Funding to tackle misinformation and cyber-attacks, and boost democracy, cut from £40m to £24m

Keir Starmer’s raid on overseas aid has led to a 40% cut in funds for countering Russian aggression and misinformation in a region of Europe described by the prime minister as vital to the UK’s national security.

British funding committed to bolstering the western Balkans, where Russia has been accused of sowing division and creating destabilisation, has been cut from £40m last year to £24m for 2025-26.

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© Photograph: Darko Vojinović/AP

© Photograph: Darko Vojinović/AP

© Photograph: Darko Vojinović/AP

Cyclist and road safety groups argue proposed alternative route away from traffic-free Le Piétonnier is unsafe

On an unseasonably mild winter’s day, people are gathering at Le Piétonnier, the pedestrian zone in the heart of Brussels. Tourists buy mulled wine and churros at the Christmas market outside the Bourse, the old stock exchange, now repurposed as a beer museum. A few people drink coffee on cafe terraces. Up and down the length of the 650-metre-long space, people come and go, bikes and scooters weaving in and out of the crowds.

Next year, this scene will look somewhat different: bikes and scooters will be banned from this 18,000-sq-metre pedestrian zone for most of the day. People on two wheels will be allowed to ride only between 4am and 11am. At all other times, they must dismount and push their vehicle up the street, or face a fine.

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© Photograph: Jennifer Rankin/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jennifer Rankin/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jennifer Rankin/The Guardian

European legislators may ban plant-based products from using the name to prevent ‘confusion’. Just don’t mention beef tomatoes or buffalo wings

Most of what you eat is sausages. I mean, if we’re going to get literal about it. Sausage derives from the Latin salsicus, which means “seasoned with salt”. You might think of a sausage as a simple thing, but on this reading it is everything and nothing, a Borgesian meta-concept that retreats as you approach it.

From another perspective, a sausage is an offal-filled intestine, or the macerated parts of an electrocuted or asphyxiated pig or other animal – generally parts that you wouldn’t knowingly eat – mixed with other ingredients that, in isolation, you might consider inedible. For some reason, it is seldom marketed as such.

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© Photograph: Tom Hunt/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Hunt/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Hunt/The Guardian

Beatriz Bernal’s pioneering novel features brave, chivalrous women who ride dragons and her adapter wants his illustrated version to reach young readers

Sixty years before a gaunt and deluded nobleman from La Mancha was overdosing on tales of derring-do, visiting his madness on those around him – and single-handedly rewriting the rules of fiction – the deeds of another heroic knight had already made literary history.

Though completely eclipsed by Don Quixote, Cristalián de España, which was first published in 1545, has a unique claim to fame. Its 800 pages, bristling with swords, sorcerers, dragons and damsels, make up the earliest known work by a female Spanish novelist.

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© Photograph: Anaya

© Photograph: Anaya

© Photograph: Anaya

Hungarian communications provider 4iG has agreed to invest $100 million in U.S.-based space station developer Axiom Space, broadening its footprint in the space industry amid a broader push toward vertically integrated capabilities in the industry.

The post Hungary’s 4iG commits to $100 million Axiom Space investment appeared first on SpaceNews.

Cette semaine, nous recevons Elli Tsiforou, secrétaire générale du Copa-Cogeca, organisation syndicale et professionnelle agricole au niveau européen. Elle réitère son opposition au traité du Mercosur et demande une simplification des normes imposées aux agriculteurs.

C’est une opération inédite depuis le début de l’invasion russe de l’Ukraine. Les services de sécurité ukrainiens (SBU) affirment avoir mené une frappe contre un pétrolier de la «flotte fantôme» russe, en Méditerranée. Selon les autorités ukrainiennes, le navire a été visé par des drones aériens à plus de 2 000 km des frontières de l'Ukraine.

Une revue de presse préparée en partenariat avec Le Courrier des Balkans.

« La balle est dans le camp » de l'Ukraine et de ses soutiens européens pour négocier la fin de la guerre, a estimé Vladimir Poutine, vendredi 19 décembre, lors de sa grande conférence de presse annuelle. Le président russe s’est félicité des progrès de son armée sur le front et a nié toute responsabilité dans ce conflit qui entrera bientôt dans sa cinquième année.

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