Author: staff
By Euronews Published on 08/12/2025 – 11:46 GMT+1 Bashar al-Assad is living in Moscow under tight restrictions imposed by Russia nearly a year after fleeing Syria, with his movements limited and public appearances banned, according to multiple reports. The former Syrian president, who fled Damascus on 8 December 2024 when forces led by now-interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the capital, issued only one public statement eight days after his departure. In that 16 December statement, al-Assad claimed his exit “was not pre-planned” and he intended to continue fighting, but Moscow insisted on his “immediate withdrawal”. Since then, al-Assad has maintained near-total…
Center-right politician Ciprian Ciucu will be Bucharest’s new mayor after defeating a far-right candidate in Sunday elections. Ciucu, the candidate of the center-right National Liberal Party and a close ally of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, won roughly 36 percent of the vote. Ciucu defeated Anca Alexandrescu, a TV presenter backed by Romania’s largest far-right party (AUR), who finished second with about 22 percent. The Social Democratic Party’s candidate Daniel Băluță came third, despite being projected to win in many opinion polls.Ciucu’s victory could help ease the pressure on Bolojan, who has been trying to pass unpopular austerity measures — including higher…
Published on 08/12/2025 – 10:56 GMT+1 This past weekend, there was yet another battle between the EU and Elon Musk, who claims the European Union should be “dismantled”. It sounds extreme. But if you look at the timeline, the bells have been ringing for some time already. Go back to July 2024. Musk claimed Brussels offered him a “secret illegal deal” to censor speech. Fact check: It was a standard compliance procedure offered to every platform but Musk used it to frame himself as being targeted. Then, in August 2024, the European Commission sent a formal warning letter to follow…
By Esmira Aliyeva Published on 08/12/2025 – 9:56 GMT+1 Despite being the cleanest and most sustainable form of transport, the railway sector in Azerbaijan is now pursuing further decarbonisation. To lower carbon emissions and support the green agenda, the national state-owned rail transport operator, Azerbaijan Railways (ADY), together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), presented in Baku a decarbonisation project on Friday. This new initiative will accelerate the country’s transition to a modern and competitive rail system and increase the benefits along international transport corridors. Azerbaijan Railways Decarbonisation Project paves the way towards a carbon-neutral railway system. This is crucial for…
Some of the country’s biggest investment managers have sent a stark signal to Labour MPs. They worry that any attempt to oust Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister could rattle the markets, weaken the pound and risk a Truss-style shock. As Labour Together, the group that campaigned for Starmer’s leadership, tests the waters for potential successors, Sam and Anne unpack what’s happening inside the party. In Downing Street, Starmer hosts a high-stakes gathering with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz, as Donald Trump publicly pressures Ukraine to accept his peace terms. Sam and Anne look at what could be…
Cyberbullying among children and teenagers is a growing problem across Europe and has each country in the bloc, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). What is especially alarming is that cyberbullying rates have risen in all 29 European countries and regions included in the research. The levels vary widely, and countries such as the Baltic states, the United Kingdom and Ireland are among the most affected. So, which countries are hit hardest by cyberbullying among young people? How do cyberbullying rates differ between girls and boys? And is there any link between…
Der Kanzler ist von einer wichtigen Reise zurück. Friedrich Merz war in Jordanien und Israel unterwegs und bemüht sich um ein stabileres Verhältnis zu Jerusalem. Die Tage dort zeigen einen gehäuteten Bundeskanzler. Er setzt auf Ruhe, Verlässlichkeit und sichtbare Nähe zur israelischen Regierung, auch wenn in zentralen Fragen wie dem Umgang mit dem Westjordanland deutliche Differenzen bleiben. Gordon Repinski beschreibt, warum dieser Besuch für Merz ein Wendepunkt sein kann und welche Signale er vor dem Treffen im E3-Format mit Emmanuel Macron und Keir Starmer senden wollte . Im 200-Sekunden-Interview spricht Siemtje Möller, Vizechefin der SPD Bundestagsfraktion, über die Erwartungen an…
On average, €1.50 out of every €100 that households spend on goods and services in the EU goes to alcoholic drinks, according to Eurostat. Across countries, the share of alcoholic beverages in household spending nonetheless varies widely. The price level index, which compares the price of the same basket of alcoholic drinks across Europe, is a good way to look at differences in the cost of alcohol. The EU average is set to 100, so if that basket costs €100 at the EU level, the index shows how much it would cost in each country. A price level above 100…
By Euronews with AP Published on 08/12/2025 – 6:44 GMT+1 Donald Trump has said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not ready to sign a US-baked peace proposal aimed at ending the war with Russia. Trump was critical of Zelenskyy after US and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences on the US administration’s proposal. But in an exchange with reporters on Sunday night, Trump suggested that the Ukrainian leader is holding up the talks from moving forward. “I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a…
EU countries will need to individually commit billions of euros to guarantee as much as €210 billion in urgently needed loans to Ukraine, with Germany set to backstop up to €52 billion, according to documents obtained by POLITICO. The European Commission presented the eye-watering totals to diplomats last week after unveiling a €165 billion reparations loan to Ukraine using the cash value of frozen Russian assets. The backstops, which would be divided up proportionally among countries across the bloc, are needed to secure a go-ahead on the loan from Prime Minister Bart De Wever. The Belgian leader has opposed the…