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While it was approved last Friday by a majority of EU member states, the European Union’s Mercosur free trade agreement is not yet out of the woods. Several countries, led by France, remain opposed to the deal, which would create a free-trade area between the EU and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. They argue it would expose EU farmers to unfair competition because of looser production standards in Latin America – and they are not finished with their efforts to stop it going ahead. “The signing of the agreement does not mark the end of the story,” French President Emmanuel…

Published on 14/01/2026 – 18:04 GMT+1 Qatar announced on Wednesday “the departure of certain personnel from Al Udeid Air Base”, a key US air base, amid “current regional tensions”. The announcement from Doha came shortly after the US media quoted Pentagon sources confirming that the US was withdrawing some of its personnel from key Middle East bases as a precaution, while US President Donald Trump is considering military action against Iran. In a statement released on Wednesday, Qatar’s International Media Office (IMO) said the measures were being taken as part of broader efforts to respond to the evolving regional situation.…

“When asked to generate images, [Grok] will refuse to produce anything illegal, as the operating principle for Grok is to obey the laws of any given country or state,” he added. “There may be times when adversarial hacking of Grok prompts does something unexpected. If that happens, we fix the bug immediately.” Musk’s remarks follow heightened scrutiny by both the EU and the U.K., with Brussels describing the appearance of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes on X as “illegal,” “appalling” and “disgusting.” The U.K.’s communications watchdog, Ofcom, said Monday that it had launched an investigation into X. On Wednesday, U.K. Prime…

United States President Donald Trump has said it is “unacceptable” for Greenland to remain a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark and called for NATO to get behind his demands that it be transferred to US ownership. “NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. If we don’t, Russia or China will, and that is not going to happen,” he posted on his social media outlet, Truth Social. “Militarily, without the vast power of the United States, much of which I built during my first term, and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, NATO would…

Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, sharply criticised the US president for his aggressive threats against Greenland in an interview with Euronews. “I think just the talk of using military force is costing the US in terms you can’t even calculate, in terms of trust and good faith and our reputation,” Bolton said on Euronews’ interview programme 12 Minutes With. “I think it’s a disaster for the United States,” he added, “and it would be infinitely worse if he did try to use military force (…) there’d be a political earthquake in this country.” Bolton quoted the latest…

Published on 14/01/2026 – 15:47 GMT+1 Marking a shift in the competitive landscape of commercial aviation, Boeing reported a significant rebound in 2025. The firm achieved its highest annual aircraft delivery total since 2018, outselling European rival Airbus in new aircraft orders for the first time in seven years. According to a company press release, Boeing delivered 600 commercial aeroplanes during the year, a sharp increase from previous annual figures, with 63 jets delivered in December alone. The tally reflects ongoing progress in ramping up production after years of operational challenges. Boeing has had to dial down output over the…

Published on 14/01/2026 – 16:03 GMT+1 •Updated 16:26 Ice from France’s iconic Mont Blanc and a slice of Switzerland’s Grand Combin glacier have become the first ever samples to be stashed away in a unique Antarctic archive, known as the Ice Memory Sanctuary. This human-made cavern of ice near the Franco-Italian Concordia research base on the high Antarctic plateau was inaugurated on 14 January. The first two ice cores travelled in -20°C containers all the way from Europe to the near southernmost spot of the planet, and will now lie in the ice cave nine metres below the surface as…

Iran is now in its sixth day of a sweeping, nationwide internet blackout that leaves millions effectively cut off from the outside world. With nearly all of the country’s internet traffic funnelled through a single government-controlled choke point, authorities were able to shut down digital communications almost instantly using an automated “kill switch,” said the director of the internet watchdog NetBlocks, Alp Toker. As conventional networks are offline, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink, is one of the few remaining ways for Iranians to get online, despite a nationwide ban on satellite internet providers, enacted after last year’s Twelve-Day-War with…

Bagging the win: The Tory leader welcomed the “rubbish policy” getting put on the scrapheap, though crowed that the change of heart came just after Health Secretary Wes Streeting urged ministers to “try to get it right first time.” Awks. In response, the PM reiterated his determination to “make it harder for people to work illegally,” and said there would still be mandatory digital checks. Hmm … Grab the sick bags: The PM attempted to divert attention by making queasy political analogies. Highlighting the number of PMs, chancellors and housing ministers under the last Tory government, Starmer said “they had…