The Dispatch

Macron rebukes French authorities over handling of protest violence

France's President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the "failures in anticipation and intelligence" by French authorities, the Elysee Palace said Monday, after nationwide cost-of-living protests were marred by violence. Despite the…

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Diesel Above 2.16 Euros Drives Truckers and Farmers to Protest in Sicily, Calabria

Truck drivers in Sicily halted their vehicles at ports and company yards to protest soaring fuel costs, part of a wave of demonstrations that also disrupted traffic in Calabria, Basilicata…

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Italy Air Traffic Disrupted, Ryanair Flights Delayed and Cancelled, Enav Rules Out Cyberattack

Air traffic across Italy was heavily disrupted Friday by a data-transmission network failure supporting air traffic control, delaying and cancelling flights, including services run by Ryanair, as a 24-hour strike…

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Shape of Pope Leo’s papacy more uncertain after cancer diagnosis

When US Cardinal Robert Prevost emerged on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in May 2025 as Pope Leo XIV, the new leader of the Catholic Church, he struck a…

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Pope Leo diagnosed with cancer

Pope Leo was diagnosed with lung cancer after surgeons removed a part of his right lung on Tuesday, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin, marking a significant health setback…

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Pope Leo to be hospitalised on Tuesday ahead of lung surgery

Pope Leo will go into hospital on Tuesday for surgery to remove a small growth found on one of his lungs, the Vatican said, ‌as the pontiff kept up a…

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France’s Student Protests: What’s Behind the Unrest

The movement: Since late September, students across France have protested education underfunding and blockaded many lycées (high schools for 15-18-year-olds). Hundreds of students, teachers and police have been injured, and…

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calls snap election

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called an early general election on Monday, bringing forward a vote that had been scheduled for 2027. Sanchez announced the decision in a statement at…

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Students and police clash as France struggles to quell school protests

Riot police clashed with high school students in cities across France on Friday, as President Emmanuel Macron's government battled to contain increasingly violent protests over classroom conditions and funding. Tear…

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Far-right Le Pen and hard-left Melenchon seen reaching French presidential run-off, poll shows

French far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and far-left contender Jean-Luc Melenchon are seen reaching a run-off vote in next year’s presidential election in each of five scenarios polled, according to…

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Catania airport closed for third day due to Etna’s ash

Catania airport will remain closed for the third consecutive day on Monday because of volcanic ash being spewed out by Mount Etna, SAC, the company that runs the airport, said.The…

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Pope makes first official visit to France in 18 years

Church bells will quite literally be ringing across France this Friday morning as Pope Leo XIV lands on the tarmac of Paris-Orly airport for the first official papal visit to…

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Macron: Russian Attack on Europe “Plausible”, Pledges Troops to Saudi Arabia

French President Emmanuel Macron denied Thursday that the CIA had warned France of a possible Russian drone operation targeting southern Europe, even as he pledged to send French "military assets"…

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Cabinet Approves Contested School Decree as Italy Confronts Immigration Debate

Italy's government approved a decree Thursday that caps the share of foreign pupils in classrooms at 30% and bans burqas and niqabs from schools, a measure Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni…

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Macron calls for ligther EU energy rules as fuel prices rise

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged the European Commission to temporarily ease some energy regulations as rising fuel and gas prices put pressure on households and businesses. In a letter…

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Meloni ally urges EU to prepare for possible Le Pen Presidency

The European Union should be prepared to work with Marine Le Pen if she wins France’s presidential election next April, according to Nicola Procaccini, a senior ally of Italian Prime…

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Turkey raises alarm over Greece’s military presence on Aegean islands

Ankara considers Greece’s militarization of the Aegean Islands a security threat, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, as tensions between the two neighbors rise. “We don’t want Greece to become…

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International operation targets Camorra-linked counterfeit euro network

Europol has supported an international operation targeting a criminal network linked to the Italian mafia-type organisation Camorra, leading to six arrests and searches of 16 residential and commercial properties in…

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Italian civil-rights icon Emma Bonino dies at 78

Emma Bonino, a veteran Italian civil-rights campaigner, former foreign minister and former European commissioner, has died at the age of 78, her More Europe party said Friday. Bonino, a leading…

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France rejects mandatory deposit system for plastic bottles

