After 17 hours of at times heated debate, EU leaders agreed in the early hours of Friday morning to jointly raise €90bn (£79bn; $105bn) in zero-interest loans to keep Ukraine financially afloat for the next two years. Kyiv had been clear: the money wasn't a nice-to-have; it was a must-have. With th»»»

As of December 19, 2025, the interstellar visitor known as 3I/ATLAS (officially designated C/2025 N1) is making its closest approach to Earth before continuing its journey out of our Solar System. This enigmatic object, the third confirmed interstellar comet to pass through our neighbourhood, has c»»»

TradeEuropeEU delays signing Mercosur free trade deal, againJon SheltonEU leaders have once again delayed signing a comprehensive trade deal with South America. Now 25 years in the making, lawmakers expect an agreement to be signed in January. https://p.dw.com/p/55ggHAfter a quarter century, the EU»»»

“This National Assembly has been absolutely illegitimate from the start. We are in a mafia dictatorship that cannot survive under a market economy,” said Ivelin Mihaylov, leader of the Velichie party, on the last day of consultations with President Rumen Radev before the head of State starts the pr»»»

During Central Asia + Japan Business Forum in Tokyo, Ravshanbek Sabirov, head of the National Investment Agency under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, met with Nobumitsu Akai, the management of JFR Co. Ltd., to discuss prospects for cooperation in biotechnology. The National Investment Agency’»»»

China's military will step up training and "take forceful measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," its defense ministry said ‌on Friday ‌in ‌response ⁠to a ‌planned $11.1 billion US arms sales package to Taiwan. The ministry urges the US to "immediately ⁠cease arms ‌sa»»»

Democrats on the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform have released a new batch of photographs obtained from the estate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, offering a disturbing and fragmentary glimpse into materials investigators say point to his network, methods, and contacts»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual year-end address on Friday, December 19, reviewing the key results of 2025 and outlining priorities for 2026. Putin is addressing the public live from Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor, where the president is holding his year-end press conference.The event c»»»

President Rumen Radev has concluded consultations with all political parties represented in the National Assembly and emphasized the need for urgent measures to restore trust in the electoral process. He announced that he will hand over the first exploratory mandate to form a new government after t»»»

On December 19, during his official visit to Japan, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov met with Emperor Naruhito of Japan. During the conversation, the two sides discussed strengthening friendly ties, developing cultural and humanitarian cooperation, and expanding mutual understanding a»»»

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of “sanctioned oil tankers” into and out of Venezuela, US forces seized an oil tanker off the country's coast and the military attacked three more alleged drug-smuggling boats in the region — all in the course of a week. Also Read: 8 killed as 3»»»

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young speaks during a briefing to President Lee Jae Myung on the ministry's 2026 policy plan on Friday. The ministry called for a "year of peaceful coexistence" with North Korea. Photo by Yonhap Dec. 19 (UPI) -- South Korea's Unification Ministry on Friday said it ai»»»

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (center R) and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (center L) leave after their meeting in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, September 3, 2025. File Photo by Kremlin Press Office/UPI | License Photo Dec. 18 (Asia Today) -- North Korean media increasingly refer to Kim Jong»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union's sanctions against Russia have deprived France of more than half of its exports to the Russian market, Sputnik calculated on Friday, using Eurostat data. According to the figures, over the first 10 months of 2025 Paris supplied Moscow with goods and services w»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The children and grandchildren of those who made the decision about the EU loan to Ukraine will be paying for the loan, it is clear that Ukraine will not repay it, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said. Orban said the EU abandoned the idea of ​​confiscating Russian assets wh»»»

President Vladimir Putin is holding his combined year-end press conference and Direct Line from Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor, reviewing the results of 2025 and outlining priorities for 2026. The format, first merged in 2023, brings together questions from reporters and citizens from across the country. Mo»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The signing of the trade agreement between the European Union and South American trading bloc Mercosur has been postponed until January, media reported, citing a diplomatic source. The signing of the agreement was planned for Saturday. European Commission President Ursula von der»»»

Several meetings held by US Ambassador to Yemen Steven Fagin with the leadership of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) point to American attempts to reinforce the political and security partnership with the Yemeni government while containing internal divisions within the internationally »»»

US President Donald Trump and former US President Bill Clinton are among several high profile figures who are known to have associated with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump and Clinton were each photographed with Epstein several times over the 1990s and early 2000s and occasionally»»»

President Rumen Radev announced that he will hand over the first exploratory mandate to form a government after the New Year. The head of state said that during the consultations, held with parliamentary forces on the possibility of forming a regular cabinet under the current legislature, a shared »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Law and common sense have prevailed for now, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Russian special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries, said on Friday, commenting on the European Union's decision not to confiscat»»»

Washington, Dec. 19 (SANA) The Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF) in Washington welcomed Friday the unconditional repeal of the Caesar Act following its signing by U.S. President Donald Trump. In a post on X, the SETF stated that the repeal is unconditional and does not carry any risk of re-imposin»»»

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and EU executive chief Ursula von der Leyen expressed confidence on Friday that the European Union would be able to sign a contentious free trade agreement with South American bloc Mercosur in January, despite insufficient backing at an EU summit. The European Commi»»»

Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, said on Friday ‌that "law and ‌sanity" ‌won, after ⁠European Union ‌leaders decided to borrow cash to fund Ukraine rather than use ⁠Russia's frozen assets. "Major BLOW ‌to EU ‍warmongers ‍led »»»

Outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov presented sets of Bulgaria’s newly minted euro coins to the heads of the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council, as well as to EU leaders, during his visit to Brussels for a European Council summit. Ahead of the summit, Zhelyazkov stat»»»

