Browsing: EU

President Emmanuel Macron has reaffirmed France’s ownership of New Caledonia on a landmark visit to the South Pacific island.

Firefighters in Greece continue to battle blazes on popular tourist islands. The effort continuing a week blazes first erupted on the mainland. Temperatures in the country are expected to come down from tomorrow, but strong winds continue to pose a problem. Firefighters in host of countries around the Mediterranean have been battling blazes including in Croatia, Portugal and Italy. FRANCE 24’s Jennie Shin reports

It’s been more than seven years since Belgium’s worst ever peacetime attack. In March of 2016 an islamic state terror cell carried out twin bombings at the Brussels airport alongside a third on the Metro. A court Tuesday convicted six men of murder and two others of terrorism charges, including French citizen Salah Abdeslam and Belgian-Moroccan Mohamed Abrini – both already sentenced to life in jail by France for the Paris attacks in 2015. FRANCE 24’s Peter O’Brien tells us more.

After Russia scrapped a grain export deal with Ukraine, the port town of Odesa has become the target of intense shelling by Moscow. The strikes have damaged buildings protected under UNESCO World Heritage status

The fires that have ravaged Greece and its idyllic islands for over a week are dredging up painful memories of previous catastrophes, like the Mati fire in 2018 that killed more than 100 people. Drawing from first-hand experience, a survivor and a veteran firefighter share advice on what to do to survive a wildfire.

Life has changed on the Norwegian-Russian border. From commerce to border security, the invasion of Ukraine has transformed the way Norway and Russia co-exist. For the Russians living over the border, it’s important “to separate Putin’s regime and Russians in general because these are two different things”. But for some, suspicion is ripe, – some “are not here just as tourists”.

In just two days, researchers at Stanford University found hundreds of posts on Mastodon with child sexual abuse content.

The EU wants to prevent manufacturers from making it difficult for consumers to change their devices’ batteries safely and cheaply.

Russia launched its sixth air attack this month on Kyiv early on Tuesday, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said, a day after Russia warned of “tough retaliatory measures” after a drone attack on Moscow. And the UN’s nuclear watchdog said it had found anti-personnel mines in an area of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Read our live blog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

An accident at a sewage treatment plant in western Latvia has caused a large spill of untreated waste into the Baltic Sea, leading to the closure of beaches and a ban on swimming, local authorities said Monday.

Tens of thousands of people have already fled blazes on Rhodes, with many frightened tourists scrambling to get home on evacuation flights.

The far-right Vox party lost seats in Spain’s elections on Sunday, staving off the prospect of a first hardline nationalist-backed government since General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship and pointing to limitations in the European far-right’s bid for the mainstream. Polls had predicted a win for the centre-right People’s Party (PP) with Vox as the likely kingmaker but they failed to win a majority, leaving Catalan and Basque pro-independence parties holding the balance of power in a hung parliament. FRANCE 24’s Europe Editor Armen Georgian gives his analysis.

The proposal sparked an instant – and fierce – outcry from across the political spectrum.

Kos is one of the most popular Greek islands with tourists and each year around 1.3 million people choose to go there for their holidays.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has called for a new and more equal relationship between Europe and the developing countries that produce migrants.

Two Ukraine-launched drones attacked Moscow early on Monday, but were intercepted and destroyed, Russia’s defence ministry said. State news agencies reported that drone fragments were found 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) away from the ministry’s buildings. Calling it a “terrorist attack,” the defence ministry said on its Telegram messaging app that there were no casualties in the attack. Read our live blog for all the latest developments in the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

The right-wing bloc which was expected to win, only secured 169 seats. The left-wing bloc won 153 seats – both falling far from an absolute majority.

A Russian overnight strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa damages the Transfiguration Cathedral located in the city centre.

Spanish voters headed to the polls Sunday to decide whether to hand Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez a fresh four-year mandate or, as polls suggest, bring the right back to power with its far-right ally.

Russia’s latest missile attack on Odesa left at least one dead Sunday, wounded many and badly damaged a UNESCO-listed Orthodox cathedral, drawing a vow of retaliation from Ukraine’s leader. Read our live blog for all the latest developments in the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is no stranger to diatribes against the European Union, decried “population exchanges” orchestrated by the “federalist empire” on Saturday and accused Brussels of leading an “LGBT+ offensive”.

Greece was undergoing its hottest July weekend in 50 years, with temperatures forecast to soar above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). An emergency operation took place on the island of Rhodes on Saturday to evacuate over 1,500 people to safety from the wildfires raging for five days running.

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Spain will be voting in a snap general election on Sunday. Despite negative polls, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is hoping to win by remobilising the left to prevent a possible coalition between the conservative People’s Party and the far-right Vox party, according to Maria Elisa Alonso, a political scientist specialising in Spain.

A wreath was placed on Tony Bennett’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star Friday after the legendary recording artist’s death was announced.