Author: staff
Spain and Portugal once again stood out among the eurozone’s top-performing economies in the final quarter of 2025. Both Iberian countries saw their economies expand by 0.8% last quarter — more than double the eurozone’s average growth rate of 0.3% for the same period, according to preliminary estimates from Eurostat. Spain posted its strongest economic expansion in a year, with gross domestic product rising by 0.8% in the fourth quarter compared to the previous three months. That was an improvement on the 0.6% growth recorded in the third quarter and came in above estimates of 0.6%. Spain’s economy grew by…
By Ioannis Karagiorgas with ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ Published on 30/01/2026 – 12:50 GMT+1•Updated 12:51 A tiny Greek island looks set to enjoy a tourism boom in 2026 as travellers seek authenticity instead of over-hyped destinations. Several travel guides and media publications have highlighted Ios as a place to visit this year, recognised for both its lively culture and untamed nature. It comes as the Cyclades island looks to promote a new tourism narrative emphasising sustainable development and quality of life. Ios highlighted as a must-visit destination in 2026 Several international publications have included Ios in their travel recommendations for 2026. British newspaper The Times has…
Updated: 30/01/2026 – 12:21 GMT+1 From private to very public, Melania Trump’s documentary about the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s return to the White House has premiered at the Kennedy Center. It will be screened at more than 1,500 cinemas around the world ahead of its global release on Amazon Prime. … More
The eurozone economy held up well at the end of 2025, with three of the region’s four largest countries growing by more than expected. Preliminary data from the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, on Friday showed that the eurozone’s economy expanded by 0.3 percent during the last three months of last year, unchanged from the third quarter. That was better than market expectations of an increase of 0.2 percent. In year-on-year terms, gross domestic product growth slowed by less than feared, to 1.3 percent from 1.4 percent in the previous quarter. GDP was up 0.3 percent in Germany, the region’s biggest…
The controversy began after reports suggested agents from the US’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency would be present at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Centre-left opposition parties warned that it could be given a part in security measures on Italian soil as the games got underway — a claim that quickly gained traction amid heightened scrutiny of ICE in the US. Speaking to Italian radio station RTL 102.5, Milan’s mayor Giuseppe Sala took a firm stance against any such move, describing ICE as “a militia that kills, that enters people’s homes by signing its own warrants”, and adding…
Updated: 30/01/2026 – 12:00 GMT+1 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this January 30th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More
New bombardment Indeed, there was little sign of goodwill from the Russian side on Friday. The Russian armed forces shelled Ukraine with more than 112 drones and various missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force reported Friday. Although Kyiv has not been attacked on Friday, and no strikes on energy facilities were reported, the eastern region of Kharkiv was heavily shelled. Two people there were wounded, and one person was killed, the governor, Oleh Synegubov, said in a Telegram statement. Civilian infrastructure was hit and power cables were damaged by the attacks. The air force also reported Russian drones in Sumy, Dnipro…
By Alessio Dell’Anna & Damaso Jaivenois Published on 30/01/2026 – 11:30 GMT+1•Updated 11:54 Some good news for air travellers. Many European airports are finally ditching the controversial 100 millilitre limit on cabin bag liquids, marking the end of an era of minuscule, overpriced creams and shampoos. It follows the rollout of new CT security scanners, which provide high-resolution 3D visuals detecting both solid and liquid explosives. Last July, the EU Commission said that a move to scrap the rule across the whole bloc is also in the pipeline. The 100ml limit was introduced in Europe and beyond in 2006, after UK police had…
Published on 30/01/2026 – 9:26 GMT+1 US President Donald Trump has it is “very dangerous” for close ally Britain to deal with China, as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in the country for talks with President Xi Jinping aimed at resetting relations. Trump made the remarks to reporters while attending the premiere of a documentary about his wife, First Lady Melania Trump. Asked about the UK “getting into business” with China, Trump said “Well it’s very dangerous for them to do that.” Starmer’s visit to China is the first by a British premier since 2018 and follows a slew…
Springsteen’s song also contains the line: “King Trump’s private army from the DHS, guns belted to their coats, came to Minneapolis to enforce the law, or so their story goes.“ Though this is slightly undone for me — and surely only me — by the fact that I always confuse DHS (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) with DFS (a British discount sofa retailer that’s had a sale on for decades). Trump’s no fan, of course, and has previously called Springsteen a “dried-out prune of a rocker.” Meanwhile, Neil Young gave everyone in Greenland free access to his music and…