Author: staff

BRUSSELS ― Frédéric Bernard, the head of cabinet of former European Council President Charles Michel, is to become Belgian ambassador to the United States, according to two Belgian officials. As chief of staff and sherpa to Michel since 2020, Bernard had a key role in preparing and helping to run European Council meetings ― the gatherings of national leaders. Before that, he worked for Michel when he was Belgium’s prime minister. The Belgian diplomat had been in the running for several jobs in the EU, including the bloc’s envoy to Canada (which went to the former chief of staff of…

The renowned Swiss-Cameroonian curator will make history as the first African woman to helm the prestigious art event. Koyo Kouoh, one of Africa’s leading curatorial voices, has been selected to curate the 2026 edition of the Venice Biennale, the world’s foremost contemporary art exhibition. She becomes only the second African-born curator to lead the event, following in the footsteps of Okwui Enwezor, who curated the 2015 Biennale.Born in Cameroon and now based between South Africa, Senegal and Switzerland, Kouoh is the executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (MOCAA) in Cape Town, home to…

Starmer’s comments sparked immediate questions from opposition parties in the U.K. Tuesday, given British Tory and Labour administrations have both been staunch backers of Ukraine and resisted talking about peace settlements. It comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has spoken about ending the war “in 24 hours,” prepares to take office in January. Granted an urgent question in the House of Common Tuesday, Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said MPs needed “some clarity from the government on its approach to Ukraine” after Starmer’s comments. The Conservative frontbencher asked whether framing the war “in the lens of negotiation” represents “a…

South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol said the announcement was in response to the opposition, which he accused of paralysing the government and sympathising with North Korea. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared an emergency martial law on Tuesday, accusing the country’s opposition of controlling the parliament, sympathising with North Korea and paralysing the government with anti-state activities.Yoon made the announcement during a televised briefing, describing this step as “critical” for defending the country’s constitutional order. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements … I hereby declare emergency…

Step away from the crowds into a mélange of Mediterranean coastal walks, perfect for autumn, winter and spring. The French Riviera may not be the first area that springs to mind when you think of places to walk and hike, but there’s more to it than casinos, beach bars, and designer shops. Hotspots like Saint-Tropez, the lavender fields, and the Calanques National Park traditionally get overrun with visitors in the high season, but the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region is promoting alternative sustainable destinations, including ones you can explore off-season.Taking their lead, I set out to see the azure coast from a…

He pointed out that past agreements, such as the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which was supposed to protect Ukraine after it gave up its nuclear weapons, turned out to be meaningless. “Not providing Ukraine with real, effective security guarantees in the 1990s was a strategic mistake that Moscow exploited. This mistake must be corrected,” Sybiha wrote. The letter comes ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine. Despite Kyiv’s call, no significant steps toward inviting Ukraine into the alliance are expected during the summit. Officials in Kyiv are increasingly losing…

The EU Council has approved new recommendations on smoke- and aerosol-free environments across the bloc to strengthen protection against exposure to second-hand smoke and to “encourage current smokers to quit”, bucking Parliament’s recent shelving of the proposal. EU health ministers endorsed European Commission recommendations on new tobacco and aerosol restrictions that propose bans in public places, bucking Parliament’s rejection of the same paper last week.  The proposal, aimed at addressing the risks posed by aerosols and tobacco, builds on rules in place since 2009, extending smoking bans to outdoor areas and also covering novel products such as vapes that do…

Turkish inflation eased for the sixth consecutive month in November. However, it was still higher than analysts expected, leading to concerns that Turkey’s Central Bank might delay cutting interest rates. Turkey’s annual inflation rate slowed in November for the sixth month in a row, to 47.1%. That was a fall from October’s 48.6% but still higher than analyst forecasts of 46.6%.November’s figure was mainly led by a fall in the rate of inflation of household costs including housing, electricity, water, gas and other fuels, which dropped to 74.5%, down from 89.4% in October. The inflation rate for spending at cafes, hotels…

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday that at least 44 people have been killed and over 48,500 people displaced since 26 November. As rebel fighters continue to advance in Syria, government forces have stepped up strikes on the rebel-held city of Idlib, as well as positions in Aleppo.According to the Syrian White Helmets, an opposition-run rescue service, three civilians were killed in Idlib following a strike on a hospital on Monday. They said two airstrikes hit four hospitals and the health directorate building in Idlib city.Two people in Idlib University Hospital died after…

Although Singapore is now in pole position, many European passport holders have impressive freedom of movement. Singapore has retained its place at the top of a ranking of the world’s strongest passports, previously knocking Spain off the top spot.But there’s a surprising new entry onto the podium that has taken second place as of December 2024. Finland has soared up the rankings, rising from 13th place in 2023 and 7th place at the start of 2024, and has squeezed in just ahead of Spain. VisaGuide.World’s ranking is seen as one of the most reliable within the travel industry, along with…