Author: staff
The Bank of England cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point to 3.75 percent, saying that the U.K. economy had cooled enough to justify loosening financial conditions. The move was widely expected after data earlier this week showed that unemployment had risen to its highest in over four years in October, while inflation slowed more sharply than forecast in November as supermarkets and other retailers found it harder to pass on price increases. “We think that Bank Rate is likely to fall gradually further in future, but that will depend on whether variables like pay growth and services inflation…
By Euronews Published on 18/12/2025 – 13:28 GMT+1 A court in eastern France sentenced a former anaesthetist to life imprisonment on Thursday after he was found guilty of poisoning 30 patients, 12 of them fatally. The verdict against 53-year-old Frédéric Péchier came after 15 weeks of hearings, and the court had been deliberating the sentence since Monday. Sentencing took three days as the court had to rule individually on each of the 30 cases of poisoning, which saw 12 people die and 18 others survive. The acts were committed between 2008 and 2017 in two private clinics in Besançon, on patients…
Published on 18/12/2025 – 13:02 GMT+1 The Bank of England cut its key interest rate by a quarter point to 3.75% on Thursday as UK growth remains weak and unemployment high. The decision was supported by fresh inflation data this week, which showed that price pressures dropped to their lowest level in eight months in November. CPI was recorded at 3.2%, down from 3.6% in October. Thursday’s cut — which brings the BoE’s key rate to its lowest point in around three years — will bring some Christmas cheer to finance minister Rachel Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who…
By Euronews Published on 18/12/2025 – 11:21 GMT+1 Data belonging to more than 200 million users of Pornhub, one of the world’s largest porn websites, has reportedly been accessed by a hacker group. The site said, in a statement, “an unauthorised party gained unauthorised access to analytics data,” relating to some of its Premium users. According to BleepingComputer, an independent technology news website, the data was accessed by a Western-based hacking group known as ShinyHunters. The information is said to include viewing habits, search history and location data. Pornhub said the incident involved data from a “third-party analytics service provider” and…
Colombia’s military has reinforced its presence in the town of Buenos Aires, in the southwestern department of Cauca, after an explosive attack on a police station wounded eight officers. The government blamed dissidents from the former FARC guerrilla movement who rejected the 2016 peace deal. The army said it deployed extra platoons and armed aircraft to support ground operations, including explosive ordnance disposal in elevated areas of the town. Officials said the aim is to restore control after a drone and bomb attack damaged homes, roads, a hospital and a bank.
By Euronews Published on 18/12/2025 – 11:58 GMT+1 Just ahead of the holiday season, Google has rolled out a fresh set of updates to Gemini, its artificial intelligence (AI) -powered assistant, underscoring the tech giant’s push to keep pace in a fast-moving AI race. The new features range from vibe coding tools that enable users to build apps without having to write code to faster models and more conversational search and translation capabilities. Euronews Next takes a look at the key updates. Vibe coding It’s now possible to build an AI-powered app directly on Gemini. Google said this week it’s integrating…
It’s best to start this article with a warning: you’ll probably put on weight just by reading the following lines and looking at the photos. It’s true that what’s really fattening is not what we eat between Christmas and New Year’s, but what we eat between New Year’s and Christmas… However, the calorific load of Portugal’s Christmas traditions is not to be underestimated, so it’s good to get some exercise these days, even if it means walking to buy presents. Other countries pride themselves on their bountiful tables on Christmas Eve, with delicacies such as foie gras, oysters, smoked salmon,…
As Christmas approaches and gift shopping is well underway, Germany is set to become the largest spender in the European Union during the festive season, according to data platform Statista. In 2025, retail spending during the Christmas season is expected to reach around €85.24 billion in Germany. France follows with an estimate of €71.65 billion, and Italy with more than €43 billion. In wider Europe, the UK tops the chart, with a PwC survey projecting a 3.5% increase from 2024, despite a slow start to festive trading. However, this year’s gifts might be more expensive as the eurozone’s annual inflation…
Heavy rain on Iran’s Hormuz Island briefly changed the colour of its famous Red Beach this week, as runoff carried iron rich soil into the sea. The flow turned parts of the shoreline and nearby waters a deep red, standing out against the blue of the Persian Gulf. The beach is known for its red sand and cliffs, shaped by high levels of iron oxide. When rain falls, streams of soil run downhill and spread across the coast. The effect is short lived but draws visitors, photographers and wide attention online. Hormuz Island sits in the Strait of Hormuz, where…
Published on 18/12/2025 – 10:32 GMT+1 Hundreds of musicians including Massive Attack and Brian Eno are calling for Live Nation, the world’s leading live entertainment company, to drop operations in Israel. They have signed a new open letter as part of the Musicians For Palestine campaign, urging Live Nation Entertainment to drop its Israel subsidiary, Live Nation Israel. “We cannot stay silent while Live Nation Israel glorifies the genocidal Israeli military that has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza”, the letter reads. “We echo long-standing Palestinian calls for accountability over its years of artwashing of Israeli apartheid and now…