🇺🇸US avoids government shutdown after bill passes
The US Senate has voted to pass a budget deal to avert what would be the first federal government shutdown since 2019, only hours after the lower House of Representatives approved the same legislation.
The budget deal was passed shortly after a midnight deadline with an overwhelming of margin of 85-11.
The bill does not include a demand from President-elect Donald Trump that lawmakers increase how much money the federal government can borrow, showing the limits of his ability to command lawmakers from his own party.
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🇫🇷Watch: Crowds boo President Macron in Mayotte
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to a booing crowd in Mayotte, while touring the devastation caused by Cyclone Chido.
"I had nothing to do with the cyclone," Macron said. "You can blame me, but it wasn't me."
The territory, located north of Madagascar, is the poorest part of France. It suffers from extensive social and economic problems.
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🇧🇩Minister named in Bangladesh corruption probe
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🇫🇷France's ex-President Sarkozy loses corruption case appeal
France's highest court has upheld a corruption conviction against former President Nicolas Sarkozy, brushing aside his appeal.
Wednesday's ruling by the Cour de Cassation means that Sarkozy - who was in power from 2007 to 2012 - must now wear an electronic monitoring bracelet for a year.
Sarkozy, 69, reacted by saying he was not prepared to accept "the profound injustice" and would now turn to the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the verdict.
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🚘 Honda and Nissan hold merger talks
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🇮🇪Dáil to meet for first time since Irish elections
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🇩🇪German Chancellor Olaf Scholz loses confidence vote
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has lost a vote of confidence in parliament, paving the way for early elections on 23 February.
Scholz called Monday's vote and had expected to lose it, but calculated that triggering an early election was his best chance of reviving his party's political fortunes.
It comes around two months after the collapse of Scholz's three-party coalition government, which left the embattled chancellor leading a minority administration.
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🇺🇦🇷🇺General killed in Moscow a legitimate target, says Ukraine
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🇧🇷Brazil's Lula says he's well after brain bleed surgery
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been discharged from hospital after undergoing emergency surgery for a brain bleed, doctors said.
The 79-year-old appeared alongside his medical team at a news conference at Sírio-Libanês hospital in São Paulo.
"This here is not an interview, this is simply a session to say thanks. To thank, firstly, God, who has looked after me in a very generous manner," he said.
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😭Founder of fashion chain Mango dies in cave accident
Isak Andic, the billionaire founder of high street fashion chain Mango, died in an accident on Saturday while exploring caves near Barcelona.
Spanish media reported the 71-year-old fell down a ravine to his death while hiking in caves that are part of a mountain range.
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🇺🇸Trump gets $15m in ABC News defamation case
ABC News has agreed to pay $15m (£12m) to US President-elect Donald Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit after its star anchor falsely said he had been found "liable for rape".
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🇨🇦Canadian government moves to end weeks-long postal strike
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🇪🇹🇸🇴Ethiopia and Somalia agree to end bitter Somaliland port feud
Ethiopia and Somalia have agreed to end their bitter dispute over Addis Ababa's plans to build a port in the breakaway republic of Somaliland following talks in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the "historic agreement", which he said would eventually ensure landlocked Ethiopia's access to the sea.
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🇫🇷Macron meets centrist Bayrou ahead of imminent decision on next French PM
President Emmanuel Macron was meeting centrist leader François Bayrou on Friday as speculation mounted over who he would choose as PM, in a bid to end months of political turmoil.
It is now nine days since French MPs ousted Michel Barnier as prime minister in a no-confidence vote, and Macron had said a replacement would be appointed by the end of Thursday.
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🇸🇦Fifa confirms Saudi Arabia as 2034 World Cup hosts
The 2034 men's football World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia, while Spain, Portugal and Morocco will be joint hosts for the 2030 tournament, world governing body Fifa has confirmed.
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🇺🇸Trump campaign adviser calls incoming 🇬🇧UK ambassador to US a 'moron'
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🇮🇹Italy's deputy PM Salvini faces verdict in migrant rescue boat kidnap trial
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, has arrived in court ahead of a verdict in his trial for kidnap and dereliction of duty over his refusal to let a migrant rescue boat dock in Italy in 2019.
