Author: staff

Europe’s biggest ever trade deal finally got the nod Friday after 25 years of negotiating. It took blood, sweat, tears and tortured discussions to get there, but EU countries at last backed the deal with the Mercosur bloc — paving the way to create a free trade area that covers more than 700 million people across Europe and Latin America. The agreement, which awaits approval from the European Parliament, will eliminate more than 90 percent of tariffs on EU exports. European shoppers will be able to dine on grass-fed beef from the Argentinian pampas. Brazilian drivers will see import duties…

A nationwide minute of silence at 14:00 CET saw normal life briefly stop, as bells rang in churches and flags were lowered to honour the 40 victims. In Crans-Montana, residents and visitors gathered in the snow outside the Centre de Congrès Le Régent, which quickly filled to capacity. Others followed the ceremony on large screens set up at Place du Scandia. Flowers and candles were placed near the ruined Le Constellation bar, now a makeshift memorial. Authorities said 116 people were injured in the blaze. Investigators are still examining the cause, while local services focus on supporting families and survivors…

From today, Friday 9 January, the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) is operational at dozens more of the bloc’s airports and ports. The new border controls launched in October 2025. Initially, the threshold for EU countries to register third-country arrivals was set at only 10 per cent. This has now increased to 35 per cent. The new system has already been causing significant delays for air passengers. Travel trade association ABTA is now urging greater use of contingency measures by EU border officials as the EES rollout expands. EES results in waiting times of up to three hours at airports At…

Once filed, the Parliament’s legal team will check the motion, and if approved, Parliament President Roberta Metsola will contact all MEPs with the details. If the choreography of previous censure motions is followed, a debate is likely to be held on Monday, Jan. 19, with a vote on Thursday, Jan. 22. Scheduling a motion of censure requires the backing of 72 lawmakers. As the Patriots have 82 MEPs, they do not need the support of other political groups. The motion — which, if successful, would see von der Leyen and all 26 of her commissioners dismissed — is almost certain to…

“I cannot imagine that in the current situation MEPs would vote for any trade measures benefiting the U.S.,” the Greens’ top trade lawmaker and chair of the Internal Market Committee Anna Cavazzini told POLITICO.  “We should have such a discussion, it’s inevitable,” added Brando Benifei, the Socialist lawmaker who chairs Parliament’s delegation for relations with the U.S. Under the deal, most EU exports are subject to a 15 percent U.S. tariff. To complete its side of the bargain, the EU also needs to pass legislation to abolish all tariffs on U.S. industrial goods, including the 10 percent it currently slaps on U.S. cars, and ease…

As farmers across Europe protest against the Mercosur free trade agreement with South America, an increasing number of AI-generated videos of farmers have emerged across social media. A number of the video captions stipulate that they are AI-generated. Others have the Sora watermark on them, which is Open’s AI image and video generator. However, these disclaimers risk getting lost when they are reposted by other accounts. Certain videos display clear AI indicators upon closer inspection. For example, in one video police shields display inconsistencies, as the letter “e” in the word “police” comes in different fonts and sizes. A string…

Published on 09/01/2026 – 14:42 GMT+1 A Russian warship arrived at a naval base off the South African coast on Friday to join Chinese and Iranian vessels in military exercises that risk further damaging Pretoria’s relations with Washington. A Chinese destroyer and replenishment ship and an Iranian forward base ship sailed into South African waters earlier this week ahead of the week-long manoeuvres due to start on Saturday. China is the lead nation in the “Will for Peace 2026” drill involving navies from the 11-nation BRICS group, which US President Donald Trump has labelled “anti-American”. The South African navy said…

The U.K. government disagrees. “That simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service,” a spokesperson for the prime minister said on Friday. “It’s not a solution. In fact, it’s insulting to victims of misogyny and sexual violence. What it does prove is that X can move swiftly when it wants to do so,” they added. X has been approached for comment. Prime Minister Starmer said on Thursday that the issue of sexualized deepfakes proliferating on X was “disgraceful, it’s disgusting, and it’s not to be tolerated. X has got to get a…

The UK was pummelled by Storm Goretti overnight, which brought heavy snow and plunging temperatures. Tens of thousands of homes have been left without power. The conditions have crippled public transport. Airports and rail operators took precautions, with closures and widespread cancellations coming into effect yesterday evening. The disruption continues today as fresh weather warnings of snow and ice have been issued across the country. Channel Island airports close for Storm Goretti Both Jersey and Guernsey, islands in the Channel, closed their airports yesterday evening. Some morning flights were cancelled today, but operations look to return to normal this afternoon.…

BRUSSELS — A qualified majority of EU member states has approved the bloc’s trade deal with the Mercosur countries for signature, four EU diplomats said. France, Poland, Austria, Ireland and Hungary expressed their opposition while Belgium abstained. EU capitals now have until 5 p.m. on Friday to lodge any objections. Additional farm market safeguards that would kick in if there is a surge in imports from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay surge too much also won the approval of EU ambassadors, the diplomats said, on condition of anonymity. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to travel to…