The Dispatch

Msgr. Joseph Grech assigned to the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the International Organisations in Vienna

His Holiness Pope Francis has promoted Councillor of Apostolic Nunciature the Rev. Msgr. Joseph Grech and has assigned him to the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the International…

Read More Here

Photo Story: The Perseid meteor shower

A meteorite of the swarm of meteorites Perseida is seen above Salgotarjan, Hungary, early 13 August 2019. The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year in August when the Earth passes…

Read More Here

Foreign power was behind cyber-attack on Czech Foreign ministry

A foreign state staged the latest cyber-attack targeting the Czech Foreign Ministry, the Senate’s security committee said on Tuesday, though it did not identify the nation concerned or provide any…

Read More Here

Photo Story: The Sziget Festival in Hungary

A member of the French street theatre Le Caramantran performs with a giant puppet at the Sziget (Island) Festival on Shipyard Island, Northern Budapest, Hungary, 10 August 2019 (issued 11…

Read More Here

Thousands rally in Bucharest on anniversary of violent protest

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully against Romania's Social Democrat government in the capital, Bucharest, on Saturday on the one-year anniversary of a violent protest where riot police launched…

Read More Here

US troops stationed in Germany could go to Poland

Georgette Mosbacher, US Ambassador to Poland in a social media post says that Poland, unlike Germany spends two percent of its GDP on NATO and that it would gladly welcome…

Read More Here

Romanian to make 112 emergency system more efficient after recent killing of a teenager

The Romanian is to take action to improve the efficiency of the 112 emergency help line after the recent uproar following the kidnapping and killing of a teenage Romania girl.…

Read More Here

Photo story: The Sziget Festival in Hungary

Festival goers are reflected in a mirror at the 27th Sziget (Island) Festival on Shipyard Island, Northern Budapest, Hungary. The festival is one of the biggest cultural events of Europe…

Read More Here

Speaker of Poland’s parliament resigns after taking family on government flights

The speaker of Poland’s parliament is to resign in a bid to quell a burgeoning scandal over the use of government jets, just two months before the central European…

Read More Here

Elections in Poland to be held on October 13

Polish president's office confirmed on Tuesday that the country will hold its parliamentary election on October 13, which most pollsters expect the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party to win…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Protest in Bucharest

Romanian activists stand still after placing hundreds of children shoes on the pavement during a protest against the way Romanian authorities handled the kidnapping and killing of a 15-years…

Read More Here

Second Romanian Minister loses job over teenager’s kidnapping and murder

Romania's prime minister has fired her education minister over her comments about a kidnapping case. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said Ecaterina Andronescu's remarks about a teenager's abduction show a "lack…

Read More Here

Romania’s interior minister resigns over murdered teenagers’ scandal

Nicolae Moga , Romania’s interior minister has quit as the fallout from the murder of two teenage girls intensifies. There is public outrage over the killings of Alexandra Macesanu, 15,…

Read More Here

Romanian murder suspect admits killing two teenage girls

A murder suspect in the southern Romanian town of Caracal has admitted to killing two teenage girls, his lawyer said, in a case that sparked nationwide outrage. Gheorghe Dinca, 65,…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Thousands protest in Romania over kidnapped 15-year-old girl

Thousands of Romanians protested against the government on Saturday evening, outraged by authorities’ slow response to emergency calls from a kidnapped 15-year-old girl now presumed dead. Alexandra Macesanu called the…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Austria Railways tests tracks painted in white against heat

An handout photo made available by the Austrian Federal Railways (OeBB) shows white paint on railway tracks, at a test area near Bludenz, Austria. The OeBB carried out a first…

Read More Here

Brussels takes Hungary to court for criminalising activities that help asylum seekers

The European Commission is referring Hungary to the EU’s highest court after Budapest further tightened eligibility requirements for asylum seekers and made it a criminal offense to help refugees. The 2018 law…

Read More Here

30 Poles injured after bus crash in southern Turkey

At least 30 Polish citizens were injured, including three seriously, after a bus crashed down a wooded slope near the southern Turkish resort of Kemer, according to a Polish ministry…

