Author: Olga Winter - EU Newsdesk

Olga Winter is a specialist editor writing about current affairs on the EU news desk for WTX News. Based in Brussels she ideally suited to the address the domestic and global affairs of the European continent, with assignments that include expose and In Review features for specialist reports..

What’s on the front page of La Repubblica? The front page of La Repubblica this morning 25/11/2024 reports that the Constituent Assembly confirms the former prime minister as leader of the Movement. The guarantor and the limit of two mandates have been abolished. The founder: “From Franciscans to Jesuits”. Yes to alliances on the left but applause to anti-migrant appeals.The front page’s main image reports on Italy winning the Davis Cup. “The Davis Cup remains in…

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A cargo plane flying on behalf of German logistics company DHL crashed near Vilnius International Airport in Lithuania early on Monday, according to Lithuanian authorities.     The plane had originated in the German city of Leipzig, which is a hub for DHL.   “City services are currently onsite, along with a fire truck and a command team from Vilnius Airport,” the Lithuanian airport authority posted on X. “Airport operations are not disrupted at this time.” This is a…

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Malware targeting millions of people taken down by international coalition EU

A global operation, supported by Eurojust, has led to the takedown of servers of infostealers, a type of malware used to steal personal data and conduct cybercrimes worldwide. The infostealers, RedLine and META, taken down today targeted millions of victims worldwide, making it one of the largest malware platforms globally. An international coalition of authorities from the Netherlands, the United States, Belgium, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Australia shut down three servers in the Netherlands, seized two domains, unsealed…

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Polish opposition party chooses historian Karol Nawrocki as presidential candidate EU

The decision caps a weekend during which the country’s two largest parties announced their candidates for an election that will decide the successor to incumbent President Andrzej Duda, whose second and final term ends in August 2025. Poland’s conservative Law and Justice party, which is trying to regain momentum after losing power last year, has chosen historian Karol Nawrocki as its candidate for next year’s presidential election. The decision caps a weekend during which…

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Baku’s COP29 legacy: a new era in climate finance or too little, too late? Several delegates stressed the significance of having reached an agreement and making progress in “difficult geopolitical times”. Like many before it, the 29th edition of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change needed extra time for an overall agreement to be reached. In the early hours of Sunday, exhausted delegates in Baku finally reached a compromise on the most crucial issue…

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‘I feel totally useless’: Anguish grows among Lebanese diaspora in France EU

Hundreds of Lebanese people demonstrated in Paris on Sunday to demand an immediate ceasefire since clashes between Israel and Hezbollah began a year ago.

They are more than 4,000 kilometres away from Lebanon but the conflict still hits close to home.

Since clashes between Israel and Hezbollah (an Iran-aligned Shia militant and political group) began a year ago, more than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon.

The thousands of Franco-Lebanese nationals who are watching the conflict from afar say they’re filled with anger and guilt. Hundreds of them gathered in Paris and around other cities in France on Sunday with the main demand of an immediate ceasefire.

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Warning: This text contains descriptions of sexual violence. At first glance, with its medieval city walls and charming alleyways, the French town of Avignon seems like normal French municipality. But the closer one draws to the courthouse, the more the fresh graffiti and posters demand attention: “Gisele, our sun,” “Gisele, our icon,” “Symbol of dignity and courage.” Opposite the court, a banner that reads “Rape is rape” flutters in the wind. Gisele Pelicot’s decision to make the…

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Romania has featured less and less in EU politics in recent years. At first glance, this is surprising considering that it is the sixth-largest country in the European Union in terms of population size and of huge strategic significance given its location on the southeastern flank of both the bloc and NATO. This is particularly relevant when one considers that, of all EU member states, Romania has by far the longest shared border with Ukraine.…

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Communist-ruled Vietnam last month appointed Luong Cuong, a military general and former director of the political department of the People’s Army, as its new president. Shortly after, Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces commander who was discharged from the military in 1998 over allegations of military abuses, was sworn in as president of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Prabowo’s government has been described as Indonesia’s “most militarized cabinet” since the fall of Suharto’s…

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Voters in the northwestern Swiss city of Basel backed nearly $40 million (€38 million) in public funding on Sunday to host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. Preliminary results from Sunday’s referendum show that 66.4% of voters in the city supported using taxpayer money for the event. Eurovision funding ensures full spectacle With the funding approved, the annual TV spectacle will proceed with its full traditional flair. Had the money not been granted, Eurovision 2025 would…

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EESC proposes concrete recommendations for building a resilient and sustainable food system for the future EU

