Europe

President Lukashenko says the migrants Lithuania turns away will not be allowed back into Belarus. The president of Belarus has ordered the country’s security forces to tighten control over the border with Lithuania, which had begun turning away migrants attempting to cross from Belarus earlier this week. Lithuania, an EU …

Belgian customs officers arrested 45 people on Wednesday as part of the country’s biggest operation into cigarette counterfeiting. The country has become a hub for cigarette trafficking to neighboring countries. Officers arrested 17 people of Ukrainian and Bulgarian nationality during a pre-dawn raid on a sweatshop in an industrial area …

Two people died, seven were in critical condition and 31 others suffered injuries in a collision between two passenger trains near the western Czech town of Domazlice, Czech news agency CTK reported on Wednesday. Czech transport Minister Karel Havlicek said on Twitter one of the trains involved was the Ex …

A Belarusian activist was found dead in a park near his home in Kyiv early on Tuesday, a day after he was reported missing, Ukrainian police said. Vitaly Shishov, who led a Kyiv-based organisation that helps Belarusians fleeing persecution, had been reported missing by his partner on Monday after not …

Russia’s ambassador to the United States said Washington had asked 24 Russian diplomats to leave the country by Sept. 3 after their visas expired. Anatoly Antonov did not say whether the U.S. request was prompted by any particular dispute, and there was no immediate comment from Washington. “Almost all of …

Environmentalists and cultural heritage activists have long sought to limit the number of vessels travelling through the Italian city, calling them an eye-sore and pointing out that they could cause pollution and erosion. The law — which will see only small passenger ferries and freight vessels enter the lagoon city’s …

The European Union (EU) has announced that it has deployed firefighters to Turkey under the Civil Protection Mechanism to help the country fight “unprecedented forest fires,” as the death toll from the blazes rises to eight. Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean regions have been plagued with wildfires in recent days that …

A large forest fire in the Greek island of Rhodes was taken under control early Monday morning, as the country continues to struggle with extreme temperatures and intense fires. #Rhodes seems to be calmer today. The smoke and ash cloud from Turkey seems to have blown away too. Not that …

British ministers plan to warn holidaymakers against visiting destinations such as Spain and may create a new list of countries at high risk of moving to the government’s quarantine list, The Times newspaper reported. Spain would be put on the new list under the plans, a move that would be …

Government plans to make access to public spaces conditional on health checks have provoked more protest demonstrations in France, Switzerland, and Italy. Under the schemes, vaccination cards, or a recent negative Covid-19 test, are to be made obligatory for those wanting to visit cultural, sporting, and social events. Throughout France, …

Protesters clashed with police in Berlin over government measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and in defiance of a ban on demonstrations. Dozens of planned protests were banned ahead of the weekend but demonstrators began gathering at set points throughout the German capital early on Sunday. #Berlin #Demo The …

Hackers have attacked and shut down the IT systems of the company that manages COVID-19 vaccination appointments for the Lazio region surrounding Rome, the regional government said on Sunday. “A powerful hacker attack on the region’s CED (database) is under way,” the region said in a Facebook posting. It said …

Foreign tourism to France is rebounding this summer versus last year when the pandemic shut borders, though American and Asian visitors will remain limited, Tourism Minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche newspaper. France expects 50 million foreign tourists, up from 35 million last summer …

France has now added Bahrain to its list of green countries, starting August 1, Bahrain state news reported on Saturday. Vaccinated Bahrain residents wishing to travel to France will need to provide proof of vaccination status, a declaration attesting that they are experiencing no COVID-19 symptoms and that they have …

A German couple has been detained in Croatia for leaving their two children and a dog in a locked car with closed windows in the sweltering heat, police said Sunday. A statement said that citizens in the northern coastal town of Porec on Friday evening alerted police after seeing the …

Albania repatriated five women and 14 children on Sunday from camps in Syria that house family members of former terrorist fighters, Prime Minister Edi Rama said. Since the March 2019 fall of the ISIS group’s last stronghold, local Kurds who led the anti-extremist fight have been calling for the repatriation …

Ukrainian law enforcement agencies traded barbs on Saturday after a judge who disappeared in mysterious circumstances while facing a corruption investigation resurfaced and contacted the authorities from a village.

Firemen in Italy said on Saturday they were battling for a second straight day of wildfires in Sicily that reached the town of Catania, forcing people to leave their homes and the local airport to temporarily shut down.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for the opening of talks to end hostilities in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, the Elysee Palace said in a statement on Saturday.

The head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency said on Saturday that pressure in a Russian service module on the International Space Station had dropped as a result of an air leak.