Europe

Italy has authorised charity vessel Ocean Viking to disembark 180 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean in Sicily, ship operator SOS Mediterranee said on Sunday. “We have received instructions from the Italian maritime authorities to disembark those on board in Porto Empedocle,” a spokesman for the charity told AFP, which has …

Russia says new changes to the Russian constitution, including an amendment that allows President Vladimir Putin to potentially remain in power until 2036, will come into force on July 4. In a statement on Friday, the Kremlin said that the changes would come into force on Saturday, three days after …

French Islamist Tyler Vilus has been sentenced in Paris to 30 years in prison for crimes committed in Syria. The jihadist was accused, among other things, of having participated in the murder of two prisoners. French ISIS member Tyler Vilus has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for crimes …

Russia is not in talks with Washington about its potential role at an expanded Group of Seven summit later this year, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday, insisting that China should also be included in the event. His comments to TASS news agency countered those of John Sullivan, …

For more than 70 years, the transatlantic alliance has served as the unshakable foundation of European stability and underpinned the values of the US-led Western order. In 2020, it appears that the relationship is being rethought on both sides of the Atlantic. Earlier this week, the European Union declined to …

A British court has refused to return $1 billion of Venezuela’s gold reserves held in London, siding with opposition figure Juan Guaido who asked for the release to be denied. Judge Justice Teare at the English High Court said the government in London had “unequivocally recognized” Guaido as Venezuela’s president …

Officials in Brussels have approved remdesivir to treat severe cases of Covid-19, just days after the US effectively stockpiled the world’s entire supply of the antiviral medication. “We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to secure efficient treatments or vaccine against the coronavirus,” EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides …

Germany fears that Hong Kong’s autonomy is being “eroded” and Berlin will raise issues such as human rights with China during its presidency of the EU that began this month, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday. “Based on an open dialogue, we also speak about the rule of law and …

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and his government resigned on Friday as President Emmanuel Macron acted on a pledge to reinvent his administration and win back disillusioned voters ahead of a possible re-election bid in 2022. Macron’s office said a new prime minister would be named in the next few …

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday said France will return the remains of 24 resistance fighters who were killed during its colonisation of the North African country. “Within a few hours Algerian military planes will fly in from France and land at the Houari Boumediene international airport with the remains …

The Media Department of the Southern Military District press service announced that the Black Sea Fleet’s Su-27 fighter jets intercepted a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane on Wednesday. “On July 1, 2020, the rotating forces of the Southern District air defense monitored the movements of a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance …

A majority of Russians approved amendments to Russia’s constitution in a weeklong vote ending Wednesday, allowing president Vladimir Putin to hold power until 2036. With most of the nation’s polls closed and 15% of precincts counted, 71% voted for the changes, according to election officials. For the first time in …

France is temporarily pulling out of a NATO naval operation in the Mediterranean, in a move that indicates there was not enough support from the alliance following an aggressive encounter with Turkish ships last month. French Ambassador to NATO Muriel Domenach sent a letter on Tuesday to NATO Secretary-General Jens …

Italian police said Wednesday that they had seized a world record 15-ton haul of amphetamines made by ISIS in Syria. The drug, in the form of 84 million Captagon tablets, was worth about one billion euros ($1.1 billion), police said in a statement, describing the operation as “the biggest seizure …

Turkey’s ambassador to France on Wednesday said that Paris had informed NATO it was suspending its involvement in a naval operation in the Mediterranean after a probe into an incident between French and Turkish warships did not back Paris’ claims. Ties between NATO allies France and Turkey have soured in …

The downturn in eurozone manufacturing was not as bad as initially thought last month after more economies in the bloc eased restrictions imposed to quell the spread of the coronavirus, a survey showed. Over 10 million people have been infected by the virus globally and more than 500,000 have died, …

Today, Tuesday, the Dutch Parliament voted on a draft resolution submitted by the Socialist Party that considers the Zionist annexation plan a violation of international law. Parliament, through this decision, demanded the Dutch government and the European Union to take punitive measures against the occupation in the event that he …

The European Union has excluded the United States from its initial “safe list” of countries from which the bloc will allow non-essential travel from Wednesday. The 27-member bloc gave approval on Tuesday to leisure or business travel from 14 countries beyond its borders, the Council of the EU, which represents …

The European Union will plough more money into rocket launches, satellite communication and space exploration to preserve its often unsung successes in space and keep up with the US and Chinese ambitions, its space chief said on Sunday. Over the past decades, Europe has sought to build independent access to …

Belgium’s King Philippe expressed deep regret on Tuesday for the “suffering and humiliation” inflicted on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during its 75-year period under Belgian rule. It is the first such expression of regret for Belgium’s colonial past by a reigning monarch, the royal palace said. It …