Europe

The Louvre museum in Paris shut down Friday after striking workers blocked the entrance, management said, in the latest protest against plans to overhaul France’s pension system. Hundreds of disappointed visitors massed in front of the entrance to the world’s most visited museum, some hurling insults at the striking workers, …

Russia’s government has resigned to allow President Vladimir Putin to make sweeping constitutional changes which could allow him to remain in power after his current term. The 67-year-old has been in the top job for 20 years, longer than any other Russian or Soviet leader since Josef Stalin. Prime Minister …

Strikers who reject the pension reform issued by the French government blocked on Wednesday the ports of Le Havre, Rouen, Nantes-Saint-Nazaire, La Rochelle and Marseille. This measure is part of the strike called by trade unions, political and social organizations against the government´s initiative, a demonstration that entered its forty-second …

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer arrived on Wednesday in Iraq on an unannounced visit to meet with German troops deployed there, German Defense Ministry spokesperson told reporters at a press briefing. Prior to her visit to Iraq, Kramp-Karrenbauer toured Jordan where she met with German servicemen and held talks with …

Ukraine has informed NATO that it is willing to partner with the alliance in Iraq, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Dmytro Kuleba said during a meeting with NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Operations John Manza at the NATO headquarters. “I informed the assistant secretary-general that Ukraine has …

The de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, will be high on the agenda at next week’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, which is the organization’s 50th yearly gathering in Davos, Switzerland. Taking part in these efforts will be regional leaders including Barham Salih, Iraq’s President, and …

Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected an official demand for a second referendum on Scottish independence in a formal letter on Tuesday. Responding to a request from Scotland’s first minister and leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), Nicola Sturgeon, to hold a vote later this year, Johnson said Scotland …

Britain, France, and Germany, collectively known as the EU3, have formally triggered a dispute settlement mechanism featured in a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, a step that could lead to the restoration of UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic. On Tuesday, the three European signatories to the Iran deal released …

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, will ask the president, Michael D Higgins, to dissolve parliament on Tuesday in order to call a parliamentary election on 8 February, local media reported. Varadkar said on Sunday that he had made a decision on the timing of a general election but would …

After several bombs from World War II were discovered in Dortmund, Germany not far from the city’s main train station, over 14,000 people were forced to evacuate. In addition to homes being evacuated and businesses being forced to close, several medical clinics in the area also had to be emptied. …

A first-term lawmaker whose father was Malta’s president has been chosen to be the country’s prime minister. The count on Sunday showed Robert Abela received nearly 58% of votes cast by members of the governing Labour Party eligible to choose the new leader. Abela, 42, will replace Joseph Muscat, who …

Northern Ireland’s main political parties sat down together in Belfast on Saturday to form a power-sharing government and end a three-year standoff that threatened a key part of the province’s 1998 peace settlement. Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, the largest group in the reformed Assembly, was sworn …

An earthquake has hit Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul. A seismic event measuring 4.8 magnitudes struck 63 kilometres west of the city at around 4:38 pm local time, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said. Concerned residents reported feeling tremors strong enough to shake buildings, although it is not yet known if there …

Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, has gone back to Canada to be with their son after the couple provoked a rift with Britain’s royal family by unexpectedly announcing they would be stepping back from their roles to spend more time in North America. Queen Elizabeth and other senior British …

Iran has again rejected suggestions that one of its missiles brought down a Ukrainian passenger jet near the capital, Tehran, on Wednesday. Its civil aviation chief said on Friday he was “certain” that the plane was not hit by a missile. He was responding to claims by Western leaders that …

A Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday, just minutes after taking off from the Iranian capital’s main airport, turning farmland on the outskirts of Tehran into fields of flaming debris and killing all on board. The crash of Ukraine International Airlines came hours after Iran launched a …

Germany says it is reducing its military presence in Iraq, in the latest fallout from the United States’ assassination of Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani. The German government told parliament in a letter on Monday that about 30 soldiers stationed in Baghdad and Taji would be moved to Jordan …

NATO Ambassadors met on Monday (6 January 2019) to address current tensions in the Middle East and implications for NATO’s training mission in Iraq. Speaking after the meeting of NATO’s North Atlantic Council, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that the safety of NATO’s personnel in Iraq is paramount and that the …

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed with Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on the need to de-escalate tensions in the region when they spoke by phone on Monday, according to a UK statement. Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq on …

The nuclear deal signed between major world powers and Iran after years of tough talks could be on the brink of collapse after Tehran announced it will throw out all constraints on uranium enrichment, the German FM warned. The first week of the year saw more bad news coming in, …