PARIS (AP) – Actor George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney were granted French citizenship because “they contribute, through their distinguished actions, to France’s international influence and cultural outreach,” the French government said Wednesday, defending their naturalization that was questioned by a junior French minister.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Greece and Cyprus are starting 2026 by turning down the volume. The countries’ capital cities, Athens and Nicosia, have traded the familiar whizz, crackle and boom of window‑rattling fireworks for spectacle without the shock wave, opting for low‑noise pyrotechnics, light shows and drone displays.

President Donald Trump made a lot of tariff threats and trade promises this year. Many materialized into a barrage of new import taxes that overturned decades of U.S. economic policy – but others have yet to be fulfilled as 2025 comes to a close.