Author: staff

In Tbilisi, demonstrators gathered outside parliament, turning the holiday into a moment of political expression as well as worship. The protests have continued for more than a year, sparked by the government’s decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union. Many protesters say the move distances Georgia from Europe and draws it closer to Russia’s influence. Some attended Christmas Mass wrapped in Georgian and EU flags, linking faith with calls for EU integration. The demonstrations began in November 2024 after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the halt in accession talks. Since then, the ruling Georgian Dream party has tightened…

Shortly after US President Donald Trump announced a “large-scale strike” on Venezuela on Saturday, European social media was awash with misleading, AI-generated images of Nicolás Maduro’s capture and videos of Venezuelans celebrating around the world. Across TikTok, Instagram and X, AI-generated or altered images, old footage repurposed as new footage and out-of-context videos proliferated. Many racked up millions of views across platforms, and were shared by public figures, including Trump himself, X owner Elon Musk, the son of the former Brazilian president, Flávio Bolsonaro, and the official account of the Portuguese right-wing Chega party in Portugal. Some experts suggested this…

Western Europe was dealing with more snow and ice on Wednesday and Storm Goretti, the first named storm of the year, hits the continent’s Atlantic coast. Around 100 flights were cancelled at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport on Wednesday morning because of snowfall and fierce cold and a further 40 at the French capital’s Orly airport, France’s transport minister said. The disruption had been predicted late on Tuesday, with Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot telling CNews television he was “hoping the situation returns to normal this afternoon.” All public bus services in Paris and the surrounding suburbs were also suspended due…

Published on 07/01/2026 – 10:51 GMT+1 Aldrich Ames, the Central Intelligence Agency spy who was sentenced to life in prison for selling secrets to Moscow costing the lives of a dozen double agents, died in prison on Monday, US authorities said. He was 84, according to the Bureau of Prisons. Ames worked as a counterintelligence analyst for the CIA for 31 years and, along with his wife Rosario, was convicted of selling information to the Soviet Union between 1985 and 1993, compromising secret missions and costing lives in exchange for more than $2.5 million (€2.1 million). Ames had been head…

Published on 07/01/2026 – 9:25 GMT+1 Scientists warn that it is “only a matter of time” until Greenland’s Prudhoe Dome starts to melt away – as heat-trapping emissions continue to bake the planet. The huge 500 metre thick ice cap is roughly the same size as Luxembourg, covering around 2,500 square kilometres. Its demise would unleash catastrophic consequences around the world, capable of pushing sea level rise by up to 73 centimetres. To put this in perspective, Copernicus states that for every centimetre of sea level rise, around six million more people are exposed to coastal flooding. Greenland’s Prudhoe Dome…

Three things from Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy to start your political day. What the government is having to deal with: the unpredictability of Donald Trump. Just as Britain signs up to troops in Ukraine if there’s a peace deal, it’s having to use its best diplomatic language on what the president is thinking about Greenland. What the government wants to deal with: publishing the road safety strategy, which is something every driver will have a view on. What some government sources are thinking: Sam’s got a story about whether AI is to blame for a massive rise in the…

Police motorcycles led the way, followed by marching bands and colourful floats, as crowds gathered along the routes. January 6 is a turning point for the city, closing the Christmas period in many countries but signalling the start of weeks of Mardi Gras celebrations. This year’s opening came amid a strong security presence. Police officers were visible throughout the parade, and National Guard troops continued patrols around the French Quarter, where they have been deployed for about a week. City officials point to falling crime, with police reporting sharp declines in murders, shootings and robberies since 2022, even as the…

But Kyiv also takes great pleasure in seeing Maduro, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, being taken for trial to the U.S. — proof of the futility of previous Russian arms sales and security guarantees from the Kremlin. “The Maduro dictatorship helped Putin. Now, Putin lost his ally — this is a plus for us,” Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign relations committee and co-head of the Ukrainian parliament’s Free Venezuela friendship group, told POLITICO. “This situation could lead to a weakening of Russia on the international stage, a fall in oil prices and, accordingly, a…

Germany, the EU’s industrial kingpin, is keen to secure a Mercosur agreement to boost its exports, but is still wary as to whether sufficient support exists to finalize an accord on Friday. A German official cautioned everything was still to play for. “A qualified majority is emerging, but it’s not a done deal yet. Until we have the result, there’s no reason to sit back and relax,” the official said. Optimism is growing regarding Rome in the pro-Mercosur camp, however. After all, the pact is widely viewed as strongly in the interests not only of Italy’s engineering companies, but also…

Updated: 07/01/2026 – 7:00 GMT+1 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this January 7th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More