Author: staff
Europe prides itself on being a world leader in animal protection, with legal frameworks requiring member states to pay regard to animal welfare standards when designing and implementing policies. However, under REACH — Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) — the EU’s cornerstone regulation on chemical safety, hundreds of thousands of animals are subjected to painful tests every year, despite the legal requirement that animal testing should be used only as a ‘last resort’. With REACH’s first major revamp in almost 20 years forthcoming, lawmakers now face a once-in-a-generation opportunity to drive a genuine transformation of chemical regulation. …
Published on 15/12/2025 – 10:24 GMT+1 They called Europe “weak”. Well, Brussels just locked down €210 billion of Russian Central Bank cash. Most of it sits right here in Belgium, in Euroclear. Think of it as the world’s most nervous piggy bank. Until now, keeping it frozen required a unanimous vote every six months. That made the cash a hostage to vetoes, especially Hungary’s. So, last week, the EU pulled a legal trick: an “emergency clause”. In times of crisis, it allows for majority voting to bypass unanimity so that no single country can veto. Now, the assets are frozen…
Published on 15/12/2025 – 10:39 GMT+1 The Word of the Year reflects the preoccupations of the time… And in an age of post-truth, deepfakes and creepy online content courtesy of generative AI, Merriam-Webster has crowned the word “slop” as its 2025 Word of the Year. The dictionary defines “slop” as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” “The flood of slop in 2025 included absurd videos, off-kilter advertising images, cheesy propaganda, fake news that looks pretty real, junky AI-written books, “workslop” reports that waste coworkers’ time… and lots of talking cats.…
Decarbonization is not a single pathway but a spectrum of viable ones chosen daily by operators facing real-world conditions. But scaling electrification faces structural bottlenecks. Grid capacity is constrained across the EU, and upgrades routinely take years. As most heavy-duty vehicle charging will occur at depots, operators cannot simply move around to look for grid opportunities. They are bound to the location of their facilities. The recently published grid package tries, albeit timidly, to address some of these challenges, but it neither resolves the core capacity deficiencies nor fixes the fundamental conditions that determine a positive TCO: the predictability of…
Published on 15/12/2025 – 10:28 GMT+1 The European Union should stand up to President Donald Trump and reject further purchases of US energy products, as foreseen in the $750bn trade deal between the transatlantic partners, climate czar Laurence Tubiana told Euronews’ flagship morning programme Europe Today on Monday. Tubiana, who played a key role in the negotiations around the Paris Agreement, said that pressure from the Trump administration shouldn’t prevent the European Union from pursuing its climate goals of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Her appeal comes as the US pushes back against some key EU climate laws – such…
The news of the sudden death of director and actor Rob Reiner, who was found dead with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, has shaken Hollywood and beyond. A spokesperson for the Reiner family confirmed their deaths on Sunday evening, saying: “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.” Few details have been revealed about the deaths, but a homicide investigation has been opened as investigators believe the couple suffered stab wounds. The director of classics like This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A…
As the head of MI6 prepares to make her first public speech, is the UK facing a “new age of uncertainty?” Sam and Anne discuss the priorities for Blaise Metreweli – identifying where the perceived threats are coming from and how Britain is being targeted. Before he jets off to Berlin for more Russian-Ukraine peace talks, the prime minister will face the liaison committee as parliament begins to wind down for the year. Plus, Rishi Sunak makes another appearance at the Covid Inquiry.
Hundreds of skaters rolled along Havana’s Malecon on Saturday, closing the city’s annual skaters’ gathering with a marathon by the sea. Most participants were teenagers and young adults, drawn to the broad boulevard and its open views of the Caribbean. Some skaters arrived with years of training, others with little instruction beyond time spent in the streets. For many, the event offered a rare chance to skate together in public space. Action also spread to La Piragua in central Havana. There, competitions in skate cross, speed slalom and jumps filled the afternoon with falls, fast recoveries and applause.
Europe’s chemical industry has reached a breaking point. The warning lights are no longer blinking — they are blazing. Unless Europe changes course immediately, we risk watching an entire industrial backbone, with the countless jobs it supports, slowly hollow out before our eyes. Consider the energy situation: this year European gas prices have stood at 2.9 times higher than in the United States. What began as a temporary shock is now a structural disadvantage. High energy costs are becoming Europe’s new normal, with no sign of relief. This is not sustainable for an energy-intensive sector that competes globally every day.…
Updated: 15/12/2025 – 7:00 GMT+1 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this December 15th, 2025 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More