The British government has announced plans to tighten its asylum policy and adopt a Danish style migration model. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood wants to introduce new rules that would halve the current five years refugees are allowed to remain in the country to two and a half years and oblige them to return to their countries of origin as soon as these are deemed safe. Benefits are also to be restricted. What are the motives behind the Labour Party's reform?
Unidentified perpetrators have carried out a bombing attack on a railway line in Poland that leads to Ukraine, leaving tracks in the village of Mika badly damaged. During a visit to the site, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that attack was likely aimed at blowing up a train travelling from Warsaw to Dęblin. The intelligence services are investigating.
The presidents of France and Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky, have signed a memorandum of understanding on the purchase of aircraft, air defence systems and drones. Under the deal, France is to supply Ukraine with around 100 Rafale fighter jets worth more than ten billion euros. Who will pay for them remains unclear.
Jeannette Jara of the Communist Party has won the first round of the Chilean presidential election. However, because together the four right-wing candidates secured more than two-thirds of the votes, observers say her right-wing populist opponent José Antonio Kast has a good chance of winning the run-off vote. The son of a German Wehrmacht officer, Kast has close ties to the Spanish right-wing populist party Vox.
Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died on 20 November 1975. The death of the "Caudillo" marked the end of his nearly 40-year fascist regime and Spain embarked on the path to democracy as a constitutional monarchy. Commentators examine how the country has changed since then and what remains of the Franco-era legacy today.
In the wake of the corruption scandal in Ukraine's energy sector, the investigations into the dealings of close associates of President Volodymyr Zelensky continue. Justice minister German Galushchenko and energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk have tendered their resignations. The president denies any involvement and has announced a radical restructuring of the energy sector.
Sanna Marin, prime minister of Finland from 2019 to 2023, has presented her autobiography entitled Hope in Action - A Memoir About The Courage To Lead. In it, the 40-year-old recounts among other things how she and other female members of the government were confronted with misogyny and sexism. Commentators share their impressions.
The European Parliament has voted in favour of easing the EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence, or supply chain act, with a majority consisting mainly of conservatives and far-right groups, after a compromise between the European People's Party (EPP) and the Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens collapsed. Green and Social Democrat politicians accuse the EPP of "breaking the firewall". Commentators examine the vote and its consequences.
The Finnish tax authority has published a list of all citizens who earned more than 120,000 euros in taxable income last year. For the third year in a row, Mikko Kuusi, co-found of food delivery company Wolt, tops the list, having earned more than 80 million euros in 2024. The company's approximately 450,000 couriers deliver food orders in more than 1,000 cities across the world.
US President Donald Trump welcomed Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House in Washington on Tuesday. He praised the former head of the now disbanded terrorist militia HTS as a "strong leader" who could turn war-torn Syria into a successful country. The press reacts to the visit and the rapprochement between the two countries with surprise and admiration.
Climate protection targets are the main focus of the COP30 World Climate Conference which began in Brazil on Monday. UN Secretary-General António Guterres kicked off the conference with a call for stronger measures against climate change, stressing that every tenth of a degree of warming means more hunger, displacement and losses. Commentators discuss the challenges and ways to tackle them.