Secular News

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said that Trump’s planned new tariffs over Greenland “are a mistake especially between long-standing allies.”

In this week's newsletter, RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak looks at two issues: the EU’s next sanctions package on Russia and a potential NATO-led “Arctic Sentry” operation.

Japanese police have arrested a man suspected of using generative AI to create more than 500,000 obscene images resembling women celebrities and selling them online, a police spokesman and media reports said on Tuesday. Concern is growing worldwide over the use of artificial intelligence tools for malicious purposes including through deepfakes, which turn genuine photos, videos or audio of people into false likenesses. Between December 2024 and May 2025, Japanese man Tetsuro Chiba allegedly...

Hongkongers can observe the first open meeting of an independent committee set up to investigate the cause of the city’s deadliest fire in decades, which will set the framework for subsequent hearings. The Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po announced on Tuesday that it will hold a “direction conference” on February 5, during which its chairman, Justice David Lok Kai-hong, will provide instructions on the arrangements for coming hearings. This would include...

Por ABDUL QAHAR AFGHAN KABUL (AP) — El grupo Estado Islámico se atribuyó la responsabilidad de una explosión en un restaurante chino en la capital de Afganistán que mató al menos a siete personas, incluyendo a un ciudadano chino. La causa de la explosión aún estaba bajo investigación, dijeron las autoridades el martes. El grupo […]

It's unclear how many leaders have been asked to join the board, and the large number of invitations being sent out, including to countries that don't get along, has raised questions about the board's mandate and decision-making processes.

The operation follows a change of tactics agreed amid growing pressure from the UK government to step up interventions.

One year into President Donald Trump’s second term, the American Jewish community is reeling — just like the rest of the country. For generations now, presidents have at least paid lip service to steadying the ship of state. Trump has taken an axe to the mast. And as he has destabilized the United States since being sworn... The post How Trump’s first year back in office destabilized our country — and our Jewish community appeared first on The Forward.

Chinese authorities have signalled a new wave of measures to bolster domestic demand and hi-tech industries in the coming year, as Beijing seeks to rebalance growth and shore up momentum during its next five-year plan. On Tuesday, China’s top economic planner announced initiatives to boost consumption and technology investments, while the finance ministry unveiled programmes offering financial support to individuals and small businesses, following mixed economic data for 2025 released the day...

US President Donald Trump’s threats of military action against drug cartels in Mexico and Colombia are adding a new layer of uncertainty for Asian exporters shipping to the Americas, analysts have said, compounding the strain from higher import tariffs and already fragile supply chains. Trump has issued explicit warnings about possible strikes in both countries following a major US operation in Venezuela earlier this month, as part of an escalated regional strategy to counter drug trafficking...

A vital concern voiced throughout was the burden placed on unpaid residents in this process.

A cafe in Zaporizhzhya uses coffee cups inherited from a Kharkiv coffee shop that was destroyed in a Russian attack – a symbol of its determination to stay in business. But a nearby bakery has concluded it can’t go on, as the fourth anniversary of full-scale war approaches.