European Union countries on Monday gave their final approval to the bloc’s plan to ban Russian gas imports by late 2027, allowing it to pass into law. The policy makes legally-binding the EU’s vow to cut ties with its former top gas supplier, nearly four years after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. FRANCE 24’s […]
Continue ReadingVerified videos emerging from Iran show bodies piled up in a hospital, snipers stationed on buildings and CCTV cameras being destroyed, following the unprecedented crackdown on protests earlier this month. BBC Verify has been tracking the spread of protests across Iran since they first erupted in late December, but the near total internet blackout imposed […]
Continue ReadingThe Parliament froze ratification of the agreement, signed by Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in July, after the U.S. president threatened tariffs on European allies backing Greenland. Lead negotiators will meet Feb. 4 to decide next steps, the Parliament’s International Trade Committee Chair Bernd Lange said. At the meeting, lawmakers broadly […]
Continue Reading“This would be a very good story for our agriculture sector. I believe we are aiming to start a completely new chapter in the field of cooperation in the automotive sector, in machinery,” EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič told POLITICO. On trade in services, the trade chief said that sectors like telecoms, maritime and financial […]
Continue ReadingThe verdict also lands as countries such as France are actively discussing restrictions on social media platforms for children. The decision focuses particularly on WhatsApp Channels in which admins can broadcast announcements to groups of people in a feed, making it different from the messaging feature. WhatsApp’s private messaging service is explicitly excluded. WhatsApp was […]
Continue ReadingPublished on 01/26/2026 – 15:44 GMT+1 WhatsApp has been officially classified as a “Very Large Online Platform” (VLOP) under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a designation that subjects the platform to the bloc’s strictest obligations to protect its users. The move, announced on Monday, means WhatsApp will be required to actively prevent the spread […]
Continue ReadingOn The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Finland is set to establish a new maritime surveillance centre in the Gulf of Finland, a move aimed at protecting critical undersea infrastructure amidst heightened regional tensions. The initiative, […]
Continue ReadingLeaders rubber-stamped the law on Monday, but Hungary and Slovakia — which are highly dependent on Russian fossil fuels — voted against the measure, arguing that it would send energy prices skyrocketing. Hungary said it would begin proceedings against the EU as soon as the law is formally adopted, which is likely to be in early […]
Continue ReadingKeir Starmer will travel to China on Tuesday for the first British prime ministerial visit to the country in eight years, Downing Street has confirmed. The UK prime minister will also fly to Japan this week, No 10 said. The visit marks a significant moment in Mr Starmer’s bid to build bridges with Beijing after […]
Continue ReadingFollowing, the approval of the first wave of defence funding, the European Commission has cleared a second group of national defence plans under the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative, marking another major step in making the Union safer. The Commission submitted a proposal to the Council to approve financial assistance for Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia […]
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