Germany’s government on Wednesday said it approved a plan that would allow the military to shoot down drones illegally flying in German airspace. As a last resort, as military initiatives in Germany come with global consequences Germany allows military to down suspect drones. Germany allows military to down suspect drones It comes against the backdrop of several sightings of suspicious drones being flown over key installations. German cabinet backs plan to shoot down suspicious drones…
Storm clouds have hovered over French politics for some time now but it was in the summer of last year that the thunder really began to roll. In July, early parliamentary elections resulted in an unclear outcome because no single party won a clear majority. Three large political blocs eventually entered parliament in Paris, and the new government, appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron, was forced to govern without a majority to call its own.…
The European Commission calls on Member States to strengthen control over European investments in foreign markets. Brussels has published a recommendation this Wednesday in which it asks governments for greater scrutiny of the investments their companies make in non-EU countries, especially those linked to microchips, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies. Economic security is one of the axes that will underpin the second term, which is beginning, of Ursula von der Leyen. Therefore, this recommendation from…
NATO leaders gathering in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on Tuesday said European countries must be prepared to face further incidents in the Baltic Sea and announced a new mission designed to deter them. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said after the meeting that a new mission dubbed Baltic Sentry would include frigates, maritime patrol aircraft, and a fleet of naval drones to provide “enhanced surveillance and deterrence.” “Across the alliance, we have seen elements of…
China has installed a large floating structure in waters that it disputes with South Korea, with analysts suggesting that the Chinese government is employing similar tactics to take control of territory as it used successfully to seize atolls and islets in the South China Sea over a decade ago. China has placed similar steel structures in the same area in the past, insisting that they are merely “fishing support facilities” and each time leading to diplomatic…
Indonesian regulators last week rejected a proposal from Apple that the tech giant had hoped would pave the way for sales of the iPhone 16 in one of Southeast Asia’s largest markets. Indonesia requires 40% of parts used in certain smartphones to be produced domestically. To comply, Apple had pitched a $1 billion investment in a manufacturing facility on Indonesia’s Batam island to produce parts for the AirTag tracking device. However, Indonesian Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang…
Ongoing diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh have led to significant scaling back of visas and appointment slots for Bangladeshi nationals seeking to travel to India. Following political unrest and the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, Indian visa centers across Bangladesh were closed indefinitely for security reasons. In September, over 20,000 Bangladeshi passports were returned following the suspension of visa services by the Indian High Commission in Dhaka in the wake of…
The streets of Maputo were deserted on Monday when Mozambique swore in its new parliament. Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane had called for a three-day strike to protest the result of highly disputed elections. Indeed, two smaller opposition parties boycotted the opening ceremony, saying they did not accept the outcome of the October election. President-elect Daniel Chapo called for calm and unity after months of unrest that have rocked the southern African nation. Mondlane entered Mozambique…
It has been nearly a week since the devastating wildfires began raging through southern California, killing at least 24 people and burning an area larger than San Francisco. While the true causes of the blaze remain under investigation, a flood of misinformation regarding the fires and their impact has been unleashed on social media. Noticeably, President-elect Donald Trump was one of those who spread numerous false or misleading claims on the wildfires in LA, many of which…
South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on Wednesday over insurrection accusations related to his December 3 martial law declaration, investigators said. The Asian country’s anti-corruption agency confirmed Yoon had been detained hours after hundreds of investigators and police officers arrived at his presidential compound to apprehend him. A former prosecutor who led the conservative People Power Party to election victory in 2022, Yoon said he relented to avoid “bloodshed.” “When I saw them break…
Months after efforts began to remove people working in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, rescuers removed 36 bodies and 82 survivors from the mine after two days of operations, police said on Tuesday. “All 82 that have been arrested are facing illegal mining, trespassing and contravention of the immigration act charges,” police Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said in a statement. Police are uncertain how many miners remain inside the illegal mine but said it…
South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on Wednesday over insurrection accusations related to his December 3 martial law declaration, investigators said. The Asian country’s anti-corruption agency confirmed impeached Yoon had been detained hours after the hundreds of investigators and police officers arrived at his presidential compound to apprehend him. A former prosecutor who led the conservative People Power Party to election victory in 2022, Yoon said he relented to avoid “bloodshed.” “When I saw…
