Author: staff

The EU and Africa have agreed to further green investments and regional infrastructure as the bloc’s representatives gathered in Angola’s capital Luanda for two days of the European Union-African Union summit. The EU is on a path to achieve net neutrality by 2050, a binding goal that will require large-scale deployment of renewable energy such as solar and wind, and batteries for electric vehicles. While the 27-member bloc is invested in domestic production, it sees Africa’s abundant sunlight and vast deposits of key raw materials such as lithium and cobalt as crucial to the energy transition. “We commit to continue…

 “Obesity robs children of the best possible start in life,” Streeting told MPs Tuesday. “It hits the poorest hardest — sets them up for a lifetime of problems.” Bottles and cartons of milkshakes, flavored milk,  sweetened yoghurt drinks, chocolate milk drinks, ready-to-drink coffees and milk substitute drinks will now be eligible for the levy. Drinks prepared in cafes and bars remain out of scope. The levy requires companies producing drinks that contain between 5g and 8g of sugar per 100ml to pay 19.4 pence per liter while drinks with 8g or more of sugar must pay 25.9 pence per liter.…

Spain has been decisively leading Europe’s car market during the first nine months of 2025. Madrid reported a remarkable 15% growth in new passenger car registrations between January and September, the highest in Europe, according to new data by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). One of the reasons was a €400 million extension of a massive EU incentive scheme — Moves III — aimed at boosting electric mobility. The programme, now open till the end of 2025, has spent more than €1.3 billion in the past four years — not just for purchasing vehicles, but also to install…

Iran is facing a severe pollution episode in Tehran, where high levels of fine particles have forced schools and kindergartens to close for at least four days. Many public employees have also been told to stay home. The smog comes mainly from old cars, motorbikes, factories and the widespread use of low quality fuel. In winter, the lack of wind keeps dirty air trapped over the city. Tehran sits in a valley surrounded by hills, which makes the problem worse during temperature inversions. On Tuesday the air quality index reached 164, a level considered unhealthy for everyone. Some areas have…

The creator of celebrated British comedy sitcoms Father Ted and The IT Crowd and co-creator of Black Books has been cleared of harassing a transgender activist on social media. He was, however, found guilty of damaging their mobile phone during an encounter last year. Prosecutors alleged that Graham Linehan, an Irish comedy writer known for his outspoken criticism of trans activism, wrote “repeated, abusive, unreasonable” social media posts about Sophia Brooks. He denied the charge. District Judge Briony Clarke said that while Linehan’s social media posts were “deeply unpleasant, insulting and even unnecessary,” they did not amount to harassment. She…

The reciprocal strikes — and potential meting of leaders — come against the backdrop of another round of peace talks initiated by the United States. Washington initially wanted Kyiv to agree to a 28-point peace plan backed by and favoring Russia. As the Kremlin rejected the EU’s counterproposal, Ukraine and the U.S. worked up a slimmed-down version of the original plan. U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meeting with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to discuss the document. In Ukraine, Russia targeted civilian and energy infrastructure in the Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions, Zelenskyy said in…

Published on 25/11/2025 – 15:28 GMT+1 Four more people have been arrested in connection with last month’s audacious jewellery heist at the Louvre, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday. The two men and two women in custody are from the Paris region and range in age from 31 to 40, said the prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, whose office is heading the investigation. The office did not say what role they are suspected of having played in the theft at the Paris landmark and world-famous museum on 19 October. According to Le Parisien newspaper, one of the men arrested was a…

Published on 25/11/2025 – 14:30 GMT+1 Battery electric vehicles accounted for 16.4% of newly registered cars in the EU during the first ten months of 2025, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). That compares with 13.2% over the same period in 2024. A total of 1,473,447 new electric cars were registered across the EU27 between January and October, over 301,000 more than a year earlier. Germany was the largest contributor, with more than 434,600 new EV registrations and one of the strongest growth rates in the bloc, up 39.4% year-on-year. Among the EU’s four biggest economies,…

Published on 25/11/2025 – 14:25 GMT+1 We did not have this one on our 2025 Bingo cards… Having successfully put an end to numerous wars and solved all the conflicts he promised to rapidly stop, including the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (let’s not get bogged down with technicalities), Donald Trump is turning his attention to what matters. The President of the United States has reportedly taken the time to push for a revival of his favourite buddy cop action-comedy franchise. According to a Semafor report, which cites “a person directly familiar with the conversations,” Trump “personally pressed”…

An overwhelming 75 percent of voters also think it is important for the U.K. to stand up for Kyiv’s sovereignty, compared to 8 percent who believe it isn’t. The More in Common think tank polled 2,062 British adults between Nov. 22 and 24, as U.S. and Ukrainian officials worked on a peace agreement in Geneva almost four years after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. U.S. and Russian officials are meeting in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, just hours after strikes by Moscow killed six people in Kyiv. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-host a call with a group…