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has laid out a bold vision for transforming the EU’s agriculture, fisheries, and food systems to better withstand crises while ensuring sustainability. The opinion “Fostering sustainable and resilient food systems in times of crisis,” requested by the Hungarian presidency, was adopted at the October plenary. By focusing on food security, fair income for producers, environmental resilience, and the next generation of food producers, these proposals offer a…

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The United States Air Force (USAF) said that a number of small unidentified drones were detected around three airbases in the United Kingdom over the past week. The US Air Forces in Europe said “small unmanned aerial systems” were seen over Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, and RAF Feltwell, in Norfolk, eastern England. Unclear whether drones were hostile The incidents took place between November 20 and 22 and it was not clear whether…

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Borrell meets UNIFIL chief in Beirut, says peacekeepers have ‘strong support’ of EU EU

The meeting in Beirut comes days after four Italian soldiers were injured after two rockets exploded at a UNIFIL base in Shama, apparently fired by Hezbollah or one of its affiliate groups. ADVERTISEMENT The EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell has said UN peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon have the “strong support” of the bloc after meeting their commander in Beirut. Borrell held talks with UNFIL’s Head of Mission and Force Commander Lieutenant General…

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Romania’s PM tied with pro-Russia candidate in critical vote EU

Romania’s incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) was tied with far-right NATO critic Calin Georgescu, with 90% of votes counted, as the two battled for first place in the country’s presidential elections on Sunday. Georgescu came in with a razor thin margin of 22% of the vote, while Ciolacu had 21.7%. As neither candidate can achieve an absolute majority, they will have to face off in a runoff vote on December 8. Ballots…

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Germany Systemic mass-scale religious segregation condoned by the European Union for 10 years EU

As of 5 October 2024, 512 public tenders submitted by Germany to the EU in the nine first months of the year were accepted and published by the EU Tenders Transparency Portal despite their egregiously discriminatory nature. Their peculiarity was that they contained a “Bidder’s declaration of protection” against a specific religious group to be mandatorily filled in and signed on a “form 2496” for the bidding to be valid. One of the 512…

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The Flame | Among ducks and oil sands When Boca Juniors has a home game, several neighborhoods are lost. Banners hang from windows, and as you approach the La Boca area and the La Bombonera stadium, it becomes increasingly dense with loud groups, of all ages, in the blue and yellow colors of the team. The team is one of the country’s biggest, and faces Argentina Juniors in a derby. A few blocks from La…

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Ireland and Britain were battered by winter storm Bert on Saturday, which brought strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice that UK forecasters called a “multi-hazard” event. The severe weather closed roads, airports, ferry and train routes on both sides of the Irish Sea. What’s the latest on Storm Bert? One person died near Winchester, in southern England, after a tree fell onto a car on a major highway, police said. A second death from a…

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Over the past 5 years, the von der Leyen Commission has passed more environmental regulations than any in history. The Green Deal was a triumph of soaring rhetoric and self-satisfaction. But the Regulations themselves were just words on a page – with no more force in the real world than the endless tweets and press releases emanating from MEPs’ offices. Now, though, the implementation is here. The real world, it turns out, does not…

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Scientology Volunteer Ministers Aid Valencia Flood Victims EU

KINGNEWSWIRE // Valencia, Spain – Scientology Volunteer Ministers (VMs) have coordinated over 3000 hours of volunteer work so far in Valencia and the applications of volunteers keep growing, while still much more is needed. VMs in Valencia are cleaning streets, houses, garages, delivering food, clothes, and tools, all thanks to the solidarity of the Scientology network in Spain, joined by friends and relatives, and the generous support of the International Association of Scientologists, thanks to whom…

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Security agencies in the Philippines raised safety measures on Saturday after Vice President Sara Duterte threatened to have the country’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assassinated. Duterte spoke during a morning press briefing and said that she had spoken to an assassin, instructing him to kill Marcos, his wife, and the speaker of the Philippine House, if she herself were to be killed. ‘Do not stop until you kill them’ — Vice President Duterte’s threat…

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Macron marks 80th anniversary of the liberation of Strasbourg during WWII EU

French President Emmanuel Macron attends commemoration ceremonies of Strasbourg liberation. ADVERTISEMENT French President Emmanuel Macron commemorated the 80th anniversary of Strasbourg’s WWII liberation by attending several ceremonies on Saturday. At Broglie Square in Strasbourg, he reviewed troops and bowed before a monument to General Philippe Leclerc, who led the Free French troops into the city on November 23, 1944. Macron also visited the Bruche Valley for a “memorial tour” including the Natzweiler- Struthof concentration…

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