Read More Here

Anxiety in Romania as Dinamo Bucarest manager suffers heart attack

There were moments of anxiety during the weekend’s football game between Dinamo Bucarest and Universitatea Craiova after Eugen Neagoe, Dinamo Bucarest’s manager suffered a heart attack mid-way during the game.…

Read More Here

Austria confirms Hahn as its European commissioner

Austria confirmed that it wants Johannes Hahn, the current European Commissioner for enlargement, to stay on as its member of the next commission, headed by Ursula von der Leyen. The…

Read More Here

Poland’s Law and Justice boosted by opposition’s failure to unite

Poland’s biggest opposition party is to fight October’s general election without having forged a broad anti-government alliance, giving a boost to the ruling Law and Justice party in its…

Read More Here

Polish flight centre to train future Ryanair pilots

Pilots of Ryanair will be trained at the Bartolini Air flight training centre near Łódź in central Poland. The centre near Łódź will train 320 Ryanair pilots, in cooperation with…

Read More Here

Search for missing boy “biggest in history” of Polish police

Polish police are conducting a search for a 5 year old boy that is being described as the biggest in the history of the Polish police. The effort enters its…

Read More Here

Photo Story: The Rehearsal of Rigoletto for the Bregenz Festival

A view of the lake stage Seebuehne during a rehearsal of the opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi as part of the Bregenz Festival at Lake Constance, in Bregenz, Austria.…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Mark Knopfler in concert in Budapest

British guitarist, singer and song-writer Mark Knopfler, founder of the former rock band Dire Straits, performs during his concert in Papp Laszlo Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary. …

Read More Here

Photo Story: Protest against the use of plastics in Hungary

Whale sculptures made from plastic waste that was recovered from the ocean are on display at the parliament building in Budapest, Hungary. The temporary installation was erected by Greenpeace…

Read More Here

Salvini wants to strengthen security at Italian land borders

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Friday said "we are controlling our borders by sea, and we also want to control them by land with all means necessary," referring to…

Read More Here

Austria election set for September 29th

Austria’s cabinet has set Sept. 29 as the date of the next parliamentary election. That was the first date on which the vote could have been held after parliament…

Read More Here

Austrian parliament bans glyphosate weed killer

Austria is on track to be the first EU country to completely ban weed killer glyphosate, originally developed by Monsanto and marketed under the name Roundup. Members of Parliament in…

Read More Here

Photo Story: The Milky Way above a clear night sky in Hungary

Read More Here

Photo Story: Mike Tyson with a hero from the Warsaw Uprising

US Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson (R) meets with a Warsaw Uprising insurgent Boleslaw Wojewodzki 'Tarzan' (L) before upcoming 75th anniversary of Warsaw uprising in Warsaw, Poland. Warsaw…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Zsolnay Light Festival in Pecs

A head sculpture of a well is pictured in the foreground of a building facade decorated with a colourful light projection during the fourth Zsolnay Light Festival in Pecs,…

Read More Here

U.S., Poland sign cyberspace defence cooperation agreement

In another important milestone marking the strong partnership between the U.S. and Poland, military officials from the two countries signed a cyberspace defence cooperation agreement June 26. The Arrangement on…

Read More Here

Pressure builds for Czech PM to resign

An estimated quarter of a million Czechs rallied in Prague on Sunday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Andrej Babis, in the biggest show of public discontent since…

Read More Here

13 arrested for sexual exploitation of young women in French-Romanian operation

A large-scale joint investigation, led by the French Gendarmerie Nationale in cooperation with the Romanian DIICOT (Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism), and supported by Europol and…

Read More Here

Slovak capital to host the new European Labour Authority

The Slovak capital Bratislava on Thursday won the right to host a new European Union agency to oversee the labour market that is due to start operating this autumn. A…

Read More Here

US to send 1,000 troops to Poland

US President Donald Trump has announced that US will deploy 1,000 more troops to Poland. Trump said the force would be taken from America's 52,000-strong contingent in Germany, and…

