Author: staff
Devastation swept across parts of Asia this week following record-breaking rainfall and storm surges. Emergency crews are still racing to reach survivors after days of flash floods and landslides, which left thousands of citizens stranded and more than 1,300 dead. People have been found clinging to rooftops or trees to stay alive, with roads rapidly transforming into fast-flowing rivers of mud and thousands of homes being destroyed. Indonesia, the hardest-hit nation, has recorded 753 deaths as of Tuesday 2 December. This is followed by Sri Lanka and Thailand, which suffered 410 and 181 fatalities, respectively. Three people have also been…
By Sarah Miansoni with AP Published on 03/12/2025 – 12:12 GMT+1 With December now underway, nativity scenes are returning to Christmas markets around Europe. In Brussels, the installation of a new nativity design on the city’s Grand-Place has turned into a scandal with the theft of the infant Jesus icon. The figure was snatched from his crib between late Friday night and early Saturday morning after days of a maelstrom on social media over the faceless depictions of the scene’s holy characters. It all started with a desire for change after 25 years of the same nativity design in the old historic centre…
China currently controls 90 percent of rare earth refining, according to a government critical minerals strategy published last week. McDonald said China’s dominance of mineral processing risks driving up prices for the net zero transition. The U.K. has made a legally-binding pledge to reduce planet-damaging emissions to net zero by 2050. McDonald fears China has become a “monopoly provider” of critical minerals and that its dominant role in processing allowed China to control the costs for buyers. “We want to capture this supply chain in the U.K. as part of our industrial strategy. To do that … means, ultimately, we’re…
Published on 03/12/2025 – 12:30 GMT+1 A court employee fled to the United Kingdom with approximately 25 kilograms of gold and 50 kilograms of silver stolen from an Istanbul courthouse evidence safe, Turkish authorities announced on Wednesday. Erdal T, who worked at the Büyükçekmece Courthouse’s evidence office, disappeared after failing to return from leave. Prosecutors discovered the theft on 1 December when the safe was opened and found empty. Investigations revealed Erdal T fled Turkey on 19 November with his wife Esma T and children, boarding a flight from Sabiha Gökçen Airport to London at 8:22 am local time. Before…
FRANKFURT (MAIN) – Für die Beteiligungen des Bundes an den Energieunternehmen Uniper und Sefe gibt es konkretes Interesse von Investoren. „Ich nehme mit Interesse zur Kenntnis, dass beide Unternehmen als interessant, als attraktiv eingeschätzt werden“, sagte Wirtschaftsministerin Katherina Reiche am Mittwoch bei einer Investorenkonferenz zu Energie und Infrastruktur in Frankfurt. Details wollte sie nicht nennen: „Ob und mit welchen Investoren wir dazu sprechen, das kann ich zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt nicht sagen“, so die Ministerin. „Aber dass große Player, gut aufgestellte Player in der Energiewelt“ interessiert sind“, sei „nach den Krisen ja auch ein gutes Zeichen“. Sefe ist die frühere Gazprom…
Published on 03/12/2025 – 11:44 GMT+1 European leaders called on Wednesday for increased pressure on Moscow following US-Russia talks in which Vladimir Putin appeared to have made no concession to end the conflict in Ukraine. “Until I see anything different, then I’m going to continue to draw the conclusion that Russia does not want peace,” Sweden’s Maria Malmer Stenegard told reporters upon arriving at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. “That is why we need to stick to the two-point plan – increase the support to Ukraine and increase the pressure on Russia – and we need to hit them…
By Euronews Published on 03/12/2025 – 11:17 GMT+1 Germany arrested two Iraqi nationals suspected of membership in the so-called Islamic State group (IS) on Tuesday in coordinated raids across five cities, the Federal Public Prosecutor announced on Wednesday. Muthana S and Kais S J were detained in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Delbrück, North Rhine-Westphalia, by officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office. Both men are suspected of membership of a foreign terrorist organisation under German law and allegedly belonged to IS in Iraq for several months each during 2016 and 2017. Kais S J worked for an IS Sharia committee while Muthana…
Published on 03/12/2025 – 10:29 GMT+1 Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter has hit out at an “evil and disgusting” White House video of immigration agents chasing, handcuffing and detaining people, all to the sound of her song ‘Juno’. “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” she posted on X. Donald Trump’s hugely controversial policy of sending ICE officers into communities has led to the detention of people who have been living and working in the US for decades and have no criminal record. Carpenter adds her name to a long list of musicians who have…
Worse, turning inward with protectionist policies would only weaken the foundations that we now seek to strengthen. “Old wines in new bottles” — import substitution, isolationism, picking winners — won’t deliver competitiveness or security. Contrast that with the much-debated US Inflation Reduction Act. Its incentives and subsidies were open to EU companies, provided they invest locally, develop local talent and build within the US market. It’s not about flags, it’s about pragmatism: attracting global investments, creating jobs and driving innovation-led growth. So what’s the practical path? Europe must embrace ‘sovereignty done right’, weaving diversity, resilience and autonomy into the fabric…
Fabergé’s 1913 Winter Egg, created for Russia’s imperial family, achieved a record £22.9 million (€27.5 million) at auction in London. Made from carved rock crystal and adorned with platinum snowflakes and 4,500 diamonds, the egg is among the rare few still privately owned. Commissioned by Czar Nicholas II as an Easter gift for his mother, it resurfaced multiple times after being sold off in the 1920s. With only 43 surviving imperial eggs, the Winter Egg remains one of the most significant works in Fabergé’s legacy.