France has dropped plans to introduce a mandatory deposit system for plastic bottles, instead proposing that towns and cities establish voluntary schemes. The French environment ministry said that no mandatory…

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Italy’s population to shrink by 4 million by 2050

Italy's population will shrink by almost 4 million by 2050, undermining the sustainability of its economy and welfare system as the proportion of elderly people increases, national statistics bureau ‌ISTAT…

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Meloni marks record tenure as Italy’s longest-serving government

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will mark a political milestone Friday, Sept. 4, when she joins senior members of the governing majority at Bari's new cruise terminal. Her government has…

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Italy extends border curbs with Spain a month after migrant rush

Italy said on Monday it would suspend its open-border arrangements with Spain for another 15 days, extending restrictions it imposed ‌after a mass rush of migrants into the Spanish enclave…

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Three Akeron anti-tank missiles seized at Italian port

A routine inspection by Italy's Guardia di Finanza at the port of Bari led to the seizure of three Akeron anti-tank missiles and the arrest of a 46-year-old French citizen,…

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Vatican plans solar and agriculture plant to cover its electricity needs

The Vatican will build a roughly €100 million ($117 million) renewable energy plant that could power the Holy See within two ‌years via a system combining solar power and agriculture,…

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Como Bans E-Bikes

The mayor of Como has banned riding bicycles in certain areas of the historic Italian city after he was hit by an electric one. Alessandro Rapinese said the ban was…

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Portugal Approves Ban on Face Coverings in Public Places

Portugal's President António Jose Seguro has enacted a law banning face coverings in public spaces, a measure widely seen as targeting Muslim women who wear full-face veils. "The face must…

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Cyprus emerges as potential Iranian target if U.S. escalates hostilities

Iran has considered targeting US and British military assets in Europe, including Cyprus, if Washington escalates its conflict with Tehran, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people close to…

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Climate change is driving record heat in Europe’s seas

Human-caused climate change was the main driver of recent record-breaking sea temperatures around Europe, scientists said on Wednesday, warning of severe consequences for marine ecosystems and coastal communities. Europe's seas…

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Cortina d’Ampezzo and Venice step up crackdown on unruly tourist behaviour

Cortina d'Ampezzo is cracking down on what local authorities describe as “loutish” tourism, introducing restrictions on bivouacking, eating in certain public areas and clothing deemed contrary to public decorum. Under…

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Etna eruption extends closure of Sicily’s Catania airport until Saturday

Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Saturday because of ‌ash from Mount Etna's ongoing volcanic activity, which has forced hundreds of flights to be cancelled…

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Spain rejects discussing sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla with Morocco

The status of the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla as Spanish territories is not up for discussion, Spanish officials said , after Morocco's justice minister reiterated Rabat's sovereignty…

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French nuclear facility hit by jellyfish influx on anniversary of previous disruption

Aug. 11 is quickly becoming jellyfish invasion day at the Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France. Despite spending hundreds of thousands of euros to protect the plant from a…

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Etna’s Renewed Activity Shuts Catania Airport and Causes Flight Cancellations in Malta

Flight cancellations continued at Malta International Airport on Wednesday morning as an ash cloud from Sicily’s Mount Etna drifted into the flight path to Malta, extending disruption that began a…

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Power operators across Europe prepare for eclipse-related fall in solar generation

Europe’s electricity network operators have prepared backup generation and grid-balancing measures to compensate for an expected drop in solar power output during Wednesday’s solar eclipse, operators said ahead of the…

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Mount Etna ash emissions halt arrivals at Catania Airport amid intense volcanic activity

Intense explosive activity continued at Mount Etna's Voragine crater on Monday, producing heavy ash emissions that prompted authorities to suspend incoming flights at Catania Airport until 5 p.m. local time.…

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Spain dismantles major Western Mediterranean migrant-smuggling network

Europol supported a Spanish-led investigation that dismantled one of the largest criminal networks smuggling cannabis, synthetic drugs, migrants, weapons, and even fugitives across the Western Mediterranean. The network was linked…

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Portuguese man o’ war sightings prompt beach warnings across Spain

Spanish authorities have issued warnings after an increase in sightings of Portuguese man o’ war along parts of the country’s coastline, prompting temporary beach closures and renewed public health advice…

