12/2025 – 17:15 GMT+1 After firing hundreds of thousands of government workers and shuttering several federal tech offices this year, the United States is launching a new programme to hire new top tech talent and close “critical skills gaps” within federal agencies. The “US Tech Force,” announced this week, aims to recruit the tech and artificial intelligence (AI) talent needed to modernise the US government and “help win the global race for AI dominance,” according to Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which manages the US federal civil service and is overseeing the project.…

STRASBOURG — Jordan Bardella said his National Rally party remains against deploying French troops to Ukraine, underscoring the long-term fragility of France’s commitment to Kyiv if the far-right faction wins the presidential elections in 2027. “We are opposed to sending French military troops to Ukraine, like many, many French [people],” Bardella told reporters in Strasbourg. “On the other hand, in the discussions we have around security guarantees, we could consider a demilitarized zone, which is under the aegis and under the responsibility of the U.N.,” he added. The comments from the president of the National Rally, the far-right party leading opinion…

European Union-based carmakers will need to comply with a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions from 2035, instead of the 100% previously set in EU law, the European Commission announced today, revoking a controversial wholesale ban on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles adopted in March 2023. Manufacturers will have to compensate for the remaining 10% of emissions by using low-carbon steel produced in the EU or by using sustainable fuels such as e-fuels and biofuels. The industry will be allowed to continue producing plug-in hybrids, range extenders, mild hybrids, and ICE vehicles beyond 2035. Full electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen vehicles…

Published on 16/12/2025 – 17:28 GMT+1 The British government has announced an independent review into foreign financial interference in politics, after a former member of the right-wing Reform UK party was convicted of taking bribes from Russia. The inquiry will examine the effectiveness of the UK’s political finance laws and safeguards against illicit foreign money, Communities Secretary Steve Reed said on Tuesday. The announcement comes almost a month after Nathan Gill, a former Reform UK leader in Wales and an ex-MEP, was jailed for more than 10 years for accepting bribes to make favourable statements about Russia in the European…

The invitation comes on the heels of the Dec. 4 publication of the U.S. National Security Strategy, which caused an uproar in Europe for suggesting that the Trump administration will support ideologically aligned European patriotic parties, such as Fico’s leftist-populist and nationalist Smer. Late last week, U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner met with senior figures from that country’s far-right opposition National Rally, while U.S. Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers met with opposition far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party politician Markus Frohnmaier in Washington. The letter from Trump, dated Dec. 11, was given to Fico by U.S. Deputy Energy…

Published on 16/12/2025 – 16:56 GMT+1 •Updated 17:00 Leaders from member states on the EU’s eastern frontier called on Tuesday for the “prioritisation” of European Union funds towards the so-called Eastern Flank Watch flagship project, arguing they are “at the forefront” of the threat posed by Russia and therefore the bloc’s first line of defence. In a joint declaration released after a summit in Helsinki, the leaders of Sweden, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria said that since Russia poses the “most significant, direct and long-term threat” to European security, there should be an “immediate prioritisation of the…

Published on 16/12/2025 – 15:13 GMT+1 A driver who injured more than 130 people by ploughing his car into a crowd of football fans celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League title in May was jailed for 21-and-a-half years on Tuesday. Paul Doyle, 54, rammed his minivan through a mass of fans in Liverpool on 26 May and was stopped only after a bystander got in the vehicle and brought it to a halt. Doyle sobbed during the two-day sentencing as prosecutors detailed the crime, using graphic video footage and reading emotional statements from dozens of victims. He pleaded guilty last month to…

On its current trajectory, Europe’s target for ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030 — a key UN goal — will not be met. Whereas once we talked of this being realized, we now find ourselves discussing the need to adjust our approach and accelerate action if we are to get back on track. This is not where we want, or can afford, to be. But it is where we are. While the global incidence of HIV has declined by 39 percent since 2010, parts of Europe are now seeing infections rise.1 A key concern is that over…

Spain closed the Biriatou border crossing to lorries on Tuesday after farmer protests in France disrupted traffic in the south west. The Spanish Basque Government introduced special measures to manage knock on effects across the Basque Country as roads on the French side remained blocked. Heavy cross border vehicles over 7.5 tonnes are banned from public roads until France says the situation is back to normal. As a result, the Biriatou crossing is closed to those lorries. The Basque traffic department said the Ertzaintza is stopping and impounding vehicles above the limit at several points in the region. In France,…