• Associated Press

    France has a new government, again. Politics and crushing debt complicate next steps

    France’s president and prime minister managed to form a new government just in time for the holidays. Crushing debt, intensifying pressure from the nationalist far right, wars in Europe and the Mideast: Challenges abound for President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Francois Bayrou after an already tumultuous 2024. What's wrong with French finances? Financial markets, ratings agencies and the European Commission are pushing France to bring down its deficit, to comply with EU rules limiting debt and keep France’s borrowing costs from spiraling.

  • Associated Press

    American imprisoned in Russia sentenced to new 15-year jail term for espionage

    A Russian-born U.S. citizen already imprisoned in Russia on a bribery conviction has been handed a second 15-year jail term for espionage, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday. A Moscow court brought espionage charges against Gene Spector in August 2023. The U.S. State Department said it was aware of reports of the sentencing of a U.S. citizen in Russia and was monitoring the situation.

  • Reuters

    Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina's son denies graft in $12.65 billion nuclear deal

    Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son and adviser on Tuesday described allegations of corruption involving the family in the 2015 awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract as "completely bogus" and a "smear campaign". Bangladesh's Anti Corruption Commission said on Monday it had launched an enquiry into allegations of corruption, embezzlement and money laundering in the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project, backed by Russia's state-owned Rosatom.