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West Nile virus cases rise across Europe as Greece reports surge and Germany confirms first infection

The spread of West Nile virus — a mosquito-borne disease transmitted primarily by infected mosquitoes — in Greece is showing an upward trend, according to the National Public Health Organisation.…

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Pope Leo to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in November

Pope Leo will visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17, the Vatican announced on Wednesday, ‌in a major trip for the Catholic leader who spent decades as…

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Italy puts all major cities on highest alert as heatwave intensifies

Italy is placing all its 27 major cities under its highest heat alert on Thursday, as the country's fourth heatwave of the summer ‌intensifies, the health ministry said. Twenty-five cities…

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Italy to make full use of EU budget leeway for energy spending, FinMin says

Italy intends to make full use of budget leeway allowed by a European Union "escape clause" from the bloc's budget rules to fund measures aimed at softening energy ‌costs, Economy…

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Sicily issues red heat alerts for Palermo and Catania as wildfire risk rises

Sicily remained under intense heat and heightened wildfire risk on Tuesday as regional authorities issued a new civil protection alert covering the next 24 hours. The Sicilian Civil Protection Department…

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Malta joins 22 EU leaders opposing Spain’s Sánchez over migration policy

Twenty-two EU leaders — including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — on Saturday took aim at Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s migration policies for undermining…

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France, Spain and Greece battle wildfires as Europe swelters

France, Spain and Greece battled major wildfires on Thursday as soaring temperatures, parched vegetation and powerful winds extended a summer of deadly fires, mass evacuations and mounting disruption across Europe.…

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Mediterranean tourism powers ahead as Europe records resilient travel growth

Southern Mediterranean Europe remains one of the continent’s strongest-performing tourism regions, with international arrivals rising by 4% in the first quarter of 2026, according to a new report by Amadeus…

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France’s Far Right Seizes on Wildfires to Attack Macron Government

France’s far-right National Rally is using the country’s devastating wildfires to criticise President Emmanuel Macron’s government, arguing that it has failed in its fundamental duty to protect citizens and their…

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Italy braces for fourth heatwave as wildfires force hundreds to be evacuated by sea from Puglia

Firefighters in southern Italy are battling several major wildfires as rising temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds fuel blazes across the country, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate. In Puglia’s…

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Off-duty police officer detains man who attacked three women with knives in Paris

A man armed with two kitchen knives injured three women in Paris on Monday before being overpowered by bystanders and detained by an off-duty police officer, French Interior Minister Laurent…

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More Than 320,000 Evacuated as Wildfires Spread Across France and Spain

More than 320,000 people have been evacuated across France and Spain as severe wildfires continue to spread through southern Europe, with thousands of emergency personnel deployed to tackle the blazes.…

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Spain Declares National Emergency as Wildfires Force 10,000 Evacuations

Spain has declared its first-ever national emergency over wildfires after multiple blazes near Madrid and in the neighbouring province of Ávila forced more than 10,000 people to evacuate and stretched…

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Spain seeks to extend smoking ban to terraces, include vapes

Spain will ban smoking on outdoor bar and restaurant terraces while extending smoke-free areas and regulating vaping products in ‌the same way as conventional cigarettes, Health Minister Monica Garcia said…

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Greek islands face drought as tourist season hits

Seven Greek islands in the Aegean Sea have declared drought emergencies this year to preserve water as climate change makes summers hotter and rainfall more erratic. Now, authorities are wondering…

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Italy battles two weather extremes: scorching heat in Sicily, deadly storms in the north

Italy expanded its highest-level heat alerts on Thursday as a prolonged heatwave tightened its grip across much of the country, with Sicily expected to endure some of the most extreme…

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Portugal launches reform to liberalise rental market, speed evictions

Portugal's minority centre-right government has launched plans to speed evictions and bring forward the end of rent controls, prompting criticism from tenant groups who say the moves will deepen the…

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Satellite shows Etna eruption plume reaching North Africa

A massive plume of sulfur dioxide released during Mount Etna's July 7 eruption traveled across the Mediterranean and reached parts of North Africa, according to satellite observations published by the…

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Opinion polls see France’s Le Pen winning 2027 election despite guilty verdict

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen could well win France's presidential election next year despite an appeal court this week upholding a guilty verdict for embezzlement of EU funds, ‌two opinion…

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