Monaco Journal - News from Monaco, Monte-Carlo and the world

A European Union plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's fight against Russia would have "far-reaching consequences" for the EU, Moscow's ambassador to Germany warned on Friday.

Holders Argentina and leading contenders Spain were handed kind draws for the 2026 World Cup in a star-studded ceremony at which US President Donald Trump received FIFA's new peace prize.

The World Health Organization chief said Friday that countries were in a strong position to finalise the vital missing piece of the pandemic treaty, which will determine how vaccines are shared.

An advisory panel appointed by the Trump administration's vaccine-skeptic health secretary voted Friday to stop recommending that all newborns in the United States receive a hepatitis B vaccine.

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti reflected on a "difficult" group after being paired with surprise 2022 semi-finalists Morocco at the 2026 World Cup draw on Friday.

Vincent Kriechmayr won a chaotic alpine World Cup super-G at Beaver Creek on Friday as Swiss star Marco Odermatt settled for fifth and downhill world champion Franjo von Allmen crashed in a race cut short after multiple weather interruptions.

A flagship study that declared the weedkiller Roundup posed no serious health risks has been retracted with little fanfare, ending a 25-year saga that exposed how corporate interests can distort scientific research and influence government decision-making.

World stock markets gave a mixed picture on Friday, with sentiment underpinned by hopes for sustained US central bank rate cuts, but nagging inflationary worries limiting the gains in bourses that advanced.

Fresh fighting in eastern DR Congo on Friday forced hundreds to flee across the border into Rwanda, a day after a peace deal was signed in Washington.

England manager Thomas Tuchel said the Three Lions are confident but must show Croatia, Ghana and Panama the respect they deserve after Friday's World Cup draw.

Ten university students died and three were injured in a restaurant fire in southeastern Peru as they gathered for a birthday celebration, police said Friday.

"Sinners" topped the slate of nominees for the Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Friday, as the movie industry's awards season starts to take shape.

Netflix faced fierce criticism on Friday over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros., the storied Hollywood studio.

The French military used jammers as several suspected drones flew over a closely guarded base housing nuclear ballistic submarines, prosecutors said on Friday, as they opened an investigation into the incident.

Star architect Frank Gehry has designed some of the most famous and eye-catching buildings of modern times. Here are five standouts:

The US Supreme Court agreed on Friday to review President Donald Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship.

Canada-born US architect Frank Gehry, whose daring and whimsical designs from the Guggenheim Bilbao to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles captivated fans and critics, died on Friday aged 96.

Spurred on by World Cup 2026 fever, US President Donald Trump said Friday that American football should be renamed as the game played with a round ball, soccer, was the one true football.

A day after a peace accord aimed at ending the conflict in DR Congo was signed, fresh fighting in the east on Friday forced hundreds of civilians to flee across the border into Rwanda for safety, AFP journalists witnessed.

Holders Argentina and leading contenders Spain and England were all handed kind draws for the 2026 World Cup in a star-studded ceremony on Friday which saw US President Donald Trump receive FIFA's new peace prize.

Streaming giant Netflix said Friday it will buy film and television studio Warner Bros. Discovery for nearly $83 billion, the entertainment industry's biggest consolidation deal this decade.

The deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Friday lashed out at US sanctions, arguing they effectively put top court officials on a par with "terrorists and drug traffickers".

Crime and immigration are the issues dominating Chile's presidential election runoff -- nowhere more so than in the northern border city of Arica, where residents say fear has replaced the calm they once knew.

A policeman has been charged with aggravated assault seven years after a young woman was beaten by more than a dozen officers at a demonstration in southern France, prosecutors said on Friday.

US consumer pricing and sentiment reports released Friday pointed to lingering questions about affordability as the calendar moves towards the peak of the festive season.

The boycotts already announced by four countries over Israel's participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest were casting a shadow Friday over the glitzy annual TV extravaganza and its spirit of unity.

The draw for the 2026 World Cup took place in Washington on Friday, with US President Donald Trump playing a prominent part in a star-studded ceremony that will map the path to glory for contenders at the first ever 48-team finals.

US President Donald Trump became the first ever recipient of FIFA's new peace prize at the 2026 World Cup draw Friday -- a compensation gift for a leader whose dream of winning the Nobel remains unfulfilled.

The European Union hit Elon Musk's X with a 120-million-euro ($140-million) fine Friday for breaking its digital rules, sparking an angry reaction from Washington.

An advisory panel appointed by the Trump administration's vaccine-skeptic health secretary voted Friday to stop recommending that all newborns in the United States receive a hepatitis B vaccine.

Series leader Lando Norris topped opening practice at the decisive season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday but the McLaren driver cautioned "there’s nothing to smile about just yet".

World stock markets gave a mixed picture Friday, with sentiment underpinned by hopes for sustained US central bank rate cuts, but nagging inflationary worries sparking some pre-weekend selling.

Previously unknown volcanic eruptions may have kicked off an unlikely series of events that brought the Black Death -- the most devastating pandemic in human history -- to the shores of mediaeval Europe, new research has revealed.

Unai Emery said the visit of Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday will be the acid test of Aston Villa's ambitions after his side stormed up to third in the table.

Samaila Livinus has kept his grief locked inside -- trying hard to be strong while awaiting news about his five-year-old son who is among hundreds snatched from their dormitories in one of Nigeria's worst mass kidnappings.

A Hermes handbag that once belonged to Jane Birkin was sold for $2.86 million (2.45 million euros) at auction in Abu Dhabi on Friday, just months after the record-breaking sale of her first bag from the French brand, Sotheby's said Tuesday.

A year after reopening to the public, Notre-Dame cathedral has drawn more than 11 million visitors, flocking to admire its restored pale stone and minimalist furnishings after the 2019 blaze that devastated the Paris landmark.

Olympic gymnastics champion Kaylia Nemour on Friday spoke of the humiliation and violence she endured on her path to gold.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday told a United Nations Security Council delegation his country does not want war with Israel, days after civilian representatives from both sides held their first talks in decades.