Author: staff
“We are the ones who decide, Jordan and me,” she said. Le Pen was found guilty last year of embezzling European Parliament funds and sentenced to an immediate five-year ban from running for public office. She will return to court in January after appealing all charges, which she has repeatedly denied and framed as politically motivated. She has said Bardella will run in her place if the appeal court upholds the election ban, but a decision won’t be known before spring. Shifting dynamic But while Bardella is officially his party’s plan B, polls show he is starting to outshine his boss. In…
Published on 02/12/2025 – 13:24 GMT+1 A Libyan man accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in a Tripoli prison has been transferred from Germany to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face justice. Prosecutors at the ICC allege that Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri was a senior commander at the Mitiga prison in Tripoli, where they say he ordered or oversaw crimes including murder, torture and rape between 2015 and 2020. El Hishri was arrested by German authorities on 16 July on a sealed warrant issued by the court in The Hague. He was in custody in Germany…
Published on 02/12/2025 – 15:37 GMT+1 For the first time in more than three decades, condoms will no longer enjoy VAT-exempt status in China as a new law seeks to boost birth rates. The legislation, approved on 25 December 2024, sets out a revised list of tax-exempt goods and services, which cover areas such as agriculture, medical treatments, and cultural activities — but it notably omits birth control products such as condoms. These items will now be subject to a 13% levy, signalling a policy U-turn after years of strict family planning laws in China, designed to limit population growth.…
Germany has over €100 million budgeted this year and next for counter-drone technology, the minister said. The systems include sensors and jammers designed to disrupt hostile drone signals, with the capability to intercept or shoot them down if necessary. “It is an important signal that we are confronting hybrid threats,” Dobrindt said. “We are creating a clear mission to detect, intercept and, yes, also shoot down drones when necessary. We cannot accept that hybrid threats, including drones, become a danger to our security.” Dobrindt said Germany will procure systems from both German and Israeli manufacturers, with further purchases expected in…
European lawmakers were unable to agree on the scope of a contentious air passengers’ rights law during political talks on Monday evening, setting up the already decade-long process for mediation by the upcoming EU Cypriot Presidency. The EU’s law to increase protection for travellers has been in the making for 11 years, but lawmakers have come under intense pressure from the aviation industry that has stymied its progress. Among the draft law’s provisions are that passengers shouldn’t pay for cabin luggage and that they should receive financial compensation if their flights are delayed by more than three hours, a key…
Published on 02/12/2025 – 14:06 GMT+1 First you collect your nice pension, you boomer. But coming to town to set your body free might, in the words of Sabrina’s 1987 hit song, just got a little bit trickier. The French government plans to end free healthcare for foreign pensioners, closing a loophole that lets them join the system after just 90 days of residence. The law will affect all non-EU pensioners, including Brits and Americans. And the numbers are significant. Data shows that around 150,000 adult US citizens live in France today, and a roughly similar number of UK nationals.…
The Bulgarian center-right government on Tuesday withdrew a controversial 2026 budget proposal following a week of Gen Z-led mass protests. “The Council of Ministers has proposed that the National Assembly adopt a decision to withdraw the draft State Budget for 2026,” the government said in a press release. The biggest demonstration Monday drew around 50,000 to 100,000 people to the streets of Sofia, according to various media accounts, including the Bulgarian News Agency, but remained peaceful. After the rally dispersed, some masked rioters that were not previously at the protests hurled firecrackers and bottles at police officers, burned garbage containers…
By Euronews Published on 02/12/2025 – 14:18 GMT+1 Serbia failed to secure a United States operating license for its Russian-owned oil refinery, forcing the facility to halt operations and threatening the country’s fuel supply, President Aleksandar Vučić said Monday. The United States rejected Serbia’s request to continue crude oil supplies to the Pančevo refinery while Russian owners seek buyers for their majority stake in the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), Vučić said. “We expected to receive a license from the US government to continue supplying oil to our refinery in Pančevo. We did not receive a positive decision,” Vučić said. “I…
Published on 02/12/2025 – 14:13 GMT+1 A broad-based crypto sell-off accelerated this week, wiping billions off the total market capitalisation and stoking fresh concerns about financial contagion both within the digital asset ecosystem and across adjacent markets. Bitcoin slipped to about $84,000 (€72,328) during Monday trading before rebounding to near $87,000 later in the day. The cryptocurrency saw more dramatic lows earlier in November, despite a brief consolidation at the end of the month that pushed it over $90,000 — still well below the roughly $100,000 level it was trading at in early November and much lower than the October…
Subsequent talks attended by European, Ukrainian and American negotiators yielded an updated 19-point plan. In a post on social platform X, Dmitriev said it was an “important day for peace.” Witkoff traveled to Moscow after taking part in U.S.-Ukraine talks in Florida. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday that Kushner would also participate in the meeting with Putin, which will last “as long as needed.” The Russian leader, however, shows no signs of backing down. Speaking in Bishkek last week, Putin said that the fighting will end when “the Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold.”