Author: staff
Published on 12/01/2026 – 10:39 GMT+1 The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, is set to push for fresh sanctions on Iran after a crackdown that has reportedly claimed hundreds of lives since protests began nearly two weeks ago. “I am prepared to propose additional sanctions in response to the regime’s brutal repression of protesters,” Kallas told the German daily Welt and POLITICO, adding that these would complement the wide range of sanctions already in place against Iran. Kallas’s initiative comes as Iran’s death toll continues to rise following demonstrations that erupted on 28 December over the collapse of…
By Euronews Published on 12/01/2026 – 10:48 GMT+1 Germany said Sunday it was ready to assume greater responsibilities in the Arctic after US President Donald Trump threatened to seize Greenland “one way or the other”, sparking a diplomatic crisis between Washington and its European allies. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Berlin would increase its Arctic commitments while rejecting Trump’s threats against the mineral-rich Danish territory. “Security in the arctic is becoming more and more important and is part of our common interest in NATO,” Wadephul said at a joint news conference with Iceland’s foreign minister in Reykjavik. “If the American…
By Euronews, AP Published on 12/01/2026 – 9:43 GMT+1 Malaysia and Indonesia blocked Grok, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, after authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual images. The countries are the first to ban the generative AI tool, reflecting a growing global concern that it can produce realistic images, sound, and text, while existing safeguards fail to prevent their abuse. The Grok chatbot, which is accessed through Musk’s social media platform X, has been criticised for generating manipulated images, including depictions of women in bikinis or sexually explicit poses, as…
The stars of film and TV gathered in Los Angeles on Sunday for the 83rd Golden Globes ceremony, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and Netflix miniseries Adolescence emerged as the big winners on the night, earning four Globes apiece. One Battle After Another won Best Film (Comedy or Musical), Best Supporting Actress for Teyana Taylor, Best Director and Best Screenplay, both for Anderson, who has become only the second filmmaker after Oliver Stone to collect Best Director, Screenplay and Film (as a producer) at the Globes. Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s postmodern countercultural novel “Vineland”, Anderson’s tenth…
The comments coincide with a rising death toll. Iran Human Rights, an Oslo-based group, said Sunday that nearly 200 protesters had been killed since demonstrations broke out on Dec. 28. Other rights groups put the number at more than 500. “The regime has a track-record of crushing protests, and we see a heavy-handed response by the security forces,” Kallas added in the written comments. “Citizens are fighting for a future of their own choosing and risking everything to be heard.” The protests, which kicked off over spiking inflation, now want an end to the clerical rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. Iranian state-linked…
Hamas announced on Sunday that it will dissolve its current administration in Gaza after a Palestinian technocratic leadership committee assumes control of the region, as is required by the US-brokered plan for the enclave. The Gaza militant group and the rival Palestinian Authority, the Palestinians’ internationally recognised representative, have not announced the names of the technocrats, who are not supposed to be politically affiliated, and it remains unclear if they will be cleared by Israel and the US. The government and other elements of the truce that went into effect on 10 October, such as disarming Hamas and sending an…
“We’ll be heading in with a certain amount of humility, and we’ll try not to be in the mindset that this is a political trial,” said one of trio, a French elected official who is one of the codefendants appealing their conviction. Line by line Le Pen and 24 other codefendants stood trial in late 2024 on charges they illicitly used funds from the European Parliament to pay party employees by having them hired as parliamentary assistants. But those assistants, the prosecution argued, rarely if ever worked on actual parliamentary business. The National Rally’s apparent defense strategy back then was to paint the trial as politicized, potentially winning in the court of public opinion and living with…
Published on 12/01/2026 – 7:31 GMT+1 •Updated 8:05 The world’s eye are on Iran. EU leaders from Brussels to Berlin have called for imprisoned Iranian protesters to be released. The country was plunged into blackout last Thursday after mass demonstrations spread due to dire economic conditions, and authorities have responded with internet shutdowns, arrests, and lethal force. Euronews EU editor, Maria Tadeo, joins today’s programme to report on the latest on this front. Then former Primer Minister of France Dominique de Villepin join us to offer his perspective on the world’s events. A close advisor to President Jacques Chirac, Dominique…
Iran is at the centre of renewed concern after a video, verified by AFP, showed dozens of bodies outside a morgue south of Tehran. The footage, filmed at the Kahrizak forensic centre, shows bodies wrapped in black bags laid on the ground, while people believed to be relatives search among them. The video first circulated online on Saturday and was geolocated the following day. Human rights groups say the images point to a deadly crackdown on recent protests. Iran Human Rights, based in Norway, said the footage suggests a high number of deaths linked to nationwide demonstrations. Another group, Hengaw,…
Activists protest outside Downing street against the recent policies of Donald Trump. | Guy Smallman/Getty Images Meanwhile, European leaders will be forced to publicly ignore Washington’s support for far-right parties, which was clearly spelled out in the new U.S. national security strategy, while privately doing all they can to counter any antiestablishment backlash at the polls. Specifically, the upcoming election in Hungary will be a bellwether for whether the MAGA movement can tip the balance for its ideological affiliates in Europe, as populist, euroskeptic Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is currently poised to lose for the first time in 15 years.…