CCOO, ELA, LAB and UGT have proposed to Confebask the date of February 6 for the constitution of a negotiation table with the aim of reaching an interprofessional agreement that establishes an agreed minimum wage in Euskadi. The aforementioned unions, which have presented their requests separately to the Basque Labor Relations Council (CRL), do not share the figure, which is around 1,600 euros, but they do share the idea of agreeing on their own minimum…
Spain is planning a bold move to address its housing crisis by introducing a tax of up to 100% on properties purchased by non-EU residents, including those from the UK.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has dismissed demands from US President-elect Donald Trump that Germany and other NATO allies increase defense spending to at least 5% of gross domestic product (GDP). “Five percent would be over €200 billion ($204 billion) per year — the federal budget is not even €500 billion,” Scholz said at a campaign event in the western German city of Bielefeld on Monday. “That would only be possible with massive tax increases or massive…
It has been over two months since Donald Trump’s election victory, but he won’t become president until January 20. The reason for the long wait? A quirk of history. Like many aspects of American political life, the November-to-January timeline from election to inauguration outlined in the US Constitution has its roots in historic logistics. It “is somewhat of a historical artifact,” Michael Berkman, a professor of political science at Pennsylvania State University in the United States,…
Dangerously high winds are set to return to Los Angeles, threatening efforts to extinguish wildfires that have destroyed neighborhoods and claimed at least 24 lives. “We are not in the clear as of yet,” Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowle said. “We must not let our guard down,” she added. Dry Santa Ana winds of up to 70 miles (112 kilometers) per hour are predicted to resume on Monday and continue until Wednesday, according to the…
The PP spokesperson in Parliament, Juan Fernández, stated this Monday that the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, is a “hostage of ERC” after the refusal to agree on the regional budgets communicated yesterday by the independence party. At a press conference, Fernández lamented the “paralysis” of the regional government, which in his opinion plays the “inherited score” of the Pere Aragonès era. “We continue with the same uncertainties with which we ended last year,”…
Tens of thousands of Romanians took to the streets of Bucharest on Sunday, demanding the immediate resignation of outgoing President Klaus Iohannis and the reinstatement of the cancelled presidential election.
Croatian voters have re-elected Zoran Milanovic as president, with nearly 75% of the vote in a decisive victory. His opponent, Dragan Primorac, backed by the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, managed only 25%—the HDZ’s worst-ever result.
Tanzanian rights activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai was abducted in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, on Sunday, Amnesty International and her organization reported. Tsehai was grabbed by three armed men in a black Toyota Noah in Nairobi’s Kilimani area, according to Amnesty Kenya. What do we know about Tsehai’s disappearance? Tsehai, who has 1.3 million followers on X, advocates for political reform, freedom of expression, and women’s rights in her country. She is also a fierce critic of Tanzania’s President…
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic won reelection for another five-year term on Sunday, near-complete official results showed. Milanovic, nominated by the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP), was estimated to have won 74% of the vote, after more than 99% of the ballots were counted. Dragan Primorac, the candidate for the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), secured around 26% of the vote. Croatia held a runoff vote between the two contenders on Sunday after the first round of voting on December…
Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Romania’s capital, Bucharest, on Sunday to protest the Constitutional Court’s decision last month to order that the presidential election be re-run. They demanded that the vote take place and that outgoing centrist President Klaus Iohannis resign immediately. “We demand a return to democracy through the resumption of elections, starting with the second round,” George Simion of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), said. Why did Romania’s top court cancel the…
The second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, will propose this Wednesday to social agents an increase in the minimum wage of 50 euros (4.4%), which would reach 1,184 euros per month, with fourteen payments, according to confirmed in an interview in La Vanguardia. This is the highest option proposed by experts, who recommend an increase of 3.4% or 4.4% by 2025, depending on two different calculation methods, that is, increasing the…
“Blame Canada!” goes the satirical song from the 1999 animated comedy film “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,” in which a mother rallies her small Colorado town to confront youth degeneracy. The song humorously shifts blame to America’s northern neighbor rather than US government policies, parenting failures, or media influence, declaring that “we need to form a full assault — it’s Canada’s fault.” Decades later, US President-elect Donald Trump appears to be channeling a similar energy, blaming Canada for illegal migration…
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