Browsing: Europe

For several months, at least six fake anti-Ukraine covers of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo have been circulating online, especially on Russian Telegram channels. Now a fake news report, attributed to French media outlet 20 Minutes, falsely accuses Russian independent journalist Ilya Ber of being behind these Charlie Hebdo covers. We debunk this false news report in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Together, the 27 EU member states manage the largest maritime exclusion zone in the world.

The 2024 summer Olympics in Paris will mark the first time an opening ceremony has not been held inside a stadium – instead, the extravaganza will unfold along the River Seine, with spectators lining streets and bridges in the heart of the French capital. The plan is not without risks, and organisers revealed extensive safety protocols on Tuesday.

The European Commission said on Wednesday that if energy prices were to flare up again, any support measures rolled out should be “targeted at protecting vulnerable households and firms.”

FRANCE 24 spoke to exiled Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomarev, the political representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion. This Ukraine-based paramilitary group of Russian volunteers has been involved in cross-border incursions into Russia’s Belgorod region in the past last few days. Ponomarev claimed the pro-Ukrainian, anti-Putin group “didn’t lose a single soldier” and is successfully making progress inside Russia. Ultimately, “our guys will be in Moscow and Putin will not be in the Kremlin,” he predicted.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr’s red card in Sunday’s LaLiga match at Valencia, in which he was also racially abused, has been rescinded, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said on Tuesday.

British oil and gas giant Shell faced a stormy shareholders’ gathering Tuesday, as environmental protesters hit out over its pledge to tackle carbon emissions.

Belgium is among the largest wholesale buyers of rare gems from Moscow, and local professionals fear that a Western ban on Russian diamonds could result in less oversight.

Romania must legalise same-sex civil unions, Europe’s top rights court ruled on Tuesday, in a victory for LGBTQ+ campaigners in the socially conservative southeastern European country.

Unanimity rules can be used by one single member state to derail or block a collective decision.

Spanish police arrested Tuesday three youths suspected of hurling racist insults at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during a weekend match, sparking an international outcry.

Athletes have joined the clamour of criticism at the high cost of tickets for the 2024 Paris Olympics, decried as undermining organisers’ promises of a Games accessible to all.

Demonstrators complain that their working conditions have worsened significantly in recent years.

Facebook owner Meta has been fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for transferring EU user data to the United States in breach of a previous court ruling, Ireland’s regulator announced on Monday.

The European Commission has called for an independent investigation into allegations authorities carried out an illegal migrant pushback in April and warned it could take “formal steps” against the country.

Pro-EU rally in Moldovan capital amid rising tensions with Russia More than 75,000 people poured onto the streets of Moldova’s…

Conservative incumbent Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Sunday’s vote a political earthquake. “Citizens want a strong government, with a four year horizon with bolder changes so that we can quickly make up the lost ground that still separates us from Europe”, he said. The former primer minister Alexis Tsipras suffered a crushing blow. The most likely outcome is a return to the polls in June

FRANCE 24’s Nathalie Savaricas reports.

Tens of thousands of Moldovans rallied on Sunday to demand European Union membership for their country, whose bid to join the bloc has been accelerated by the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

Greece went to the polls on Sunday in a general election unlikely to produce a clear winner, with a second vote expected by July if the country’s fractious political parties fail to agree to a coalition.

This month’s regional election in Spain sets the stage for the general election held six months later.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky compared Bakhmut’s “total destruction” after months of continuous battles and shelling to the Japanese city of Hiroshima after a nuclear strike in 1945. This comes following conflicting reports on the status of Bakhmut, as Russia claimed having taken the city while Ukraine denied it had fallen. Read our live blog for the latest developments in the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

Mr Sunak said he is ‘delighted the G7 has agreed on the importance of giving the advanced military equipment needed to win this war’.

US President Joe Biden backing on Friday the Western allies’ plan to train Ukrainian fighter pilots on F-16 fighter jets is “the most significant weapons announcement […] since the tanks were promised in February; arguably more significant, because while it doesn’t represent a step change in capability; what it does do is that it extends that asssistance into the air domain directly,” said Frank Ledwidge, a senior lecturer in military strategy at the University of Portsmouth. “It’s also interesting that the means by which this was leveraged to the United States was very similar; in other words, the British and one or two other powers in Europe got together in February and donated modern NATO tanks; much the same happened in terms of training promises and Prime Minister Sunak’s mention of a coalition for jets, which also pressured the US at this time as well. Although I suspect it wasn’t quite one following the other; I suspect there was a bit more co-operation than we’re led to believe.”

More than 36,000 people have now been forced from their homes by deadly floods in northeast Italy, regional officials said Saturday, as rising waters swallowed more houses and fresh landslides isolated hamlets.