Violent clashes erupted in Brussels on Thursday as thousands of farmers descended on the EU quarter, blocking roads with tractors and confronting riot police outside the European Parliament amid mounting anger over trade policy and farming reforms. What began as a mass demonstration against propose»»»

On Dec. 19, 1974, Nelson Rockefeller was sworn in as vice president of the United States under President Gerald Ford. 1 of 6 | On December 19, 1974, Nelson Rockefeller (L) was sworn in as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford. File Photo by David Hume Kennerly/UPI | Licens»»»

Volodymyr Zelenskiy will meet Poland's President Karol Nawrocki in Warsaw on Friday, as the Ukrainian leader tries to shore up relations with a key ally at a crucial moment for Kyiv's war effort. The visit comes just as European Union leaders that United States President Donald Trump recently brand»»»

President Donald Trump has suspended the US green card lottery scheme in the wake of a mass shooting at Brown University last week in which two people were killed. The suspect, a Portuguese man who was found dead on Thursday, entered the country through the diversity lottery immigrant visa programm»»»

Doha: President of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority (ACTA), H E Hamad bin Nasser Al Misnad (pictured) affirmed that the Arabic language constitutes a fundamental pillar in promoting the values of integrity and transparency and safeguarding cultural identity, adding that ethical»»»

Romania needs a stable, coherent and aligned fiscal framework with European practices, which would encourage investments and competitiveness and provide predictability for long-term investments, argues the president of AHK Romania, Volker Raffel.According to a press release, AHK Romania welcomes th»»»

The most important topic for Romania at the European Council is the discussion about the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034, that is the European Union budget, president Nicusor Dan wrote on Facebook. The last meeting of the European Council this year started. It is an important moment in de»»»

The European Union is lending Ukraine 90 billion euros, President Nicusor Dan said on Friday after the meeting of the European Council.He explained that this is a loan taken out by the Union for Ukraine, which the authorities in Kyiv will repay once the war ends.Because this requires a Union-level »»»

Thousands of people gathered in central Sofia on Thursday evening for a protest calling for fair and free elections. The rally was announced a day earlier by the leader of “We Continue the Change,” Asen Vassilev, and took place in the area around the Triangle of Power. From the very start of the pr»»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday thanked the EU for its 90 billion-euro loan to plug the country's looming budget shortfalls, saying it "truly strengthens" Kyiv's defense. "This is significant support that truly strengthens our resilience," Zelensky said on X. "It is important that »»»

Doha: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and Deputy Amir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Thani sent cables of congratulations to President of the Republic of Niger H E Lieutenant General Abdourahmane Tchiani on the occasion of his country’s Republic Day. Prime Minister and Minister of Forei»»»

lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) today announced plans to expand its international presence in 2026 with six new market entries – a record number for the brand in a single year – through its new franchise partnership model agreements. lululemon plans to launch in Greece, Austria, Poland, Hungary, and Romani»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on Friday, once again combined with the nationwide “Direct Line” question-and-answer session with citizens. The event is scheduled to begin at 12:00 Moscow time (09:00 GMT). The event is traditionally among»»»

Canada and the US will launch formal discussions to review their free trade agreement in mid-January, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said. The prime minister confirmed to provincial leaders that Dominic LeBlanc, the country’s point person for US-Canada trade relations, “will meet»»»

TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance signed binding agreements to form a joint venture that will hand control of operations of TikTok's US app to American and global investors, according to a memo by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew seen by Reuters. The deal, set to close on January 22, would end years of effor»»»

Dubai: ADNOC has secured a new $2 billion green financing facility backed by Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, taking its total green funding to $5 billion within just 18 months and underscoring how seriously the company is leaning into sustainable finance as it grows its business. Sign up for our»»»

Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, seen here being arrested by FBI agents in April, was convicted by a jury on Thursday in connection to allegations of aiding an undocumented migrant evade arrest in her courthouse. Photo courtesy FBI Director Kash Patel/X Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A 12-person jury has fou»»»

BRUSSELS, Dec 19 (KUNA) -- European Union leaders reached an agreement early Friday to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion euros loan to cover its expected budget shortfalls, but failed to agree on using frozen Russian assets to finance the loan due to strong opposition from Belgium.The agreement, re»»»

North Korean soldiers crossed the inter-Korean land border 10 times in November, a South Korean lawmaker said Friday. In this April 2019 photo, South Korean soldiers walk alongside a barbed wire fence in the DMZ Peace Trail in Goseong. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI | License Photo North Korean s»»»

The ISIS group said the killing of US Pentagon personnel in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra was a "blow" to US forces and Syrian armed factions opposed to it, in its first public comment on the incident. Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday when an attacker target»»»

A man suspected in the fatal shootings at Brown University and of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor has been found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility after a five-day search that spanned several New England states, US authorities said Thursday. Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a for»»»

Syrian, Kurdish and US officials are scrambling ahead of a year-end deadline to show some progress in a stalled deal to merge Kurdish forces with the Syrian state, according to several people involved in or familiar with the talks. Discussions have accelerated in recent days despite growing frustra»»»

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejected “humiliating conditions” set by the US for resuming nuclear talks, warning against any attempts to exert coercion, bullying, or any process that undermines Iran’s military capacities in the face of Israel. At a meeting with a group of political elites, p»»»

A simmering battle over the future of President Donald Trump's political movement exploded on one of the right's biggest stages Thursday, as prominent conservative influencers used Turning Point USA's annual youth conference to attack each other and their competing visions. The feuding threatened t»»»

After two decades of stalled talks, Cyprus and Lebanon finally demarcated their offshore Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) on 26 November, in an agreement that caused few ripples, despite its sensitivity and importance. As the crow flies, the distance between these two Mediterranean nations is less th»»»