France plans social media ban for children under 15

PARIS, Jan 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France will make a fresh attempt to protect children from excessive screen time, proposing a ban on social media access for children under 15 by next September, according to a draft law. The initiative is backed by President Emmanuel Macron, who said earlier this month…

Finland seizes vessel after new cable damage in Gulf of Finland

HELSINKI, Jan 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Finnish police said they had seized a vessel suspected of damaging a telecommunications cable that runs between Helsinki and Tallinn in the Gulf of Finland several hours earlier. The Finnish coast guard identified the vessel as the Fitburg, a 132-meter-long cargo ship bearing a flag…

Regional temperature records broken across the world in 2025

PARIS, Jan 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Central Asia, the Sahel region and northern Europe experienced their hottest year on record in 2025, according to data from the European Copernicus programme. Globally, the last 12 months are expected to be the third hottest ever recorded after 2024 and 2023, according to the…

128 journalists killed worldwide in 2025: press group

BRUSSELS, Jan 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A total of 128 journalists were killed around the world in 2025, more than half of them in the Middle East, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said Thursday. The grim toll, up from 2024, “is not just a statistic, it’s a global red alert…

Türkiye Grants Visa-Free Entry To Chinese Tourists

ANKARA, Jan 1 (NNN-TRT) – Türkiye has granted visa-free travel to Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports, for tourism and transit, according to a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette, yesterday. Under the new regulations, signed by Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, Chinese travellers will be exempt from visa requirements for…

FAO officially launches 2026 as the International Year of the Women Farmer

ROME, Dec 31 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) officially launched The International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026, a global campaign aimed at recognizing women’s indispensable yet often overlooked contributions to global agri-food systems and to galvanize efforts to close persistent gender gaps.…

Bulgaria readies to adopt the euro, nearly 20 years after joining EU

SOFIA, Dec 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Bulgaria was preparing to switch to the euro on Wednesday night to become the 21st eurozone member, amid concerns the move could usher in higher prices and add to political instability rattling the Balkan country. At midnight (2200 GMT Wednesday), Bulgaria will wave goodbye to…

Somalis rally nationwide against Israel’s recognition of self-declared breakaway Somaliland

MOGADISHU, Dec 31 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Tens of thousands of Somalis took to the streets across the country to protest Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, a self-declared breakaway region that Somalia considers part of its sovereign territory. Large crowds gathered in the capital Mogadishu at the national stadium, where religious leaders led…

France pushes back plastic cup ban by four years

The ban on disposable plastic cups, which was due to come into force on Jan 1, 2026 has been postponed until 2030 by the French government PARIS, Dec 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The French government on Tuesday postponed a ban on plastic throwaway cups by four years to 2030 because of…

Sweden: 16 injured as bus crashes into building in Stockholm

HELSINKI, Dec 31 (NNN-XINHUA) — A total of 16 people were injured after a bus crashed into the facade of a building in Liljeholmen, a district in southern Stockholm, on Tuesday afternoon, local authorities said. Region Stockholm said seven people were taken to hospital, including two who were seriously injured,…
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