World

Global temperatures are on track to deliver the planet’s second hottest year on record in 2025—tied with 2023—after a historic high in 2024, according to Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. The new assessment places the world perilously close to the 1.5C threshold enshrined as a safer limit in the 2015 Paris Agreement and underscores how quickly the climate system is changing. From January through November, average temperatures rose 1.48C above pre-industrial levels, Copernicus said in its latest monthly update,…

Australia on Wednesday became the first country to enforce a nationwide minimum age for social media, ordering platforms including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to block users under 16 or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (€28 million). The mandate, which took effect at midnight local time (1 p.m. Irish time), could see more than a million accounts shuttered and marks a potential turning point in how governments regulate Big Tech. The rules initially cover 10 major platforms, with the government saying the list will evolve…

U.S. and Greenland pledge ‘mutual respect’ as ambassador visits Nuuk amid Trump’s interest in buying island The United States and Greenland pledged to rebuild ties on the basis of “mutual respect” as Washington’s new ambassador to Denmark made his first visit to the Arctic island, a diplomatic outreach that follows President Donald Trump’s public interest in acquiring the semi-autonomous territory. Ambassador Kenneth Howery, a co-founder of PayPal who recently took up his post in Copenhagen, met in Nuuk with Greenlandic…

Thailand launched air strikes against neighboring Cambodia on Friday as renewed clashes along their disputed border escalated sharply, with both sides trading blame and reporting casualties. At least four Cambodian civilians and one Thai soldier were killed, officials said, as evacuations widened and artillery and rockets pounded frontier areas. Thailand’s Second Army Region said about 35,000 people have been evacuated from Thai border communities, while Cambodia’s information minister, Neth Pheaktra, reported at least 1,157…

A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan late Monday, prompting evacuation orders for about 90,000 residents and tsunami warnings that were later downgraded to advisories, officials said. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially warned that waves as high as 3 meters could strike parts of the northeastern coast after the quake hit at 11:15 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. Irish time). Observed tsunami between 20 and 70 centimeters reached several ports, including along stretches of Hokkaido, Aomori and…

JERUSALEM — Israeli authorities entered the shuttered East Jerusalem compound of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, raised Israel’s flag and began seizing equipment in a raid they said was ordered over unpaid municipal taxes — a move the United Nations condemned as a violation of international law. The Jerusalem municipality said tax collectors entered the U.N. Relief and Works Agency’s compound to recover 11 million shekels (€3 million) in property taxes after “repeated requests” and warnings. UNRWA, which Israel has…

London — Police are investigating a pepper spray assault at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3 car park that disrupted travel and sent 21 people, including a 3-year-old girl, for medical treatment, authorities said. The Metropolitan Police said Monday the incident appears to have stemmed from a suitcase robbery involving people known to one another, revising an earlier account that described a fight following an argument. Commander Peter Stevens said detectives pieced together the sequence after reviewing CCTV footage and…

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Sunday that Netflix’s bid to acquire Warner Bros “could be a problem,” signaling he intends to weigh in on a potential $83 billion deal that has already stirred antitrust alarm across Hollywood. “I’ll be involved in that decision,” Trump told reporters as he arrived at the Kennedy Center Honors. He added that Netflix already has “a very large market share,” language likely to reverberate as federal regulators consider whether the proposed acquisition would give the streaming leader…

BRUSSELS — Ireland is expected to opt for a financial contribution to frontline migration states in emergency situations rather than take in relocated migrants, as European Union justice ministers meet in Brussels to sign off on elements of the EU Migration Pact. The pact’s central “solidarity mechanism” is designed to ease sudden pressure on countries such as Italy and Greece when arrivals spike. Under the plan, other member states would share the burden either by relocating some migrants for screening and processing or by…

LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet European allies in London on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump accused him of not reading Washington’s proposal to end the war with Russia, underscoring widening tensions around the stalled peace effort. The London talks follow days of negotiations in Miami between Ukrainian and U.S. officials that ended Saturday without a breakthrough, though Zelensky said Kyiv would continue discussions. He is due to be received by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer…