EU
OpenAI said it would allow verified adult users to generate erotic content in ChatGPT from December, with age-gating promised but verification and safeguards left unspecified.

European governments unveiled 2026 budget plans to shrink social-security deficits by cutting health and public-sector spending and raising contributions, including pension freezes and higher patient charges.
Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched in Udine before the Italy–Israel World Cup qualifier and clashed with police, leaving two journalists and several officers injured, local media said.

Russia's intelligence service accused Mikhail Khodorkovsky and more than 20 exiled antiwar dissidents of forming a "terrorist" organization and plotting to seize power, which the exiles denied.

The European Commission considered tougher investment and technology-transfer rules after China’s surging electric-vehicle exports and tightened export controls disrupted European industry, threatening plants and raw-material supplies.

Meta announced Instagram would restrict users under 18 to a PG‑13-style setting, requiring parental permission to opt out, first in the US, Canada, Australia and Britain, with Europe next.

Renewable energy expanded rapidly in 2024 across the U.S. and Europe despite subsidy changes and policy headwinds, and the cancellation of a major Nevada solar project highlighted risks.

Germany planned to allow retired workers who continued working to earn up to €2,000 per month tax-free to help ease skilled-labor shortages in its economy.

The Socialist Party in France said it would not back far-left and far-right motions of censure against PM Sébastien Lecornu, but threatened to table its own unless demands were met.

Tens of thousands of protesters, led by unions and civic groups, marched through Brussels to denounce the federal government's proposed 2026 budget cuts and social reforms.

French Prime Minister Lecornu shelved the controversial pension reform to secure 2026 budget, aiming to cut next year’s deficit to 4.7% of GDP after left parties threatened a no-confidence motion.
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Timo Hämäläinen, the new head of Finland’s Crisis Management Centre, was caught by customs trying to smuggle cigarettes in his luggage after claiming they were for his wife.

Police detained Remedios Sánchez, known as "la mataviejas," in A Coruña after she allegedly killed a 91-year-old woman during a prison leave.

LVMH said third-quarter 2025 sales rose 1% company-wide, returning the luxury group to growth after weakness earlier in the year.

Leaked data and an international investigative consortium showed a surveillance firm's spyware illegally tracked tens of thousands of mobile phones worldwide, including in Switzerland, targeting journalists, prosecutors and ministers.

René Benko pleaded not guilty but largely refused to answer questions at the start of his trial in Innsbruck, where prosecutors allege he hid about €660,000 from creditors.
The Swedish Football Association sacked Jon Dahl Tomasson as Sweden's men's national team coach on Tuesday after a string of poor World Cup qualifying results, it said.
Pope Leo XIV visited Rome's Quirinale to meet President Sergio Mattarella and urged political measures to support natality while thanking Italy for combating human trafficking.

The European Commission fined Gucci, Chloé and Loewe €157 million for imposing resale prices on independent retailers, saying the practices restricted retailers' pricing and harmed competition.

The city of Hamburg decided to spend nearly €600 million to rescue the half-built Elbtower by buying part of the building to house a natural history museum.

At the Frankfurter Buchmesse, publishers and booksellers warned Germany's book sector was shrinking, citing store closures, job losses and printer shortages disrupting supply, and the Börsenverein demanded clearer AI rules.

An Austrian neurosurgeon stood trial in Graz after prosecutors said her 12-year-old daughter drilled a hole in a patient's skull during an emergency operation, which the mother denied.

The World Health Organization urged European governments to adopt stricter alcohol policies to curb the EU's high consumption and reduce cancer risk.

Spain’s government submitted a proposal to amend the constitution to enshrine women’s right to abortion, sending the text to the Council of State despite lacking a three‑fifths parliamentary majority.

Germany's competition authority, the Bundeskartellamt, cleared BioNTech's planned takeover of CureVac, saying the deal would not cause a substantial increase in market power.