At least 57 bodies have washed ashore after two boats sank in the Mediterranean Sea off different towns in western Libya, a coast guard officer and an aid worker have said. A survivor said there were about 80 passengers on one of the boats that set off for Europe at …
Read More »Sweden expels 5 Russian diplomats: Foreign Ministry
Sweden on Tuesday expelled five Russian diplomats for carrying out activities that are “inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.” In a statement, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said that Russia’s Ambassador to Stockholm Viktor Tatarintsev was summoned to inform him about the expulsion of the diplomats at the Russian …
Read More »European Environment Agency: Air pollution kills 1,200 children a year
Air pollution still causes more than 1,200 premature deaths a year in under 18’s across Europe and increases the risk of chronic disease later in life, the EU environmental agency said Monday. Despite recent improvements, “the level of key air pollutants in many European countries remains stubbornly above World Health …
Read More »World Military Spending Reaches Record High
Global military spending grew for the eighth consecutive year in 2022 to a record $2.24 trillion, with a sharp increase in Europe, mainly due to Russian and Ukrainian spending, a Swedish think tank said on Monday. Spending globally increased by 3.7% in real terms, but military spending in Europe increased …
Read More »G7 top diplomats seek unity on China after Macron remarks
The G7’s top diplomats began talks in Japan on Monday, looking to project a unified message on concerns about China after controversial remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron. The foreign ministers are keen to move past the firestorm created by Macron’s assertion, after a trip to Beijing, that Europe should …
Read More »Norway declares 15 Russian embassy officials unwanted
Norway’s foreign ministry on Thursday said it had declared 15 Russian embassy officials in Oslo as “unwanted”, adding that they were intelligence officers operating under the cover of diplomatic positions. “The government’s decision is in response to the changed security situation in Europe, which has led to an increased intelligence …
Read More »Finnish PM loses re-election to right-wing forces
Sanna Marin’s party ended in third place despite gaining seats in parliament. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who gained international media prominence for taking office at a record-young age and spending some of her leisure time partying, has conceded defeat in Sunday’s general election. Marin’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) is …
Read More »Montenegro voters choose president amid political turmoil
Voters in Montenegro cast ballots Sunday in a runoff presidential election that is a contest between a long-serving pro-Western incumbent and a newcomer promising changes in the small NATO member nation located on Europe’s Balkan peninsula. Observers think President Milo Djukanovic, who is credited with leading Montenegro to independence from …
Read More »China tells EU president to get better speechwriter
Von der Leyen’s speech was contradictory and misleading, said Beijing’s envoy to the EU European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech ahead of her visit to China was incoherent, contradictory, and misinterpreted Beijing’s policies and positions, the Chinese ambassador to the EU said on Friday. “I was a little …
Read More »Belarus President Lukashenko urges ‘truce’ in Ukraine
Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko called today for a “truce” in Ukraine and talks “without preconditions” between Moscow and Kyiv. “We must stop now before an escalation begins. I’ll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities… a declaration of a truce,” Lukashenko said during a televised state of the …
Read More »France’s Macron says protests will not stop reforms
Protests will not stop the pension reform or other policy changes, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday before unveiling a plan with 50 measures aimed at avoiding a water crisis this summer and in the coming years. The plan touches on a wide range of measures including how to …
Read More »EU must cut risks in ties with ‘hardening’ China – EU chief
A hardening of China’s position from an era of reform and opening to one of security and control requires Europe to “de-risk” diplomatically and economically, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday. Ahead of next week’s visit to China with French President Emmanuel Macron, von der Leyen …
Read More »Ship in Scotland tips over in dry dock, injuring more than two dozen people
At least 25 people were injured Wednesday morning when a ship tipped over in a dry dock on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland. Fifteen people were taken to a local hospital and 10 others were treated for injuries at the scene, according to the Scottish Ambulance Service. Emergency services were …
Read More »Situation in Bakhmut ‘difficult’ as Kyiv shows no signs of retreating: Official
The situation for Russian forces trying to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut is “difficult,” because there are no signs Kyiv is ready to order a withdrawal of its troops, the Russian-installed leader of Ukraine’s Donetsk region said on Thursday. Russian forces – led by the private Wagner militia – …
Read More »Europe’s banks sucked into global rout as high rates reality hits home
European bank shares tumbled on Friday in the wake of a dramatic sell-off in U.S. lenders as concern spread that the sector will be vulnerable to the rising cost of money. Europe’s STOXX banking index fell more than 4%, set for its biggest one-day slide since early June, with declines …
Read More »What will it take to end the war in Ukraine?
Ukraine and Russia face obstacles to peace talks, but pressure to negotiate will inevitably increase. More than a year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war appears to have reached a deadlock. Since the liberation of Kherson by Ukrainian forces last November, both sides have been engaged in positional …
Read More »Six European countries urge Israel to reverse plan to build 7,000 new settler units
Six European countries have called on the Israeli regime to halt the expansion of its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank amid escalated tensions between Palestinians and extremist settlers. In a joint statement on Saturday, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Poland, and Spain said that the illegal entity should “reverse …
Read More »Greece | Horror train crash kills dozens
The collision between freight and passenger trains in Greece caused a blaze with people trapped inside overturned cars At least 36 people have been killed and dozens injured following a head-on collision between two trains in northeastern Greece. Some 350 passengers were on board one of the trains at the …
Read More »Russia, China block condemnation of Ukraine War at G20 summit
Air raid alerts continued nationwide in Ukraine Saturday, as Russia and China blocked a statement from the G20 condemning the war, amid new saber-rattling from a Putin ally. Finance leaders and central bank chiefs from the world’s largest economies meeting in India strongly condemned Moscow for the invasion a year …
Read More »EU imposes new sanctions on 121 individuals, entities over Russia’s war in Ukraine
New EU sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine adopted on Saturday target 121 individuals and entities, including drone manufacturers, officials said. The measures, agreed late Friday ahead of Saturday’s formal adoption, are the 10th round of European Union sanctions aimed at undercutting Russia’s finances and military supplies used in its …
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