Author: staff
The swearing in of Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s interim president following Washington’s ouster of Nicolás Maduro marks the latest twist in the country’s socialist “Chavismo” movement. But who exactly is Rodríguez, and what can be gleaned from her family background and political ties? The 56-year-old lawyer has risen rapidly through the ranks of power in Miraflores Palace over the past decade. Yet her political ascent is inseparable from her family history —above all from the legacy of her father, José Antonio Rodríguez. José Antonio Rodríguez, the patriarch of a family that would later come to shape the trajectory of Venezuela’s…
By Patrick Whittle with AP Published on 06/01/2026 – 11:04 GMT+1 One of the world’s rarest whale species is having more babies this year than in some recent seasons, but experts say many more young are needed to help stave off the possibility of extinction. The North Atlantic right whale’s population numbers an estimated 384 animals and is slowly rising after several years of decline. The whales have gained more than 7 per cent of their 2020 population, according to scientists who study them. The whales give birth off the southeastern United States every winter before migrating north to feed. Researchers have identified…
“Where the legal certainty is not yet clear, morally, I do think it was the right thing to do,” she said. Badenoch was born in the U.K. in 1980, but grew up in Nigeria. She returned to the U.K. aged 16 in 1996. “I am different from other party leaders and other people in the House of Commons,” she said. “I grew up under a military dictatorship, so I know what it’s like to have someone like Maduro in charge.” Badenoch, whose Conservative party has been closely aligned with the Republicans for decades, did say Maduro’s capture raises “serious questions…
Published on 06/01/2026 – 11:04 GMT+1 Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Monday she wants to share her Nobel Peace Prize with US President Donald Trump and personally thank him following his administration’s military intervention in Venezuela. In an interview with Fox News, Machado praised Trump for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, describing Washington’s actions as “a huge step for humanity, for freedom and human dignity”. Machado said she had not spoken to the US president since 10 October, the day when she was announced as winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The 58-year-old…
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán predicted the European Union would “fall apart on its own” due to “leadership chaos” and said Brussels aimed to cut Hungary off from Russian energy supplies during a press conference on Monday. Orbán rejected the possibility of Hungary leaving the EU, saying the country lacked the size to make such a decision sensible. However, he stressed Hungary’s future lay within the bloc and NATO but with “a sovereign foreign policy and economic policy”. He said: “EU membership is an important opportunity, but if we were to get stuck in this single bloc, we would drink…
Published on 06/01/2026 – 10:05 GMT+1 Inflation in France cooled in December — a reading that comes after the European Central Bank’s decision to hold interest rates at the end of last year. Consumer prices (CPI) rose by 0.8% year-on-year in December, following a reading of 0.9% in November, according to statistics body INSEE. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices or HICP, which allows for comparison between EU countries, came to 0.7%. That followed a reading of 0.8% in November. “The fall in inflation should be attributed to a more pronounced decrease in energy prices, mainly those of petroleum products,”…
By Tokunbo Salako & Euronews France Published on 06/01/2026 – 8:56 GMT+1 •Updated 9:33 Staff at the Louvre Museum in Paris have voted unanimously to strike in protest of their working conditions. The decision was taken following a general meeting called by an inter-union group on Monday 5 January, according to the CFDT and CGT trade unions. Museum management has said the museum will be partially open, with certain works, such as the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Victory of Samothrace, available to the public. Initially launched on 15 December, the action was suspended four days later. At the time,…
The Starmer drama continues as the PM is warned by the Scottish Labour leader to stay away ahead of a crucial set of local elections – so, how popular is Keir Starmer across the board? Well, not very, according to the first weekly check-in on the state of the polls in 2026, as ‘Never Here Keir’ jets off to Paris for another Coalition of the Willing meeting. Before that, it’s the first cabinet of the New Year – and Sam and Anne have exclusive news on a potential revolt over business rates, as well as threats to industry to lobby…
Iconic monuments and famous attractions mean some destinations have perennial appeal. But with overtourism as problematic as ever, 2026 is a good year to consider places you might have previously overlooked. An easy way to put these places on your radar is to look for new openings, attractions and happenings around Europe. From cultural institutions to food festivals, here are some of the things worth travelling for in 2026. Travel to Finland and Slovakia for the European Capitals of Culture Two cities have been named Europe’s Capitals of Culture for 2026: Oulu in Finland and Trenčín in Slovakia. Oulu’s opening…
Epiphany is celebrated on 6 January: a religious festivity that, as often happens, has also developed its own profane declination over time. Just as the birth of Jesus, on 25 December, was later joined by the figure of Father Christmas, in the case of the liturgical feast at the beginning of January, popular culture in Italy has seen the emergence of the Befana – an elderly woman capable of flying on a broomstick. The festivity is linked to the theophany, a word that comes from the Greek theophàneia, and is composed of theos, ‘god’, and phàinein, ‘to manifest’. It is…