Read More Here

Floods in Poland

Torrential rain flooded streets and car parks in Gorzow Wielkopolski, western Poland. A number of drivers found themselves stranded as their cars stalled in floodwaters. The flash floods rose…

Read More Here

Photo Story: New, direct flight between Budapest and Shanghai

Hostesses wave Chinese and Hungarian flags next to a Shanghai Airlines Boeing 787-9 aircraft at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, 07 June 2017. Shanghai Airlines introduced the…

Read More Here

Captain of Budapest fatal ship crash was also involved in Dutch boat crash

The captain of a cruise ship, identifies only as a 64-year-old Ukrainian national named as Yuriy C, who was involved in a fatal crash in Budapest last week was…

Read More Here

Pope pays tribute to Christians in Romania killed or persecuted under Communism

Pope Francis paid tribute to Christians in Romania killed or persecuted under Communism as he warned against any new ideological attempt to sow fear or division in society. On…

Read More Here

PhotoStory: Tragedy on the Danube

Hope is fading fast that any other survivors will be found in the Danube River in the Hungarian capital Budapest after a tourist boat sank after being involved with another…

Read More Here

Seven dead after boat capsizes in Danube river in Budapest

At least seven people have died and 19 are missing after a boat capsized on the Danube river in Hungary's capital Budapest. Thirty-three people, mostly tourists from South Korea, were…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Final farewell to Niki Lauda

Hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their respects to the Formula One legend Niki Lauda during his funeral today in St. Stephen's Cathedral in his home city of Vienna. Hundreds…

Read More Here

Austrian government crumbles as Chancellor Kurz loses no-confidence motion

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has lost a no-confidence motion, forcing his government from office, despite his party's victory in the European elections. It came after his former coalition partners in…

Read More Here

Hungary rejects Weber for EU’s top job

Hungary's foreign minister has shut down the idea of supporting German MEP Manfred Weber as the next EU commission president. In an interview with Euronews the day after the…

Read More Here

Romania’s most powerful politician, sentenced to jail for corruption

Liviu Dragnea, Romania’s de facto leader was sent to prison for three-and-a-half years for corruption. The guilty verdict against ruling-party leader Dragnea for abuse of office was upheld Monday by…

Read More Here

Europe Votes: Poland, ExitPolls, the projections

Exit Polls indicate that Law and Justice are set to win 42.4% of the vote in Poland. This is a summary of Politico’s projections for the voting today in Poland:…

Read More Here

Europe Votes: Slovenia, the projections

This is a summary of Politico’s projections for the voting today in Slovenia: Slovenia – The Projections If turnout of 24.55% is maintained in this vote, Politico predicts SDS-SLS will beat…

Read More Here

Europe Votes: Romania, the projections

This is a summary of Politico’s projections for the voting today in Romania: Romania – The Projections If turnout of 33.67% is maintained in this vote, Politico predicts PNL will…

Read More Here

Europe Votes: Hungary, the projections

This is a summary of Politico’s projections of the voting today in Hungary: Hungary – The Projections If turnout of 28.97% is maintained in this vote, Politico predicts Fidesz&KDNP will…

Read More Here

Romania’s Social Democrats hire prominent Brussels lobbyists to clean up image

The ruling Social Democrat party (PSD) in Romania has hired Brussels lobbyists to clean up its battered image in the EU press. Poltico reports that the PSD in April…

Read More Here

Work permits for foreign workers hits record high in Poland

According to the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS), the country is experiencing a surge in the registration of foreign workers in the country. Last year, Poland issued over 300,000 work…

Read More Here

PhotoStory: Floods in Poland

Read More Here

SlideShow: A Tribute to Niki Lauda

A series of photos of three-time Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda who died this week at the age of 70. Lauda, who underwent a lung transplant in August,…

Read More Here

Austria heading for September election

Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen on Sunday recommended a new election be held in early September. He said he wanted to restore trust in the government after a…

Read More Here

Poland’s pro-EU opposition with a 10-point lead

The European Coalition, Poland's pro-EU opposition has a 10-point lead over the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) ahead of European Parliament elections. According to a survey issued on Friday,…

Read More Here