European Union

Germany will close down three of its last six nuclear power plants on Friday, while speeding up its transition to solar and wind energy.

US and Russian leaders have repeated their red lines on Ukraine ahead of New Year talks designed to prevent a new war in Europe.

France said Thursday (30 December) that it will suspend a new rule that prevents Britons from transiting through the country to reach homes elsewhere in the EU, a move that caught thousands of travellers off guard.

Gas traders are relying on stockpiles to supply European buyers and avoid paying near record-high prices, industry sources and market analysts said, explaining the unusual reverse in direction of flows through a major Russian pipeline.

Germany will pull the plug on three of its last six nuclear power stations on Friday (31 December), another step towards completing its withdrawal from nuclear power as it turns its focus to renewables.

Germany wants to use its G7 presidency to develop it into a club that is pioneering in its efforts to achieve green growth and a socially just world, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his first New Year's address.

Former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who quit in the face of corruption allegations, will work for Thiel Capital starting next year, Austrian media outlets reported on Thursday (30 December).

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (30 December) exchanged warnings over Ukraine but conveyed some optimism that diplomatic talks in January could ease spiraling tensions.

Israeli policies risk triggering an "explosion" in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said Thursday (30 December) in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Palestinian state media said.

Israel on Thursday approved a fourth vaccine shot for vulnerable people, becoming one of the first countries to do so, amid a surge in COVID in cases driven by the Omicron variant.

Sudanese security forces shot and killed four protesters on Thursday during demonstrations by tens of thousands who defied a security lockdown and severed communications to rally against military rule, medics said.

Several European countries have reported all-time high daily COVID-19 infection rates one day before New Year's Eve and amid surging Omicron variant cases.

Within weeks, the Omicron variant has fueled thousands of new COVID-19 hospitalizations among US children, raising new concerns about how the many unvaccinated Americans under the age of 18 will fare in the new surge.

Britons who live in the European Union can no longer drive through France to their homes elsewhere in the bloc under new regulations that have created confusion for many holiday travellers.

The European Union called Thursday for an international arms embargo on Myanmar's junta and for toughening its own sanctions following last week's massacre of more than 30 people.

More than 12,000 Lebanese have left their homeland in the past two years for Cyprus, enrolling their children in schools, setting up businesses and snapping up apartments on the island, Ekathimerini writes. Lebanon plunged into an economic crisis that has thrown two thirds of the population into poverty since October 2019. Beirut was partly destroyed by a massive explosion in August 2021, followed by a political deadlock in the country.

About 1,200 migrants are risking their lives every month this winter crossing by foot the snow-filled Alps from Italy into France, The Times reports. Most are probably heading for the Channel. The numbers walking the eight-hour trek across the border from Claviere to Bardonecchia are higher than in 2020 and 2019, suggesting that the known death toll of six people over the past four years could rise in coming weeks.

Northvolt became the first European start-up to design and produce a battery at a gigafactory on the continent, the Financial Times reported. Founded by two former Tesla managers, the Swedish company is backed by Volkswagen, BMW, Volvo Cars and Ikea and opened operations days before its new-year deadline. Northvolt is the most notable of European contenders trying to compete in battery production with bigger Asian producers and Tesla.

France announced on Wednesday that the number of Covid infection cases had now soared to 208,000 cases, being a record number in Europe for the second day in a row, France24 reports. "I wouldn't call Omicron a wave anymore, I would call it a groundswell," French health minister Olivier Véran told lawmakers. "Given the numbers we have been seeing these past few days, we're talking about a landslide," he added.

US president Joe Biden will hold talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin by phone on Thursday for the second time this month, in a bid to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine, the BBC writes. They will discuss forthcoming security talks between the countries and the situation in Europe. The US consulted European leaders ahead of the call to co-ordinate a common response to the issue, a White House statement said.