Author: Justin M. Larson
Nick Beake,Europe correspondentandBruno Boelpaep,Additional reportingAFPBelgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has written to the European Commission chief warning that the EU’s plan is “fundamentally wrong”Belgium has accused the EU of “downplaying” its concerns over a plan to use frozen Russian assets held in Europe to support Ukraine.”We keep on pleading for an alternative, namely the EU borrowing the amounts needed on the markets,” says Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot.The EU’s proposal, which has been championed by the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, would see €140bn (£123bn) of Russian state assets held in Belgium transformed into a “reparations loan” to support Kyiv…
new video loaded: Inside the Ultra-Orthodox Fight Against Israel’s DrafttranscriptBacktranscriptInside the Ultra-Orthodox Fight Against Israel’s DraftFor the first time in decades, ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel are being called to serve in the country’s military. The community is furious, with protesters and military-age men openly defying the draft.Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews are angry. For the first time in decades, the community known as the Haredim is being called to serve in the country’s military. Their enlistment has become one of the most divisive political debates in the country. At the heart of the debate is the community’s size. The Haredim’s population has…
French satellite group Eutelsat, often seen as Europe’s answer to Elon Musk’s Starlink, saw its share price plummet Wednesday following a report that Japanse investor SoftBank cut its stake in the company. Shares in Eutelsat were last trading 7.2% lower as of 4.41 a.m. ET.The moves come following a Reuters report that SoftBank has sold 36 million rights, corresponding to around 26 million shares and around half their stake in the satellite operator.Eutelsat is the owner of the satellite internet provider OneWeb, which it merged with in 2023 in a bid to challenge Starlink’s dominance in the market.But the French…
The US has halted the processing of all immigration applications linked to 19 countries already subject to a travel ban, according to an internal official memo seen by BBC partner CBS News.Immigration agents have been told to “stop final adjudication on all cases”, and pause naturalisation ceremonies for migrants on the cusp of gaining citizenship. It comes amid reports that Donald Trump is considering expanding a June order restricting travel from 19 countries to 30.It is the latest tightening of immigration rules after last week’s shooting in Washington DC, which left one National Guard soldier dead and another in a…
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 05: A Malaysia Airlines Aircraft at Sydney Airport on September 05, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. James Gourley | Getty Images News | Getty Images The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume later this month, more than a decade after the jet disappeared in one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries. The deep-sea search for missing wreckage of the aircraft will resume on Dec. 30, with U.S-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity carrying out the operation intermittently for a period of 55 days, Malaysia’s transport ministry said in a statement Wednesday. “The search…
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – DECEMBER 03: President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a press conference to mark the first anniversary of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law, at Yeongbingwan of Blue House on December 03, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. A year has passed since then-President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a state of emergency martial law, stunning Korea and setting off a political crisis that continues to reverberate today. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)Chung Sung-jun | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesSouth Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed “strict accountability” for the perpetrators behind last year’s…
The authorities quickly arrested critics demanding accountability, signaling an expansive use of the security law to silence dissent over nonpolitical tragedies. Source link
The former Prime Minister of Finland talks to presenter Clare McDonnell about her rise to the top. Source link
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (R) speaks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) during a visit to the shipyard Zvezda, as Rosneft Russian oil giant chief Igor Sechin (C) accompanies them, outside the far-eastern Russian port of Vladivostok on September 4, 2019, ahead of the start of the Eastern Economic Forum hosted by Russia. Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty ImagesAs India reels under punitive U.S. tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil, New Delhi is all set to host President Vladmir Putin for a two-day visit, signaling its determination to deepen ties with Moscow.The visit indicates that India wants to…
A diamond-studded crystal Fabergé egg that once belonged to Russia’s imperial family has sold for a record £22.9m ($30.2m) in London.The Winter Egg – considered one of the legendary jeweller’s most beautiful creations – was bought by an anonymous bidder on Tuesday, Christie’s auction house said.It is decorated with 4,500 diamonds was commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II in 1913 as a present to his mother.The previous record for a Fabergé egg was £8.9m paid at auction in 2007.”Today’s result sets a new world auction record for a work by Fabergé, reaffirming the enduring significance of this masterpiece,” Christie’s Margo Oganesian…
Bernd Debusmann Jrat the White HouseGetty ImagesDefence secretary Pete Hegseth says that he watched the first of two strikes on the alleged drug vessel on 2 September. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said he “did not personally see survivors” before a deadly follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.An initial strike reportedly left two survivors clinging to the burning vessel, before a second strike was allegedly ordered that left them dead.The 2 September strike has prompted concerns that US forces may have violated laws governing armed conflict. During a cabinet meeting at the White House, Hegseth…
Indonesia and the Netherlands have signed a deal to return two elderly Dutch nationals jailed in Indonesia for drug offences – one on death row and the other serving a life sentence.The Dutch government had requested their repatriation “on humanitarian grounds”, it said in a statement on Tuesday.Both men have been experiencing health problems, Indonesian authorities said.Siegfried Mets, 74, was sentenced to death in 2008 for smuggling 600,000 ecstasy pills. Ali Tokman, 65, was sentenced to death in 2015 for smuggling 6kg of MDMA, but later had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment.Mets is imprisoned in the capital Jakarta, while…
Will GrantCentral America correspondent, TegucigalpaReutersPresidential candidate Salvador Nasralla has a small lead in the electionWith a little over two-thirds of the ballots in the Honduras election tallied, the lead has changed hands.The former vice-president, Salvador Nasralla, has a small but potentially significant lead over his rival, the conservative former mayor of Tegucigalpa, Nasry Asfura. Yet Asfura’s National Party continues to brief journalists that they have the numbers for an eventual win.The race remains on a knife-edge. In Washington, President Donald Trump has staked his hopes on nothing less than an outright Asfura victory and has tried to directly influence the…
Prada announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Versace, bringing two major Italian luxury fashion houses under one roof.The $1.38bn (£1.04bn) deal is well below the roughly $2bn that Versace’s former parent company, Capri Holdings, paid for the brand in 2018.The acquisition expands Prada’s portfolio of designer brands – including Miu Miu – as it seeks to compete with rivals including French conglomerate LVMH, which owns Dior and Fendi in addition to Louis Vuitton.Storied designer Donatella Versace stepped down as the brand’s creative chief in March after 27 years at the fashion company, known for its glamorous styles and the…
President Lee Jae Myung reaffirmed wanting to build nuclear-powered submarines at home, despite President Trump’s suggestion that they be built in the United States. Source link
This report is from this week’s CNBC’s The China Connection newsletter, which brings you insights and analysis on what’s driving the world’s second-largest economy. You can subscribe here.The big storyChina is closing out 2025 with far more confidence on the world stage than at the start of the year.It was the first major economy to retaliate against U.S. “Liberation Day” tariffs, and has increasingly played the rare earths card. Its tech companies overcame U.S. chip restrictions and released low-cost artificial intelligence models that rival far pricier offerings from the U.S., such as those from OpenAI. Global perceptions of China are improving.Whether the broader Chinese economy exudes…
This report is from this week’s CNBC’s UK Exchange newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.The dispatchAs expected, Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her Budget to pour a bucket-load of tax-raising measures over the U.K. economy.One of them, though, will be of particular interest to Britain’s startup and scale-up businesses.Reeves announced she was widening eligibility for the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and its sister scheme, Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs), “so scale-ups can attract the talent and the capital that they need.”VCTs are publicly listed investment vehicles, run by fund managers, offering investors exposure to a portfolio of young, high-risk companies.…
Sydney Opera House, designed by Danish architect Mr Jorn Oberg Utzon, at first light as the sun rises over Sydney harbor and city center skyscrapers.Ucg | Universal Images Group | Getty ImagesAustralia’s third-quarter economic growth missed analysts’ expectations, but still clocked its fastest expansion in about two years. The country’s GDP expanded 2.1% compared with the same period a year earlier — the strongest reading since the third quarter of 2023 when the economy expanded at the same rate — data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday, missing economists’ forecast for a 2.2% growth. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Australia’s GDP…
Panoramic view of Busan city, South Korea taken on sunrise.Alex Veprik | Moment | Getty ImagesAsia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Wednesday, after Wall Street saw a tech-fueled recovery and a cryptocurrency rally.Bitcoin climbed over 7.4%, crossing past the $90,000 mark in overnight trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 49,615 and its counterpart in Osaka at 49,580 compared to the previous close of 49,303.45. Hong Kong markets were set to open lower, with Hang Seng index futures at 25,965, compared with the HSI’s last close…
The trip comes days before the anniversary of the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and as Lebanon is navigating the cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel. Source link
Maia DaviesandLaura GozziGetty ImagesPresident Putin and his foreign policy aide Yury UshakovVladimir Putin hosted US negotiators at the Kremlin on Tuesday for five hours of talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, which a Russian official said had been “productive”.The discussions with US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were held behind closed doors and details have not yet emerged.They came shortly after Putin said European demands over a US-Russia draft peace place were unacceptable, adding that “if Europe wants to fight with us, we are ready to do so”.The US envoys went to Moscow…
While butter is undeniably delicious, it’s also high in calories and saturated fat. That’s why many people look for alternatives that better fit their health goals without giving up flavor. Here are some of the healthiest butter alternatives for both cooking and baking. 1. Olive Oil HakanEliacik / Getty Images “Extra virgin olive oil remains the gold standard for anti-inflammatory cooking,” Eboni Cornish, MD, functional medicine doctor at Amen Clinics, told Health. Not only is olive oil high in protective plant compounds, including polyphenols like hydroxytyrosol, that act as powerful antioxidants and help reduce inflammation in the body, but it’s rich…
Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) is a rare heart condition that occurs when transthyretin, a protein in the body, changes shape and clumps together. The clumps can make the heart stiff and weak over time, leading to symptoms like shortness of breath, swelling, and fatigue. There are several steps and tests doctors can use to diagnose ATTR-CM. ATTR-CM is usually first suspected based on symptoms as well as results from routine heart tests, like an electrocardiogram (EKG) or echocardiogram. EKG: The quick, noninvasive test records the heart’s electrical activity using small patches placed on the skin.Echocardiogram: Also called an echo, the…
The stepped-up enforcement comes as the Trump administration has also moved to reassess the vetting of Afghans who came to the country under the Biden administration. Source link