Prosecutors in Sicily have asked judges to sentence him to six years in jail.
Salvini, who's leader of the right-wing Lega party and a government ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has already said he will lodge an appeal if found guilty.
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🇸🇾Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said his country is exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbours or to the West.
Speaking to the BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Damascus, Sharaa said sanctions on Syria should be lifted and that his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), should be de-listed as a terrorist organisation.
Sharaa led HTS and other rebel groups in the offensive that toppled former President Bashar al-Assad's regime less than two weeks ago.
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🇺🇸🇬🇧Musk in talks over Reform UK donation, says Farage
Reform UK is in "open negotiations" with US billionaire Elon Musk about him donating to the party, Nigel Farage has told the BBC.
The Reform UK leader said the pair "did talk about money" during a meeting on Monday at Donald Trump's Florida retreat.
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🇨🇦Canada announces new border rules following Trump tariff threat
Canada has promised to implement a set of sweeping new security measures along the country's US border, including strengthened surveillance and a joint "strike force" to target transnational organised crime.
The pledge follows a threat from President-elect Donald Trump to impose, when he takes office in January, a 25% tariff on Canadian goods if the country does not secure its shared border to the flow of irregular migrants and illegal drugs.
Economists say such tariffs could strike a blow to Canada's economy.
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🇨🇦Canada's finance minister quits over Trump tariff dispute with Trudeau
Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has resigned from her post, citing disagreements with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on how to respond to incoming President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs.
She announced her resignation in a letter to Trudeau on Monday, in which she said the two have been "at odds about the best path forward for Canada", and pointed to the "grave challenge" posed by Trump's policy of "aggressive economic nationalism".
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🇬🇧🇸🇾UK diplomats meet rebel leader in Damascus
British diplomats have held talks with the leader of the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), following its ousting of President Bashar al-Assad more than a week ago.
Images posted on social media by the group's military operations department showed HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa - formerly known as Mohammed al-Golani - meeting senior officials in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Among those photographed alongside him was Ann Snow, the UK's special representative for Syria.
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🇮🇱Israel to close embassy in 🇮🇪Ireland as it criticises 'anti-Israel policies'
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🇰🇷South Korea court begins Yoon's impeachment trial process
South Korea's constitutional court has begun trial proceedings for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was suspended for declaring martial law and plunging his country into political turmoil.
MPs voted to impeach Yoon last Saturday, after his actions sparked widespread protests calling for him to step down.
The court now has six months to decide whether to remove Yoon or reinstate him.
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🇺🇸US officials in 'direct contact' with victorious 🇸🇾Syria rebels
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🇫🇷No-one gets France's difficulty more than me, says Macron's new PM Bayrou
Centrist leader François Bayrou has become France's latest prime minister, chosen by President Emmanuel Macron in a bid to end months of political turmoil.
Bayrou, a 73-year-old mayor from the south-west who leads the MoDem party, said he was fully aware of the "Himalayan" task facing France, and he vowed to "hide nothing, neglect nothing and leave nothing aside".
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🇬🇪Georgia's turmoil deepens as ex-footballer to be named president
A former Manchester City footballer is set to be appointed president on Saturday by Georgia's disputed parliament, after 16 days of pro-EU protests that have swept this country's towns and cities.
Mikheil Kavelashvili, now 53, is a former MP from the increasingly authoritarian ruling Georgian Dream party and the only candidate for the job.
Protesters began gathering outside parliament on Saturday morning, with demonstrations planned for later in the day.
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💶Moment of relief as Romania and Bulgaria join EU border-free zone
Seventeen years after Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union, they have been given the green light to become members of its border-free Schengen travel zone.
The decision by fellow EU member states means that from 1 January 2025, it will be possible to drive all the way to France, Spain or Norway without a passport.
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🇺🇸FBI informants were at Capitol riot but no agents, watchdog finds
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🇦🇫Suicide bomb kills Taliban minister in Kabul
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