Author: staff
Europe welcomed 2026 with large public celebrations, as fireworks and countdowns marked the start of the New Year across several capitals. In London, crowds lined the River Thames to watch an elaborate fireworks display around the London Eye. Big Ben chimed at midnight for the first time in the new year, setting the pace for celebrations in the city centre as thousands gathered despite cold conditions. In Paris, people filled the Champs-Elysees for fireworks and music near the Arc de Triomphe, continuing a tradition that draws large crowds each year. Berlin also marked the moment with a fireworks display over…
Published on 01/01/2026 – 16:59 GMT+1 President Donald Trump has eased pressure on two key import sectors — furniture and pasta — by delaying or scaling back steep tariffs shortly before they were due to take effect on 1 January, 2026. For furniture, Trump has postponed planned tariff increases on certain imported home goods for one year, keeping existing duties in place while allowing further negotiations with trading partners. On Wednesday Trump signed a proclamation delaying the scheduled increases — originally set to take effect on Thursday — until January 1, 2027. The order preserves the current 25% tariff on…
The Bulgarian central bank’s governor, Dimitar Radev, has taken a seat on the table with the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. “I warmly welcome Bulgaria to the euro family and Governor Radev to the ECB Governing Council table in Frankfurt,” ECB President Christine Lagarde said in a statement on Thursday. People will still be able to pay in levs for about a month, but they will start getting their change in euros. Until June 30, old money can be exchanged for no fee at banks and post offices, and indefinitely at the Bulgarian Central Bank. Public opinion, however, remains mixed. According…
Published on 01/01/2026 – 15:27 GMT+1 Authorities in Syria said on Thursday that a suicide bomber who killed a security forces member in Aleppo on New Year’s Eve was a member of the so-called Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, which had planned attacks on churches and gatherings. IS recently increased its attacks in areas of Syria controlled by the new Damascus authorities and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three US citizens. The interior ministry said in a statement it had information that IS planned “suicide operations and attacks targeting New Year’s celebrations in a…
Swiss and European politicians expressed condolences and the incoming Swiss president postponed his New Year’s address after a fatal fire disaster in a ski resort in French-speaking southern Switzerland killed several dozens. According to Swiss media, a bar in the municipality of Crans-Montana in Valais caught fire around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. At a press conference in the morning, authorities said several dozen people are believed to be dead and around 100 injured, many of them seriously. Victims are likely to include nationals from several countries, as the resort is popular with international visitors. Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who just took…
Cold winds and steady rain did not deter dozens of people who gathered at Carcavelos beach, near Lisbon, for the first sea swim of 2026. The event, held on Thursday, marked the start of the new year with a plunge into the Atlantic despite low temperatures and rough conditions. Some swimmers wore festive outfits as they ran into the water, laughing and encouraging each other from the shore. The New Year swim has become a familiar tradition in the Cascais area, drawing local residents and visitors alike.
The day Spain and Portugal signed up to what was then the European Economic Community in 1986, few imagined how far the countries would go, particularly as both were still healing after decades of dictatorship. In Spain, fascist dictator Francisco Franco had died only 11 years earlier, while in Portugal, the 1974 Carnation Revolution was still a fresh memory. The Spanish economy was in serious trouble. GDP was barely €226 billion. More than 2 million people were out of work and the unemployment rate was around 21%. Inflation had reached 20% in the previous years. The country was still paying…
By Euronews Published on 01/01/2026 – 13:14 GMT+1 Mexican forces detained a suspected drug trafficking leader facing US terrorism charges, government sources said Wednesday. Authorities captured Pedro Inzunza Noriega in Sinaloa state in northwestern Mexico. Washington indicted Inzunza Noriega in May, accusing him of directing a major smuggling operation that moved fentanyl, cocaine and heroin across the border. Prosecutors described him as holding a senior position within the Beltran Leyva Organisation, a group they say emerged from the Sinaloa cartel but has since collapsed. The charges against Inzunza Noriega represent the first time US officials applied terrorism statutes to a cartel…
Published on 01/01/2026 – 13:18 GMT+1 •Updated 13:22 North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un hailed troops fighting in an “alien land” in his New Year message, state media reported on Thursday, in which he underscored Pyongyang’s “invincible alliance” with Moscow. Without mentioning fighting with Russia against Ukraine, Kim addressed personnel in what the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) described as “overseas operations units,” congratulating them on their “heroic” defence of the nation’s honour and instructing them to “be brave.” “As the whole country is enveloped in a festive atmosphere of greeting the new year, I all the more miss you,…
By Una Hajdari with AP Published on 01/01/2026 – 12:54 GMT+1 When the Oracle of Omaha speaks, investors listen — and they have been listening to the seemingly divinely-inspired business analysis of financier Warren Buffett for decades. As Buffett steps down as CEO after 60 years at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway, his greatest legacy may be the plain-spoken yet sharp advice about money, mistakes and human nature that inspired legions of fans. Buffett, now one of the world’s richest people, built his fortune through decades of investing and by turning Berkshire Hathaway from a struggling textile company into a sprawling conglomerate spanning…