EUROPE

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The Italian government has purchased a painting by the Baroque master Caravaggio for €30 million ($34.8 million). The artwork, a portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini (who later became Pope Urban VIII), was acquired from a private collection in Florence. Italy’s culture minister described the piece as being of "exceptional importance" and noted that the sale is part of a strategy to keep major cultural works in public hands.

Caravaggio, master of a lighting technique to make his subjects seem to come alive, has about 65 surviving known works worldwide, only three of which are portraits.

The painting has been transferred to the permanent collection of the Palazzo Barberini - the historic home of the family of the portrait's subject in Rome - where it was first exhibited.

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The UK’s data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has slapped Reddit with a £14.47 million fine for the unlawful processing of children’s personal data. An investigation revealed that the social media platform failed to implement adequate age-verification measures, potentially exposing underage users to harmful or inappropriate content. UK Information Commissioner John Edwards criticized the tech giant, stating it was "concerning" that a company of Reddit’s scale neglected its legal responsibility to safeguard the information of minors.

In a statement, Reddit said it "didn't require users to share information about their identities, regardless of age, because we are deeply committed to their privacy and safety.”

In July 2025, Reddit started verifying the age of users in order to comply with the requirements of the Online Safety Act (OSA). But the ICO said the platform relied on asking users to declare their age when opening an account - a technique it said was "easy to bypass".

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People are urged to join marches in some 150 towns – including Paris, Bordeaux, Lille and Marseille as well as smaller places such as Saint-Malo – to mark International Women’s Day.

In Paris, the main procession will set off at 2pm from Stalingrad in the north-east of the city and head towards Place de la République via Gare du Nord.

"The far right means a rollback of rights for everyone – and particularly for women," said Anne Leclerc of the National Collective for Women's Rights. "You only have to look at what is happening in the United States under Donald Trump – it's a laboratory."

Since returning to the White House last year, the US president has introduced measures restricting abortion rights and dismantled anti-discrimination policies.

"When conservatism rises, the first rights to come under attack are those of women and those linked to sexuality," said Sarah Durocher of the Mouvement français pour le planning familial (French family planning organisation).

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Australia's prime minister has told Sir Keir Starmer his government would back plans to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of royal succession.

Anthony Albanese expressed his support for such a proposal in a letter to the UK prime minister.

Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne despite being stripped of his titles, including "prince", in October amid pressure over his ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

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US President, Donald Trump has said Britain is considering sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East but insisted the United States does not need British assistance to win the ongoing war with Iran.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump suggested the United Kingdom was only now thinking about deploying naval forces after the conflict had largely been decided.

“The United Kingdom, our once great ally, maybe the greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East,” Trump wrote.

“That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer. But we will remember. We don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won.”

Trump’s remarks come amid rising tensions between Washington and London after Britain initially blocked the use of its military bases for US strikes on Iran.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had earlier defended the decision, saying the government needed to ensure that any military action was legal and carefully planned before granting support.

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The new Dutch government has sworn in 38-year-old centrist Rob Jetten as the country's youngest-ever prime minister and the first openly gay one. 

Mr. Jetten pulled off a stunning election win in October, coming from behind to dethrone the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by firebrand politician Geert Wilders by a razor-thin margin

Jetten takes office 117 days after last year’s general election and is also the first openly gay Dutch leader.

He succeeds Dick Schoof, whose government collapsed in the summer of 2025, triggering snap elections. Jetten’s party scored a narrow victory over the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) led by Geert Wilders. 

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France has declared it is prepared to assist Gulf nations and Jordan in defending themselves against Iran, as missile and drone attacks escalate across the region.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Monday that Paris stands in full solidarity with countries targeted in the latest wave of strikes attributed to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a stark warning that Russia's invasion is no longer just a regional struggle but a threat to global stability, arguing that Vladimir Putin's actions risk widening the war beyond Ukraine's borders.

Speaking in Kyiv, Zelensky said he believes the Kremlin has already set in motion dynamics resembling a broader world conflict. He insisted the response must be sustained military and economic pressure designed to force Moscow to retreat rather than rewarding aggression.

"I believe Putin has already started it," Zelensky said, describing Russia's campaign as an attempt to reshape international norms. "The question is how far he is prepared to go and how the world stops him."

His remarks come as diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire continue amid deep divisions. Russia has maintained that any settlement would require Ukraine to surrender occupied territories, including large parts of the eastern Donetsk region, as well as areas in the south.