Culture news Why you shouldn't care about Madonna's AI Pope images As Christians decry the singer's posts of her being cosied up with the Pope, we look at why this isn't particularly shocking in context of Madonna's career. 17/12/2024
Europe News Erdoğan seizes meeting with von der Leyen to demand EU-Turkey upgrade During her meeting with President Erdoğan, Ursula von der Leyen announced an additional €1 billion to support Syrian refugees in Turkey, which can be adapted "as things evolve on the ground." 17/12/2024
Economy Meloni says EU must be pragmatic with Trump to avoid US trade tensions As fears of a trade war rise, the Italian premier is seen as one of US president-elect Donald Trump's closest EU allies. 17/12/2024
Europe News Greece rescues 23 migrants as arrivals surge Athens says migrant arrivals have increased by about a third since autumn 2023, and that their journeys have become longer and more dangerous. 17/12/2024
Economy French central bank lowers 2025 growth forecast after tumultuous year France's fraught political landscape and a gridlocked budget continue to spook economists and investors. 17/12/2024
Russia Oil stains wash ashore after storm damages Russian oil tankers One of the two Russian oil tankers damaged during a storm in the Kerch Strait on Sunday spilled an estimated 3,700 tonnes of oil. 17/12/2024
Europe News Ex-Portuguese Justice Minister Anjinho elected EU ombudsman Teresa Anjinho, a human rights lawyer who previously served as Portugal's deputy ombudsman, has gained MEPs' support to succeed Ireland's Emily O'Reilly probing maladministration in the EU bureaucracy. 17/12/2024
Markets Bitcoin hits another all-time high - what's behind the crypto rally? Cryptocurrencies are gaining from expectations that President-elect Donald Trump will favour digital currencies during his time in the White House. 17/12/2024
Israel Euroviews. Ms Kallas, prioritise civil society for Israeli-Palestinian peace The peacebuilders of Israel and Palestine are ready. They now need a leader to partner with them, and ensure that civil society initiatives are not just an afterthought but a cornerstone of a just and durable peace, Nivine Sandouka and Brian Reeves write. 17/12/2024
USA Trump slams Biden over Ukraine's use of US missiles to attack Russia US President-elect Donald Trump branded President Joe Biden's move as 'stupid' and said he may reverse the policy once he takes office next month. 17/12/2024
Business Can Germany's improving financial sentiment beat business pessimism? Financial experts are more optimistic about Germany’s economy as the ZEW index rebounded more than expected in December, its highest in four months, driven by ECB rate cut prospects and snap elections. Yet, the ifo survey shows businesses remain far more pessimistic about 2025. 17/12/2024
Top News Stories Today Latest news bulletin | December 17th – Midday Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. 17/12/2024
Europe News European Commission opens probe against TikTok over Romanian election The European Commission has launched formal proceedings against TikTok over potential breaches of the Digital Services Act, following evidence of Russian interference in Romania's election. The EC is gathering data to determine if TikTok violated EU law. 17/12/2024
Art Banksy and Damien Hirst works recovered in Poland Polish authorities say they have successfully recovered a collection of stolen artworks by Banksy, Damien Hirst, and other high-profile artists, valued at more than €175,000. 17/12/2024
Health news Pakistan begins final polio vaccination campaign of the year The last push of the year is taking place to try to eradicate polio in Pakistan, one of only two countries left where the disease is still endemic. 17/12/2024
USA Judge rejects Trump’s bid to throw out hush money conviction If US President-elect Donald Trump fails to have his conviction overturned before 20 January, he will become the first felon to serve in the White House. 17/12/2024
Economy Germany's business climate at near 4-year low as 2025 outlook darkens A pessimistic outlook towards 2025 is gripping key sectors, with structural challenges and weak investment driving prolonged stagnation concerns for Europe's largest economy. 17/12/2024
Syria Syria's HTS leader says rebel groups will be 'disbanded' to join army HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa pushed a message of unity in Syria as he sought to reassure minorities in the war-torn country. 17/12/2024
The Europe Conversation Pro-EU protests in Georgia were not peaceful, says foreign minister In an exclusive interview with Euronews in Budapest, Georgia's new Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili questioned whether the protests by pro-EU groups in her country could truly be described as "peaceful". 17/12/2024
USA Two charged over Iran-linked drone attack on US troops in Jordan Both defendants are charged with US export control violations, but one also faces separate charges of conspiring to provide material support to Iran. 17/12/2024
EuroVerify Disinformation falsely claims von der Leyen cancelled Romania election Euronews' verification team has detected pro-Georgescu TikTok accounts falsely pinning responsibility for the cancelled second round of voting on the EU Commission chief. 17/12/2024
Culture news Brazil court orders Adele song to be removed from global streaming Adele is the subject of a plagiarism case, alleged to have “lifted” works from a Brazilian composer’s 1995 work. A court in Brazil is demanding that the song in question is removed from streaming services. 17/12/2024
Europe News Ukrainian soldier faces redeployment to frontlines as Russians advance Ukrainian soldier Mykola reveals forced redeployments to the frontlines, highlighting a lack of training, strained resources, and dwindling morale. 17/12/2024
Europe News Last chance: The story of harrowing evacuations of Ukraine's civilians A TV host, a YouTube blogger and a showman. Denys Khrystov had a very different life before Russia’s invasion. Now a volunteer evacuating civilians from the most dangerous places on the frontline, Denys says he doesn’t know how many he rescued, but he remembers everyone he did not evacuate. 17/12/2024
Health news Is the global pandemic treaty dead? Negotiators looking to avert another COVID-style crisis have yet to make progress on two key sticking points for a global pandemic treaty which has a May 2025 deadline. 17/12/2024
Europe News France demands nuclear-friendly replacement for renewable energy law A ministerial debate on the future of Europe’s energy system saw calls to build up cross-border power grids and end dependence on Russian fossil fuels, while France said it was time bring nuclear power into the centre of EU decarbonisation policy. 17/12/2024
Radio Schuman What to expect from new French Prime Minister Bayrou? Last week, French president Emmanuel Macron appointed the centrist Francois Bayrou as prime minister to address the country’s deep political crisis following the collapse of Michel Barnier’s government. Radio Schuman asks what will change in France with the appointment. 17/12/2024
Culture news Why are we still so obsessed with F1's Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost? As two new TV shows come out about the 80s F1 greats, what keeps Senna and Prost so key to the sport's mythology? 17/12/2024
West Bank Palestinian security forces crack down on militants in the West Bank The rare move by the Palestinian Authority, who govern pockets of the Israeli- occupied West Bank, was justified to remove Iran-backed militant groups causing "chaos." 17/12/2024
Markets European stock markets hit by Germany and France's political upheavals The euro has plunged against the dollar since November amid Trump's victory in the US election, falling to 1.0330 at a two-year low on 22 November amid an unexpected contraction in the eurozone's services sector. 17/12/2024