Author: staff

Local media reported Ukraine’s military struck a Russian command post in the Kursk region. Meanwhile, Russia launched several missile and drone attacks towards Ukraine overnight. Ukraine’s military launched a precision strike at a Russian command post in Maryino in the Kursk region on Thursday, local media reported. Ukraine’s General Staff said “these attacks are primarily carried out to weaken Russia’s ability and willingness to carry out terrorist acts against Ukrainian civilians,” adding that necessary measures were taken to minimise harm to civilians in its nearby surroundings. Kyiv also downed two Russian helicopters and damaged another in a sea drone attack,…

2024 was a “massive” year for the zoo with the birth of two baby gorillas and three Asiatic lion cubs. From alpacas to zebras – and lots of birds, reptiles and invertebrates – London Zoo on Friday is taking stock of its residents.The annual census of the zoo’s 10,000-plus occupants is a requirement of its license, and the information gleaned will be shared with zoos around the world to help manage breeding programmes of endangered species.Glynn Hennessy, the zoo’s lead primate keeper, said that zoos are “really good now” at sharing information.“We can sort of see the genetic pathway of…

Apartment buildings and business across the region have been left without heating and hot water as a result of the shut-off, with residents told to insulate their homes as temperatures drop to below zero degrees Celsius. Russia ended gas supplies claiming Moldova owes €680 million in debts for unpaid gas bills. The Moldovan government disputes the sum and insists independent audits put the true figure at only around €8 million. According to officials, Russia’s only interest is sparking a humanitarian crisis it can use to say Moldova’s pro-EU path has brought economic disaster. According to the country’s national security advisor, Stanislav…

Germany’s export-based economy would suffer if it’s caught between Trump’s tariffs and Chinese industrial subsidies: the country’s companies have high exports to both the U.S. and China.  Scholz claims the EU’s policies should enable those exports and not anger trading partners. One such example is a planned EU carbon border tax, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).  According to Scholz, the carbon tax needs to be reworked to boost the attractiveness of energy-intensive products, like steel, made in Europe. As it stands, the CBAM would only impose tariffs on incoming products, shielding European companies from cheaper products that don’t meet…

Flattery from Macron Musk hasn’t yet thrown his endorsement behind Marine Le Pen and the French far right. But President Macron — who, like Scholz in Germany, is politically fragile and facing domestic turbulence — is desperate to get him onside. He has been urging the tech entrepreneur, alongside Trump, to attend a major artificial intelligence summit in Paris next month. The duo’s appearance at the recent Notre-Dame reopening was a diplomatic coup for Macron.  “Trump doesn’t seem to hold Paris in the same contempt he holds the EU or Germany,” said a Republican foreign policy expert working with Trump’s…

Updated: 03/01/2025 – 18:32 GMT+1 A 37-year-old US Army soldier, Matthew Livelsberger, was inside the Tesla Cybertruck filled with fireworks that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, the authorities have said. … More A 37-year-old US Army soldier, Matthew Livelsberger, was inside the Tesla Cybertruck filled with fireworks that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, the authorities have said.The man is believed to have shot himself in the head just before the explosion.Seven people were lightly injured in the blast, which caused little damage to the hotel.

The self-governing Danish territory has been in the spotlight since US President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his wish to buy the island. Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede has called for the North Atlantic island to pursue independence from its former colonial ruler Denmark in a New Year speech.The world’s biggest island — which is home to about 57,000 people — was a Danish colony until it become a self-governing territory of Denmark in 1979. Since 2009, Greenland has held the right to declare independence through a referendum.”The history and current conditions have shown that our cooperation with the Kingdom of Denmark…

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has canceled several engagements in the coming days after contracting pneumonia. Her illness was confirmed by a Commission spokesperson on Friday, adding that she would not be attending the inauguration of the Polish EU presidency on Friday evening. “She is suffering from pneumonia. As a result, she has canceled some engagements for the first two weeks of January,” said European Commission spokesperson Stefan de Keersmaecker. This story is being updated.

Countries in the bloc are cracking down on emissions, dangerous driving and noise pollution. Despite the open borders of the Schengen Zone, driving around Europe can be a challenge thanks to the myriad national road rules to get your head around. If you’re planning a road trip on the continent in 2025, make sure you are up to date with the latest changes to regulations. From the introduction of 30 more low-emission zones in French cities to a crackdown on noise pollution in Switzerland, here are the new rules you need to be aware of. EU cracks down on cross-border…

“It is now time to take the next step for our country,” Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Egede said. “Like other countries in the world, we must work to remove the obstacles to cooperation — which we can describe as the shackles of the colonial era — and move on,” he added. Egede, who has led Greenland since 2021 and hails from the pro-independence Community of the People (IA) party, said Denmark’s relations with Greenland had not created “full equality,” and that the island deserves to represent itself on the world stage. “Our cooperation with other countries, and our trade relations,…